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E-Mail Questions (And Answers) About Bettas
Ik~~~ wrote:.... Do bettas grow back fins if lost
Yes but they never look as good as before
We just bought some siamese fighting fish we have one in a 5 gallon tank, and the other two are in small individual fish bowls. We wanted to add some female fighting fish or other fish to the five gallon tank.. Can we do this? If not what are good fish to put in the 5 gallon with him? How humane is keeping the other fighting fish in these small bowls? Can you tell me what is the best type of food to feed them.. Thank you very much for your help..
Definitely don't put the males together. Female bettas wouldn't really be good tank mates for the male because they would be either spawning or fighting all the time, although the females get along with each other just fine. Corydoras catfish, harlequins, zebra danios, just about any small non-combative tetras, would all be good tank mates. I'm not sure you know but betta's only fight with other male bettas, with all other fish they are very docile, in fact the other fish may pick on the betta because of his long finnage. About the small bowls being humane to a betta, everyone has an opinion, mine is that they are fish, they really don't care that much, they don't worry about it I'm sure. But if you have larger quarters available it could do no harm to move them. There is no real reason to keep bettas in small bowls other than convenience. Just don't forget to change the water frequently.
Hope this helps.
Clint
Hello, Thank you so much for offering the opportunity to ask questions. I've read your page several times now and still need more information. I followed your advice on getting the pair acquainted and introduced each other on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, a nest was built. I then released the female. The male chased her a while and at times got pretty rough. After about 1 hour or so, he stayed in his corner and she stayed in her corner. However, she looked tired, a bit lifeless and torn (her fins, of course). I wasn't sure what action to take because it seemed that she did not accept him. So I removed her from the tank. My question is what should I do now? I'm quite positive she's pregnant but I'm not sure if she's ready to spawn. Her abdomen is light in color, and there is a white tube (?) sticking out. My plan was to re-introduce them again perhaps one week later. What do you think? Did I react too hastily during their courtship? Should I have left her in longer? I was afraid he may kill her.
Thank you again
You seem to have a rough male. This is not so uncommon in Bettas. The usual remedy is to put the female in a jar (pint, or quart etc) and put the jar in the same tank with the male. Leave em like this for a day or two, so they'll get aquainted. Then try reintroducing the female without the jar. You were right in removing the female, don't let them fight very much. Many times it just takes a few tries before they'll accept each other. Yes try again as soon as the female is in good shape.
Good Luck,Clint
I live in Italy and tried a few times to breed Bettas, but i didn't succed. I have been succesfull with Pelvica Chromus Pulcher. Do you think it depend for the water conditions? How should be exactly the PH of tha water? Maybe the females were to old? I'm looking forward to have an answer.
Thank you
Try breeding them again with younger females, that might be the problem. Also note that Bettas breed in water that is about 82F or about 29C in temperature. pH should be around neutral but it's not really all that important. You shouldn't have much of a problem getting Bettas to spawn. It just takes a few tries.
Hi, i'm a first timer with the bettas raising and i am getting in the process of breeding my bettas. i just need some help from a veteran like yourself to clarify some questions about the process.
1. Do all females have shorter fins than the males and a white dot at the bottom of their belly by the pair of fins?
--------------- Some (a few) female bettas have long fins, and sometimes the males have short fins, but it's kind of rare. The female should have the white egg tube if shes ready to spawn.
2. My male fish does not seem to produce any bubbles after viewing the females. What would you recommend to make the males produce bubbles for breeding?
--------------- The temperature needs to be about 82 degrees F or 28 C also try removing the female from view for a day or 2 and then reintroduce them. Also try adding a little live food, like brineshrimp or earthworms to their diet.
3. Does the female get aggrievated like the male when they meet for breeding or do i just have a short fin male?
------------------Yes, sometimes they get real mean too.
4. If the male does not produce any bubbles, will the female mate with the male?
--------------------Yes probably, but some of the eggs might not hatch.
