# Albino fry(exciting and sad, anyone els?)



## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

I found a TRUE albino among my fry today. Red eyes, no pigment. Most of this is kinda me just talking, so the point of this is posted in BLUE if you don't want to read it all.

I'm excited because of the rarity(and the chance to see if albino as a recessive can be reproduced by breeding to an unrelated betta the grossing brother to sister).

However..most albinos tend to die before they reach breeding age or are too weak to breed..and mine doesn't look to be any different. 

So the sad part. he seems to be hanging at the bottom of the tank and has sinking issues. he swims sporadically to the top of the tank in burst and keeps sinking, then seems to gasp for breath where as the other fry are fine.
I just did a very small water change(ten percent, moving them to a 1gallon via cupping method so I can do a 100% on the ten gallon and scrub the gunk from the bottom that's built up over 3 weeks without a snail(the stores here have none in stock..ever, despite being listed as for sale.)

Has anyone els come across an albino in there spawns? And i'm talking a true albino, not just a cellophane. Did you notice any issues?

Both parents were petstore stock and both have passed, as the ones i get from pet stores tend to, withing a few months of coming home with me. So I wasn't expecting the strongest of genetics to begin with.

Since the fry still moves aound the bottom and can reach the surface himself I'm not going to kill-cull him/her. If he can survive accommodation will be made either by myself or to a non-beeding home if he/she has issues in adulthood.
He/she is one of my lager fry so I hope they make it.


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## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

Why non-breeding? If he/she survives potential offspring could be worth serious money.

maybe separate it so you can more closely monitor it/ nurse it back to health? 

where are you at? I may have extra duckweed to pass along soon.


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

If his/her swimming problems persist to adult hood then he/she shouldn't be bed. Any fish showing unhealthy qualities(bent spin or conic swimbladder issues or very bad immune system) shouldn't be bred, they will produce a large number of fy who also show/carry those bad qualities. 

the fish you get at petstores that seem to die after a two months for no reason? probably came from lines where the parents shouldn't have been bred.

Also, if he/she is bred it will be for genetic study, not profit. xD
I have been pondering floating him in a shallow container in the larger tank until I can get a heater for a small tank. I have various small containers I use for floating QT fish or introducing females...

I'm watching him/her right now and he seems to get along is a kind of 'hopping' manner he's sticking to the side of the one gallon by me and will occasionally turn to look at me while he searches for food that's fallen down there. He/she 'looks' healthy. But I don't know what swimbladder is supposed to 'look' like.


I'm in southern California.


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

So somethings just occurred to me.

Most albinos that have been recorded have been blind are partially so..
Is it possible he's sticking to the bottom because it's easier to find food there and less...frightening? then swimming around and not seeing whee you're going?
Does anyone have any experience with blind betta? Are they in general less active then their seeing counterparts?


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

separate him/her into a shallow container. 

it's pretty exciting! i've been studying albinism alot lately, because a character of mine in roleplaying is an albino.

it's possible that he/she has problems seeing. putting him/her into a shallow container may help him/her out in many aspects, including growing stronger. :B


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

once the ten gallon finishes warming up and i move the rest of the back into it i'll be putting him/her in her own shallow container.

Back in highschool I had an albino classmate for PE, never talked to him though. ><


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I don't know about the blindness thing, he might be blind, might not be. In nature, albino animals aren't designed for survival in general though. I know for example in bird, being albino makes feathers really weak and frail in particular, and the whole animal tends to be weaker than a coloured one. Snowflake the gorilla died of skin cancer caused by being albino. Many albino animals are blind most likely due to lack of pigment in their eyes, ruining them in some way. I'm guessing his scales will probably be fragile due to lack of pigment also. So he'll probably be really delicate all his life, if he lives and you decide to rehome him, put him in a really good home that you can trust 

on a side note, I saw a few days ago Canada Betta was selling a true albino male for $200.


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Im not sure if this is true in fish, but the gene increases chances of cancer
increases chances of blindness
and usually results in weakend immune systems


Also, sometimes the blindness is actually caused by the lack of color around the eyes (sensitivity to light) so make sure you keep him/her in a low lighted area... I also know that the same thing has been known to cause seziures in some species


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

~nods~ 
All of those are reasons why he/she would be going to a non-breeding home unless he/she makes a complete recovery and lives a normal life.

