Why Is My Betta Fish Making Bubble Nest? Is It Good or Bad?

Every creature living under the sea has its natural mating procedure. Betta fish’s bubble nest is a part of this process. So, why do bettas make bubble nests?

Making a bubble nest is bettas’ natural process of breeding which generally indicates that they are healthy and ready to mate. It’s totally fine for a betta fish to make a bubble nest.

I have a beautiful male betta swimming around my fish tank and seeing those small cluster bubbles in my fish tank, my curiosity and concern both got built up.

Curiosity and need have led me to do good research about betta bubble nests.

Adding a little bit of experience to it, I’m going to explain to you all the information from my bucket about those bubble nests in your betta fish tank.

So, without further ado, let’s get started!

What is a bubble nest?

Bubble nests are clusters of bubbles made with oral secretion by aphrophils which are generally some fish and frogs.

Bubble nests are also called foam nests. These are made of bubbles full of oxygen and saliva. 

They are normally made by male species beneath any debris or plants or on the clear part of the water surface.

Why is my betta making a bubble nest?

Making bubble nest is a natural process of creating a support system for reproduction amongst betta fishes, generally run by male bettas.

Bubble nests are needed to secure eggs after being laid by the female betta fish.

Why are the eggs kept in a bubble nest?

The eggs are kept in a bubble nest to keep them moist in an environment with enough oxygen!

Eggs need an environment that is surrounded by oxygen-enriched air for the proper hatching process.

Normally in the wild, the environment is not suitable enough to keep the eggs moist. 

From that need, male betta fishes start the process of clustering bubbles which creates a secure place for the eggs.

How do Bettas make bubble nests?

Bettas generally gather small bubbles and make clusters on the water surface. If you have enough plants, leaves, or any decoration inside your tank, they might create their bubble nests beneath there.

In general, bettas make bubble nests on the top water surface of the tank.

Well, have you ever assumed what substance they are made of? Here is the answer.

What are Betta bubble nests made of?

Bubble nests are made of air bubbles coated with saliva.

Bubble nests are nothing but air bubbles made by the male betta. They coat it with their saliva to increase its resilience. 

You might not find the bubble nests organized as well. Making a bubble nest is a noisy procedure as they do it in a quite frantic system.

Which gender of betta makes bubble nests?

In general, Male bettas construct bubble nests and wait for a female betta to mate with.

The male betta spawns with the female and then secures the eggs in his bubble nest, guarding against any possible harms or damages.

If any egg falls or drops, he has to pick it up and place it again in the nest.

But here comes another question. Can a female betta construct a bubble nest? Let’s find it out.

Will female bettas make bubble nests?

It’s a very infrequent thing for a female betta to make a bubble nest. 

Female bettas usually don’t do this. It’s a very natural and habitual instinct for a male one on the other hand.

Now that you know what is a bubble nest, do you want to know at which age you can expect your betta to start constructing its bubble nest?

At what age do Bettas make bubble nests?

Bettas start to make bubble nests between 4 to 12 months.

Your betta might feel the urge to build its bubble nest in between this time because it’s their prime breeding period.

Now, how many eggs can bettas produce?

How many eggs can a betta fish lay?

A betta fish can lay 30-40 eggs during each spawn. The number can be increased up to 500 if you are lucky enough.

How often do betta fish build nests?

The frequency of betta making bubble nest varies individually. Certain times or periods can not be estimated in the case of making a bubble nest by a betta. Some Bettas do it very often, even within a day. Some take a week or month break after each spawn.

Again, it is not necessary to consider this period as a health issue.

Now we are coming to the part where we’ll know about destroying or removing betta nests, how to take care of them, how to help your bettas to build their bubble nest, and its importance.

How long do betta bubble nests last?

After the spawning process, the baby bettas or well known as “fry” take 1 or 2 days to hatch.

Even After that, they need the nest for protection until they are fully grown up.

It is suggested to promote the construction of bubble nests as it is a natural behavior of betta.

If you are willing to clean up the tank, you can always do that. But any unwanted attack on the nests won’t cause any harm to your betta.

Eventually, he might start making a new bubble nest.

If the eggs are laid, and you are looking forward to breeding, you can scoop it up carefully, clean your tank, and place it again.

An uncleaned tank might create anger in your betta. You also don’t want that, right?

Is it okay to destroy a betta bubble nest?

Destroying a betta bubble nest is fine unless it contains eggs or fries.

If you destroy a nest with eggs or fry, they won’t be able to survive anymore and the breeding process will stop.

How to encourage a betta for bubble nesting?

Bubble nesting is a natural process for betta fishes. It keeps them healthy and happy.

So, the owner should always try to keep the minimum arrangement to encourage them for bubble nesting.

How to do that? Let’s find out:

• Keep the filter of the tank to a gentle flow. Heavy flow can cause disturbance in bubble nesting.
• Choose your tank as big as possible and fill them up with different kinds of decorations such as amazon sword plant leaves. Bettas feel comfortable making their bubble nest underneath some hiding places.
• Temperature is a great issue to fix in this case. Keep the minimum warm temperature if you can. Temperature between 72 and 78 is idle to make your betta happy and to promote building a nest.
• The presence of a female betta can make a male prone to build a breeding system. Also, if there are other males to compete with, the breeding procedure might get faster.
• Keep your tank clean but don’t make it too clear. You can replace one-third of the tank with freshwater for example.
• Decorate your tank. Also, try to keep some floating objects.
• Make sure the pH level of the water on the tank is balanced. As bettas live in acidic water in the wild, they will need correct pH level water inside a tank also.

Conclusion

Building a Bubble nest is an important instinct in a betta’s lifespan. They should be encouraged and promoted fairly enough with necessary arrangements.

All though, this activity is a sign of a happy and healthy betta fish, but that doesn’t mean the absence of it indicates abnormality or sickness.

It’s a natural process of breeding and depends on many surrounding things including the fish itself.

There is nothing to worry about.