Betta Fish Courtship Behavior
Courtship Behavior: Pursuit
Courtship behavior in betta fish can be aggressive, but females have learned to balance male parental quality with the negatives that comes with spawning, risks can be minimized through negative size assertive mating (Clotfelter et al. 2006). He starts by trying to lure her into his nest. They present their choreographed dance to the female to get her attention, including fanning his wings. If she is interested she will swim towards the male with her head down and fins closed against the body. This lets the male know that she is ready to mate, and he gently approaches her. If the female doesn’t give the reaction that he wants the male may become brutal. This can lead to tears in the female fins, and maybe even a …show more content…
However, in females, her display rate is positively correlated with the body mass of the male, but there is a negative correlation with her own. Females tend to associate more with larger males than smaller ones, which is effected by her body size. Courtships displays by males doesn’t have an influence on mate preferences for females, neither does the rate at which he displays. In male’s courtship displays, does play a role in mate preference. Males usually showed a greater preference for females that exhibited opercular displays than for females that did not display (Clotfelter et al. 2006). There was not a preference by males for any specific size of female. The study by Clotfelter et al. (2006) also found that the size of a male’s bubble nest could be predicted based on his display behavior, females use this when choosing a mate. Another criterion that can be used when choosing a mate is the typical win-lose scenario of two males fighting for a chance to mate. Females prefer winning males when looking at male to male interactions, which is used to determine the male with the best brood care (Jaroensutasinee & Jaroensutasinee 2001). In a study done by Herb et al. (2003) however, win-lose mating displays didn’t seem to interest females and there wasn’t a preference. Clotfelter et al. (2006) also discovered that the amount of time a male displayed to a female affected their mating
Courtship behavior in betta fish can be aggressive, but females have learned to balance male parental quality with the negatives that comes with spawning, risks can be minimized through negative size assertive mating (Clotfelter et al. 2006). He starts by trying to lure her into his nest. They present their choreographed dance to the female to get her attention, including fanning his wings. If she is interested she will swim towards the male with her head down and fins closed against the body. This lets the male know that she is ready to mate, and he gently approaches her. If the female doesn’t give the reaction that he wants the male may become brutal. This can lead to tears in the female fins, and maybe even a …show more content…
However, in females, her display rate is positively correlated with the body mass of the male, but there is a negative correlation with her own. Females tend to associate more with larger males than smaller ones, which is effected by her body size. Courtships displays by males doesn’t have an influence on mate preferences for females, neither does the rate at which he displays. In male’s courtship displays, does play a role in mate preference. Males usually showed a greater preference for females that exhibited opercular displays than for females that did not display (Clotfelter et al. 2006). There was not a preference by males for any specific size of female. The study by Clotfelter et al. (2006) also found that the size of a male’s bubble nest could be predicted based on his display behavior, females use this when choosing a mate. Another criterion that can be used when choosing a mate is the typical win-lose scenario of two males fighting for a chance to mate. Females prefer winning males when looking at male to male interactions, which is used to determine the male with the best brood care (Jaroensutasinee & Jaroensutasinee 2001). In a study done by Herb et al. (2003) however, win-lose mating displays didn’t seem to interest females and there wasn’t a preference. Clotfelter et al. (2006) also discovered that the amount of time a male displayed to a female affected their mating