# Fall Spawn



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I've got everything ready so I think this weekend I'll be doing some spawns. I'm going to be doing two again but will probably mix the fry later on instead of keeping two separate spawning and growout tanks.

This time I'll be using 2 20 quart plastic bins as my spawning tanks. They're about the size of 5 gallon tanks. 50w heaters, no light (besides room light), java moss, and IAL.

One pair will be my Blue MG/Melano geno pair 
Male: Tallahassee








Female: Myrtle









This pair bred by Martinismommy (Karen MacAuely). They should produce Mustard Gas, Melano, and Multicolors.

I haven't decided who the second pair will be just yet. I'm either going to do Prince (fish in my avatar) with Nancy (multicolor HM) or Bowie (new Multicolor BF) with Lilly (pastel HM from multicolor lines). Either pair will produce multicolors and butterflies, however the second pair has higher quality fins.

The pairs should be going in the tanks tomorrow night so hopefully we'll have spawns by next week


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Good luck! you are gonna get some awesome coulored fry!!


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Good luck!
I really like your pair.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Good luck!!! Keep us posted.


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## peaches3221 (Jun 1, 2010)

wow! those are gonna be some nice looking fry!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I think the second pair I will do is going to be Prince and Nancy...
Male (from Bettysplendens)..









Female...










The blue pair are siblings so I'm pretty positive on what I'll get. The second pair are non-sibs and not related in any way so they should throw some surprises


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm definitely interested in a pair.


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

They look great, good luck!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Wait are the oens from Martinismommy from her multi line?? I'd love a love pair of those guys


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

All of martinismommy's fish come from multicolor lines. This specific line produces mainly mustard gas, melano, and multis.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

1fish2fish said:


> All of martinismommy's fish come from multicolor lines. This specific line produces mainly mustard gas, melano, and multis.


 I'm really interested in a pair hehe.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Best of luck with these spawns! They look like they'll produce beautiful offspring.


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

GORGEOUS!!
I vote for the second pair!! I like surprises!!
How will you be able to be absolutely sure of what fry belongs to what pair by mixing the fry in the growout tank?
Hey! We could trade fish when the fish of my new fish are old enough! I got a sibling male to yours and 3 half siblings!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I won't really know but honestly I'm not expecting to get many fry seeing as how my last attempt at raising a spawn was such a total failure. I'll be happy with 10 or so fry.

I'm still not certain that I'll mix the fry but if I do I'll just have to guess at who the parents are. I won't be asking much money for them anyways so taking the extra time to keep them separate is not a big priority for me right now. I do know that I'll be keeping the melanos (if I get any) for myself because that is what I really want to work on. I'll probably keep at least 1 pair per spawn.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

This may be a dumb question but what color are melanos?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

They are "true" blacks. A perfect melano would be completely black with no iridescence, however, because melano females are sterile you have to mix melano males with blue females so they usually have a shiny layer on their bodies.

Here's a melano..










ETA.. here's a clearer picture of a melano..









http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1285339013


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Want.


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

Also want.

There was a 'black' HM at petco today, but couldn't get a close enough look at him to see any of that.. wish I had now. xD


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I want to start a black line soon. But for now it's blue dragons and in a few months white platinums.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Bad news  Nancy is pine coned. I have no idea what happened she looked fine to me yesterday. I must have mistaken her "eggy-ness" when it was really bloat. I'm going to euthanize her. Now I'm going to have to treat my entire sorority.

I won't be spawning Prince now. I'll be spawning Bowie (BF multi) with Lilly (Pastel multi sib).


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Oh no 
I'm so sorry.
I just lost a fish to dropsy as well.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

There's something sneaky and nasty going around, I swear.  I'm sorry Jackie! That sucks.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

She's gone  I'm going to keep an eye on my sorority and add extra water changes for a little while to try to keep them as healthy as possible. I'm also throwing out my frozen blood worms and the pellet mixture I'd been feeding. Loosing two fish in two weeks is not acceptable to me.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

:'( Hope your fish get better!!!!!


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## Capricorn (Sep 4, 2010)

Sorry to hear that. :c


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah.. that was a wrench in the works. I've decided to put off spawning for another week. I have way too much stuff going on tomorrow to try to keep an eye on breeders. I'll put them in next Friday.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

1fish2fish said:


> Yeah.. that was a wrench in the works. I've decided to put off spawning for another week. I have way too much stuff going on tomorrow to try to keep an eye on breeders. I'll put them in next Friday.


