Beta Fish Mating

Question
Hey there,

I have a male crowntail  beta and a female crowntail beta, and I want to mate them. The female show the signs that she wants to spawn, with white stripes vertical on her body. But the male doesn't seem like he wants to mate, because he hasn't even started building a bubble nest yet. I have the female in a container to keep the male from attacking her. I have both of them in a 10 gal. tank, with a heat keeping the temp around 75-80 degrees. I also have alot of fake plants, for when I release the female so she has places to run and hide. I have a filter put in because I want the water to be as clean as can be. Oh yeah, I've also taped half a foam cup in the tank too.  

The male beta keeps flaring its gills at her but still doesn't build a bubble nest at all. Should I release the female to fasten the the process up more, or put a new male beta in.  NEED HELP PLEASE!!@!!

Answer
Hi Jason,
Breeding bettas is always trial and error and things rarely go smoothly at first. But it is possible your fish may need more time. Your pair may need different techniques to encourage them to spawn such as even removing the female from the male's sight for a few days and then re-introducing them. I'm curious what kind of filter you have on the tank. Current both on the surface and below should be virtually non-detectable.

You might try providing several places for bubblenest building. Perhaps the male doesn't like the immediate site. Try moving the foam cup to a different spot, surround it with floating plants, ect...
Try different things to go through trial and error and Im sure pretty soon your male will build a nest before you know it.

Try a couple of 20-30% water changes. The introduction of fresh clean water may stimulate the male to start building.

And surprisingly, some male bettas are "duds" and never really have a strong bubblennesting instinct. While others need maturing.

But otherwise, don't give up. There are too many things you must try before banning him from breeding.

This site offers incredible info on spawning bettas and general betta care...

bettatalk.com

Best of luck!!
Karen~