MALE BETTAS,BETTA SPLENDENS

The spawning ritual of betta splendens never ceases to enthrall me however many times I watch it happen. I t is a wonderfull sight to behold as the male displays and finally courts the female under the nest. It is like a scene from an opera is being played out in the tank. Once the male has enticed the female under the nest he curls around her and turns her upside down. They remain motionless for a while then the male releases her. She still lies motionless in the water as if she is paralysed. Sometimes the eggs are released as the male is wrapping her and sometimes they are released once the female has been released. I have watched a male release the female and then wait patiently for the eggs to drop. The first few embraces will not produce eggs they are practice runs, but after that the eggs are released in batches from 5-20 eggs at a time. Now it is said that the male squeezes the eggs from the female but after watching it many times im not sure that is the case. Although it is true that the male wraps himself around her as if squeezing her the eggs are not always released straight away. As I have said earlier I have watched a male wait patiently underneath the female waiting for the eggs to be released a good few seconds after. Once the eggs are taken into the mouth of the male he places them in the bubblenest that he has meticulously made. The spawning ritual can carry on for hours or it can be over in half an hour depending upon the pair that you have. As few as a hundred eggs can be laid or as many as 3-500. Once the female has done her job the male will drive her away from the nest and she should now be romoved from the breeding tank. If im not there at the end of the spawning i dont worry as she will take refuge under the indian almond leaves or in the little flowerpot that i have put in for her to hide in.