# Baby Growing up



## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Just a way for me to track my little fish growing up. I'm pretty sure it's a girl. I have been calling her Ash, but Alex also sticks too. I'm not sure which to go with.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Here's our 1 week picture. All the pictures are from each day, except I skipped the sixth day, I ran out of time. I was leaning towards female but the fins are starting to look kinda long. Guess I'll see...


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## Fabi (May 29, 2013)

Nice!~~


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Here are some day 10 pics. So cute and active. I've never gotten a front view pic. Still not sure on gender, I'm thinking more male today. Either way I don't care. I've noticed it's back has straightened out some too.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

The piece of paper between Ash and Guillermo's tank slipped and the two saw eachother which incited a flare-off. I think Ash is a boy.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yes Ash is a boy, there are no ovaries and he was just extremely emaciated when you brought him home  Females also flare though, keep that in mind and sometimes more than boy's. I had a girl that never quit flaring, I mean she did after a while, but you would have thought she was a boy with how big her beard was!

Your baby is cute though.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thanks  They had me cracking up when I put the paper back. they both stopped what they were doing and came over to see me. Love my boys old and young


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

No new pics today, but he is trying to make a bubblenest, I think. I will have had him for two weeks this Saturday, I'm amazed at that because when I got him I wasn't sure he'd make it, but I had to try. He has probably doubled in size since I got him. His care isn't too different than for older fish, I just change his water more often and feed him more often. I do think he has internal parasites but he has been getting epsom salt starting two days ago and I have seen an improvement.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Aww, what a cutie!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thanks  I love his personality, I think because I got him so little he is more outgoing compared to his older "brother" who can be more jumpy and tends to be shy. Here's some day 15 pics.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ooo I think he's a Delta!!!!

Also, is his anal fin split in the middle?? He's going to be one gorgeous fish!!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thank you!! Yeah his anal fin has a split in it but it's always been like that so I think it's just a deformity, his mouth is a little crooked too. That'd be cool if he was a delta, I kinda wondered because I read somewhere that deltas are prone to deformities. Whatever he his he has a great personality, when I was done taking his pictures last night I noticed all the algae and cleaned it off and he was right there "helping".


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Nope, it's not Delta's that are prone, it's Double Tails. You were probably mixed up with the abbreviations, DT is Double Tail and DeT is Delta. yeah it can be confusing, took me a while to figure it out too haha

The thing about the babies is that most of them are culls from a spawn from a breeder, so the first that naturally have genetic deformities and the ones that were stunted growth or they didn't think they were going to be good fish. But they make great pets! Fish with deformities usually can live a great life, that's why when breeders cull they don't just...well for lack of better term, kill them, they look for people who will give them good homes as pets. But PetCo saw this as well as other stores I'm sure and said "Hey! Let's make some money! Here, we'll take the babies and sell them for you and we both make money, sound a good deal?" and so that's where we get our babies from! Not all are deformed though and I'm sure your little one is going to grow up nice and big, especially with good care!

Anywho, that's my lecture on "Where Do Babies Come From?" lol and that's super adorable he was 'helping' you clean off the algae ^_^ :-D


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Yep you're right I did get the abbreviations mixed up lol 

I kinda like how his fin is split, makes him more unique, plus it's nice to know that he got a home instead of the alternative.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Haha, no problem! As I said, it took me a while too so no worries ^_^

Yeah it is cute in a way, I'm certainly glad he's still around. It will be so interesting to see how it is when he's grown up :-D


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## a123andpoof (Apr 10, 2010)

He's a cutie! Can't wait to see what he looks like when he's older!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thanks 

When I went to feed him this morning it looked like he has a spot of ich on his one pectoral. I'll be raising his water temp and doing 50% water changes and hopefully that'll be the end of that. I've been turning thier heaters off when I leave for work because my apartment is getting so hot and their tanks are getting really hot too right now, but last night when I got home I forgot to plug them back in. I'm hoping the warmer water will take care of this.

Other than that though he has been fine, I even got him to eat off my finger this morning, something he's never done before. Not too be outdone Guillermo did the same thing, silly fish.

I am starting to wonder on gender again, I let him see his "brother" yesterday and they did flare but I also noticed Ash had vertical bars, so either a juvenile male being submissive or a female ready to breed. Another thing I noticed was there is still an egg spot. I tried doing the flashlight trick last night and I think I saw ovaries. What I saw was a pink triangular "thing" behind the stomach area. I wasn't sure if that was the ovaries or just muscle tissue. It's so hard to tell on Ash because the body is also slightly misshapen where the anal fin is split. 

