Breeding Betta Fish - An Essential Guide

When you decide to breed your Betta Fish, the first step is to make sure you are ready. It will take time, money, space for around fifty jars to separate males, a secure pond with no other fish and a good level of experience caring for Bettas already.
Presuming the answer is yes; the next step is to obtain a female. This can be difficult, as few stores sell them. Once you have both, don't leave them in the same tank. Start with cheap Bettas, to avoid wasting lots of money. Later on, after you become an expert, you can try to breed your own masterpieces. Look for fish with some energy to increase the chances of spawning. The chosen fish should be between seven and eighteen months old, and a spare pair just in case is also a wise precaution.
Prepare the mating tank, ten gallons is about right. Don't add much decorations or gravel, but some large leafed plants will help the female hide from the male. The temperature should be around eighty degrees and the depth about six inches until the fry, or baby fish, begin swimming. Normally, you wouldn't worry about air filtration with Bettas, but the fry will require it. However, they cannot handle a powerful filter. The old-fashioned box type, powered by an air pump is best, and the carbon filter that came with the pump is not acceptable. Instead, use floss or sponges. This is to avoid bad reactions between the carbon and an anti-fungal treatment. It is wise to let the pump operate through a complete cycle before fish are exposed to it to allow bacteria to grow.
Begin feeding the fish high quality food. One breeder recommends the following sequence: BettaMin, Freeze Dried Blood Worms, some live or frozen brine shrimp, then a few live Black Worms. Others swear by tubifex worms and other combinations. Do not overfeed, as this will still force you to clean the tank and replace the water more often. Change twenty percent of the water in each tank each day to help prevent this and encourage the fish to get ready to breed. The male should be in the breeding tank, and should be able to see the female in her tank. He should begin to build a bubble nest.
With the high quality food, the female should begin to plump up as eggs are produced. With lighter colored breeds you can sometimes see the eggs, and the fish should produce horizontal stripes when ready. If that isn't showing, look near the anal fin for a white gravid tube. If this is showing, she is ready.
Now comes the key moment. Plan for at least an hour when you can be present to supervise. Put the female in the water with the male. There can be some rough treatment, including some mutual fin nipping or even worse behavior. If it gets too rough, remove the female and plan to wait a few days to let her recover, but if you don't give them a chance, there won't ever be any fry. If all goes well, they will conduct what is called an embrace, and she will produce eggs under the bubble nest. He will fertilize them and begin to care for the eggs. The female should be removed now, lest she become fish food.
For the next two days, the male will keep the eggs cleaned and in the bubble nest, recovering any that fall. Then come the fry. For about thirty-six hours, they'll be unable to move out of the tank. Around two days after hatching, the first fry will begin to swim without help. At this point, remove the male fish lest the fry become fish food. A day after the fry hatch, they need their first feeding, and baby brine shrimp, daphnia, microworms, or liquid fry food for egg layers are good choices. They'll need feeding up to five times a day.
Now comes the hard part. Many experienced breeders say this can only be done in a suitable pond. The temperature must be above at least 68 and preferably 70 degrees. There must be no fish to eat the fry, and a variety of tiny aquatic creatures to eat.
After about ten days, they can take a little powdered food. This is a small amount of very finely crushed flake food. They should be about a quarter of an inch long. At about four weeks, they should be around a half inch long, and should begin to show sexual dimorphism, so you can tell the males from the females. Separate the males from each other before fighting begins.

