Betta Splendens (Siamese Fighting fish)

	Ackerz quote	subscribe [rss]	subscribe [email]	#1	Posted 01 May 2008, 11:02 am
	Siamese Fighters are not a difficult fish to breed, but they do require certain special care. Temperature. Condition your bettas at 80o. Bettas also breed best at 80o. You will need a heater unless you breed them only in the summer. In tanks with low water levels, put your heater in a quart jar sitting in the water. Or, use one of the submersible heaters. Natural Foods. Condition your breeders on a variety of foods. In the spring, those tiny earthworms you dig in your garden make one of the best conditioning foods. In the summer, mosquito larvae also work great. (Keep the extras in your fridge or prepare to scratch a lot.) Year-round, the squished-out insides of mealworms are also greedily devoured by potential betta parents. Conditioned Males. Males show their readiness to breed by building a bubble nest. Males in good condition are ready to breed most of the time.Conditioned Females. Females are full of eggs when you see a white breeding tube showing between their two pelvic fins. Conditioned females also show darker horizontal stripes. They fill with eggs in a week or two if fed a good diet. Small tanks work best. Use a 10-gallon or smaller tank with four to six inches of water. Use no filtration. Moving water breaks his bubble nest.Plants Help. Add a large watersprite plant for the male to build his bubble nest under. (Or use half a Styrofoam cup cut lengthwise.) Add bushy plants, so the female can hide from the often over-amorous male. If she cannot get away, he may kill her. Breeding Process. Do not distract them with food during the breeding process. After he coaxes her under his nest of bubbles (often by biting the heck out of her), he wraps around her and appears to “squeeze” the eggs from her. She drifts off semi-conscious as he gathers the eggs and hides them in his bubble nest. The eggs (unlike most fish eggs) are white. Remove the female once he starts chasing her or you will lose her (and possibly the eggs). From Ackerz original post: January 3, 2007, 7:17 pm Ackerz Sponsored links