The female will approach the male beneath the bubble nest, and show she is ready to spawn by swimming in a S-motion with her head lowered (submissive form). At just the right moment, the male will wrap around the female and release his sperm.

The pair continue to wrap around each other and the female will release her eggs.

The male will continue to carry all the eggs up into the bubble nest. There may be anywhere from 20 to 200+ eggs released, depending on how many eggs the female releases.

After recovering from the mating, the female will wait for the male to finish tending and picking up the eggs. The pair will breed again once both partners are ready.

This process will continue until either one of them decides to stop or when the female is depleted of eggs. Note that during (or after) the spawn, some females will try to eat the eggs. The male will try to stop her and chase her off. At this point, you should remove the female. The female (mostly wounded from the courtship) should be placed in a jar and should be tended to. You can purchase special medication (melafix, quick ick cure, etc.) to help her heal properly and keep her free from diseases.