# Marble Halfmoons



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm spawning Rio again. This time to Angel, she's an HM with excellent fins and I think will produce some quality fish.

I'm going to try things a little differently this time. Instead of using a 10 gallon I'm just going to use a storage bin with a heater. I'm going to use java moss and pond snails. I'm going to use the bubble wrap for a nest site again because I had such success with that but I'm also going to be adding IAL (Thanks Vaygirl!!). There will be no faulty heaters this time. I'm going to suck it up and shell out the dough for a Visitherm or a Stealth instead of the Topfin heater. 

I'm going to condition the breeders solely on frozen foods. No pellets at all. I think part of the reason that my last marble spawn didn't do as well as I'd hoped is that my breeders weren't as well conditioned as I would have liked.

I'm also going to be leaving the father with the fry longer. I believe I removed him too quickly last time. I'm going to leave him in until at least 4 days after the fry are free swimming (unless he tries to eat them). I may even leave him in longer than that, we'll just see how it goes.

First foods will be VE, after that I'm moving straight to BBS. The microworms don't seem to be giving the results that I want. Hopefully they'll do well on the BBS.

Here are my breeders:

Rio.. Marble HM. Proven spawner. Unknown age.









Angel... Marble (platinum?) HM. Never spawned. 5 months old.









I'm going to start conditioning them today. Hopefully I will put them in the spawning tank in 10-14 days. Normally I would try to condition them longer but I'm running out of time this summer so its basically now or never.

Keep fingers and fins crossed that this spawn goes well. I only have about 7 marble babies left from the Rio x Ada tryst. I hope to spawn them again but not until later this year or next year.


----------



## FloridaBettas239 (Jun 29, 2010)

The top fish looks like a solid blue! Is he a geno marble? And i dont see any marble in the female either. Great looking fish thou... should make for some awesome babies.


----------



## FloridaBettas239 (Jun 29, 2010)

Check out my line of marble's, I just spawn them the fry are one week I will post some picture's soon when my girl charge's the camera.




















There registered in the IBC BETTA CONGRESS so you can show them without having to be in the beginner class. You registered under co breeder.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The male is definitely a marble LOL He is also from an IBC breeder and was 1st place in his class at the GA show this past May. I can't remember who bred him though, I wish I'd written down their name to get more stock from them.

This is him when I got him this past May..








And around June..









According to the members of my betta group the female is at least part marble. She was a fish not claimed (I got her from the transhipper in our group) and originally she had a streak of red in her anal fin. So either she's a marble or has red loss.. no way to really tell. But for a totally free fish I think she's a steal.

If I get any good fry I may consider entering them in a few shows in the spring. I'm not sure if I want to start showing yet or wait until I have some lines going.


----------



## xswornxoffxjello (Mar 18, 2010)

Dang, they're gorgeous! Good luck with them.


----------



## Alexanderismylife (Jun 14, 2010)

Ditto :]


----------



## MangoTart (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm excited to see how it goes! ^^ Goodluck~! I'm sure the results will be amazing


----------



## camsgirl95 (Jul 7, 2010)

they are beautiful! wihsing you the best of luck!


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They're beautiful!! Good luck with the spawn.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks  Angel is already flirting. Just for the night I kept her in a half gallon "Lees Betta Keeper" and she was flirting with Freddie Mercury. The old man even had a bubblenest this morning. I covered her up last night and I'm moving her to where she can't see any other fish today.


----------



## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Nice pair!
What are your goals for this spawn? For color, finnage, etc?


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm hoping to start a marble halfmoon line. I'd like to get a fish with a white base with blue, red, black, and eventually yellow marbling on it. I'm also hoping to get fish with the father's excellent finnage and form. I'm really liking the mother's dorsal and caudle fins. She's an 8-ray female (sort of rare) so I may also expect some OHM's. I should get some nice full fins on the babies.

The father marbles quite fast and is not a tail biter (which IMO would qualify a fish unworthy to breed). He's not as good a father as I would have hoped but I'm hoping this second spawn will go better than his first and maybe he will have learned enough to get right down to business.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Hopefully he'll do better now that he's an experienced stud! lol


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I think he will. He isn't much of a nest builder in general and his last nest left something to be desired, he also wasn't as attentive as I would have liked. If he does the same thing with this spawn I might retire him from breeding.


----------



## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

I really hope this breeding turns out well for you. Marbles are fascinating and frustrating. I wish there was a way to press pause once they reach a pattern and or color you like.

Do you think blue will be the dominating color with this pair?


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm not sure. Since the female is has red it's very possible that I'll get mostly reds. Since I got this girly from a transshipper and not the breeder hisself I don't know much of her genetic background. 

