Male Betta Conditioning?

If he doesn't make one in the next few daays I suggest one of two things: getting a new male betta or getting a new female betta. Sometimes they will react differently to certain fish.

Be aware that this is an intensive thing, and involves time, effort, regular cleaning, culling (flushing) baby fish with defects, and having room to put everyone when they grow up.

Now that you're sure you want to do this and pay a heck of a lot of attention to the fish over the next few months, buy a tank that is at least AT LEAST five gallons. Bigger is better. No rocks in the tank, but a lot of plants. Also a styrofoam cut choped straight down in half when sitting on the counter helps as a place for the nest to be built if you secure it to the edge of the tank. Also, get some sort of clear tube open at both ends that is fish-safe.

Now go out and buy some more stuff. A microworm culture is great. Some vinager eels are good too. Maybe some small baby brine shrimp, too, but they are a bit more labor intensive. Get your cultures all nice and big and split them in half. Then grow them up again before you start breeding.

Now that you have food for the fry (baby fish) you can think about making them exist. Give the tank about six inches of treated, dechlorinated, lightly (aquarium) salted water, a heater and a filter that does not create a real big current. Don't forget all the plants. Let it sit for a few days, if not a week. In the mean time, feed Mrs. betta well, lots of bloodworms if you have them. Keep her in sight of the male, as well. When she's plump and has a little white dot poking out of her belly from between her fins then you can get down to business.

Put the male in the breeding tank. Leave him there for a day or so. Keep the female in sight. Keep the water clean by fishing out whatever he doesn't eat within a minute or two of giving it to him. He ought to build a nest. Keep feeding the girl, too.

Once he's settled in and everything, bring in the clear, fish-safe tube and put it in the tank with the male, away from the nest. He should be outside of it. Deposit the female on the inside. Give them a few hours to make faces at each other. From now on, the male should get NO FOOD untill you take him out.

After they get to know each other, take the tube out, letting the female into the rest of the tank. There will be some chacing and biting, but she should eventually inspect the nest. If there is more biting than anything else, put the girl back in the tube and try again later.

Eventually they will settle in and mate. A light should be left on at all times on the breeding tank untill the male is removed. Mating will take up to a few hours, and the female should be removed once it is over.

The light should be left on, and the male will take care of the fry on his own for a while. It looks like he's eating them, but he's just spitting them back into the nest.

Once the fry are trying to swim along on their own in a normal fish orientation (horizontal) you should take dad out and start feeding them, if not a little sooner. You might need a magnifying glass to see the little things.

Keep them clean and fed, and in enough water. You may need to move some into another, similarly set up tank if you have a really big spawn with a lot of fry. In a few months you should be able to start seeing the males develop pretty colors and fins. Once they start getting agressive, seperate them. The girls can be kept together.

http://bettacare101.com/