# unplanned and unexpected spawn!!



## windfire (May 25, 2010)

so i have a divided 1ft as you guys know, i have a female in one side and a male, named Apollo, in the other.when i opened up today to give them their peas and waiting for me was a full bubblenest. now the female kept jumping into the males section and i was going to sort out the divider this weekend but it seems she just wanted to mate:shock:. i moved the female into her own section again and went to dog training and when i got back she was still in her own section but looking now theres old apollo frantically looking after his eggs, catching the ones that are falling or floating away and putting them back into the nest, the babies will be interesting to see if and when they hatch. i'm going to have to do some research asap now. all in all its a wonderful surprise especially after the weekend im having so far.


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

I don't mean to be hurtful, if you don't have the stuff needed for the babies, it is better now to get rid of them then wait until they hatch to die slowly and painfully. They'll be hatching in a day or two, so you need to have their food ready within a few days. Regular betta food won't work, you'll need live micro organisms and stuff like micro worms and baby brine shrimps, which are hard to get unless you order online, even then the shipments can take a while unless you want to pay for the rather expensive over night shipping.


This is why it isn't recommended to have females and males in the same divided tank, their phermones will drive each other insane, and they'll keep trying to get to the other side and will always be in the mating mood(which isn't good for their health) and then one day they will suceed.

If you decide to keep them, note that this will be a drain on your wallet and time. Buying the food for the babies and growing the food for them, feeding your babies, doing heavy water changes while they are growing so they won't become stunted, seperating them from one another into jars or tanks once they are old enough, doing water changes on those, etc.If you decide to keep them, good luck, you'll probably need it.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree with JKFish 100%.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

The instinct and drive to procreate is strong.......congrats on the unexpected spawn.....

I would start looking for some brine shrimp eggs and get them hatching, you have 4-5 days before the critical stage unless your tank is mature with lots of live plants and some snails to help provide some natural food for the fry.

You can also feed the boiled egg yolk in a pinch-I would do some research on it use-I personally don't like it but only because it is messy and fouls the water, so plan on lots of water changes if you use that.

If you really want this clutch to survive-I would get your female out and remove the divider to give the fry more space.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

You can buy Fry food at most pet stores. (Liquid food)
I use to use it and sometimes still do, It works great for baby betta's especially when in a pinch.

And good luck with all the new little ones,


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Yup get that female out, turn off any powerful filtration, and when they start to swim get dad out. Hatch baby brine shrimp and then begin smal frequent water changes.


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## Smareers (Jul 22, 2010)

If you are real short of baby food, try to feed the babies with boiled egg yolk sqeezed through a cotton hanky. It sure works but make sure you dont pollute the water with extra feed and pls wait for atleast 2-3 days after you see the babies swimming free from the nest. Also make sure you have something for the male to eat once the babies start swimming free.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Uh oh this is bad! have the eggs hatched? do you have over 50 or more containers? do you have homes set up for the fry to go to? do you have a heater, sponge filter and food ready for them?

These are all the questions needed to be answered before breeding or even trying to raise fry even with an accidental spawn. 

If you decide to keep the fry, answer all these questions and take care of them. please dont give them to pet stores! they will sit in tiny cups. It would be better to sell them or give them away on forums, to friends you know will take care of them, gifts to other people and things like that. There are already too many bettas that suffer in pet stores. For ex. i was in my LPS today and seen a betta with a deformed eye. that betta will die in the tiny cum he is in because no one wanted a deformed betta. His eye looked like his body and head grew when his 1 eye stayed the same size. its sad what happens to bettas but it does so please just take care of them and give them good homes!


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

Well, by now if WindFire has decided to keep them, and doesn't have the proper equipment, they are probably dead. If she decided not to, they're dead, and if she has the proper equipment, they might be alive.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

JKfish said:


> Well, by now if WindFire has decided to keep them, and doesn't have the proper equipment, they are probably dead. If she decided not to, they're dead, and if she has the proper equipment, they might be alive.


Hopefully they are alive and she done everything right


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## windfire (May 25, 2010)

right to all the guys who offered constructive and helpful info thanks a bunch, right now im not sure the eggs are even fertile there are no wrigglers present and there should be around now. i went out and bought some fry food and there is a shipment of brineshrimp arriving on thurs at a petstore near where i study so will be stopping there friday. thanks again, i been researching like crazy, at the expense of my test tomorrow too, im going to feel it tomorrow.

to the negative blokes thanks for sucking the joy and excitement from this event really it was appreciated. none of you know me and as a result cannot judge me i have spent so far this month over 400 rand on my fish alone. i will find all the fry good homes as i hate the tiny bowls that they get sold in and if necessary will keep any that are left myself. i will be approaching my lfs and putting my betta starter kit proposal to them and if they accept will then sell them exclusively to that store. their fish are well looked after in proper clean tanks.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Wow sounds good! Good luck and keep us updated!


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## effy (Sep 21, 2010)

woop go you  good luck wf im sure you will do great, like bettalover said, keep us posted pls


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## windfire (May 25, 2010)

ok so i have about 10 lil guys all free swimming, dad got abit overly protective about keeping everyone in the nest so i had to remove him. the filter is still off and im feeding a liquifry food by interpets. at the moment you can just make out that they have tail fins. but so far so good, im doing water changes every day, about 20% returning aged, dechlorinated water through an air line pipe so there is not to much current. i may have to start looking into finding some live or frozen foods soon. its exciting to watch their development though. theres alot of plants and wood in the tank and tus lots of places to hide but its still alot of fun to sit and look for them. i'll be posting pics hopefully soon, when i can get decent shot.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

BBS eggs can be bought at your local fish store and hatching them is super simple...it's my fry food of choice.


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