5. How do you know when the males and the females are ready to breed?
-----------------The white egg tube for the females and a bubble nest for the males
And are the Bettas a seasonal type of breeders?
--------------No, but they do need the temperature at or about 82F 28C
Thats all the questions i can think of at this moment. Please help me with my questions about the fighting fish. Thank you very much for your time and i'm really looking forward to your response.
---------You're welcome. Good Luck. Clint
Hi, I'm one of those people with dumb luck. I had a pair of bettas which apparently spawned. I had them in a small tank at work. I came back from the weekend to find the male with a small bubble nest and some eggs that he was stuffing into it. The female was hiding so I removed her. Now, I don't know how old the eggs are. At what point will I be able to tell if they are fertile or not? The eggs are white in color. The male has lost several of them into the gravel below. If they are not fertile, how soon should I reintroduce the female?
Thanks - sorry for the bonehead questions!
C~~~
Hi C~~~,By now you should be able to see the fry (if you have any). Look real close at the bubble nest and you might see some little tiny tails wiggling. The fry hang from the nest head-up tail down. In another day or 2 you will see them swimming jerkily around. When you notice them swimming around its best to remove the male. You can feed the fry a drop or 2 of that "fry tube food" or better would be babybrine shrimp or micro worms. If you don't have any of those foods around you can hard boil an egg and get just the yolk part wrap it with some fine cloth like a hankerchief or old panty hose and put it in the fry tank and give it a little (very little) sqeeze. You can keep this egg yolk for about a week in the fridge. Don't over do the fry food. In about a week you can start feeding them crushed up flake food. The crushed flakes might even do for the fry now if youre in a pinch. If the beeding is unsuccessful you can reintro the female in about a week.
Clint @ Petfish
I have some bettas and they won't spawn even when the male makes a masive nest why is this. Also i have kribensis and they lay eggs and a day and a half later there gone also why is this.
Nearly all male bettas keep a bubble nest any time they are healthy. The female is the key. You'll need to separate them and feed the female heavy for about a week, then look closely and find a white egg tube (ovipositor) around the belly region of the female. Then she's ready to spawn. The kribs are probably eating their eggs. Sometimes it helps to add some small fish such as zebra danios to make the kribs more protective of their eggs. Once they get it right you won't have any more problems with them.
Hope this helps.Clint @ Petfish
Hey this is a great page, I was wondering I have a red male betta and a blue female. They're both in perfect condition, and the female's stomach is huge and pink you can just tell shes about ready to pop from all those eggs. Anyway I just wanted to know what the offspring would look like if I would breed my red betta to my blue betta. Would they be a combination of both red and blue or would it be a brownish color.
thanks
The color of the offspring would depend on the genetics of the fish. The red male may have had a blue father so you would get a few blues and so on. But anyway the fry are usually not a blended color but the same color as their parents and grandparents. So you would get some blues some reds and maybe some other colors depending on their ancesters.
Hope this helps.Clint @ Petfish
I received a Beta as a gift a week ago. I have been feeding him betta bits. It doesn't appear that he is eating anything. What should I try next to get him to eat. He also appears to be fading some in his blue color. Any help will be appreciated.
My best quess is that your betta has a common Betta disease called "Velvet". It sometimes appears as a rust colored dusting on the body of the fish. Sometimes it's more of a gold color and sometimes sort of whittish. Thats what rang a bell with me when you said the color is fading. If you look very close you will see thats it's really a growth of fungusy stuff on his body. The cures for this are:
1 A product called "Had-A-Snail", it's made to kill snails, but it works wonders on killing parasites on fish. If thats not available, you can getany fish medication that has copper as an ingredient.
2 Common table salt, preferrably not the Iodized kind (but it's not that critical), add it to the Bettas tank or jar at the rate of about 1tablespoon full per gallon. You can increase this dosage if you don't get results. But don't add all the salt at once, just a little , mabe a 1/4 at a time over an hour.
