Spawning your bettas can be fun and interesting but it also requires a lot of time, some money, and a lot of patience. Bettas can have up to 100+ fry at a time so finding homes for all those babies can be a problem and most pet stores will not take them. It is also important to have your food for the fry before you spawn your fish!
Conditioning
It is very important that you condition your pair for 2-3 weeks on high protein foods. The conditioning period allows for the female to produce more eggs and the male to have the energy to care for the nest. Live foods are best but frozen and freeze dried will work also. During the conditioning period, I seperate my bettas and only allow them to see each other 2x a day for 20 minutes. I feed them frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, freeze dried bloodworms and live grindal worms 2-3 times a day, alternating foods every other day. I have my pairs in 1 gallon bowls and I do water changes every 3-4 days. You can tell that your pair is ready to spawn because the male will blow bubblenests, and the female will be fat with eggs and have vertical stripes. In light colored females you can't see the stripes but if she is conditioned properly, she should be ok. Just keep a close eye on her.
Tank set up
During the second week of conditioning, I set up my spawning tank. I use a bare 10 gallon tank or larger but I do not recommend using anything smaller. Do not put anything in the bottom of the tank. The eggs and fry will fall in there and die and it is too hard to clean. Fill the tank with about 3-4 inches of treated water and place a submersable heater with the temp set at 82 degrees, a seasoned sponge or corner filter and plenty of plastic or live plants for the female to hide in. It is best to provide at least 3 hiding places for the female. A styrofoam cup that is cut in half and taped somewhere in the tank where you can see, will work for the male's nest. A seasoned sponge filter is a filter that has been running in a tank with fish in it for at least 3 weeks. This is a must!
Adding the fish
After the 2 week conditioning period, I will add the male to the spawning tank in the morning. I do not feed him that morning and I do not feed him or the female the whole time they are in the tank. This helps keep the water cleaner. I will leave him alone for a few hours to let him get used to his new home and then will float the female in a jar in the tank. I will leave them like that overnight and by the next morning, the male should have a nest started. Let the female loose and watch them very carefully. The male will chase the female and nip her fins. This is normal and it can sometimes seem like too much. It is up to you to decide if she is going to stay or not. As long as she has enough places to hide, she should be fine. I have never had a male kill one of my females. I take my females out at night and put them back in the floating jar but it is more for my peace of mind than anything. You do not need to do this but if the female is getting beat up pretty bad, I would recommed it. It also gives her a little time to rest. I will continue to do this until they spawn but for no longer than 3 days. If after 3 days they still haven't spawned, I will then go to my back up pair and begin their conditioning again.
Spawning
When the pair is ready to spawn, the female will follow the male to the nest. She will then swim with her head down and he will wrap around her to squeeze out the eggs. When he releases her, she will float to the top and look like she is dead. Don't panic, she is fine. This gives the male time to pick up the eggs in his mouth and put them in the nest before she can eat them. If you don't see any eggs coming out at first, don't worry, it sometimes takes a little time. Especially if she is a "virgin" and has never spawned before. They are done spawning when the male chases the female from the nest or when you remove her, whatever comes first. I try to keep my spawns around 50-100 eggs and have removed the females early with no problems. Remove the female and put her in a bowl with some Bettamax. Feed her the same foods you fed her during conditioning for a couple of weeks.
Eggs
The fry will begin to hatch within 3 days. During this time, the male will keep a very close watch and will pick up the eggs that fall to the bottom. After the fry hatch, they live on their egg sack for the next 24 hours and he will then pick them up off the bottom and put them in the nest. Do not remove him until the fry are swimming. Then, place him in a bowl and treat him the same as the female. Do not respawn your pair for at least 2-3 weeks. Move on to fry care to learn how to care for your babies!!!
