# Marble/"mustard" hmpk x Marble hmpk Spawned 8/30/13 - Budget included.



## Aluka

Okay, I will stop being lazy and type up my log. After many years of betta keeping, I have finally decided to try my hand at breeding them. This is my first time, so be gentle! Please correct me if I am doing something wrong.

I originally wanted to spawn a pair of mustard gas like HM (Like because I believe the true mustard gas are bettas that came from Jude Als's lines, of which i do not have and will probably never have) 

Anyways, while i was searching, i found a pair of beautiful HMPKs, which i decided to buy and breed =). They are my first HMPKs, so i am quite excited.

Here is the proud mommy and daddy (pictures are from the breeder (sumer) because i am too lazy to take my own, lol ):



















Aren't they pretty?

Goals:

There's no real particular goal for this spawn. This will be my first, so its mostly about getting the process down. I would like to be able to get a pair of spawns from them to be able to continue my breeding project. I will most likely be breeding for a certain coloration, but that will not be determined until the frys are big enough.

I will also be keeping a spreadsheet with all my expenses and profits, because I see alot of people asking how much would it cost to spawn bettas and if they can make a profit out of it.

I don't really expect to make any money from this, but I do hope to break even (unlikely, but i will try)

I will make my spreadsheet public, so you guys can see my progress =)!

Here is the link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApqMWEUUXHsadHlrYkpta2N3Y0NTd2ZoSXNPR21NdGc&usp=sharing


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## Aluka

To prepare for my spawn, I got a 15 gallon tank, got my BBS eggs ready, along with micro worms and banana worm cultures. (I have worm cultures for sale for those that want some! - Sorry, trying to break even, lol)

On Tuesday, 8/27/2013 I set up my spawning tank. I filled my 15 gallon tank with about 4-5 inches of water, added some prime, added 3-4 handfuls of water lettuce, some cay pots, 3 big IALs, some prime to dechlorinate the water. Water temperature is 81 degrees.

I used a air line tube with some suction cups to keep the floaters in one spot, not sure if that helps but i wanted them to be in one corner =(.

I added a breeder box to the tank, I plan on putting the female in there while my male makes his nest.

I let the tank sit over night so the ial have time to leech.


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## Aluka

8/28/13, Wednesday

I added my pair to the spawn tank =) My male immediately starting making a nest. He would make a few bubbles and swim to my female and flash and wave his body around before making more bubbles. I check back at them in 3-4 hours, the nest was still relatively small. So I decided not to release the female.

Not sure if that was a good idea or not, i worried all night that maybe they will tired themselves out. But the nest was barely more than 2 square inches big =(.


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## Aluka

8/29/2013 Thursday

The nest didn't get any better =( I was starting to think that maybe i put too much water lettuce in there. I remember see other breeders use paper cups, so i cut one into two and added it to the tank.

I released the female, thinking its now or never. They chased each other all over the tank, luckily my female is pretty mellow and never once nip my male. My male was also pretty gentle, he would chase and then swim under his nest trying to lure her over. But she wasn't having it.

After 5+ hrs of this, they have not yet spawned, I checked on them and noticed my girl was missing a chunk of her tail. =(


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## alunjai

Have they spawned yet? Good luck!!


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## Aluka

8/30/2013 Friday

I checked on them again in the morning before going to work, no spawn =(. I figured they must need more conditioning. But i decided to leave them in the tank until I get off work.

I went home, planning on taking them out and starting the conditioning process over, but when i checked on them, i saw them in an embrace! Eggs were dropping!

Sadly, the nest was still pathetic. I am not sure how i can make him make a better nest. His nest in the conditioning tank was HUGE!.

I checked back on them few hours later and found the girl hiding and my boy tending to his nest. So i remove my girl and added her back to her conditioning tank with a fresh IAL and lots of bloodworms.

I noticed ALOT of the eggs are in the bottom of the tank =( Probably because of the pathetic nest. I wonder if i will get any fry =(!


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## Aluka

8/31/2013

It seems my boy is learning, I notice his nest is double in size! There are still lots of eggs in the bottom of the tank, but not as much as before.

9/1/2013
His nest has been steadily growing bigger, i wish i can take a picture but, its all under the water lettuce and the cup =<. 

Lots of eggs are dropping, i think he is having trouble telling which ones are newly dropped and which ones are there from the spawn. Should i remove the eggs?

I noticed some of the eggs have hatched, and little frys are at the bottom trying to swim, but ultimately falling to the bottom. Whenever i check, my boy is too busy flaring at me to catch the little frys. Hopefully when i am not peaking at him he is doing a better job at picking them back up. 

