Betta Won't Make A Bubble Nest?

[Ogrt48]

Hi guys, I was wondering if theres a way to get a betta to start a bubble nest? I've had him a few days, he eats well, water temp is 80, he flares up sometimes, swims around fine...yet he won't make a bubble nest. Sometimes he'll hang out by the top, make like 2-3 bubbles and then leaves.. like thats he idea of a bubble nest o.o

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Why do you want him to bubblenest? He may just be getting used to his surroundings. Some of mine are compulsive bubblenesters, others only do it when it is about to rain.

 

[catxx]

you've only had him a few days give him a chance!
they only bubble nest when they're comfortable and happy
in time he may do
but it's not a compulsory thing that all bettas have to do to survive

 

[timmystood]

I have had my betta a month and he's never made a bubble nest.

 

[catxx]

i have one betta i've had for almost 2 months, never bubble nested
another i've had 4 months who's a bubblenest-aholic
just depends on the fish!
some do, some don't, some take a while to get around to it.

 

[timmystood]

I cannot wait to see mine do it!

 

[soritan]

I've had mine for nearly a year, and he's only built me a bubble nest once. If measuring a bettas 'happiness' is only measured by bubbles, I think mine's about to sue me for mental anguish.

Don't worry about it.

Things that'll help your betta bubble nest if he's inclined to do so:

-increase humidity (don't ask me why, it just seems to work)
-make their water warmer and cleaner
-excercise them with a mirror or by setting them next to another male or female betta

 

[catxx]

i think filters can effect them too.
my chronic bubblenester only builds them when he's a non-filtered tank, and the water is nice and still.

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

Mine bubblenest most often right after a water change. All my tanks are filtered and it hasn't stopped them at all from bubblenesting.

 

[Mr.September15]

Yeah, thats how I was when I got my first. Always trying to put the mirror in front of him and stuff. But anywho, I think you should wait. When mine do it, its always after a waterchange just how "Karahs_Mommy"'s bettas do it. There is no scientific way of MAKING a betta do it, Just when they feel like it I guess.

-Arrowhead

 

[timmystood]

Yeah, thats how I was when I got my first. Always trying to put the mirror in front of him and stuff. But anywho, I think you should wait. When mine do it, its always after a waterchange just how "Karahs_Mommy"'s bettas do it. There is no scientific way of MAKING a betta do it, Just when they feel like it I guess.

-Arrowhead

How long did it take for yours to start? More than a month? Also, how long do the nests last for?

 

[Amerce]

I've a betta that blows a few pathetic bubbles and expects the girls to just roll over for him, not found a girl who's impressed yet !!

 

[Ogrt48]

I put a female in a little container for a few hours and let it move around in his tank. He flares up and gets happy and what not trying to impress her.. He'll go and blow a lousy 2-3 bubbles and come back to her... been making 2-3 bubbles for hours now >.< I think mines retarded.

 

[Mr.September15]

Yeah, thats how I was when I got my first. Always trying to put the mirror in front of him and stuff. But anywho, I think you should wait. When mine do it, its always after a waterchange just how "Karahs_Mommy"'s bettas do it. There is no scientific way of MAKING a betta do it, Just when they feel like it I guess.

-Arrowhead

How long did it take for yours to start? More than a month? Also, how long do the nests last for?

about a 2 weeks. First time I saw one was when I woke up and just saw a random sheet of bubbles floating. It lasted about a few hours after I shook the table it was on they all floated away from each other.

-Arrowhead

 

[RandomWiktor]

Some bettas just don't bubble nest, or only make very tiny, poorly put-together nests that dissolve apart before they start to look like anything. Much like people, some bettas are very macho with a high sex drive, and others aren't. You might just have a gentle-natured or immature male who isn't interested in building a nest for a potential mate. It is equally possible that captive breeding over many years have "watered down" his instinct to do so.
I have a male who is over a year old. He is active, healthy, aggressive, eats well, has plenty of space, and he has never built a bubblenest. He sometimes blows bubbles on the edge of the tank, but never builds a real nest. I assume that it is just part of his personality.
I don't believe that bubblenests are necesarrily a sign of health and contentment. I had a betta who was dying of dropsy who made an absolutely massive nest. And I've seen bettas in cups so tiny, dirty, and cramped that they can hardly breath, and many of them have nests even then. I think it more depends on a desire to breed, which is why we see increased bubblenesting in males exposed to females, or conditions similar to breeding season in their natural habitat (ie. shallow still water, humid air, warm temp, etc)