Betta Fish Bubble

The Betta Fish Bubble: Info on Betta Bubblenests

The betta fish bubble nest is a floating net of bubbles that male bettas create to contain betta fish eggs after spawning. Bubble nests are not unique to betta fish, but most fish species that build bubble nests stem from tropical oxygen depleted waters. Betta bubble nests allow the male betta to care for the betta fish eggs by keeping them all in one place, controlling the temperature and supplying some much needed oxygen to the betta fry.

The males build betta bubblenests not only when they’re breeding, but whenever they believe that the conditions are right for breeding. That is, good food – good water conditions. Betta bubblenests are built by secreting saliva coated bubbles into the water. Don’t be surprised if you see collections of bubbles floating at the top of your betta fish tank, it’s normal.

Once the betta fish spawn, the male will carry the betta fish eggs in his mouth and deposit them into the betta fish bubble nest he created. He will continue to care for them and chase away any intruders until the betta fry hatch (within a day or two).

If you’re thinking of breeding bettas, make sure to buy an adult pair of healthy betta fish.

Male Betta not building Betta bubblenest

If your male betta is not building his betta bubble nest then it most likely means that he’s not satisfied with his environment. Make sure that his water is incredibly clean; you can try using Aqua-Plus water conditioner to ward off any trace chlorine or heavy metals that may be in your tap water. Also, you need to ensure that your betta is getting the very best food you can feed him – we recommend Nutrafin Betta Max.

If tweaking his environment doesn’t work, often introducing a female betta fish will spark his interest in building a betta fish bubble nest. This can be achieved in a few different ways. You can put the female betta in the tank with the male for a couple minutes. If you do this, make sure to keep a close eye on them as he will fight with her. A safer and more reliable way to do this is to add the female to the tank using a divided betta tank like the Marina Betta Barracks. This allows the male to see the female and get in the mood for breeding and building betta bubblenests without allowing him to fight with her.