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Tips
on Spawning Bubblenesting
Bettas By Paul Leong Preparation The
preparation phase is the first phase and is just as important as the
phase when you introduce the mating pair to their love nest.
The first thing you need to consider is the age of the bettas. The male must be at least 3 ½ months of age with
at least an inch of body length. Males
can develop interest in the opposite sex as early as 2.5 – 3 months
but it is advisable to wait until their reproductive organs are fully
developed. The body length is an important factor in the
mating process because they use their bodies to wrap around their female
partner. You therefore need to
make sure that the male is larger than the female!
Females mature faster sexually than males, so make sure that
the female is at least 3 months old to insure that her reproductive
organs are fully functioning. Put the pair in separate containers so they can see each other, but at the same time, you need to be able to provide a non-transparent barrier that you can put between them when needed. This barrier could be a cardboard, or anything opaque that will prevent them from seeing each other.
Fig. 1. Female in transparent "chute" showing her vertical bars, indicating her interest in the light colored male on the right.
Set
the temperature to 76 – 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and increase the frequency
with which you feed the targeted pair for a week or two before introducing
them to their mating tank. The
increased feeding is important to do because they will need a lot of
energy for the mating process. When
feeding, you also need to pay attention to the amount of food that you
provide, because overfeeding can cause a disease called “dropsy”, where
the fish’s body will swell, and the scales stand up.
(It is very difficult to cure a betta
of this disease). Perform frequent water changes (~50% water change
every 2 days) and add salt (about ¼ tsp non-iodized salt per 10 gallons)
to the tank with every water change.
It
is also helpful to introduce tannins with every water change.
There are several ways to do this.
The quickest way is to let a tea bag soak in the tank until the
water gets light to medium brown in color. You can also brew the tea first, then let it cool to roughly the same temperature as your aquarium
before adding it to the tank. Use
a medicine dropper to add 10-20 drops of the tea to the tank. You can also add tannins to the tank by first
microwaving a dried brown leaf for 30 seconds
to kill any bacteria, then placing it into the tank.
Remove
the non-transparent barrier every once in a while (about every 3 days)
to see the pair’s reaction to each other’s presence. If they are ready to breed, you should see a
frenzied reaction from them that looks like they are “going at each
other” the moment they are aware of each other’s presence.
The male will also create a bubble nest, and the female will
display dark vertical striped on its body (usually visible only on dark
colored betta females). Clean
the spawning tank so that it is free of any parasites and harmful bacteria.
You will also need to provide a structure that will enable the
female to either run away or hide from the male if she needs to.
The way to do that is to add some plants, driftwood or artificial
plants near one side of the aquarium.
The purpose of this structure is to provide an escape route and
a safe haven for the female during those times that she needs to get
away from her aggressive male suitor. This is important because otherwise the male
could kill the female during the mating process if the female has no
way to escape him. Position
the escape structure near the filter. This way the filter can provide additional structure
behind which the female can hide and escape, and it can also provide
a source of oxygenated water to help the female recover from the numerous
chasings and bitings that she will typically
suffer during the spawning ritual. Position
the heater and targeted spawning area opposite the filter and escape
structure - diagonally opposite is preferable.
You want to have the source of heat close where the fry will
hatch and where the pair will mate.
Positioning of the filter diagonally on the opposite side of
the targeted spawning area ensures that the targeted spawning area has
little or no water movement. For
the spawning area, the classic approach is using a half Styrofoam cup
or a piece of waxed paper to provide the platform for the male to build
his bubble nest. My preference
is to use a dried leaf (Indian
Almond/Cattapa leaf) and/or a floating water
sprite plant. The reason for
using the dried leaf is because it not only provides a bubble nest platform
but also produces tannins beneficial to the mating pair.
Use additional tea bags in the spawning tank if needed to help
induce the spawning action. The
leaves of the water sprite provide a natural platform for the male’s
bubble nest, its roots provide a natural hiding
place for the fry, as well as a platform for infusoria
to accumulate. The water sprite will also help to absorb the
toxins in the water such as ammonia, nitrites, etc. (Recently I found that the male bettas will also create bubblenests
under duckweed.) Lower
the water level in the tank down to a depth of about 4 to 6 inches so
that the male will not have to spend as much energy trying to retrieve
the falling eggs from the bottom of the tank and placing them in the
bubble nest.
