Female pregnant betta fish

Question
QUESTION: Please Help! My daughter's beta female we put with the male when he was blowing tons of bubbles they were together for awhile to breed. She is fatter now and has a cloudy looking film on the top of her rocks at the bottom of the bowl. Before I clean it I want to be sure it's okay to. It has been about a week since we bred them.How long will she be pregnant? And what do we do after she has the babies,Do we separate her? Please help this is our first time to attempt breeding beta fish.Thank you so much for your time.We greatly appreciate it. May God Bless You for your time and effort! Thanks Again,Wendy

ANSWER: Hi Wendy,
Please separate them as quickly as possible.  Breeding Bettas is not a game, and you must really go by the book.  When breeding Bettas, you must have another tank ready of at least 5 gallons.  You put both the female, and male in at the same time with many many hiding places.  Be ready to remove the female if the male attacks her.  He will build his nest, she will go to him, and if he is not ready, he will chase her...she then hides, and keeps going back.  When he is ready he will give  her a sign, and she will go to him.  He will squeeze her, wrap himself around her so that the eggs will go up into the nest.  She then goes back to a hiding place.  This can go on for 4 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less.  Never keep your eyes off them, as the male will kill the female when she has no more eggs, or if he is not ready.
Never keep the male, and female together in the same tank, he will kill her.  
After three days, remove the male as he will eat his young.  Once the male removed you will have to feed the fry mealworms in small amounts.  Rarely do Pet Stores sell mealworms, so be ready, and order them three weeks in advance.  You cannot feed them baby brine shrimp, as they are to big for the fry.
You will have to do water changes every day once the fry are free swimming, and separate them once they get bigger.  They are slow growing, but once the males show their colours, and you see aggression between them, you must remove them.  They must have clean 8 ounce jars where you put in one betta.
You know when the female is ready when she has a small white tube where her anal fin is.
For now, separate them, as he will kill her.
Lynda


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank Yoy so much Lynda for your response. We already had them separated since that first day after a few hours of staying and watching them but, we never seen the male squeeze her he just swam all around her and against her.They have been separated but she seems fatter and their is something white in her we can see she is clear in color so we can see through her. Is it safe to clean her bowl with the cloudy film stuff on the top of her rocks it doesn't stink so I wasn't sure if it was something to do with her pregnancy or poop. And I want to be sure before I clean it that it is safe to do so.Thank You for your time you have been a big help.Again God Bless You until next time,Wendy

Answer
Hi Wendy,
Bettas should always have clean water.  Remove all the water from her bowl, and clean it well with warm water.  Fill her bowl with the same water temperature as the water she is in, using a good water conditioner such as Stress Coat.  Add 1/4 teaspoon diluted aquarium salt.  The salt helps with stress, and parasites.  A betta's bowl should be changed every week, and sometimes twice a week depending on the size of her bowl.
When the female is pregnant you will see a little white tube sticking out close to her anal fin.
However, it is not wise to try and breed them in a bowl.  They should really have a tank.
I would also like to mention that Bettas are tropical fish, and need a heated tank.  Under 78 -80 degree water, the betta is cold, miserable, and will get sick.  When heating a tank for the betta, you must do this very very slowly, as bringing up the temperature too fast would be deadly.  If you decide to do this, bring their temperature up one degree every two days.
There are many gadgets on the market for bettas, and this really turns my stomach over.  The Betta lives in shallow waters, but has lots of room to swim.  The vendors make lots of money on bettas, and don't care how they are treated, as long as they make a buck.  Most do not give good information, and the betta gets sick, lots of money is spent to save him/her, and eventually the fish dies.  The vendor couldn't care less, but I know how attached we are to our bettas, and it isn't right to lie to a customer telling them that bowls, vases, and mirrored tanks are good for him.
If you would like more information, please write me again.  I love them, and breed them.