my first try at breeding bettas ( whisper i would like your advice)

i statred a new 10 gallon tank for breeding and got water up to 80degrees which i read for breeding purposees. i only filled it 5 inches from bottom.i put fish in there own little glas jar so the water would gradully it up to 80 degrees not to stock them. female was in hurrancane glass . after 2 day i let male swim freely around tank with a half cut styofoam cup on one side of the tank to build nest. he was blowwing bubbles around tank and hung under cup a few times . i think he started makeing a nest but it wasnt very big i feed him some wing less fruit flyies larva and also the female. in the next day or 2 he was dead the female is fat and looks full of eggs i am afraid to try it again i just got a new male help help what do u think i did wrong.

Betta fish is one of the most easiest fish to breed. Not only does the temperature important you need to keep the humidity of the tank high also. One way to do this is to cover your 10 gallon tank with a glass lid or saran wrap. Anything to trap the moisture inside the tank. The reason is keep any fluctuation on the humidity at check. If the humidity is low, the bubbles on the nest would not hold it's shape and will pop! Also Cattapa leaf would also help, as the tannins on the water would keep the water acidified and develop the bubble with surface tension to keep the bubble more stable. You can also use cut off 2 liter soda bottle where both end are cut to put the female inside. This is to make the ease of releasing your female to meet with the male when the bubble nest is ready. Pull up the plastic enclosure with minimal water disruption. Nest building by the male may take as short as one day to 3 days, depends on the experience of your breeders. Let say you have a new breeder pair, if everything is done correctly and all parameters for breeding is optimal. The male betta will chase the female for awhile, If the female is receptive to the male then the female will approach the nest and the spawning can occur. If sometimes you will get a female who constantly breaks up the bubble nest every time you attempts to breed it. then you may not have a good pair and just replace the female and use another one or vice versa. You said your male died. If you release the pair and he was healthy to begin with but he died with the female. There could be just one thing. The female found the male to be weaker than her and she could have killed him during the courtship process. It is always good to use the male larger than the female. The male need to show strong dominance to let the female know that he has good genes to pass down to their progeny. That is why you have to chose your pair carefully, not just by sexing them. Female will only spawn when she knows that the offspring to be will be strong enough to survive. That is called their survival instinct and that is how they do it in the wild. Also when the spawning process is complete take your female out. Do not feed your male when he is tending or guarding the nest. when the eggs hatches after 48 hours, let the male take care of the frys until they turn from vertical to horizontal position. When the frys are in the horizontal and free swimming position, take out the male and feed the frys with newly hatch brine shrimp. this probably is around 5 days after the frys are hatched. Hope that helps

the female was never leased to the male he just dyed on his own

If this was the case. The Male betta probably has been sick to begin with. Or sometimes, it may due to overfeeding. Atison's betta pellets would be good fish food or the NLS ( NEW LIFE SPECTRUM ) betta pellets to start your male to get pre-conditioned. To start your male and female from breeding. You need to precondition your male and female. Live foods like mosquito larvae, red blood worms, some Tetra staple flakes or granules can be used and the 2 foods that I just mentioned. Do not overfeed. Sometimes, you never will know why it died. But if you like to try breeding again, get your betta from a good source. Male betta between 9 to 12 months is at its prime age. Female at least 4 to 6 months. You will know your Betta is in breeding condition by the way they behave and being active. Hope you have good luck on your next try.

I was reading your first post. There is one thing I like to ask you. You said you set up your tank, both fish are on their own jars. After 2 days you release the male. You kept the female on her own jar. Let me ask you this. Did you remove the ammonia, chlorine and chloramines by adding some Amquel plus or aquasafe solution to remove your ammonia and chlorines out. If you use regular tap water without neutralizing your NH3 and chloramines, you will end up with a dead fish. Betta has one flaw/problem, they are overly sensitive to NH3, Chlorine and chloramines.

Yes if the pair where not together and he died I would also say that he was sick to begin with. Also you will know if the female is ready for breeding by the vertical stripes she will get. If she doesn't have them then don't release her until she does. once in a while you will get a female that just won't breed no matter how hard you try her. I once had a female that killed three males then I said OK this is enough she's only a good fish as a pet. The same can happen with the males. Get another male from a good breeder and try again.