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 The Breeding

After the the pair has been fully conditioned and the breeding tank set up, they are ready to go! =) 

A typical spawning setup. (Click to enlarge picture in another window.)  I sometimes use a styrofoam box so as to reduce visual disturbance by people. The jar (which housed the female) is left in there to provide more extra hiding space for the female. If you look closely they are embracing.

Place the male in the breeding tank first, and I personally leave him there for at least 2 days. After the 2 days' acclimatization grace, place the female conditioning tank (with the female in it, of course!) side-by-side the breeding tank. This will stimulate the male to make a bubble nest under the Styrofoam cup. If the male has trouble making the nest, there are a couple of tricks that can be used. 

1. Change 50% of the water in the breeding tank with new water, or add a few drops of Black Water Tonic. Alternatively, in place of the latter, Sea Almond or Banana leaves can be placed in the tank and left there.

2. Remove the female from sight, and instead place another adult male betta side-by-side with the breeding tank. After a day or two of flaring the bettas should blow their nests.

3. Scoop up the bubble nest blown by another betta, and place it on the water inside the Styrofoam cup. The breeder male will complete the nest. 

Personally I've tried, with great success, the first 2 methods. The last one was taken from articles or postings other people have submitted, and they apparently have had success with it too. 

As soon as the female is able to see the male she should show some sign of excitement, such as a little flaring, or she might even display vertical dark bars (for dark-bodied bettas only). The latter is a sign that she is ready and willing to breed.

After the nest has been made to an appreciable size, gently scoop the female and place her into the breeding tank. The male will flare and display in front of her. If things turn out perfect, the female will turn dark-coloured, display prominent vertical bars, and hover head-down near or under the bubble nest. However, most females end up being chased around by the male, and beat up into submission. Eventually the male will wrap himself around the female in a U-shaped curve, both fish will start to quiver and the eggs and sperm are released simultaneously. 

Closeup of spawning embrace of my 2 crowntail fish. This female is one of the most enthusiastic breeders I've ever had, and she mates well with every single male she's paired up with.

Most of the time the female will appear dazed from the "big squeeze" and float at the top, but will recover within seconds. The male however will turn to pick up the eggs and blow them into the bubble nest. This mating procedure may continue for several times (sometimes the first two nuptial embraces are futile as no eggs are released), and when you see the female hiding away or the male chasing her, the breeding has ended. The female will have to be removed to avoid being bitten to death by the male.

Some people have claimed that the sex of the fry are dependent on pH, since they have observed that when banana leaves are used, a larger percentage of the fish turn out to be male, ie lower pH results in more males. This claim has not been verified, but if anyone's done any serious study about this, I'd be very interested to learn about your results! Right now I'm starting to add a large piece of Indian Sea Almond leaf to each of my spawning tanks.

A large sea almond, or "ketapan", leaf. The best time to use them is when they have turned the colour of autumn leaves (gold, yellow, light brown or a nice red like this one in the picture), and not when they are green or dried up.

 For one, I think the release of tannins and humic acids actually stimulate breeding behavior in my fish. It also provides more hiding space for the female and reduces the incidence of torn fins in either mate. To add to the wonderful package, I've also heard that exudates from these leaves may also have medicinal or anti-microbial properties. =)  OK, if anyone's interested in these leaves, just let me know. You can come over to my place to collect some, or, if you're overseas, I'll gladly send you a few pieces in an envelope if you send me enough to cover the postage. Nice of me, isn't it? Nah, haha ... the trees grow in abundance near my house, so once in a while I just go pick some up, FOC.