Betta splendens are known as bubble breeders. This
means that they build a nest out of bubbles at the surface of
the water (Campbell, 2013). They first start the
reproductive process by the male building a nest of bubbles.
The male does this by first swimming to the surface, taking a
gulp of air from the atmosphere and then spitting back out a
mucus covered bubble as the result (Sturgeon, 2001). Once
the nest is built the male and female fish circle one another,
and nudge each other. Then the male turns the female on
her side and wraps himself around her (Sturgeon, 2001).
This is followed by the male then tightening his grip and
turning the female upside down. While the female remains
in the upside down position, the male positions himself
underneath her. The female then starts to release the
eggs. As the eggs start to sink, the male then catches the
eggs in his mouth. While the eggs are in the male’s mouth
he covers them with mucus, swims to the bubble nest, and
disperses the eggs into the nest of bubbles (Sturgeon, 2001).
This process, of bringing the eggs to the nest, is repeated
numerous times because the female only lays three to seven eggs
at a time, but lays several hundred eggs each time that mating
occurs (Sturgeon, 2001). The mucus that covers the eggs
while in the male’s mouth is secreted from the buccal glands and
is composed of glycoproteins that have antimicrobial properties
that are beneficial to the young fish (Brown, 2012). While
the eggs are resting in the bubble nest the male waits and
guards the nest until they hatch. This takes place
approximately thirty-six hours after mating, but may vary
depending on the temperature of the water (Campbell, 2013).
To learn more about the chemical compositin of these bubble
nests
click here, as a start to further explore the topic.
After the female is completely done laying her eggs, the male
then drives the females away (Brown, 2012). The male then
become the only guardian of the fish after they hatch. The
fish are under the male’s care for the first few weeks. After
leaving the father's care
they then reach sexual maturity at approximately five months
(Sturgeon, 2001). Betta splendens have a lifespan of two
to six years in both
captivity and in the wild.
Video by
Benny Sølz
As shown, betta fish have a very
particular mating ritual. Betta fish are also very particular in
choosing their mate. The females choose mates based on
secondary sexual characteristics such as body size, coloration,
ornamentation, and vocalizations (Clotfelter et al, 2006).
In this, the females are considered to be more particular than
the males when choosing a mate. Males on the other hand,
are not very particular with their mate. The males do not
have many characteristics that they mate for. They mate
for fecundity, which is indicated by the females body size
(Clotfelter et al., 2006). Males are thirty percent lager,
and although they strive to get females smaller in size, the
female cannot be that much smaller comparatively. If the
female is too small compared to the male, the chance of
reproduction decreases (Clotfelter et al., 2006).
In the natural habitat of the betta
fish, they do not
display as vibrant of colors as they do when they are bred for
domestication. Their coloration in the wild is usually
dull, but is displayed when trying to attract a mate. This
is in adaptation of the chromatophores in the Betta splendens
skin, and is used to find an optimal mate (Sturgeon 2001).
However this is interesting because while coloration is used to
attract the same species it is also used in its natural habitat
to ward of predators (Sturgeon, 2001).