 My best spawns happened when I was gone


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm about to set up my tubs. They are 20 quarts so about the size of a 5 gallon tank. I'm going to add java moss and IAL as usual. This time I'm going to try a higher temp of 86*F

Both females are ready to pop and daily flirt sessions has one of the males making a small bubblenest in his jar so hopefully that is a good sign that the spawn will be quick.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Good luck!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Good luck and keep us posted. Hopefully your pair will get right down to business.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The tanks have been set up for almost 2 hours now.. so far no bubblenesting. I have IAL and a lid in there as possible nesting sites. I can't find my bubblewrap right now so hopefully they'll choose one of the other options. The lights are off now so I doubt they'll do any nesting tonight.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Just got up about half an hour ago and we have two small nests :-D Bowie made his under the lid like a good boy... Tallahassee wanted to show Myrtle how good a nest he builds so his is right next to her cup over all the java moss >.< I'll move the moss to the other side of the tank before I release her so no eggs get tangled up in it.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Congrats!
Are your males little show-offs for the females?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

They were last night.. now they're hanging out under the IAL mostly and only occasionally going over to say hi. I think Tallahassee might be making a new bubblenest under the lid.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Sounds good!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The nests are a little bigger but so far no eggs. Lilly has one nip in her anal fin and is camped out in the java moss while Bowie is on patrol. Myrtle and Tallahassee are fine, Tallahassee has blown more of his fins from all the flaring but that's no biggie.

I don't think they're going to spawn tonight.. most likely tomorrow morning.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Good luck Jackie!!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I just realized I never posted pics of the second pair. Since Nancy died (r.i.p.) I decided not to use Prince and go with the other pair I got from Martinismommy.

This is Bowie.. not the best picture but it shows his color well enough..










And Lilly Vanilly.











I'm pretty sure Lilly has some marble genes in her so I'm in for some interesting fry with great fins!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I'm getting descendents of Martinismommys fish from a local breeder....I'm so excited!!!! I really wanna see how these fry turn out 

Good luck with the spawns!!


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Lilly Vanilly? That's the cutest freakin' name!  Good luck Jackie!!!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

vaygirl said:


> Lilly Vanilly? That's the cutest freakin' name!  Good luck Jackie!!!


lol! Yes it IS a cute name. I think I'd like a pair from this spawn.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

My prediction skills are dead on  

When I got up (just a little while ago), Tallahassee and Myrtle were under the nest. After a few failed attempts at embracing they finally got one. Problem is Tallahassee didn't retrieve the eggs from the bottom, neither did Myrtle. Right now Tallahassee is working on his nest and Myrtle is swimming around.

Bowie and Lilly still haven't spawned but they're getting close.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Congrats Jackie!

I wonder what's going to happen with the eggs since they're being left on the bottom.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well they finally got their act together and put all the eggs in the nest. There are a BUNCH already and they're not nearly done. I think this is going to be a nice big spawn :-D

Bowie and Lilly are still nipping and chasing. Lilly snuck up behind him.. looked at his tail fin and then opened here mouth as wide as it would go and snapped LOL I could literally see her thought process. Maybe he shouldn't be suck a jerk.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Lol at Lilly. I wish my female would be like that. I already had two failed attempts because she's way too nice.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah both these females are pretty straight forward. IME the more aggressive the female is the better a breeder she is. The females I've had that are timid just seem to take longer to spawn.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think that was Lilly's way of telling Bowie to get the show on the road! lol Congrats on the other spawn.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I think Tallahassee and Myrtle are finished but I'm leaving her in there a little longer just to be sure. She still has her bars but Tallahassee is chasing her off. There are a LOT of eggs in the nest.

Still nothing from Bowie and Lilly. Its only been a day though.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I agree with you on aggresive females....they can stick up for themselves and tell him who's boss lol.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

MrVampire181 said:


> I agree with you on aggresive females....they can stick up for themselves and tell him who's boss lol.


 
lol! I agree!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Woo! I'm pretty sure I see eggs in Bowie's nest. Both females are hiding so I'm going to go ahead and remove them.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Yay! Congrats on eggies.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yay!!!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Bad news. It seems I didn't get the female out of the tank fast enough. Myrtle apparently got tired of hiding and gave Tallahasee a good beating. I found her under the nest and him in the opposite corner missing lots of fins and scales. I'm not sure if she ate any of the eggs but there are still some in there. 

I'm hoping Tallahasee makes it. I can't do anything tonight that would be any better than what he is in right now. The tank is 82*F and has two big IAL in the bottom. Tomorrow if he still looks bad I'll take him out and get him into some medicated water. If he looks like he can handle it I'm going to try to leave him in the tank. If he abandons the nest the eggs might fungus.

Bowie and Lilly are fine but I took Lilly out as a precaution.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh, no! I'm sorry about Tallahassee. I hope he'll be ok!


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Sorry about Tallahasee. Hope he makes it.
If he can't tend to the eggs, move the eggs to a small and shallow plastic bowl. 5cm/2" of water is enough. Float the bowl in the heated tank and use covers over the tank. Not all will survive but if they're good eggs, most will. After 24 hours remove the eggs that didn't hatch. After they are free swimming or 3 days after hatching, slowly acclimate the bowl water to the tank water and release them. .... Oh, move Tallahasee of course.

