# Should I release the female now?



## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

Hello all,

My breeder tank currently has a male and female betta in it.
The female is separated from the male where they can see each other.
The male has built a nest after 3 hours (going back and forth between her and the nest) and she is showing signs of submissiveness (head down, tail up) to him. 

My question is... when should I release her because I don't want them to lose interest?

Thank you


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## Mbpoppy (Nov 3, 2019)

Hi! What did you decide to do?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Using the separated method, people usually wait for 1-2 days. Some females release eggs on the third day.


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## hiprasojo (Sep 21, 2020)

I do the "full conditioning" phase for 24 hours then release the female so they can mate. Mating process usually takes 24-36 hours. When the female laid all her eggs, separate her, left the male inside tank so he can "babysit" the eggs. When all eggs has spawned, wait 3-4 days (until all the fry can swim by itself) then take out the male from the tank. 

ps: some breeder will let the male in the tank along with the fry until 1-2 week. There's a lot of tutorial video on youtube and also articles about this, choose the most suitable method for you.

Good luck!


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## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

I released the female last night, he is still adding bubbles to his nest now as it keeps getting destroyed while he chases her. 15 hours later of being completely together (unseparated) and the nest is still empty :/


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## hiprasojo (Sep 21, 2020)

Patience, Young Jedi. Wait for another 9 hours.
If the female seems stress (rest herself in the bottom corner of the tank and not moving), separate them, wait about one or two weeks and repeat the process. But if both fish shows no stress, continue but check their condition regularly.

I once recklessly mating a pair without conditioning whatsoever and same thing happened: male chasing female while building nest back and forth, took 3 days time until i see some eggs. The drawback is female got really stress after that, luckily she's okay after some treatment.


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## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

Ill continue to wait it out. They're now together intertwined, he's just having trouble flipping her over :/ 
After the process, should I place the female back into her sorority tank or a separate one for her?


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## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

update: they're currently embracing, dropping eggs and collecting - all is well. However, once finished, should she go in her own tank for a rest or back into the sorority?


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

I would put her in her own tank to recover. That’s what I did. After a few days she was ready to go back with her sorority sisters.


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## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

X skully X said:


> I would put her in her own tank to recover. That’s what I did. After a few days she was ready to go back with her sorority sisters.


Okay thank you, just set up a tank for her. 
Lastly, I didn't use a sponge filter in the breeding tank - in fact I haven't used any type of filter/pump, but debris is slowly building up... should I syphon this out at all? before or after they've hatched?
Also, does the male still require feeding while he is protecting the eggs?

They're still mating so thankfully i've got some time to confirm things.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

I didn’t feed my males while they were caring for the fry. I didn’t disturb the tank at all until I pulled the male. Then over the next week I would slowly add new water to the tank (same temp) until the tank was full. After that I would try to spot clean the bottom with an airline hose pinched between my fingers to control the suction. I was very careful and only cleaned a little on the bottom because my fry liked to scavenge down there and hide under the almond leaves that had fallen to the bottom. Mostly for water changes I drained water slowly and added water slowly. I use sponge filters. If I remember correctly it was about two weeks before the fry were strong enough to turn the filter on. It was my first spawn and I was really paranoid I was going to suck up babies or shock them with new water lol. The other members who have commented are probably better versed in betta breeding.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

I went back and looked at my spawn log, the fry were about a week old when I added the sponge filter and two weeks old when I moved them to a different tank.
I would love it if you did a spawn log for the forum as well 💜


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## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

X skully X said:


> I went back and looked at my spawn log, the fry were about a week old when I added the sponge filter and two weeks old when I moved them to a different tank.
> I would love it if you did a spawn log for the forum as well 💜


I shall get a sponge filter then!

Yeah ofc, what does the spawn log entail?


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Betta Spawn Logs


Detail your breeding results here.




www.bettafish.com




Here is the sub forum for spawn logs check em out! Some cool pairings in here. My favorite log is the butterfly male and elephant ear female from cosmic syringe


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Ralphybettas has a great spawn log right now as well her fish are about 3 months old now


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## hiprasojo (Sep 21, 2020)

There are breeders who keep feeding the male while babysitting and there's who doesn't.
Its all based on the male behaviour. If you have male that tend to eat the eggs/fries, you prevent this by keep feeding him and vice versa. Check regularly to confirm that the male really doing his job babysitting and not eating the babies.

One of typical betta father behaviour when guarding fries is he sometime help the fry that hasn't been able to swim well by putting the fry inside his mouth and put the fry back inside bubble nest. If you see this dont be alarmed, its natural. Unless the father swallow the fry instead of putting the fry back to the nest. Like I said: check regularly.

I don't clean the bottom of the tank for at least one month after the fry is spawned. Just like what X skully X said, fry likes to stay at the bottom playing hide & seek. What I do is just change 50% of the water. Do this very slowly, betta spawn prone to shakes and water temperature changes.


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## JSavage00 (Dec 9, 2020)

X skully X said:


> Betta Spawn Logs
> 
> 
> Detail your breeding results here.
> ...


Halfmoon x Salamander Halfmoon Dumbo Ears first spawn log completed


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