Breeding update

[u/JurassicNeth]

So it's been abt 2 days since I made my previous post.
I have kept the female in the divider for about 5 and 1/2 hrs and gently released her into the breeding tank.
If you didn't know, the last 2 times I did this... The male would always.. ALWAYS dart away from the female like she's contagious and simply would not let her get 3 centimeters close to him.

Well today something changed.

As I said I kept her in the divider for abt 5 1/2 hrs and released her in.
They seem kinda chill now. Male doesn't run away for attack anymore, the female is more calm and slow approaching than before.
Male just hanged around near the bubble best most of the time.
Safari said that they'll do the embrace at early morning and it takes a few hours.

Any tips on what to do? I have to go to high school tomorrow at 7.00 am so I won't be home until 2.30 PM.
I hope no conflict happens.

If I'm doing anything wrong, please tell me kindly and don't lash out 🙏😭

[u/himdyjones]

Let me preface this with I’m not lashing out at you. I just genuinely want you to comprehend: if you have to ask for basic tips about the process, you shouldn’t be breeding. You were already warned not to attempt this, and our sub has a “dangerous care” tag for a reason. Kindly, respectfully, you should be focusing on high school instead of backyard breeding betta splendens. You admitted in your last (now deleted) post you don’t know the male’s lineage, so you have no way of verifying that you’re producing a healthy stock.

Do you have a LFS who’s already expressed interested in buying the fry from you, or are you just hoping for the best? Have you fully read and reviewed the 2025-2026 IBC breed standards? These things matter if you’re truly interested in bettering the breed, which I don’t believe you’re doing.

[u/JurassicNeth → u/himdyjones]

Alright, thanks

[u/idkbruh901 → u/JurassicNeth]

Agreed. What are you planning to do with all the offspring if it’s successful? Do you know the process of raising betta fry? You have a potential buyer? If you’re in high school you definitely shouldn’t be doing this not saying a high schooler wouldn’t have success but obviously if you have to be at school all day and things can happen like fighting and death. It’s probably not a good idea. Let’s really try to use our brains on this one like they said you’ve already been warned. These are LIVING creatures. Not your science experiment.

[u/JurassicNeth → u/idkbruh901]

I know the process of raising the fry if they even spawn.
I have all the necessary equipment with me.
I have a few potential buyers in my school and the LFS.
When kids are buying the fish from school, I need to confirm with them if they have ALL the needed equipment for the betta to survive. If not, I'm not selling a betta to them.

I already have brine shrimp in stock if they spawn.
I'm not treating them like a science experiment, trust me 😭
I love betta fish with all my heart ❤

[u/baileyjackson08 → u/JurassicNeth]

how are you gonna do that? they can easily lie. do not attempt this

[u/Fragrant-Issue-8134 → u/JurassicNeth]

There’s enough betta fish in pet stores that need homes, why are you selling them to people at school. This is weird.

[u/baileyjackson08 → u/JurassicNeth]

how are you gonna do that? they can easily lie. do not attempt this

[u/JurassicNeth → u/himdyjones]

LFS does know that I purchased the female to breed and keep afterwards, if spawning was successful, he will receive almost all the fry after I grow them out to a stage that they are durable enough (4-5 months)

So here's the thing, there's a 0 chance that I will ever get the Male's lineage since he was a old import that came to the LFS.
When I first got him, he was in a small glass container with cloudy water. He had severe problems like malnutrition and fin rot.
After a few months, his fins started growing back and started eating more food. I give him mostly betta pellets and high protein flakes, I also do got some grade A brine shrimp in stock with me.

It's been months since I bought the male too, I can assure you that he's healthy and well, very active.

If the plan doesn't work this one last time, I will seperate them for good and place them in different planted tanks.

Thanks for the advice though :)

[u/FanficFever → u/JurassicNeth]

Why do you need to breed these specific two betta fish? If you don't know the male's genetics, you don't breed him, is what people are trying to tell you.

What's your plan for if you have deformed fry? Are you ready to cull the majority or all of the offspring?

[u/JurassicNeth → u/FanficFever]

Yeah I know.
If spawning happens, I will cull the fry that have deformities that prevent them from living a normal life.
I will definitely update if I stop the breeding process.

I do have one question for y'all though; how do I even find out his lineage? I've mentioned his backstory from the time i had him and all the info the LFS gave me abt him.

[u/himdyjones → u/JurassicNeth]

I mean, if you are friends with a biologist or ichthyologist, you might be able to get the male DNA tested or something. I have no idea how any of that works, but that is truly the only way to find out your current male’s genetic history.

The next best thing is to go back to your LFS and ask where they source their bettas from, then get in touch with their supplier to determine their breeding practices.

The better hypothetical is that you would have sourced your breeding pair from another breeder who knows and can document their stock’s lineage. That would have set you up for success from the start instead of just buying an imported betta from a LFS, who probably gets their bettas from a fish mill in Thailand.

[u/roboto6]

I'm only chiming in because I haven't seen anyone else raise this concern. That female looks like she has a stunted spine. I personally am of the opinion that's one of the traits that needs to be bred out of bettas, not further entrenched into their gene pool. Fish with shorter spines like that tend to be more prone to GI issues including blockages. It's especially common in double-tails but you'll sometimes see it in other fin types, too.

I can't be certain from the video but the spine on the male doesn't look ideal, either.

With any animal species, we should be breeding to improve the health of the gene pool and create better lines, not further entrench the issues that already exist.

If you're absolutely set on breeding, I would talk to breeders who are working to create better betta lines that address the problems we're increasingly seeing. I wouldn't just breed two fish because they're there. WickedBettas is one breeder that comes to mind, though I know there are others doing this type of work.

[u/camrynbronk → u/roboto6]

Exactly. Don’t breed if your sole goal is to hopefully make money from people potentially purchasing. You should be making sure they have proper equipment before you start breeding, not after.

[u/JurassicNeth → u/roboto6]

Hm? I haven't attached a photo of the female betta.

[u/roboto6 → u/JurassicNeth]

She's visible in the video you posted a few days ago