# Female won't breed



## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Hello, I have an EE male (Igneous) and assorted female (sapphire) that I recently got from the pet store, I wanted to breed them so I put them each on an enriched diet for about a week. I then put sapphire in a breeder box in Igneous's tank and waited till a bubble nest was built and she had developed vertical bars but when I released her she wouldnt breed no matter what. I've successfully bred bettas before with this same process and am just confused as to what I'm doing wrong this time. Anyone have any ideas?


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Also does anyone have more specific descriptions for my bettas (crowntail,platinum, dragon, etc.) I know (or at least think I know) Igneous, the purple/red male, is a spade tale and is supposedly an EE but i have no idea about color 'types' for either or anything about Sapphire, the blue/back female, although it looks to me like she has a cellophane gene if I'm correct in that celo means no pigment?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Male lavender EEPK
Female: turquoise, might carry metallic/dragon genes. Judging anal fin shape, she might be HM.

What do you mean she wouldn't breed. If she showed vertical bars, she should breed. She doesn't show cello traits


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

indjo said:


> Male lavender EEPK
> Female: turquoise, might carry metallic/dragon genes. Judging anal fin shape, she might be HM.
> 
> What do you mean she wouldn't breed. If she showed vertical bars, she should breed. She doesn't show cello traits


Ok thanks for the descriptions! Also am I correctin that Igneous is a spade tail or am I just fooling myself? As for your question, even after developing vertical bars, she just ran from the male for hours and hours without ever going under the bubble nest to mate.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Yes your male might be a spade tail, not too clear (flaring picture).

Breeding process: they do the "follow the leader" - often female follows male.. . .until male bites, which sends female running and hiding. She will eventually return and they do the whole ritual again.

Sometimes the male is too viscous that the female spends most of her time hiding, and may even lose her breeding bars - but still vibrant colors (hence is a good idea to provide hiding places for female). But she will eventually spawn.

Courtship usually take 3 days for virgins while veterans often spawn within 24 hours. Sometimes it may take a week of courtship, especially if the tank is densely planted, covering their line of sight.


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Ok, thanks! Should i take the female out at night to keep them from fighting or will they be fine?


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Well i think I figured out the problem- the male was too territorial about his bubble nest! I switched the male out to a more docile, experienced male and it seems to be going smoothly now!! I do have one question though, how can I get my territorial male more willing to breed? I really like his color and form and was really excited about the offspring from the original breeding pair.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

It's an individual thing - some are more gentle while others are killers (literally). Breeding killers may fail because:
1. Female stresses from over biting (not in breeding mode anymore)
2. Female beaten too badly before she is ready to spawn - too weak to respond to male. If not cancelled, female may die or never recover/infected by a disease, whether she spawns or not.

In regards to female's safety, I often use bigger tanks (13-50g). At least one corner/side is densely planted with bushy stem plants (usually anacharis - but leave a small opening to feed female). Bettas cannot easily enter so when female darts in, male can't follow. 

The downside is that the whole process may take much much longer. Since I can't predict when, I often miss the spawning and may not see the eggs unless male is a nest builder (most planted tanks/tubs have covers to avoid algae. I don't lift the whole cover to feed (mainly) female.
. . . . . . .

Another method is by tiring the male. But this may be risky for male. If you have other females, float decoy females for a day or two. Or leave a mirror next to tank. When you think he has considerably calmed down, release the breeder female (make sure she is in breeding mode. Make sure she immediately flirts upon release). Male will be as viscous, but he shouldn't have enough energy to chase her around the whole day and will often rest.. . . . 

Since males often stop or greatly reduce eating, he will use up his energy. Risk: he might be too tired to continue his aggression and female may attack him. Or he spawns but out of energy and may fade away when removed.

*** Avoid using high resting/hide outs when breeding viscous males. Attacks to mid section, especially from below, may quickly kill the female.


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Okay thanks alot! Also, it worked! I switched out the males out last night and when I checked a bit ago, there were eggs in the nest! I removed the female and the male is taking great care of the nest just like he did last time! ( last time he spawned, he was so protective of the nest that he killed a snail on the other end of the tank!!)


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Okay, so ive already mentioned that my bettas have spawned and everything went smoothly BUT I've run into antother problem, the bubble nest fell apart and the male hasnt rebuilt it so now there's just eggs all over the water surface and littering the bottom. I have two questions/concerns: 1) how can i encourage my male to rebuild the nest? hes collecting the eggs and attempting to place them in the line if bubbles along the edge of the tank but it is NOT going well and many of them are falling back to the bottom unnoticed which leads me to 2) will the eggs on the bottom of the tank hatch and if so, swim back up to the surface? If not, how can i get the eggs back to the surface of the water in a way that they will either stay there or so the male will notice them falling and bring them back up to his currently nonexistent nest? He frequently goes down to check the bottom of the tank but there's just so many eggs that the poor guy's having a hard time keeping up with it all. Thanks in advance!


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Well, know you understand why we encourage conditioning the breeders. 

Don't worry about nest and eggs, there's nothing you can do. Good eggs will hatch regardless of nest, whether it's on the surface or floor. Many of mine don't bother making nests. Though most manage to keep their eggs together, some manage to scatter them - eggs hatch anyway.


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Ok thanks! Good to know! What do you mean by conditioning the breeder? Ive never heard of this before, last time i bred him he took great care of the nest and the eggs/fry so i didnt feel the need to extend my research past the days of YouTube before my lasy spawn.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Feed the breeding pair lots of nutritious foods to fatten them up and ensure good supply of energy and immune system.

Female will (mainly) need them to recover from injuries, while male uses up lots of energy but not eat enough of even fast during breeding process til fry care which may take a week or more.


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Oh yes, i did do that. i gave them each extra food including flakes, freeze dried bloodwork, and frozen mysis shrimp for a few weeks before breeding


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

whats the time-line for eggs hatching? I know its usually about two days but as of yesterday night the eggs would be 2 days old and none of them had hatched yet, does that mean they wont hatch? they all sank to the bottom but that shouldn't matter I thought


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

28°C (about 84°F) usually 2 days. Lower may take longer. Male will eat eggs if they don't hatch


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