Betta Fish Eggs | Caring for baby betta fish

Caring for Betta Fish Eggs

Caring for betta fish eggs isn’t that much work for the pet owner once you’ve done the ground work. You need to follow the necessary steps to condition your bettas for breeding and introduce them to each other when they’re ready to spawn. You should never keep the female betta in the tank with the breeding male for more than an hour or so, as the male is likely to fight with her whether they spawn or not. To breed bettas you also need to have your male betta in a large betta fish aquarium, with lost of room for the bubblenest and the betta fish fry once they hatch.

The betta bubble nest is formed by the breeding betta male when he is ready to spawn. The bubble nest creates a fence around all of the betta fish eggs keeping them in one place. Once your breeding bettas have spawned, the betta fish eggs will be pushed out of the female by the male. He achieves this by essentially hugging the female betta and putting pressure on her mid-section. The betta eggs will then float up into the bubblenest. The male will collect any stray betta eggs in his mouth and deposit them in the bubble nest for safe keeping.

The female betta fish has done her part and is no longer needed; it is the male betta that will care for the betta eggs and the betta fish fry. After spawning, a chemical is formed in the breeding male betta’s mouth which he uses to clean the betta fish eggs. You’ll see the male carefully take each egg in his mouth and spit them back into the bubblenest. Within a few days, this same chemical will dissolve the outer layer of the betta eggs, releasing the betta fish fry. The betta fry stay in the bubblenest for another couple days until they’re able to breathe on their own.

At this point, they need have ample space to move around and so that they don’t pollute the water too quickly. You can raise your betta fry in one of our large betta tanks or you can move them into an outdoor pond if you live in a warm climate. Make sure to add micro-organisms to the water, following the steps on our breeding betta fish page. Within a couple weeks, the betta fry will be able to eat some powdered Nutrafin Betta Max food.

Within 6 to 8 weeks, your bettas have evolved from betta eggs, to betta fry to adolescent bettas that can be moved into their own betta fish tanks.