Breeding Betta Fish Made Easy In 5 Steps

I got my first betta fish as a teenager and enjoyed that first betta for several years.
The Siamese Fighting Fish, commonly called betta, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish. Bettas earn the nickname "jewel of the orient" because of their range of brilliant colors. The males particularly sport long flowing beautiful fins. Their beauty causes many to enjoy the hobby of breeding betta fish.
The temperament of the fish is very aggressive. Males especially will readily fight other males. Females may also be prone to fight.
1. Care of males and females.
It is essential to distinguish between males and females, but it isn't always easy to do. Males do tend to have larger and fuller fins. Studying pictures of the differences will help. Each male should be kept in his own bowl or tank. Two males in the same tank will usually fight until one is dead. Even a male and female should be together only briefly for spawning. Otherwise the male will often treat the female roughly and do permanent damage.
Several females can usually be kept in the same tank provided there is sufficient room. There should be more than two females, otherwise one will dominate and continually chase the other female.
2. Water conditions are important for breeding betta fish.
The betta's native habitat is vast, shallow freshwater paddies of Southeast Asia. The fish must have access to the surface of the water, since it takes oxygen directly from the atmosphere as well as through their gills. Since they can get oxygen from the surface, they can survive in smaller spaces and poorer condition than other aquarium fish. Though they do best in clean, filtered water. They can be kept in bowls under the right conditions, but a portion of the water should be changed very frequently. It's best to allow about three gallons per fish. And it's recommended to have a minimum tank size of six gallons so a heater can be used. The right water temperature is 75 - 84 degrees F. At those temperatures the fish will be quite active.
3. Choose the right food.
Bettas are carnivorous but they can do well on food labelled for betta fish. The addition of live or frozen blood worms (mosquito larvae) and live or frozen shrimp brine is recommended. Most aquarium bred fish will also accept dried flaked aquarium tropical fish food.
4. Mating.
Males build a nest of air bubbles for the baby fish or fry. And the males care for the young.
For spawning, a female is introduced into the male tank. If conditions are right for mating, the male fish will squeeze the female. Eggs will be expelled, then fertilized by the male. The female should then be removed to her tank to prevent her injury by the male fish. Even if spawning does not take place, the female should be removed.
The male fish will care for the eggs until the fry emerge in a few days.
5. Providing for the young.
The released little fish or fry are very tiny and vulnerable. Most often they are raised in special ponds where they feed on tiny microscopic living creatures. Some have success raising the fry in bowls or aquariums. But the conditions must be right, similar to the usual pond environment.
For much more information on breeding bettas and successfully raising

Betta Breeding in Easy Steps

The Siamese Fighting Fish, commonly called betta, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish. Bettas earn the nickname "jewel of the orient" because of their brilliant colors. The males particularly sport long, flowing, beautiful fins. If you see bettas in a pet store what you usually see are the males. People like the beautiful colors and usually purchase one at a time as "pets".
The temperament of the fish is very aggressive. Males especially will readily fight other males. Females may also be prone to fight.
Separate care of males and females.
It is essential to distinguish between adult males and females, but it isn't always easy to do. It's important though, since two males in close quarters will engage in fish-to-fish combat to the death. They don't get along very well with most other fish either! Very foul in disposition, aren't they!
Males tend to have larger, more colorful and fuller fins. Studying pictures of the differences will help you learn to tell them apart. Each male should be kept in his own bowl or tank. Two males in the same tank will usually fight until one is dead. Even a male and female should be together only briefly for spawning. Otherwise the male will often treat the female roughly and do permanent damage, at least to the ripping of fins.
Several females can usually be kept in the same tank provided there is sufficient room. However, there should be more than two females, otherwise one will dominate and continually chase the other female. Some aquatic plants in the tank make it easier for the fish to maintain some separation.
Water conditions.
The betta's native habitat is the vast, shallow freshwater paddies of Southeast Asia. The fish must have access to the surface of the water, since it takes oxygen directly from the atmosphere as well as through their gills. Since they can get oxygen from the surface, they can survive in smaller spaces and poorer condition than other aquarium fish. The little cups that the fish are purchased in at a pet store certainly aren't adequate. They actually do best in clean, filtered water.
Male fish are often kept in bowls of about one and one-half gallons without supplemental heat or oxygen. If kept like this, the water should be changed when it becomes cloudy, every one to two weeks. Or you can change about 20 percent of the water every day or two. Then every few weeks you can completely clean the tank including all the gravel.
The general recommendation is to allow about three gallons per fish. So with a ten gallon tank three or four females would have plenty of room. And it's recommended to have a minimum tank size of six gallons so a heater can be used. With smaller tanks a heater can cause more temperature variation than the fish can tolerate. The right water temperature is 75 - 84 degrees F. At those temperatures the fish will be quite active.
The fish can also do well at 65 - 75 degrees F, though they will not be as active at the lower temperature. Since they aren't as active at the cooler temperature, the bowls will stay cleaner.
Feeding your breeding bettas.
Bettas are carnivorous, but can usually do well on food labelled for betta fish. The addition of live or frozen blood worms (mosquito larvae) and live or frozen shrimp brine is recommended. Most aquarium bred fish will also accept dried flaked aquarium tropical fish food.
Some breeders recommend black worms as supplemental feed especially for spawning females. Black worms are Lumbriculus variegatus. The worms can be kept in cool, clean, unchlorinated water. Some breeds of fish do not like these worms, but bettas prefer them.
Mating.
Males build a nest of air bubbles for the baby fish or fry.
For spawning, a female is introduced into the male tank. If conditions are right for mating, the male fish will squeeze the female. Eggs will be expelled, then fertilized by the male. The eggs will float into the bubble nest. The female should then be removed to her tank to prevent her injury by the male fish. Even if spawning does not take place, the female should be removed.
The male fish will care for the eggs until the young emerge in a few days.
The fry.
The released little fish or fry are very tiny and vulnerable. Most often they are raised in special ponds where they feed on tiny microscopic living creatures. Some have success raising the fry in bowls or acquariums. But the conditions must be right, similar to the usual pond environment.
For much more information on breeding bettas and successfully raising

