first time breeding bettas

[webbaaa]

PLEASE NO HATE I WONT LEARN IF I DONT ASK.

hey guys, my male has finally made his bubble nest and he's had a female that's ready to spawn in there with him all day, in learning the hard way that he should have been in something with clear sides rather than this big bucket (he's only in there until the babies are free swimming) but my question is, are there eggs in there? also the female no longer has lines length ways across her body but they now go from her back to the bottom of her stomach, he is really guarding the nest and won't leave from under it unless the female tries to move but I took a look and she still has the white spot under her at the fins- help!

this is what it's looking like at the moment (he is under it but he's hard to see because he's a very light blue)

 

[Andy Sager]

The vertical stripes on the female are actually her breeding colors( as in this example: Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Andy Sager's Album: Breeding Bettas - Picture )
As for the eggs, get yourself a good high powered magnifying glass. If they are in there, you should be able to see them inside the bubbles. Usually, the male will keep them together in a bunch in the middle of the nest, but not always. I had a male that kept them in a single line across the top edge of the tank. When the pair have finished spawning, the male will chase the female away from the nest. If he's not doing that, they aren't done ( or haven't started.)

You are correct that you should be using something with clear sides so that you can look under the nest. All the action happens under the nest so that's where you want to be able to see. It takes a lot of the guess work out of the process.

 

[webbaaa]

The vertical stripes on the female are actually her breeding colors( as in this example: Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Andy Sager's Album: Breeding Bettas - Picture )
As for the eggs, get yourself a good high powered magnifying glass. If they are in there, you should be able to see them inside the bubbles. Usually, the male will keep them together in a bunch in the middle of the nest, but not always. I had a male that kept them in a single line across the top edge of the tank. When the pair have finished spawning, the male will chase the female away from the nest. If he's not doing that, they aren't done ( or haven't started.)

You are correct that you should be using something with clear sides so that you can look under the nest. All the action happens under the nest so that's where you want to be able to see. It takes a lot of the guess work out of the process.

well over night the bubble nest has at least tripled in size!! I knew there was a little bubble nest starting and I was just about to move him into and empty tank I got, before I went out there were about 5 bubbles got home, cleaned the tank and put it in my room and there was a whole nest! I was like, yeah let's not move you now lol

 

[Andy Sager]

Actually, nest or no nest, the right time to move them is before they spawn. He will always build another nest if the conditions are right. The size of the nest does not mean they spawned. It means that he is trying to seduce her to spawn.