# Is it possible I accidentally bought a female betta about to lay eggs at a local store?



## Betta Caroline (11 mo ago)

Hi! Yesterday I bought a female betta from a local pet shop, and today I noticed her abdomen is swollen, and her ovipositor is obvious. Her abdomen wasn't obviously swollen yesterday, and I didn't notice her ovipositor yesterday, but then, I wasn't looking for it. She hasn't had contact with a male since I brought her home, unless you count her sharing a tank with a divider that allows water to flow through small holes to each side of the tank. She seems happy, healthy, and unstressed. And if she is pregnant, will the eggs be able to survive, if there isn't a bubble nest? And if my male betta does happen to make a bubble nest, is there any chance he'd take care of her fry, even if he wasn't the one to reproduce with her? Any advice you have will be helpful and greatly appreciated. If she had eggs, I really want them to survive


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## Betta Caroline (11 mo ago)

Also, is it a good idea to give my male betta slightly warmer water to encourage him making a bubble nest? I just read something online that stated it could encourage that, can anyone confirm that from personal experiences?


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## KatieMR (Mar 31, 2021)

Hi @Betta Caroline! Welcome to the forum! There are several reasons a female betta fish may have a swollen belly. It is certainly a possibility that she may be eggy (she has lots of eggs); if that is the case, however, the eggs will not be fertilized. If she is eggy, she may release the unfertilized eggs, or her body may just absorb them. 

Like I said, there are a few reasons for a swollen belly, some perfectly normal, some serious. If you can fill out this form and provide pictures of your betta, we would be happy to see if we can figure out what is going on!

As far as bubble nests, most healthy male bettas will build bubble nests. What temperature is your water? Since bettas are tropical fish they do best in warm temperatures (76-82); any colder than that and they will be more lethargic, have lower appetite, and be at risk for getting diseases.


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## X skully X (Mar 17, 2020)

Betta fish can put hormones out into the water and they most certainly can tell that each other is there through a divider. Betta fish lay eggs. The male wraps his body around the female and as she releases eggs he releases his milt to fertilize them, he will then pick them up in his mouth and put them into bubbles in his nest. Good female betta mothers will also help put eggs into the nest. I don’t recommend breeding betta fish unless experienced with betta behavior and you have a means of house a possible large amount of baby fish, sometimes bettas can lay almost 100 to 300 eggs at a time. The male and female breeding dance can be brutal. Even resulting in death. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask.


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## Betta Caroline (11 mo ago)

KatieMR said:


> Hi @Betta Caroline! Welcome to the forum! There are several reasons a female betta fish may have a swollen belly. It is certainly a possibility that she may be eggy (she has lots of eggs); if that is the case, however, the eggs will not be fertilized. If she is eggy, she may release the unfertilized eggs, or her body may just absorb them.
> 
> Like I said, there are a few reasons for a swollen belly, some perfectly normal, some serious. If you can fill out this form and provide pictures of your betta, we would be happy to see if we can figure out what is going on!
> 
> As far as bubble nests, most healthy male bettas will build bubble nests. What temperature is your water? Since bettas are tropical fish they do best in warm temperatures (76-82); any colder than that and they will be more lethargic, have lower appetite, and be at risk for getting diseases.





KatieMR said:


> Hi @Betta Caroline! Welcome to the forum! There are several reasons a female betta fish may have a swollen belly. It is certainly a possibility that she may be eggy (she has lots of eggs); if that is the case, however, the eggs will not be fertilized. If she is eggy, she may release the unfertilized eggs, or her body may just absorb them.
> 
> Like I said, there are a few reasons for a swollen belly, some perfectly normal, some serious. If you can fill out this form and provide pictures of your betta, we would be happy to see if we can figure out what is going on!
> 
> As far as bubble nests, most healthy male bettas will build bubble nests. What temperature is your water? Since bettas are tropical fish they do best in warm temperatures (76-82); any colder than that and they will be more lethargic, have lower appetite, and be at risk for getting diseases.





X skully X said:


> Betta fish can put hormones out into the water and they most certainly can tell that each other is there through a divider. Betta fish lay eggs. The male wraps his body around the female and as she releases eggs he releases his milt to fertilize them, he will then pick them up in his mouth and put them into bubbles in his nest. Good female betta mothers will also help put eggs into the nest. I don’t recommend breeding betta fish unless experienced with betta behavior and you have a means of house a possible large amount of baby fish, sometimes bettas can lay almost 100 to 300 eggs at a time. The male and female breeding dance can be brutal. Even resulting in death. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask.


Thanks so much! I'm not having any success trying to copy and paste using my phone, but here are my answers.

Housing:
Half, but about to give her a larger tank
No
No
I don't have a thermometer, but my home is cooler than the tropical temperatures toy recommended (I had previously been told- not on this site- that bettas can do an5t temp) do I need to a heater, or will a fish tank light be effective enough?
Only the male on the other side of the divider
Food:
Zoo med - unsure what they fed her at the pet store before I got her yesterday
Pellets
No
2 pellets twice a day
Maintenance:
I just got her yesterday, so didn't change hart water today
N/A
Tap water
Thoroughly rinsed
None
Seachem prime
Water parameters:
Unknown
Symptoms/ treatment:
Today
Big abdomen, obvious ovipositor, and since I posted, the addition of breeding stripes
Slightly friendly
Yes
Since yesterday
She had stress stripes when I picked her out, but hours after being put in her tank, thank God they disappeared!


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## Betta Caroline (11 mo ago)

Here is a picture of her in her temporary tank, proportions are off because her face is further away


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## guily yalai (Jan 6, 2022)

It's a cool thing if your betta eggy, I never deal with such issue but friend tell me if you want the female betta to produce more eggs, feed more brine shrimp a few days before her lay eggs.


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