Breeding Bettas

Question
I have a male betta and was interested in breeding him and I was wondering what I needed to do to breed him...

Answer
Brea,

Breeding the Betta is not as easy as it might sound and is very expensive. There are a lot of things that need to be done. You have to make sure that your fry food is ready. It is too late to start hatching brine shrimp or micro worms the same day the fry are born. Micro worms take about 2 weeks before you can harvest them, and brine shrimp 24 to 36 hours to hatch. You must condition the male and female for about 2 weeks prior to breeding. This is done by feeding them good quality foods such as frozen brine shrimp and blood worms. The male and female should be in their own tanks with a heaters set at 82 degrees. While you are conditioning the breeding pair, you will need to set up the 10 gallon breeding tank. This tank will have the following:
1. NO gravel.
2. A heater
3. a sponge filter that has been cycled for 6 to 8 weeks and sometimes longer
4. Lots of plants on the right side of the tank for the female to hide, ( it can be the other side, but this is the way that I do it.)       
5. In the front left corner, you will place a Styrofoam cup, cut in half length wise. ( this is       
    where the male will build the bubble nest.)
6. The water level should be no higher than about 4 to 5 inches. ( the fry cannot swim well and    
    if there is too much water, they will drowned.)

Once the filter has cycled, it is time to put the male into the breeding tank. You want him to be in the breeding tank for 3 to 4 days by himself. This helps ensure that he knows the tank is his territory. Once he has been in the breeding tank for about three days, it is time to put the females tank next to the breeding tank. Make sure that the male can see her. The male should start building the nest. Do not be worried if he does not build the nest. The female's tank should sit next to the breeding tank for 2 days. Now you wait for the sign that the female is ready to breed. Her horizontal lines on her body will become vertical lines. DO NOT put the female in the tank. Get a jar, I use a hurricane lamp cover. This is where the female will be housed. Put the jar, or whatever you are using, in the breeding tank making sure the female is inside. You should now see a lot of flaring from the male. This is normal. Once the female has been in the jar for a few hours, you can try releasing her into the breeding tank. There will be a lot of chasing, nipping and biting, this is normal. Make sure that you will be there the whole time the female is in the tank with the male so that if there is a problem, you can remove her right away. DO NOT feed them while they are in the breeding tank. Mating can take anywhere from 4 hours to 3 to 4 days. Again, do not be concerned if the male has not made the bubble nest. Some males build it while they are breeding. When the female is ready, she will swim under the bubble nest with her tail up and her head down. The male will wrap is body around her and squeeze the eggs out, fertilizing them at the same time. Once the eggs have dropped, your female will look dead. She is not dead, and will "come to" very quickly. The male, and sometimes the female, picks up the eggs and blow them into the bubble nest. You will know the breeding is over when the male chases the female away from the nest. At this time, you will remove the female and put her back into her tank. Keep her quiet for a couple of days and make sure to feed her well. At this time, the male is still in the breeding tank taking care of the eggs. He will look like he is eating them, and some males do eat the eggs. In about 24 hours, you should start seeing the eggs hatching and little tails pointing to the tank floor. A few hours later, you should see the fry starting to swim vertically. This is normal, and the male is still in the breeding tank. About 48 hours after hatching, the fry will start to swim horizontally. When this happens, it is time to remove the male, placing him back into his 5 gallon tank. Keep him quiet for a couple of days and feed him well. While the male is in the tank, the fry are getting their food from their egg sac. Once the male is removed, it is up to you to feed the fry and slowly turn the heater up to 85 degrees. You will need to feed the fry 3-4 times a day removing any uneaten food and/or waste from the bottom of the tank every day. The female lay 100+ eggs. Once the fry are about 2 months old, remove the males and put them in their own tanks, one fish per tank making sure each tank's water is 85 degrees at all times. Once they get older, you can start lowering the temperature back to 82 degrees.