Please note that when you decide to breed your bettas, it is very wise that you set aside a time when you can sit and keep an eye on the couple. Especially if this is your first time breeding.  It is not uncommon for the male to kill the female or vice versa, so you will want to keep watch over your young couple.  You'll want to make sure the tank is well planted with plenty of hiding areas for the female to "escape" to (caves, pots, etc.). You can use real or artificial plants (if you opt for artificial you may want to go with silk so as not to tear the males fins). 

The first thing you will need to do is select your breeding pair and hopefully you will get them from a reputable breeder or you can even get a nice breeding pairs from overseas on Aquabid.  Once you have selected your breeding pair and have them conditioned you’ll want to set up your spawning tank.  Different breeders use different set-ups, I am going to first describe the one that is commonly suggested for new breeders.   

·        A 10 gallon tank filled half way with water (Bare-NO GRAVEL) with a hood and light.

·          A Sponge filter to keep the water clean without sucking up the fry .

·          An air pump to power the filter and airline tubing to connect the pump & filter.

·          Valve that allows you to reduce the airflow of the sponge filter.

·         You can add plants, I recommend plenty of live plants

·          One submersible heater and one thermometer.

·         Water Conditioner to treat your tap water, Black Water extract to create Amazon-biotope conditions and induce spawning or Indian Almond Leaf if available.

·          Melafix to treat mom and dads boo-boos when they are done sparring, I mean spawning.

·          A vacuum cleaner or turkey baster to clean the uneaten food from the bottom of the tank.

·          Food for your fry (see cultures link). This is important to have PRIOR to spawning.

·        A chimney glass to introduce the female initially into the spawning tank.

You will also need at least a 40 gallon grow out tank for your fry as they get older.  If it's a relatively small spawn you could use a 20 gallon.  You will need at least 50 - 100 jars, ½ gallon is best, to jar any feisty guys or gals.  If it is a large spawn and you do not cull any fish, of course you'll need more jars.  It is good to have a variety of medications and water treatments on hand as well and plenty of nets.

The above method is how I started out breeding my bettas in 2005.  After a few spawns you will find what works best for you and what works best for you & your bettas.  The setup I now use when breeding my pairs is the following:

• A plastic sweater box with lid from the local Wal-Mart

• 50 Watt Heater and a thermometer (unless it's in the fish room where the temp is 82-85 degrees)

• A clay cave for the females escape

• Lots of live plants

• Sponge Filter, Air Pump, Adjustable Valve, Airline tubing

• Indian Almond Leaves

• Prime Water Conditioner and Aquarium Salt

I condition my pair for at least a week and then place them in the sweater box (male first, then female) and leave them be.  I do not chimney the female.  I check on them every so often to see what their behavior is like and I feed them once a day (frozen Hikari bloodworms).  Depending on the pair, I've had eggs in less than 24 hours and other pairs it has taken as long as 2 weeks.

Above: Sampson & Delilah

 

  Understand that patience is a virtue and even though you may want things to happen right away, it is going to be up to your pair as to when anything will happen (really up to the female mostly).  Some pairs will spawn right away while I've had some take days to weeks before anything happened.  And of course sometimes you will get fish that despite your best efforts just won't spawn.  This DOES happen and don't be discouraged, even if you've heard other people boast that they've bred bettas for a half of a century and have NEVER had a pair that would not spawn.  Once you've been breeding bettas for a while you'll know what's true and what's exaggerated bragging.  If you've had a pair in the spawn tank for several days with no luck.  Give them a good meal and a water change.  Make sure the temperature is not too cool or too hot and check your water parameters.  Usually a water change will encourage spawning as well.  I have even taken dechlorinated tap water and put it into a deli container and frozen it in the freezer, removing it and placing the ice into the tank to let it melt away naturally (simulating rainfall) to induce spawning before. 

