How to Breed Betta Fish (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

Breeding Siamese spotting fish, also known as betta fish, is an exciting hobby. However, it is not an easy thing. If you have the time, resources, knowledge and commitment required to breed betta fish, then it will be a worthwhile experience.

Step

Part 1 of 5: Preparing the Container and Selecting the Betta to Breed

Step 1. Learn as much as you can

When you want to start breeding any animal, it is very important to learn about the species as much as possible. Learn about betta care and breeding. There are many sites and books that you can use as sources of information. You can get more than 600 eggs in one betta mating process, which means you may have to raise more than 500 betta fish! You have to understand the reason for your goal before actually doing it.

Are you interested in genetics, breeding for show, or being a local pet store provider?
Or are you simply interested in betta fish and want to deepen your hobby?
Breeding hickeys for show or store provision is a huge undertaking that requires a large investment of time, space and money. Due to the high cost of starting and providing equipment, it is very difficult to make a profit by breeding betta fish, so this should not be your main goal for a while.

Step 2. Prepare the permanent container

When you're ready to try breeding your Betta, you'll first need to prepare a place to live for your partner fish to breed. Prepare two containers as shown in the article "How to Set Up a Betta Tank". Make sure that you settle the water in the container first before you buy the fish and put it in the container, details on how to settle can be found in "How to Do a Fishless Cycle" (in English).

Step 3. Get a pair of bred betta fish

The best time to mate betta is when the betta is at a young age, so you will have a high success rate if you can get a pair of hickeys from well-known breeders online or directly in your area, you can also get valuable information from them. Make sure that the male and female are about the same size, and consider buying two pairs in case the first pair doesn't work out.

Most betta fish in pet stores are too old and usually of unclear genetic origin, but fish at the store can be way cheaper and easier to get than farm fish.
If you choose to breed your betta from a pet store, be aware of the risk that you won't be able to find a buyer or a place to live for your betta, as most pet stores won't. Since you don't know what genetic traits you're crossing over in breeding, it's possible that you'll end up producing sick or unwanted fish from the process.

Part 2 of 5: Preparing for Breeding Conditions

Step 1. Let the hickey get used to it

It is best to allow your fish to adapt to their environment for a few months before you breed them. However, keep in mind that the best age for a male betta to mate is before he is more than 14 months old. Start breeding when you have a long free time.

From the moment you introduce your hickey partner, you should devote at least a few hours each day for more than 2 months to caring for the mate and their children. Make sure that you don't have any vacation plans, work trips, or plans that will keep you busy during that time

Step 2. Prepare the breeding container

This container should be 19-38 L and have a removable bulkhead, multiple hiding places and an adjustable filter (such as a sponge filter with a regulating valve), and a heater that keeps the temperature at 27 degrees Celsius. Do not add sand, gravel or other substrate to the breeding container as the eggs will be lost as they fall. Fill the container with 12-15 cm of water, and place the container in a place where there are several distractions, such as other fish, bright colors, and human activity.

Step 3. Feed them live when you are ready to breed them

Live artemia or bloodworms are the best examples of live food, but you can also provide other types of worms, crickets, cockroaches, and other insects (which have been slaughtered). It's a good idea to keep live feed or buy it from a pet store or breeder to avoid bacteria, dirt, and chemicals that wild insects may have. If you can't get live feed, you can try frozen artemia and frozen bloodworms.

Step 4. Start raising fry feed

Betta fry are very small, and only eat live food, so you will need to give them very, very small live food when they are ready. Start now to make sure you have an adequate supply of live fry feed for when you need it in the coming weeks. Microworms are probably the best feed, but some breeders prefer infusoria or vinegar eels. Artemia can also be given as fry feed, but only in moderation with other feed sources, because too much artemia can cause digestive disorders in fish.

Step 5. Introduce the betta partner

Once the live feed culture has progressed fairly well and the fish partner has been eating live feed for a week or two, you are ready to introduce the pair to each other. Move the pair of fish so that they can see each other clearly, but remain apart. You can do this by bringing the two fish tanks closer together, or by inserting them on different sides of the mating container and separated by a screen. It is very important for fish pairs to see each other before they are completely mixed together to minimize the risk of serious injury.

Some breeders place males in uninsulated containers and use clear plastic cups or glass chimneys for oil lamps to appease the female. When using this method, the female should only be introduced for a few hours a day, as she is kept in a very small container. Let the two fish look at each other for a few days.
Some breeders separate them for a few days before introducing them again for a few days, then move on to the next stage.

