Betta fish are arguably the most beautiful and mesmerizing fish that you can keep in a home aquarium and people will want to breed betta fish for a number of reasons as a result of this.
The video below sums up the beauty of a betta fish life cycle and shows clearly (perhaps too clearly!) what the breeding cycle should look like.
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Unfortunately, while this video makes the breeding process seem effortless, natural, and incredibly easy to initiate… Not all betta breeders will find it this straightforward. Some people have a great struggle to get their bettas to breed so in this article I’ll cover exactly why your betta fish are not breeding.
Why Are My Betta Fish Not Breeding
Even the most experienced breeders can have issues when it comes to breeding betta fish so don’t worry if you are struggling at first. There are usually a few key points to look out for and methods you can use to significantly improve the chances of successfully breeding your bettas.
First, I’ll cover the reasons why your betta fish are not breeding as some of these might be issues you were not aware of.
Bettas need to be compatible in order to breed and some bettas will not breed if they are not compatible with a mate. Bettas will also not breed if they have not been conditioned on high-quality nutrient sources and finally, the bettas need to be ready to breed with the male having a bubble nest and the female having eggs to release.
These are the headline issues you should be looking at when trying (and failing) to breed your bettas. All of them have a subtle link and if all of these factors are not in place, the chance of your bettas breeding is minimal.
Therefore, I’ll break these down a little further just to give some context to these issues.
From the male’s perspective, they need to be able to create a good quality bubble nest as these are the number one thing females will assess when preparing to mate.
A good bubble nest in the wild provides a safe and optimal place that the bettas can use to store and hatch their eggs. If the male is not making a bubble nest or it’s poor quality, there’s a very good chance he is not yet ready to mate and a female betta would also show disinterest at this point. A betta making a bubble nest is also a sign they are comfortable in their environment and ready to mate.
Likewise, a female betta will need to have her eggs ready to release before breeding. This can be identified when the underside of the fish has a white, full-looking patch around the stomach better known as the ovipositor.
You will also need your bettas to be an ideal age to breed which is 4 – 12 months. If your bettas are outside of this range then the chances of breeding are greatly reduced and this could be a major cause for concern.
You’ll also want your female to be attracted to the male betta. A study actually shows females notice a red betta more as the red pigmentation is a sign of bright color and good health but in general, make sure your male has an optimal diet and water parameters so that it looks healthier and more attractive to the female.
Other points to keep in mind prior to breeding your bettas is that they should be conditioned on high-quality food sources like daphnia, brine shrimp, or other high protein foods. This is to provide enough energy for the rigors of mating and spawning and using a generic tropical food flake is unlikely to provide the nutrition needed for mating.
How Do You Encourage Bettas to Breed
The above tips and points on why your betta fish are not breeding are the main things you’ll first need to address when preparing your bettas to breed. Failure to cover these basic points is going to make the breeding process difficult and unlikely to be successful.
Once you’ve done the above, I’ve also got a few additional tips below to encourage your bettas to breed.
Privacy
Betta fish like to have some privacy when they are intimate and mating. It’s, therefore, a good idea to create some sheltered spaces and opacity within the tank through the use of floral decoration and light minimizing spaces.
The female betta will like places to hide before and after mating and both breeds will also want some privacy during the act of mating so this might seem like an oversight to some but making the tank environment more private can definitely help make your fish more relaxed and comfortable in anticipation of mating.
Water Parameters
Ensuring the water temperature for your bettas is correct is essential for preparing both genders of betta to breed. If your water parameters and temperature are not optimal, there is very little chance that either betta will show any interest in breeding.
Cold water conditions will not provide the right environment to breed so make sure your tank is heated to between 74° and 79°F for optimal comfort and metabolic efficiency.
Time
Bettas have a noticeably long courtship period and the process is not as simple as putting a male and female together in a tank and assuming nature will take its course!
The male will often chase the female, take a few playful nips and also be busy building an impressive bubble nest. The female will also pretend to hide but also come out from time to time and make sure the male is still interested.
It sounds like what you’d expect to see from a high school romance and this prolonged courtship should simply be observed and not rushed. You might assume the male is being aggressive or that the bettas are not compatible when in actual fact, you should be giving them time during the breeding process.
Even the actual breeding process is time-consuming so If you’ve been waiting impatiently for your bettas to breed before reading this, my best advice would be to give it some time and check some of the factors that I’ve laid out already in this article.
Summary
If you are new to betta breeding, you could be facing a number of issues that are preventing your betta fish from breeding. Poor water conditions, an unsuitable diet, incompatible mates, and even something as simple as the fish not actually being prepared to breed are all common factors for bettas not breeding.
The betta breeding process is also not something that takes place immediately. After reading through this article, I’d recommend getting all of the basic factors in place while breeding bettas and as a last resort, you might need to look at finding a more compatible pair to mate.
