BlackLabelCarling Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) I went to feed my Wild Betta Splendens (Super Reds) this evening and to my shock they had been busy and the male was tending to a an overflowing bubble nest! I've been watching and waiting for him to blow a nest but I totally missed him constructing this one along the side of the glass in their blackwater tank. Don't tell him, but his nest is kind of puny! I'm used to my domestics who blow huge nests just in case! I added a piece of bubble wrap to reinforce it for him. Also, I've removed the female because daddy has become very protective and kept chasing her away. I'm loving watching daddy tend to his nest, but TBH, I'm anxious about tending to my first betta spawn! If my Betta Smaragdina Guitar pair decides to spawn it is going to be a full house in my fish/bedroom! (Both these pairs came from Taylor of Simply Betta.) This is my first time spawning bettas of any kind, so I'd love to hear about any experiences people have had breading bettas (especially wild bettas). Edited August 14, 2020 by BlackLabelCarling 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Okay, this literally happened to me just a couple months ago. I got a trio of Betta mahachaiensis from a local hobbyist and put them in a 7 gallon tank for quarantine. A couple hours later I was down to a pair of them, I had left a small corner uncovered for feeding and one of the females made a quick departure 😔 Bettas are jumpers, especially the wild varieties. So. . . the next morning when checking on the pair there was a bubble nest and a bunch of eggs in it. I wasn't prepared for this, no infusoria cultures going, no paramecium going, no green water going, and they were in a temporary quarantine tank. This kind of puts me right where you are at now, here is what I did, and it worked out great. I left both the male and female in the tank, they don't fight like splendens do, but the male still kept the female away from the nest. In a couple days the eggs hatched and the fry hung in the nest for a few more days. Then came free swimming and how do I keep them alive without the normal microscopic food the tiny betta fry need. I chose to try finely powdered fry food, Sera Micron if you need specifics, it is like fine dust. Not like pepper but fine dust like on the top of you dresser. I fed it using a paint brush, not a big brush a little one like what comes in a kids watercolor set, or think of a brush the size of the ones in nail polish. Keeping the brush dry dip just the tip of it in the food container and then tap the brush on the side of the tank right above the fry. Just a tiny bit and you'll see the food dusting the surface of the water. I did this for a couple days and then added in a feeding of live baby brine shrimp using a dropper to place drops of it right by the surface. This was taken immediately and I was on my way to raising up the fry. Now a couple months later I have several hundred inch long Betta mahachaiensis. Hope this helps you out! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 Thank you! I just watched your live stream about breeding bettas for ideas! Did you leave the parents in once the fry became free swimming? Since I removed the female because I wasn’t sure, should I just leave her out? About an hour later I realized my other pair of wilds were courting as well 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExtraBennett Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Wow both of these stories sound like so much fun! Please keep us updated how they do! Would love to see pics of all those baby bettas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 10 hours ago, BlackLabelCarling said: Thank you! I just watched your live stream about breeding bettas for ideas! Did you leave the parents in once the fry became free swimming? Since I removed the female because I wasn’t sure, should I just leave her out? About an hour later I realized my other pair of wilds were courting as well 🙄 Once the fry were eating live baby brine shrimp I removed the fry from the parents tank. I would not put your female back in until you have separated the fry and the male. I feel like that could be a disaster as the male is now in full fry protection mode. (FFPM that's a new one for me 🙃) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 Update on the fry! They are all growing! 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share Posted November 15, 2020 Update on this spawn: Welp the boys suddenly found their urge to spar! Thankfully I already had jars ready for them to move into. I still haven’t gotten a final count...between 14-16. There are two that have deformities, but other than that, the rest are ready to find forever homes. This has been a HUGE learning experience, but overall successful, so that’s a WIN in my book! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 @BlackLabelCarling That is so cool! Talk about your Betta sororities, you have an entire tank of males and females. Seeing the males size each other up is wonderful. Most people don't have the opportunity to get to observe the full range of Betta behaviors so I love those videos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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