Breeding failures

When a person decides to breed bettas, success is not always on the agenda. There are situations which becoming so frustrating that one may decide not to continue with the breeding progamme at all. The most important thing is never to give up with any first attempts. here are some ideas to keep in mind when failing in breeding bettas.

1) Insufficient Conditioning : Conditioning both female and male is an essential aspect of breeding. feeding a diet in high protein is essential. This allows to build enough enery both for the male for the embracing and chasing as well as for the future care of the eggs and fry. While for females they can have enough energy in order to withstand the vicious attacks from the male as well as to increase in size to hold the eggs until the moment comes to release them. Thus, feeding them bloodworms once a day helps.

2) experience is an essential parameter to take into consideration. having a pair which is too young may often result in failures but there are exceptions to this. best age for breeding is between 3 to 4 months and make sure that both male and female are of the same size to avoid any deaths.

When breeding keep in mind the following items at hand:

1) IAL or Ketapang Leaf (Remove the stem)
2) Treated Aged Water (Anti-chlorine and anti-chloramine added to aged water of at least 24hours)
3) 50cm+ by 30cm+ Plastic Storage Container
4) Half Styrofoam Cup or Plastic Lid
5) Plastic Plants

Fill the Container with water of around 5 to 6 inch depth with Treated Aged Water. Add IAL or Ketapang Leaves without the stem. Cut half a styrofoam cup and place it along the wall of the container or throw in your plastic lid. Add plastic plants to create hiding spots that are barely visible from the supposed location of Bubble Nest.

After sufficient conditioning (High Protein Diet and letting the pair flare at each other a few times a day), place the female inside and allow her to swim around and survey her new surroundings. After that , place her in a chimney where she can see the styrofoam cup or plastic lid. Now , introduce the male and leave them to settle for at least 24 hours. When she displays signs of being ready to breed , release her and let nature take it's course. Do not bother checking even if there is violent chasings and bitings.

Check daily to see if there are fries born , but do not remove the female yet. The male will be violent sometimes, but just let nature take it's course.