# Anyone here breed bettas? AKA Siamese Fighting Fish



## elle_carlisle (Jun 22, 2008)

Hey, I've kept bettas since I was a kid, and occasionally bred them semi-successfully. Any advice for a betta breeding n00b? I've been changing their water frequently and feeding them some brine shrimp but my boys just won't nest. Their tanks get moved around pretty often, which probably doesn't help does it? That should end soon, when I move into somewhere with more room. I try to keep them in the high 20's (degrees Celsius) but they drop down to 23-25 a lot.
Anyway, enough about me, what tips do you guys have?


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## mysnakesau (Jun 22, 2008)

Maybe you should use a heater to stablise the temperatures. If the tank isn't big enough for an aquarium heater use a heatmat underneath it.

How often are you changing the water and how much do you change at a time?


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## wood_nymph (Jun 22, 2008)

i'm no expert but from what i know they want the temp semi tropical so 18-20 C and that really does need to be stable, its not so much living at the wrong temp that messes with fish it the fluxuations in environmental factors like temp


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## callith (Jun 22, 2008)

try buying a breeding net ( the ones that keep the babies seperate from the rest of the tank) and putting the female in that which can get the male excited. you can also get a polystirene cup cut it in half and then stickytape the two halves together and put that in, this just keeps the bubble nest together more and is easier for the male to manage. If oyu have any more questions just ask.


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## Driake (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi, My mum is really into breeding betta's and has been setting up for a few weeks now and already has 6 males that are nesting like crazy.

Not sure on what temperature but you definately need to have the temperature stable for nesting to occur.
Also have a female in another tank next to the male to encourage the nesting to take place.


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## callith (Jun 22, 2008)

And when you can see stripes on the female she is generally ready to breed.


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## mebebrian (Jun 23, 2008)

i found just leaving 2 males (in seperate tanks/jars) next two each other with polystyrene cups cut in half should get em going, and dont change the water too often. 25% once a week is plenty


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## mysnakesau (Jun 23, 2008)

Betta's are tropical so there water would need to be warmer than 20c. Single fish or pets can probably suffice that those temps quite well but for breeding you want the males to be more active so warming their water up to about 26c or thereabouts you might find you'll have better result.


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## euphorion (Jun 23, 2008)

at under 25C they are likely to get stressed and develope cold-water diseases like Ick so deffinately need to be kept between 27 30C, to breed bump the temps to at least 29C. get yourself some ketapang leaves, also known as indian almond leaves, thats stuff is available at petshops but its stupidly pricey so just import a huge bag through ebay (quaratine will open the package but they're dead dried leaves so they'll make it through) they then soak in the tank water or you can boil them to make a tea to change the tank water conditions to something more similar to the bettas original habitat. they might not be making bubble nests because, ironically, the water is too clean, so not sticky enough to hold the bubble structure. now dont think that means you can stop clenaing the water!! just get your hands on those leaves and they make the water lovely and sticky, will make the tank look feral though  a bit brown and dirty but thats just the tannins being released which also help as a natural antibiotic. 

so, 1. get the leaves for the water
2. temps to 29C (tank MINIMUM of 20L, althougha 1.5 - 2 foot tank is recommended)
3. give the male a nest site of bubblewrap or a styrofoam cup so he can build his nest there and it will be protected from condensation.
4. keep the lid on the tank to keep the air moist - IMPORTANT
5. condition your fish, lots of live blood worms are best - female must be conditioned for 2 weeks for best results, she will look like shes almost popping with eggs (be careful not to overfeed though)
6. learn how to intro them, you dont want your girl to just rip your boy up straight out, and learn the body language otherwise you could kill the female from stress alone (body strips, head-down, wiggle etc)

also, they breed with wet weather, and winter makes it alot harder for them to get in the mood so i would wait until september... get a heap of duckweed and javamoss - helps to feed fry and keep the tank nutrient load down

loads more info at ausaqua.net


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## elle_carlisle (Jun 23, 2008)

Thanks guys. I've read about the almond leaves, i'll try getting my hands on some. The temp does fluctuate a bit, i'll have to sort that out too.


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