This is just a review of how I go about spawning my bettas.

There are many different techniques which work for different people. What works for me may not work for you.

Conditioning: I usually try to condition my bettas for about two weeks. I feed them high quality frozen and live food and push the temperature of their tanks to about 80F. I "card" them for about 20 minutes each day - that means that I place a solid divider between their tanks and remove it each day so that they can see each other and flare at each other. If they can see each other all the time, they get bored with each other; then they don't want to spawn when I put them together. Since I keep my breeding stock at conditioned level most of the time, I don't really need to condition them. An unconditioned female will still have eggs - maybe not as many, and the fry may not be as strong, but she is still capable of spawning.

Parameters:

• 5 or 10 Gallon tank
• Submersible heater set at 84-86F
• Water - half well water, half R/O water
• Additives - IAL Extract, plants, possibly some Anti-Fungal, depending on the circumstances.

Day 1: I set up the spawning tank with clean water about halfway filled. I add plants (java moss and java fern) to provide hiding spots and Almond Leaf Extract to the water. I don't use a sponge filter, mostly because I don't have one. I acclimatize the male to the water in the evening and add an almond leaf and/or small Styrofoam plate on the surface of the water. Then, lights out until tomorrow. This allows the male to become familiar with his new digs.

Day 2: I introduce the female using a clear jar/vase. I acclimatize her as usual. During this time the male is generally showing off and perhaps thinking about starting a nest (if he didn't already build one through the night). As long as the pair seem to be interested in each other (flaring at each other, flirting, female barred, female not trying to attach the male through the jar) I release the female as soon as she is acclimatized (usually an hour or so). Then I sit and watch them until I am confident that they are going to get along and the female is not going to attack the male. The male should not be too aggressive to the female either; not chasing the female incessantly but going from flaring at the female to the nest to place a few bubbles, then back to the female again. Or he may be "dancing" under the nest as he builds, stopping to check out whether the female is watching him or not (vain little guys). Throughout the day I check on them regularly to make sure all is well.

Notes:

• I release the female almost immediately rather than having her in a chimney for 12-24 hours. I have found that when the male has to flirt for a long period of time he will often become frustrated. Then when I do release the female, he either chases her incessantly or wants nothing to do with her.
• I DO feed the pair when in the spawning tank. I also feed the male while he is caring for the fry - I feed him as far away from the nest as possible and he may or may not eat. If he shows no interest in the food I provide, I don't give him more as that will foul the water.
• I leave a night light on all day while there are two fish in a tank and after the spawn when the male is caring for the eggs/fry. Once the male is removed I turn off the night light.

Spawning Day: When the male is guarding his nest from the female and/or I see eggs/fry then I remove the female and give her some nice clean water with a little salt added to help heal her wounds. The male stays in.

48 hrs post spawn: looking for a "fuzzy" nest - tails should be there and the male should be busy catching his fry.

Notes:

• I leave the male in as long as I can. If he's an egg eater I remove him immediately. If he's a fry eater I leave him there for 48 hours post spawn and remove him as soon as the fry start to hatch. Most males are pretty good and I'll leave them in until they start to look tired out (they just get this "Can I go back to my bed now?" look). When he's no longer actively caring for the fry it's time to take him out. The longer the male is left in there, the stronger the fry seem to be.

3 days post hatch: I start feeding the fry now. I usually start off with Vinegar Eels (VE) and microworms (mw). After the fry are about a week old, I start feeding a combination of VE, mw and freshly hatched Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS). That way they all have a choice of what they want. I spread the food out over the entire tank. At about 2-3 weeks of age I start to add some solid food - frozen rotifers, golden pearls, Atison's Betta Starter. I mix these into the VE/mw/BBS mixture so the larger fry can sample the solid food but the smaller fry still have the live food.

Jarring: Once the fry are about ½ inch long, I generally jar them. Then I'll start to offer one frozen brine shrimp or a tiny piece of frozen blood worm or glass worm per fry. I've had fry gorge themselves when first introduced to frozen food and woken up the next morning to a tank full of dead fry. In the jars, the water must be changed every other day or so. I also add a small amount of java moss to each jar - they seem to thrive better this way.

Notes:

• Because my house is quite cool, I place the jars in a tank with a heater and add enough water to the tank to cover the heater but not completely immerse the jars. This keeps the jars warm. I used to use plastic jars - like clear ice cream containers. I found that I had a lot of unexplained deaths with these jars - the fry would simply fade away. I've started using only glass jars now and haven't had one death. My only explanation is that the plastic probably released some chemicals into the water from being kept warm and poisoning the fry.
• I find it very difficult to differentiate female from male at this stage. Since the males are often starting to become aggressive at this stage, I have found it beneficial to simply jar them all. As they mature and I can tell for certain who are females, I "un-jar" the females into a larger sorority tank. At this stage the females are usually still social enough to establish their own hierarchy and it's easier to grow them out in a larger tank than in jars.

Cleaning: In a perfect world, I would be cleaning the tanks and jars every other day. Unfortunately, I am away from home for nearly 12 hours each day with work, so I just don't have the time. I do make a point of cleaning my tanks weekly and jars at least twice a week. I clean my tanks by using a designated sponge to rub the sides of the tanks down and removing any plants from the tank (carefully - the fry like to hide in the plants and I don't want to take them out!) I let the debris settle for several minutes, then use a length of regular airline tubing to siphon the debris from the bottom of the tank into a clear container that I can then search for errant fry when I am done. I have discovered that placing a straw with a beveled end over the end of the airline tubing helps to create more of a "vacuum" effect… the beveled end makes it easier to move along the tank bottom without stirring up the debris. After cleaning, I search the container for fry and, using a turkey baster, I move them back to their tank.

I clean my jars using 100% fresh water and sterilized jars (dishwashers are an easy and quick way to clean and sterilize jars). Holding the dirty jar with fry in it over a bucket, I place a piece of plastic craft canvas over the jar opening. Then I pour the water through the canvas into the bucket. Once the jar is empty, I open the canvas from the top and allow the fish and java moss to drop into the clean, filled jar. Nice and easy - just make sure to check that the fish landed in the water… I lost one 2 month old fry when he jumped past the lip of the jar and I didn't notice until I was replacing the jars - about 20 minutes later.