ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How To Breed Siamese Fighting Fish (Part One)

Updated on October 6, 2009
Male Betta 'Z' with his bubble nest.
Male Betta 'Z' with his bubble nest.

Breeding betta fish can be fun and rewarding if you have good stock and a breeding goal. However it can also be difficult to achieve and if it is successful it can sometimes result in hundreds of betta fry. As a breeder, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for all these fry one way or another. Fry culling is often a necessity of breeding. Are you prepared to feed little baby bettas to a larger fish, such as a Chichlid? Or to euthanize them in another way? If not, I don't recommend that you allow your bettas to breed.

To Breed Bettas You Will Need:


  • You need a spawning tank. Ideally, a 10 gallon bare bottom tank with a lot of plants in it like java moss or oxyweed. The tank should not be filled up too high, usually half way is ideal. A simple sponge filter is a good idea, although this should not be on once your fish start spawning. You'll need it later when the fry start to produce copious amounts of waste. Keep the tank at around 26 – 28 degrees Celcius. Some people advocate placing a styrofoam cup cut in half lengthways at the top of the water and taping it in place to give the male somewhere to build his bubble nest. This is not a bad idea and does provide a good structural spot for the male to create a nice big bubble nest.
  • You need a male and a female of similar size. Ideally the male should be larger than the female. Why?

Because the spawning process involves the male wrapping himself around the female in an embrace and squeezing the eggs from her. If the male is not large enough, then he cannot squeeze the eggs out, and if he is too large, then the power of his embrace could very well kill your female.

Ensure that your fish are not too old. Bettas can begin breeding at around three to four months of age, and they hit their 'prime' around seven months. It is not a good idea to breed a betta that is over a year old as males often lose interest in breeding past this age, and if they do breed it can sometimes be all too much for them and they end up dying after spawning.

If you love your fish and want to ensure that they stay alive, then it is important that you choose two healthy young fish who have been conditioned for two weeks before the event. This means plenty of good quality foods such as blood worms. There's no need to over feed them, just make sure that they are in good physical condition. Spawning takes a lot out of both parties and it is not uncommon for one or both fish to die after spawning.

I say it is not uncommon, but that doesn't mean that it is entirely acceptable. You can do a lot to ensure that your two fish spawn in relative safety.

Read more...

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)