After 24 hours








Unhatched eggs








After 48 hours (today)









I hope everything goes well.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

He's slightly better this morning. I'm going to go ahead and leave him with his babies until they're free swimming. They hatched today, I can't get a good count because these plastic bins aren't clear enough but I counted at least 10 from the part I could see.

Surprisingly enough, Bowie's eggs have hatched too. They must have spawned earlier than I thought.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Yay!! Congrats Jackie!!

I wish my pair was as quick as your pairs..  Mine are just dottling around... LOL


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad Tallahassee is better.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Day 2...

Well things aren't looking so good for the Blue Babies. There seems to be some sort of fungus or rotten fry where the nest was originally. I'm not sure what it is. After getting pummeled, Tallahassee abandoned the nest and made two very small ones in different corners. I only saw two fry today. I'm just hoping that more fry are hiding in the java moss or I just missed them. It doesn't look like Tallahassee ate them but I can't be certain. I'll begin adding vinegar eels tomorrow. If I can't find any fry after 7 days I'll call it a wash and will re-condition the breeders for a month and then re-attempt the spawn.

Tallahassee is doing much better. No longer lethargic or stressed. I'm going to remove him tomorrow and get him into some medicated water to help him recover faster. 


On a good note, Bowie's Babies are doing great! I saw a good amount of wigglers (at least 50) and Bowie is doing an excellent job of maintaining his nest and taking care of his babies. I'm very happy with him :-D I think I'm going to try to leave him in the spawning tank as long as possible, as long as he will eat food and doesn't seem to be snacking on fry I'll leave him be.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Great!!! I always admire good fathers.....amazing dedication. Never fails to amaze me.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

After the fiasco with Rio I'm so happy to have another good father again, even if he was hard to breed 

I'm pleasantly surprised that only 1.5 days after hatching I'm already seeing some horizontal swimming. I'm going to start feeding sparingly tomorrow. On Saturday I'll begin feeding more regularly. First water change next Tuesday or Wednesday.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I usually get free swimming the day after hatching...that's why I start my hatchery so soon.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Congrats on the fry!
I wonder what's wrong with the blue fry. :/

And good for Bowie  lol 
Can't wait to see the outcome of these spawns.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks 

I'm not sure what is up with the blue fry. I don't know what the stuff is and unfortunately I can't get a clear picture because the plastic tub is makes the picture too fuzzy.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm sorry about the blue fry. I'm glad Bowie is being such a good daddy.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I just checked again and saw 3 fry in one of the new nests that Tallahassee made. If after a week I don't see more than 20 I'm just going to put the fry in Bowie's tank. It's not worth trying to clean two fry tanks when there are only 3 fry.

There are a LOT of fry in Bowie's tank. I counted at least 20 stuck on the heater alone! When I gave him a pellet he spit out 5 fry LOL


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Day 3.. 

I still only see 3 fry in Tallahassee's tank. If I don't see more by next Tuesday (Day 8), I'm going to move those fry into the other tank.

Not all the fry are swimming horizontally yet so I'm not going to feed today. There should be a lot of good critters in the java moss for the few that are horizontal. I'm going to see if I can get a couple free snails from my LFS to put in the tanks.

Bowie's fins are healing very nicely so I'm not worried about getting him out of the spawning tank quickly. Tallahassee has a lot of damage so I'll be setting up a tank for him today, he's not really fathering his babies anyways so there's no reason for him to be in the tank.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Day 5...

I took Tallahassee out today. He is now in a 3 gallon hospital tank with aquarium salt, stress coat, and a few drops of Maroxy to prevent any infection. He is active so hopefully his fins will heal. I'll be keeping him conditioned by feeding him mainly frozen foods and will probably attempt another spawn in a month or so, this time I'll be removing the female immediately after spawning.

After two hours of painstakingly picking through the java moss I only managed to find 3 of his fry to transfer into Bowie's tank. I know there is at least one more fry in there but he's playing hard to get. 

Bowie's fry are doing well. I managed to see 4 fat babies in the java moss and I'm sure there are more. I've been gut loading Bowie to prevent him from eating the fry but I still think I'm going to take him out just to be on the safe side. I'm just going to wait a few days.

So far I've only fed the fry non-live foods. I know there should be plenty of critters in the java moss for them but I've been supplementing with Hikari First Bites and today I tried out Hikari Frozen BBS. I saw one fry gobbling this up so I'll probably continue using it, though not every day. I'm going to start feeding primarily vinegar eels, micro worms, and walter worms tomorrow. 