He/she is in a shallow container floating along side his/her siblings in their nice clean water.

Olympia: There was a poor/sickly looking albino girl for sale on aquabid a couple years ago, but she was priced ungodly high(bids in the thousands) but I don't know if the buyer actually paid or not. Makes me kinda ill to know someone would try to profit off an unhealthy fish(and not even mention it in the description). My fry get natural light, but it's not direct since there's a draft by the window. So it shouldn't be to harsh for him(especially with the extra wall of his/her floating container). I do have lights over the tank but i only use them for night time feedings and can probably make 'shades' for them.

I don't see how the lackof pigment itself would cause cancer or blindness.but I can see that it would make it easier to get, say, skin cancer because you have no protection and i would assume the same for the eye, easier to get damaged by bright lights.

According to the betty spendens site, only one albino(at the time the page was written) had been successfully bred. And albino female to an orange male. No albino fry came from the spawn and i can't find anything on the line being continued.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I feel bad giving you wikipedia, but it's the best resource I could find. Everything is about human skin on google -_-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanin (disorders, like parkinson's can be caused be lack of melanin in humans, similar things are quite possible in betta)

as for blindess:
Melanin (pigment that albinos lack), among other things, absorbs some of the harmfulness of light from reaching the eyes, which is why he needs a darker place to live. (http://www.kodaoptical.com/en/js.asp)

Melanin is in basically every cell, and it probably has lot's of various functions. Unfortunately, most of the research is on mammals Dx

ALSO:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...669478215.3011.105730539478328&type=3&theater
^^ he's already sold, and I can't tell if he's healthy or sickly, but he looks fine. I read that same article about how there were only 1/2 albino betta ever produced, and was shocked when I saw this guy


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

While he's not really a show betta with that hunched back he does look other wise healthy. o.o and he's a SD/halfmoon, lucky.

If i had a bunch of money laying around i probably would have bought him. Granted he's not blind I'd pair him with a cellophane HM female frm a show line.

occular albinism is a bit more common then full albinos in the betta world. So pairing with a cellphane would at least give the chance of an occular albino cellophane that mimicked a true albino.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

either way, you have a potential jewel, keep an eye on him and post some updates


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## Greenfish (May 23, 2011)

In the wild albino animals find it harder to hide from predators, which explains why they are rarer then the normal ones, most of the albino animals that are found are given to zoo's. From what i know the albino gene is a recessive one, caused be inbreeding. This can then cause problems such as the blindness, weakness, poor immune system as well as infertility.


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## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

In which animals? In snakes, lizards, rats, frogs, turtles, gators, etc. albinism causes no serious harm--other than you simply must be more careful about bright lights over them. I know a lot of people who have albino animals who are not blind and are just as healthy and strong as their normal animals. They eat, breed, swim, etc. like normal

Are bettas just specifically prone to weakness with albinism? I hear the argument against albinos a lot--but only on this forum. So I'm curious.


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## Larsa (May 6, 2011)

ALBINO BETTA!? you should post a pic or vid!


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

Snowflake the gorilla got skin cancer not from being albino, but the lack of protection against the sun. being albino doesn't automatically mean you'll get cancer of any kind.

and, they're not blind because of it, either. lack of pigment in the eyes makes it easier for damaging UV rays to reach the inner parts of their eyes. 

this little guy has just as much of a chance of surviving as any fry, but it's always good to separate him, give him MORE of a chance by babying him a little. :B

i'm really rooting for him! ever since making my albino character, albinos have fascinated me. i think we have an albino alligator at Riverbank's Zoo.


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Albino bettas are the rarest of all betta colors, or rather non-colors. If your betta grows to be a healthy adult, you could have the start of something wonderful.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

if you could get pictures, that'd be great! i'm rather excited about this little guy! that means, your male and/or female have the genes to produce albinos! maybe, breeding a sibling pair, could produce more. :B just a theory, though.


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## SDragon (Sep 26, 2011)

Wow a real albino! I hope he makes it. You really need to post some pics.


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

purplemuffin I got the weak info when i researched it on bettysplendens site.

