# Black Orchid DDR CT Spawn



## valen1014

Decided not to be lazy and actually start a log on this spawn :-D

Here are some old pics of mommy (Aria) and daddy (Ezria)... They are siblings and I'm hoping to get some double double rays (DDR) like the father or at least start moving towards that.


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## valen1014

*Spawning!*

12/10/13: They spawned!


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## RainbowhLizzie

They are beautiful! Subscribed! 

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## TruongLN

They're an amazing pair! Good luck!!


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## DalphiaRose

That is a really neat tail!


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## valen1014

Thanks guys! 

Eggs hatched today!! :-D I took a few pictures to upload but I'm really bad at taking pics so they all came out dark and blurry  I'll try to get better ones tomorrow. It looks like a small spawn ~100, but they are so darn tiny that who knows... I could be completely off.


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## valen1014

DalphiaRose said:


> That is a really neat tail!


I lucked out on him actually! He wasn't DDR when I bought him, but just a few weeks later he started growing the second set of rays. I'm really hoping to have some frys like him because I don't think there's a lot of CTs like him out there ^^;


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## valen1014

Well the nest is more or less gone, and I see a lot less wiggling tails than I did before. Not sure what happened but I guess daddy ate them since they aren't dead under the nest =( 

Well, it's his first time caring for frys and I still see maybe 5-10 up in the nest. One of them is even quite the explorer! Hoping to see some free swimming tomorrow.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

How many times did you let the pair spawn, is mommy still in the tank?


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## valen1014

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> How many times did you let the pair spawn, is mommy still in the tank?


Hmmm I saw maybe 3 good embraces, then I went to do something else for about half an hour and lost count. I took the mom out when I saw that she started hiding again, although it half looked like she was still interested. I might have taken her out too early :hmm:


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## hmburkle

They are both gorgeous


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

I'm thinking maybe she didn't lay enough eggs


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## valen1014

hmburkle said:


> They are both gorgeous


Thank you :-D


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## Chachi

Mom and dad are gorgeous!! Can't wait to see the babies!


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## valen1014

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> I'm thinking maybe she didn't lay enough eggs


It's possible, I'll keep that in mind for the next spawn =/ 

Today I see more than 12 frys free swimming and possibly another 5 still up in the nest. If I'm able to keep it at that, it's good enough for me!


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## valen1014

*Babies!!!*

Babies!! About 12+ free swimming and some still in the nest. Sorry for the crappy pictures, I tried my best but my camera had a hard time focusing on tiny things >< 

Only the last two pics are from today, the others are from the past two days that I forgot to upload. Again, sorry for the bad photos but I hope you guys can still see a bit


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## valen1014

Tried to feed them freshly hatched BBS, but I didn't really see that any of them were able to eat them. Maybe they were too big? 

So I will try a little bit of boiled egg yolk... Tomorrow I will have some banana worms (BW) which are apparently quite small, and hopefully that'll work

Had a bit of an accident while feeding >< Stupid me got two cups mixed up and I ended up feeding a lot more BBS than I intended to. Luckily they stayed in one place and I vacuumed them out, ran the water through a pantyhose to get rid of the BBS and then put it back in the tank. Hopefully it didn't stress the little guys out too much...

Since there are still some up in the nest I'm considering leaving the dad one more day, but he started eating the BBS (which is helping me out) but now I'm worried that he's now thinking about food and will go after the babies O_O


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## SorcerersApprentice

Beautiful pair. Keep us updated!


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## valen1014

*12/17/13:*
Frys are 5 days old!!

One little guy in particular (or maybe it's a different one every time :-?) likes to stare at me from the corner of the tank. I got a pic of him looking cute!


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## valen1014

*12/19/13:*

Happy 1 week birthday! :-D


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## hmburkle

Happy Birthday!


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## valen1014

hmburkle said:


> Happy Birthday!


They grow up so fast  

No actually... I wish they did! I still have some that look like they just hatched, the others have maybe doubled in size but that's not saying much since they started out so tiny.


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## valen1014

Frys are 8 days old today. I did a rough count during feeding time and was surprised to find that there were about 25 of them out in the open! It's still a small number but last time I only counted 12. The tank is in a bit of an awkward spot, where it's difficult to see one half of the tank so it's possible that there are maybe 5-10 more hiding in the back.


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## Canis

Will you be selling some of them on the forum? I'd kill for a female like that in my sorority!


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## valen1014

Canis said:


> Will you be selling some of them on the forum? I'd kill for a female like that in my sorority!


Sure will! I only plan to keep a few, so if most of them make it through I should have a lot for people to choose from ;-)

Most people aren't interested in CTs and I want them to go to good homes instead of pet stores, so I'll probably sell them pretty cheap around here and on aquabid. Would be pretty cool to know that at least one of them will go to a sorority :-D


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## RainbowhLizzie

I'm excited to see them color up! I definately would like a few girls for a sister sorority and maybe a pet male! I love CTs!

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## Canis

Black orchid crowntails are so beautiful, how can you not fall in love?!


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## RainbowhLizzie

Canis said:


> Black orchid crowntails are so beautiful, how can you not fall in love?!


Especially with those double rays

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## valen1014

RainbowhLizzie said:


> I'm excited to see them color up! I definately would like a few girls for a sister sorority and maybe a pet male! I love CTs!
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I'm excited too! CT's have always been my favorites and it would be awesome to see them make a come-back :-D It's a good thing that they *should* be ready right near summer, so shipping will be a little easier on them. Would be happy to send some your way! I hope I get a nice female to male ratio.


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## valen1014

Canis said:


> Black orchid crowntails are so beautiful, how can you not fall in love?!


I totally agree! :-D I think black orchids look even better in person, it's hard to get a picture of them that truly shows how pretty the blue shines against the black.


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## hmburkle

You may have more than 25. I had to keep updating my count as the small ones grew.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

If you do sell them on here I want one! I just got a 2gal fishbowl but have no betta to put in it 

Although I won't be ready to adopt till may


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## valen1014

hmburkle said:


> You may have more than 25. I had to keep updating my count as the small ones grew.


Oh really? That'd be pretty nice! I will keep counting, I mean, so far I've been counting a little more each time so there's definitely hope. 

Congrats on your spawn by the way! It must be really exciting to see them color up. I love sitting by the fry tank and just watch then hunt little worms off the ground. No colors yet of course, but I can see that some have brown eyes :-D


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## valen1014

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> If you do sell them on here I want one! I just got a 2gal fishbowl but have no betta to put in it
> 
> Although I won't be ready to adopt till may


Sounds good! They probably won't be ready until around that time anyways, maybe a little earlier than May but not by much.


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## srf312

The parents are gorgeous, can't wait to see how the fry turn out! I want one!:-D


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## iKuroni

Omg, Want!


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## Chard56

Next time you have a spawn you might try feeding infusoria for the first week after they are free swimming and add baby brine shrimp the day after free swimming. That always ensures the littler ones and slow starters get to eat until they catch up or are big enough to eat the BBS. I won several first places with my DDR Black Orchid crowntails in the IBC shows last season. When I retired the male from the show circuit he wasn't interested in spawning and the female I saved to spawn him with got sick and died. I'm currently playing around with some 8 ray DDDR Gold and Copper CTs but I really want the Black Orchids. Yours look very much like them and I would like nothing more than to have some to start breeding and entering back in the shows. Please keep me in mind when you decide to sell them. I would be very interested in a trio or two pair.