If you are just beginning you may want to use a chimney for your female to place her inside so that the male can see her but not get to her.  This will usually encourage him to begin building a bubblenest under a plant, leaf, styro cup or bubblewrap (whatever you have decided to place in the tank for him to use).  He may build a bubblenest completely somewhere other than where you've placed something for him to build it or he may not build one at all (not common but it DOES happen).  The male will begin to court the female by displaying (flaring) and dancing around her.  At first the female usually heads for the nearest escape.  It may take her some time to start approaching the male or she may approach immediately (each fish is different).  The female will signal that she is ready in several ways.  Most females will "bar up" vertically like a zebra.  This is just one of many things she needs to be doing to signal she is ready.  Another signal that she is ready is she will begin to point her head down and clamp her fins as to show submissiveness to the male.  You may release her from the chimney when you see these signs.  Lighter colored females you will have to watch for their behavior as it is more difficult to see any "barring" on them. See photo below of what "bars" look like.  Be aware that even if she's ready, once released the female may still flee from the male.  Give her time to go to him.  You'll notice that once she starts visiting him under the nest she will start to nudge his side.  Some nipping may occur but eventually they will begin to embrace.  The male should embrace the female with her abdomen facing his abdomen.  It may take several embraces before any eggs began to fall and it may take a few embraces for the couple to get the embrace right.  Once eggs begin to fall the male and/or female will retrieve the eggs and place them in the nest.  Spawning can last a few hours, but the time will vary with each couple.  Once they are finished spawning the female will move away from the nest and keep her distance, letting you know she is finished.  You should remove her from the spawning tank at this time.  Fresh (treated) water with a little salt and melafix will help heal any nips and help to prevent any fungus from growing on any wound sites.  Be sure to keep her water changed daily to prevent infection.

The male may remain in the spawn tank with his nest of eggs.  The male is the "caregiver" of the couple when it comes to the young.  He will wash and spit eggs repeatedly back into the nest over the next 24 - 36 hours.  This helps to prevent any eggs from fungusing.  You may even notice him blowing new bubblenests at different areas all over the tank, moving the eggs to each new nest.  It's best to leave the male alone while he tends his nest.  Your male may also eat the eggs!  Relax, it is common for a male to eat the eggs if it is the pairs first time spawning.  Males usually eat the eggs because they are not fertilized.  A new couple that is inexperienced at spawning may have trouble fertilizing the eggs for several reasons, causing the male to eat the eggs.  However if you notice a pattern of egg eating with your male, you are just unlucky enough to have an egg-eater and will need to use another male or hatch the eggs artificially (removing the male after spawning is over).  Although you may get varying opinions as to whether or not to feed while in the spawning tank, I always feed my fish.  I just make sure to place the food away from his nest.  Be careful not to overfeed as any uneaten food will foul the water.  If there is any uneaten food, I remove it with a pipette, but my males usually gobble it all.  Once the eggs begin to hatch you will see fry falling from the nest and the male will be busy for the next day or so picking up fry and placing them back into the nest.  Again, try not to disturb him during this period either.  After about 24 hours from hatching I always like to add a tiny amount of vinegar eels to the water for any early free swimmers.  At this time it will be up to you on whether or not you leave the male in or take him out.  I make this decision based on how the male is behaving overall.  If he seems healthy and is attentive to his fry then I just leave him in the tank to raise the babies, but this will be entirely up to you.  If you do decide to leave him in with the fry, be sure to feed him consistently about 3 times daily and watch his behavior.  If you decide to leave him with fry, try placing some java moss in the tank for the fry to hide in if needed.  Also try not to disturb the male too much as it may stress him and cause him to eat his fry.  This isn't something that happens frequently but it can happen.  I usually start feeding a combo of microworms and/or vinegar eels and baby brine shrimp by day 3.  Be careful not to overfeed and pollute the water.  It is better to feed smaller amounts three to four times daily.  You will need to offer your fry food that is the appropriate size for their mouth.  As they get older you can add different foods such as Daphnia.  For more info on caring for fry, see the following PAGE :o)