feeding while breeding

[wmpaul]

my bettas are almost ready to go but i need to know one last thing.

i know i need to feed them good quality food before they breed. but do i need to feed the male while he is looking after the eggs? or will he be ok for a few days?

 

[Titania]

He'll be fine for a few days. It's easier to not feed while he's tending the eggs to reduce potential tank pollution.

 

[wmpaul]

thats what i thought but better just to ask.

what about the lights while they are breeding. do i just leave them on the normal cycle?

 

[youngxpockus]

i would leave it off 4 less stress

 

[HungDang]

thats what i thought but better just to ask.

what about the lights while they are breeding. do i just leave them on the normal cycle?

I would turn the light off, but if the tank is too dark the light is needed. and there should be no water flow in the tank!

 

[Titania]

thats what i thought but better just to ask.

what about the lights while they are breeding. do i just leave them on the normal cycle?

It really doesn't matter. When I was breeding, I would sometimes leave lights on 24-7, other times leave them off completely, still others I had in a room with natural lighting. It made absolutely no difference in how dad raised the fry.

 

[Titania]

I would turn the light off, but if the tank is too dark the light is needed. and there should be no water flow in the tank!

I'm going to have to disagree with this opinion. You really need some level of mature filtration in the tank once dad is ready to be removed. I always used aged sponge filters in the tank. Prior to eggs being laid and hatching, I had the sponge filter turned down to very low, so there's no real surface agitation. The sponge filter was running, however, providing a low level of water movement in the tank.

 

[wmpaul]

i think i will just leave the lights off in the tank since there is quite alot of natural light.

as for the filter i have a small filter that you get with childrens tanks ready to go in when i start breeding. its only designed for 20l tanks which will be ok with only 5-6" of water