# my bettas won't mate



## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

I am breading for the first time.

I have everything setup perfectly and both fish look ready.

Girl is very eggy, boy built a huge nest.

Setup is 4" of water in a 10 gallon. PH is 7.0 temperature is 80f. 

The girl is showing submissive postures, bit he just defends the nest.

This is day 2 of this.

Is there anything I can do?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Yes, be patient and let nature take its course.  They sound perfect. Sometimes first timers (virgins) may take longer up to 1 week. Veterans usually spawn with in 24 hours.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Nope. Let them do their thing. Don't disturb them.. the more you mess around with the tank (even looking in it), the longer it will take for them (usually). Cover up the front of the tank, allow a small section towards the top open so you can peek in still without them noticing. 

With virgins, especially if both are virgins, it can take anywhere from a day to a week - sometimes even two - to get them to figure things out. A lot of times people don't realize that it can be difficult to get your spawns going.. not all of the pairs are going to be easy to breed and since breeding for these animals has a potential to mean life or death you can see why they don't get it on like rabbits.. A lot of factors are in play when one gets a quick, easy spawn.. such as age of breeders, how they were conditioned (each of the bettas react better to different techniques of conditioning), how much room they have to swim in the tank, how many hiding places are available, etc etc.

For now all you can do is wait. If after day 5 there is still nothing (or sooner if it looks like they gave up) then recondition them and start over.. maybe change the conditioning up a little such as don't allow them to see another betta for 3-5 days at all before adding them to the tank, etc.

Good luck!


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

They are both very young and it is their first time too, so I guess I will wait a while.

They are right now sticking to opposite corners of the tank, not really interacting at all.

Thanks for the advice.

Atena


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

+1
Leave them. 
My first female was a snot. He would build the nest and gently herd her over so she could see it, she would inspect the nest then tear it apart and swim back to her corner and wait for him to build it again. It wasn't until he started defending his nest did she become submissive. She would swim up to the nest and immediately assume the head down position. I guess he took it personally because he wouldn't give her the time of day for two days after that. All together is was a week. I was about to give up.


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

Thanks, this is encouraging. Right now I feel like she is just heartbroken, he rejected her advances on multiple occasions, even after she inspected the nest and kept her head down. She just sits at the other end of the tank, pouting.

Willem is such a heart-breaker!

I have not been home for most of the day, when I am there I peak in from afar so they don't see me just to see if she is still in the same spot, and she is.

I hope when I get home tonight they will be farther along. What can I say, relationships are hard. LOL


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

How did you condition them? There should be at least some level of activity.. if they aren't moving, he isn't making/working on a nest then I would remove them and recondition them. Isolate them both from all other fish for a few days, stuff them with food and try again..


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

She comes up to the nest every now and then to try and get a rise out of him but he only chases her away.

She is not the problem, he is.

He lives alone in a 5gal. She lives with her sister one floor bellow. They never saw each other until they were brought together. She was floated in a clear container until he built a nest and she started dropping eggs. (Almost 2 days).

Then she was released Friday night, they fought for a while. She submitted and he did not respond, continued to chase her until she just stayed away. She still tries do come near him every now and then, and he is still building his nest. It has been like this for 2 days now.


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

Keep us posted on how it is going. I hope he gets his stuff together and starts a family.


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

I think we had a small spawn. There a few eggs in the nest, and both fish were working on the nest together for a bit. Then the girl went to her side of the tank.

She is now back in her home while Willem is working on the nest alone.

I still have the privacy screen up, because of this I am not sure if she released the eggs on her own or they actually did this together, since it is my first time too I am not sure what am looking for.

Should I now try to feed him?

Is there a way to know for sure?

I guess I will know if I see any bay fish developing in the nest.

It is still a waiting game.

Atena


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

Atena said:


> I think we had a small spawn. There a few eggs in the nest, and both fish were working on the nest together for a bit. Then the girl went to her side of the tank.
> 
> She is now back in her home while Willem is working on the nest alone.
> 
> ...