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## hmburkle

valen1014 said:


> Oh really? That'd be pretty nice! I will keep counting, I mean, so far I've been counting a little more each time so there's definitely hope.
> 
> Congrats on your spawn by the way! It must be really exciting to see them color up. I love sitting by the fry tank and just watch then hunt little worms off the ground. No colors yet of course, but I can see that some have brown eyes :-D


Okay... We just moved our 5 week old babies to the grow out tank. We removed them 1 by 1 with a turkey baster. I thought we had around 70. We have 120. So, There you go. Keep feeding the smaller fry food in small amounts as you start adding the larger foods. We have quite a few tiny ones, despite 50% water changes daily for the past three weeks. My son and I are in shock. :shock:


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## BettaBoy51

i so want one how much would you sell them for once they get older


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## valen1014

srf312 said:


> The parents are gorgeous, can't wait to see how the fry turn out! I want one!:-D


Can't wait either, I keep checking on them to see if I pick up on any sign of color but not yet XD Stay tuned, so far it seems like they are gonna pull through and then I'll have way more than I'll know what to do with hehe :-D


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## valen1014

hmburkle said:


> Okay... We just moved our 5 week old babies to the grow out tank. We removed them 1 by 1 with a turkey baster. I thought we had around 70. We have 120. So, There you go. Keep feeding the smaller fry food in small amounts as you start adding the larger foods. We have quite a few tiny ones, despite 50% water changes daily for the past three weeks. My son and I are in shock. :shock:


Oh wow! :shock: Today I counted 29, so we might actually be in the mid 30s or 40s. I guess I'm good with up to 50. I think I might just go crazy with anything over 50, let alone 120! lol Do you have any idea what you are gonna do with them when they get older? 

I know a lot of people have contacts with pet stores and that way they can ease the load, but honestly (and probably shame on me ) I haven't approached any pet stores because I'm really shy plus I don't really want them to end up in pet stores if I can help it... I'm hoping I'll be able to personally sell and give away all of the ones I won't be keeping.


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## valen1014

BettaBoy51 said:


> i so want one how much would you sell them for once they get older


Hmm I haven't thought much about it yet, but I'm thinking around $15-20 for the really nice ones if any, and the rest maybe $10, lower, or free.


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## valen1014

Chard56 said:


> Next time you have a spawn you might try feeding infusoria for the first week after they are free swimming and add baby brine shrimp the day after free swimming. That always ensures the littler ones and slow starters get to eat until they catch up or are big enough to eat the BBS. I won several first places with my DDR Black Orchid crowntails in the IBC shows last season. When I retired the male from the show circuit he wasn't interested in spawning and the female I saved to spawn him with got sick and died. I'm currently playing around with some 8 ray DDDR Gold and Copper CTs but I really want the Black Orchids. Yours look very much like them and I would like nothing more than to have some to start breeding and entering back in the shows. Please keep me in mind when you decide to sell them. I would be very interested in a trio or two pair.


Thanks for the advice and sorry I'm replying so late (I was on vacation hehe). That's really cool that you have breed and shown Black Orchid DDRs, what category did you enter them in? I've always thought that because of the iridescence (and mine will probably have a LOT), they didn't really stand a chance in show :-?

Those 8 ray DDDRs sound amazing, I don't think I've ever seen one of them! I'll definitely keep you in mind when the time comes and will try to save some of the nicer ones. I really wanted to develop a line of black orchids CT DDRs (and well, I still do), but I will be starting medical school in August and don't really know if I'll be able to keep up with the breeding. So I'd be happy to know that someone else is breeding them :-D


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## valen1014

iKuroni said:


> Omg, Want!


Would love to send you some later on but I don't think I can ship to Canada :-(

The copper boy on your website is gorgeous by the way!


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## BlueLacee

Omg, gorgeous pair and the fry are so cute. If I was in a position to have more, I would be begging and black mailing you for a few . So cute


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## KafkaDream

What do you mean most people don't like CTs?? XD They are my favorite style/type of betta! Perhaps that's because I used to have a Mohawk and they remind me of those days *nostalgic daydreaming*... Anyways, can't wait to see how they turn out!


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## relaxedcrazyman

those are some beautiful fish! i would love to get my hands on a male 

new to bettas, and i am addicted. lol


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## valen1014

BlueLacee said:


> Omg, gorgeous pair and the fry are so cute. If I was in a position to have more, I would be begging and black mailing you for a few . So cute


Well, the black mailing part totally made my day lol I'm glad you like them! It's still gonna be a long time until they are ready to ship out (around summer), so maybe by then you'll be able to have more. The betta addiction settles in pretty quickly :thumbsup:


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## valen1014

KafkaDream said:


> What do you mean most people don't like CTs?? XD They are my favorite style/type of betta! Perhaps that's because I used to have a Mohawk and they remind me of those days *nostalgic daydreaming*... Anyways, can't wait to see how they turn out!


You know, I never really associated CTs with Mohawks before until you mentioned it and now it seems incredibly obvious :shock: They are my favorites too, and now they even moved further up in my scale because they remind me of tiny Mohawks! 

I can't wait either. I think it will be another 2 or 3 weeks before they start showing colors but I see little dorsal fins appearing which is pretty exciting :-D


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## valen1014

relaxedcrazyman said:


> those are some beautiful fish! i would love to get my hands on a male
> 
> new to bettas, and i am addicted. lol


Thanks! They still got quite a bit of growing to do but I'll definitely try to keep updating the log so you guys know how they are doing and when they are ready to be shipped.

Uh oh, the betta addiction... well at least you are past the denial stage and that's important lol ;-)


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## valen1014

3 week old babies. Dorsal fins are growing in, they are eating BW, WW, MW, and BBS, and are getting 20% water changes daily, which I'm thinking of increasing. Counted 29 today. I might move them into a 20 long gallon grow-out tank next weekend depending on their size.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

They got big bellies <3 
Also you can't ship to Canada where will you ship to? (Pennsylvania)


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## valen1014

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> They got big bellies <3
> Also you can't ship to Canada where will you ship to? (Pennsylvania)


Yup, I can spot them easily now because of their big orange bellies :-D 
I can ship within the U.S., I may choose not to ship to the west coast simply because I'm so far away being here in South Florida (but I'll probably give it a shot before deciding not to). Pennsylvania is in for sure though!

I can't ship to Canada because, from what I understand, I would need a license and so would the person receiving the fish.


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## Chard56

I sold a guy on Ultimate Betta one of my Black Devil CTs and he then sold the offspring from a spawn of the one I sold him. He sold every single one on the forum so I don't think you'll have a problem selling them as long as you can keep their finnage from curling. I don't have that problem here in Arkansas but when I lived up in the Branson, Missouri area the water was 8.0 and curled the rays on my Black Orchid CTs but not so much my Gold and Copper CTS. I don't know if that had anything to do with them being 8 ray or not.


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## KafkaDream

*squeaks in excitement* you're in south Florida?? Heeyo I'm in Texas. If you make them available I'd LOVE to have a male from the batch. I can't wait to see how they turn out!


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## BettaBoy51

ok id buy a pair from you would you ship to (south florida?)


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## hmburkle

They look good. I would increase the water change to 50% due to the growth inhibiting hormone.


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## valen1014

That wouldn't happen to be Marko would it? I know he had a spawn but I recall them being black orchids not devils.

