Betta fish are very popular aquarium fish today because of their beauty.
People like aquarium fish because it is very relaxing to watch them, so naturally betta fish would be in demand as they may be the most beautiful betta fish.
But even more beautiful than watching betta fish swim around the tank is to watch betta fish have babies!
Betta fish have babies by wrapping around each other so the male’s vent is touching the ovipositor opening (where the babies come out) of the female. The male fertilizes the eggs as they come out. The male recovers first and begins picking up the eggs and putting them in a bubble nest the male has already made. The female helps pick up the eggs after she recovers.
It is beautiful to watch but if you don’t want to sit there for hours waiting, let’s go through the entire process so that you will be able to swoop in just in time for their baby-making embrace.
Betta Fish Courtship
A male and female betta fish can be put together in an open aquarium, divided into separate tanks, or by a divider in the same tank as long as they can see each other.
The betta fish will begin flaring at the female, especially if they are divided.
If they are in the same aquarium together, they will both flare at each other and their colors will brighten.
The male will chase the female and nip at her fins in order to show that he is in good shape and hence a good mate.
The female will flee and resist the male’s attempts in order to show the male that she is also in good shape and also a good mate.
Bubble Nest
The male betta fish will build a bubble nest at some point during the mating process.
Sometimes the male betta fish will begin building a bubble nest when he is ready to mate, whether there is a female around or not.
Sometimes he will build it as soon as a female appears, at the beginning of the courtship or during the courtship.
The male betta fish does this by blowing bubbles at the surface of the water that sticks together and also stick to something at the surface of the water.
The betta owner will usually have floating plants at the water’s surface or else place something at the water’s surface that the male can use to attach a bubble nest like a piece of bubble wrap or the bottom of a styrofoam cup.
During courtship, when the female is ready for the mating process, she will examine the bubble nest to make sure she approves of the craftsmanship.
If she doesn’t like it, she will begin tearing it apart so the male knows he needs to do a better job.
If she does approve then they can move forward with the actual mating process.
Mating
When the female betta fish is ready to actually mate, she will approach the male with her head down, waiting for him to embrace her.
He will wrap around her in an embrace and turn so the female is actually upside down.
Their vents are touching when they turn. The female vent is called the ‘ovipositor’ where the eggs will come out.
The male actually squeezes her to push the eggs out and fertilizes the eggs as they come out.
When they are done, the male recovers first and will retrieve the eggs and blow them into the bubble nest where they will hatch within 24 hours!
Sometimes the female betta fish will recover in time to help the male retrieve the eggs and blow them into the bubble nest.
Betta Babies
After the initial hatching, the fry(babies) will still hang in the bubble nest for the next 36 hours until they began to swim horizontally.
The male betta fish tries to keep the fry close to the nest area.
The male is usually removed from the tank at this point. The female is usually removed from the tank as soon as all of the eggs are out of her.
The parents are usually removed to keep them from eating any of the eggs.
Conclusion: Tips To Help Ensure Your Betta Fish Have Babies
- Make sure the water is optimal temperature of 84°F. Bettas like their water a little warmer when breeding.
- Filtration will keep the water clean but betta’s like still or slow-moving water when breeding. If the water flow is too strong you can place a sponge on your water outtake to slow the flow.
- Test your water to make sure it is clean and do weekly water changes.
- Make sure you have lots of hiding places for the female to hide so she can get away from the male.
- If the male is too aggressive or the female is not ready, you can put a divider in the tank or keep the female in a separate area. Some people cut the bottom and top off a 1-liter plastic bottle(remove any labels) and poke holes in the side to house the female and protect her from the male until she is ready. When the female is ready to be put with the male she will have dark vertical bars on her body.
- As soon as the eggs are in the bubble nest you can remove the male and female to ensure they don’t eat any of the eggs.
