After a day or so, you can see that the female is ready to be released into the
tank with the male. She will swim with her head down and her fins clamped
whenever the male comes near her, this is an exhibit of submissive behavior,
telling the male, "Okay, I'm willing to see how things go." At this point, you
can release the female and watch them closely. It is perfectly natural for
them to flare, chase, and even bite each other. As long as neither one is
brutally hurting the other, they are alright. They may even rip each others
fins to shreds. You be the judge. If it looks like one is running for his/her
life, then seperate them and condition them longer or try another pair.

Female showing submissive "head down" behavior.
By this time, the male has either begun building his nest, or will start now
that the female is in reach. I've had some males wait until the female was
released before they even started to build. It is amazing how fast they can
get a nice nest going. The male will swim around, chasing the female and
eventually try luring her over to his nest. "See what I made for you darling?"
He will swim vertically in a seductive "S" shape all around her until she's
satisfied with the nest. They will rub up aganst each other and try a number
of configurations before they finally figure it how the male can get a good
squeeze on the female. He will wrap his body around hers, squeezing until she
releases her eggs.
Male embracing the female to release the eggs.
It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple days for them to figure out
how to spawn. Be patient, leave the female loose in the tank, do not put her
back in the hurricane glass. This will interfear with the natural spawning
process. The plants and corner filter will provde refuge for the female if
the male gets too rough, but keep an eye out for unecessary roughness.
After the male has squeezes the living daylights out of the female and released
the eggs, the male will fertilize them, collect them with his mouth and spit
them up into the nest. The female will be in a state of shock at this point,
floating abnormally near the surface. Don't worry, she's not dead! She'll
come to in a few moments after the male has collected all his eggs! They will
continue to embrace until she is empty of eggs or they feel they have enough.
The male will then chase the female away and tend to his nest. Make sure you
promptly remove the female. The male may kill her if he feels she is a threat
to his beautiful new nest of eggs. Have a nice medicated jar with BettaMax
ready for the female when the spawning has ceased. Acclimate her to her jar
and be sure to cover her. Many females have an urge to commit suicide after
spawning and jump out of their jars to untimely deaths.

Female in the stunned state, floating awkwardly.
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