Obsessive Bubble Nesting?

[rikkitiger]

So my betta king george is in a ten gallon tank and it has a little less water because some evaporated and escaped, but on the tops and edges of the plastic plant in his tank he has been bubble nesting like CRAZY. Around every top, even on the edges of the tank. It went on for a couple days so i rinsed off the plant afraid it was a substance in their, and doing that destroyed the nest. So i put the plant back in in the morning today, went to school, came back and it was there, BIGGER. it was huge!! And so i swirled my finger in it and left him and he rebuilt a bigger one. Is this ok? Is this normal or is it wierd?

Is it just the season for this? His heater died so the water has been too cold recently i got a new heater it will be here tomorrow. Is this a result?

 

[Ninjouzata]

It's normal, and just means that he's old enough to breed. Some do it often, and some never at all. Little jealous as mine has stopped building his!
Glad you're getting a new heater

 

[Llegmore]

Most male bettas do this a lot. It's perfectly normal. In fact, I generally take it as a good sign to show that he's happy in his tank.

 

[rikkitiger]

Great!! I was so afraid i was doing something wrong but i am really glad it means he's happy! He had a bit of fin rot from walmart but it is healing up nicely too so i am really happy for him

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Mine does it too.  I keep having panics thinking he is ill and hovering at the surface but no.... just building another bubble nest!

 

[rikkitiger]

yeah for a while it really freaked me out!

 

[ncguppy830]

Most male bettas do this a lot. It's perfectly normal. In fact, I generally take it as a good sign to show that he's happy in his tank.

All male bettas usually blow bubblenests, its not a good indicator of whether or not there healthy although.

 

[Llegmore]

 

Most male bettas do this a lot. It's perfectly normal. In fact, I generally take it as a good sign to show that he's happy in his tank.

All male bettas usually blow bubblenests, its not a good indicator of whether or not there healthy although.
 

I'd fight with you on that one. In my experience, they only do it when they're ready to mate. They have to be comfortable in their environment and in fairly good health to be 'ready' to mate. I didn't actually say that bubble nesting proves he's 100% healthy, I said it shows that he's happy i.e. he likes the tank and the water parameters. Also, sick bettas  are not interested in spawning and don't build bubble nests. The OP was worried that bubble nesting was a bad thing, which it most certainly isn't.

 

[ncguppy830]

 

 


Most male bettas do this a lot. It's perfectly normal. In fact, I generally take it as a good sign to show that he's happy in his tank.

All male bettas usually blow bubblenests, its not a good indicator of whether or not there healthy although.
 

I'd fight with you on that one. In my experience, they only do it when they're ready to mate. They have to be comfortable in their environment and in fairly good health to be 'ready' to mate. I didn't actually say that bubble nesting proves he's 100% healthy, I said it shows that he's happy i.e. he likes the tank and the water parameters. Also, sick bettas  are not interested in spawning and don't build bubble nests. The OP was worried that bubble nesting was a bad thing, which it most certainly isn't.
 


I know you meant it mean the bettas 100 percent happy,But i was worried the Op might get the wrong idea. Also it isnt exactly a sign of good water parameters either, just that hes ,mature and ready to mate.

 

[Llegmore]

 

 


 


Most male bettas do this a lot. It's perfectly normal. In fact, I generally take it as a good sign to show that he's happy in his tank.

All male bettas usually blow bubblenests, its not a good indicator of whether or not there healthy although.
 

I'd fight with you on that one. In my experience, they only do it when they're ready to mate. They have to be comfortable in their environment and in fairly good health to be 'ready' to mate. I didn't actually say that bubble nesting proves he's 100% healthy, I said it shows that he's happy i.e. he likes the tank and the water parameters. Also, sick bettas  are not interested in spawning and don't build bubble nests. The OP was worried that bubble nesting was a bad thing, which it most certainly isn't.
 


I know you meant it mean the bettas 100 percent happy,But i was worried the Op might get the wrong idea. Also it isnt exactly a sign of good water parameters either, just that hes ,mature and ready to mate.
 


agree to disagree.

I've had a couple of bettas in the past who bubble-nested regularly and I had an early warning that something was wrong with the water (high ammonia etc) because they stopped bubble-nesting. In both cases it alerted me to the problem before any real damage could be done. Maybe I just have bettas with supernatural powers.

 

[Wildbetta]

Bettas do not bubblenest to show they are happy or healthy.  Even bettas near death and in the little horrible cold nasty cups will still blow bubblenests.  It is a sign of the betta being old enough to breed and only that.  It is not a good idea to base the health of a betta or even the health of the tank as far as water parameters on a betta blowing a bubblenest.  Some bettas build nests ALL the time from the time they reach sexual maturity and others may never build a nest.  I personally own 3 that do not ever blow nests. They are in a tank with perfect parameters and bettas that are well old enough to breed and I know they are happy and healthy.  
 
Now that is not saying that you should overlook any differences in behavior.  Like with your betta (Llegmore) which blew nests all the time and then suddenly stopped -- that is a sign of something to be be concerned about since it shows a dramatic change of behavior.  Same as a betta totally going off food or suddenly becoming lethargic.

 

[rikkitiger]

he stopped blowing it today and it vanished. i checked the parameters and they were not right so i did a complete water change and he is back at it!

 

[Llegmore]

Bettas do not bubblenest to show they are happy or healthy.  Even bettas near death and in the little horrible cold nasty cups will still blow bubblenests.  It is a sign of the betta being old enough to breed and only that.  It is not a good idea to base the health of a betta or even the health of the tank as far as water parameters on a betta blowing a bubblenest.  Some bettas build nests ALL the time from the time they reach sexual maturity and others may never build a nest.  I personally own 3 that do not ever blow nests. They are in a tank with perfect parameters and bettas that are well old enough to breed and I know they are happy and healthy.  
 
Now that is not saying that you should overlook any differences in behavior.  Like with your betta (Llegmore) which blew nests all the time and then suddenly stopped -- that is a sign of something to be be concerned about since it shows a dramatic change of behavior.  Same as a betta totally going off food or suddenly becoming lethargic.

Yeah that final part is basically my point. An obvious behaviour like bubble nesting can be really helpful in spotting problems in the tank before they become real problems. Every betta's different; some bubble nest, some don't - but if they do it regularly and they suddenly stop, it can generally be taken as a sign that something is wrong.
 
I feel like I hijacked this thread and didn't put my point across very well. I only wanted to make it clear that bubble-nesting is perfectly normal, a good thing, and can be helpful in keeping track of your betta's health over a period of time.

 

[rikkitiger]

oh my goodness, my betta is sick, he stopped bubble nesting and he is not really active and he is kinda struggling and hiding in one cave all the time, this is the second day of this and yesterday the other fish were fine but today they are sluggish i think my heater isnt working because it says the water is 70 degrees and the light isnt on

 

[ReiRei]

The water ideally should be at 78 - 80 degrees. Your fish are probably lethargic.