I hope i have at least 20 frys to pick from ! So many eggs in the bottom!!


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## JayM

Aluka said:


> 8/31/2013
> 
> It seems my boy is learning, I notice his nest is double in size! There are still lots of eggs in the bottom of the tank, but not as much as before.
> 
> 9/1/2013
> His nest has been steadily growing bigger, i wish i can take a picture but, its all under the water lettuce and the cup =<.
> 
> Lots of eggs are dropping, i think he is having trouble telling which ones are newly dropped and which ones are there from the spawn. Should i remove the eggs?
> 
> I noticed some of the eggs have hatched, and little frys are at the bottom trying to swim, but ultimately falling to the bottom. Whenever i check, my boy is too busy flaring at me to catch the little frys. Hopefully when i am not peaking at him he is doing a better job at picking them back up.
> 
> I hope i have at least 20 frys to pick from ! So many eggs in the bottom!!


I wouldn't remove the eggs as most dads know which are good & which are bad. Best of luck.


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## MattsBettas

Don't remove the eggs, and just let dad do his job. Good luck!

By the way I just got two spawns on Saturday, so our fry will be about the same age.


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## Aluka

okay! =) i am going to check on him right now. thanks for the advice!


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## Aluka

9/1/2013

I checked on him again today, his bubble nest is much bigger and super thick! When i peaked there were fry trying to swim at the bottom. As usual my boy is ignoring his fry and opt to flare at me. I will stop bothering him. I wonder when will the fry be free swimming =)?

There's still LOTS of eggs on the bottom, is that normal?


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## bambijarvis

Some males won't work ont he nest until they have to, and even then only enough for the eggs. xD

Congrats on the fry. Gorgeous pair.


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## snowflake311

Can't wait to see what the fry look like. Marbles are so cool you never know what you will get.


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## Aluka

thanks! =)

I can't wait either i see some fry swiming around. i hope my frys are free swiming by tonight =)!


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## JayM

Congratulations. 
Our marble CT & turquoise female fry hatched on 1st Sept. 
Counted 16 tails the next morning & then noticed some brownish stuff on the eggs & around. :-( Fry were free swimming by the next day so removed cup & got rid of as much of the fungus as I could.
We have managed to find 8 fry. Still hoping some more are hiding amongst the anubias & ambulia.


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## Aluka

Oh Sorry to hear that =( Good luck! the frys are so tiny there is probably more hiding!


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## Aluka

9/4/2013

I check the gang before bed, i noticed about 5-6 frys that are free swiming (darting around and swiming near the surface. So i removed daddy. He is not happy. Not sure if i removed him too early. Is it bad to remove him too early? Should i put him back?

I turned on my sponge filter but at about 1/10 the strength because the water level is low and its distrubing the water. I don't want to mess up the bubble nest, since there might still be fry unhatched.

I also filled a 5 gallon bucket with water, i am going to let it sit next to the tank till tomorrow. I will set up a drip tomorrow morning to drip into the tank.

Should i feed them now? or feed them tomorrow? i'm really worried they are hungry =<....

I'll take pictures tomorrow, its kind of late now, lol 2 am =<...


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## JayM

Aluka said:


> Oh Sorry to hear that =( Good luck! the frys are so tiny there is probably more hiding!


Thanks. We are hoping some are hiding. 

Don't put Daddy back! Wish I could tell if mine were grumpy. ;-)
Do you have microworms, vinegar eels?? I have been feeding ours microworms & vinegar eels. Vinegar ees last a few days in the tank whereas MW don't. I would feed them.

Look forward to photos.


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## Aluka

9/4/13

So most of my fry has hatched. I dripped about 5 gallon of water into the tank. I will probably do a water change tomorrow. I tried taking pictures, but they are so TINY!! This is the best picture i can get.

I have microworms and banana worm cultures ready. How do you feed them? My frys don't stay together, all of them hang out at different places.  Some of them hang out near the surface with my water lettuce at different places and some of them are hanging out near the bottom. I wiped some banana worms and dipped the qtips at different points hoping to get some fed =(.


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## Aluka

I cleaned some of the dirty stuff on the bottom of the tank with a turkey baster. Caught alot of fry while do it, i just poured them back in. I dripped till the tank is about 2/3 full, i'll probably fill the rest tomorrow after i clean some more.

I added 5 cherry shrimps and 1 baby mystery snail to help eat any uneaten and dead banana worms. I might have fed them 4 times today =<... 