Next week I'll start doing small daily water changes, only taking out a gallon or so to keep the bottom clear of old food. After 2 weeks I'll start doing much larger 50-75% changes and begin slowly removing the java moss.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

So you have a total of how many? Eight?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I have more than that in Bowie's tank. I only saw 4 but I wasn't looking very hard. They're all hiding out in the java moss. I think there is at least 20-30 in Bowie's tank, probably more.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh, good! I'm interested in buying a pair from Bowie's spawn.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Day 6....

I found two more blue babies, bringing the total to 5. The tank is still set up but I haven't seen any more fry, I'll be draining the water tomorrow and looking carefully for any more.

Tomorrow I'll be doing the first water change on the other tank and removing Bowie. He doesn't have much damage but I think a week or two in the hospital tank will help his fins heal much faster. 

Starting with tomorrow's water change I'll only be changing about 1/2-1 gallon daily, just enough to remove any uneaten food. Next week I'll begin doing 50%-75% water changes daily.

Right now I'm feeding a mixture of Frozen BBS, Hikari First Bites, and live foods. I'm very happy to see that the fry seem to have taken well to the frozen BBS. Its hard to see the fry since most of them hide in the java moss but the ones I do see are nice and fat and growing well.

I'll try to find my camera tomorrow. I'm not sure if I can even get pics of the babies right now but I'll do my best.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Cant wait for pictures! So glad to hear this is going well for you!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Me, too!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Day 7..

I do have one semi-good picture. I'll try to remember to upload it tomorrow.

Fry are doing well. They're much bigger than my previous fry were at this age. I wonder if the IAL had something to do with it? 

There don't seem to be very many fry. I'd estimate there's probably not more than 20 in there judging by how many I see on a regular basis. I really don't mind the small spawn because it means less competition. I'm not planning on keeping any of these fry unless I get some stunners.

Once these fry go into my grow out tank I'll do another spawn with the same breeders.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Hmm I doubt IAL had anything to do with it. Temps play a big role and water quality plays an even bigger part. I'm doing 12 gallon water changes on my 16.5 gallon daily and my fry are gettin huge!


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

wow, it sounds like things are going relatively well with these spawns. Any updates ?


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I'm so excited!  I'm glad they're doing well.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Sorry I've been kinda busy this past week. I haven't even been near a computer until just now LOL

The babies are doing well. They're growing fast  I'm only able to feed them twice a day most days but I always end up siphoning uneaten food off the bottom and everyone is nice and fat so I know they're getting enough.

I went home for an impromptu fall break yesterday so I did my first big water change a little early. I siphoned the bottom and then removed about 70% of the water from the top and replaced it with fresh water. I then dumped a whole bunch of vinegar eels in the tank to last them until I return either tomorrow night or early Tuesday. Vinegar eels can live in the tank for a few days before dying so they won't foul the water and the babies will have enough to keep them fed until I get back.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad to hear that they're doing well. I'm sure they'll munch those vinegar eels right up. lol


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## MadDogAcey (Oct 11, 2010)

Wow. This was a fun and educational thread. I can't wait to see pictures!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

PICS!!!

The fry are two weeks old today and growing really fast! I can't wait for them to start getting some color :-D




















This guy or gal is HUGE. I can always pick him out because he is so much bigger than the others.























































This is not all of the fry. I just scooped 5 out to get pics. I'll try to do a better count when I do tonight's water change. I still don't think there's more than 20 if that, which is good for me because I can just jar them all instead of setting up a grow out tank, which means better fins.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Naww! They look great! So adorable. Congrats!


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

Wow, this is awesome. I don't know if it's just me, but in the last picture, it looks like the fry has a bit of blue coloring.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Wow they're getting pretty big for their size!
Good job with them!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

They are definitely big, way bigger than my previous fry were at this age. I'm hoping that they'll continue to grow at this rate.. who knows.. I could have an F2 by January!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They are adorable!!!


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## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

D'awww! They're so cute!
Congrats


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

DANG!! 2 weeks!! My 1 monthers are that size...and I'm power growing them!

Keep up the good work! I may be interested in a pair


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I can't wait to get a pair!


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

WOW! After only 2 weeks? D= That's awesome! =D


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## crownie (Apr 27, 2010)

Just read the whole thread! I'm sorry about your girl fish, Nancy  So excited to see how the fry grow! Keep up the good work ^-^


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## MadDogAcey (Oct 11, 2010)

I love the pics! I'm sure there are other pics like that on the forums but that's the first time I've really seen them that small. BAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Oh, they're SO cute! I love them.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yesterday I picked through and removed all the java moss and carefully took out each fry and put them in a smaller tank while I did a cleaning. My current baby total is 15. I think leaving Bowie with them was a great idea because all 15 of them are roughly the same size and all very fat and healthy. I really hope they all make it. My original goal was at least 10 raised to adulthood so I'll be ecstatic if all 15 make it.

