# When will my female "drop" her eggs? & Hormones?



## LMac54 (Jun 9, 2010)

TWO THINGS!!

So, I've had my first female for about 2 weeks. Keeping her in a 1gal quarantine tank while my 10gal cycles. 

When I got her, I had no idea she was full of eggs. I only found out when I posted pictures on this forum... Judging from her bloated belly and egg spot.

:-( I'm getting a little scared. When should she be "dropping" her eggs? She should be releasing them on her own, right? Is there anything I can do to "encourage" her? Could I put one of my males (who is in a seperate tank) next to her tank and have them see each other periodically? Or is that bad?

NOTE: I am not planning on breeding her at all.  Can't a fish love just buy a female because they're pretty too and not want to breed them?



ALSO. I was originally planning on dividing my 10gal 3 ways... putting my two boys on each side and the female in the middle (where I put the filter, since I heard females can handle filter currents better than males... and to have better water flow through the tank). 
THEN I heard that putting a female with a male in a divided tank is a bad idea also, because hormones will be "released" in the water, causing the female to produce eggs again. Or the fish will go crazy or something. Is this true? :?

Dividers will be DIY plastic mesh.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

She should release the eggs on her own. I've never seen my females release eggs. I'm assuming that they have had eggs though I've never even seen them look like they had eggs.


----------



## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

My female and male are in a divided 5 gallon and their fine.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

The mature female is making eggs all her life and she will either absorb them or drop and eat them, some don't eat their eggs- but most do and you never know when it happens.

When a female is in the same water as the male the hormones released by the male will trigger the female eggs to ripen and she will either- spawn, absorb, or drop and eat the ripen eggs

A healthy female usually will not have any problems with eggs and they take care of it themselves, some can get egg bound, but IME that is rare.


----------



## LMac54 (Jun 9, 2010)

How long will a female hold her eggs for? My original question was when will she drop them? How will I know?




Oldfishlady said:


> When a female is in the same water as the male the hormones released by the male will trigger the female eggs to ripen and she will either- spawn, absorb, or drop and eat the ripen eggs


Right now, my fish are in separate tanks while my 10gal cycles. Will my female not drop her eggs until I put them in the tank?

Do you think letting my female see a male in another tank next to hers would help?


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Its is hard to say when it will happen and you may never know unless you watch her 24/7. 
I wouldn't worry about it, the fish should take care of it herself if she is healthy


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

You can never tell, each female have different characteristics. Some may lay eggs in less than 24 hours, while others may take as long as three days (together with male). In divided tanks should take longer ... I think.

Yes the female must see a male and want to spawn to release her eggs. Otherwise she won't release eggs.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

indjo said:


> You can never tell, each female have different characteristics. Some may lay eggs in less than 24 hours, while others may take as long as three days (together with male). In divided tanks should take longer ... I think.
> 
> Yes the female must see a male and want to spawn to release her eggs. Otherwise she won't release eggs.


I have had females release eggs without a male present or in eye shot. I had a female that would wedge herself under the sponge filter, release her eggs and then eat them...very odd female and she died pretty young too.

Not sure if egg drops have anything to do with longevity or not, but I have noticed the females that I spawn frequently die young and healthy for unknown reasons.


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Wow! Your bettas are really interesting. In my case the males often suddenly stops moving and eventually die in a day or two. But never the female.


----------



## LMac54 (Jun 9, 2010)

I've had her for more than 2 weeks, and I'm still not sure if she's "dropped" them. She's still bloated. Would I be able to see the eggs? What do they look like?


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Can you post a pic
How is she acting and eating?


----------



## LMac54 (Jun 9, 2010)

Well, below is a picture I took the day after I got her 2 weeks ago, but she pretty much looks the same.

She's acting pretty normal. Flares at her reflection and at other bettas. Eats when I feed her (4 pellets a day).


----------



## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

I think she looks fine - not big at all!!!


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I agree, looks more like a normal size stomach on a very pretty Betta...eating and acting fine is nearly always a good sign....


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

She's very pretty!!


----------



## LMac54 (Jun 9, 2010)

Really?? She looks normal? I was thinking at first she was really bloated, and everyone said she was full of eggs! Plus, she's got breeding stripes!

Here's my original thread when I first got her: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=46342
and also here: http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=53428&st=0&p=533027&fromsearch=1&#entry533027


----------

