# Breeding First Time



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

So I've got a 10gal tank half full. I floated the female at the top for about 3 days and the males been in the whole time. I let them out today as he has a bubble nest and she had the vertical stripes. It seemed like she wanted him to chase her but he's slow because of his large tail so he gave up mostly. He flares some and only nipped her once. They've been swimming closely together and she's checked out his nest many times he has led her to the nest and everything but they haven't attempted the wrap at all. They've been together for about 4 hours.

About half an hour ago they were up at the nest and I saw her nip him and I freaked out and tapped the glass once. She's been hiding since and he's been following her around flaring. She's come back to the nest once since then.

They've been very gentle besides the two nips and my panic attack. I'm just wondering if I should leave them together for a while longer or take her out and try again in a week?

Help please?


----------



## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

4 hours is nothing. Spawning can sometimes take days, especially if the pair has never spawned before. It doesn't sound like there has been any serious damage done so I would just leave them alone.

And DO NOT TAP THE GLASS. The last thing you want them to do is freak out. This is especially true after they spawn and the male is tending the nest. If you get too intrusive, he will eat the eggs. Let them do their thing.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

He's making his nest bigger and she's been hanging around while he does it. Can I leave them overnight or is that dangerous?

I read that she should be clamping her fins together some to show submissiveness but she hasn't done that at all. She swims with her fins as big as she can get them. Is this okay?


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

And if I leave them overnight does the light stay on or no?


----------



## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

I would leave them overnight. By taking them out, you risk getting them "out of the mood" so to speak, and you may face a reconditioning process. As long as the female has plenty of places to hide, leave them be. They will likely sleep overnight anyway, so the light should go off to allow them to continue their day-night cycle.

The clamped fins may not happen until she approves of the nest. If she has yet to approve of the nest, then she may not be submitting to the male yet. If they are swimming alongside one another without aggressively attacking one another, but rather are swimming in an S-shape (flirt swimming) and focused on building the nest (male) and inspecting the nest (female), they are in spawning mode and will eventually do the deed.

I have heard reports that bettas left overnight are sometimes inclined to spawn at sunrise. That's completely empirical though.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

They are nipping more now. I think he's getting impatient and is bothering her but he is working on the nest and she is frequently inspecting it. I think I will try leaving them as they aren't being too violent. Thanks!


----------



## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Many breeders will advocate leaving the female in no matter how violent it may seem to be; unless the female is seen floating motionless at the top of the tank or on the bottom. At that point she/they are no longer in "breeding mode" and she is indicating to him that she does not want to fight. Like humans, some just like the kink more than others.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Wow that's crazy! I'll try my hardest not to get nervous about them then…

You have a beautiful betta picture by the way!


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I'd say give them a few days.

Nipping by the female is common, specially towards more gentle/less active males. But usually the male will bite her back and some become more aggressive/vicious. 

Female's clamped fins or submissive head down position only occurs during spawning or when the female is ready to embrace. During courting, she will flare like males, opened fins, bright colors often with breeding bars and swimming in an "S" style.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Oh that's good to know. He is a gentle male so that makes sense


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

So many eggs! He's leaving a lot on the bottom...she's helping though to pick them up.


----------



## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

Is she blowing them up into the nest or is she eating them? She may see them as a tasty treat. If she is, there probably isn't much you can do about it, though.

Try not to be too intrusive, but do check in on them from time to time to see if spawning is over. If the female is on the other side of the tank trying to stay out of the male's way, it probably is and that would be a good time to remove her.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

I'm not going anywhere near them. I don't want to distract them so I can't tell if anyone is eating them or if there even is any in the nest. I'm watching from afar to wait for them to be done but not yet.can't see much but eggs falling. It was pretty funny to watch him suck at first he kept wrapping around her face but they've got it now and theres eggs every time.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

They finished. She was on the opposite side of the tank I took her out. I can't see anything in the nest but I'm not 100% sure what I'm looking for anyways. I guess I'll know in a few days!


----------



## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

They should look like little grains of salt clumped together in the nest. This link will give you a picture to reference (photo credit included on the page).

http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0000_betta_eggs_are_saw_clearly.jpg

I would not feed the male from here until you remove him. Try to leave him alone as he will be on guard duty and any disruptions may cause him to eat the eggs if he feels unsafe.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Eggs will hatch in 24-48 hours correct?


----------



## amphirion (Jan 15, 2014)

yes. depending on water temps.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

I'm so excited! I hope he didn't eat them all


----------



## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

Try looking for little clumps of salt at the bottom of the bubblenest. Might be hard to do if you used a plastic container. If there are some parts of the nest that are popping a bit, look really closely at the surface of the water. They look like tiny, off-white grains of pretzel salt.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

I really can't see anything. He built around bubble wrap (he loves bubble wrap!) But he hasn't moved from under the nest for hours so I'm assuming there's at least one egg in there


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

I could only ever see mine once they hatched and the babies started spoinging out. It looked like fleas jumping around in an upside-down carpet. :lol:


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Ah I'm so excited!


----------



## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

When mine first hatched, the nest suddenly got pretty chaotic. Little grains of salt with eyes and tails were falling everywhere, fallen eggs were suddenly sprouting tails, and my male definitely had his hands full, lol. It was even more exiting than watching them wrap. :-D


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

I'm looking forward!


----------



## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

MameJenny said:


> ...fallen eggs were suddenly sprouting tails, and my male definitely had his hands full, lol...


Your fish has hands?


----------



## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

kevinap2 said:


> Your fish has hands?


Had his mouth full is probably more accurate. :lol:


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Pretty sure he ate all of his eggs....


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

No movement in there? Is he still acting like he's guarding, or is he swimming around normally?


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

He guards some but he's letting his nest go...it's probably 1/3 of what it was before. And I can't see an thing either moving.


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Mine's nest dissolved, then he eventually rebuilt it. The only way I can see fry is by laying on the floor and staring into the nest, and holding still for several minutes. Eventually, I spot one, and then I can't unsee them. But they are _really _hard to see, so don't give up hope yet! If they spawned on the 15th, the babies will be starting to fall out and swim back in, straight up and down. They are as small as pinheads. My fish spawned on the same day as yours.


----------



## Nimble (Aug 31, 2014)

hrutan said:


> My fish spawned on the same day as yours.


Primus and Nimbus finally spawned? What luck! Will you be doing a separate spawn log, or will you combine it with your existing one?


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Alright I'll keep looking


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Nimble said:


> Primus and Nimbus finally spawned? What luck! Will you be doing a separate spawn log, or will you combine it with your existing one?


I'll start a separate spawn log, but not until the fry are 2 weeks old. I want to be sure Primus doesn't eat them all first.


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Cheshire117 said:


> Alright I'll keep looking


Good luck. I hope they are in there. But if they're not...well, at least you can feed your fish up and try again, right? :|


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Thanks! Is it three weeks where you can try again or more than that?


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Naaah, unless they took a bunch of damage you can feed them well for a week, and then try again. 2 weeks if you're being conservative.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

She's got a tiny tinyyy rip on her tail and he has a medium sized hole in his tail when she bit him. They were so gentle


----------



## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Yeah they sound fine. Just stuff them to the gills with good frozen or live food, and you can definitely try again in a week. If you're using pellets & such, I'd wait two weeks. The foods aren't quite as good.


----------



## Cheshire117 (Nov 15, 2014)

Thanks!


----------

