# Female Betta tries to swim underneath bubble nest but male chases her away



## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Hello everyone,
I've been conditioning both my male and female Bettas for a little bit more than a month with pellets, flakes and blood worms. The female certainly looks quite plump.
Anyway, I introduced them to my spawn tank, which is just a clear plastic tub which is approximately 60L (or a little bit more). There are plenty of hiding spots and live plants and I've added Styrofoam cups since the bubble nests the male made kept popping.

When I first introduced them (after putting the female into a clear cylinder), I watched them go through the whole courtship phase. The female was pretty scared but she got through it. Now she's trying to swim underneath the bubble nest but the male will chase her away. I am 100% sure that they haven't embraced yet. The temperature is also at a constant 28 degrees (give or take one degree).

Is he simply too aggressive or are they close to mating?


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## Gloria (Sep 22, 2011)

Does he chase her away and then go work on the nest? It may be that they just need a little more time in together or they need to be re-conditioned... I am not too sure. I am still pretty new to breeding. Hopefully someone else can give you a hand..

How are they going now?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

That's normal. As long as the male still works on his nest and the female is always returning to the male, then let them be. The whole courtship (or what ever) may take a few hours to a week. First time breeders (specially the female) usually take longer than veterans.


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Hi everyone,
Thank you both for replying, . My family is currently refurnishing the house so the internet has been out and so I apologise for the late reply.
At that time, he chased her away and continued to work on his nest.
Right now, they are embracing! The only problem is that no eggs are coming out. He seems to be holding her upside down so the ovipositor is facing towards his body.
I'm assuming they just need some practice!
Or could it be that the female simply does not have eggs to release?


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

We now have eggs!
Except the female is a lot faster than the male and she is gobbling them up a lot quicker than he can grab them S:


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

congrats on the eggs. hopefully you'l still have a few when they're done.

if it's your first spawn a smaller number may be better anyway. xD


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Thank you! 
I have a feeling my male is eating them though ..
He swims up to the nest and all but it looks like he is chewing it. Then he adds another bubble to the nest.
At this rate, I'll have no fry ):


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## Gloria (Sep 22, 2011)

Thats bubble he adds to the nest will be the egg, just with extra protection.. I thought my male was eating them too but soon realised he wasn't.. Hope all is going good still...
Pics of mum and dad would be awsome


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Oh! Phew. Well, that's a relief.
There are a lot of infertile eggs on the floor of the tub but I'm too scared to remove them in case I disturb the nest. I'm assuming things are okay at the moment but Papa Betta seems to be depressed for some reason. They spent 3+ hours embracing so it might just be exhaustion?
He's just floating at the top far away from the nest.

Is there anything I should do?
+ on a different note, my infusoria seems to developing nicely!

Also, I shall post up pictures of Mum & Dad soon! I just want their fins to heal up first


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## Gloria (Sep 22, 2011)

He might be but i don't recall my boy really ever leaving the nest.. Have they finished? Is the female removed if they are done? Have you got a snail in the tank? How do you know the eggs on the tank bottom are unfertile?

I am not sure if there is anything you can do, maybe just keep an eye on him..
You don't have to wait til their fins heal, no one will judge you  I am sure they are still BEAUTIFUL!!


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Well, they have finished and the female has already been moved to a quarantine tank since she got beat up fairly badly. I did have a snail (I think it was an apple snail) but my male Betta just didn't like him. He flared and sort of pecked at him (my male is pretty aggressive!) I do have a sponge filter though.

I'm not quite sure if those eggs are infertile but he was (and still is) ignoring them. DO you think it would be wise to add a bit of stress coat into the water?

Aw thanks! In my mind, they are beautiful but they're sort of rescued fish. In the store, my babies had lived in jars - LITERALLY .. All had the worst fin rot I had ever seen.

Plus he's just a veil tail which is fairly common but I think he's amazing, 
He actually looks exactly like the one in your avatar! Even the same red detailing in his anal fin. He's gorgeous by the way


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## Gloria (Sep 22, 2011)

Awww, I hope she is ok.. I was lucky my female didn't really get too badly beat up.
Oh wow, all of my guys have LOVED snails.. When you take dad out, if you do, chuck the snail in, it helps, plus that way the fry will be used to them.
He may pick up the eggs eventually. Mine did that, left the ones on the ground til last and then put them in the nest, but then again they may be infertile. I would leave it for now and take them out later when it's safer to slightly disturb the water.
Um. I cant see the harm in adding any, but you dont want to mess with the water too much. I am still VERY new at this, just did my first spawn (fry are nearly 4 weeks) so don't hang on every word I say, others will eventually look in and help. Just sometimes have to be most patient than others..

I am sure they ARE beautiful and if they are rescued fish, even better, goes to show your a good owner if they are healing!

The male I spawned was a VT. VT's are VERY nice Bettas.. They aren't as appreciated as they should be.

thank you. He is no longer with us. Good to know he had a 'twin' out there to keep someone else happy.


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Thank you, she's actually doing very very well. Her fins were ripped straight down the middle to her body when I took her out but they've actually healed up already. Good old aquarium salt.
Oh yeah, that's a good idea. *mental note for the future.
I didn't end up adding any stress coat to the water since I was worried about messing about with the water.

OOOH! Any pictures/spawn logs?

I know! I think Veil-tails are beautiful!

Aw, that's too bad. At least he spent his last moments in a nice tank with a nice owner 

Oh and just to update,
I woke up this morning to find that the bubble nest was completely destroyed. I'm assuming he didn't maintain the nest properly during the night (I kept the light on though).
Now he's super sulky, staying at the bottom, sometimes coming up to the Styrofoam cup and just staying there with what's left of the bubbles, clamped fins.

I can't see any of the eggs at all - on the floor of the tank or in the bubblenest.
Should I take Dad out? He looks VERY ill. He won't even flare anymore ):

Oh and also, thank you so much for all of your help


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## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Yeah I'd take dad out, he may have eaten the eggs and/or they might not have been correctly fertilized, that's what happened with my first spawn. It's very disappointing, better luck next time.


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

AW, that's too bad, ):
Oh well, I guess I should focus on Dad now. My poor baby is losing colour.
Well thanks for your help


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## Gloria (Sep 22, 2011)

I am so sorry to hear that the nest was destroyed and dad isn't doing too well.. I hope you give breeding another try though.. I hope both mum and dad recover and you can try again..
Keep us posted and let us know how things are going!
Best of luck.

My spawn log, with LOTS of pictures: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=83694


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm sorry things didn't work out. I'm wondering if your male is sick since he's not looking good and didn't tend the nest.


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Hello! Sorry for the super late replies. I've been studying for exams, ):
Gloria! NAW, your fry are so cute! Especially the littlest one.

Aw, that's alright Dramaqueen. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
I quarantined him afterwards and put in some stress coat. His fins were really clamped up and he wasn't swimming at all but after some treats, he was fine.
He's flaring, tapping at the glass and swimming around in circles.

Thank you all for your advice and comments 
I'm thinking of trying again in 2 months or so.
I shall make a spawn log then.
Bye for now!


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Sorry your spawn didn't work out. It happens to all of us one time or another. Just keep the faith!


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Naw, thank you tpocicat! 
I'm conditioning my babies for another 2 weeks and I'm trying again after my exams.
Hopefully, everything turns out okay.
I'll keep you posted!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Good luck with exams!


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## onefiveoneone (Nov 6, 2011)

Why thank you, Dramaqueen!


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