I will cut back tomorrow. lol =(

Its hard to count them they are never together, but there should be at least 20-50 of them. I am hoping to have around 30. =)


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## snowflake311

Nice job. Raising the fry is the hard part. Good luck. Looks like my spawn is small too like 20-30 I think. 

How are you dripping the water into the tank?


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## Aluka

Lets hope we both get nice and healthy fry =)!

I'm using a 5 gallon bucket, air line tube and one of those air pump control valve.
I start suction so water is being sucked out of the bucket thru the air line tube, and i stick one of those control value at the exit end to control the flow.


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## snowflake311

Thanks This gives me an idea.


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## Aluka

9/7/13

My frys are 1 week old! =D So i have been feeding them banana worms and microworms 3 times a day. I drip about 5 gallons of water out of the tank during the day (over 12 hr period) and drip 5 gallons of water back into the tank (over night)

I am going to start feeding them baby brine shrimp along with the worms starting monday. I am going to hatch a batch tonight =)


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## fawx

I can't wait to see what they look like!


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## Aluka

me too =)!


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## Aluka

9/10

My frys are so big now! =D! well, they are still eyes and tails but i can see them now! I have been alternating microworms and banana worms. I have also fed them the first batch of bbs. I will probably start feeding them microworms in the morning, banana worms in the evening, and bbs before bed.

Question here is. Since they can still eat just worms. Can I just hatch one batch at a time? And just either keep the bbs in the hatchary or put them in the fridge? and start another batch while i am still feeding the left overs?

Of course this is not the plan forever. I will start hatching two batch at a time, when the frys mostly live on bbs. 

Just for the time being, i wonder if i can do that to save some bbs eggs, lol =).


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## Aluka

9/14

My babies has made it to two weeks!! They about rice size now =) and eating like champs!! I always read that its not rare to find dead babies, interestingly i haven't found a single dead baby!

I also attempted to count them today.... I saw a bunch of them hanging out at the bottom of the tank and tried to count them. I counted over 70!  and that's only those hanging out at the bottom!


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## SingSangSung

Whoa!!! Seems like you are going to hit 100 xP I can’t wait to see them~


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## snowflake311

That's cool you don't have any die off. I find maybe 1 or 2 dead every few days the fry I find dead look small and weak. I rather have the weak ones die off now then have to cull. I have over 100fry I lost count at 180. So I don't mind losing a few. 

Good job getting to the 2 week mark. My fry are 11 days old today.


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## Aluka

I'm too weak hearted to cull, unless they are sick =<.. I'll probably just try to give them out at my local aquarium club if i can't sell them.


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## TruongLN

-If you'd ever consider sending some pretty females my way I'll take some . 
I'm in Canada.


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## Aluka

9/19

I finally got off my lazy butt and took some pictures! =)

I noticed they seem to be all different sizes! there are a few that looks like they just hatched ... Hopefully they catch up soon. I have been changing about 3-4 gallons of water everyday, so hopefully that is helping out.

I'm not sure if i am feeding them too much, their belly is kind of huge, lol... But no one has died yet!


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## tilli94

Can I just say that I adore you for making a spreadsheet. I am such a weirdo for lists and I LOVE this! I can't wait to make one for my spawns :-D


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## Aluka

lol, i love spreadsheets. I actually have a spreadsheet that tracks every fish expense i have had in the last year, lol.


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## tilli94

:O that is me to a T. I list everything. Then I make multiples of every list lol


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## snowflake311

Looking at your fry some of mine are about the same size but others are smaller. I have some little piggys.


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## Aluka

9/24

My babies are 24 days old! =) I have started doing 8 gallon a day water changes instead of 5. I have also started training them to eat dry/non live food. 

I have been harvesting my bbs slightly early, so when i feed them there is half bss and half decapulated brine shrimp. Before each feeding i also feed them some dry food first.

I might start to substitute a whole meal with dry food.

The dry food i'm currently feeding is a food mix that I love. Its a mixture of decapped brine shrimp eggs, golden pearls, earthworm flakes, plecocaine,
astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, lutein, and beta-carotene. Its call LOTSOFFISH MIX #2, lol by lotsoffish. They seem to like it. So once they are trained to eat mostly only dry food, then i'm gonna move them to my other tanks to grow out.

How old till i feed them frozen blood worms? I would like to add that to their diet as well.

How do i spot deformities? They all seem to look the same to me, lol =<

Oh here is some updated pictures =). I will take a nice video when later tonight when i get home =).


