Betta fish breeding steps

Set up a large tank. When breeding, gouramis need an extra large tank. The female needs to be able to get away from the male, as the male may make a few too many advances during breeding time.

• The tank needs to be 30 gallons or so for breeding.

Add hiding places. In addition, the female needs place where she can hide. The reason for this step is the same as the reason for having a large tank. The male may be too intrusive and threatening while breeding.

• You can use items like driftwood and decorations to create hiding places. You can also use rocks for this purpose. Make sure you buy items that are meant for the aquarium.

Have three total tanks. Once your female has had her babies, she will need to be removed. Similarly, once the babies hatch, you'll need to take the male out. That means you need a tank each for the male, female, and the babies.

• The other two tanks that are not for breeding can be 20 gallons each. You can house other fish in these aquariums. Fish that are approximately the same size work best.
• To scoop up a fish, you can remove some of the plant life and lower the water in the tank to make it easier to catch the fish.
• To acclimate the fish to the new tank, you can treat it like bringing a new fish home. That is, place it in a smaller container or plastic bag with some of the old tank water. Add a cup of the new water and let it sit for 10 minutes before adding just the fish to the new tank.

Part 2

Triggering Breeding

1. Make the water shallower. Gouramis respond to a change in the depth of the water. When it becomes less deep, they are more likely to breed than when it is deeper. Remove some of the water from the tank to make the depth shallower to encourage breeding.
   • The tank can be as low as 6 inches for breeding.
2. Add floating plants. Male gouramis build a bubble nest for their young. To do so, they need plant leaves at the surface. Therefore, you need to add plants to the aquarium to allow them to breed.
   • Ricca is a common floating plant used with gouramis. However, you can also use fake floating plants designed for aquariums.
3. Up the temperature. For breeding, the gouramis prefer the water to be a bit warmer than usual. You'll need to increase the temperature to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
   • You can actually keep the tank at this temperature normally, but you can also keep it as low as 72 degrees Fahrenheit.