That's one hell of a fish you've got! I can always tell when it's one of your bettas by just looking at the color =)

Curled rays is something I do worry about... I mix tap water with RO water because I can get it easily from my local pet store. Last time I checked (and I should probably check again really soon), the fry tank has a pH of 6.2. I've wonder if it's too low though...

That would be interesting if the pH has something to do with the type of rays they develop and not just curling. I know some people think that it affects gender ratio too.



Chard56 said:


> I sold a guy on Ultimate Betta one of my Black Devil CTs and he then sold the offspring from a spawn of the one I sold him. He sold every single one on the forum so I don't think you'll have a problem selling them as long as you can keep their finnage from curling. I don't have that problem here in Arkansas but when I lived up in the Branson, Missouri area the water was 8.0 and curled the rays on my Black Orchid CTs but not so much my Gold and Copper CTS. I don't know if that had anything to do with them being 8 ray or not.


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## valen1014

hmburkle said:


> They look good. I would increase the water change to 50% due to the growth inhibiting hormone.


Yep, I was thinking that. It's just that it's kind of a pain to match the temperatures, so I fill up several 2L bottles at a time and have the water drip into the tank. I drip them in because they are at room temp (~76F) while the tank is at 82F. But then it takes 24 hours to get four bottles emptied. I don't know why I'm being so complicated with water changes, I need to change method but I'm also paranoid of sudden changes in the water parameters and figured that since I have a smallish number of frys that I could get away with it :-? I'm definitely working towards a 50% every other day or something along those lines.


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## valen1014

BettaBoy51 said:


> ok id buy a pair from you would you ship to (south florida?)


Would I ship to South Florida? Definitely, that would be pretty easy =)


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## valen1014

KafkaDream said:


> *squeaks in excitement* you're in south Florida?? Heeyo I'm in Texas. If you make them available I'd LOVE to have a male from the batch. I can't wait to see how they turn out!


Awesome, that would be a nice and relatively short trip then! :-D I'll certainly put them up on the forum when they are ready.


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## valen1014

Two small updates....

Yesterday I found one of the babies dead, which I have found before except this one was one of the big guys which really puzzles me :-( 

Also, there's one fry that just never grew his/her caudal fin. I immediately thought about culling it, but the thing is that it's swimming just fine actually. It's even big and fat! :shock:


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## Canis

Weird o-0


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## hmburkle

After the first two weeks I started doing fifty% water changes. I used a floating thermometer to get the right amount of tap water to 80 degrees, or your preference, I did all the cleaning with a turkey baster: 

BTW this my favorite tool, because I can do my twenty gallon and not get mt hands wet: 
*Taam Rio Coral Feeder Deluxe Set (4pcs)*











http://www.marinedepot.com/Taam_Rio...eeders-TAAM_Via_Aqua-TA01457-FIFDFECR-vi.html 

Totally worth it. 

Here's the thing. f you are careful and use a plastic 32 oz cup from a fast food joint, you can get the mouth of it as wide as possible and pour it slowly down the side, directly on the glass surface. This is much faster than dripping and doesn't harm the fry. It's the same principle as pouring soda or beer down the side of the glass to reduce fizzing. 

You have me curious. How does pH affect gender ratios?


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## BlueLacee

Pretty parents. I want some fry but the little voice says "BlueLacee, you don't need more"


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## hmburkle

BlueLacee said:


> Pretty parents. I want some fry but the little voice says "BlueLacee, you don't need more"


You can always make room for one more...

;-)


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## Ceruleanblue

Subscribed!! I think i NEED one of those babies and Im in South Florida so it would be a very short trip


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## TruongLN

No caudal fin?? That's so interesting!
Got any photos?


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## valen1014

Ceruleanblue said:


> Subscribed!! I think i NEED one of those babies and Im in South Florida so it would be a very short trip


Aw thanks for subscribing! It's good to see more South Florida people here :-D 

I'm a little bit nervous about the shipping since I've never had to do it before, so I definitely appreciate sending or doing pick ups in South Florida hehe


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## valen1014

TruongLN said:


> No caudal fin?? That's so interesting!
> Got any photos?


I did get a photo a week ago actually! I'll try to find it, but since they are still small and their fins are transparent it's not super obvious... I haven't seen him around lately, but I know he hasn't died because I would've noticed it when vacuuming. Then again since classes started I haven't had much time to just sit and watch them swim around =(


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## TruongLN

We'll hopefully it's still alive and well!!!
I'd love to see such an odd thing!


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## relaxedcrazyman

omg, i cant wait to try and get my hands on one of these beautiful betas, black and blue are my favorite!

any updated pictures? yay!


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## lilnaugrim

Subbed, well actually I've been stalking lol but hopefully if all goes well, I'd like a female for breeding! Rhode island isn't that far ;-) 

Can't wait for more pictures!


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## valen1014

*Updates =P*

Starting to see color!! These pics are zoomed in, so they might seem a little bigger than they really are. They are still small, but definitely growing. According to a growth chart online, the bigger frys seem to be at the size they ought to be for their age. Tomorrow they will be 5 weeks old. I thought I'd move them to the 20 gal grow out tank by now but I think I will hold off for a week or two.


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## valen1014

One more, sorry!


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## valen1014

TruongLN said:


> We'll hopefully it's still alive and well!!!
> I'd love to see such an odd thing!


I spotted him today! He's doing well, swims a little funny but only when he's trying to move backwards. I took a vid and maybe this weekend will try to learn how to upload it. Sorry it's hard to see, he was a little far away. But you can sort of see that his tail just kind of... ends. I'll try to take better pics next time, I just realized how badly they turned out XD


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## relaxedcrazyman

they look fantastic, and the one with claudal tail is endearing!


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Call me overbearing or obsessed, whatever, but every time I see the pics I wonder "hmm is that one gonna be mine?"


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## lilnaugrim

I love the pic of the one faced right at us! absolutely adorable!! :-D


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## TruongLN

You can definitely see where it ends. That's so strange!
I can't wait until it grows up!


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## sammys14

the parents are beautiful i would love a pair like yours unfortunately i live in canada but i am subscribing to the thread i cant wait to see how the fry's turn out ...i am currently leaning all the things about breeding to eventually breed( crown tail especially )


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## valen1014

relaxedcrazyman said:


> they look fantastic, and the one with claudal tail is endearing!


Aw thanks! I'm surprised the pics actually came out well, these little guys are swimming all over the place :lol:


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## valen1014

lilnaugrim said:


> Subbed, well actually I've been stalking lol but hopefully if all goes well, I'd like a female for breeding! Rhode island isn't that far ;-)
> 
> Can't wait for more pictures!


Sounds good! I hope I get many that are breeding quality, I like the idea of having their genes "go on" XD


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## valen1014

relaxedcrazyman said:


> omg, i cant wait to try and get my hands on one of these beautiful betas, black and blue are my favorite!
> 
> any updated pictures? yay!


They are my fave too! I like the mustard gas too (well... the blue yellow ones), it reminds me of the beach


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## valen1014

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> Call me overbearing or obsessed, whatever, but every time I see the pics I wonder "hmm is that one gonna be mine?"


I thought I was the only one who did that! XD I was actually thinking that it would be really neat if I could tell which one was which baby once they are grown.


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## valen1014

TruongLN said:


> You can definitely see where it ends. That's so strange!
> I can't wait until it grows up!


