Can i mate my betta fish

Follow these simple steps, and you'll soon have a school of tiny Betta fish. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close.

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General Pet Care. How to Breed Betta Fish. Pour 6 inches Cut a plastic foam cup in half and place the outer side face up in the corner of the tank. This will be the nest for the fry baby fish. This article has been viewed 1,, times. Breeding Siamese fighting fish, or bettas, is a wonderful hobby. However, it's not something to be taken lightly.

If you have the abundant time, resources, knowledge, and commitment that breeding bettas demands, it can also be a rewarding experience. To breed betta fish, start by putting a male and a female betta fish in separate tanks. Keep your fish like this for a few months so they get used to their new environment. Once your fish are settled in, start feeding them live food, like brine shrimp and bloodworms, so they're healthy for breeding. After your fish have been eating live food for a couple of weeks, put them into a tank together so they're separated by a divider.

Leave them like this for a few days so they get used to each other. Finally, remove the divider and wait for your fish to breed.

To learn what to do after your betta fish breed, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.

By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Explore this Article parts. Things You'll Need. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. Learn as much as possible. When attempting to breed any animal, it is important to know as much as you can about the species. Research betta care and breeding.

There are many great websites and books. More than eggs can come from a single spawn, meaning that you could end up caring for more than betta fish if most survive! You need to know beforehand what you want to get out of the experience. Or are you simply in love with bettas and want to take your hobby to the next level?

Breeding for show or supply is a big undertaking that will require a large investment of time, space, and money. Due to the high start-up and supply costs, it is very difficult to make a profit breeding bettas, so this should not be your goal for some time.

Set up your permanent tanks. When you are ready to try breeding, you need to first prepare to bring your breeding pair home. Set up two tanks as shown in Set Up a Betta Tank. Be sure to cycle the water in both tanks before bringing home any fish. Obtain a breeding pair. Bettas breed best when they are young, so you will have the most success if you find a reputable breeder either online or in your area to purchase a pair from.

If you are able to find a breeder in your area, they can also be an invaluable source of information. Make sure the male and female are about the same size, and consider getting two pairs in case the first pairing doesn't work out. Part 2. Let them settle in. It's best to have your bettas for a few months before you start breeding to allow them to adapt to their environment. Remember, however, that males breed best when they are no more than 14 months old.

Plan to breed them when you have a long, uninterrupted stretch of free time. Make sure you don't have any vacations, business trips, or high-stress events coming up. Set up your breeding tank. The breeding tank should be 5—10 gallons Never add gravel or other substrate to the breeding tank because the eggs will get lost when they fall to the bottom.

Only fill this tank with 5"-6" of water, and set it up where there are few distractions, such as other fish, bright colors, and human activity. Start feeding live food when you are ready to breed them. Live brine shrimp or bloodworms are the best bet, but other worms, crickets, roaches, and other insects cut up will also work.

It's a good idea to raise these yourself or purchase them from a pet store or breeder to avoid the bacteria, dirt, and chemicals that wild insects could be carrying. If live food is unavailable, you can also try frozen or freeze-dried brine shrimp and bloodworms. Begin raising fry food. Betta fry are very small, and only eat live food, so you will need a supply of very very small live food to feed them when they are ready.

Start now to be sure you have a good supply in a few weeks when you need it. Microworms are probably the best food, but some breeders prefer infusoria or vinegar eels. Baby brine shrimp can also be fed, but only in moderation alongside another food source, as too much may cause swim bladder disorder.

Introduce the pair. When the live food cultures are going strong and the breeding pair has been eating live food for a week or two, you are ready to introduce your bettas. Move the male and female so they can see one another clearly, but are separated. You can either put their tanks next to each other, or introduce them to opposite sides of the tank divider in the breeding tank.

It is essential that they are able to see each other before being put together to minimize the risk of serious injury. Some breeders release males into an undivided breeding tank and use a clear plastic cup or oil lamp chimney to introduce the female. When using this method, the female should only be introduced for a few hours each day, as she is being contained in a very small space.

