# Woo! Spawning! -My spawn Log- First timers. :) -Heavy pic load-



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Last night we all went to bed, and I put Pride (the female) under her glass so she wouldnt get revenge in the middle of night. I let them out this morning around 9am aaaannnnnd...


They are now spawning! I am pretty excited. I took some video and PICS! They have actuallly been spawning for an hour and a half now.

Here are the best ones I got so far. -How long does spawning go on for? I dont take her out till he is trying to kill her right?-





















Helping eachother out. Awwwh!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Funniest Pic EVER!!!!!*

Who's a pretty dancer! ME ME! Now Twiiiiiiirl!


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Congrats.....awesome to watch the spawning act..isn't it......spawning time can vary from an hour to 8-10 hours....I had some spawn longer...they just didn't want to stop....lol.......when they are done...the female will leave the nest area and if she tries to return he will chase her away......and sometimes the male will run her off...this varies too...just like every other part of spawning......


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Thanks, and yes it was amazing! Everything about these fish is great! I wish I would have gotten into it earlier lol.

Going to start my BBS hatchery once I see the tails wiggling from the nest. I cant wait till tomorrow so I can see if any actually took. 

Watching them fall from Pride to the floor was so neat!! I thought sometimes that they were eating them, but didnt try to intervien. I will be happy even if I get 1 lol... Or none... the experience alone was worth the time. And I can try again next time. 

Also thinking about getting some HM's. I really love rosetail and feathertail. I wonder if there is any on aquabid... 

Anyways. Cant wait to see what happens next! Going to take Pride out of the tank if she isnt back with him in the next hour. She is staying in hiding and came back to the nest to look for eggs on the bottom and he spotted her and chased her off.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

O.O
I just noticed in my second pic with Bubblegum twirling... I can see the eggs in the nest! Woo!


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

congrats. cant wait to see what the fry look like!!


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

It can be deceiving sometimes...you may have a lot more than you think and they don't all hatch at the same time either.......they usually hatch over several hours based on when they had been dropped....he will eat some and you want him too...a good male will eat the infertile, weak, deformed, sick...etc so that they don't cause problems for the healthy ones......he only want to strong and healthy to survive........

Usually at 80F you will start to see tails in about 24-32h....I wouldn't start the hatchery just yet....you only want to feed BBS with the yolk sac intact for the first 2 weeks at least for the most nutrition...once the BBS hatch you have about 24-32h before they absorb their yolk sac and shed their first shell and the Betta fry won't be ready for any food for about 3 days after they hatch-they will feed off their yolk sac and if you had live plants and common snails in the spawning tank you will have some infusoria/microorganism too that the Betta fry will feed on.....


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

I cant wait to see either! Will be fun 

Ah okay! Thanks for that info I wont start the BBS for a few days then? When exactly do I want to put food in for them? I was going to do BBS and egg yolk. No live plants in there sadly... For any future spawns there will be live plants. 

Also... I took the female out... I would say they did more then I thought!!! lol...He likes this spot more, out of all the space he has. Whatever floats your eggs buddy!


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

that is definatly a lot of eggs!!!!!


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

You don't need to start feeding the fry until they absorb their yolk sac and free swimming....that is usually on or about day 3 after they hatch....more or less.....its not too late to add live plants.......

You take great pics........


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Thanks OFL  I just read this article on Rosetails/Feathertails. I didnt know this about them.
http://www.bettaterritory.nl/BT-AABRosetails.htm

Good article. Will post more pics tomorrow! About the tempature in the water. I cannot for the life of me get it over 76 degrees. I'm now covering the whole tank with a towel, I have two bulbs in there that are helping. The heater is just not doing its job efficeintly enough. 

Hope its okay at 76? What will happen?


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I have had eggs hatch at much lower temps than that...it just take a bit longer and you have higher risk of fungus.....but I am talking about in the 60F range....76F they may be fine...especially if that is the temp they have always been at and spawned in.....
Try covering the top of the tank with plastic veggie wrap.....


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

> I have had eggs hatch at much lower temps than that...it just take a bit longer and you have higher risk of fungus.....but I am talking about in the 60F range....76F they may be fine...especially if that is the temp they have always been at and spawned in.....
> Try covering the top of the tank with plastic veggie wrap.....


+1


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Emergency Tank Move*

Yesterday I had to clear my room due to flying ants everywhere. The room needed to be cleared out and sprayed with posions. And no way I was leaving my guys in there, so I took the risk and got the spawn tank out, eggs and daddy still inside for the move.

Due to some impossible to get around sploshing of water, we lost a few eggs and the nest was everywhere. Luckily, I left Bubblegum to his job and he collected every single stray egg in the whole tank and placed them directly under the bubblewrap nest thing I put in there. 