I got much better pics of him! I will post them later ^^


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## valen1014

lilnaugrim said:


> I love the pic of the one faced right at us! absolutely adorable!! :-D


That was a lucky pic actually! I think I was trying to capture another fry that was nearby. You can definitely tell that's a betta fry just based on the "grumpy" face ;-)


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## relaxedcrazyman

valen1014 said:


> I got much better pics of him! I will post them later ^^


cant wait to see :-D:shock:


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## lilnaugrim

valen1014 said:


> That was a lucky pic actually! I think I was trying to capture another fry that was nearby. You can definitely tell that's a betta fry just based on the "grumpy" face ;-)


You know you can press the multi-quote (MQ) button for all the replies you want to reply to and it will put in one reply instead of seven? Lol the last one you quote just hit the quote button to bring you to the reply page ^_^


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## Lucillia

Babies!!!! They're so cute!!!  I love their fat little bellies!!


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## valen1014

lilnaugrim said:


> You know you can press the multi-quote (MQ) button for all the replies you want to reply to and it will put in one reply instead of seven? Lol the last one you quote just hit the quote button to bring you to the reply page ^_^


Wow, that just made my life so much easier :shock: Nope, I had no idea! Every time I would press the multi-quote button nothing would happen, I didn't know I had to hit quote on the last one lol

I've probably been bombarding people with update e-mails every time I single quote, sorry about that 



Lucillia said:


> Babies!!!! They're so cute!!!  I love their fat little bellies!!


Aww I like them too! They are orange after baby brine shrimps and white after microworms, so I can always tell what I fed them last hehe



hmburkle said:


> After the first two weeks I started doing fifty% water changes. I used a floating thermometer to get the right amount of tap water to 80 degrees, or your preference, I did all the cleaning with a turkey baster:
> 
> BTW this my favorite tool, because I can do my twenty gallon and not get mt hands wet:
> *Taam Rio Coral Feeder Deluxe Set (4pcs)*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.marinedepot.com/Taam_Rio...eeders-TAAM_Via_Aqua-TA01457-FIFDFECR-vi.html
> 
> Totally worth it.
> 
> Here's the thing. f you are careful and use a plastic 32 oz cup from a fast food joint, you can get the mouth of it as wide as possible and pour it slowly down the side, directly on the glass surface. This is much faster than dripping and doesn't harm the fry. It's the same principle as pouring soda or beer down the side of the glass to reduce fizzing.
> 
> You have me curious. How does pH affect gender ratios?


I actually ended up using these, thank you so much! I'm now able to do 30% every day :-D 

As for the pH, well, I have read conflicting opinions among betta breeders (some say its high pH that favors males and others that it favors females). Honestly, I don't know but I do know that many studies have shown that pH affects gender ratios in other fish species and whether it favors more males or females is specific to each species. I'm worried about it because my pH was particularly low during spawning and egg development (probably below 6.5). I guess we will see how the ratio turns out!


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## lilnaugrim

valen1014 said:


> Wow, that just made my life so much easier :shock: Nope, I had no idea! Every time I would press the multi-quote button nothing would happen, I didn't know I had to hit quote on the last one lol
> 
> I've probably been bombarding people with update e-mails every time I single quote, sorry about that


Glad I could help! Honestly I turned off all my notification emails a loooooong time ago haha so no worries!


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## Heifzilla

I would be very interested in one of these guys, too. Please keep me in mind when you are ready to ship. Subscribing


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## KSbetta

Congratulations on your great achievement, also yr sharing along the way.
With great passion for creation and care etc, you surely will do well in your medical school. Blessings


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## valen1014

Heifzilla said:


> I would be very interested in one of these guys, too. Please keep me in mind when you are ready to ship. Subscribing


Will do! ;-)



KSbetta said:


> Congratulations on your great achievement, also yr sharing along the way.
> With great passion for creation and care etc, you surely will do well in your medical school. Blessings


Aw it's nice of you to say that! I really appreciate it :-D


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## greatfiasco

Very interested in a male. Subbed!


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## valen1014

Father was feeling photogenic the other day so I took a few pics. He's growing back his tail but it looks like it won't be the same as it used to be =( I still love him lots though, and I'm hoping for quite a few babies that'll look like him. Found some pics of his brother (the last pic), who looks like he became DDR so that's good news for us =)


----------



## valen1014

I don't think I ever showed you guys his aquabid pic, here it is. He was bred by jeanbetta, who I highly recommend =) I haven't seen her/him on aquabid for a while though, not sure why...


----------



## SorcerersApprentice

Wow, he's gorgeous! If the babies turn out anything like him.../drool!


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## KafkaDream

Cue the intense drooling!


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## relaxedcrazyman

aaaaahhhhhhhh mazing!


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## Heifzilla

Any new pics of the fry?


----------



## valen1014

Aw thanks guys! ^^ The kids are 7 weeks old today and doing very well. I plan to put up some pictures maybe next week after my exams. A lot of the smaller frys have caught up to their siblings in size somehow and I'm still doing 30% w/c daily, sometimes 40%. I'm starting to see a little bit of black coming in on their anal fins! Hopefully by the time I take pics next week they'll have a little more color.

I'll be getting a daphnia culture this week, so I'm hoping to add a little more variation in their food. I've tricked a few of them into eating frozen BBS and cut-up frozen bloodworms, but I haven't quite been able to get them to take pellet-based food ^^;;


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## relaxedcrazyman

awwwwwwesome!!! if you do decide to ship out to california, i have a 10g planted tank waiting for him


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## DBanana

Pictures? I was trying not to make a post asking for them but I can't take it any more.


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## Superach

CT's are my fav!! I think I am in love with your bettas!! The father is amazing! I am starting my first spawn soon and I am working with CT's hoping for blk and blue.. would love to have a pair from you! please post more pics!!


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## Ashthemutt

Ohh when will the pictures come?! Im excited to see the babies!


----------



## valen1014

Sorry for the delay guys, I've been kind of dealing with a personal issue so I really haven't gotten a chance to visit the site much :-(

It's harder to take pictures of them now even though they are much bigger, I guess they move a lot faster than before. But there are some that show a bit of color. Most of them are not showing color yet but, out of those with color, the majority seem to be black and I've seen just one with a little bit of red (he/she is in some of the pics below). They've been moved to a 20 gal, and are now accepting a pellet-based food but have slowed down in growth. I'm just trying to get them big enough for blood worms and brine shrimp, then I can power feed.


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## lilnaugrim

Oh wow! I love the red finned one! Can't wait to see how he'll turn out!


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## relaxedcrazyman

i hope everything is okay in your personal life :shock:

the fry look absolutely beautiful!

i LOVE the pics! cute little buggers!


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## aresthemenace

WOW! Nice pic, I love the set up! Can a aquarium plant survive without sunlight?


----------



## relaxedcrazyman

aresthemenace said:


> WOW! Nice pic, I love the set up! Can a aquarium plant survive without sunlight?


there are certain bulbs you can buy that imitate sunlight for the plants


----------



## aresthemenace

relaxedcrazyman said:


> there are certain bulbs you can buy that imitate sunlight for the plants


What certain lightbulb it is? Is it expensive and it is available only on Aquarium Shops and im sorry for this stupid question, is it available in hardwares as well? :lol::lol:


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## Conuremama

I cannot get over how stunning your betta's are.