They don't have much color yet, I did notice a blueish sheen on one of the fry when I used my flashlight and a pearly white sheen on another. I find it very interesting that about 5-7 of the fry are darkish gray colored and the rest are whitish. I'm hoping that the ones that are darker in color are the 5 survivors of the Blue spawn, although it probably just means that the light ones will be light bodied and the dark ones dark bodied.

They'll be 3 weeks old on Tuesday







I'll try to get some pictures of them every week to show how they're growing.


The name for this spawn is "The Caspers" LOL.. My roommate said they all look like little ghost fish so we're calling them Caspers 1-15


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## BettaBoy84 (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow, awesome to see this progress! Amazing size for their age too...I would love to hear your water and food info...

Keep it up! Look froward to seeing more pics!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I change roughly 75% of the water daily or every other day (depending on my schedule). I keep two large IAL in the tank and use prime as my conditioner. I don't age my water.

Right now I'm feeding mainly frozen BBS. I usually feed two thawed blocks in the morning and vinegar eels or micro/walter worms at night. Sometimes I feed only once a day (again, depending on my schedule). 

I keep the lid of the tank on all the time except for feeding and water changes and I keep the temperature around 84-86*F


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Massive water changes + good food = huge fry 

Keep up the good work!!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Today was week 3. I did get pics but they have to wait until my laptop is fixed... Can't upload them with mu blackberry. All 15 are doing quite well and I already have my eye on a few that I'm considering keeping


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Glad to hear they're all doing well


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Please tell me you're keeping that huge guy/girl! Can't wait to see what he/she ends up looking like!


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Good to hear them make it. How big are they?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

The one I really like right now is one of the big ones he's dark bodied and is starting to get a little bluish iridescence to him. I know its too early to be looking at fin structure but I'm really liking his fins so far. 

They're averaging in size of about .75 centimeters right now... Maybe a little more or less. Basically they're almost as long as the width of my finger.

I noticed some of the fry have smaller fins than the others, particularly in dorsals... I wonder if those will turnout to be female. I guess I'll know in another month


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Can't wait to see how they turn out!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They're going to be beautiful!!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Today the babies are 1 month old!

My computer is still broken so alas, no pictures but all 15 are doing well. The biggest ones are about 1 cm long. They didn't seem to grow very much this past week but I suspect that my having the flu and being extremely lax on water changes and feeding is the cause of that. This week will be business as usual so hopefully they'll continue growing well.

I am just beginning to see a little color come in on the dark colored fish. I have a feeling that all the light bodied fry will be pastels which is kind of a let down for me but I know they'll sell easily. I believe at least one of the dark bodied fry will be an MG and another a blue/red multicolor like Bowie so I definitely should have some fry I'm interested in keeping.

If I get a male pastel I may even breed him back to lilly even though I don't really like pastels much. She has awesome fins and I would like to continue those.

I will hopefully be setting up my spare 12 gallon tank as a growout within the next week or so. I need to buy a heater and hopefully a sponge filter for it so its going to depend on how long it takes me to get the money together.

In another 4 weeks I should probably begin jarring males (hopefully) and leaving the females in the 12 gallon. By January or February these guys should be ready to find their new homes (as long as they continue to grow at this rate).

I do have one runt of the litter. A little light bodied fry who is about half the size of my huge guys. I'm hoping she is just a late bloomer but if not I have plenty of adoptive homes lined up.


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## PeggyJ (Oct 15, 2010)

That is the truth!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

My laptop is finally fixed so I can post the week 3 and week 4 pictures! Next pic update will be Tuesday, they'll be 5 weeks old.

Week 3.. sorry if they're a little blurry.. I did my best to edit them and make them clear.
























































Week 4.





































My Biggun'


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Bahaha, i love the way they look when their that young.

The funnest part is still ahead, when all their colors start blossoming all over the fry.

its so awesome to check in on them from a day to day basis, and see the changes in color/size that they go through in such a short time.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They are sooo cute!!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Eek!! We have our first colors!!!

I did a 100% change on the tank tonight because I hadn't done a change in a couple days (been working and had a LOT of school work). Anyways I took all the fry out and put them in a critter keeper and put the light on it to get a count (still have all 15 :-D) and noticed one of the big fry has a lot of red on his anal fin!

This guy is the fry I mentioned REALLY liking a week or two ago. His fins are developing really nicely IMO. I can't wait to see him continue to gain color.

One of the light colored fry also has a tiny hint of red on its anal fin as well so maybe they won't all turn out to be pastels after all!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They're going to be awesome looking!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

*Week 5*

Another Tuesday has come and gone.. so you know what that means.. baby update time!!

The babies are doing well. I have a few stragglers who aren't growing as fast as the the others. Many of the babies have begun to develop color and I can tell that I'm going to have quite a few butterflies  I don't think any of the surviving fry are from Tallahassee's spawn but that's ok, I'll be conditioning them for another spawn in the upcoming weeks.