He was FRANTIC looking for all his eggs and scooping tons at a time into his little mouth. It was very sad and I felt just horrible for him. 

I hope it didnt hurt the eggs. 

Here is the pic of his hurried work and collection of every egg he could find. What a good dad.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

You take awesome pics...what kind of camera do you use....dang I wish I could get shots like that......

He is a good daddy......hopefully it won't stress him to the point of eating all his eggs to protect them.....but you had to do what you had to do and moving him due to poison use was the right move..IMO.....


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Hope everything's OK. 
Be patient with the hatching, lower temp takes a bit longer. As long as daddy is still tending to them, they should be fine.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

My camera is a Kodak Easyshare Z950. I got it last year on amazon for $140. Its somtimes slow on getting back after taking a pic, but the quality of the pics overrides the wait time for me. Some people hate that, but all the reviews told me that too lol. Its a great camera. I love it. I've taken tons of beautiful photos of everything with it. Worth the money for sure.

He is tending this nest like nothing else in the world matters. I did try to feed him, but he refused the food and ignored it so I sucked it back out with the baster along with some crud on the bottom of the tank.

I don't do water changes till they are free swiming and I can remove the bubble wrap nest right? Otherwise I cant help the nest from moving or flinging eggs everywhere.

Its not dirty, but I worry. 

I keep looking and watching the eggs, waiting for any signs of life lol... nothing yet.


----------



## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

I think you can make infusoria using banana peel... I saw a video about it from a member on here.... If I can find it again I'll post it for you! =]

I actually just discovered this! 

Hope it helps. (the banana peel may cause too much of a water quality problem though I'm not an expert. I don't breed but I do try and search info when people need it. =])

Oh and of course use water conditioner in the jars. =] They didn't mention that. I mean I guess it could be left unsaid but just to be careful I thought I'd add that. =]

Oh man!!! D: I forgot to say this:

CONGRATS ON THE SPAWN!!!!!  They'll most likely look beautiful! =] hope you get a couple out of it! =] I have faith in you! *cheers*


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Thanks  and for that article! I think I'll try it!


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

BettaBetty said:


> My camera is a Kodak Easyshare Z950. I got it last year on amazon for $140. Its somtimes slow on getting back after taking a pic, but the quality of the pics overrides the wait time for me. Some people hate that, but all the reviews told me that too lol. Its a great camera. I love it. I've taken tons of beautiful photos of everything with it. Worth the money for sure.


What do you mean by "sometimes slow getting back after taking a pic"...got a link to this camera...thats a good price....

Is this it.....
http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-EasyShare-Digital-Stabilized-3-0-Inch/dp/B002IVVD8C


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

i agree you take excellent pics. how are the eggs now!!! did they hatch??


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

In reguards to the camera, Yep that's the one.  And what I mean is after you click and take a picture the recovery time to take the next one is not instant. You have to wait a second a two and if you take 4 in a row really fast it takes awhile -30sec+- to recover so you can take more.

But it does take great pics! 

About the eggs and Bubblegum. I am feeling a little worried. He looks a little bloated but I am not sure why. I offer bits of food and he wont eat. I think that is because he is too busy tending the nest. Would he be bloated from eating eggs? Any idea... Here is his current look today. You can tell by comparison to all my other pics that he looks rounded and paler on his tummy now then he did on spawn day and before.

Any help is appreciated. I dont want him to die.  Also he sometimes nudges up into the eggs really hard making some fall out, he catches them and puts them back. Is that normal behaviour?


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

he may be eating the eggs, or he may have eaten the food you put in. check if it is still there. but he might be eating the eggs. when males tending to a nest they eat the eggs to protect them which actually doesnt protect them. so when you moved the tank he may have eaten them. hope that he didnt.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

There is still a ton of eggs under there. He isnt eating any food I give. My computer is right next to his tank so I can watch him now 24/7 since we have moved to the dining room table.

Ugh. Lets hope its JUST egg eating. I would rather him eat some eggs to clean it up then to die on me.


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

watch him like a hawk and if he catches an egg then doesnt spit it back into the nest then...... well he is probably eating eggs.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

THE EGGS ARE MOVING!!!!!! I looked with a magnifying glass and they are wiggling on their own moving around. They are going to hatch soon!!!

Ahhh im so excited lol.


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! so happy for you i never see my eggs hatch. that is amazing!!!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Now comes the hard part and keeping them alive lol D:


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

its not that hard. as long as you are diligent and repetitive on your feedings and water changes you will get a bunch of fry to live. maybe even more than you expected!did any hatch yet?!?!!


----------



## Fermin (Apr 18, 2010)

Congrats! Hope everything turns out well.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

I dont see any tails popping out yet. But still jumping and wiggling eggs. Bubblegum is looking very panic striken lol. He is moving them and swiming around everywhere. Flaring at me etc. I think he is about as excited as I am. 

