by John Krutz

Created on: July 18, 2008

Have you ever noticed your Betta making bubbles on top of the water? You may ask yourself why is he doing this? You notice I said, "why is he..," that's right your beautiful Betta is a male and he is just doing what male Betta's do, making a nest.

The more elegant of the species, the male Betta is the aquarium fish of choice for many fish fanciers. A happy, healthy male will often make a bubble nest. Betta's gulp air to breath and a male will gulp air and then spit out a small bubble. He will do this often and stick them together in either the corner of a tank or attach them to a plant. The larger the bunch of bubbles the better, in the Betta world anyway.

Making a bubble nest is the way a healthy male Betta says, I am ready to mate. If you add a female who is full of eggs you can watch why the male has made the nest. After they mate and the female starts to release her eggs, the male will pick them up and place a single egg in each bubble. This is his job until the eggs hatch. He is constantly making new bubbles and picking up eggs that have fallen from popped bubbles and placing them in a new bubble. What a dad, not only is he good looking but he is a hard worker as well!

If you don't notice a bubble nest it may be a sign of poor health. First remember that Betta's like the water warm around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Next remember to change their water, they don't like moving water so this means they will be better off without the water running through a filter and then back into the tank, but this also means you will have to change their water regularly. Checking if your water is good for your fish is also a good idea and your local pet store will usually help you with this. Finally is food, Betta's need meat in their diet. Most pet stores now carry foods specially developed for your Betta. These foods are basically dehydrated worms and shrimp which Betta's love. However, always remember not to over feed, this will lead to poor water quality.

Some Betta's are just genetically poor at making bubble nests. So if you are trying to get your Betta to build a nest you may need to give him a little help. One of the best ways to do this is place something on top of the water to help the fish pack his bubbles together. A simple solution is to cut the bottom of a Styrofoam cup off. Next place the bottom of the cup upside down and tape it to the side of the tank. You have just created a little inverted dome for your fish to put his bubbles.

So next time you see your Betta putting a bunch of bubbles on the top of the water don't worry. Its just a bubble nest, it's his way of telling you he is healthy and it lets you know that you are doing a good job in caring for your Betta.

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