You may have noticed when looking at male bettas in the fish store that there is a cluster of tiny bubbles around the rim of their container. You may have even seen your own betta methodically blowing bubbles in your home aquarium. Well this isn’t because your betta is sick or bored. Your betta is doing what he does best. He’s preparing to care for his young.
Several betta species are bubble nest builders including the most common, Betta splendens species. In nature the males build the nest by clustering small bubbles on the surface of the water or under leafs or debris. When their nest is ready they coax a female underneath where they spawn. The females release the eggs, which are quickly collected by the males. The females do not participate in the protection of the eggs or the rearing of fry. Instead it is left entirely to the male who will closely guard the nest, warding off predators and collecting any eggs that may fall and returning them to the nest. After a few days the eggs hatch and the young fry continue to utilize the shelter of the bubble nest until they are ready to go on their own.
This nest building behavior is instinctual for male bettas and it is not necessary to have a female present to observe your betta building his nest. Most males will blow bubbles but the rate and size of the nest seems to depend on the individual male and possible other factors like age, health and water parameters.
Some males will frequently blow bubbles and you may find new nests on a weekly or even daily basis. Others may only blow a few nests a year. Healthy males tend to blow nests more often so if you see one consider it a good sign that your betta is happy and healthy. (A good sign doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to monitor your water parameters closely. Keep up with those water changes!) On the other hand, a lack of bubble nests doesn’t necessarily mean that your betta isn’t healthy. As mentioned earlier, bettas don’t all build nests frequently. The slightest current in your tank can discourage bubble nests too. Many betta keepers opt to cycle a tank and keep a filter running to create a more stable and healthy environment but may see less nesting due to the filter current. If this is your situation you could try to add some floating plants, float a styrofoam cup cut in half (to build a nest under) or try an adjustable flow filter. Bubble nests are great to observe but aren’t a necessity unless you are trying to breed bettas so don’t worry if you don’t see one.
As Murphy’s Law would have it, males love to surprise their humans with a nest right on the morning of their water change. Upon finding such a gift, most of us procrastinate on cleaning the tank for fear it will upset the betta. Of course, this isn’t very good for our fish’s health so here are two good tips.
1. It’s ok to destroy a bubble nest. He’ll get over it and will build you a new one. Clean water is much more important. Ignore the barking and furious fin wag. You’re bigger then he is.
2. Still devastated? Ok, you can scoop out the nest with a plastic cup or spoon and set it aside while you change the water and then ever so gently replace the bubbles back in the new tank.
If you’d like to read more on bubble nests check out a short Q&A on my blog entitled Bubble Nests & Bettas.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Bubble Nests
Breeding The Betta
The Bubble Nest Builders
When getting started with breeding the Betta, both male and female that are around the same size must be chosen. They should be fed well, usually with live foods and kept in 5 inch clean water with a temperature of 80 F. Plastic plants and decorations, such as plant pots, are advised to be placed in the aquarium for the female to hide when necessary. They must be separated at first but allowed to see each other through a separation. Generally, either a tank separator can be used to keep them separate or a hurricane globe can be inserted into the tank with the female inside it.
Interest should be shown for one another and thereafter the male will start building a nest. These bettas nests are created when the male draws in air from the surface and envelopes it in a film of saliva. When the he releases it, it floats to the surface. Some leaves, a piece of styrofoam cup, a plastic lid or something similar should be put to float on the water surface or taped to the side of the tank. As he releases the bubbles they will be trapped underneath the item. As this process repeatedly done, the nest is slowly created.
When the nest is done, the female should then be released from the hurricane globe/seperation and spawning should follow. Sometimes it may not be right away and can take up to 5 days before they start. If too much aggression is shown towards the female they should be separated again. However, sparring often takes place. If all is well and she is ready, he will lead her to a spot under the nest and "embrace" her, the eggs are then released. The female may look weak and lay motionless, but she will recover. When the spawning is complete the female will look for a place to hide. At this point in time she is to be taken out of the tank or else the male can kill her. The male will then pick up the eggs and 'blow' them into the nest and thereafter he will guard them until they hatch.The Mouth Brooders
To breed them, clear clean water and substrate ranging from mud to gravel is needed (depending on the Betta species). Dense vegetation should be planted into the aquarium. Their water temperature should be cool, say between 65 and 75 degrees F. Flowing streams coming from the highlands have cooler water.
At 80 degrees Fahrenheit and above the fish will be visibly stressed. To tell the difference between male and female, as in most Bettas, the female has a smaller head, she is duller in color and smaller in body size. They should be fed bloodworms, frozen daphina and most meaty foods.
Like the bubble nest building bettas, the male and female fish should be separated, for a week at the least. Occasionally a pair of mouth brooding bettas may 'dance' and the female having her fins flared out may dance around the male to attract his attention during the courtship. With the mouth brooding Betta species, it is the female who starts the spawning.
Spawning will generally take place inside a plant pot, with the same procedure of most anabantids, the male "embracing" the female. After spawning the male will gather the eggs in his mouth or the female may pick the eggs up into her mouth and spit them to him. The process can take up to quite a few hours. Unlike the bubble-nest-building Bettas, the female guards the area which the male takes to brood. Most males will then brood the eggs for between 7 to 10 days. Some males hang near the water surface others take to "caves" to brood. He may not eat all the while he holds the eggs in his mouth, although it is believed that some may take a tiny bit at a time. The male will get thin, looking as if he is feeling very low and will look as if he has trouble breathing through out the brooding process. Also, his coloration will get darker, mainly in the head area. Care should be taken at this time, as the male betta will eat the eggs if he is disturbed often.
Photo Credit: COBettaCouple
Feeding can start two days after hatching with bubble nest building betta fry using micro food. After two weeks and around every 4 hours the fry must be fed live baby brine shrimp or micro worms, a bit at a time. Thirty six hours after spawning, you will notice the tiny fry falling out of the nest dropping to the bottom, the male will retrieve them straight away and blow them back into the nest. When the fry become free swimming horizontal it is best to remove the male as he might start taking them for snacks. But, if he starts eating the fry earlier it is possible to remove him then. The fry will fall to the bottom and remain there until they become free swimming.
For the mouth brooders, it is recommended that the male is taken out of the tank straight after he spits out the fry. Baby brine shrimp or micro worms can be fed to the fry immediately after the male spits them out. Thereafter as they grow, follow up with grind worms, flake foods and quickly pellets.
It is essential to keep the water clean when you are raising the fry. A very small plastic tubing attached to air tubing or a turkey baster can be used to suck up the debris at the tank bottom.
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