For Adam D (is that right?): yes i have a female and male~ click on this question cuz i'm running out of room.

Question

Yes i have a female. I have put them in a tank together and i think those are eggs. He becomes very protective of it and trys to hurt the female badly when she gets near his bubble nest. Maybe it is the lighting that makes them look orange. i checked to see if it was food but its not. I feed them in a different tank anyway. It's not snail eggs because they are really small and scattered about in different directions (unlike snail's eggs) and i'm pretty sure it is not mosquito larva (sp?). Please help me.

Copperhead,

The female has been long out of the tank. I think I have eggs but if I do then why aren't they opaque white? They are orange. They are transparent (if that means you can see theough them) and look like bubbles kinda. Is it maybe the lighting in the tank that give them an orange tint? Some are small and some are a little bit bigger than some others. They look like little spheres in the bubble nest of course. Also, a couple of monthes ago he would never "flare" at me. Now that something is in his nest he does. That gives me reason to believe they are his eggs. They also sink like little snowflakes though i have never witnessed him picking them back up. I need all the help i can get so send me lot and lots of info. Thanks Copperhead! You've been a lifesaver! =D

Anyone there??? Copperhead??? Adam D??? Chantel H??? Unicorns of Rainbow Valley??? ANYONE??? HELP ME BEFOR I GO BALLISTIC!!!

Answer 1

I looked back at your previous questions - if you think you have eggs, you need to remove the female - the male will now be guarding the bubblenest, and if there are eggs, he'll kill the female if she tries to get near it. I'll post more in a bit, but for now, get the female in antother container ASAP!

Betta eggs should look like the opaque white spheres in this nest - you have to look losely to distinguish them from the bubbles: http://www.ausfishforum.com/forum/files/bettaspawn2.jpg

If you need to post more info, rather than posting a separate question, if you look at the toolbar beneath a question, you'll see a pencil icon (only if you asked that question). Click on the pencil and use the option "Add Details" to post new info or reply to something someone said in an answer - this will save you point from having to post a new question.

If your female was ready to spawn, she should have shown an ovipositor and vertical (up and down) stripes, like those shown in this website (unless the fish was white or a light color already, but the ovipositor would have been present): http://www.flippersandfins.net/faq.htm#malefemale Until she's showing these signs, she shouldn't be put with a male - he may kill her if she's unwilling or unable to lay eggs.

If you have a ramshorn or apple snail, and the bubblenest is against the side of the tank, the eggs may be snail eggs if they have an orange tint - betta eggs should be white like those in the photo. If it's an effect of your lighting, only you can determine that.

apple/mystery snail eggs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kentbrew/60227434/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kentbrew/60227565/

ramshorn snail eggs (see photo bottom left): http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=ramshorn+snail+eggs&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

Also, if these are betta eggs, and they're fertile, they should hatch in 2-3 days. How long has the female been out of the tank?

You can try turning out the tank light and looking at what you think are the eggs with a flashlight - that might give you a better idea of their color.

If you have a spawning tank set up (bare bottom so he can find the eggs, lower water level (only 3" or so deep), and the male isn't picking the eggs up, they won't develop properly if they are betta eggs.

BTW, Yahoo has pulled questions in the past when users are mentioned by name - they have a policy against "personal coversations" and that's what these look like. You probably didn't mean anything by it, and just didn't know how to use the "add details", but you should be careful of this in the future.

Answer 2

More than likely you have eggs and within a day or so you will see the fry falling out of the nest and then free swimming. The male will eventually pick up the eggs that has fallen but sometimes I have seen the same few eggs keep falling and dad gives up. Just wait 2 days and see what happens. The eggs should be white unless you use water that has alot of iron in it, or the lighting is making it look a different color. Either way just relax and let the Betta do his job. Don't stay around the tank too much, this will stress the male out and he could eat all the eggs.