The babies are getting much easier to photograph now that they are bigger so I have LOTS of pics tonight. Enjoy!










See the ventrals?









Weird angle.. it's topline does not look that bad actually.









See the butterfly pattern coming in on the anal fin?


















This is my favorite pic! Baby face!!!













































The rest are from a few days ago when I was taking pictures of some of the other fish.


















This is my biggest guy, he's been huge since day 1. This is a weird angle that makes his shape look weird. He's also fat.









This is the fry I've had my eye on for the past few weeks. He was the first to color up and looks like he'll have nice fins. I may be holding him back for breeding if he continues to develop nicely.


















I also have a video that I'm uploading right now. I'll post it once it's finished.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Wow!
I'm really impressed with the growth of this spawn.I really like the colors they're showing already.
Good job!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Man, are they beautiful!!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Dang your doin an awesome job!! If you have a pair you want to get off your hands I'm interested


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Well I'll be holding back the two best males and hopefully the two best females depending on how many I get. I may keep three males depending on the variety I get color wise. I'm really hoping for a male/female pair that look like Bowie (multicolor BF) and a male Pastel. I'm also hoping to get MG or MG butterflies. The ones I don't keep will be put up for sale probably around late January. I have two people earmarked for first dibs but after that its first come first served 

The two previous weeks when I was sick with the flu I didn't feed and water change normally (because I was too tired to even get out of bed most days) this past week I've done daily feedings and daily water changes, I've also doubled the amount of food I've been feeding so the fry really grew a lot in the past week.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Oh. my. god. They are getting so cute! I can only imagine how adorable they are in person! Great job!


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

They're beautiful Jackie! <3


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## Neelie (Feb 18, 2010)

wow!!! i love them! fantastic success!!! please keep us updated!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

*Week 6*

No pictures today because I have a huge test to study for. I took pictures of each fry individually on Sunday night that I'll try to upload and post soon.

All the babies are doing well. I'm starting to get an idea of who I think is male and who is female but I'm not certain yet. It will probably be at least another two weeks before I can really tell. I have a decent idea of who I want to keep so far but that will probably change in the coming weeks. They have another 4-6 weeks to grow before I even consider picking ones to keep and sell.

Right now they are still in the 5 gallon spawn tank. I'm still waiting on the heater and sponge filter to come in so I can set up a larger tank. Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow and I can hurry up and get it cycled and ready.

The fry are all pretty much the same size. I have two really big ones and one that is really small, over half the size of the biggest ones. Once I get the grow out set up I think I might take the little one and put "her" in her own 1-2 gallon tank so she can have plenty of room to grow and eat.

Right now I'm feeding a mixture of frozen daphnia, frozen BBS, and NLS grow. I'm slowly phasing out the BBS for the larger and more protien filled daphnia but with that little fry hanging around I want to make sure there is still food small enough for her to eat. Some of the fry will take the NLS grow but most ignore it. I'm not going to worry about switching them over to dry foods completely until they're closer to sale size.

Everyone is starting to get color now. I still have some light bodied fry that I think will turn out to be pastel but I also have butterflies, multicolors, MG, and even a few marbles I think. One fry seems to have an orange marble color to its fins. I'm curious to see how it turns out.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh my gosh, they sound beautiful!


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

i also have two week old frys! so it means they will be this size when they are at 5 week old. hope you get nice bettas from your spawn!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

They may or may not be that size when they reach 5 weeks. Growth depends on how clean you keep the water, what temperature the water is, and how much you feed.

I keep my tank at about 84*F, do daily water changes of 50-75% (sometimes even 100%), and feed enough food that my fry always have big round tummies.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

The warmer you keep them, the cleaner you keep them, and the more you feed them will make them grow much faster.


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## leeb62 (Oct 22, 2010)

So can any1 tell me what type of heater you guys are using for your betta spawn tank and where you got your heater from? I'm using a wal-mart heater









It only heats the water up to 78 degree and it stays at that temperature constantly. I was wondering if this was the reason all my fries died out? I been feeding them baby brine shrimp, but it seems like they couldn't swim straight like all the baby fries i see on the youtube video. They were probably all deformed baby?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

What size is your tank?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I use that heater in spawn tanks. I like it because it dosen't need adjusting and fluctuates a little (which kills off weaker fry but keeps the strong ones healthy and gets them used to changing conditions they may experience later on). My guess is that you overdid your BBS and gave them swim bladder disorder.


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

my water is relatively warm the whole day since i live in the tropics. and i never see the frys with small tummies, so i guess they are always full.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I prefer adjustable heaters. The one I'm using currently is a 50w topfin heater and in my growout tank will be a hydor theo (also 50w). As I've said before I like warmer temperatures for spawning and raising fry so I need a heater that has enough power to keep my tanks warm. Keeping the plastic lid on the tub also helps keep the humidity in.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I'm retiring most of my presets to my pet bettas/spawning pair tanks and using my adjustables since it's getting quite cold here (just had our first snow storm).


