Breeding Betta Questions

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Frank Castle

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I recently set up a 20H with a 3 gallon inside it cuz I want to try and breed Bettas - from what I gather, you are supposed to fill the smaller tank to the top and put the female in it, then fill the larger tank a few inches below the top of the small tank. The male and female and see each other and interact and it will eventually trigger him to start building a bubble nest. Once he does that, the female will jump out of the 3 gallon into the 20H and she will start laying eggs but after that i'm not sure what to do. I can't remember if you are supposed to separate them afterwards or if they both raise the fry or just one parents does it.

Anyone with experience or know-how on this matter?
 

Frank Castle

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You need to separate them immediately after. The male does the care in this species and will kill the female to protect the young from her.
good stuff, how can I tell if the eggs are fertilized? Did I miss anything important in my post?
 

Tifftastic

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The male will put them in the nest after he fertilises them. He'll maintain them and remove any that are dead or unfertilized
 

Tifftastic

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As soon as he's got all the eggs in the nest. I honestly wouldn't do it the jumping way if you want her to survive. You're likely to miss the event that way and may not be able to save her.

I did it by putting a small tank with the female next to the male's tank. Kept her there for about 5 days while he built his nest and waited for her to get stripey, belly full of eggs and spend most of her time near the glass. Then I moved her over with a net and watched them. They did their dance, but then my female tried to kill the male immediately. I had to move her out and into her own tank again, where she promptly built her own bubble nest, for about 5 min I was worried she was actually a he, but then I watched her lay eggs and put them up in her nest. Guess she didn't trust him to do the job lol.

It didnt work that time, but my ex tried it again with a different female after I moved out and said it actually worked. Guess my little Carrie female was just not right. I should have known when she'd attack plants and decor lol.
 

Frank Castle

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As soon as he's got all the eggs in the nest. I honestly wouldn't do it the jumping way if you want her to survive. You're likely to miss the event that way and may not be able to save her.

I did it by putting a small tank with the female next to the male's tank. Kept her there for about 5 days while he built his nest and waited for her to get stripey, belly full of eggs and spend most of her time near the glass. Then I moved her over with a net and watched them. They did their dance, but then my female tried to kill the male immediately. I had to move her out and into her own tank again, where she promptly built her own bubble nest, for about 5 min I was worried she was actually a he, but then I watched her lay eggs and put them up in her nest. Guess she didn't trust him to do the job lol.

It didnt work that time, but my ex tried it again with a different female after I moved out and said it actually worked. Guess my little Carrie female was just not right. I should have known when she'd attack plants and decor lol.
how the heck did the female build her own nest and lay and fertilize her own eggs?
 

Tifftastic

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She didn't fertilize them, just built the nest, released her eggs and put them up in her haphazardly built nest. They all rotted 12 hours later.
Building a nest doesn't take any special ability that the male alone has, it's just a trait that only males exhibit.
 

Frank Castle

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She didn't fertilize them, just built the nest, released her eggs and put them up in her haphazardly built nest. They all rotted 12 hours later.
Building a nest doesn't take any special ability that the male alone has, it's just a trait that only males exhibit.
Any idea what your your water parameters were at this time? My tap comes out at 7.2-7.6PH, but I immediately use salt to soften it and the 20 has 2 big piece of driftwood leaching tannins into the water - do you think that will be enough or should I add a bag of peat moss? I have a piece of Mopani I could also add if that would help...
 

Tifftastic

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I think our tap was 6.8, but we never did anything to alter it and it seemed like they didn't have a problem with it
 
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