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## lilnaugrim

aresthemenace said:


> What certain lightbulb it is? Is it expensive and it is available only on Aquarium Shops and im sorry for this stupid question, is it available in hardwares as well? :lol::lol:


Well there are different types of light bulbs, Incandescent is the normal light that comes with a tank kit but this bulb does NOTHING for plant growth and will heat the water which isn't good since you want a nice steady temperature for your tank 

The other types include Fluorescent (tube and CFL), LED, Halogen and a few other types. The ones best suited for plant growth and the easiest for most aquarists to get are the fluorescent bulbs. There are two types, one is the tubes or bipin like that ones you see being used in schools or grocery stores; the long tubular ones lol. There are a second kind of fluorescent which is the Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) which is the same thing as the tube one, just...compact lol. So it makes it easy to fit in a tank hood or in a Clamp light fixture!

You can get CFL's anywhere pretty much, best found at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowes or most other hard ware stores. Now, not any CFL will do. You want to find the Kelvin rating on the bulb, this is the color of the bulb and you want to find the one that matches the sun at it's peak in the daytime. These will generally be called Daylights, appropriately named! The number you are looking for is 6,500K for the best growth of your plants. 5,000K will work okay too but it's not as good as 6,500K-7,000 which is the color of the sun on a clear, midday afternoon. 

Hope that helps.


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## Mashiro

Such cute fry!


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## DBanana

I have to say, this spawn log is opening my mind to crowntails.


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## missavgp

DBanana said:


> I have to say, this spawn log is opening my mind to crowntails.


I agree. I wasn't all that interested in crowntails until I looked through here at the beautiful fish and cute babies. lol then I went to my lfs and ended up seeing a cute little mustard gas crowntail female...she came home with me. ;-)


----------



## aresthemenace

lilnaugrim said:


> Well there are different types of light bulbs, Incandescent is the normal light that comes with a tank kit but this bulb does NOTHING for plant growth and will heat the water which isn't good since you want a nice steady temperature for your tank
> 
> The other types include Fluorescent (tube and CFL), LED, Halogen and a few other types. The ones best suited for plant growth and the easiest for most aquarists to get are the fluorescent bulbs. There are two types, one is the tubes or bipin like that ones you see being used in schools or grocery stores; the long tubular ones lol. There are a second kind of fluorescent which is the Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) which is the same thing as the tube one, just...compact lol. So it makes it easy to fit in a tank hood or in a Clamp light fixture!
> 
> You can get CFL's anywhere pretty much, best found at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowes or most other hard ware stores. Now, not any CFL will do. You want to find the Kelvin rating on the bulb, this is the color of the bulb and you want to find the one that matches the sun at it's peak in the daytime. These will generally be called Daylights, appropriately named! The number you are looking for is 6,500K for the best growth of your plants. 5,000K will work okay too but it's not as good as 6,500K-7,000 which is the color of the sun on a clear, midday afternoon.
> 
> Hope that helps.


Soooooo informative , thank you for this!!!


----------



## RainbowhLizzie

lilnaugrim said:


> Well there are different types of light bulbs, Incandescent is the normal light that comes with a tank kit but this bulb does NOTHING for plant growth and will heat the water which isn't good since you want a nice steady temperature for your tank
> 
> The other types include Fluorescent (tube and CFL), LED, Halogen and a few other types. The ones best suited for plant growth and the easiest for most aquarists to get are the fluorescent bulbs. There are two types, one is the tubes or bipin like that ones you see being used in schools or grocery stores; the long tubular ones lol. There are a second kind of fluorescent which is the Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) which is the same thing as the tube one, just...compact lol. So it makes it easy to fit in a tank hood or in a Clamp light fixture!
> 
> You can get CFL's anywhere pretty much, best found at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowes or most other hard ware stores. Now, not any CFL will do. You want to find the Kelvin rating on the bulb, this is the color of the bulb and you want to find the one that matches the sun at it's peak in the daytime. These will generally be called Daylights, appropriately named! The number you are looking for is 6,500K for the best growth of your plants. 5,000K will work okay too but it's not as good as 6,500K-7,000 which is the color of the sun on a clear, midday afternoon.
> 
> Hope that helps.


Does the wattage matter?

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lilnaugrim

RainbowhLizzie said:


> Does the wattage matter?
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Nope, wattage is just how much electricity it is using. You could have a 1 watt LED light that is better for growing plants than a 20 watt CFL. Of course, if you have a hood make sure you keep under the wattage limit; most hoods say 15 watts or under for small tanks so look for that. I generally get 9-12 watt bulbs just because they are fairly easy to find.


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## Scott7975

Beautiful CT's you have Valen. Crowntails are my favorite as well. I may be interested in a pair when ready, if you ship to NY and have any left =)


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## SorcerersApprentice

I gotta hand it to you for posting a spawn log for these - I think you're changing a lot of peoples' minds when it comes to crowntails


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## valen1014

*Little bit of blue -^^-*

Thanks for all the nice comments you guys =) Sorry I've been a little MIA. These days I've been trying to finish my thesis while studying and working full time and, now, in the process of renting my first apartment. So I've been quite overwhelmed recently and haven't really had much time to post. 

The frys are doing great, a good number of them have color now and, as expected, I'm seeing quite a few with blue irids swimming around which will hopefully look like their parents. The little no-tail guy (or girl, who knows...:dunno is doing great too! You can see him/her in the last two pics.

They've slowed down a bit in growth but it's mostly my fault for not keeping up with the water changes and sticking to pellet-based food. I've now started feeding them frozen/live daphnia and frozen/live BBS. I'll also be trying out frozen beef heart which I know does wonders for discus fish so we'll see. They pretty much eat just about anything.

I'm really glad some of you are getting into CTs! That was sort of part of my plan hehe :lol:


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## Chard56

They are coming along nicely. They are definately coloring up like the Black Orchids I've had. Good job!!


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## DBanana

At some point I'm going south of the border and we're all doing a fry swap day.


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## valen1014

Chard56 said:


> They are coming along nicely. They are definately coloring up like the Black Orchids I've had. Good job!!


Aw thanks! Means a lot coming from you :-D Any tips on getting them to grow a little faster? Do you think what I'm feeding is ok?


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## valen1014

DBanana said:


> At some point I'm going south of the border and we're all doing a fry swap day.


Sounds good! ;-)


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## Chard56

For a good staple food besides the live/frozen foods, I feed mine the 1.0 mm Betta Pellets from Ken's Fish Food. It's $4.50 a half pound plus shipping. Great nutritional value and it doesn't foul the water like other foods. The smaller size is easier for even the juveniles to swallow and it's easy to crumble for smaller fry.


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## valen1014

Chard56 said:


> For a good staple food besides the live/frozen foods, I feed mine the 1.0 mm Betta Pellets from Ken's Fish Food. It's $4.50 a half pound plus shipping. Great nutritional value and it doesn't foul the water like other foods. The smaller size is easier for even the juveniles to swallow and it's easy to crumble for smaller fry.


Thanks! I'll definitely look into getting some =)


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## TruongLN

So Stunning! I love seeing their little "spikes" ^0^


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## Canis

They look awesome! Can't wait to see what they grow into


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## valen1014

TruongLN said:


> So Stunning! I love seeing their little "spikes" ^0^


Thanks! Yup, the spikes are adorable XD I can see them starting to split on some of the frys already.



Canis said:


> They look awesome! Can't wait to see what they grow into


Thank you =) Some look pretty promising!