10 Essential Betta Tank Setup Tips

Just like any other pet, you are going to have to do a bit of work to make sure that your new betta will live in comfort. If you are bringing home a new betta fish there are a variety of setup tasks that you will need to do to make sure that your betta will have a healthy tank to call home. The following are some essential tips for setting up the tank for your new betta fish.
Tip #1 - Tanks Size - It is important that you have a tank or bowl that will be large enough for your new betta fish. You want to be sure that when your betta swims around he will not constantly be bumping into the sides and hurting his fins. Make sure that the tank gives enough swimming space and that it has a large enough surface so enough oxygen will be available for your fish.
Tip #2 - Have a Cover for the Tank - Another important setup tip for your tank is that you have a cover for your tank as well. If you do not have a cover, or you fail to put the cover on, your fish may jump out of the tank and either hurt himself or die.
Tip #3 - Treat the Water - It can actually be dangerous to use water straight from the tap for your betta fish; however, using bottled or purified water is not the answer either. The best thing to do is to treat the water from your tap with a product like Amquel or Stress Coat to help get rid of the chlorine in the water. After treating the water it probably should set for almost a week to make sure that all the chemicals have evaporated from the water. Chlorine can actually kill your betta, so be sure that you treat the water first.
Tip #4 - Choose the Right Substrate - It is important that you choose the right substrate for in your tank as well. More than likely you will want some plants in your tank so you want a substrate that is great for both the plants and your fish. While the colored substrate may look great, it is probably a bad idea since the paint can flake off causing problems. Choose a natural color of substrate, and one that will be conducive to both plants and your betta fish. Many times sand is actually a very cheap and excellent choice.
Tip #5 - Choose Appropriate Plants - Plants are a great idea for your fish tank since they can help keep the water cleaner and also provide the tank with more oxygen, but it is important that you choose the right plants for your betta. One of the best plants to use in a betta tank is the Amazon Sword plant; however, you may need to keep this plant trimmed if it starts to take over the tank.
Tip #6 - Tank Temperature - Having your tank at the right temperature is very important for your betta fish as well. Usually the best temperature for your betta fish tank is about 80 F. Any colder than this can be hard on your fish, and too warm can be a problem as well.
Tip #7 - Food for Your Betta - It is important that you also have the right food available for your betta as well. Now it is possible to get betta fish food tablets to feed your fish, but you may want to have some live food to give them as well. It is very important that you do not overfeed your betta fish or it can cause problems in the water or result in your betta overeating, which is not healthy. Try to make sure that your betta gets a well rounded diet to keep him healthy.
Tip #8 - Provide Light - It is also important that you can provide your betta fish with enough light. Both your betta fish and the healthy bacteria will need plenty of light, so you may want to install a light in the tank if you feel they may need more light. Make sure that they get at least eight hours of good light each day. It is also important that you turn out the light at night so your fish can get some sleep as well.
Tip #9 - Tank Placement - If you do not have a light for your aquarium, make sure you place the tank where it will get plenty of light. You also need to make sure that you have an aquarium stand that will take the weight of a full tank as well.
Tip #10 - Avoid Metal Decorations - One important thing to remember when you are setting up a tank for your fish is to avoid metal decorations. Metal can cause serious problems for your betta, so you need to avoid it in your tank. Those metal tank decorations may look great, but they can actually kill your betta, so forget about using them in your tank.

