Will male bettas eat the eggs?

Question

my female layed the eggs this morning and shortly after the male betta ate them.. why did he do that?

Answer 1

It's fairly rare, but does happen sometimes. No one knows why they sometimes do it, but I have seen a male breed very well several times in a row and then for no apparent reason eat the eggs once.

MM

Answer 2

This happens at times. There is really nothing you can do to prevent it, it happens out of instinct. Some males just don't make that great fathers despite the proper conditioning. By the way are you sure he's eating them or spitting them back into the nest? Also, have they hatched? Fry will fall to the floor so the male will pick them up and place them back in the nest repeatedly.

Answer 3

he is not eating them. he is cleaning them. please see below

Put your plumpest female in with the male that has built the biggest bubble. They will usually quarrel for a while. The male may rip the female's fins, she may nip him back, then he'll embrace her, and they'll spawn as shown in the picture above. You can see in the picture above that the male has ripped the females fins. You'll need to watch carefully to be sure that he doesn't hurt her too badly.

If they don't spawn, you should remove the female and put her back in the aquarium or fish bowl that she came from, or the male will probably hurt her. If they do spawn, you should still remove the female.


The male Betta, not the female, will care for the eggs in the bubble nest. You will see him taking the eggs into his mouth where he cleans them with special natural chemicals in his mouth. Two days after spawning the chemicals in his mouth change and dissolve the outer layer of the eggs to release the fry.

Answer 4

If you are sure that your male did not put them in the bubble nest as he should have then yes it is possible that he ate them. Sometime males will do that when they are first starting out. Don't give up on him though, a few more tries and he will get the hang of it. This is normal behavior for young males. Remember what we don't learn from instinct takes time, trail, and sometimes, error.

Answer 5

They don't eat the eggs. They build a bubble nest and place the eggs in the nest to guard them till they hatch. Your Betta most likely spit the eggs into the bubble nest.

Answer 6

This is extremely rare. And unless your male Betta is starving, I doubt his eating his eggs. More than likely you probably just witnessed him putting his eggs up in his hard made bubble nest and the top of the tank. It can look like he is eating them, but he is spitting them back out.

Answer 7

Sometimes males will eat the eggs that aren't fertilized. He might have been putting them in the nest. If you continue to watch you will see them falling and he will swim down and pick them up with his mouth and then blow them back in the nest.

Answer 8

If you paid attention longer, he might have spit them back in to the bubble nest. The males collect the eggs in their mouths and spit them into the bubble nest.

~ZTM

Answer 9

I have never heard of that.

Bettas don't usually eat the eggs.


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