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

Yuck... If it's snowing in CO it's only a matter of time before it hits us in Nebraska.


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## leeb62 (Oct 22, 2010)

1fish2fish said:


> I prefer adjustable heaters. The one I'm using currently is a 50w topfin heater and in my growout tank will be a hydor theo (also 50w). As I've said before I like warmer temperatures for spawning and raising fry so I need a heater that has enough power to keep my tanks warm. Keeping the plastic lid on the tub also helps keep the humidity in.


 
I have a adjustable one, but it just keeps heating the tank because it doesn't auto shut at the right temperature for tropical fish. That one will fry my fish so i'm just using the one from wal-mart atm. Does the one you have shut off at the temperature you set it at?


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## leeb62 (Oct 22, 2010)

dramaqueen said:


> What size is your tank?


 
Its a little bigger than a 10 gallon fish tank and i had the plastic tub filled up to 5 inches of water.


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## leeb62 (Oct 22, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> I use that heater in spawn tanks. I like it because it dosen't need adjusting and fluctuates a little (which kills off weaker fry but keeps the strong ones healthy and gets them used to changing conditions they may experience later on). My guess is that you overdid your BBS and gave them swim bladder disorder.


I might have overdid my bbs, but I have no clue if they even ate the bbs because they all just sat at the bottom of the tank and some of them would swim around in a circle only its like they can't swim straight so they might be deform. I only saw like 15 frys when they all hatch.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Adjustable heaters are supposed to keep the tank at a constant temperature by turning on and off. If yours doesn't turn off it must be defective.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Yup it's defective. I threw my defective into a 2 gallon with a few inches of water and used some McCafe cups as BBS hatcheries and get hatching must faster (it keeps the tank like 93*).


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

We have had breeders here who have lost spawns due to faulty heaters so my advice would be to get a good quality heater for spawning.


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## PeggyJ (Oct 15, 2010)

My breeding tank is inside, and I have a large (55 gal) outside as well as a small 1.5 gal..... since I am in Florida, I dont have alot of months to worry about the cold, but I too have had one of those faulty heaters. They are a pain. I also cover my outside tanks with old sheets or towels at night just to keep the heat in. We sometimes get down in the 30's at night. In the summer though, I have the opposite problem.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I know I'm like a week late but here are the Week 6 photos. Tomorrow I'll get just a few group pics for week 7.

The growout tank. I'm slowly filling this to the top. I didn't want to dump the fry who are used to 10 inches of water into 18 in without giving them time to adjust.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They are BEAUTIFUL!!!


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Wow! The fry look like they are going to be AMAZING when they grow up. 

How many do you have left?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Thanks 

I still have all 15. I think in the next week or two I'm going to start seeing who the males are. I already have one or two that look like they may start getting aggressive towards their sibs.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

They're so cute! They look great Jackie.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Sorry for not updating in a while. I've been crazy busy.

The babies are doing great. They'll be two months old on tuesday! I'll try my best to get pictures but no guarantees because next week is going to be just as hectic as this past week.

I already have two that I know I'm keeping. One is an MG and looks like he might become a butterfly also. I think it's a male but I'm not certain yet. He is "biggun" for all of you who have been following the thread. The biggest one of the spawn. The other one I'm keeping I think is a female (but again, not certain). She has a pastel body but I think she is going to have a yellow and white butterfly pattern. She's looking really nice! 

I'm hoping to keep 4 from the spawn so we'll see how the rest continue to mature. I have one who I think will be a cull but I have plenty of non-breeding homes lined up for her.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

EEEKKK!!! OMG.. Biggun just flared for the first time. I think I might die from cuteness overload. Plus, this might mean that he's a male!!!

Pictures coming tonight.


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

Wow, congrats 1F2F , he sounds adorable! Can't wait for pictures.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I bet it IS a male and he thinks he's Joe stud! lol


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I managed to get pictures of 7 of them before I couldn't remember who I had gotten pics of and who I hadn't LOL. That's what I get for putting them back in the tank instead of taking them out one by one until I had pictures of everyone.

I just have a couple more tanks to finish cleaning so I'm going to try my hardest to post the pictures.

I'm a little concerned because I noticed that some of the fry seem a little hunch backed. I'm not going to fret too much until they're fully grown but if they are they won't be suitable for breeding and I'll have to sell them as pet only... which means finding responsible, honest people on my part and not ones who will buy the fish and then turn around and breed them.


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## Astro277 (Jul 18, 2010)

Im glad your looking for hunched backs. Finding out that the breeder fish you was sold is unbreed able later on is not fun  
luckily though i sold all 4 and made just enough to cover the cost of shipping that i lost.

