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Female Betta Pregnant

23 11:42:07

Question
Recently I tried to breed my bettas. The tank was a 20 gal with a large bowl in it, and I was constantly checking the water level to make sure it was just a centimeter over the bowl. This way my female betta could easily hop over the bowl's edge (she's always been a jumper), but the male betta could not. The female betta spent most of her time in her bowl hiding from the male, and the male spent most the day building the nest and flaring at the female. They tried spawning often, but it never happened. After about a week I took her out since the male stopped showing interest and would only attack her when she joined him in the tank.
My question is this: what's going to happen to her eggs now? It's been at least 2 weeks and she's still plump with her tube sticking out. I put her in a 40 gal for a bit and she wasn't as active as normal with the other fish, and since she got nipped fins during the whole ordeal and might have a bit of tail rot, I've recently put her in her bowl alone with some medicine. Do you have any recommendations on where she might be more comfortable/where she'll heal up faster?

Answer
Hi Samantha,
Breeding bettas is not easy.  You must have a tank ready for them, and lots of hiding places in it for the female to hide.  A bowl in a tank will not do. A male Betta can jump very high.  It's amazing!  Lots of silk plants at the bottom of the tank, litte toys for her to hide in, are a must when breeding bettas.  They must be put in this tank at the same time.  The little female is always at the mercy of the betta, and we must not take our eyes off them during the spawn.  In a fraction of a second, the betta could kill her.  Sometimes the spawn does not happen, for whatever reason.  Sometimes the male is just not ready, and nothing we can do will make it happen.
For now you will have to medicate the little female who must be very stressed.  If you have a 5 gallon tank, put her in this tank, and buy tetracycline to cure her.  Her torn fins, can quickly turn into fin, and tail rot, and seeing as she is now stressed, any parasite can attack her.  Keep her water very clean, and add one teaspoon of diluted aquarium salt to her water. (one teaspoon to 5 gallons of water.)  
She will eventually let her eggs go, but she must have room to swim to do this.  It will be difficult for her to do so in a bowl.  Bettas should never be put in bowls.  In their habitat, the water may be low, but they have lots of room to swim.  
I hope the little girl makes it, and that she will heal quickly.  Do not wait, as fin, and tail rot is a wicked disease, and may spread very fast.
Lynda