? re: son's bettas and breeding them

[bkmomto3]

My 11yo son is attempting to breed his bettas.  At this time, he is frustrated.  This is what he is seeing.  We appreciate any advice y'all can give to us.

1.  The female has horizontal stripes, which we understand means that she is afraid of the male who is in the jar next to her's. He has an index card in between the two jars.  She's had them for close to a week.  

2.  The male betta will not build a bubble nest.

My son is beginning this endeavor, but has been reading about his responsibilities.  He is very concerned.

Thank you.

Bonnie

[PhishPhreek]

Re: ? re: son's bettas and breeding them

Breeding is a strenous time for bettas - they need to be conditioned (feed them plenty of high proteen food) for a few weeks to get them ready.  Carding them or isolating them usually helps.
They prefer soft, acid water, use a little bottled water or rain water.
They seem to become stimulated when weather fronts come through the area and the barometric pressure changes.
The spawn tank should be around 82 degrees
After conditioning, I usually place the male in the spawn tank and place the female in her jar inside the spawn tank where they can get a good look at each other but not cause any harm.  

Some bettas just are not interested in spawning with a particular female and you may have to switch partners.