There soo cute btw! :3


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah, I definitely do not want any deformed fish or fish with bad genetics going out. This just served to remind me that I REALLY need an outcross because these fish are really line bred and I can only probably breed them for one or two more generations (at most) before I start getting some really bad issues.

Going to talk with my Mom about the possiblility of getting me some Thai fish for a late Christmas present since MartinisMommy is pretty much the only seller with decent Multis in the US LOL

And Thank you  I love these kids. They're so much fun to watch and are starting to show their own little personalities.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm definitely not going to breed mine. My living situation prevents that.


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

1fish2fish said:


> *Yeah, I definitely do not want any deformed fish or fish with bad genetics going out. This just served to remind me that I REALLY need an outcross because these fish are really line bred and I can only probably breed them for one or two more generations (at most) before I start getting some really bad issues.*
> 
> Going to talk with my Mom about the possiblility of getting me some Thai fish for a late Christmas present since MartinisMommy is pretty much the only seller with decent Multis in the US LOL
> 
> And Thank you  I love these kids. They're so much fun to watch and are starting to show their own little personalities.


That kind of worries me as well, since my fish come from the same line. I have been thinking about outcrossing on the next generation with my HM fry. Then just keep breeding siblings until I need another outcross...


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Your first on my list DQ just as soon as I figure out who is breeder worthy and who is pet worthy 

I think if I could get one unrelated male and one unrelated female I would be ok for a couple generations. Ideally I would have two unrelated pairs so I could do a lot of switching around.

With my MG/Melano line I'd really like to get an MG male, MG female, Melano male, and a steel blue (melano carrier) female ALL unrelated to each other or my current fish. I could get a decent line started that way.

ETA.. I'm uploading today's pics right now


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

1fish2fish said:


> Your first on my list DQ just as soon as I figure out who is breeder worthy and who is pet worthy
> 
> I think if I could get one unrelated male and one unrelated female I would be ok for a couple generations. Ideally I would have two unrelated pairs so I could do a lot of switching around.
> 
> ...


If you decide to import, there is a seller on Aquabid who almost always has really nice Melanos and MGs. His name on Aquabid is Kaimook15. Here's a link to his auctions if you're interested....

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?disp&viewseller&Kaimook15

As a matter of fact, he's selling a nice Melano male right now.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Hmm.. I'll keep him in mind. I have to wait until after the holidays are over (because I don't want to risk having fish shipped during Christmas time). If I get fish from Thailand I'm going to want to get at least 4 at once (to make shipping worth it). So I'll need to save up at least $100 if not more before I start buying fish.


Now.. on to pictures!! Warning.. this is a complete and total Pic Spam!

Here's Biggun.. 



















FS002 <-- I'm trying to number them all so I can keep track. S/he looks almost like an orange dalmatian but she's probably just a marble.









FS003 Green/Red multicolor with black edging


















FS004 Pastel/yellow



























FS005 Blue/Red multicolor BF (looks purple).


















FS006 Pastel


















FS007 Purpely/Blue BF


















FS008 Pastel/Yellow marble? Female! <-- She was originally one of the two that I was going to hold back but now I'm not so sure. She looks a little hunch backed.




































And here are just a couple randoms from feeding time. Sorry I didn't get individuals of all the babies. Once things settle down a bit I'll get everyone.

This makes my heart melt. They look so much like Lilly </3









Daphnia cube is yummy!!


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## beat2020 (Dec 31, 2009)

Wow they all look great!

Biggun, FS004,and FS005 are my favorites!

BTW Which ones do you think you're going to keep?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Right now the only one I'm keeping for sure is Biggun. He's looking amazing. I'm pretty sure he'll go full HM and he's got a really good looking dorsal.

I'm probably going to jar him at the end of this week or I may give him a few more weeks in the grow out, depending on how much more aggressive he starts to get.

Besides that it's anybody's game. There's another BF who's fins are entirely red who already is showing a really even BF pattern. If he continues to improve I might keep him as well.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I could take the one with the hunch in it's back. I also like the ones that look like Lilly.They're all so cute!


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## leeb62 (Oct 22, 2010)

Nice babies man. Bigguns is pretty as hell. To bad i don't have any frys like yours to show any success still such a noobie I am.


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## PeggyJ (Oct 15, 2010)

i can't see them


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## JaspersANGEL (Oct 12, 2009)

Wow terrific job 1f2f at raising such beauties, if I didn't live so far and wasn't at full capacity *lol* I'd take one from u.
My place is a pet only home!!! *heheheh*


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

*Time to start jarring*

And now the fun really begins...

I now have 4 confirmed males that will need to be jarred soon. Biggun, a light bodied marble, a red based butterfly, and a blue based butterfly.

I saw two of them squaring off and two flaring last night. I'm REALLY happy because all of these males look great! No bent spines, etc.

I managed to catch three of them and put them in cups. I need to go get jars soon. I have mason jars at home but I want plastic ones.


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