UPDATE: So, a good number of them are missing ventrals... I noticed it before but I guess I thought they'd grow in but they are far past that time I would think :-( Oh well, I guess it's related to the MW since I did feed those a lot...

I was wondering if anyone knows... when fish have missing ventrals because of MW/bacteria, technically it's not genetic right? So I could breed them and not necessarily expect the frys to have more/less missing ventrals than if I had used an offspring that did have ventrals? :hmm:


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## Chard56

Thank you =) Some look pretty promising!



UPDATE: So, a good number of them are missing ventrals... I noticed it before but I guess I thought they'd grow in but they are far past that time I would think :-( Oh well, I guess it's related to the MW since I did feed those a lot...

I was wondering if anyone knows... when fish have missing ventrals because of MW/bacteria, technically it's not genetic right? So I could breed them and not necessarily expect the frys to have more/less missing ventrals than if I had used an offspring that did have ventrals? :hmm:[/quote]
I still don't use them in my breeding program but the consensus seems to be that it is not genetic.


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## DJH

Assuming you are right and it is bacterial/due to MW's then yeah they will breed fine, nothing can change the genetics of the fish.

At this point if you are certain its due to MW's then the only way you will ever know is by breeding them, but hopefully you have many healthy options to choose from!


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## relaxedcrazyman

they are looking great! i can stress enough how badly i would love for one to be sent over here to california


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## DBanana

Ventrals or no, I want some. So cute!


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Dare I ask what the importance of a ventral


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## lilnaugrim

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> Dare I ask what the importance of a ventral


Helps the fish to stop on a dime and I think a little bit of steering IIRC, might be wrong about the last part. I know it had something else to do with stopping as well. They aren't terribly needed if it's just a pet fish, of course it's best to have ventrals but if they happen to not have them, it's not the end of the world for them.


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## valen1014

Frys won't be ready for shipping soon since they slowed down so much on their growth, but I'm hoping in a month or two they will be good to go... Power feeding time! lol 

Meanwhile, here are two frys that I wanted to show you all. The first one is "tiger", he (maybe she?) has always been the darkest fry (even when they were much younger) and still has a striped tiger-like pattern that I thought would go away by now  When he's against the driftwood, he blends in like a ninja  Unfortunately though, he only has one ventral...


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## valen1014

This is the second fry that I can recognize by the black helmet pattern on her head (maybe a he, but I feel like it's a female for some reason). The fighting among siblings isn't actually too bad, but they do have a hierarchy going and it seems like she's up there since there's only one other fry that she'll give up her cave to. I really like her color (you can see it best in the blurry pic, it shows really well against dark backgrounds), and I really really like the fact that she has two ventrals of equal size.

By the way I actually fed them chicken heart blended with spinach and garlic. It was a weird experience on my part but they absolutely loved it! It must be the garlic...


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## DBanana

Must be a girl, look at that stomach! Like a balloon. O_O


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Definitely logs of big tummies


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## Ashthemutt

They are all so adorable. I love the full bellies


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## valen1014

DBanana said:


> Must be a girl, look at that stomach! Like a balloon. O_O


Lol I think that's because they had just finished feasting ^^;; But if that's not the case then I have a LOT of girls in the tank 



Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> Definitely logs of big tummies


Yep :-D But I kind of dropped more food than I had intended to so that may be why... 



Ashthemutt said:


> They are all so adorable. I love the full bellies


Aw thanks! I do too =) Hopefully now that I'm back to feeding twice a day they will grow a bit faster


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## DJH

Hey, may I ask at what stage you added the sand to the tank, and if its much maintenance to keep it clean with all those little poop machines swimming round? I normally just have plain glass (it looks a bit clinical), so if sand works I may opt for it!


----------



## amphirion

awww... wook at dee pweshuuuuss.....


----------



## valen1014

DJH said:


> Hey, may I ask at what stage you added the sand to the tank, and if its much maintenance to keep it clean with all those little poop machines swimming round? I normally just have plain glass (it looks a bit clinical), so if sand works I may opt for it!


I switched them from a bare bottom 10 gal to this 20 gal about a month ago I think, so they were about 2 months old at that time. My main concern was whether they'd be able to see the food, so I pushed all the sand to one half of the tank and the other half I left it clear so I could add the food in that area. But in the last water change I evened out the sand. 

I haven't had an issue with poop yet, although now that you mention it that might be kind of weird... lol But I think it's just that my filter is pretty strong, and the poop is kind of small. It is a bit annoying to clean the plant debris though, but I just pass the siphon over the sand and make peace with the fact that I'm going to suck up a bit of the sand. I siphon the water into a bucket though, so after I dump the water I'm able to recover some. No sand is a bit easier than sand of course, but I don't think sand is much more work than gravel for instance... most of the dirt stays on the surface of the sand because its so compact and that makes cleaning easier :-D


----------



## DJH

No thats great I like it, its fantastic that you were so methodical about seeing how it affects there feeding! I may have to give it a go! I quite like the look of the sand is why I asked haha SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT to see these bad boys all grown up! I'd imagine the colours are going to be great seeing as the parents are siblings, are they yours or did you buy the pair? so jealous


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## TruongLN

They're so wonderful, I love the colour! I can't wait until they darken up!


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## Lights106

Oh I have a soft spot for not normal animals. Aka my cat that I had adopted with one eye, my more recent fish with a tumor on his eye (sadly he died), another EE with a gimp fin. If you do ever ship out west (Utah) I'd love to take one in!!!


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## Kylelouis929

I would DEFINITELY take one if you ship to NJ! 

I would be honored to own a Black Orchid.


----------



## missavgp

Very nice looking babies. I'm pretty sure the missing ventrals are caused by the bacteria as well. I had that problem with my second spawn, of course you can't tell until it is too late because they are so small when it occurs. I did reading on it though and it proved out with my next spawn. Just make sure that you gently wipe the bottom of the tank every time you clean the tank for the next spawn from the time you start feeding microworms with a clean, fry tank only sponge. I got that tip from BC Betta's website as they had the same problem.


----------



## valen1014

DJH said:


> No thats great I like it, its fantastic that you were so methodical about seeing how it affects there feeding! I may have to give it a go! I quite like the look of the sand is why I asked haha SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT to see these bad boys all grown up! I'd imagine the colours are going to be great seeing as the parents are siblings, are they yours or did you buy the pair? so jealous


Let me know how it goes with the sand! I really like the look as well
Haha I can't wait either, but yep I pretty much expect them to look like mom and dad!
I bought the pair from jeanbetta =)



TruongLN said:


> They're so wonderful, I love the colour! I can't wait until they darken up!


Me neither! A couple of them are super dark already :shock:



Lights106 said:


> Oh I have a soft spot for not normal animals. Aka my cat that I had adopted with one eye, my more recent fish with a tumor on his eye (sadly he died), another EE with a gimp fin. If you do ever ship out west (Utah) I'd love to take one in!!!





Kylelouis929 said:


> I would DEFINITELY take one if you ship to NJ!
> 
> I would be honored to own a Black Orchid.


Awww thanks! haha I'll definitely post them up when they are ready. Now if they could only grow just a bit faster!



missavgp said:


> Very nice looking babies. I'm pretty sure the missing ventrals are caused by the bacteria as well. I had that problem with my second spawn, of course you can't tell until it is too late because they are so small when it occurs. I did reading on it though and it proved out with my next spawn. Just make sure that you gently wipe the bottom of the tank every time you clean the tank for the next spawn from the time you start feeding microworms with a clean, fry tank only sponge. I got that tip from BC Betta's website as they had the same problem.