I hope this helps. Once you get him cured you shouldnt have any more problems. They are very hardy, but their natural life span maxes out at under 2 years.
Clint @ Petfish
When the male betta has made a nest i let the female go. but when i let her go she doesn't go to him, the male attacks her. Wha should i do??
This happens a lot. It's almost normal. Most experienced betta breeders float the female in a jar in the males tank and let them get aquainted for a while, then let her out after a few hours or the next day. If they still fight to violently, do it all over again. Note that bettas spawn quite violently, the females usually get tattered a bit during spawning. As soon as she's done her part you need to move her for her protection. Sounds like you are close to having a bunch of baby bettas to look after.
Dear Clint, I have some questions about bettas
1.)Can you keep two females together?
yes no problem
2.)When betta fry have to be given away (im talking mainly about the males) Where can you get jars to keep them in?
You just have to find some, I bought them at a "Dollar Store" about 50 cents each.
3.)Are females colorful too?
Yes
4.)Are there females with longer than usual fins?
Sometimes but its rare
5.)When do you separate the male fry?
As soon as you see them fighting
6.)What size tank is best for bettas (i am talking about a tank big enough for other fish)?
any size is okay for bettas, although bettas are "fighting fish" they don't fight other species and frequently get their fins shredded from fish such as tiger barbs
7.)Will females fight males?
sometimes, mostly they just hide from them
8.)Is it okay to have a small school of females with one male?
yes, that will work very well
9.)What age do fry grow into adults and mate?
about 3 - 6 months
More
1.)Are there other kinds of bettas?
Yes theres a lot of slightly different betta species, mostly wild types
2.)Are there bettas available in yellows?
Yes
3.)How large should the spawning tank be?
about 12 inches, more would be ok
4.)Is it best to have one female for the male to mate with or several to choose from?
Just one at a time at spawning time
5.)Would it be okay to have the male mate with all the females in the tank?
Yes but not at the same time, Bettas lay about 200 eggs (or More) at a time.
6.)Can two bettas related by blood mate? ex: brother and sister
Yes shouldn't be a problem
7.)I have heard a rumor that shops are ejecting eggs with hormones that make even the females have long fins and are sold as males,is this true?
Possible but I doubt it, it would probably make them sterile too
9.)Is there a color that bettas don't have?
They come in just about all colors, black is a really rare color because of a sterility link bettween the genes
10.)Are there short fin male bettas?
Yes fairly rare though, theres a wild type betta called "betta imbellis", it's short finned and more peaceful, the males don't fight. They are hard to find, but I've always wanted some.
11.)How long does it take for females to get pregnant?
I think they are capable of spawning every month
12.)How can you tell if a betta is healthy?
Look for an active fish with no unusual spots etc. You can tell if it's sick usually.
13.)Do you like freshwater or saltwater tanks best?
Fresh I guess, I like to spawn fish and the saltwater fish don't spawn in captivity very well
I bought a male betta for my son. Upon purchase the salesmen told me that it eats betta bits, but everytime I feed the fish he just takes a little bite of the pellet and it sinks to the bottom and it seems that he can't find the pellet. I'm worry that he is not eating. I was reading this site and it stated that you could tell the different in female and male. The one I bought had male bettas about the sign about the school of fish. It's pink and blue, sort of, but I noticed the other day that a white string hanging from it stomach, I guess you could say. How can I tell the difference
The females have short fins, the breeding tube in the females is very small and very short. Don't worry to much about him eating. If he's not actively searching for the food on the bottom then he's not really hungry. Overfeeding is a lot worse than underfeeding. The excess food causes pollution. Males have long fins, and if it's a male you can hold a small mirror up to the jar or tank he is in and he will "flare up" and dance around.
Hope this helps,Clint
Go to Part 2 of the Betta Questions
Here's a lot more info about Bettas
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