Another interesting thing though is that after Guillermo saw Ash he built the biggest bubblenest he's ever made on the side of the tank where Ash is next door (they're not in a divided tank together they're in two separate ones next door to eachother). He'll usually make one bubblenest maybe once every two weeks but they're small, this one covers probably a quarter of his 5 gallon.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

young fish are not mature hence they cannot be "ready" to breed. Males also get vertical bars as submission stripes, telling the other boy that he doesn't want to fight. Also one girl in my sorority almost always has "breeding" stripes but they are only submission stripes 

If you get me a good pic I can tell you, but since he had just a rounded tummy in his first few pictures, I very doubt that he is a girl  oh and females flare too.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*Day 18*

Here's some pics, what always throws me is where the anal fin is split the abdomen is also not quite right.

Oh and what I thought was ich is gone, I'm not sure what it was, maybe just an air bubble...


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Aww he's colored up so much! Hard to tell if he's got ovaries since he's completely opaque now but still looks like a boy to me, I'd have to see him with the light behind him shining through to see if you can see the outlines of the ovaries.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Well I tried to take some pics with the flashlight, but since he moves so fast I have to use the flash on my camera otherwise all you see is a blur, but if I use the flash the picture turns out looking normal. So I'll just say he's a boy, and if he's not, he's not lol.

I've always kinda wondered about him though mainly since there's so much wrong with him externally that I wonder what all could be wrong with him internally. My thing with him has always been to give him the happiest, healthiest life I can even if that means it could be a shorter one. But fortunately as of right now, he acts like a normal healthy betta


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It's most likely just a bent spine that makes his deformity and with the split anal fin. So there might be some squishing of organs inside but it should be alright. Later in life when things move around as he grows he may end up with some swim bladder issues or constipation issues but nothing a little Epsom salt can't help :-D


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Okay good  I went to petco today to look at aquariums and I looked at the babies, I can't believe how much Ash has grown up compared to them, my little guy is growing up :'( lol


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*Dorks*

"We can't fight right now Brother, Mom's here to see us!"


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*3 weeks home!*

A major milestone today, I no longer have to cut up his pellets to feed him, he can eat the Omega pellets in one piece off my finger.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Awesome! Just be careful with his feedings, since he does have that crooked spine he'll be much more prone to his swim bladder being squished especially with so much food. He looks too gutted in these last photos so you can feed more often but feed less and that will help him grow like a weed too! :-D

His color is looking great!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thanks  Yeah I feed him usually three times a day, two pellets the first two feedings then one on the last. Maybe I'll try 5 times with one pellet each time. I think when I took those pictures he had just eaten too, so that might be part of what you're seeing, but yeah I see what ya mean.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*New Digs*

Well I thought I would be moving in the next month so I didn't want to set my 20 gallon up just to tear it right back down again, but since I don't think I'm moving after all I decided to divide it. 10 gallons each for my 2 boys. Obviously I'm not done setting it up yet, but I think I'll move them this weekend while I'm around, just to keep an eye on things and make sure there isn't any trouble. But I hope they like it


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*Photo Shoot*

Ash and his big brother Guillermo


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Looks great! I'm sure they'll love it and they look wonderful too!!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thanks! I'm really excited to get to work on decorating it! I think you're right about Ash being a delta, his tail is fanning out more and more. If he'd sit still for two seconds I could get a decent picture of it so you could see lol.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Since its 4th of July I really need to get a white one, then I'd have red white and blue lol


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Haha, yeah in my sorority I have red, white and blue primarily XD I'm not patriotic, I swear! lol j/k


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*1 Month!!*

Just goes to show what good clean warm water, good food, water changes, and love can get ya. This is the same little guy who I didn't think would make it a week, he's still here growing up, with more personality than you would ever except from someone so small. 

He used to be so good at having his picture taken, now he won't sit still.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Both your boys are adorable, and it's been interesting to watch your little guy develop and grow into a handsome betta!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Aww thank you  They really do make great pets.Guillermo used to be really shy but over the past few months he's really come out of his shell, I've even been able to teach him how to eat off my finger, and follow my finger around the glass (when he feels like it).

And Ash it only took him a day to settle in and his personality came out. I swear that fish never sits still, thus the poor quality of his more recent pictures lol.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*Max*

I got Ash a new brother, Max. He was pretty sick when I got him but he gave me the "look" so after some thought he came home with me. He currently is in a 1 gallon critter keeper getting treatment with AQ salt and it seems to be helping him quite a bit.