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## snowflake311

Looking big now. Very nice. Good job on starting to feed non live food.


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## SuperLaz

Great job! you're going to have some lookers there


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## Aluka

9/27

Sorry don't have any pictures today. Everyone is still doing pretty good. They are going to be 4 weeks old tomorrow. =) Still everyone is alive! I think they seem a bit tiny.

I brought a live daphnia culture to feed them with so maybe they will grow faster =)! I noticed some of the fry looks blue/gray/blackish and some is white/peach like =) I can't wait till they are bigger! =DDDD


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## snowflake311

You will have a nice mix of different colored fish. Can't wait to see then .


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## Aluka

10/1/13

Day 30! YAY! My babies are 1 month old!

They are sooo cute now, all their fins are out. They like to separate into two groups one group likes to hand at the waterline the other group at the bottom. Doesn't look like anyone has swiming issues.

They are being fed only my dry food mix, because my bbs hatcherys refused to hatch any bbs the last two days =(!1

and to make it worst, my daphnia culture didn't come cause my seller's culture crashed =( sooo have to wait a week.

Hopefully, they will be okay with only dry food for a few days.

Everyone is starting to show color. Most of them are blue/gray, there is one black one and a few peachy color ones. There is also 2 green looking one .

Anyways, heres come pictures.


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## Curlyfatbottom

If your just starting your daphnia culture
It going to take u awhile before u can use it to feed your fry
Cause you'll need a strong culture so u won't run the risk of the culture crashing and it wise to make a backup culture
You'll think a 1,000 daphnia is a lot
Really it's not
Tank of fry will eat that in less then 1 day


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## Aluka

Well, my fry eats dry food and bbs, so i can feed those while the culture is getting ready.


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## Mo

Nice fry!


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## SuperLaz

Nice!!!


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## Aluka

They are 37 days old now! =) All of them are starting to color up, most of them are blueish, a few are green, some are peachy. It looks like some of them will have a bit of red on them. About 1/3 of them has started developing the lace coloring daddy has, so we might get some mustards!










Baby stress lines are here =D! (they are not stessed, they just have it when they are babies, lol)















Here's a Peachy one with his lace developing.












here's a blurry blue one.













Here's the one and only white one. She's so pearly white, i can spot her right away. Its almost as if she glows  I have named "her" Daenerys, lol =D. We'll change the name if she turns out to be a boy.






















Heres the one and only black one. I have names "him" Tyrion, cause he's the black sheep and hates my phone and refuse to let me take a picture of him. (name might also change if he turns out to be a girl)


Those two are the only ones i can really recognize. =) I hope it stays that way or else i will name more and more of them and then keep them all! =(


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## MattsBettas

Watching them start to get their colours is so exciting!


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## PetMania

I can't wait to see how they turn out,


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## Aluka

Day 41! Dinner time video! Some are definitely looking like daddy, and some are distinctly mommy. Some came out of no where 

http://youtu.be/IQZilHZUP9Q

I lost focus towards the end cause i got distracted by something, Sorry! LOL...


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## snowflake311

They are getting so big! Are you seeing any with swim bladder problems? I saw a few in the video that looked like they were swimming with the tail down. As if it is hard for them to go to the top. Maybe they are just really full.

What are you feeding now.


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## Aluka

oh they were eating, lol they do that when they are trying to catch the bbs, but they swim normal when its not dinner time. The jerky motions are them catching the bbs, lol


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## Aluka

Day 49!

So i have stopped feeding bbs all together. My babies are now on a diet of decaps/golden pearls twice a day and blood worms for dinner. They are starting to get slightly aggressive, but i can't tell who is the agressor =( they are really good pretending to behave when i am watching them. So i have been jaring all the fry with nip fins.


















Most of them are fine, just slightly nipped, that will heal in no time. 3 of them however are nipped pretty badly. One had all of his cadual fin bitten off (my sister has affectionately named him stubby, hopefully he will heal). 2 Had about 1/4 of their fin bitten off, i am not positive if it will grow back, but i jar'd them anyways.

they are not as big as i thought they would be at 49 days, but oh well.

About 30% of them looks like daddy, blue body, blue/black lace, yellow tail:


















And 30% looks like uncle, blue body, blue/black lace, red orange tail: (uncle's picture is by sumer, who is the person i brought my pair from)

















About 10% looks like solid blues, or blue with a deeper blue lace, they might marble later i think:











So exciting to see them color up =)!


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## bambijarvis

Lookin' good.