Larsa, would if i could but the only way i have to take photos is with my laptops webcam and it can't focus on the fry.

Luimeril perhaps xD It's mostly the genetic aspect of it that interest me. I was planning on breeding sibling pairs anyway in an attempt to work on a CT line, so it would be interesting to see if the gene pops up again down the road.



Not all of us have stunning cameras guys. xD I don't have a digital camera,let alone the money to get the proper lenses for shooting fry pictures. ><


But, as an update, it's still alive. Not as active as it's siblings, but it's swimming around it container and not hopping anymore so i believe the swimbladder was from it being alittle piggy. I'll monitor it's food for the next couple days then add it back with it's siblings. 

I hope he/she make it aswell. I've had very few deaths overall with this spawn, so I'm expecting almost all the fry I have to make it to adult hood, granted there are no heater fails or anything.(most of my fry deaths happen before now usually).

If he/she lives to adulthood i'll try to find some way to get a decent picture.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

i can't wait! i think the little guy has the whole site rootin' for him! :B


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Luimeril said:


> i can't wait! i think the little guy has the whole site rootin' for him! :B


I know I am! 
i know an8 or 9 year old girl who is albino. She wears glasses but has good enough vision to be able to drive when she's old enough.


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

I'm certainly rooting for that little albino! I think it would be wonderful to try breeding him/her to a sibling in the future, if all works out of course.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

it's been a while... how's the little guy doing?


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## Bambi (Sep 11, 2011)

Still alive and kicking.  One of my larger fry, still no color development despite the rest getting their blue in. He/she seems to have kicked his Swim bladder issue. Though he's still usually near the bottom, he doesn't have any issue staying at the top and begging for food with the rest of the fry. ^^

I do believe s/he'll make it to adult hood :3


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

that's GREAT! i can't wait for pictures! ooohh, i'm far more excited about this little guy, than any spawn i've ever followed! <3


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Me too! Especially want to see how the albino turns out.


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## EvilVOG (Nov 23, 2011)

How is he and the rest of your fry doing? 

By the way i can probably send you some duckweed if you want to pay the postage, I have way to much in my tank now.


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## Shirleythebetta (Jan 9, 2012)

Here's a website about what is said to be the first albino breeding thought it was interesting...

http://www.bettafishonline.com/bettagenetics/thealbinofightingfish.php


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

WOW that is a very interesting article. I never realized albinos were so hard to keep, although I know they are very rare.


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## Shirleythebetta (Jan 9, 2012)

It for sure is interesting. I don't ever believe that articles are real unless you can trace the author though but I thought if that is true those albinos have almost a hundred year history of being difficult that we know of. It's definatly a neat subject.


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

Bambi, it's been awhile, is there any news about your albino? Is it still doing well?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Her profile says she hasn't been on for over a month.
I'm endlessly curious to know what happened to him too.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

If she does read, I had a blind bett once, but only blind in one eye for sure and possibly not so good vision in the other, you have to have lots of soft decor that they can feel arund by, like fabric plants, and use sinking food, she only ate that. I kept her for a month and then she died. she was always getting sick and most of her life was in the quarantine tank for ich, or not eating, or torn fins from other bettas picking on her, or not eating or too many cases of fin rot.. then she finally died of dropsy :'( none of the other fish got sick, so i think it was her immune system. But the life outside of the quarantine tank, if you follow the right rules, can be happy, but keep them isolated.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Old thread. Let it die please.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

why


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

they were just curious as to what was happening to the albino fry


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Because its a forum rule to not drag up old threads. The OP hasnt posted in over a month and might not come back ever.


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## Pogthefish (Mar 24, 2012)

we want the OP to come back


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

She may come back, eventually.


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## jeffegg2 (Apr 5, 2012)

dramaqueen said:


> She may come back, eventually.


Please... the mod asked to let this thread die.

If you want to contact the Original poster, just sent them a private message.....

End of message.....


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

DQ is a mod. Mr. V is not. 
But I agree. That's enough for now, Bambi will surely update us in the future.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Yes but the thread is old.

Yes DQ is the mod and I am not. Just trying to keep the forum from getting cluttered.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks, Dom.


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