I didn't use a flash for his pictures, but when I do his body is blue and his fins are red so maybe that's how he'll look when he is better.


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*Some Updates*

Well unfortunately Max didn't make it, he put up a good fight but he was just too sick. Swim in peace Max, you'll always be loved and never forgotten.

Onto the divided tank... Almost immediately after I posted that I was going to start working on it because I wasn't moving I found out I will in fact be moving (oh apartment complexes disorganized much?) So I halted that project. I'm kinda glad I did too. Ash and Guillermo are next to eachother on my dresser so they can see eachother. This has been the set up since I got Ash, almost two months ago. I figured this would be a good set up so they could get used to eachother thinking they would calm down eventually. Well Guillermo hasn't. Turns out he's a pretty aggressive betta. There was one day he charged the glass so hard at Ash that I heard him hit it. And the past couple days he's been so preoccupied with Ash that he's been ignoring me feeding him. Whenever I'm sitting on my bed watching them Ash is always in the corner closest to Guillermo, because it's closest to me. I ended up putting a piece of paper back between them. I don't think the divided tank is going to work out. If anything happened to either of them I'd be heartbroken so I think I'm going to hold off on that project.

The good news is though is my bedroom in my new apartment is bigger and I'll have an extra end table and the stand the 20 gallon is on so I think that they'll each get there own little spot to hang out. Luckily my Dad said I could keep the 20 gallon at his house while I'm not using it. So someday it'll be a good home for some lucky fish, but not these two dummies lol.

I guess since this is journal for Ash growing up that I should update about him. Well he's reached that special age where he doesn't sit still for quality pictures anymore. Everytime he sees me he gets so excited he won't sit still. He kinda reminds me of a puppy, truthfully. But he's also reached that age where he really isn't changing all that much, he's still growing well that's obvious to me, but he just looks like the same fish only bigger.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Aww, sorry to hear about Max!! may he swim in peace!

As for Guillermo, some Betta's are just too aggressive. However, there are things you can do to still make a split tank. I double up on my mesh when a betta is too aggressive on one side so they can't see each other as much. I have it so that I'm basically moving one of the mesh off just a tad so that most of the holes in it are covered up, water still flows through so that's not too much a problem but it helps because they won't be able to see each other as much as thus not being so preoccupied with each other. so that's something you can do.

I also had a Lee's Divider for the 10 gallon so that's nice and then I siliconed another piece of mesh on one side and now Mercury can't see anyone because he's one of my more aggressive boys as well 

That's cute about Ash, yeah my boy's recently got over that a little more. They went through two spurts of being "Sir Zoomsalot's" first when they were about 3-4 weeks old in my care and then again at 7-8 weeks old so it seems to be a monthly thing for my boys haha. Hopefully you can get some pictures soon though, I'd love to see how he's turning out!! :-D


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

I'll have to try that with the mesh, that's a good idea. I do have some plants from Petco I'm going to put along the divider on both sides. I was also going to have the water lowered about 2.5 inches. I figure if Guillermo's a veiltail that's a lot of fin to try to jump that far, and if Ash does grow up to be a delta he won't be able to do it either. I'll probably move Guillermo in when I get settled but I think I'll give Ash a few more months to grow up a little more before he goes in, that way in case anything does happen it's a fairer fight, right now he's so little he could get really hurt really easily.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Actually you'd be surprised how far they can jump even with the long tails! I had a long finned boy jump on me once and the poor thing, I found him a little too late and he didn't last the night :-(

But my tank is about an inch below the top but my mesh goes right up to the top part of it and then I have a glass canopy which sits right on that so literally they can't jump over because there's no space so that's why it's up a little more. But before when I didn't have the canopy, it was down about 2 inches and I never had a problem, even with the short fins but sometimes you just never know!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

*2 Months!!!*

Here's some pictures of Ash at 2 months home. He finally sat still.


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

Ash is looking stunning!


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## kvw1988 (May 13, 2013)

Thank you  I can't get over how big he is getting!! I like your avatar by the way


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## BettaLover1313 (Apr 15, 2013)

kvw1988 said:


> Thank you  I can't get over how big he is getting!! I like your avatar by the way


Thank you! I looked through Dragoon's pictures and thought it was perfect! :-D


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## hellohello0o0 (Nov 10, 2014)

Any updates on Ash?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

hellohello0o0 said:


> Any updates on Ash?


Well, this thread is over a year old lol try not to dig up old threads please


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