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## PetMania

Good job! Pretty!


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## Aluka

day 59 update!

Apparently i am terrible at talking to myself.... mute me if you must! lol..
http://youtu.be/jdv5jc4iYkw


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## SorcerersApprentice

Cute babies!

Can I ask what size the betta containers are that you are using for jarring? I think I see two different sizes in your pics but it's hard to tell.


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## Aluka

I have 32 oz for the bigger ones and 25 oz for the smaller ones. I have been jarring the agressive ones and the tiny ones.


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## PetMania

How are the babies doing?


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## Aluka

one of my baby started to marble! lol he looks like a cute creepy monster, lol

excuse the dirty bottom, was lunch time, i cleaned it after.


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## Quinn

Eeee so cute! Want!
I lived in Boston/Cambridge a few years ago too.


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## PetMania

I call dibs on that baby! :lol:


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## Champion Betta

Will you sell them out? I might want to get my hands on a pair from that spawn!


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## Champion Betta

good luck! Your doing great


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## Aluka

yes, i will be selling most of this spawn, i am only going to keep two pairs to continue the line. =)


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## Champion Betta

Yay! How much will a pair be?


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## Aluka

a pair will probably be somewhere between 10-35, depending on quality. I wont be selling them for too high, lol =) just want good homes for my babies =)


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## PetMania

I will be so interested, especially since I am going to be making more money = more bettas


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## Champion Betta

I would like to get just one-probably a male


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## SunshineSulie

!!! SO PRETTY!!! Stunning! I love them!!


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## Aluka

Day 67!

Sorry for the picture overload. They are changing colors rapidly! Apparently, i have some cellophanes =) there is a blue marble cellophane, also a white marble cellophane, and a pink one. Many of them are marbling like crazy. I can barely recognize them, they seem to change everyday!

This is only one of the 3 tanks of them.. i really should take pictures of the other tanks, but they are downstairs and i am lazy =(!


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## Chachi

Great pics! Love them!


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## helms97

WOW! they are impressive! im just curious.. when will they be for sale? i may be interested in one or a few marble females!


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## PetMania

+1


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## Aluka

i'm hoping by the end of this month or early next. But i will only sell ones i can sex, unless you don't care if they are boy or girls.

I already have a few that i can tell is a girl or boy, lol


here's two boys flaring at each other when i added them to my scrap tank to help me eat some seed shrimps. (don't worry i removed one of them, lol.)


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## Champion Betta

Yay! I would love one. Your fish are stunning


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## PetMania

They are beautiful. Love the variety of colors!


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## helms97

hmm.. i think in going to have to wait till they are sexed .. i have no room for anymore males


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## PetMania

I new a 'few' females for my sorority, so *hint *hint


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## TruongLN

Awe!! Tiny little flares are the cutest.


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## snowflake311

They all look great. You have some good qulity fish there.


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## Champion Betta

I am going to maybe want a pair! Show us more pics! I love your fish


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## Aluka

=) Thanks for the kind words guys. And yes! You should definitely get a pair =)!... I am starting to think i have more than the 100 i initially estimated, lol..

Funny thing because Christmas season is coming up, and my little sister is trying to save money. So she is offering to change my betta water for me for a discount price of $3, instead of the usualy $10, LOL =D i'm lazy ): 

Here's another update =)

Day 74!!! (time flies!!)

So they are growing pretty fast now =)! It seems like i have alot of girls, many of them are showing eggs spots and short ventrals, which is not an 100% but at least a 90% =). The reds and yellows are not fully colored yet but the blues are full on. 

Here is a picture of my downstairs tank, there is about 40-50 of them in there. Its hard to take pictures they think i am feeding them.. Sometimes i wonder if i bred piranhas or bettas.






















































Here's the Halloween fish, he is marbling into a pretty little boy. Sorry its a bit fizzy, he wont stand, i mean swim still =(...


















Here's Daenerys, she's a runt! she is still kind of small =/










Some of the cellophanes are starting to marble, I think some of them are going to be kois. (at least i hope lol =D)

















This is one of my favorites, the picture doesm't do him justice because of the lighting. He has really nice yellow on him, but its still slightly pale.









Heres a girl i jarr'd, she is super pretty. =)


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## Aluka

oh heres a better picture of my favorite =)


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## Quinn

* I can't have more tanks, I can't have more tanks, I can't have more tanks*

So many lovelies!


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## Champion Betta

Omg! I can understand why it's your favorite! If there are more like him, save me one :-D they're all so beautiful!


