Betta Help!!!

[roocrazy]

My female has ballooned up in her belly (eggs) so what if i dont put my male with her will she be ok?? im nervous and excited to try to breed...


THANKS!!!!!!

 

[NovaAman]

um, are you sure its eggs? usually if they balloon up, its dropsy...

If it is eggs and she's bout to lay, then you need to get the male in so he can fertilize, then move both back out once the fry arrive.

 

[ChickenfootDuckbutt]

If your has a bubble nest and the female is gravid then they're both ready to breed, however you still need to take it slowly, put the female in her own "area" inside the males tank (such as a small jar/a mesh or plastic live-bearer birthing net,and if the male is truely interested in breeding, he will display and court the female by fanning his fins and gill plates, if the female is interested she will do the same, the male should also work tire-lessly on his bubble nest, deviding his time between courting te female nd working on his nest, once he stops building, then you can release te female.

he should lead her to the bottom on the nest and they should do their little fishy giddy giddy, and the BOOM.

the female needs to be taken out afterward or he WILL kill her

 

[Andi]

Unless you have been conditioning her for breeding I think her bloating is not eggs but something that could be to her demise. Can you post a picture of her? If her scales are sticking out - that's not good and its difficult to save a fish that has progressed to that because they have a difficult time osmoregulating.

Best case scenario, if its not eggs, is constipation, which isn't all too uncommon. If that's the case feeding her the insides of a cooked pea could help get things moving, so to say, if she's eating. Breeders will often feed peas in the normal feeding regiment specifically to prevent constipation. If she's not eating you'll have to do a Epsom salt bath, which basically will give her diarrhea.

A couple other possibilities are parasites or internal infection. Is there anything protruding from the anus such as long fecal or worms?

If she is full of eggs and ready to spawn you'll notice there will be a creamy colored spot that looks like an egg at her vent and she will have developed vertical stripes. If she is ready to spawn and you don't put her with a male, she'll be fine. She will simply reabsorb the eggs. If you do decide to try spawning - its a lot of work! Check out the IBC (International Betta Congress) and you will get lots of advise and help along the way. There's way too much to put in one post.

 

[Andi]

Here's a link to the IBC (International Betta Congress). The IBC is a group of folks that are into breeding and showing Bettas. A fantastic group of people. If nothing else, check it out and you will get to see some incredible Bettas that will make you drool!

http://www.ibcbettas.org/pages/

I see you are a fellow Minnesotan. I know of some people in the Twin Cities that have bred and shown Bettas, if that would be of any help.

***One more thing I think is important to add. If she's not full of eggs, has developed the vertical bars and completely ready to spawn and you put the male in with her - he will likely kill her. I've lost several very expensive Bettas that were imported from Thailand because I didn't realize they weren't ready to spawn. I've even had females that weren't gonna take any crap kill males. Floating a dried leaf on the surface of the water for the female to jump up on to for a rest is a good idea. She'll jump back in the water on her own.

 

[roocrazy]

she has a white spot and vertical stripes

 

[Kevin565]

If she is full as in eggs have you:

1. Set up the nursery
2. Properly Conditioned her
3. Selected the male
4. Prepared the brine shrimp
5. Decided what your going to do with the babies

If you havent done all of the above I would suggest waiting a little while before breeding them. Breeding any animal including fish is a big responsibility.

 

[roocrazy]

yes it for sure. i breed cattle. but i think bettas are a little tougher. ill wait.

 

[Andi]

For some local help, if you're interested, there are several Betta folks on the Minnesota Fish Keepers Forum.

http://www.minnfish.com/forum/index.php?sid=890e8a2ed1ded70e760b7724a4afb6d6

I'm very happy to read that she has vertical stripes and the spot at her vent. Then she's likely healthy. You're wise is waiting and doing it right. Bettas aren't the easiest critters to breed. They are aggressive breeders and you need to be ready ahead of time to deal with the injuries that will likely happen during the process. Its a wonderful process to see happen and I hope someday the timing will be right for you.

 

[Stacykins]

If you don't breed her, she'll do two things.

1) Reabsorb her eggs internally
2) Release the eggs (even without a male). Most females eat the eggs they release unfertilized.

But like it was mentioned, there could be other problems.