Step 6. Observe their behavior

See if the hickey pair is attracted to each other or not. The male will swim around the female and show off his fins by developing and showing off his body as a whole. The female will show vertical lines on her body and lower her head. Some aggressive behavior is normal behavior, but if they expand on each other and try to attack each other through barriers, Do not mix the two fish together. It's better if you separate them and try again later, or try a different pair of betta.

Part 3 of 5: Breeding Bettas

Step 1. Lift the screen separating the two hickeys

When the male is ready to breed, he will make a large bubble nest. When this happens, turn off the filter and place the female in the male's receptacle, making sure you keep an eye on the betta mate. It is possible that the male will disturb the female, pinch her fins and chase her here and there. It doesn't matter as long as the two don't harm each other. The fondling period of this pair of fish may last for a few hours or even a few days. Make sure that there are plenty of hiding places in the container for the female to hide from the male's distractions, and check on the pair frequently to prevent serious injury.

Step 2. Let the process happen naturally

The male will eventually manage to get to the female under the bubble nest and they will embrace each other. There will be several hugs until the eggs are produced. Then the female will enter the 'zombie-like' stage while the white eggs from the ovipositor come out and fall to the bottom of the container. The male will swim down and pick up the eggs that fall, and put the eggs one by one into the nest. Some female bettas will help with the egg collection when they recover, but some will eat the eggs, so watch carefully and separate the female from the container if she eats her eggs. It is possible that the pair will continue to embrace each other, but eventually the female will stop laying eggs.

Step 3. Separate the female

When the female has finished laying eggs, the male will bother her again, and the female will hide. Gently scoop the female out by scooping her out and placing her in her own tank. Drop Maroxy into his tank to help heal his fins. It is also a good idea to drip Maroxy into the breeding container, as Maroxy can prevent the fungus from killing the eggs.

Step 4. Leave the male in the breeding container until the fry can swim well

Usually about three days after hatching. Some breeders will usually not feed the male during this time. This aims to reduce the risk of the male eating eggs and fry. Some other breeders will give the male a small amount of food every other day. If you choose to feed him, don't worry if he doesn't eat it right away, but continue to offer him food, and remove any leftovers with a dropper. Leave the filter in the off position to prevent currents from disturbing the fry, but allow the light to continue to illuminate the container during the day and night.

Part 4 of 5: Caring for the Frogs

Step 1. Wait for the fry to hatch from the eggs

When the fry have just hatched, they will hang in the bubble nest, and the male will pick up the fallen fry and return them to the nest. After a few days, the fry will begin "free swimming," swimming horizontally and wandering away from the nest. Before reaching this stage, the fry will eat the remaining nutrients contained in the yolk, and cannot eat on their own.

Step 2. Separate the males from the breeding container, being careful not to trap the fry

The male can return to a normal routine and feeding schedule. If he still looks injured from the flirting process, drop Maroxy to help the recovery process.

Step 3. Feed the fry

Once the males have been separated, feed the fry microworms in small quantities as soon as possible. Feed it twice a day, and pay close attention to how much food is eaten. If there are live microworms left when you need to feed again, then you can skip them because the fry still have food. If you see a lot of dead microworms, you have given too much food, so you have to reduce the portion of the food you give. The fry should be fed very small and live food such as,

Infusoria: Infusoria can be feed for fry for the first week of life for fry.
Microworms: You need to buy the starter culture, after that you don't have to buy any more. Good for fry aged 3-40 days.
Artemia: Artemia is very easy to hatch and it can be controlled how much you give to fry, but giving too much artemia can cause digestive problems in fry.

Step 4. Give the fry time to grow

Keep the fry warm at 27 degrees Celsius and cover the container to prevent airflow and evaporation. Continue by increasing the amount of food you give. When the fry have grown large enough and the breeding container is not enough for them, you should transfer them to a larger container. Not all fry will survive the first few weeks, but if you see large numbers of fry dying every day, there may be a problem. Check the temperature, chemical levels, and consider the possibility of treating any infection that may occur in the fry.

When the fry are a week old, turn on the filter, but limit the flow of air produced with the regulating valve, so that airflow is barely noticeable.
When the fry are two weeks old, start doing small (10%) water changes every few days to keep the container clean and free of food residue, but use a fine vacuum cleaner or pipette to avoid injuring the fry, and add clean water very slowly. You can start turning off the container light at night.
Over the next few weeks, increase the filter flow gradually, watching the fry closely to ensure that they are strong enough to swim against the resulting current.

Step 5. Transfer the fry to a growth container

By the time the fry are 2 weeks old, you should transfer them to a container of at least 75 L. Make sure that the temperature and water in the new container are the same as the temperature and water in the old container. Fry are very sensitive and vulnerable -- one small mistake can lead to the death of the fry. If you previously used a half-filled 38 L container, you can fill the container and transfer the fry to a 75 L container when they are 4-5 weeks old.