Beware of These Common Betta Fish Illnesses

Betta fish make fun and beautiful pets, but more than likely your betta fish is going to get sick at some point in time. It is important that you are prepared to treat your betta when he is sick and this includes being aware of various diseases that affect betta fish, their symptoms, and how you can treat them. Once you know the basics of betta fish diseases you will be better prepared to recognize and treat your betta to prevent the disease becoming too serious or even fatal. The following are five of the most common diseases that affect betta fish.
Tail or Fin Rot
Tail rot and fin rot are common betta diseases that are caused by water that becomes too dirty. You can actually prevent this disease from ever affecting your fish if you are careful to always keep their water clean. As a general rule this is an easy condition to treat and it does not seem to be contagious either. If you treat your fish as soon as possible you will be able to stop the progression of the disease and their tails and fins will grow back.
Some of the symptoms to look for include the betta's tail and fins getting shorter and shorter. Their fins may also start to have a darker color and they may appear as if they are dissolving or actually falling apart. While some betta's may not even act sick, others may stop eating, get clumped fins, and start looking pale.
Thankfully treating tail and fin rot is fairly easy and will provide results in a few weeks. For treatment you will need to do a full jar water change and use Fungus Eliminator, as well as either tetracycline or Triple Sulfa. After the initial change you will need to be sure to change the water every three days and when you do you should add more medication to the water as well. It is important that you continue the treatment until you fish improves and you seen new fin and tail growth occurring. This may take a few weeks, so continue the treatment until your fish improve.
Ick
Another very common disease in betta fish is ick. Ick is actually a type of parasite and many times it is present in frozen food that is live. Although ick is one of the most contagious betta diseases, it can be treated. You can prevent your fish from getting ick by adding Aquarisol and salt to your fish's water.
If you start to see white dots appearing on your betta's body, including the head and even his eyes, this is a sign that your fish has ick. More than likely your beta will also become much less active than before and may appear sick and have clumped fins as well. They may feel itchy, so you may see them darting and rubbing against rocks in their tanks.
Since ick is such a contagious disease it is best to go ahead and treat the entire tank of fish for disease. Ick is very sensitive to temperature, so you should raise the temperature in your tank to about 85 degrees F. For every gallon in your tank, add one drop of Aquarisol every single day until your fish are better. Usually it will only take a few days to get rid of this disease.
Dropsy
Dropsy is actually the most common disease among bettas and it is also the most likely to be fatal to your fish as well. While not a great deal is known about this disease many feel that it is linked to live foods, and it especially seems linked to feeding them the black worms. Many people have found that they can prevent dropsy all together by not allowing their fish to eat black worms.
The symptoms of dropsy are quite easy to recognize and they include a bloated belly and scales that appear as if they are raised. The raised scales may actually appear very similar to a pine cone.
Unfortunately there is not a known cure for this betta fish disease. It is, however, very important that you isolate the betta that appears to have dropsy as soon as possible so the other fish will not contract the disease.
Swim Bladder Disorder
Another very common disease that betta's may get is swim bladder disorder. This actually comes as a result from feeding them too much. This disease is not contagious, and as a general rule it affects the younger bettas if they have eaten to much or have become very stressed.
If you see a betta that is having a hard time swimming, seems off balance, or prefers to just lay near the bottom, there is a good chance they are suffering from swim bladder disorder. Many times you will see them just sliding along on the bottom of the tank as well.
Many times you will find that your betta will recover by himself, but it is probably a good idea to not feed them as much for a few days. It is also helpful to eliminate brine shrimp from their diet as well, as this can actually cause part of the problem. In the future, try to be sure that you feed your fish a balanced diet to prevent this from happening again.
These are just a few of the common betta fish diseases that you my deal with in your bettas. Other diseases that bettas may have to deal with include external parasites, bacterial infection, fungal infection, depression, and velvet. Having medications on hand such as tetracyclin, Ampicillin, jungle fungus eliminator, and maracin 1 and 2. Just taking some simple preventive measures can help keep your fish from developing many of these diseases, but it important to know what to do if these diseases occur in your fish.

