i have a 10 gallon tank with 1silvertip shark,3 tank cleaners,and 2 beta fish(male and femal).The betta fish seem to do okay 2gether,but how do i know when they are ready to mate?will they even mate with the other fish in the tank or will i have to separate them?ps its octobe now,do they have to be inseason?
Answers:
You have been very lucky so far. The shark will eat your bettas. Remove it or them ASAP. I know you think they are fine but it is a ticking bomb waiting to go munch!
Regarding breeding betta's, you have to make sure you have a female and not a male plakat. Has the fish in question shown VERTICAL stripes? If so, that confirms you have a girl. Horizontal stripes are for stressed fish. Vertical is a submissive sign.
I doubt they will breed with the other fish in the tank. You need to feed them up on live foods for about a week or two and then put them in their own tank with a heater set at 26 degrees. A small sponge filter will be needed later so have it in the tank but turned off. The male will need something to anchor his nest under. Use an Indian Almond Leaf if you can buy one from ebay or I use a piece of tinfoil with the edges folded under to form a floating square.
He will build a bubble nest and will guard it daily while she inspects his progress. If he attacks her, put her in a clear tub inside the tank so they can still see each other. I use a plastic coke bottle with the neck part cut off. Cut some holes in it sothe water can get in.
After a few days, she will be fat full of eggs and her stripes will show. When she is ready, she will swim head down near him. Release her every day under supervision to test their readiness.
When they are both reading, he will wrap around her and eggs will fall. They should both gather the eggs in thier mouths and spit them into the bubble nest.
Remove the female when they have finished or she will be attacked. Keep the male in with the fry until they are hatched and can swim to the surface and down to bottom by themselves (usually after 2 days). Remove Dad after that.
It is vital to the fry that you feed them lots and keep them warm.
Visit the UK Betta Forum if you need help.
they'll mate when the conditions are right like water temp, food etc.. I don't think it depends on the time of the year.
yes, they have to be by themselves.
here's a link
http://www.bettysplendens.com/articles/c.
No, they probably won't spawn in that tank. The tank cleaners could get up into the nest and eat the eggs and the shark will make short work of any fry that manage to hatch out. Bettas need their own tank. They will spawn anytime the female is in condition and has eggs to give the male, there is no season for them.
Here's how I have done it in the past and it has worked fine for me on quite a few occasions.
Don't leave the female in the tank with the male. He will kill or damage her extensively. The only time a male tolerates a female is when she has been thoroughly conditioned and has eggs for him to fertilize.
You must keep her away from him and feed her high protein food for about 2-3 weeks so she will produce eggs. You will see when she is ready, she will get quite fat. Then float her in a jar in his tank so he can see her. He will build a nest. When he has the nest completed, slowly release her so as not to damage the nest.
Now you need to watch them very closely for the next hour or so to see if they are compatible. Sometimes, no matter what you do, the male just doesn't get it. If that is the case, get another male. If it works out between them, they will embrace, he will fertilize the eggs, pick them up and place them in the nest. When she has no more to give him, you must remove her or he will kill her.
The males tend the nest and the young (fry) until they are free swimming. After that, he may eat them, so remove him and start feeding very fine food.
Do you have a heater in the tank? The babies will not survive if the temp is not around 80 degrees. Bettas are tropical fish from southeast Asia and need temps around 78-82 degrees.
The babies also need very clean water with no film on the surface. If they cannot reach the surface to breath and utilize their anabantoid chamber, they will all die.
BTW, Betta is pronounced bet-tah, not bay-tah!
try this may help
I'm superised the bettas haven't killed each yet, or the shark hasn't eaten them or their fins. If the 2 haven't started fighting, or mating they likely never will. Mating is tied to aggression, and can be rather violent. In my experince the more a pair see each other the less likely they are interested in mating. You need to seperate them for at least a couple of weeks, and put together a spawning tank. See link.
PS- 99% of the time a male in the same tank with a female results in violence, and/or mating. The fact that they haven't mated indicates them may never mate. BEWARE adding another female may spark a death match in your tank. I made the mistake of putting one of my boys in sight of my girl's tank, and they went from peaceful to cage match in under a minute.
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