Thanks for the tip, I didn't know that! I remember it was so difficult to remove all that stuff that sticks to the bottom, and I guess I never thought of using a sponge  I'll be doing that next time though!


----------



## valen1014

Guys, I'm so frustrated because I'm having water issues again!! So, maybe 5 months ago or so I noticed that my tap water had really high ammonia levels... I kind of dealt with it as best as I could and eventually the ammonia levels went down and that's when I decided to breed these guys since that problem had been apparently "solved". Today I decided to check the parameters and found the ammonia to be 0.5 ppm in the tank even though I had just done a 50% water change! So I checked the water straight out of the faucet and found it to be somewhere between 0.25-0.5 ppm >< I really don't know what to do, this is so annoying... =(


----------



## Superach

was curious when you noticed the missing ventrals? at what age? and was it all that were missing them?


----------



## valen1014

Superach said:


> was curious when you noticed the missing ventrals? at what age? and was it all that were missing them?


Hmmm maybe at 2-2.5 months old was when I noticed. About half of them have issues with ventrals. Out of that half, the majority is missing both, some are missing one, and the rest just have one normal ventral plus a tiny one :-(

It's worth noting that the bigger frys are the ones that seem to be missing ventrals, so maybe that's because they are the ones that spent more time on the bottom of the tank feeding? I don't know... but it's a curious (and unfortunate) pattern ^^;


----------



## valen1014

The drinking water from downstairs doesn't have any ammonia, which is great! But now it means water changes are gonna involve dragging buckets of water upstairs. Oh well... Tomorrow I will do the 50% w/c again and then do another 50% two days later and hopefully that'll fix the ammonia problem. I wonder if that's also why they haven't been growing... I feel so bad for these little guys, I should've been checking the parameters more often =/


----------



## DJH

That's interesting, does you house have a water softener or something for upstairs? My parents house does and that is like toxic waste for anything that drinks it haha but hey, don't complain about carrying a bucket upstairs, the water in my flat is SO high in chlorine and Transition Metals that I have to carry six packs of 2l bottles of spring water uphill from the store 1.5 miles away :/ really need a car at some point lol

Also that is another great observation, if the ventrals were so fragile and dragged along the floor then I guess its possible for bacteria to have infected them! don't feel bad my friend, this is valuable experience for all breeders, at least we can all share these problems and solutions through the internet now! If I were you I'd get another spawn or two out of the parents whilst they are still young to get a better spawn with what you've learnt!


----------



## valen1014

Lights106 said:


> Oh I have a soft spot for not normal animals. Aka my cat that I had adopted with one eye, my more recent fish with a tumor on his eye (sadly he died), another EE with a gimp fin. If you do ever ship out west (Utah) I'd love to take one in!!!


Ooops I guess my reply didn't go through on the other post. I'm really glad there are people like you, that's very sweet of you to do that for the animals =) I have to admit that I'm a bit selfish and I do prefer the normal ones  But if, for example, it's a particular type of betta that I like and I find a blind one or something like that, I will usually get it. I tend to be really selective though because then I end up with more fish than I can take care of ^^;



DJH said:


> That's interesting, does you house have a water softener or something for upstairs? My parents house does and that is like toxic waste for anything that drinks it haha but hey, don't complain about carrying a bucket upstairs, the water in my flat is SO high in chlorine and Transition Metals that I have to carry six packs of 2l bottles of spring water uphill from the store 1.5 miles away :/ really need a car at some point lol
> 
> Also that is another great observation, if the ventrals were so fragile and dragged along the floor then I guess its possible for bacteria to have infected them! don't feel bad my friend, this is valuable experience for all breeders, at least we can all share these problems and solutions through the internet now! If I were you I'd get another spawn or two out of the parents whilst they are still young to get a better spawn with what you've learnt!


Wow that's a lot of dedication right there :shock: I'll definitely keep that in mind when I'm carrying those buckets lol Hmm I don't know about water softener, but my little brother has a bad habit of drinking from the faucet when he gets thirsty in the middle of the night because he's too lazy to go downstairs... so this time I showed him the ammonia test! Let's see if he keeps drinking it now  I think the faucet water downstairs is also high in ammonia, but the water that goes through the filter is the one that doesn't have ammonia and is the one we drink. I thought the filter was just a mechanical filter, but I guess it does a little more than that.

Aw you are right! I'm really glad I'm able to share these things and I've learned SO much from a lot of people here. Ah you totally read my mind! I've been considering setting up another spawn with the parents but I have that little voice in my head that says I really shouldn't lol I think technically they *are* kind of old though, I mean they were 3 months old back in January 2013, so that would make them about a year and a half. Do you know at what age it's bad to breed them?


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Grrr I can't wait


----------



## DJH

Haha glad to hear it and yeah make sure your little bro doesn't get ill! If I'm honest, I've never heard of an age where its bad to breed them... I would really welcome someone to correct me if I'm wrong, but its more common for them to be "too old to breed" in its most literal sense, i.e. they physically can't produce fertile eggs any more (as a pair) though from what I've seen, a male (as in many species) can continue to breed long after a poor female has reached her fishy menopause lol, obviously there are a few things you should consider:
1) Your don't want to cause unfair stress to a creature in your care, over-breeding that results in exhaustion, excessively torn fins and any other things that could affect the health or make them more liable to infection is obviously unfair!
2) Do you have the space? For large scale breeders and those who rely on breeding as an income, the unpopular topic of culling is usually addressed, you don't want to make loads of little lives if they are going to be extinguished by you or your lack of ability to care for each of them (time, space, money etc)
3) Are you up to it? (can you be bothered)
4) Biggest question: do you need to? if you are a hobbyist breeder, you will probably be trying to make something unique, to further your line, If you do not think you have the material in this spawn to work with, try your luck! If you have enough to get one with, perhaps save the breeding for a parent with one of the better offspring. Obviously in your case you want to try for better Ventrals, so go for it! but if you are ever pushed for the requirements in (2) you have to decide whether a step backwards will help to further your breeding goals, or just waste time


----------



## Lights106

valen1014 said:


> Ooops I guess my reply didn't go through on the other post. I'm really glad there are people like you, that's very sweet of you to do that for the animals =) I have to admit that I'm a bit selfish and I do prefer the normal ones  But if, for example, it's a particular type of betta that I like and I find a blind one or something like that, I will usually get it. I tend to be really selective though because then I end up with more fish than I can take care of ^^;
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah. . . I've done that a time or two. . .


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## valen1014

*Video =)*

Still growing super slow (sorry that I have some you waiting :-(). I wish they grew faster but I guess they are just taking their sweet time to work some more on their looks  

But anyways, I just figured that I'd share this vid meanwhile :-D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVLBeDP055A&feature=youtu.be


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## SorcerersApprentice

Oh my gosh, they're adorable! Look at their little fins! Slow growth is totally justified if they turn out anything like mom and dad!


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## Canis

Wow, they look awesome!


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## relaxedcrazyman

omfg they look super awesome!


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## Lights106

Oh I wish betas could stay together like that forever. I'd never leave my aquariums side. They look amazing!!


