Breeding Bettas - How It Works

Like any type of breeding animals, execution must be exact and the process is quite complicated. You might be interested about breeding Bettas so read on. Before you start breeding Bettas, it is important to know the basic information. Actually, the male Betta is the one who will look after the eggs and the young. The only work the female Betta has to do is laying the eggs. This short article is dedicated to the beginner Betta breeder. This will equip you with little and important information for the success of your new endeavor.

The first step is to condition both the male and female Betta fish. A good conditioning plan involves feeding both fishes with worm twice a day. It is important that both fishes not see each other a week before both of them are placed in the breeding tank. Conditioning the fish for breeding must done two weeks before it starts. You are not to feed the Betta male once breeding starts this is why feeding the male well within the weeks is important.

You then have to prepare the breeding tank. A bare tank is a good breeding place. The filter must be on one side and must not be running until the male Betta is out. Also, it is nice to add a little plant in the tank as to protect the eggs. For the breeding place, you can put a floating plant where the male Betta can breed under it or a cut out styro foam and taped on the side. A heater can be placed on side of the tank as it is necessary to keep the water temperature steady. Keeping a warm water temperature is very crucial since the baby Betta fish won"t have labyrinth organ just yet. The cold water and air will instantly kill them.

On the first day of breeding, the male Betta should have created a nest of bubbles and the female Betta should be barred and dancing. If the female Betta is doing otherwise and looking scared, it means she is not ready to breed yet. Be patient and give it time. You will know if the female Betta is confident enough for breeding when it is showing rich colorful stripes. This will make the male Betta"s work much easier. Allow the female Betta to stay just until after nesting is done. Other helpful signs during breeding are when the male Betta fish is doing a dance and is trying to attract the female Betta into the nesting place. Once the female Betta is ready, just releases her and should do a similar dance as that of the male.

Both Betta fishes should embrace under or above the nesting place. Wrapping bodies with the other will take time and before any eggs will fall in the nesting area. When done successfully, the male Betta will transfer the egg in the nesting place using the mouth. Breeding bettas is a long process and may take one to seven hours of breeding time.