Introduction
of the Mating Pair It
is best to place the two members of the mating pair into the tank one
at a time instead of simultaneously. You can start with either sex, but my preference
is to start with the female and put her behind a transparent barrier
so that the male can see her. This
transparent barrier (usually referred to as the “transparent chute”)
could be a clear soda bottle with the bottom cut off.
Introduce the male to a section of the aquarium where he will
not readily see the female. Let
the male adjust to the new environment and allow him to discover his
mate. Set the temperature to 81- 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
This change in temperature will help induce them to be in spawning
condition. Once the male sees his mate, he should be showing
interest in getting to her and will start flaring his fins to show off.
The female should respond positively by showing vertical marks
on her body, flaring her fins and/or acting like she wants to get to
the male also. If they do not
exhibit such behavior, introduce more tannins. There is no lethal dosage for tannins so do
not worry if the water becomes dark brown.
Once they exhibit this behavior, time the release of the female
for when the male is not around or is otherwise out of the male’s view. The process of discovery helps increase the
chances of a successful spawn. The
pair should start spawning in 48-72 hours. Chances are that they will spawn 99% of the
time if you follow the procedure described above. If they do not, other things you can try include:
1) introducing an additional
female into the tank, 2) changing either member of the mating pair and/or
3) repeating this process from the beginning. Introducing
another female into the tank is suggested because this may trigger the
bettas' natural aggressive nature, which in turn will lead to spawning
action. The
suggestion to change either member of the mating pair is based on the
observations of many breeders that individual bettas
have definite preferences when it comes to mates. One
female will show its vertical marks to one male but not to another male,
and another male will show no interest in one female, but will actively
pursue another female. Case in
point, I had a pair that was in the tank for an entire week and there
was no spawn. I changed the female,
and in 2 days, I had a spawn. I
shared this experience with a fellow betta
breeder who was experiencing the same phenomenon.
The moment he switched the females, he had a spawn.
It
is advisable to keep the lights of the mating tank on day and night
from the time the mating pair are introduced
to the mating tank up until the fry are free swimming. There is one
school of thought that believes that constant light helps induce spawning
and also helps the male take care of the eggs so that they will hatch.
Post
Spawning Procedures Remove
the female the moment the spawning process has ended.
An indicator that the process has ended will be the observation
that the female is stays away from the bubble nest for a long period
of time after she releases the last batch of eggs. It is important to take the female out of that
tank the same day the spawning is completed because she will be very
tired and hungry and will therefore be very tempted to eating those
eggs to replace her spent energy. The
male can be kept with the fry for up to 5 days to take care of the fry.
I feed the male with Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS). The bigger fry
eat them also, which helps them grow faster. I
feed the smaller fry with an infusoria (using
a medicine dropper) and microworm combination
the moment they are free swimming. They
typically free swim in 2-3 days after the spawn. Double
the water level at this point to reduce the concentration of toxic elements
in the water. To culture
infusoria, put java moss into a container with used aquarium
water. Add Liquifry
No. 1 into that container and let it sit 2-3 days before siphoning it
out with a medicine dropper. In the absence of Liquifry
No. 1, you can use fresh egg yolk as a substitute. On
the 3rd day of feeding, add vinegar eels as part of the fry menu. On
the 5th day of feeding, stop feeding infusoria
but continue with the vinegar eel and microworm
combination. At the same time,
feed the father and larger fry with BBS. I
typically keep a Chinese Golden Algae Eater in the spawning tank so
that it can eat any uneaten food and debris, thus helping to minimize
the development of waste byproducts from rotting food, as this would
be lethal to the fry. I also add 3-5 drops of Tetra Aqua Easy Balance
per 10 gallons every week to the tanks as a precaution. Conclusion
All
in all, I would say that the key to increasing your chances of a successful
spawn is CHANGE. Change in the
temperature, feeding pattern, water quality, mating environment and
in mating partners. Follow these
guidelines, and I’m sure you’ll be successful! |