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## DBanana

They're putting all their energy into being AWESOME


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## missavgp

They look wonderful. What great colour


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## ShukiAi

Oh, wow! Even as babies they are gorgeous! *__* Thanks for the video, I love seeing these guys grow!


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## Briz

Is there a list for people to get one of these? I want on!


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## relaxedcrazyman

how are the little guys doing?


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## Canis

Any updates on the little guys?


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## valen1014

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for a little while. I finally graduated last week but work has been keeping me so busy!  

I will be posting pictures soon. Everyone is doing great, I even have some making the most adorable teeny tiny bubble nests! I think I'm able to sex some of them, so I will probably be putting them up for sale in the next few weeks or so =)


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## Diaxle

Hey! congrats on graduating! and the babies looks amazing!


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## Canis

Yay, you're alive! Can't wait to see the pics!


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## valen1014

Diaxle said:


> Hey! congrats on graduating! and the babies looks amazing!


Thank you!!



Canis said:


> Yay, you're alive! Can't wait to see the pics!


Haha yep! I'll be posting them right after I finish writing this :-D


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## valen1014

Pic Spammmmm!!! :twisted:


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## valen1014

Forgot one more pic of this little guy... I really like the metallic (I guess I mean steel) look he has going :-D

As promised... adorable little bubble nest in the making. It looks like I have a good male-to-female ratio so far.

I will try this weekend or the next to label some individual pics and start posting them in the classifieds section. I guess I will have to sell them as bonsai bettas because they really are just miniature adults! :squint:


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## Briz

Such cute babies!!!! Your spawn really turned out great.


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## Kithy

Oh they're just beautiful. I wish I could buy a girl off of you!


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## Canis

Adorable <3 <3 <3


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Make sure to post here when you put them in the classifieds! I want one with as much (steel?) (magic translucent blue) as possible


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## ShukiAi

Eeeee! They are beautiful! I would LOVE to get a male and female from you! <3


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## KafkaDream

Wow! Those are some good looking fry! Congrats on graduating, by the way! I can only imagine how good it feels haha


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## relaxedcrazyman

so gorgeous! cant wait!


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## valen1014

Thanks everyone! =D 

First round for sale is up in the classifieds section!


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## Chard56

Looky what I did! You can see the little White fry hanging down from the nest. Yosemite Sam saying, "Back Off!!" I spawned him with my Black Copper girl first before I see whether I want to do a repeat of yours.







100_2469 (614x480).jpg (36.9 KB)







100_2472 (614x460).jpg (32.6 KB)


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

Chard56 do you have a spawn log I love your girl


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## BettaLittleGirl

Tiger looks gorgeous! It's a female, btw o-o
(im late for this post )
I think Tiger will look more like daddy after all, the colors and fins look quite like him.


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## BettaLittleGirl

And can you ship to Singapore? I would love to have one black male 
(I have like, barely no males >.<)


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## valen1014

Chard56 said:


> Looky what I did! You can see the little White fry hanging down from the nest. Yosemite Sam saying, "Back Off!!" I spawned him with my Black Copper girl first before I see whether I want to do a repeat of yours.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 100_2469 (614x480).jpg (36.9 KB)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 100_2472 (614x460).jpg (32.6 KB)


Awesomeeee!!! :-D Can't believe you were able to get him to spawn so fast! She has really good form, I'm curious as to what their offspring will look like... are you expecting/hoping for anything in particular?


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## valen1014

BettaLittleGirl said:


> And can you ship to Singapore? I would love to have one black male
> (I have like, barely no males >.<)



Unfortunately I can't ship to Singapore :-(


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## Chard56

valen1014 said:


> Awesomeeee!!! :-D Can't believe you were able to get him to spawn so fast! She has really good form, I'm curious as to what their offspring will look like... are you expecting/hoping for anything in particular?


 They will most likely be all Green and Turquoise in F-1 (1st Generation) and I'll have to breed the offspring and get back Super Black, Black Copper; Green Lace and maybe Black Orchid depending on his genetic background. Aria is Black Orchid but Ezria is Green Lace. So I'm not completely certain what to expect. The last time I did a similar spawn was with a Black Orchid CT male and a Black Copper CT female. I got some interesting results and spawned an F-2 sibling pair to go on and win lots of 1st place ribbons in Solid iredecent and Patterned CT male for the Blue, Steel and Black Orchids I got in F-3.


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## jbgonza

I want one


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## jbgonza

He is beautiful and I've been looking for one like him. Let me know how much you will sell them for.


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## BettaLittleGirl

valen1014 said:


> Unfortunately I can't ship to Singapore :-(


awwww nvm it's okay 
Gratz on ur success on spawinig 
[Subbed to the Thread]


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## valen1014

Alright, halfway done with water changes for today! Hopefully I'll finish taking all the vids this weekend but I gotta first move the males around to make room for the females I'll be pulling out of the grow out tank...

Meanwhile, I just wanted to share some pics since I haven't posted in a long time. This guy has always been the biggest one among his siblings so I always think of him as "big brother"... He has no ventrals (sadly), but he does have the cutest little blue spots on the pectorals! Oh and he's going to be DDR as soon as all his rays finish splitting :-D


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## valen1014

Girls are up on the classifieds =)


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## DJH

I think I was born in the wrong country, its so hard to be into bettas here, we have the equivalent of wallmart bettas in a few fish shops  There is no big following here any more either, so quality bettas are non-existent :'( The more I look at Ezria the more I am amazed by his caudal!!! Well done on your spawn they look ace!


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## valen1014

DJH said:


> I think I was born in the wrong country, its so hard to be into bettas here, we have the equivalent of wallmart bettas in a few fish shops  There is no big following here any more either, so quality bettas are non-existent :'( The more I look at Ezria the more I am amazed by his caudal!!! Well done on your spawn they look ace!


Which country are you from? It seems that breeders don't tend to advertise much so the only way we end up finding out about them in through people and forums ^^;; Maybe there are some in your area?


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## Willpagenz

Its the same for me. In NZ we have like no betta breeders and the bettas you get from shops are expensive, not well cared for and only come in blue or red it seems...
I got my male betta through an online site called TradeMe which is NZ specific but it still cost me $51 for my first betta!


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## valen1014

In case anyone was wondering about the little tail-less dude....

Also a pic of a really dark male from the spawn :-D


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14

He looks so cute and happy! Is it a he or a she?


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## valen1014

Bikeridinguckgirl14 said:


> He looks so cute and happy! Is it a he or a she?


No idea, although I guess in my head I made him out to be a boy :dunno:
Heck like 80% of the spawn was male so why not? lol

But yep I think he/she is having a blast in that tank and, even though he's one of the smallest ones in there, I've seen him defend his territory like a champ! :-D


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## lilnaugrim

It does look like a little boy to me ^_^


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## TealHoundogg

First one looks like a female and the second has long fins like a male.

Overall they're both nice looking bettas.


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## relaxedcrazyman

i know this is a way way late post, but did you spawn anymore?


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## Chard56

*CTs*

I believe he went away to college. He sent that pair to me and I couldn't get his female, Aria to spawn again so I bred the male to a Black Copper CT female. I now have 2nd generation Green Lace and Black Copper CTs from his male, Ezria.


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## nakito

hi, im really interested to one of the fries, do you ship to singapore?


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## Chard56

*Ship to Where?*



nakito said:


> hi, im really interested to one of the fries, do you ship to singapore?


Not possible.


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## Overprotective Fish Lover

Subscribing


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