# Breeding age and size



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

At what age / size do you breed your bettas - the ones that you have spawned and raised yourself? Do you go by body length, behavior, or physical age?

Why?


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I normally go by body length/size since I know the birth dates of very few of the fish I breed. 

I've found my smaller wild bettas can successfully breed at a total body length of around 3-3.5cm. Not sure how that would translate across to splendens, but most of the maximum lengths for the species I keep is about 5cm.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

^+1 I think size is the way to go, archy's brother was able to mate about 2 weeks after I got archy, which would have made him about 5 months old, but he didn't grow up to be as large as archy. (Hatch date jan21, got him may20th(ish) and saw that his brother has successfully spawned about 2 weeks later)


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

I go on behaviour mostly. Some mature faster than others and when a boy is building a bubble nest or female is showing mating behaviour towards the males they could be ready. Ive had some ready breed at 3 months others from same spawn mature at six months.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

I have breeding bars so dark they look like tiger stripes, and bubble nests in some cups - but they are only 10 weeks old. I'm not going to try to breed them right now, but wondering if it's like the equivalent of middle school age, lol. The biggest are 1.5 inches.


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## mohdgharaiya (Dec 13, 2014)

i breeded my betta first time at the age of 6 months
It was it first breeding


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

hrutan said:


> I have breeding bars so dark they look like tiger stripes, and bubble nests in some cups - but they are only 10 weeks old. I'm not going to try to breed them right now, but wondering if it's like the equivalent of middle school age, lol. The biggest are 1.5 inches.


This usually means you have healthy young fish. They would be the equivalent to 14-16 year olds. They could breed no problem but just like humans may be better to wait.


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## mohdgharaiya (Dec 13, 2014)

Bettas breeding cabability starts when they r 6 months or more


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## logisticsguy (Sep 7, 2012)

mohdgharaiya said:


> Bettas breeding cabability starts when they r 6 months or more


Ive bred them at 11 weeks old. It can depend on how well they were cared for during the start of their life and how mature each individual fish is much like humans.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Thank you Logisticsguy, you've let me know what I need to know. My mental timetable had them in the tub at 15 weeks - which looks to be about right.

Golden State Bettas is hosting a show in May, and we're going to have a special section for VTs. The "VT special" is not IBC sanctioned, but everyone's being encouraged to show off their best - we're pushing to get a trial class! If I can breed them mid-January, I ought to have some from F2 big enough to show in May. F1 is pretty, but F2 ought to be something special.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I go by size not age. Minimum 2.5 cm (1") body size.
IMO Size influences sexual maturity, though small but older bettas do mature.
But I'd rather intentionally breed them after 5 months of age because their fins would have developed by then. 

I have bred . . . sorry, I didn't intentionally breed them. They grew exceptionally fast so I kept them in the same 5g long tank. . . . they bred after about 8 weeks (2 month old). BTW these were giant fry and were about 3.5cm (body). 

The way you feed them also influences sexual maturity . . . . at least to some point. I find that those that literally eat until they drop/can't swim will mature later compared to those that eat sparingly. Some say this has to do with their sexual organs being "blocked/squeezed"(?) by their fat/weight. Not sure about reason. All I know is that even 5 - 7 month old won't breed until I put them on a tight diet.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

That would explain why the ones in the cups seem to be maturing faster - it is very difficult for me to regulate their individual food intake in the grow-out tanks. I noted that the boys are getting their "plumage" and the girls are taking on shape and showing bars much more after a couple of weeks in the cups.


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