I'll post a pic when I can see tails lol


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

sooo excited!!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Merni- Thats a pretty guy in your avatar. What color is that? Pineapple butterfly? ( totally guessing )


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

no he is a mg butterfly doubletail


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

i love him but whenever i look at his fins i see uneven lobes. he is still beautiful.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Awh I love him too! It gives him character! 

I'm going to look on AB and see if I can find any nice HM's. Who knows maybe I'll find the pair of my dreams!  What other betta's do you have? (pics?)


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

i have pretty much anything you can think of, i am having a photo shoot for my bettas this weekend. can you wait til then and i will make my own thread about it. wouldnt want to take away the attention from your fry!!! good luck on your aquabid searching. are you looking for anything in partiicular. I could help.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

OMG! Haha... They have hatched! I see little tadpole type things trying to swim and then they just fail and fall to the floor, and daddy comes running to pick them up fast as he can. 

This is so cute!!!!! They are too small for pics sadly. lol.


----------



## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

good luck with the fry!!! They can be a handful.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Thank you  Its so funny to watch them darting around trying to stay up in the bubbles and then they cant >.< poor babies.

This is such a fun experience! Not for bubblegum... I'm sure... D:


----------



## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Hahaha, he'll manage. It's his job!  It IS fun to watch them! Try not to disturb dad too much or he might get too stressed.


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Good idea.  I closes the towel and left him to his fatherly duties. (Although I still peek!)

Had to save a tiny bird from the clutches of my cats...Poor thing! Its fine though, resting in a critter keeper till I know its out of shock and I can release it. 

I tell ya... the excitment around here!


----------



## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

yeaaaaaa!!!!! they hatched!!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Help, too many babies?*

Hmm... 

He can't keep up, there is litterally babies everywhere! They are trying to stay up in the nest but a ton are just all over the floor of the tank.

Can they live? There is nothing I can do for him at this point, but im hoping the ones on the floor wont die.


----------



## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

awww tiny bird!!! :3 
The fry should be fine.  They'll zip back up to the top and then float back down.


----------



## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

Yay! Good luck with your fry!! My fry hatched three weeks ago, it's so cool to watch them get bigger and start too look like more than eyeballs with tails 

Congrats!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Playing the waiting game*

Still waiting for these little guys to start swiming right. It looks like they dont have fins just tails, or maybe I just cant see them.

Hopefully they start swiming Horizontal soon!


----------



## SillyCone (May 7, 2011)

And you expect me to just wait for the photo, where's the video!


----------



## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Pictures!!! Go go go!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Fry pics  Also question!*

Here are the fry, well some... and they are not really super clear due to still being very tiny.

It looks like their yolksac is almost fully gone and most are free swiming now but still some lazy bums not there yet. Some stay on the bottom for awhile before trying to swim. 

I can see on most of them that they now have itty bitty little fins.

Question.

Now that most are free swiming, but some arnt... do I take out dad? I saw a pic on here awhile ago with a daddy with all his olderish fry behind him.

BG (Bubblegum) isnt eating them or anything other then taking care of them and encouraging swiming. Should I let him stay or take him out now?

Thanks!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Also, I am going to put a tiny bit of egg yolk in there with them I think its okay to feed now right?


----------



## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

sorry i cant answer your question, ive never bred before :/ but i just wanted to say omg! how cute!!!  this made me so excited for when i do start breeding eventually! good luck with them!!!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Hehe, thanks! Everything so far is going so well. Everyone looks good and BG is being such a good fishdad. I did catch him sleeping today while all the fry swam all over him, I tried to take a pic but soon as I lifted the towel he woke up lol


----------



## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

hahaha that would have been the most priceless picture ever! xDDD


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

Update:

Today I took out BG because he was really starting to shut down I thought. Laying around weird looking and hiding somtimes. 

I think the fry will be fine now, they are all -mostly- free swiming. I guess they like to rest at the bottom sometimes.

Crossing fingers they make it! I already bought a bunch of 1 quart mason jars (12 widemouth large jars at walmart for $10.) I got 24 and set them up on my fish shelf. Without water or anything. Im just being prepared. lol...

Hopeing my BBS hatch tomorrow. I did try some egg yolk today and I think they were eating it because they started to have yellow bellies.

White specks are still on the glass, moving around. Maybe the fry are eating them too? I don't know! Its not on the fish at all.

I also tried to suck out some of the dirty bottom water with my baster, that went well and I didnt get any fry with it.


----------



## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Yaaayyy congrats! Yeah they should be able to eat BBS and egg yolk now.  You should also start doing daily water changes now- 15-20% ^__^ Just make sure the new water is the same temp. as the old water, so as to not shock the fry.


