Your Betta should be at least five months old and in good health before you attempt to breed. If you attempt breeding with Betta’s that are less than five months old or in poor health you’ll end up frustrated, and your Betta will, too!

If you just bought your Betta from a pet store or had it shipped through mail, you may need to wait a couple of weeks before attempting to breed. Pet store conditions are usually less than ideal and being mailed is, of course, very stressful and your fish will need some time to get acclimated.

Before you attempt to breed you need to do some conditioning. The water must be clear and as clean as you can possibly get it. You should increase feedings to four times a day and feed as much protein as possible, preferably live bait such as bloodworms.

At least a week before you attempt to breed your Betta you should place them in two separate containers where they can view each other. Allowing them to see one another will usually keep them from being aggressive when you put them in a spawning tank together.

Once you expose two fish to one another male may start forming a bubble net at top of his bowl, this is normal behavior. The female will often get stripes on her body and you will know she is ready to breed when she begins to swim as if dancing on her nose; following males’ every move. Her belly will be obviously filled with eggs. These are signs that she is ready and willing to breed.

Once you bring your Betta’s home you should begin to familiarize yourself with their movements and typical behavior patterns. When you look at your fish after you’ve had them for awhile you’ll know if something is wrong, if they are not feeling well, or if water in their bowl is not in best condition simply by being observant.

1. Make sure jar or bowl that you keep your Betta in is big enough so that he can swim around and not bump or tear his fins or scales. Also be sure there is plenty of surface area so that he can get enough oxygen.

2. Your Betta will thrive in cleanest water that you can provide for him. He does not require a filtration system, but you should change out a third of his water every three days so it stays fresh and clean and keeps your finned friend from getting bacterial or fungal infections. Aged water (water that has set out for twenty four hours) is what should be used to replace old water.

3. Do not put your Betta fish with other Betta’s. They are called Siamese fighting fish because they are, in fact, fighting fish. They will tear at one another, often causing death of at least one fish before they stop. Betta’s can be coupled with algae eaters, guppies, or corydorus catfish safely.