# No breeding, guard empty nest, aggression or overly gentle??



## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

*So I've tried breeding a few different pairs, different days, different lengths. 


Valor is very gentle and shows off, but he doesn't care about the nest after that, he also doesn't really go further than just showing is fins. 

Lemon is aggressive. Overnight separated, still mean. 

Amai guarded his empty nest from the female and wanted nothing to do with her. 

Flame is still recovering from old divider jumping adventures. So no ladies for him yet, though he has made a nest.

Kyle Jr. Has always been little, but he did show interest in making a nest. 


I feed them frozen blood worms every 3rd day & very varied flake mix normally. Water is very clean, 0's across the board, water is warm(73-78F) and filtered. Tanks planted. I don't lower the water level because I only add a female once there is a nest, and if I lower the water, the nest will vanish and the males totally loose interest. Each male is in 5gal. 


Anything else I can do to fix their individual issues?*


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

What size is the spawning tank?


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

5gal


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## Jakr959 (Jun 15, 2010)

Well, I'm sorry to say but aggestivness has no cure. Maybe they will work it out on there own, but I dont see any way of breeding under these personalities.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

IMO/E-it is much easier to spawn by using at least a 10g tank, do you have a 10g that you can use?

Have you had any successful spawns and how long have you been attempting to spawn these Bettas?
Are they located so that the males and females can see each other?
Have you tried any live foods for conditioning like mosquito larva or guppy fry?
How many and what type of live plants are you using?


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

No other heater so no other tanks.
Just the past few weeks, the males listed above and 2 females.
Female is in a clear cup.
No live food, it wouldn't survive. Either a dog/cat would get to it or the heat/cold. 
They are planted tanks. 2-3 Wisteria, Dwarf Sag bottom.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

How long did you leave them together to spawn? or better yet.... explain in detail your spawning attempts...


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Mitzy was in with Valor for almost 3 days. Other mixes 1.5-2days.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I've read that if you introduce a female into a male's regular tank he will be overly territorial and may not breed.

I don't think they are conditioned enough. Try conditioning both breeders on live/frozen foods for a week or two. 

If you can't keep live foods what do you plan to feed the fry? Fry feed instinctively and most will not go for powdered or dry foods. You'll end up with large numbers dead.


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

It was more of an experiment to see if they would breed/I could get them to. 
If I can find a 10g cheap and a heater, they actually breed, then I can go about trying harder to find a temperate place for the live food.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Basically bettas would breed anywhere. They would breed in 1g water (but the fry wouldn't survive). The trick is to set the mood, for both male and female.

If you have placed them together and the male is not interested, then separate them immediately and isolate them (preferably) in a dark place. Make sure that they can't see other bettas. 1 week should be more than enough (don't forget to condition them).

Then let the male see a female. If he swims as if showing himself off, then he wants to breed. The same for the female and she usually shows breeding signs. You can release the female.

Aggressiveness is not a sign of not wanting to breed. Some males would beat the life out of the female before mating. That's why the female is usually kept in jars for three days; it's a way to make the male tired/less aggressive and give the female time to prepare/ripen her eggs. So when she is released, they would almost immediately spawn.

I don't actually 'condition' my breeders with extra food. I only use frozen bloodworm 2 - 3 times a day. So I believe, live food isn't really a must (it is better though). Just don't use man made fish food.

I hope this helps. Good luck!


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## Legendary (Mar 31, 2010)

indjo said:


> Basically bettas would breed anywhere. They would breed in 1g water (but the fry wouldn't survive). The trick is to set the mood, for both male and female.



Ooops sorry but i spawn bettas in a 1 gallon and never had a problem with it, i leave them there for a 2 weeks and then move them and they do just fine, i dont know why people make breeding bettas look so hard when its really easy, i dont even worry about the betta's first breath but i still make sure that the air is warm just in case. IMO the smaller the thank the better but that's just me.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'd be interested you hear what your set up is like spawning that way. You must do multiple daily water changes to keep the stunting hormone down in a tank that small. I'd also like to hear the avg number of fry you have survive to adulthood in a tank that big.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It seems like it would be very difficult to maintain good water quality in a smaller container.


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