bad nest-sitter

[Aquarius0015]

One of my male bettas is tending to his nest after his very first spawning, but is doing a very bad job of it! To begin with, there were hardly any bubbles in the nest, and every time he interferes with it, two or three eggs fall out (and he usually only is able to save one or two of those that fall). He seems to be doing more harm than good. If I take him out, do the babies stand a chance?

On the positive side of things, this was my very first attempt, and I'm amazed I even got eggs at all!

One last question: I hear that having live plants in the water introduces insuforia, which make a wonderful fry food. Is this true, or should I make some of my own with a piece of veggie in water under a lamp?

 

[PumaWard]

Many male bettas won't get it right on the first or second try, leave him in there, it will help give him more experience.

 

[Aquarius0015]

All the eggs are now gone. I assume he knocked them all out. Pity. How long before I attempt breeding attempt number 2? I'm thinking maybe 2 weeks so everyone gets a chance to recuperate.

Just to address a few possible concerns the forum might have...

The bettas are veil tails from a LFS. I know genetically, they are crap, but I want to practice on the cheap kind before I decide I want to invest $100 or so in a pair of show bettas.

As far as the great number of fry (if I ever get any!), many of them will become feeders for my other fish (cruel, but practical and natural). I do have a number of friends who said they would love to have a betta that I raised, and I am also on good terms with a manager at a nice LFS. I don't expect to be paid, but store credit would be nice. Bettas are one of the store's best sellers, and they are usually out of stock halfway through the week. At any rate, I'm interested in this for fun, not money.

 

[LittleLoach]

From experiance, I found that giving them about 1 month is the best, especially if you are going to be using the same female. A number of places recommend as little as 1 to 2 weeks which I think is a little cruel, especially given the amount of effort that goes into it.

And I agree with PumaWard, most don't get it right the first few times. I had one that took 5 times before it sunk in. A little thick that one - in the end turned out to be the best father of the lot.

Good luck with your exploits. It's a lot of fun.

 

[NatakuTseng]

Probably the best way to determine how long to wait is let the female have enough time for her finnage to grow back, Males usually beat on the females and tear fins, so if you give her enough time for them to grow back, she's probably healthy and ready to go again. Puma and I had two bettas in our 75 who would spawn (in the community aquarium remind you, there were 2 male bettas and 3 females in there, with no probs what so ever, I don't reccomend trying that though)every week, and both were kept in great condition. The male that spawned with her, who we still have, was great on the females, didn't hardly touch them. So it depends on the fish, let her fins grow back and try again. I have also read it takes at least a week for the eggs to develop in the female, and from my own experience that is a farse. Any female we have spawned took 1-3 days after introduction to the male till she was ready to spawn.

 

[Aquarius0015]

Luckily there was no fin damage. Either he was "all talk" or she was very quick. Or maybe a combination of both. NatakuTseng, it's amazing that you were able to keep two males in one tank. I don't think I'll try to duplicate your success in my 12 gal community, though.