After all the preparation, the fish are actually spawning when the male wraps his body around the females and appears to squeeze the eggs out of her. The male will turn on his side and bend his head and tail into a U shape while the female turns upside down and “lies” into this u shape. The fish will be at cross angles in this position, but their vents are very close so the eggs from the female and the milt from the male merge together.
Each embrace lasts about 15 seconds. There are many embraces, and the first few may not result in any eggs being released by the female. After a few tries, some eggs will come out. At the height of spawning, each squeeze may release 20 or more eggs. It is rare, but occasionally betta fish have up to 1000 fry in a spawn. Expect more like 500 to be average.
After each batch of eggs are released the female may appear paralyzed – and she in fact is. The male will hurrying down to catch the descending eggs, then put the fertilized eggs into the bubble nest, where they will stay (mostly, he’ll put whatever ones fall out back) until they hatch about two days later.
After spawning the male starts working on his bubblenest again. He may create an entirely new bubblenest and move the eggs to it, or he may just keep working on the nest. It’s fairly rare, but not unheard of, for a male to eat some of the eggs. Females are much more likely to eat the eggs.
The male betta is also likely to become aggressive to the female. In some pairs this aggression may come out even before all the eggs have been released. You need to keep a close eye to get the female out of the tank before the male becomes too aggressive. At the very least, the female will need a safe place to hide away from the male until you can remove her.
Females need about a week of rest in 80 degree water before they can spawn again. Males can spawn up to twice a day, but the spawn will probably be larger if the males are given a few days rest in between, too.
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