They All Want His Body But He's Just Not Getting It...

[Bowling_Fleury]

Tempest, Topaz and Borealis all have eggs but my one male Sailor is not building a nest. He kinda starts, then abandons it, then sits on the bottom, then starts again.

Since he's in a bowl right now (like he was during his last sexual intercourse) I was thinking maybe he'd like to be moved to the baby tank, a 5 gallon with 1 baby Betta (who has lived with him up until about 3 weeks ago) and 2 baby guppies.

My question is if I put him in there, will he be more likely to bubble, or will he eat the guppies, and if he will bubble should I turn off the very slight current of my weak bubble machine? He's been like this for a long time, although in his last mating he was in a slightly bigger (now vacant) bowl and built a huge froth of a nest. Also are there other things I can do to make him bubble? The females really want to get it on and they're becoming a bit crabby.

 

[Betta91]

I wouldn't put him in with any guppies since Bettas can easily mistake them for other Siamese Fighters...As for his bubble nest problem, I believe that Water Sprite can help get Bettas in the mood for love

 

[starrynightxxi]

you shouldn't be tring to breed bettas in a bowl for one thing, and you also shouldn't try breeding bettas with any other fish in the tank. There are plenty of topics on breeding bettas on this board if you do a search, and I believe there is also a pinned topic.

A five gallon tank will do, but a ten gallon is best, bare bottom, 80 degrees F, with NO OTHER OCCUPANTS. Once the fish are suitably conditioned (about two weeks of rich foods) you'll put the female in the tank with a divider of some sort between them so they can see one another but can't reach one another. When the female shows signs of being ready to breed (eggy, vertical stripes, nose points downwards when male is nearby) then you can release them. In the time that the male and female are seperated but in the tank he should build a bubble nest and he won't feel harrassed or have it ruined by other fish.

You really should read the pinned topics as it sounds as if you don't really know your way around this too well. Bettas are surprisingly difficult fish and have been known to have as many as 500 babies at once which generally must be seperated from one another long before any pet store will wants them.