Part 5 of 5: Caring for Frogs to Adults

Step 1. Keep live feed away from fry

When the fry are about a month old, you can gradually change the fry food to frozen food, then freeze-dried food, and fish food in the form of grains or plates. Make sure that the food is crushed finely enough to fit in the fry's small mouths. Offer a small amount of live feed substitute, then slowly remove the fry from the live feed. Remember to always clean up leftovers.

Step 2. Separate the males

When the males have started fighting (at about 5-8 weeks of age), it is time for you to remove them from the growth cage. Put each male betta in an individual container close to each other, as the betta will feel stressed if suddenly isolated.

Male bettas that are not fighting can be left with the female fry until they become aggressive.
Some male bettas will refuse food for the first day or two; try feeding them live food to stimulate their appetite.
Continue to separate all male and aggressive bettas as they will become increasingly aggressive. In the next few days or weeks, you'll start isolating the males with opaque screens, as the males will stress each other out, by spreading their fins and trying to attack the males in adjacent containers.

Step 3. Determine the future of your chicks

If you want to sell it, start contacting people who are potential buyers. Most fry will show maturity at 10-11 weeks, and you can start selecting the best fish for breeding later or taking pictures of them to send to buyers. If you're trying to create a genetic line, you'll only be selecting a few of the best fish in each breeding wave to breed again, and selling or giving the rest to someone else, or you'll have a hard time caring for too many betta fish you can't afford.

Step 4. Mating young hickeys

It takes time and experience to see and tell the difference; sometimes experienced breeders put two male bettas together by accident.

Males have longer fins, but young males have shorter fins.
Male Bettas develop fins against each other. Females usually don't, but there are also females that are as aggressive as males.
The female betta has an egg point, which is on her stomach; This is the place where the eggs are released in the mating process.
The male betta will build a bubble nest; if you put a male betta in a jar and he builds a bubble nest, then he is a male. However, some female bettas also build bubble nests, so make sure you check them carefully.

Tips

Some pairs of fish will never get along, maybe because they don't like each other, or maybe because of bad breeders. Don't be afraid to try again with another pair of fish.
High quality fry are produced from high quality brooders. If you are planning to sell your fry, investing in a high quality pair is well worth it.
Some breeders provide something so the male betta can build a bubble nest under it, such as a Styrofoam glass, a piece of lettuce, or another object that can float.
You may have to make a difficult decision for fish that are born with severe defects. If the fish is suffering, you may consider euthanasia as a humane option. never breed fish that have defects such as hunchbacked or malformed fins.
Always use artemia nets (very fine nets) to catch betta fish. A standard net will tear the betta's delicate and vulnerable fins.
A 38 L container with 4 dividers can be used to separate the growing male Betta. This way, you can use both a heater and a filter, so the growing environment will be healthier than a small container or jar in which your betta lives alone.
Never give fry fish food in the form of plates or grains as they are too large for the fry and fry will ignore non-living food. The fry will starve to death or die from bacterial infection produced by the leftover food.
Always clean food scraps from fry containers, or they will rot and cause a bacterial infection.
Make sure that you don't suck in the fry in the process of changing the water, the fry are small and may not be able to swim against the current.
Find out and learn as much as you can before breeding betta. There are many good sources on the internet, or you can ask your local aquarium breeder or expert.
Before you breed a betta, make sure that you have a plan for the young betta. Bettas can produce more than 500 fry in a single mating, so make sure you know where they will be placed later.
When you produce a unique and stable genetic line, give the fish a tribal name for later identification.
Some breeders choose a small 7.6 L container for breeding Bettas. This can speed up the mating process (because there is less room for the female betta to escape and hide) and means you will have to transfer the fry to a larger container at a younger age, which can be very risky and lead to the death of some or all of the fry if done carelessly.
You can pair two male bettas, but they will never mate. Just keep them between each other, unless you include a female betta.

Warning

Breeding betta requires a large investment of time, effort and money. This is not a hobby to be taken lightly.
There are so many mistakes that can happen from the time you introduce your betta partner until the fry become adults. Prepare yourself for some failure before you can really do it well.
Responsible breeders study genes and traits and make sure they have a place for fry before breeding them. Breeding Bettas without further planning can result in unwanted fry.
Remember to always be careful when administering chemicals and medications into containers. Drugs that will save lives in appropriate doses can kill when overused. Make sure that you always read the package and directions of the medicine carefully and never use more than recommended.