# Age/Size of Betta for breeding



## auomauom

does anyone know if there has to be a certain age or size before the bettas start to breed? I have a female and male that are about 3cm.


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## GunsABlazin

i know that the male should be as big as,preferably bigger then, the female.
And no younger then 4 months. 
a more experienced breeder will drop by soon.


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## bettalover2033

Welcome to the forum.

When breeding bettas, yes they have to be a certain age and size. The male should be ONLY a little bigger than the female and the female should NEVER be bigger than the male or it will male it very difficult for the male when they try to embrace. If he gets frustrated with not being able to embrace correctly, he may chase her around and with no intention of spawning anymore. I personally have never had this happen, but know from others. Also the youngest age I would recommend would be at least 4 months old. Though to be truthful with you I have bred 3 month old bettas. Only because they were from show breeders and looked like 6 month old adults. If they are only 3cm in size then I would suggest not planning on breeding them until they are at least 5-6cm. If i were to take a guess at an age it would be around the 2-3 month old mark.

I have to ask. Have you done any research on breeding bettas to consider it? Try looking at the stickies at the top of the page. They give you tips and tell you how to breed bettas. Though it is fine to have other small questions.


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## auomauom

bettalover2033 said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> When breeding bettas, yes they have to be a certain age and size. The male should be ONLY a little bigger than the female and the female should NEVER be bigger than the male or it will male it very difficult for the male when they try to embrace. If he gets frustrated with not being able to embrace correctly, he may chase her around and with no intention of spawning anymore. I personally have never had this happen, but know from others. Also the youngest age I would recommend would be at least 4 months old. Though to be truthful with you I have bred 3 month old bettas. Only because they were from show breeders and looked like 6 month old adults. If they are only 3cm in size then I would suggest not planning on breeding them until they are at least 5-6cm. If i were to take a guess at an age it would be around the 2-3 month old mark.
> 
> I have to ask. Have you done any research on breeding bettas to consider it? Try looking at the stickies at the top of the page. They give you tips and tell you how to breed bettas. Though it is fine to have other small questions.


thanks BL2033 for the response and information!!! I guess I have to wait a bit before they reach a certain maturity. I introduced my female to the male and the male hasn't started making any kind of bubble nest...:|


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## indjo

Welcome to the forum.

If you want stronger and healthier fry, it is believed that they should be spawned after they reach 4 months old, 5-7 is considered best (this doesn't mean younger and older ones can't be bred). Mine are usually bred at 3-3.5 cm (body only-without fins) which are about 4-5 months.

They would start to "flirt" around 3-4 months of age. But this doesn't necessarily mean they will breed. And even if they do, you would most likely get few and rather weak fry. 

I suggest you wait a bit and do some reading to get more familiar about their breeding behavior and especially about raising fry which is the real challenge. 

Good luck.


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## bettalover2033

auomauom said:


> thanks BL2033 for the response and information!!! I guess I have to wait a bit before they reach a certain maturity. I introduced my female to the male and the male hasn't started making any kind of bubble nest...:|


As myself and indjo stated, you should not attempt this without much to fall back on. There is much more ro breeding bettas than it seems. Please dont take this as a discouragement. I would love to see another breeder on the forum and it would be quite interesting to find out how you go about breeding.

In the time that you have to watch them grow into adults I would suggest going to various websites that are posted at the top of the betta breeding section in one of the stikies. Also there is one that actually tells you the basics of betta breeding.

Also just to say in response to your reply, it doesnt matter for bettas to make bubblenests when breeding because some will and some will not. Many males wont even blow a single bubble until the eggs are released. So the nest isnt a huge issue. When you said you introduced the female to the male, did you mean without any kind of barrier? Or with a divider or something to keep the male from getting her? Does he flare at her?


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## auomauom

bettalover2033 said:


> As myself and indjo stated, you should not attempt this without much to fall back on. There is much more ro breeding bettas than it seems. Please dont take this as a discouragement. I would love to see another breeder on the forum and it would be quite interesting to find out how you go about breeding.
> 
> In the time that you have to watch them grow into adults I would suggest going to various websites that are posted at the top of the betta breeding section in one of the stikies. Also there is one that actually tells you the basics of betta breeding.
> 
> Also just to say in response to your reply, it doesnt matter for bettas to make bubblenests when breeding because some will and some will not. Many males wont even blow a single bubble until the eggs are released. So the nest isnt a huge issue. When you said you introduced the female to the male, did you mean without any kind of barrier? Or with a divider or something to keep the male from getting her? Does he flare at her?


I divided the female from the male. The male has begun the bubble nest and is probably at 4-5 inches in length. The male flares at her, and she does so back at times. I guess its kind of a frenzy type of gesture coming from the female. The female doesn't look like she has enough eggs though she seems to want to mate with the male with all her frenzy flares and stuff going on. I'll wait a week and see if anything changes.


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## bettalover2033

If they are the same size, I wouldnt suggest attempting to breed as they might just get a bit frustrated and start to have the intensions to nip and chase more than to spawn.

If you are going to attempt this anyway, I would not suggest waiting a week. They will lose interest in each other. IF the males bubblenest is 4-5 inches long, trust me, it's time to release her!


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