Choosing Plants for Your Betta Fish Tank

Betta fish use plants as a defensive strategy in their natural environments. This allows them to avoid contact with predators and other male Bettas Nervous or threatened-feeling Bettas will squeeze through close together plants to escape danger. Because of this, it is important to include some kind of plant in your Betta's tank, to reduce stress and allow it to feel that it can hide. While some people prefer artificial plants in their aquariums, live plants help to take care of harmful chemical byproducts in the tank, such as ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. They also perform the important function of gas exchange, keeping the water more oxygenated than an environment without plants or with artificial plants. Soft and leafy plants are preferred, to prevent damage to the Betta's scales should it squeeze between leaves or branches.
Plants do require light, however. An aquarium with live plants should have either access to sunlight or a light built into the hood. Some plants which are recommended for use with Betta fish are the floating Water Sprite, Hornwort, and Elodea. Tiger Lotus is considered good for use in tanks with breeding Bettas since it puts out a lily-pad-like leaf that sits on the surface of the water. Male Bettas use this leaf to shelter their bubble nests. Be sure to keep an eye on your Betta tank's plants, since dead and rotting vegetation can be bad for the water quality. Java Moss and Java Ferns can thrive in uncycled bowls without any filtration. They also require low to medium light, and are thus suitable for aquariums or enclosures that cannot be put close to a window.
Live plants for your Betta tank can be found locally from some aquarium stores or ordered from the Internet. All plants should be bright green and very healthy looking. They should also be quarantined before placing them in with the fish, to make sure that they do not carry diseases or parasites that could harm your Betta Be sure to acquire plants from a reputable source. It is wise to do some research into your supplier before purchasing live plants for your Betta tank. Bettas tend to interact more with live plants than with artificial plants. Many types of artificial plants are also rough and could damage fins and scales. Unlike fake plants, real ones will also sway attractively in the water as the fish swims through them. When the time comes to clean the tank, some plants can be gently removed and rinsed if this is desired. This is particularly easy when using free floating plants like the Java fern.

Guide to Betta Fish Food

Bettas are carnivorous. In the wild, they live off of insects and their larvae. Their mouth is designed to snatch prey on the surface of the water, and their digestive tract is too short to metabolize most plants. This means they are best suited for live food, but they can adapt to flakes and frozen or freeze dried foods.
If flake food is used, it should be supplemented by frozen, freeze dried or live food.
Brine shrimp, Daphnia, plankton, tubifex, glassworms, and beef heart are all good choices to feed Bettas, and are commonly available frozen or freeze dried. Note that Bettas can take up to a week to recognize a new food type, so you should keep the staple food constant and supplement with treats and other types of food occasionally. Most appear to prefer a mix of brine shrimp and bloodworms for their Bettas.
There are dedicated Betta foods on the market. These are usually pellets and should float on the surface for easy consumption. Hikari Betta Bio-Gold is well regarded, as are HBH Betta Bites and San Francisco Bay Brand Betta Food, which is essentially freeze dried bloodworms. Other brands have complaints about Bettas refusing to eat, inadequate nutrition and sinking pellets that Bettas can't consume fast enough.
With the Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, there are complaints about the packaging, but the larger sizes are easier to use. Remember that each Betta only needs about three pellets, and overfeeding will result in contamination of the tank. This is both because of food that rots and excess defecation from the overfed fish.
Some Bettas won't eat bloodworms, while others adore them. However, bloodworms are not a complete diet, and should be used as a treat or supplement for those fish that appreciate them. Most say their Bettas prefer live food, but some believe that too much live food can be bad for a Betta.
Let the Betta see the food coming. Drop the food right in front of the fish, so he doesn't have to hunt for it. If the food isn't eaten immediately, you should wait for the fish, but if it isn't consumed in 15 minutes, remove it and try again later. Start small, perhaps 6 brine shrimp, and if the Betta eats them all and there is no sign of belly distention, and the fish still acts hungry, you may feed it a little more, but the second feeding should be smaller.
There are products marketed at Betta vacation foods, but results are mixed. Some appear to swear by them, while others complain of the overfeeding issues listed above.
Additionally, many fish foods claim to be color enhancers. It appears the actual importance is proper nutrition and good conditions, so any good source of nutrients would be about as effective in color enhancement as any other.
Adult Bettas can be happy with feedings once or twice a day, provided care is taken to present a balanced diet and the correct amount of food is provided.