----------



## Martinismommy (Dec 2, 2010)

Congratulations! Looks like you have a nice large spawn..


----------



## lunawatsername (Apr 20, 2011)

thats awesome! they sound so cute lol yellow bellies


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*5/20/11 Update. Day 4*

Today is day 4 and my fry seem to be thriving. Ive started them on BBS and they seem to eat them up, I cant see them eating it or even see it in their bellies but when I look a few hours later I can only see a few BBS left in the tank.

I think they are also eating whatever the tiny white moving things on the glass. (I know OFL told me what it probably was but I can't see the name as im writing this post... ) I think this because 1. They have full looking white bellies. 2. Everyone is up and swiming all over the front panel of the tank where the most of these white things are.

Those that are weak and resting alot seem to still be resting and unmoving maybe at all. I think about 50-100 strong healthy fry remain swiming happy all around.

Next time I wont make such a large batch of BBS because if I am to only feed within the first 48 hours (or is it 24) then I will have to waste a lot of BBS. 

Had to figure out how to strain the BBS without a shrimp net. I found a piece of my lace for my crafts and its got a thick strip of very fine mesh and I stuck that inside my regular fish net and it worked!

Fins are developing nicely, I can make out the first of the pectoral fins . Also I see many of the caudal fins are straight to the bottom and then round. Like a little paddle. Its so cute. I admit I spend WAY to much time staring at them lol... 

Here is a pic I took in the dark, you can see their little eyes glowing lol.


----------



## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

Woot Woot! Looks like you're doing a great job!


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Numbers dwindling. *

I did a water change today because I saw that they needed it and a lot of research suggested that partial changes would benifit fry growth.

So I did it with the siphon and water stone, that worked really well. 

I just dont see the activity I saw a couple days ago. Maybe they are resting from the stress of water change, or most died. I can't tell.

At 6 days old they hardly look like they are growing at all, but maybe thats normal.

They are getting newly hatched BBS two times a day, and only when I see all have been eaten in the tank... or died? I dont know.

First times are always the hardest to keep alive... I think thats how it goes. Especially with fish. I've raised many litters of air breathing fur friends and have mastered that. But fish... wow. What a hard time, not able to do anything.

When a puppy is sick, you nurse it back or take it to the vet if you need to, betta fry? Nothing.

Ah well. We will see who is strong enough to make it through my fry rearing first time. I hope I at least get a couple to adulthood.

Totally crushed.


----------



## Erin8D (Jul 16, 2010)

I'm sure a few will make it! Have hope I'd rather get out of breeding with 3 new pets, then dealing with the stress of selling and cleaning 50.

Hows Bubblegum doing?


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm sorry about your fry. How are they doing today?


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Update to my fry issues. Some good news!*

Alright, well.

Its been 1 week today. Almost all of the fry have been wiped out due to water change in the main tank, I think what happend was they had shock due to me not pouring in new water gentle enough.  Bad of me, I know.

I moved all remaining live fry to a smaller tank. I count about 20 or less.

Now here is the thing... 

All but 1 are tiny, they act like infants. They swim wacky and then float to the bottom and lay there, until they do it again. They dont look like they are developing at all... or at the most very little.

As I was removing the live fry I spotted one. It was BIG! It was FAST! It was STRONG! I was in awe! I didnt know what it was when I saw it!

One, large fry! He swims as an adult would. He moves his head around to look for the food, he darts for it and best of all... he sleeps and hides in the plastic plant leaves. Everyone else... again... lays on the bottom to rest, they swim around all crazy and then just float to the bottom. Like they never got to the free swim stage. Is that possible??

He is at least 2x's the size of the others. I named him (or her) Trooper! I have a good feeling he will make it, even if the others dont.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

It is not unusual to have different size fry in different state of growth and development......an hour difference in age can make a big difference in the fish world...lol......and you may just have some weak fry from the get-go too.......it happens especially with first spawns....don't feel bad....sometimes you have to get your hands dirty so-to-speak to learn by doing......its how we get experience.......don't give up....it gets easier as you go......


----------



## BettaBetty (May 1, 2011)

*Thanks *

Thanks guys for the kind words and concern.

I think I will be getting another pair before trying again. Reason being I don't want Bubblegum to die in the process because he is my sons fish and b-day pres. So I would feel just aweful if something I did killed the fish.

I am waiting to see if this big fry makes it. So far so good. I look for him serveral times a day to make sure he is alive. I just look with my eyes no touching. He is so big and smart.

Does anyone know where I can find local USA breeders of bettas? Does the price make any difference wether or not its shipped from US or over seas / transhipper?

Looking forward to getting some new fish. Interested in HMPK and HM also maybe CT. It looks like HMPK and HM are the most popular. Although I really do love VT.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Beat has some beautiful mg fry for sale. He lives in California.


----------

