Distressed Male

HI I have not long started breeding betta fish and am unsure what to do right now. I read all the informative articles on this site and on a few others and so I thought I would have a good idea about how to go about things, I even spent a heck of a lot making sure I had everything and so I let my male (Bubbles) build his nest with my female (Nala) in a hurricane globe and that went well, he made a wonderful looking nest, and then after he was done I let Nala out and they spent plenty of time flirting and I left them to it for the night. Today when I came out to see how they were doing Nala looked like she was rather worn and torn, although still showing her stripes and egg spot, and my Bubbles kept chasing her so I took her out (I do not want my baby to die) and now Bubbles just will not settle he just keeps looking for her. Has anybody else had this problem? Does anyone know what I can do for him?

 

Hello & Welcome to Fishlore!
Although I have never bred bettas, there are a few very experienced breeders here & I'm sure they'll be around soon.

 

I'm sure MM, Critter, or Whisper will pop in soon but I suspect that you pulled the female early. Betta's are aggressive fish and damage during breeding is the norm. Usually it's time to take the female out when she's gone back into hiding and the male is tending the nest. Did you have a pot or something in there for her to hide in?

 

Sounds like you removed her too soon....He is acting depressed....I'd wait a few weeks and try again after they both recover....

 

I agree with MM, the chasing and nipping is normal as long as it doesn't get voilent enough to cause bad injuries. The male will continue to chase the female away from the nest and around the tank until he decides he is finished with the nest, then he will try to lure her underneath it. The first few times to witness him chasing your little girl can be very stressful and nervewracking, but it is also usually not near as bad as it looks!

 

My poor baby has lost about half of her top fin and plenty of tail missing too, I wasn't sure if it was too soon or not but decided that it was the best thing to do at the time. Nala had plenty of plants and a pot to hide in but at least I'll know for next time. I think I will wait till she has fully recovered. Thank you all for your help and advice.

 

Heard an exactly same experience from one of my friend... itseems that his guy keeps luring here to the nest, and when she comes there, checks the nest, and turn a bit back, he chases her the entire tank.... heard that she already lost very much of her tail...
why does the gal turn away from the nest, though she checked it quite few times.... and moved close to the male????