Help!!!

[lilxsteffie]

I only marked it urgent because I don't know if this could cause a health problem for my female betta...

**Update: my first female, Sheila (i had a post up in the emergencies forum) died of dropsy a few weeks ago so my boyfriend and I bought another one to share the divided tank with our male ct Ravi.**

Well we've had our new girl in the divided tank with Ravi for 3 weeks now and she has the vertical stripes all over & he's building bubble nests like crazy!!! Their tank divider is opaque so all you can see through it is the silhouette of the other fish if looking through it from one side. When we had Sheila in there, she and Ravi seemed to never know that the other was even in the tank. It wasn't our intention to breed our bettas, we never conditioned them or anything. Finding such a large bubble nest on Ravi's side of the tank and seeing our girl with such obvious vertical stripes was a HUGE surprise.

I was just wondering if our female betta could get sick if we don't allow them to breed? Like will holding eggs for such a long time cause her problems? Or will she just release them on her own if we just leave them separated? Could they get depressed by us keeping them apart since they're both obviously ready and willing to breed with one another? What should we do?

Or should we just get another tank and set it up so they can breed and just prep to care for the fry? I only have 2 weeks till the school semester ends so I'll be able to provide them with ample care if it's ok for them to wait that long before breeding.

[copperarabian]

I saw a similar thread where the owner saw their Betta releasing eggs, and people responded that it was normal and wouldn't hurt them.

I don' know if this changes when a male is present though.

[mernincrazy8525]

it depends if you know your stuff about breeding. Do you have the resources, space for the jarred fry, and the food? did you do your research?

and i don't think she would get sick and die if you called of the breeding. and to breed them you would need another tank. If you are willing to breed them then go for it, but be prepared!!! i cannot stress that enough

[indjo]

If you don't let them breed the female may release her eggs. But that is normal and won't hurt her in any way.

Or you can move her to another tank where she can't sense the male. If her eggs haven't "ripen" she won't release her eggs but may still show her bars. Either way is safe.