Stange Behavior

[StarChildren]

i've had my male and female together since yesterday morning, and i keep checking and waiting for him to chase her off after spawning. i just checked the nest and it looks like there are eggs in there, kind of like they looked before right before they hatched the last time. and its like the male and female are taking turns. he will swim around the tank (like a look out) and she will sit under the nest, or he will sit under it and she'll swim around it...when i look at the nest, they both come over near the nest and flare up at me like "get away", him more so then her but she puffs her gills out and its like she is trying to charge thru the glass at me or scare me off. from everything i've heard or read, the male normally chases the female off, and he did do this the first time they had eggs in there but this time its different and i was wondering if anyone had ever had this happen with them, is it possible in the wild that both parents care for the nest taking turns?

 

[blue_betta]

sounds very odd... are you sure there are eggs in there?

 

[StarChildren]

im almost positive...it has those lil dark like wormy looking things in the bubbles, like it did before the eggs hatched last time. we'll know soon enough if they do hatch n i get babies, but its weird watching the female and male protect the nest and get along doing so

 

[Jaded12]

I've heard stories of pairs who spawned a couple times and actually began to get along and maybe even like eachother. I guess its possible. I had a pair, a red marble ct pair that I spawned 3 times and by the last time I put them together, they spawned almost immediatly and then both just chilled under the nest. No aggression what so ever.

 

[SmileyFace1337]

Maybe its love

 

[StarChildren]

Maybe its love

nope, not love. had to take her out last night because he was trying to tear her apart. she looks like a ct now from all the picking on her he did. and he ended up eating all the eggs it seems this morning, i caught him picking things out of the nest and consuming them. he's let the bubble nest completely go and is swimming around the tank flaring up and acting like hes a tough man.

 

[SmileyFace1337]

Maybe its love

nope, not love. had to take her out last night because he was trying to tear her apart. she looks like a ct now from all the picking on her he did. and he ended up eating all the eggs it seems this morning, i caught him picking things out of the nest and consuming them. he's let the bubble nest completely go and is swimming around the tank flaring up and acting like hes a tough man.

Wow im sorry to hear that

 

[Jaded12]

ugh I hate it when stuff like that happens! But sometimes the males will learn from their mistakes. What probably happened was you left her in there too long. And he felt threatened and that's why he ate the eggs.

 

[StarChildren]

i dont know, i took her out after he chased her off and i noticed him pretty much attacking her, which was last night. they had been getting along until then, almost like taking turns watching over the nest. so i took her out last night before i climbed in bed. then this morning, about 10-12 hours after taking her out is when i noticed him eating them. and all day today he's been swimming around like he's tough, flared up and doing that swim that makes them look like a snake slithering, see's himself in the reflection on the glass and flares up again. i dont know what it was and at this point i don't think want to trust him again, its like his ego got bigger with everything he got away with (eating the fry after they hatched, to attacking the female, to eating the eggs). i'm considering completely trying a different pair rather then trusting him again (either a pair from bubblenester or the pair i'm hoping to get off aquabid that are hmpk n a pastel color).

 

[Minni3]

Awww...I thought it was love, guess not. Would've been cool if it was, then I could try it with my male betta and then he could have a gf! It'll be like a hilarious tv show where the gf just moved in and stuff...oh funny.

 

[blue_betta]

nope, not love. had to take her out last night because he was trying to tear her apart. she looks like a ct now from all the picking on her he did. and he ended up eating all the eggs it seems this morning, i caught him picking things out of the nest and consuming them. he's let the bubble nest completely go and is swimming around the tank flaring up and acting like hes a tough man.

perhaps the presencs of the female for such a long time prompted him to eat the eggs, alot of animals will eat their young when presured by a potetial predator, to deny them the chance of a meal. i would suggest trying the same pair again but sticking to the rules.. remove the female as soon as the spawning is complete