-^*Spawning Guide*^-
Choosing the correct pair of betta
To prevent unwanted colouration or finnage you may not want, it's best to choose the right colour and type of betta you want to spawn. Rule number one for myself is that I choose betta of the same colour and tail type, to prevent too much of other colours appearing in the spawn, Red Halfmoon Plakat x Red Halfmoon Plakat may not necessary give you plainly Reds in your next generation as the genetics from the both parents may not be that strong but definitely not more disappointing than spawning Red Halfmoon Plakats with another Coloured Halfmoon Plakat as it will give you alot of other colours. Rule number two for myself is that I will choose the same tail type of betta to spawn so as to achieve the minimum, having the same tail type in the offsprings. Rule number three for myself is that I will choose a male betta which is bigger in size than the female so as allow the male to "wrap" around the female easily during the process of spawning. Spawning will be impossible if the male cannot wrap itself on the female squeezing the eggs out of her.
Example of Halfmoon x CrownTail bettas
This is the result of spawning with the spawning of other tail type of betta. But it's not recognised in competitions and not much of demand of the tail type people are usually looking for although it may see to be appealing to others.
Other examples of crossing tail types:
Super delta
Spade Tail
Conditioning the pair
After choosing the desired pair of bettas you got. Next is to condition your female by feeding them live food usually, and frequent changing of water. Allow the pair to see each other like 5mins each day and slowly increasing their duration of flare each day. If the pair is interested in each other they will usually flare to each other and the male will start building bubble nests, female will show "horizontal bars" on her body
Example of conditioned female and horizontal bars:
Example of bubble nests:
For me, I usually just condition them for like 2weeks and then at the same time preparing their spawn tank by filling it up with water, water level like 10cm high. I will explain why that level of water in the later part of this guide. Then next get a styrofoam cup and half it. So as to act as an artificial and potential bubble nesting area for the male as male will tend to build their nest below something as it is to prevent potential fungus infections of the egg and so as that the bubble nest will be firmed and not "pop" easily as the wind at external environment may tend to break the nest.
Example of halfing the styrofoam cup:
Example of setting the cup in tank:
Then next is to introduce the male into the tank, and let it swim around for a few hours to let him get used to the environment. Afterwhich, introduce the female in by "floating" it in the tank so as to let the male see the female.
Example of floating female in tank:
Let them be there for like a day or 2, the male will be building bubble nest and do not float the female too long 2days is maximum for me as they might lose interest of each other. If the male is eager to spawn bubble nest will be built.
Example of bubble nest which I think is ready:
Then slowly release the female into the tank from the float and do not disturb the pair too much as they might be distracted. Nippings of finnage is unavoidable as it is part of the spawning courtships. Female may at times destroy the bubble nest if she's unwilling to spawn or she's not happy with the bubble nest. The male will rebuild the bubble nest so no worries! Spawn may take place once you release the female, some times it will take awhile before the pair spawn, a pair of mine took a week before they actually started spawning. "Wrapping" will take place, the male will wrap around the female squeezing out the eggs and fertilising it at the same time. Then the male will pick up the egg from the bottom of the tank and clean it, then deposit them in the bubble nest he built. This is why I recommended only 10cm in water level as it may tire out the male if the water level is too high for him to swim and pick the eggs. Eggs may also fall off the bubble nest at times and not to worry, the male will pick them back up and put back on the bubble nest. If the male gets too agressive and the female looks stunned after a few days you may want to consider taking out the pair and recondition the female to prevent mishaps from happening.
Below is a video of my pair Halfmoon Plakat spawning:
The wrapping process will take place for approximately about 3-5hours. After that, when wrapping finishes the female will tend to swim the other side of the tank and you will need to remove the female from the tank as she is tired and the male will be very aggressive towards the female as they will be protecting the bubblenest with the eggs in it. Eggs will usually hatch between 24hours-48hours depending on the temperature of the environment.
