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| Preperation - You will need: A 3-10 gal tank, one submersiable, 50 watt heater, one air pump and sponge filter, live cultures, live plants a styrofoam cup a jar or chimnea Thermometer a pair of betta (back up pair optional). Setting up the tank - place 5-6 imches of prepared water into your spawning tank. Your fry will not need deep water, infact, you will loose many to deep water as they will not have the stamina to swim in a deep water column. To prepare the water, use a dechlorinator, or let it sit overnight. You may add some Melafix but this is up to you. Now, cut your styrofoam cup in half length ways. Place this cup in a corner of the tank with the open edge against the glass so if forms a little dome. This will be where you male will elect to build his nest. Fully submerge the heater in the water and set it to 80 degrees farenheight. Dont plug it in yet. Place the live plants (java moss or java fern is best) slightly away from the cup, perhaps in the middle of the tank. These plants will do a few things. They will give the female a place to hide and they will produse little micro bugs for your fry to eat. Note- The sponge filter must be cycled before usuing it in the fry tank to prevent harmful ammonia spikes. Place the sponge filter in the far corner from the cup, it doesnt need to be plugged in yet but will help grow a bacteria culter in the tank which will benifit your fry. Now you may plug in your heater. You will have to monitor the tanks temperature with a thermometer. Preparing the cultures - See the Snails and Cultures Page Conditioning the pair(s) - to prepare your bettas you will have to keep thier jars extra clean and feed them lots of high quialiy, high protien foods, such as bloodworms, grindals, etc, live, frozon or feed dried. It will take about a week to condition your pair. The male will blow nests in his jars and flare often showing he is ready, and the females will get big and round, showing a white bump between her ventral fins. Introducing the Male - you will want to acclimate the male to the tank temperature and water slowly. Set his enire jar in the water and let him stay in his jar in the spawning tank until his jar and the spawning tank are the same temperature. Add some of the tank water to your males jar. Each step should take about 15 minutes after which you can gently place him in the tank. It is best not to pour his dirty jar water into the spawning tank, however if you have kept it very clean this will be ok. Introducing the Female - After allowing the male to explore his new territory for about an hour, more if he doesnt settle in, you may acclimate the female to the water in the same way. Instead of setting her loose, you will either leaver her in her jar or place her in the chimnea. She will show she is ready to spawn by displaying vertical stripes and trying to swim to the male. Leave her in her jar for about 10 to 12 hours or until the male builds a nest and is trying to lure her to him. The Spawning - Your bettas will likely fight before they spawn. They will flare for eachother and may get thier fins bitten by eachother. If this is excessive and doesnt stop within half an hour remove the female. (excessive would be ripping out chuncks after chunks of fins, dragging eachother around the tank or otherwise seriously injuring eachother.) They will still chase and nip eachother until they spawn. To spawn the female will swim to the male with her head down. They will bump each other a few times and then he will wrap around her and gently squeeze the eegs out of her. The first few attempts may be eggless. After the male lets go, the female will appear dead, she is not. The wrap stunns her giving the male a chance to grab the eggs before she snaps out of it. This will continue anywhere from half and hour to 10 hours or more. It is best not to disturm them. When they are sone, gently place the female in a clean jar. Dad will have to stay in the tank for up to 5 days after the female is removed. His job it to keep the eggs from fungusing, keep the babies from falling out of the nest and making sure to coast is clear. After the babies can swim on thier own, gently remove him and place him in a clean jar. |