Let them watch one another for a few days. Some breeders then separate the pair for a few days before introducing them for a few more days, then proceeding to the next step. Observe their behavior. Watch the bettas to see if they seem interested in one another. The male will swim around, displaying his fins, flaring and generally showing off. The female will display vertical bars on her body and will angle her head down submissively. Some aggressive displays are normal, but if they are flaring and trying to attack one another through the divider, do not put them together.

Instead, it may be best to separate them and try again later, or try a different pair of betta. Sometimes the betta fish fight so it would be better if you take a little time to watch and wait. Part 3. Remove the divider. Once your male is ready to breed, he will build a large bubble nest which will take days. When this happens, turn off the filter and release the female into the tank, but be sure to keep an eye on the pair.

The male will probably bully her some, nipping at fins and chasing her around. This is ok as long as neither fish's life is in danger. This courtship may last several hours or even days. Be sure there are plenty of hiding places for the female to escape the bullying, and check on the pair regularly to prevent serious injuries.

Let nature take its course. The male will finally get the female under his bubble nest and they will embrace. It may take a few embraces to produce eggs. Then the female will go into a 'zombie-like' state while the white eggs fall to the ground from her little white ovipositor. The male will swim down and scoop them up, putting them one by one into the nest. Some females will help with this once they recover, but others will eat the eggs, so watch carefully and remove her if she is eating them.

They may embrace many more times, but eventually the female will stop releasing eggs. Remove the female betta. Once the female is done releasing eggs, the male will bully her again, and she will hide. She will carefully inspect the nest before breeding. The nest also helps to protect the eggs until they hatch. After between 12 to 24 hours, the bubble nest will most likely be complete. This is the time to allow the male and female betta fish to interact.

Once the female has been released, she should swim directly to the bubble nest. If she disapproves, she will either leave or destroy the nest. The male may work on the nest again, perfecting it, and you can try breeding the betta fish again. If the female stays near the nest, it means she approves of it. At this point, the male will swim to her and begin dancing around her.

He will also start to chase the female around the tank. The male and female will swim close to each other, potentially flaring their fins at each other every so often. This pattern of chasing or swimming next to each other can continue for up to three hours. During this time, try not to disturb the betta fish.

The male will turn the female over and wrap himself around her. The eggs may not be released during the first embrace, but the male and female will embrace several times until all of the eggs are released.

The egg laying process can happen quickly, taking only a few minutes, or may go on for a few hours. Once the male and female bettas stop embracing, the female will need to be removed from the tank. At this point, the male will also become territorial once again and may attack the female.

The male betta will spend the next few days after the eggs have been laid caring for them and keeping the bubble nest in shape. You may also see him eat an egg every now and then. Betta eggs usually hatch within two or three days. The baby bettas, or fry, will wiggle out of their eggs and drop from the nest.

The male will collect them and put them back. Once the fry begin swimming on their own, the male can be moved back to his own tank. The young fry should be fed nutritious foods such as microworms, infusoria, or vinegar eels. As the fry grow, they can be offered slightly larger foods, such as baby brine shrimp. After about two months , the fry will begin to mature. Give each fish its own aquarium or jar. In the long run, how to breed betta fish comes down to carefully planning the betta breeding and ensuring that your fish are always healthy and safe.

Then, create the perfect breeding environment by setting up a betta breeding tank. Introduce the fish to each other carefully, keeping the female separate until the bubble nest has been constructed and both fish are displaying breeding behavior. Once the eggs are laid, the female betta should be removed, while the male betta remains to take care of the nest and eggs.

After the fry become free-swimming, the male can also be returned to his tank. This entire process usually takes about a week.

The baby fry can be fed on very tiny foods such as infusoria, moving on to larger foods as they grow. Once they begin to show their colors, which usually happens at around the two-month mark, the bettas can be separated into their own tanks.