Signs of eggs in nest?

[Bonginator]

I set my male and female up to spawn yesterday and she was in a glass jar in the tank with the male and very plump with eggs. Sometime in the am, she escaped her jar and I saw her wrapping with the male under the nest but no eggs expelled.

I left her with him and returned later in the day to find him chasing her from the nest area and noticed that she was no longer plump so I removed her from the tank. He has been staying near the bubble nest and blowing new bubbles.

How can I tell if there are eyes in the nest? (the first time they spawned he did notpick up the eggs and put them in the nest so they were eaten - they are young and it was their first spawn.)

When should i expect to see fry?

Thanks.

[Oldfishlady]

Congrats.....

Usually the male will tend the nest and mouth the eggs....on occasion you may see some eggs fall, depending on what he used for a nest you may or may not be able to see the eggs...sometimes you can use a flashlight and shine up in the nest, however, I would not recommend you disturb him too much since he had problems the first time....some males will eat healthy eggs/fry if they feel threatened.....you usually will start to see tail hanging from the nest in 24-36h....sometimes longer depending on water temp and hardness....they don't hatch all at the same time since they are not dropped and placed in the nest at the same time....so its not uncommon to have extreme size difference and growth and development differences within the clutch.......an hour difference makes a big difference in the fish world....lol....

Good luck and look forward to seeing pics of both the breeders and fry and hear more about your plans.......

[Martinismommy]

Here is what the eggs will look like in the nest......They will hatch in 24-48 hours depending on the temp of the tank.....Get a flashlight and look under the plate..This is what you should be seeing if they spawned....

[Bonginator]

Thanks everyone. I will post pics of parents and fry if it proves to be a successful spawn....

Should know soon!

[Bonginator]

Some good news and some bad news:

The good news is that when I went to check on dad betta and his bubble nest. I could see some of the eggs in the nest.

The bad news: much of the bubble nest was gone and dad betta looked very very fat. I think he ate the fry after they hatched.

This is the dad betta's second attempt at spawning. I left him fairly undisturbed in a quiet room so I was surprised that he ate the fry. Is this common during the first few attempts or is it likely he would be an ongoing fry eater?

Thanks - I have lots to learn!

[baylee767]

Maybe he ate unfertilized/fungus-diseased eggs? I'd watch him carefully. It's likely he is either an egg eater or "purifying" the nest by getting rid of t he useless eggs... I believe that the dad eating the fr doesn't usually happen, that the dad only eats sick fry...

[Bonginator]

My fry are now about 7 days old. I have some java moss in the tank and have been feeding them a minimum of 2X/day - usually 3X.

Doing tank cleanings every day - also have an almond leaf in the tank so water stains quickly.

I have more fry than I originally thought. Now that they are swimming more actively, it is easier to see and count them.

So far so good!

Pic attached with fry circled in red - sorry about the quality. I'd love tips from those who are getting better photos.... Have a nikon D50 on macro but lighting is not great.