Lights on or off for breeding?

[wendysbettas]

I have seen several conflicting reports on what to do about lighting for breeding. I know of some who release the female at night, hoping for a morning spawn. I have also seen some who say leave the light on so the male can find the eggs. I can assume this can also go by the pairs themselves. The fish I have bred in the past (and we are talking past, lol! 2003...) were spawned in broad daylight, no cover on the tank, etc. My re-entry into the world of bettas have produced 2 aborted spawns, one from the the female being the nipped up one, and now the male being bullied by an eggbound behemoth! I was wondering if possibly it's lighting, due to the fact that it's fall where I am right now. And what, if any, artificial lighting do you use? I see now they have these cute sunlight and moonlight bulbs! Ah the world has changed since 2003!

[NatSynthDesigns]

ok for me it's like this..... lights out after i release female before i go to bed, check for eggs next morning and leave light on in the tank until the fry can swim on their own.
some spawns occur during the day, and some occur even with foot traffic in the rom.

in all, the fish do the do when they feel like it. some like their privacy and some don't care. in time you'll get to find the routine that works for YOU


what temperature do you spawn at? and how hard/soft is the water? and how long do the male & female see each other b4 spawning?

[davegibson]

I have no idea if there's an answer to this. My pair that spawned today did it with the tank lights on and while I was tearing out a wall in the next room.

[Martinismommy]

My fish seem to like "lights, camera, action"! I've only had one male that refused to spawn with the lights on.....After the spawn, I leave the light on for the 1st week.....

When I set up a spawn I release the female at night when I go to bed and turn all lights in the fish room off......They have NEVER bred when it is dark....Next morning I can almost bet once the sun comes up they will spawn.....

[bettafan]

I think if you do a lights out then in the morning they will spwn, but if you leave the lights on they spawn sooner. I leave my lights on when i want a spawn, but its so the male builds , I hvae also turned off the lights. either way works. again its what you use and feel comfortalbe with ,

They like to spawn in a low pressure front. so every time a storm comes by , thats the time to put them up for a spawn. some even use artifical storm frons, by water temps lowered, hense the reasson they spawn when tearing down a wall, they think its thunder.

[Maryanne]

I introduced the pair in the evening and then let them do their thing all night with the lights on. They spawned before noon the next day, both times.

This may have been beginners luck, but I think I would try it again :)

[Sherol]

I've noticed low pressure fronts do seem to increase chance of a spawn. Right now my spawns are done in my work shop. Lights get turned on and off all day long. At night, there is a night light of sorts that gives the fish a bit of light.. nothing near a full moon.

In fry tanks I tend to leave the lights on 24/7 untill they are a few weeks old. When they are little I like them to be able to find food when ever they want.

[majerah1]

My last spawn i had moonlights on at night.He still worked on the nest at night,it was just a bit darker.He was old and worked this nest for well over a week before the spawn.

[onehomegrownsoul]

I have to agree with Al and Sherol. The big thing that really gets a spawn to happen is air pressure. If you can mimic a low pressure system you'll almost always stimulate spawning behavior (behavior doesn't mean you get a spawn). I have had a lot of luck using cellophane to wrap the top of the tank, then putting a fan oscillating over the wrap, just over it, not right on it. This creates a synthetic storm front. Especially if the wrap can flap a bit.

As to Lighting... I like to give them some time to get used to each other in the light. But the night before trying to spawn them the lights go out. No more than a very dim filtered light on the tank. Sometimes I'll put her in a "breeding trap" just to keep them from finding each other and doing some real damage. In any event make sure there is plenty of shelter for them to get away from each other.

Total black out seems to work best for me. But it really depends on the pair. Just keep trying.
Only change one thing at a time though. If dark doesn't work, try dim, if that doesn't work go full light. It's a lot of trial and error. There is no guaranteed formula for a successful spawn. Living things do their thing on their own terms. The best you can do is try to figure out what those terms are.

Funny thing about bettas... they do it their way. You'll just have to tinker with the variables in your control until you get it right.