I have seen many referances to bubble nests. What exactly are they? I am pretty new to the betta world, so I am curious. Why do the fish make them, and what do they look like?

it's basicly just a pile of bubbles it's for when they breed, they put the eggs in the bubble nest.

here's a pic, i have of one uploaded

When a betta makes these, its a good sign they are healthy and happy!


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The bubble nest my one betta made me lasted for a few days, til I changed the water and accidently disturbed his work of art.

Needless to say, he wasn't too pleased by that.

its what a male betta builds to keep his brood (eggs and fry) safe and so they can breathe the air aswell

Oh, cool. How do they make all the little bubbles? How long do the nests usually last?

They are made of betta spit The betta inhales air from the surface and then exhales, blowing a spit bubble. I don't know how long they last..pretty long? They start to deteriorate as the water evaporates if the betta doesn't keep adding on to it. I change my water at least once a week so by them it gets ruined if he made one.

it's pretty cute too, if you can catch them doing it. My Blaze is on my desk so I get to see him building all the time. He gets mad when he sees me watching him though

Here is the pic of one that my betta made

And yes it's basically spit

yea don't you hate when they get messed up, they work so hard on them, poor things. i guess it gives them something to do though. here's some more of mine, the first is blaze working on it. the second is one frosty made.
I wish I would have had a digital cam when I had my betta RT, he was a master at bubble nesting I use to have him in a big fish bowl and he always had a thick layer of bubbles on top like in frostys except it was the whole surface area instead of just a piece.