# Tales of Love and Loss



## AmberH (Dec 23, 2008)

I had noticed that my male Jackson had been building a bubble nest in one corner of the tank for a few days. He just kept making it bigger and bigger. 

Yesterday, I noticed my female Elizabeth doing a little dance under the nest and soon the two began to mate. I knew that I was not prepared for little betta fry but I let them be. It was so neat to watch. Everytime Elizabeth would release eggs Jackson would rush to get them before they hit the bottom. They had a nice little clutch going. 

This morning when I got up, the nest had shifted to the middle of one wall and it was no longer in the corner. When I got home after a long day, the eggs were... I don't know... they were disolving. I am pretty sure the eggs won't hatch but I'm going to leave them be for another day or two to make sure. 

My two fish are just petstore bettas and I have read that they should not be bred for a number of reasons. The tank wasn't even set up for breeding, it was just their normal home...

I guess there are probably a number of reasons that the eggs won't hatch. Water temperature is probably a big one. Their tank is set at about 78F.

Both fish are looming around the broken up bubble nest. Everything I've read says that the male will fight off the female and he hasn't messed with her at all that I've noticed. When I clean the tank in a few days, I feel like I'll be crushing their little hearts. They've been guarding that nest well. I know, they're just fish... 

I kind of got my hopes up that I'd have little baby betta fish. I don't know, maybe sometime in the future when I can get more into it. We'll see. I'm still quite the newbie.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Watch them carefully. Its pretty common for one partner to kill the other, so be ready to pull one if you see agression. 

When fish are willing to breed, its often a sign that you are taking excellent care of them. In cooler water, eggs take longer to hatch, but temp. alone won't stop them. Eggs are usually killed by fungus, or eaten, or just didn't get fertilized in the first place. 

Expect to get attacked if you stick your hand in the tank while they are guarding the nest. 

Betta fry are very tiny. I suggest you get some fry food to have on hand "just in case". Read up on daphnia, baby brine shrimp, microworms and other small, live food. 

If the fry make it free-swimming, then its a matter of keeping the water clean while giving them enough to eat. 

The main problem with breeding bettas is the same as guppies and convicts. What do you do with so many fish?


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