If you want to know how to tell if a betta’s bubble nest has eggs in it, then you’ve found the right article. Not only will you find out how to tell, you’ll also learn why bettas keep their eggs in bubble nests as well as frequently asked questions!
So keep reading to find out everything you need to know!
How To Tell If A Bettas Bubble Nest Has Eggs
If you want to know whether a betta bubble has eggs in it, then you’ll need to look for the eggs themselves.
When there are eggs in a betta’s bubble nest, they’ll look like white pearls which are roughly 1mm in size. Some may be round, whereas other may be more oval in shape. Over time, if these eggs are fertilized they’ll start to grow bigger, and have a grey spot in the middle.
(This grey spot is actually the fry slowly growing bigger and bigger.
If you want to know more about whether or not betta eggs are fertilized here’s a helpful article on how you can tell.
Why Are Eggs Kept In A Bubble Nest?
A betta will keep their eggs in a bubble nest, as it’s the safest place for them in the wild. It provides a clean, oxygen rich area, that stays moist, all of which are vital for the survival of the betta eggs. The nest also keeps all the eggs in one place so your betta can protect them.
Remember, bettas live in shallow, murky waters with slow moving waters full of other potential predators.
This habitat makes it difficult to lay eggs normally, so betta fish have adapted to form bubble nests to support their reproduction. The nest is similar to a cocoon where the fry (baby betta fish) can have a safe place to grow.
How Does Breeding Occur In Bettas?
In order to be able to look and see whether your betta fish have laid eggs and added them to their bubble nest, you first need to breed them and let the two fish go through the process.
Conditioning Your Fish For Breeding
In the wild, male betta fish will make a bubble nest in order to attract a female. Once the female comes and she is happy with the nest, mating will begin.
You can spur this in your fish by taking extra care of them like feeding them live food such as daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp, and also ensuring the temperature of the tank is warm and the tank itself is well filtered.
Introduce The Female
Once both fish are happy place your conditioned female betta fish into the tank with the male. Start by introducing her in a clear bag, so they can see each other and get used to each other. At this time, slowly acclimate the female to the tank as well.
Make sure you keep an eye on your bettas so they don’t end up fighting each other. Once they are used to each other and become interested, the male will do a mating dance. He will flare his gills and show off to the female.
Observe
Keep an eye on the female and look for a change in color. The female is ready to release her eggs when she starts to show a striped pattern. If you see a small spec that looks like a small spec of salt between her ventral fins, that is her ovipositor.
Once you see this, add her back to the male’s bowl, and she will release her eggs. The male will wrap his body around hers and help to squeeze the eggs out. He will then take the eggs to the nest to incubate by taking them into his mouth. Sometimes the female will help.
Once mating is over, make sure you move your female betta back into her own tank.
Males are normally aggressive to females but are less aggressive during the breeding process. The female should be removed after mating because the male will become aggressive to her once again.
Male Watching The Nest
If your male has made a bubble nest and is staying close to it after mating with your female, there are eggs in the nest. The male bettas are the primary protectors of the nest. They will keep watch over the eggs and fight off any predators. If any egg falls from the nest he will take them back to the nest in his mouth.
You need to be careful you’re not being too invasive to your beta while taking care of the nest since he is likely to eat an egg or two when threatened.
Wondering why there are Betta eggs on the bottom of your tank?
Recap
If you see your male betta fish around the nest more than usual, that means that there are eggs in the nest. Of course, this is only the case if you’ve allowed your male to breed!
The main sign that the eggs are fertilised and ready to go will be an increase in size over time as well as a grey mark inside the eggs which gets bigger and bigger.
Now you know what to look for to determine whether the bubble nest in your betta’s tank has eggs in it.
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