# Dragon Spawn Log - My first time!



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

I have been wanting to breed bettas for a while now. I had originally intended to have my first spawn over the summer but life got in the way. Finally, I have the time and the energy to ensure that the parents and their fry get the attention they deserve.

My female is a black and blue-green (depending on the light) halfmoon dragon. She's just an absolutely stunning fish! She was bought locally and I've had her for about a week. She was condtioned and the breeders and I have continued to condition her. She's EXPLODING WITH EGGS! She was housed next to one of my non-breeding boys and he and she firted non-stop. When she released eggs yesterday at dinner time, I moved her to a more secluded spot... don't want any accidental fry! Good to see that she is ready and willing though.

I am getting two breeding quality males tonight. The first is a red copper dragon PK, who is my first choice to breed. The second is a black and white double tail marble.

My spawning tank will be set up tonight - I've got everything ready to go, I just need to add water and the java moss.

Food for the fry is taken care of as well.

I'm super excited! It will probably be another week until I put the male and female together - I want to make sure both of them are in perfect shape for breeding. 

I will add pictures of the lovely lady and the two new boys tonight. :-D

The fry will be avaliable for sale as well. I am in Ontario, Canada so if you are in Canada and are interested, do let me know.


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Too bad you're in Canada, I'm looking for a pure blue dragon for my HM blue dragon female, I'll keep searching, I know he's out there somewhere!


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Yay, another new breeder....

Good luck with everything. Don't forget to keep us updated with pictures.


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Pictures!!!!Don't forget pictures!!!


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Im Definitely subscribing to this thread! I wanted to subscribe to a new (breeding) thread so i dont have to go to the first page and read from there to page 50 lol.

Well we all wish you good luck and are here to give you advice and tips on the way.

Good Luck,
-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

I got my new males last night. *swoon* THEY ARE STUNNING. I am beyond happy with both of them. The woman I bought from really did the best job in find the perfect fish for me.

LOTS of pics ahead!
Whole tank:









The lovely lady:









Dragon Plakat:
















Marble DT:


















Group shots:



























The plakat male is a wee bit smaller than the female (but she is VERY full of eggs)... do you think this will pose a problem?


----------



## Badjer (Oct 25, 2011)

Subscribing!  Beautiful fish...I'm especially fond of your dragon plakat boy.


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

If you asked last year, I would have answered NO. But lately my smaller males can't fertilize the eggs of bigger and fat females. 

But yours look normal (slim and healthy) so they shouldn't have any problems.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

I agree with Indjo. Cant wait for spawning pictures!

-BL2033


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They are awesome! I love the marble and the plakat.


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

The marble would be a perfect breeding male. He's 100% ready to go... too bad he isn't the male I'm using. 

The DS male is doing well though. He's only 4 months, so he's still working out his hormones I guess.  

Lady Fish and DS Male will be going getting a big feast tonight and then they will hopefully go into the spawn tank either tonight or tomorrow. It will be the first time for both of them (male is 4 months, female is 8) so I imagine they will take some time to figure things out. Both of them seem ready though.

I AM SO EXCITED.


----------



## Dead Sunlight (Jun 14, 2010)

Congrats, wish you and your pair the best of luck
<)))))><


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Good luck. I hope your get the spawn of your dreams.


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Well! Things did not go as planned. Thankfully it's just a minor set back, nothing major. All it really means is a bit more time to condition. I was needed at the stable I work at, so didn't get to set everything up and get them to spawn.

My mother decided she did not want the spawn tank in our originally agreed upon spot, so i had to reshuffle my whole game plan. It is now crammed next to my 20g divided. the 20g basically had to be emptied in order to move it. So that took a while.

I'll probably be spawning on Monday now...


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

They're in the same tank. She escaped the cup I had her contained in, so they're both in together. 

He has not yet started working on a bubblenest... they've only been together for about an hour though, so I'm not worried.

There has been lots of chasing and flaring, a few nips. Her tail has some chunks out of it.

Fingers crossed...


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Good luck...I've heard that having them together from the start works, as long as their compatable. Bubblenests often come later.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Lets see how this goes. Anything new?

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Everything is going well. I left them together overnight and I was pretty worried about the female. But she is still alive this morning: a few more but nothing dramatic. 

He is working on his nest while she hides in the big fake plant I have. Occasionally he will spot her and give chase. He is more aggressive then I had anticipated, but he is a plakat so I'm not too surprised. 

I am off to go take care of my horses now - I will be back tonight with another update and hopefully some pictures.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Great! Sounds like things are normal.

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Just a few pictures...

The tank overall: 









Flaring at the female:









Staring me down for disturbing his nest building:









Charging the female:









Guarding the nest:


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Wow that pair is just beautiful! Nice nest as well! It's huge!

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

He has stopped attacking and started flirting now. He's trying to entice her over to the nest, but isn't having much luck. The female is pretty tired and torn up. I wouldn't want to go with him either! Lol 

It should be soon though. Hopefully.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well i'm sure she is going to give in to his "charm".

-BL2033


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Let's hope she starts flirting back, then all will work out.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

One of my favorite parts of this is when after the male is done with his nest, its like he is saying sorry, then flares and he thinks she is supposed to just follow him after being so worn out and tired of running.