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## Chachi

Beautiful!


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## Champion Betta

Tell us when they are for sale!


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## Aluka

there's a good 5-6 that looks like him but he is the biggest one lol. there is about 10 that are a lighter shade of blue but looks similar to him. =)

i'm shopping for an actual camera to take better pictures, lol black friday and cyber monday! =D!


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## TruongLN

These fish are gorgeous!


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## Aluka

here's one of his brothers =)


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## jayr232

Awesome!


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## JayM

Looking great.


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## Champion Betta

So beautiful! I defiantly want a pair from this spawn :-D


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## uglykitty429

Hi! I'm a lurker but I wanted to comment. I love your fish they are beautiful. I have 300 fry or so I hope mine turn out as healthy and varied as yours.


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## Aluka

uglykitty429 said:


> Hi! I'm a lurker but I wanted to comment. I love your fish they are beautiful. I have 300 fry or so I hope mine turn out as healthy and varied as yours.


Thank you and good luck to you =)! You should make a log!


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## Champion Betta

How many brothers do you have that look like your favorite? I love their coloring! :-D


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## Aluka

There is 6-7 that looks like him, but i can't sex them all yet, i am certain that 3 is male and 1 is female. There's 10 other ones that has a lighter shade of blue but small pattern, "mustard gas"


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## sushiisaboss75

ok, i have a question. i want to start breeding soon, and im a newbie. what are the air pumps for, and also, where can you buy all the live food and hatcheries?


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## sushiisaboss75

oh, and do u absolutly NEED live plants?


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## Champion Betta

You can buy starter cultures for vinegar eels, micro worms, and whatever else you want to feed live online :-D. Same goes for brine shrimp eggs. You have to feed them when they have just hatched... So from the time they hatched, they are good to go for twelve hours. Air pumps reduce waste greatly. Hatcheries for BBS, micro worms, and vinegar eels are easy! You can look it up online... There are tons of youtube videos showing you how to start them! You should get live plants, because they produce infusoria which helps feed the fry! 

Hope this helped! :-D


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## sushiisaboss75

great! thank u sooo much champion betta! i am only 12 yrs old, but i think i have the responsibility, next i just need to cough up 500 $!!! i sealed grout for my neibors for 100$ a house, i think i can get it pretty easily.


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## Aluka

the air pump is to run a sponger filter so you can filter the water and provide oxygen.

Live food you can buy online on ebay or on here. I sell them too. hatchery u can make with a soda bottle.


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## DatBetta

They look beautiful! MG are my favorite


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## sushiisaboss75

How do u make the hatchery? (Sorry for all the questions)


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## Champion Betta

For brine shrimp I think you cut a two liter soda bottle in half and screw the lid on tight then add aged water and a small air pump? Something like that... For micro worms you can check out this vid: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KXV1GmEiixY
For infusoria TRY to watch this: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vkOw7AO-Il0
If they so not work, a lot of people make youtube tutorials on this sort of stuff... If you don't want to watch a video, just search something like "how to start a micro worm culture" something should pop up! Hope this helped! :-D


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## sushiisaboss75

Now, I saw this on yahoo answers, so it's probably not correct. Would taking a small peice of hard boiled egg yolk mixed with just a little water ( so it's like a paste) be ok? For fry


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## Champion Betta

Yes it would, but fry might not go for it.. They are picky, only liking love foods most times. You could try that.. Although I would have a backup just in case they don't eat it! The micro worms would be best, along with infusoria and vinegar eels. BBS are ok.. Sometimes they are easy to over feed and may cause swim bladder issues!


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## Aluka

I would stick with the micro worms, because while many people has good experiences with the yolk, it tends to foul the water pretty quickly, and you have to do more water changes.


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## Aluka

we are going to do a feature fish kind of thing, lol only with the jarr'd ones tho cause when i can write down their info! I'm also gonna give them temporary names cause giving them a code seems so... cold... lol I'm sure their new family will rename them properly.


So FEATURE FISH:

Mycella - Female Blue Marble HMPK -


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## Champion Betta

Ooh pretty! Not me style but she is beautiful! I want a pair from you so bad... :-D


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## Aluka

We have seen the MG and the marble. Lets look at the solids! Here's a blue one!

TODAY'S FEATURE FISH:

Breinne - Female Blue HMPK -


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## Champion Betta

Ooh! I do like her! Maybe I could get her and one of the mustard gas males? Thanks :-D


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## Aluka

sure, unless you fall in love with another females. I am 90% positive that i am going to have 5-6 koi bettas. My cellaphanes are starting to marble. lol


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## Champion Betta

Ok! I'm excited to see the others!