It will be interesting to see what turns out. I'm just hoping for a nice healthy spawn with lots of Marbles and very nice fins.


----------



## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

I can't wait to see what nature produces ;-)


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Me, either!


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm setting up the spawning tank tomorrow. I'll update with pictures. I'm probably going to release Jane on Monday or Tuesday unless things seem to be going well sooner.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Good luck!


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well we had a sudden change of plans, based on the quality I'm seeing from the two fry I have left from the original marble spawn I decided to do another spawn with the same breeders. I'm still using Rio but instead of Jane I'm using Ada (Check the Double Spawn Log or the thread "Decisions Decisions" to see her picture).

The set up is as follows:
10 gallon tank filled to 5 inches (a little less than half way)
Java moss mixed with Naja Grass (about two handfuls)
50watt heater
1 large Almond Leaf
Temp 82* 
Female is in a "breeder trap" instead of a 1 gallon jar
In addition to the IAL I have a 3x4 piece of bubble wrap (bubble side down) as a potential nesting site
Hood with light on (which I'll be leaving on 24 hours a day)
Saran Wrap over the tank (under the hood) to help keep it really humid for strong bubbles

Breeders added at 5:45

Currently Ada doesn't seem interested in Rio's advances. Rio seems to be thinking about starting a nest, he's blown a few bubbles but nothing that has stuck. He's flaring and dancing for Ada and she's trying her best to ignore him.

Rio is not much of a bubblenester, he doesn't usually have one in his tank and if he does it's usually not very impressive so I don't know how long its going to be until he get's down to business.

The spawning tank is set up in my bedroom this time (instead of the sun porch where the other spawning tanks were). I'm doing this because I want to keep a good eye on this pair.. I never did see them spawn last time.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Sounds good. Good luck!


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Good luck!!!


----------



## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

Good luck!


----------



## doggipoi (Jul 24, 2010)

Good luck


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks 

It's been about an hour and so far no love and no nest. I got spoiled with Sid and Nancy.. Sid took one look at her and went straight to building his nest. I wish they were all that easy LOL

Rio is hanging out under the leaf and bubble wrap a little more.. no bubbles yet though.

Ada has finally started paying attention to Rio so maybe he'll be more inclined to nest now.


----------



## Welsh (Apr 13, 2010)

Was it you that wanted to start an online blog? I'm sure it was, anyway, I think you should do a blog about this  

Good Luck btw


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yup.. if you click on the picture in my siggy it takes you to the blog.. there's not much on it but I'm slowly adding to it.


----------



## Welsh (Apr 13, 2010)

1fish2fish said:


> Yup.. if you click on the picture in my siggy it takes you to the blog.. there's not much on it but I'm slowly adding to it.


I can't believe I missed the link lol I even have my glasses on :lol:


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

LOL.. well it looks exactly the same as before except I changed it to say "Jackie's Betta Blog".


----------



## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

I commented. Good luck!


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Last update for the night:

We have a small bubblenest. Just like last time, Rio is taking his sweet time making it. I think the next time I spawn him its going to be in a much smaller tank (like a 3 or 5 gallon). He seems to have fish ADD.. he blows some bubbles, then goes to Ada and flares for her, then he swims around like "oh.. heater!.. look.. java moss!.. is that food? nope.. oh heater!" then he goes back to blow a few bubbles.

Ada is a little more responsive but is not flaring or dancing. I doubt I'll release them tomorrow but maybe the day after.


----------



## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

He he. I hope things go well.


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Fish ADD. Who knew? Try putting a picture of Austin Powers near the tank for added mojo! 

In all seriousness, good luck! Maybe he's just a slow starter.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well I left the light on all night and was pleasantly surprised to see a decent bubblenest. Just like before the males seem to prefer the bubble wrap to the IAL or any of the other nesting sites I provided.

Since Ada still doesn't seem too eager to leave her trap I'm going to leave her in. I may release her late tonight if things seem to be going well. I'd like to see the bubble nest be a little larger before I release her anyways.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I released Ada.. so far its exactly like last time. She's very submissive and goes head down tail up as soon as Rio approaches. Rio is being a butt head and chasing her all over kingdom come. Occasionally he displays for her and moves away without chasing. No nips so far. 

Right now Rio is taking a break from chasing to work on the nest some more. Its much better than last time.


----------



## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

Yay!


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

So far no love. Rios dorsal fin has be seriously munched on and Ada has a bite out of her caudal fin. I'm about to go out for a little while and if I don't see any eggs or embracing by this evening I'm pulling the plug.