I think bettas have anger issues lol. I think the challenge of breeding and raising them is what has always attracted me to them! (Besides their finnage and colors)! I love how they each have different needs and personalities. Just like us!

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

No eggs yet. But they have been busy today.

The somehow managed to move everything in the tank by a couple of inches. The bubblenest, the java moss, the weighted down fake plant. I guess the feng shui of the tank wasn't right for breeding. :lol:

He also made an ENORMOUS bubble nest. It's huge. HUGE.

And they are now getting pretty cuddly with one another... well, at least as cuddly as a betta can be! He has a few nips out of his fins that were not there before, so I guess she got her revenge. 

I can't believe how long this is taking... both of them were SO ready to breed and you can tell they both want to do it so badly, they just have no idea how. That's first timers for you, I guess. 

Pictures from today...
My poor, beat up lady fish:









The tank redecoration and massive nest:









Watching over the nest:









And pictures of them "snuggling":


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Wow they really have been busy! I love your pair! And the male's head looks so original. How long have they been in there.

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Today is day 3.


----------



## Badjer (Oct 25, 2011)

Haha quite the cute couple. And what a bubble nest!


----------



## Fermin (Apr 18, 2010)

What a lovely pair!


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Super Fish said:


> Today is day 3.


Well it can take up to 5 day. Do you have another female betta? (Doesnt have to be the same tail type. Just any female.

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

I do have another female. She is about 3 times the size of the male and not breeding quality. I am confident the pair I have will figure it out though.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

No, im not saying to breed her with him. I'm just saying to put her in there (SECLUDED) and with no way possible that the pair can reach her. When you put her in their you may see the female becoming more willing to the male and breeding. You may see a "jealous" behavior of the female. That is when the instincts come it. The female feels as she is an opponent and she must compete with her to get her generation through. Once you see that the female is becoming submissive, you must now take the female that you dont want to breed, out.

It has worked for myself and many other members a various amount of times. (This is if you feel impatient, or just want to experiment. I experimented with this method a lot and 9/10 it worked.

If you'd like, you can try this. I believe in your pair as well, Though if worse comes to worse, there are many methods (including this one) that would work.

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Ah I see, that makes a lot of sense. I'll give them another day and then I will try that method. Thanks!


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

No problem. Just here to help.

-BL2033


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

When my pair were flirting but doing nothing else, I took the female out for two days and then reintroduced her. That worked for me... They were both first timers so sometimes he hugged her a little too tight and she shot out like a cork out of a bottle! Really funny! 
Anyway, whatever you do, I'm sure it will work out, after all, they ARE flirting with each other...that's a good start.


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Still no eggs. Tried showing them the other female, she didn't even move. 

I may try removing and then reintroducing the female... I am really shocked that she hasn't gotten with the program. I thought she would be raring to go - she was releasing eggs in my divided tank and I had to move her out of sight of the boys. She is huge with eggs too. I just don't get it.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well separate them and recondition them for about 2 or 3 more days and allow her to gain her confidence and fins back for those two days.

-BL2033


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Well, I did seperate them and I intended to reintroduce them after a short break, but some health problems cropped up... I was finally able to reintroduce them today. Things are going well so far, so fingers crossed it all works out this time!


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Better luck this time. Sometimes it just takes longer than we'd like.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Dont worry in time, everything will be placed in an ordered manor and you will get your fry!


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Well! That went terribly. Went out for a few hours, came back and the poor boy has almost no fins! She savaged him. He's missing a whole pectoral fin. 

He's eating well and still swimming around like a mad man, so at least he's not feeling too bad (yet). I hope he makes it, he's my favourite!

I picked up another male who I will likely try with her, after a week or so of conditioning.


----------



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Oh my goodness! Don't you just hate when they do this?! I had the same thing happen to my female. Thankfully she is healing (slowly) and is still swimming around fine.


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Same thing happened to one of my females. He tore almost all of her anal fin off. She now looks as if nothing happened.


----------



## Super Fish (Jun 27, 2011)

Here's the new male. He's a HM, so I'm hoping to get some nice fins out of him and the female.










I tried to get a picture of the first male's injuries, but he's too scared to come near the camera. :lol: He's doing well though.


----------



## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

ugh I know how you feel, my gorgeous delta boy went from full finnage to looking like a carrot with the leaves still on in the space of like, 5 minutes >.> luckily they all grew back in a couple of months, and I got him to breed with a different female. Switch your pairs around until you find two that don't absolutely hate each other! Good luck!


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

That male is a real beauty! Love to see the fry from him.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

elegantlyunsophisticated said:


> ugh I know how you feel, my gorgeous delta boy went from full finnage to looking like a carrot with the leaves still on in the space of like, 5 minutes >.> luckily they all grew back in a couple of months, and I got him to breed with a different female. Switch your pairs around until you find two that don't absolutely hate each other! Good luck!


lol! I had to laugh at your description of your male looking like a carrot with the leaves still on.


----------



## BeautifulBetta (Nov 12, 2011)

dramaqueen said:


> lol! I had to laugh at your description of your male looking like a carrot with the leaves still on.


I laughed too haha!


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm sorry he got beat up but the description of what he looks like cracked me up. lol


----------



## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Poor little carrot.


----------

