Bubble nest trouble!!!

[BettaStar1130]

Ok so i have my female and my male in a 5 gallon tank conditioning. She is in a clear breeding box and is ready in my opinion. She has readiness stripes (vertical) and her stomach is pertruding. He made a bubble nest but isnt thick enough or wide enough to keep fry. Im feeding them bloodworms and bettamin. the tank has a heater and is well planted. Is there anything i can do to ensure that the male will make a better bubble nest? if he doesnt he is going to have a rough few days keeping them there swimming after them all as they fall to the bottom constantly. Any help?

[trilobite]

All males are/can be breeders, unless they are infertile.
There are many reasons why your guy is making a wussy nest.
Maybe his bubbles keep popping...is his nest under a cup or other object? this can help reduce bubbles popping. IAL also helps the "stickyness" of bubbles.
Another reason could be that your guy has lost intrest in the girl. In this case it would be wise to separate them for a while before reintroducing them.
Or it could be that your male thinks his nest is suitable, some males make very small nests and some dont even bother making one at all.
Males will usually enhance their nest once there are eggs/fry in it.

Does he maintain his nest or does he just ignore it?

But to your original question the place I would go for a breeding fish would be aquabid because of the quality of some of the ish found on there.

[BettaStar1130]

Ok so i gave him another 2 days. Sure enough it was alot better. Its under a Styrofoam cup. The new problem that has occurred would be that neither of my females like him. While they are in the breeding box they will interact but when i release them the run scared-and he just plays along and there they go losing finage. Believe me when i say i was ready for the challenge of the hobby but id like it to work just once o i can start to understand the process and get better each time.

[trilobite]

Its normal for the females to hide. Unless they are showing stress stripes then you should leave them in there. its not often that a pair will mate the minute they are introduced. it usually takes a few days. The female will get beaten up and if she doesn't get beaten she wont think the male is good enough for her.
Good luck and dont give up!!

[indjo]

Take out your female and put her in a dark solitary. Flare her to another female or mirror after a day or 2. When she starts to get aggressive, introduce her to the male and see her reaction. If she flirts, you can either release her or wait a day or two.

Don't judge a male by his bubble nest. Some may not make one at all. As long as he flirts, he will breed.

[BettaStar1130]

I know giving up isn't a good answer but i decided to try a different pair. Thankfully they had fry. Ill post pictures if you want. Not to many but enough to satisfy me. ...for now...lol. Thanks everyone for your help. I just hope that i can do it again lol. Not to mention this pair was from the pet store but the got "busy" pretty fast lol. I used a product called Atison's Betta Spa. It has almond leaf extract. It did the trick. I also lowered the water level turned up the lights and heat and BAM. Betta fry!!!!!