We have had a male betta for about a half year in a fishbowl. Yesterday my wife came home with a 2.5g mini-bow and a female betta. Last night there was alot of nose to nose at the tank divider (did i mention the fish are now divided?). Today they seem a little bit more relaxed, but the male has made a huge bubble nest on his side. When is it time to introduce the female to the male?
Are these bettas ready?
- Thread starter BHRay
- Start date
I would feed excellent foods, preferably live, before introducing them. You can usually get live brine shrimp for 99 cents at most fish stores for a huge bag. Sometimes they sell live tubifex worms in little plastic bags. Feed this type of food for at least a couple of days beforehand. If you don't have access to this type of food, at least make sure you're giving them some kind of premium foods for at least a couple of days beforehand.
Keep them next to each other but not together for a few days to get them thinking about each other. You should see the female's belly getting a little fuller, and you should also see a little white spot sticking out a teeny tiny bit where her belly button would be.
If you see these things and they seem to be trying to get at each other, I would introduce them. The male will chase the female around quite a bit. They may even nip fins a little. If this is the first time either one has been mated, there will be a lot more chasing and such before they finally settle down and spawn. Have some plants, plastic or real, in their tank, and/or other places for the female to hide if the male gets a little too aggressive.
Keep an eye on them. If the male just won't leave the female alone for an hour and she is constantly running away, and has clamped fins, or if she is actually being injured, I would take her out and try again later, keeping up with the feeding schedule above and keeping them next to each other for awhile longer. Sooner or later they will mate, and this is a really cool thing to watch! Good luck to you.
Keep them next to each other but not together for a few days to get them thinking about each other. You should see the female's belly getting a little fuller, and you should also see a little white spot sticking out a teeny tiny bit where her belly button would be.
If you see these things and they seem to be trying to get at each other, I would introduce them. The male will chase the female around quite a bit. They may even nip fins a little. If this is the first time either one has been mated, there will be a lot more chasing and such before they finally settle down and spawn. Have some plants, plastic or real, in their tank, and/or other places for the female to hide if the male gets a little too aggressive.
Keep an eye on them. If the male just won't leave the female alone for an hour and she is constantly running away, and has clamped fins, or if she is actually being injured, I would take her out and try again later, keeping up with the feeding schedule above and keeping them next to each other for awhile longer. Sooner or later they will mate, and this is a really cool thing to watch! Good luck to you.
Thx Heady. I live in a small town and lfs's here only have frozen bs and bloodworms. THere is a local guy that is into culturing all sorts of live things - white/black worms, daphnia, rotifers, etc. I think I might run into him again tonight. He's offered to turn me onto some cultures. WHat would be best? Side note: Do I remove the partition (real pain to get back in with gravel in place) or just move her over? THere are lots of plants on both sides.
I have only had experience with Tubifex and brine shrimp. However the daphnia would probably also be good.
After the fish have been prepared, go ahead and remove the partition. That way the female is familiar with all her usual hiding places in case she wants to escape his attentions. If you had them in separate tanks, I would advise putting the male in the female's tank for the same reason.
You don't need to slide the partition all the way to the bottom of the tank to put it back in. Just push it a little of the way into the gravel. That will be fine. These fish don't dig in the gravel, so it's not like they'll be digging a hole under the fence to get at each other.
If the lid of the tank won't close when the partition is not all the way down, then before you slide the partition down, just reach in and spread the gravel apart in the middle before sliding the partition down. Easy.
If you have questions about raising the fry or other questions, feel free to pm me if you like.
Heady
After the fish have been prepared, go ahead and remove the partition. That way the female is familiar with all her usual hiding places in case she wants to escape his attentions. If you had them in separate tanks, I would advise putting the male in the female's tank for the same reason.
You don't need to slide the partition all the way to the bottom of the tank to put it back in. Just push it a little of the way into the gravel. That will be fine. These fish don't dig in the gravel, so it's not like they'll be digging a hole under the fence to get at each other.
If the lid of the tank won't close when the partition is not all the way down, then before you slide the partition down, just reach in and spread the gravel apart in the middle before sliding the partition down. Easy.
If you have questions about raising the fry or other questions, feel free to pm me if you like.
Heady