Thats Awesome news. I am excited for you. 

Fertilized eggs will look different from unfertilized ones Right away. I have not bred bettas YET. I had cory cats, sparkling gourami, discus, blue acaras, and angle fish breed/ spawn for me. IME the dead eggs look more solid in color. you can't see throw them at all. A fertilized egg will be a white or yellow but more opaque you can almost see threw it. With my Angles I saw eyeballs in the egg before they hatched. 

Someone that has bred bettas could explain it better I am sure.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

First step complete, congrats . . . yet more waiting . . .

Never really noticed them. As far as I know eggs are milk white, doesn't look round and not see through. But I never used magnifying glasses to see them.


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## Darth (Nov 19, 2012)

A lot of times if he sits under the nest and does not chase her, they have already spawned this has happened more than once to me..if he is still flagging her they did not spawn yet , but if she approaches and he goes into attack mode chances are good they already spawned.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

You already removed her, no going back now  Just wait and see how many babies you get  If he is tending to the nest then they are most likely fertilized and will hatch.

I wouldn't try to feed him (it won't make him eat his eggs) but because most of the time the males won't eat while tending to a nest, and if he doesn't eat the food will spoil in the water (as you don't want to disturb him by trying to remove the uneaten food). So just leave him be.. this is why they are conditioned like they are, so they can have enough energy to take care of the eggs 

Is she in the same tank, just divided? Unsure what you mean by privacy screen.. if so then you need to remove her. She won't recognize her own eggs, and females tend to be the egg eaters, why only the males take care of the eggs/fry.

Good luck!


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

So far so good. She is in a hospital cup healing and acting normal. She did not get beat up, this is just in case.

He is diligently taking care of the nest, I can barely make out the eggs from the bubbles, I guess I just have to wait. I presume he would not do this if the eggs were not fertilized.

I added more java moss to the outside corner of the tank to help clean the water, he did not even notice, he was so concentrated on the nest. He was begging for food though so I gave him one worm at a time making sure he eats it so there is no spoils. He would eat, and go check on his nest, then come back and eat again... so cute!

Now we wait some more. 

Thanks everyone for your support here, I got pretty confused there for a while, even though I have read so much about it, there is nothing like real life experience.


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

Yay! Hope you get babies. It takes a few times to get the hang of it. Sometimes you will still question it. I had to separate two I had in the tank today. He was just too agressive. I will try again in two weeks. If he's still over the top agressive I'll put him in with one of my big mean giant girls and we'll see who is meaner


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

oh my goodness... I am afraid for both of them. LOL


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

Well, sometimes these guys...I mean fish... just need to be put in their place, lol.


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

I have babies!!!! OMG! I am so excited!!!!


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

That's great news good job. Now for the hard part. Raising the fry.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Woohooo . . . now the real fun begins 
Congratulation you're a new mom


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

Yes, that was the easy part... thank you.

Now all I have to do is keep them alive until they look like fish.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

Pictures?  Baby fish pics are the best!


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

working on it!


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

I hope you can see these.


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

Nice shot. I am going to put my fish in the breeding tank tonight .


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

oh how exciting, wish you the best of luck snowflake!


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Babies!!


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## alunjai (Jul 29, 2012)

Congrats!! So in the end, how many days were they in the spawning tank before they started spawning?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yay! Congrats on your babies!!


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

It took them nearly a week, but better late than never.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Yup! Hopefully next time it won't take as long as they will know a little more of what to do


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## lovefordebbie (Jul 7, 2013)

do you have to seperate each betta when there older?


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes.. sometimes the females can stay together in a large holding/grow out tank, but sometimes some of them are a bit rowdy and need to be separated. Usually they can start to become separated around the 8 week mark and longer, just depends on each one and when they start to fight (not just posture).


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## snowflake311 (Jun 19, 2013)

Atena said:


> It took them nearly a week, but better late than never.


I dont think I can wait that long the suspens is killing me and it has only been a little more then a day.


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## Atena (Apr 29, 2012)

Lol


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