An Overview of the Process of Breeding Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens)
The method by which Siamese Fighting Fish breed is one of the most fascinating of any fish.
Although there are no guarantees to success, the odds of a successful spawn will be greatly increased by following these simple steps.
You will find many variations to to these steps among successful breeders of these fish however this provides a basic outline as a starting point.
1.
Prepare the fish To prepare the fish provide each with a private container that contains good quality water and gradually increase the water temperature to 80 degrees.
For roughly two weeks feed the fish high quality food suitable for betas.
Live food is ideal, frozen live food would be next, after this good quality dried food will work in most cases.
2.
Prepare breeding tank The breeding tank should consist of a five or ten gallon tank with no filtration and good quality water.
Include a flower pot turned on it side or some similar feature that will allow the female a place to hide.
A Styrofoam cup cut in half lengthwise and floated on the surface with the opening to the cup against the glass at the opposite end of the tank from the hiding place for the female will provide the male a place to build the nest.
The last feature necessary is a class chimney that would be used on a lantern should be stood up in the tank.
This chimney will allow the female to be in the tank but prevent initial contact.
The male will have the ability to court the female as he builds the nest without inflicting damage on the female.
3.
Introduce the male Introduce the male to the tank as you would a new fish into an aquarium.
Give him a day or so to get used to his environment then introduce the female into the tank.
Again, introduce the female as you would any new fish to the aquarium and be sure to place her inside the chimney so that the male does not have access to her.
4.
Remove the chimney Next, allow the male enough time to build his nest.
Once the next has been established the chimney many be slowly removed from the tank releasing the female into the tank.
Although the male may be rough on the female, his focus should be on courting her then returning to the nest attempting to entice her.
If his focus is on attacking her and does not divert, remove the fish and start over.
5.
Remove the female If the two successfully breed the male will usually drive the female away from the nest once they are finished.
At this point the males focus will be on tending to the next and catching any eggs that fall from the nest.
At this point the female may be removed from the tank and the spawn was successful.
Although there are no guarantees to success, the odds of a successful spawn will be greatly increased by following these simple steps.
You will find many variations to to these steps among successful breeders of these fish however this provides a basic outline as a starting point.
1.
Prepare the fish To prepare the fish provide each with a private container that contains good quality water and gradually increase the water temperature to 80 degrees.
For roughly two weeks feed the fish high quality food suitable for betas.
Live food is ideal, frozen live food would be next, after this good quality dried food will work in most cases.
2.
Prepare breeding tank The breeding tank should consist of a five or ten gallon tank with no filtration and good quality water.
Include a flower pot turned on it side or some similar feature that will allow the female a place to hide.
A Styrofoam cup cut in half lengthwise and floated on the surface with the opening to the cup against the glass at the opposite end of the tank from the hiding place for the female will provide the male a place to build the nest.
The last feature necessary is a class chimney that would be used on a lantern should be stood up in the tank.
This chimney will allow the female to be in the tank but prevent initial contact.
The male will have the ability to court the female as he builds the nest without inflicting damage on the female.
3.
Introduce the male Introduce the male to the tank as you would a new fish into an aquarium.
Give him a day or so to get used to his environment then introduce the female into the tank.
Again, introduce the female as you would any new fish to the aquarium and be sure to place her inside the chimney so that the male does not have access to her.
4.
Remove the chimney Next, allow the male enough time to build his nest.
Once the next has been established the chimney many be slowly removed from the tank releasing the female into the tank.
Although the male may be rough on the female, his focus should be on courting her then returning to the nest attempting to entice her.
If his focus is on attacking her and does not divert, remove the fish and start over.
5.
Remove the female If the two successfully breed the male will usually drive the female away from the nest once they are finished.
At this point the males focus will be on tending to the next and catching any eggs that fall from the nest.
At this point the female may be removed from the tank and the spawn was successful.
