To continue or give up?

[prosthetik]

My female & male have been in the breeding tank [14 gallons] together for almost 48 hours. His bubble nest is the size of my palm, she has her stripes, they were conditioned, etc etc.

I have a heater, set to between 80-82 degrees, lots of plants, places to hide. I have done my research. But this I just cant find the answer for;

I came home from work earlier & Richards fins are all torn up & Penny's got slight tears in hers. She has lost a lot of her coloring & her stripes are just visible but she still has her ovipositor showing. Richard still seems to be adding to the nest though, or just floating under it. I've put her in the big glass jar I had her in when they first were placed in there just for now because Im unsure of what this all means. I can't seem to see any eggs in the nest, but over the past few days there was only chasing & no nipping to today a lot of his fins ripped apart.

Should I look at re-conditioning them or keep them in there or try another pair or what?

Some insightful help would be nice, not a lot of this "put down newer members" stuff I've seen a lot lately.

[ChoclateBetta]

How did you condition?

[prosthetik]

With Bloodworms & pellets & them 'meeting' each other etc. The same way most people condition.

[prosthetik]

Basically: What Im trying to say is, from these pictures [sorry if they come out too big] is have they spawned or not? I cant tell what eggs look like at such an early stage.

[ChoclateBetta]

What is PH? Also some Betta pairs do not work out.

[Oldfishlady]

Usually if you have eggs-the male can be seen tending/mouthing the nest and rarely leaving the nest for more than a second or two.

Watch for the hanging tails and bouncing babies in about 24-36 hours after the time you think they might of spawned.

[Myates]

It takes some pairs days to get down to breeding.. so don't give up. As long as the fighting isn't too deadly/much then just leave them be for another day or two and see if they go for it. If not, then you can remove them and recondition them and try again.
When conditioning, a lot of people don't allow the pairs to see any other fish during the conditioning phase, only to see one another when the female is placed in the tank (in her own section).. then when she is barred and egged up she is released into the tank with the male.

I personally didn't see any eggs, but doesn't mean there isn't a few in there. As OFL said, he will be under the nest attending to the eggs and not paying any mind to anything else (other than chasing the female away from the nest).

So give them a few more days.. some people have had to wait a week before theirs spawned.. and see how it goes.

[indjo]

I don't see any eggs. But there are some areas of the nest where the bubbles are thick - the eggs might be under that so it's not visible from above. try looking under the nest.

If the female's color has faded and she is no longer returning to the male, then she must either be done or something must have happened to change their moods. As OFL said, male should be tending to his eggs (guarding and mouthing them) and not leave the area for too long.

[prosthetik]

Thanks so much guys :)
I still kind of cant see much, like, theres whitish dots floating near the edge of the nest but Im not sure if they are eggs or deflated bubbles [i know that probably sounds weird] - & yeah he doesn spend most of his time under the nest but I havent seen anything falling for him to pick up.

& as for her, I've put her back in her own tank with some API Stress Coat just to help with her torn tail, & most of her color is gone.

So I really don't know yet lol. Just thinking I might give it another day or 2 to see what happens cause if they spawned it would of been just over 24 hours ago while I was at work. If not, I'll put him back in his tank :) My guess is I doubt I'd see anything after 3/4 days.

[MikeMc]

i would agree with most here, I dont see eggs, some pairs can take as long as a week before they agree, and they may not even breed then. I heard a breeder mention they left a pair together for 8 days before the spawn took place.

Here is a video of a male tending to eggs, you can get an idea of what the eggs would look like, they tend to hang on the bottom layer or just below the surface of the bubble nest.

http://youtu.be/XfaGNQiUaVA

Also take note of the PH and hardness of the water in the tank. slightly lower ph and softer water can help. Also the weather can play a role in triggering spawns, specifically if you have a big front coming through it is the best time to try for some spawns.

I woudl consider resting and reconditioning them for a week, and trying again.