I know, I know, you need to give them time, however I'm on a really strict schedule since the summer is so close to an end. I gave up an extra week to make sure the fish got to be conditioned for 2 weeks even though they probably only needed one. 

Rio is an extremely aggressive fish, he's not a good bubblenester, and he wasn't that good of a father. He's got some excellent genes but I need a good breeder and he's not a good breeder. If I don't get a spawn out of him this time I'm retiring him from my breeding program. It's a real shame because he is a prize winning fish.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well it looks like my threat worked LOL. I came home to find Rio and Ada under the nest. I think they've just started spawning because the first embrace yielded no eggs and they've been releasing more eggs with each spawn. This last one I counted 13 eggs in one embrace.

Both of them are a little tattered by Rio is by far worse. I guess Ada finally got fed up with him being a butt head and gave him "what for" LOL

I think I saw Ada eat an egg but its possible she put it up in the nest and I just didn't see it.


----------



## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

Yay! (lol I keep saying this!?) So happy! Your link isn't working for me...


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Ugh.. I think Rio ate all the eggs.. I can't see ANY in the nest. Yesterday I could see a bunch of eggs on the edge of the aquarium. Today I can see no eggs. I've tried looking from the top, bottom, with a flashlight (..in a box, with a fox,...) but I can't see any eggs.

I'm going to leave him in there for a while but if I don't see any tail down babies by tomorrow night I'm retiring him from breeding.


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

In a box, with a fox.... LOL!!! I'm sorry. He's just not a good Daddy I guess. Maybe he's just not ready for a serious relationship. Perhaps he would like to play video games all day and hang out with his boys. Maybe next summer he'll be better.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm afraid next summer he'll be too old. He's just a butt head. I told him I'm feeding him to the cat because he's bad.

I really hope my Mom surprises me with money for a pair for my birthday. I want another good breeding this year.


----------



## Welsh (Apr 13, 2010)

1fish2fish said:


> He's just a butt head. I told him I'm feeding him to the cat because he's bad.


That gave me a good giggle :lol:


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Me too! LOL. He's probably all "Aw Mom... you know I'm not like other guys... I'm nervous and my socks are too loose." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4GZFbCqx18


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Lol


----------



## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

This thread is just filled with laughs! XD

Sorry about your spawn though! =[

Maybe you'll find another marble halfmoon to spawn? =]

Or something equally as awesome! =]


----------



## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

Sorry. I guess you should go on Aqua bid and find a better daddy.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Well, that bad fishy for eating the eggs! I'm sorry.


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Sorry about your misfortune.

IMO Some HM are very bad breeders. But you should give Rio one more chance because he is too gorgeous to retire. Condition him for a month (.... if season change doesn't effect water temp too much). Try using very shallow water (5 - 8 cm) in a smaller tank (I often use 25 x 25 cm plastic containers for bad breeders) or you can use dark dividers for large tanks. Don't use lights (make it dark after 6pm), don't disturb him too much and use dark covers on the tank.

Before you breed him, make sure he is active - always moving. If water condition is ok, healthy eggs fertilized etc, even if he doesn't tend to the eggs, many will hatch and survive.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks for the tips Indjo. I think I will try him again but probably not until later in the year. I can do spawns in the winter because my entire operation is done indoors so my tanks are heated. I'm also going to be on the look out for a different female who may be a better match for him. Hopefully if I try a smaller tank, etc I'll be more successful with him.

Well... its been over 48 ours and I see no wigglers. I'm pretty much positive that this spawn was a failure.


----------



## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I found this at Bettysplendens this morning. It's an article detailing a way to hatch without a male present. Maybe it'll help next time. Anyway, it was interesting.
http://bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=3990


----------



## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Too bad!!! He would have had gorgeous babies...  

Do you think the eggs could have been infertile?


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks VG  I've been meaning to read that article but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I think there is a good possibility the eggs either had fungus (although they looked perfectly fine to me) or they weren't fertilized. Like I said before this pair was very.. awkward. They didn't spawn for very long and there was only one good embrace that I saw (13 eggs), the rest only yielded 4-7 eggs a piece. While I didn't condition Ada specifically, while Jane and Rio were being conditioned everyone was being fed frozen so for two weeks pretty much all my fish got conditioned. I don't think that was the problem. With two unsuccessful spawns, however, I probably won't try these guys as a pair again.

I really like Rio and I really like Ada. I'm hoping I can maybe get my hands on a marble sib pair to breed and then breed the male to Ada and the female to Rio as well so I don't lose their genetics.


----------



## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

Good luck with the new strategy! =]


----------