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## EvaJupiterSkies

All of them are gorgeous! Ugh, I wish I had more room sometimes!


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## Aluka

here is some of the marble cellophanes =)!


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## DatBetta

Pretty!


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## Champion Betta

It's so cute!


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## TruongLN

Beautiful cellophane's!


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## Kiara1125

Some of them look like they have doubletail genes. The extended dorsal is what leads me to believe this. They stretch down the back quite a ways.


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## snowflake311

Kiara1125 said:


> Some of them look like they have doubletail genes. The extended dorsal is what leads me to believe this. They stretch down the back quite a ways.


I agree some of those dorsel fins are crazy wide. Very cool. I wish my babies would grow. Mine are a week younger then yours and all so small I think I have dwarf betta they are healthy and look good just small. What temp is their water? What do you feed them?


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## Aluka

Yea, i'm pretty sure they do have the double tail gene, neither parents nor one of their sibling males had it tho. But i think it looks pretty nice.

Their temperature is actually pretty low =< i can't turn the heat up too high because my room is on the 3rd floor and all the heat raises into my room and i ended up having to turn the AC on. So they are all sitting at 75 degrees, the ones in the divided tanks have a heater and is at 78-80 degrees. They haven't been growing as fast as i was hoping from the low heat =/. 

I still feeding them 3x a day, I have gotten lazy so i mix all the food together into a jar and feed by dipping a wet tooth pick in. Its a mix of decapp brine shrimp eggs, gold pearls, NLS grow, NLS small fish. I feed the mix twice a day and bloodworms+ gut loaded adult bring shrimps once a day.

I have been pretty busy lately (i have a full time job and i run a online ebay store), so i didn't have time to change the water everyday. so they have been getting changed every other day.

They eat like champs! I need to take some pictures soon, its been a while, many of them are marbling pretty nicely. Alot of them has lost color and became cellophanes. My favorite 'mustard', the one in my avatar is now a cellophane too, lol the fins are still yellow, but the body lost the blue and became peach =(!

My count is now at 136 bettas, with 5 deformed but healthy fish (2 missing tails, 1 missing ventrals, 1 messed up mouth, 1 swim badder issue) I don't cull, so i am keeping the deformed ones unless someone wants to adopt them, none of their deformities affects their quality of life, they are just not perfect. The missing ventral and the one with swim badder issue is actually extremely pretty.


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## Aluka

one i took few days ago and one i took today. I'll take some more tomorrow.


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## MattsBettas

Beautiful. Great job, Aluka.


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## Aluka




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## SorcerersApprentice

Wow, they're absolutely gorgeous! Especially that 4th one down.


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## zackcrack00

Are you selling? If so, I'd DEFINITELY be interested! I cant stop looking at the male!!!(first on the page) How much for a pair??? They are about 3.5 months now? By the way, beautufully executed spawn. Marvelous bettas!


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## Kiara1125

I love the first male! He's gorgeous! Some of the females have lovely marbling. Great job in breeding them! You got some amazing fry!


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## Aluka

yes i am selling them, I will likely post them for sale starting from Christmas or a bit after. They will not be shipped until after new years tho, i am trying to avoid all the holiday shipping so the fish don't get delay. =) There is so far 130+ counted, there is still some uncounted in one of the grow out tank. =) (probably arounf 10-15 more)


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## zackcrack00

Ssooooooo awesome! Thanks for answering! Could we see a few more pics of males and females when you get the chance?


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## snowflake311

I love that MG males fins. Your females are so round. They look good .


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## Kiara1125

How much are you selling them for? How much will they be when you add in the costs for shipping and heat packs?


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## Aluka

fish will probably run 5-15, with discount for pairs, and sorority packs. Shipping will be $10 + $2 for heat pack for up to 3 bettas, then i think i can use the medium flat rate box, which will be $13 +$2 Heat pack for up to 6 i think. I'll have to test space to be 100% sure. There will be some free for adoption with purchase. They will be the ones with slight flaws, healthy but deformed, or bad coloring, etc etc.


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## Kiara1125

So how much would it be, shipping included, if I decided to get a male like the one that you posted? Also, do you accept through PayPal?


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## Aluka

this will be paypal only, a really nice male will probably end up as 27 shipped with a heat pack and insulated box.


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## Kiara1125

Alright, so you can consider me as a buyer.  Are you breeding in the future? I REALLY want one of these males, but I'm moving in 2 weeks and going away from home for 6 months. I have the room at the other place for one, so I could take him with me.


