Thread: Betas & guppies
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Old June 26th, 2006, 08:02 PM
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Sneaky Sneaky is offline
Fish Guru - Formerly sneakypete79
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Ladysmith British Columbia
Posts: 536
Hi there,
Betta breeding is a tricky business.
First, you need 2 tanks, 10g or approx. same size.
You keep the male in one tank the female in the other.
Both are fed super high quality foods like frozen bloodworms,
fresh shrimp, live insects, etc ...no flakes or pellet or any of that
processed garbage. Water changes of 40-50% are done
every day or two, and replaced water is set approx. 5 degrees
lower, to simulate spring rains.
Then, a plastic mesh cage, like the kinds you see tomatoes or rasperries
come in, or a similar container is floated on the surface of the male
bettas tank, and the water level is reduced 25%.
The male will build a bubble nest, and maintain it, under the mesh cage.
Once he has been guarding his nest for a week or so, and the female
has become fat and full of eggs, the female is place in an Upside down glass
vase in his tank for 24 hours (ensuring there is an air pocket in the vase of course so she can breathe).
Then she is released, mating usually takes place within 12 hours, and then the female is removed before the male kills her.
In the wild, they have tons of space, but it is still common for males to kill each other, and frenzied males in "breeding mode" to kill females after mating who dont get away quick enough.
So, thats how they procreate in captivity, and similarly, in the wild.
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