Betta mating questions

[awesomeag]

First time trying to breed bettas, some questions!
1)Do i put the male and female into the breeding tank together(theyre in their 3.5 gallon tank now, and i have a separate 5gallon tank for breeding) or do i put the male in first and let the bubblenest be there before introducing the female??
2)How many times do betta fish mate before the whole spawning process is over??

[stormhawk]

You should always condition the male and female separately, because during the mating, if successful, the female almost always ends up with ragged fins.

Place the male in the 5 gallon breeding tank, provide a half cut styrofoam cup as nesting support and place the female in a plastic container within the same tank, so the male can see her but not attack her. When the nest is formed, you can release the female carefully into the tank to spawn with the male. Sometimes the female may refuse to spawn. Provide some cover in the tank for the female, and remove her carefully once the spawning is over.

Last time I bred fancy bettas, they would go into the spawning embrace several times over a few hours. The male basically wraps himself around the female before tiny white eggs are released, which the male spurts into his bubblenest after he picks them up.

[awesomeag]

Hi thanks! Can i ask, if my betta is male or female? I'm going to find an opposite sex one soon
http://s317.photobucket.com/albums/m...t=P1000209.jpg

[pyl]

i think thats a female. u need to do abit of study and research before you start breeding.

1) what to prepare before breeding - eg. learn how to hatch brine shrimps egg
2) what to do during breeding
3) what to do after breeding

[stormhawk]

I cannot sex it from that picture alone. Easiest way to tell whether it is female or not is the white "egg spot" underneath the belly. It's a small tip colored in white. See this image to see what I mean:

http://www.nippyfish.net/ovipositor1.jpg

Photo credits to CodeRed from www.bettafish.com forums.

This is probably the easiest way to sex them, especially for fancy bettas, but some males will exhibit this as well so it's not 100% accurate.