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## zackcrack00

Definitely considering buying after Christmas, if I can set up my fishroom. Thanks for the help! Would love to see a few more pics if you get the chance!!!


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## BlueLacee

They are so pretty!!! I want one but I am not set up to have one. I like that you followed the thread all the way through, most people drop out just as they start to show the tinniest bit of color


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## Champion Betta

Yay! I've been missing for a while... Great to hear you will ship them after Christmas! You've snagged me :-D I can't wait to get my hands on one!


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## Aluka

I am starting to love this little bugger, he is a cellophane with some white patches, he is getting slightly more each week. He's probably gonna become one of those ghost bettas with a white burst and clear edges!

He is a pain to photograph, lol mostly cause i accidently let some food fall into the display tank and he keeps eating instead of flaring =/ He is not flaring in both those pictures, but he looks pretty good just normal =)


















Here is a few more "mustard" gas, these have lighter blue than the other ones i have shown so far, I quite like the royal blue over the navy. I think this is 4 different ones? i forgot, lol They refuse to flare at the mirror because of the food so i had to photograph them together. Its one boy and one girl, i know cause they are flirt swimming instead of head to head flaring or chasing. =/ both have egg spots. Plakats =< *shakes fist in the air*



































Here's a red one with the perfect black rims on her fins.









Here's a special needs koi, he will be likely adopted out. He is gaining more and more color patches, but he was a pig in the grow out. So he had permanent swim badder issues. He eats and swims around fine, just when he stops swimming he doesn't hover like other bettas, he falls to the bottom =<. He likes to lay on his moss tho.


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## TruongLN

Your babies are looking amazing!


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## Champion Betta

They are so beautiful!


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## dramaqueen

They turned out very nice!


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## Aluka

As promised i started taking offical pictures of my bettas. i am going to upload them into a public album so you guys can see, but first what will you guys prefer?

1. Raw picture









2. Cropped picture, framed, watermark









3. Framed, watermarked.







\

I'm not gonna edit them any more than that, mostly because i have no clue how to mess with contrast or sharpness. I bet you can tell by my earlier pictures that i have photography skill of a 8 year old =(. Anyways any preference?

Oh btw here is the link to the album the pictures will go into. Its a public facebook album, you do not need a facebook to see the picture, nor do you need to log in or add me or anything. (you can add me if you like, lol). Pictures will slowly go up as i take them over the course of this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.624070917630047.1073741831.100000814338942&type=1&l=0a2d32099c

The fish in them will be on sale as soon as the picture is up and a price and info is typed. You can pre-order/reserve a fish if you guarantee you will pay for it when you are ready/pay for it before shipping date. I will not ship any fish until the first Monday after new years to avoid all holiday shipping traffic. More shipping details will be added here and to the album later. =)


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## TruongLN

The frame is kind of weird in my opinion, maybe raw and water mark would look good?


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## Chachi

I like the 2nd one....with it begin cropped you can see the fish better IMO.


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## Aluka

Here's some pictures i have added:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.624070917630047.1073741831.100000814338942&type=1&l=0a2d32099c

The facebook album has the prices listed. You dont need a facebook or have to be log in to see the pictures.


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## Champion Betta

Yay!
I personally like the fish in photos 12 and 16, i am very excited to see the rest! One or two will come to me...without a doubt!


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## Champion Betta

I like F07 and M04....I'll go count my money


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## Aluka

Sorry more pictures should have been up, but i have been sick since christmas. Stupid cold so hard to fight.

I will be spending all day tomorrow taking pictures. so more will be up. =)!


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## Aluka

More pictures are up, some are being grabbed. So reserve urs before someone buys it.


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## ynahanson

I want some.....oh I cant im in Canada! Sucks


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## Aluka

More pictures added. Prices and details are in the facebook album. You don't need to be logged in or have a facebook to look at it.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.624070917630047.1073741831.100000814338942&type=1&l=0a2d32099c


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## dramaqueen

Very pretty!


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## Aluka

23 bettas sold/pending =)!


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## Aluka

ahhh M01 sold=( I was very temped to keep him. He is marbling like a beautiful little man he is..


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## Champion Betta

Love them!


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## Aluka

I might have lost count how many i have sold, most of them were local since i have been busy.

Heres a video of about 10 =D. 
http://youtu.be/sGwrLDn4F2U


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## rylovesriska

I love #7 in the above post, he is GORGEOUS!!!


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