Breeding Betta Fish

Learn The Quick and Easy Ways to Keep Your Betta Fish Healthy, Happy and Disease Free

Breeding betta fish is a very easy task. However, there are a number of factors that should be understood well before starting this rewarding endeavor. You need time, knowledge, patience, proper resources and total commitment to breed bettas. You should learn everything about the species care and breeding methods. Be well aware of betta genetics and behavior. Also consider the reason you want to breed betta fish. Bettas lay 600 eggs in a single spawn. Thus you may end up with at least 500 bettas to be taken care of. If you want to supply them to a local pet store it may be a good business venture. Betta fish breeding is a serious undertaking that may require a lot of investment, both your time and finance. It is not a profitable venture initially and may take time to give you returns. If you have made up your mind to breed betta fish as a hobby or business venture then the following instructions will show you how to breed betta fish?

Selection of the Right Betta Fish: You should buy a pair of Siamese fighting fish that are not more than 14 months old. They should be nearly of the same size, with vibrant colors and without any injury or missing scales. They should have smooth gills without any visible swelling. They should have clear dark eyes and their fins should be free from tear and holes. You should locate a reputable breeder online or in your area to purchase the breeding pair. It is very important to have information about their genetic traits. Most of the fish in pet stores have unknown genetic background and you may end up breeding sickly or undesirable fry.

Types of Breeding Betta Fish: There are 10 groups of betta species with 42 types of individual bettas. They have different methods of breeding.The 'Bubblenesters' that include spendens, bellica and coccina make a nest out of bubbles to support the eggs. Then there is the 'Mouthbrooders' like the forrest betta or the green throat mouthbrooder. The males of these species carry the eggs in their throat, hence the name.

Setting Up the Breeding Tank: You will require a breeding tank of about 5 - 10 gallons. It should have a removable divider, hiding places and heater set to 80ºF. Do not add gravel or sand at the bottom as the eggs may get lost when they fall to the bottom.

Introducing the Fish to Each Other: Keep the fish in the opposite sides of the tank to get them accustomed to each other. When they do not show aggressiveness and do not try to attack each other through the divider, it means they are interested in each other.

Observe behaviour: If the bettas are interested in each other then the male will swim around the tank displaying his fins, flaring and showing off to the female. The female displays vertical bars on her body and submissively holds her head down. Slight aggressiveness is fine, but if they try to attack each other, seperate them and try again later or else, try another pair.

Breeding Time: The male builds a bubble nest when he is ready to breed. The female displays the typical submissive behavior and a bloated belly meaning she is ready for egg production. Release the female in the male territory or remove the barrier. Keep an eye on the pair, when they are together. The male may bully the female and nip at her fins and chase her around. It is fine as long as there is no danger to the life of the female. The hiding place provided will help the female escape the bullying male for sometime. When the female is under the bubble nest, they embrace each other. This act helps in squeezing the eggs out of the female's ovipositor. The male swims down and scoop the fallen eggs and put them one by one into his nest. During this time the female becomes zombie like as the eggs fall down from her ovipositor. They embrace many more times and finally the female stops releasing eggs. When the female comes out of her zombie like state, she may help the male in carrying the eggs to the nest. Be very vigilant as the female may eat the eggs. Once she finishes releasing the eggs the male starts bullying her again. Scoop her out and put her in her side of tank. Treat the tank with Maroxy as it is very helpful in treating her injured fins and preventing fungus from killing the eggs.

Removing the Fish: After about three days you will observe the fry swimming out of the bubble nest. Scoop the male and female from the tank and place them in another tank with a divider or barrier.

Feeding the Fry: feed the fry with live microworms twice a day. If live microworms are still present in the tank till the next feeding time, skip giving more food. When the fry is about a week old you may feed them some baby brine shrimps.

Best Growing Conditions: The fry requires temperature of about 80oF for growth. Gradually increase the amount of their feed. When they outgrow the tank space, place them in a larger fish tank. Many of them do not survive the first few weeks and if plenty of them are dying each day, you should check on the temperature, chemical levels and water cleanliness.

Caring for the Growing Fry: When the fry are about a month old, slowly wean them off the live food. Feed them frozen dried flake or pellets. When they are about 5 - 8 weeks, separate the males to avoid them from injuring one another. Place the transparent cups or tanks near each other as they may not be used to living alone. Males may not eat for a day or two, thus stimulate their appetite by giving live food. Isolate the males with opaque dividers as they may wear themselves out trying to attack the other male in the adjacent tank.

Future of Your Fry: The adult traits are visible within 10 - 11 weeks. You may start selling your fry after this period. If you want to continue breeding betta fish, then select the best fish from each spawn. The others can be sold or given away.

If you own a pond, you can release the adult bettas in it or you can gift them to your friends and family. You can sell them to the local pet store and build a long business relationship of selling betta fish. Breeding betta fish is an expensive hobby and you should have ample time and space to spare. Do not breed betta fish if you are not sure that you can sell or give away all the 500 fry produced by a single pair. If you have weighed all the pros and cons of breeding betta fish, then have a great time carrying out this marvellous yet different hobby.

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Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-breed-betta-fish-siamese-fighting-fish.html