"I will be using this page to document my Betta Spawning Projects and hopefully, I can aid anyone out there with difficulties trying to spawn these wonderful fishes.
Once you get the hang of it, it will be very easy. My fry food will be of great convenience too."
Regards,
Bettafanatic aka Walter
CONDITIONING
Firstly, you have to condition the pair. Which means letting your pair flare at each other at least 2 times a day, 15-20min every time. During this period, water change as per normal and feed (preferably) live food like tubifex worms, especially to the female so she can build up more eggs in her sac. However if live food is inaccessible, frozen bloodworms or even pellets will do.
After conditioning, both pairs should show signs of willingness to mate.
Male: Flaring aggresssively, build bubbles on the water surface.
Female: Flaring back occassionally, head dipping downwards, "fat" belly and having vertical stripes for dark coloured bettas.
Male ready for spawning:
Females with vertical stripes and well shaped "fat" bellies:
Females with vertical stripes and well shaped "fat" bellies:
SET-UP
I usually use 2-feet tanks so that I need not transfer the fries as they grow, but breeding in a 1-foot tank is fine as well. Not anything smaller than that as the aggression from the male could kill the female if there isn't enough room for the female to escape and hide during courtship.
1 and 2 feet tank used with success:
For 1 foot tanks, siphon up wastes at least 1 more times a week.
Adding of Ketapang Leaves or Blackwater Extract will reduce the PH of the water, creating a better environment for breeding (Close to their natural habitat conditions). Water must be treated for chlorine and chloramine as per usual fish keeping routine.
Cut a 1.5 litre water bottle into half and you get a "Chimmey" to act as a transperant barrier for your female when the male builds a nest.
This cup's purpose is to allow the male to have a sturdy shelter to build his bubblenest.
Water bottle "chimmey" is to prevent the male from hurting the female until they are ready (less injuries)
Do not set this up in an air-conditioned room because firstly, they are tropical fishes and enjoy the warm air/water; cold water makes them sick easily. Secondly, air-con is dry and this will affect the formation of bubblenest.
INTRODUCING THE PAIR
Once the set-up is good to go, place the male into the tank, with the female inside the "chimmey".
Allow 1-2 days' grace for your male to build a nest and during this period, it is fine to feed the pair. Do place the chimmey with the female in it near the styrofoam cup so the male will have constant view of the female while making his nest (see previous picture).
A decent nest will be about the size of a fifty cent coin at least, and about 1-2 bubble-level thick. That is the bare minimum. However, in certain cases, I will release the female despite the male making a poor nest in order to encourage him further (Physical contact with female), this must be monitored closely though and do not work 100% of the time. You should restart the process if your female starts to show signs of tiredness and bleeding wounds on the body.
Once the nest is made, you may release the female. The grace period for this courting process is very tricky, you will have to monitor the situation yourself and judge accordingly. If the male is very offensive towards the female and does not seem to allow the female into the nest area, I will allow only 3 days maximum for the female to roam in his territory. Make sure the female does not suffer lethal injuries as we can always spawn the fishes another day; it is not worth risking your pet's life.
For the rest, the process is mildly aggressive as they are the Fighting Fish, fin-nipping will be normal, usually, I leave them in the tank for up to a week. Feed them sparsely during this period (Once a day or once every two days).
A female with acceptable injury. Only on the fins.
SPAWNING
Spawning, the ultimate process we are looking for, is when the male wraps his body around the female as she gradually release her eggs. The process is repeated for as long as half a day.
When the female is done laying her eggs, she will be chased from the nest by the male. You will notice this when the female starts to sit around the corner, avoiding the male. This is when you carefully remove the female and allow the father to take care of the eggs.
The female, at this stage, will usually sustain some injuries. Place her in clean water and add a pinch of aquarium salt to prevent infections. In cases where injuries are very serious and blood streaks can be seen, add in ketapang leaves or black water to speed up recovery and calm the fish down.
Image not mine
AWAITING HATCHING OF FRIES
In this process, the father may eat up some eggs that are unfertilized. There are some rare cases of egg-eating addicts, however, majority of male bettas will take care of the eggs well until they successfully hatch in 1-2 days' time.
Newborn fries are delicate and are unable to swim properly (drops to the bottom of the tank), the father will continue to take care of them until they are free swimming. During this period, do not feed any fry food as the newborns have a tiny yolk sac attached to their belly as their first food.
FEEDING - FREE SWIMMING FRIES TO YOUNG ADULT
When you notice that the fries are able to dart around horizontally, instead of random wriggling, they have entered the free swimming stage and it is time to feed Baby Brime Shrimps (sold here), or Daphnia aka Boon aka Water Fleas. It is also the time to remove the father.
Non Free Swimming (taken care by Father)
Free Swimmers, able to swim horizontally with normal fish posture
Continue feeding fry food as frequent as 2 times a day, quantity is estimated as long as your fries have a full belly at all times (you can notice an "orange circle" in your fries' bodies, those are tummies filled with baby brine shrimps; Betta fries love live brine shrimps!). Do not clean the tank as the fries are too small, simply add water into the tank everyday to dilute any harmful chemicals. Follow this schedule closely for 3 weeks and your fries should be ready to take on Tubifex Worms. This is also the time whereby the fries are big enough to avoid your siphon while cleaning the wastes in the tank. After 1-2 weeks of tubifex worm feeding, your fries are safe to experience a 100% water change, do ensure your water parameters are good though.
Based on experience, you may also wish to chop up your worms a little if they are too thick and long, this will help your bettas to chew on them easily. Take note tubifex worms are sometimes termed as "red earthworms" in mandarin and they differ from bloodworms. Bloodworms are too thick and can only be fed when they are 1 month old.
Tubifex Worms
From here on you should be having it easy as the fries are stable, clean water and good food is the key to good growth.
This will mark the end of my spawning/breeding guide and I hope it is useful for all hobbyists out there!
Cheers! :)
Bettafanatic aka Walter
