Do Bettas Take Breaks While Spawning

Published August 18, 2010 | By admin

Recently I’ve had some visitors to the website that had been searching for an answer to this question…….Do some Bettas like to take breaks while spawning?

Well, as I write this I’m now the grand old veteran of 3 spawns so maybe I’m not the most qualified to answer this question but having videoed each of my spawns now, I have learned quite a bit about Bettas spawning, as each pair were quite different.

My first pair were very young and were first timers and despite getting the job done to the extent where I was able to raise 45 fry the male did leave most of the eggs on the bottom until the end. The female didn’t help at all in collecting them.

My second spawn was very systematic. The pair would come together, he’d squeeze the female to release the eggs and fertilize them, then break away and start collecting them before they’d get to the bottom and then he’s place them in the Bubble Nest. The female would then recover and swim to the bottom to collect the rest and then also deliver them safely to the Bubble Nest. They repeated this with military precision about 20 times without a break and when they were finished he chased her away and that was that.

It was very obvious when it was all over.

Therefore as you can see in the video above it was obvious when to remove the female.

BUT this is NOT always the case……….

So where my second Betta spawn looked like it had just come out of the “Betta Spawning Handbook”, my third spawn was different again. These two were all over the place and really did look like first timers. They did take breaks and there were a couple of times when I was unsure if they’d finished. Twice they stopped and recommenced. In the end after a break of about 30 minutes he seemed to lose interest all together. She swam away and then came back and watched him tending to the Bubble Nest. He would subtly move her on but the signs weren’t as obvious as in the video above. In the end I decided to remove her.

So therefore when your Bettas do take breaks while spawning the question for you is to decide if it’s a break or whether spawning is over and it’s time to remove the female. I have found that being able to video my spawns is extremely advantageous as it helps me to understand Betta behavior. Also in this case I used the video to estimate how many eggs were already released and in the Bubble Nest. This can help with your decision.

Also if you come into your breeding room and discover you Bettas spawning then it can be difficult to judge how long it’s been going on or when it actually started. During my first spawn the female released lots of eggs each time they came together but they came together less often.

As spawning commensed my second Betta female only released between 1 to 5 eggs the first few times and then it build up to about 20 eggs for about the next 15 or so times. Then they just stopped and that was that.

When my third pair spawned, the amount of eggs released each time varied throughout. It started off with a few, then she released more, then she released less and then more and so on. So with this pair, if you were to start observing half way through spawning it would be difficult to guess at what stage they were at, based simply on the amount of eggs that were being released. You may even get tricked into thinking it has only just commenced.

So as I’ve discovered Bettas do take breaks while spawning on some occasions and the reasons why are probably many and varied. The important point for you is to decided is if it’s a break or if it’s over.

So if you can, film your Betta spawns, as you will gain experience much quicker and then you can use your judgment to pick up the subtle signs. Then you will be much better equipped to decide if your Bettas are simply taking a break while spawning or if they have in fact finished spawning.

My third Spawn. Red Crowntails.