New Owner.......questions on bubbles

[Purplely]

I bought my kids a betta last week. Took them to the store, had them pick it out and we bought some live plants and rocks, etc. The tank is a round (i beleive) 2.5. The story behind the tank is a co-worker used it for some presentation and gave it to me. They have been asking for a fish for a while and then having someone offer me a tank, it was like it was meant to be!

"Purplely" as named by my 5 year old daughter looks to be having a great time. We bought him at Petco. It was a little strange because we went in a few days before to buy the rocks, plants, etc, to get it established before we bought the fish. At the time I was thinking gold fish until I started to research and found this site and the positives of the betta over a gold fish. 2 days later I took the kids over for the purchase and Petco just got in a delivery of bettas (from Ohio) and were putting them in new water and putting them on the shelf. We had a ton to choose from and the kids settled on Purplely. Again, another kind of strange meant to be thing.

Now that I am done my intro, the only question I have so far is bubbles. I believe they are OK, but Purplely has a nice pile of bubbles and I see him hiding under it at times. I have live plants that he swims around and under.

Are the bubbles a good sign? Also when I change out the water (we have been changing between 25 - 50% every few days) should the bubbles be removed or is it better to leave them?

What are the bubbles for? Is he thinking of mating? I assume he is still a "infant" since he just came in, but how old are they normally if the store just took them as delivery from the breeder?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Fat_Fender_40]

Bettas spawn by, you guessed it, bubble nests. Are the bubbles from the betta or another source?

[Purplely]

Originally Posted by Fat_Fender_40

Bettas spawn by, you guessed it, bubble nests. Are the bubbles from the betta or another source?

From the betta. I dont have any pumps in the tank. It's pretty "foamy" so I wonder if he is "ready" to spawn? Do they make bubles only when they spawn or do they always make them?

[tenpaull]

bubblenesting is a sign that a betta is healthy, and yes because he is healthy, he is in good condition to mate. It doesn't mean however that he NEEDS to mate. Most pet store bettas are about a year old when they reach the store, this so happens because the older they are, the longer their fins will be, and the more attractive it will be to the buyers. Although their age can vary a lot, most of the petstore bettas are way past their "prime". So you are lucky you picked out a betta in good condition. It doesn't mean that it is young or an infant, it just means that he is still in good condition :)

[Purplely]

Very interesting. I assumed he was still young considering he just arrived to the store but now it does make sense that they keep them until they are full grown and "flowing". Because he is a year old does that mean at the breeders he was in the little cup or do they keep them in other ways? I just wonder if the new tank is like a Ocean in his mind!?!?

[puff]

It probably feels huge to him and I bet he's loving that!
Purplely is a very apt name! :D

[Flashygrrl]

Glad you didn't get a goldfish. You would have been in for a lecture upon entering this site :)

Sounds like Purpley is doing very well. Do you have a heater (they sell little mini-ones, around 7-10 watts) and a filter?

[Purplely]

Dont have either yet. It's funny, I was looking for the simplest fish out there and the betta hands down was the fish for the kids. It gives them some responsibility and they both like watching him expecially during feeding time. The bonus is they are very pretty fish. He is purple and red and very flowing fins. I will post a pic at some point.

I see us upgrading to a bigger tank soon. Right now he seems very happy, there is a huge bubble nest and he is swimming amoung the plants as I type. He is pretty active so that must be a good sign.

About his "previous life', how do they keep them as they grow. Did Purpley spend is childhood in the little cup he came in from the store?

[Oldman47]

Usually they grow up in something larger than the little cup but nothing very big. A gallon would be large in many cases. A quart or 2 would be more likely.

[missfish1996]

The bubbles mean that "Purpley" is healthy and happy and does NOT HAVE TO BREED you could the bubbles mean that he is in condition to mate but breeding takes a lot of thought and should probably only be done after you have cared for male and female bettas. CONGRATS ON THE NEW BETTA FISH!