# Baby betta just escaped into my sorority!



## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

I was just doing a water change on my tank and accidently tipped the floating breeder box that is housing my baby betta. S/he took off like it was the greatest thing ever - FREEDOM!!! 

I'm scared though, s/he is tiny compared to my girls! They are totally ignoring the baby right now and s/he has plenty of places to hide so I'm just going to leave him/her be for the time being unless. Too many plants to try and catch him/her...I hope s/he's okay...

The worst part is now I won't know how much s/he gets to eat! :shock:


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*Sounds like a great photo opportunity.*

Make yourself a snack & get the camera ready. 

I want to see some photos of this escape artist.

Did you you get the NLS pellets to replace the ones your dog ate??


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Yes I did! 

So far the little escapee is exploring and basically loving the freedom. A couple of the girls have flared at him/her but the baby basically ignored them. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BABY BECOMES THE ALPHA? Lol.

I'm going to take some pics/video right now.


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## eatmice2010 (Jan 1, 2013)

They grow up so fast. Its was as if yesterday he was in his baby box and now he's in the big world.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Here's a link to a video: 
Baby betta joins sorority

I wasn't able to get any good pics before the lights went out for the night, so this will have to do. Excuse the mess that is my tank atm...


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

She'll be fine, they tend to pick fallen food from the tank floor or off deco. I hope it is a girl after all ;-)


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Me too! So far so good, she seems to like following her big sisters around, lol.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Gorgeous tank!!! How large is it? Bettas only? Beautiful...


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

i am soo in love with how you decorated your tank. looks absolutely amazing!!!
Looks like the baby is doing fine! Sounds like you are keeping a close eye on her too so I wouldnt worry unless you see the others picking on her a little too much!
You make me want to get another baby or two so bad!! I think I'll have to go next wednesday when I'm up that way and see what they have


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks! I think it looks like a mess right now because I have random plants floating everywhere and stuff, but now that it's finally got clear water it doesn't look too bad. 

The tank is 29g. Right now it has 10 bettas (9 females and the baby) and 3 otos and I want to add cories at some point in the future but need the plants to get a bit more established first so they don't uproot them...


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

ooh, goodluck with the cories! every morning I wake up to atleast a couple of my stem plants floating at the top lol. they dont care and like to run everything over.


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

I can't wait to see a pic! Can't bring up videos on my phone. What does s/he look like?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Fishybitty (Dec 29, 2012)

Your tank is so cool. Is it custom?


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*Can't believe you actually did make a video.*

Your tank looks really good so far. 

The baby isn't THAT small. It's a decent size juvenile probably 2.5cm-3.0cm. As long as the jv-betta doesn't get too nosy around feeding time, it should be fine. 


As for the floating plants.... just "anchor" the roots to the rocks in the front BEFORE you bury them into the Eco-C. You can figure out which rock is appropriate to use based on the size of the plant & the root system. 

Once "weighted" the floaters, shouldn't get dislodged again. This is why the places that SELL the plants, put the flexible lead weights on them to keep them neat & tidy.

Whenever I "start out" with a set of plants in a brand new/tank in cycle, I will program the lights to remain on for 14-16 hours/every day for the first 2 weeks, then after that I reduce it to 10-12 hours maybe less depending on the plant growth or algae issues that may pop up. 

Any algae outbreak issues can easily be taken care of by introducing a QTed clean up crew of snails/inverts/ottos around week 4-5 of the tank in about 48 hours. 

Noticed in the veggie video, the zucchini slice in the Nemo clip is about 6x-8x as THICK as the slices I offer my fish. The thinner the z-slice, the easier the fish can tear off a portion & make use of it as food. 

Remove the center portion of the z-slice with the seeds, because they can't EAT it. Save it for yourself or your curious dog.


It's always better to feed the fish LESS than TOO MUCH. 

If there's any blanched veggies left over in the morning, reduce the amount or thin out the slice, blanch it longer. 

That's why I use paper THIN slices, 10-15 seconds in boiling water & it's done.

Think there's also a onion plant (Crinum thaianum) or aponogeton bulb floating on the surface, that might be dried out/rotten. Check it out.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Yes, I just bought those apongeton bulbs the other day...3 sank and the other floats. If it floats does that mean it's bad? I wasn't sure if I should toss it or not because it still feels fairly firm.

Thanks for the heads up on the zucchini, I actually stopped putting that in there all together because the bettas ate it all! They've even started eating the pieces of spinach I put in there. The otos still look chubby, so they're eating something, although I've never seen them eat wafers or veggies I've offered. My light period right now is about 11 hours, I've been playing around with it because I'm not sure what's best. I might increase it to 12-13 for now because I kind of want to grow a _little_ algae for the otos!


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

I bought some. The sinking first off doesn't mean they're good and floating doesn't mean they're bad. Watch the sinkers for sprouts and then stick them in the substrate sprout side up. Then stand back because boy did mine grow FAST! and my Betta LOVES them because of the leaves on the top of the water. Works great for his bubblenests ;-)

Check both floaters and sinkers every once in a while for a bad smell, softness, or white fuzz. That's how you know they're bad.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Cool, thanks! I bought some of those lily bulbs too and right now they look like they're growing fuzz. It says they should sprout in 30 days so I'm just going to leave them in there a bit longer to see what happens (they've been in there since the 22nd). The apogenten bulbs are newer, and have only been in the tank like 4 days.

By the way, sorry I missed these comments before - here is a pic of the baby in the breeder box before s/he was released:









There are more pictures of the girls and sorority in my albums.
Also, Fishy, the tank isn't custom. My mom bought it at a LFS over 10 years ago. It's an Oceanic and apparently they don't make them anymore.


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

OMG That is such a pretty baby! :-D

Do you still have the reciet and box from the bubls? They should have a guarentee on them.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Oh, MSG...what's the best way to anchor them to rocks? I've been floating my Bacopa caroliniana and Hygrophilia corymbosa trying to get them to grow roots...no roots so far and a few of the cuttings have started melting more. I just keep cutting off the melted parts and crossing my fingers.

I actually bought a potted wisteria plant last week and discovered yesterday during my water change that the ROOTS are melting off! I cut off the bad parts and tried to replant it and am hoping for the best. I just think stem plants hate me for some reason, lol.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Bluewind said:


> OMG That is such a pretty baby! :-D
> 
> Do you still have the reciet and box from the bubls? They should have a guarentee on them.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Thanks! S/he was the healthiest looking baby they had and I just couldn't say no, lol.

I'll have to look for the box/receipt...I'm pretty sure I tossed the ones from the lily bulbs but might still have the apogenten. If not, I'll buy more (if they're duds) and make sure I save the stuff next time, lol.


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## SolomonFinch (Dec 22, 2012)

Wow. That is cuteness. Severe cuteness.
I have a couple about that size...I think. Hard to compare.
Argh! I need to grow plants! No clue how. My goldfish eat them to the point of filter clogs, etc...so the first set I bought was my last.
Gorgeous tank!


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks! 

I've read it's pretty tough to have live plants with goldfish because they either eat them or uproot them...but it can be done! This is my first planted tank so it's a lot of experimentation and I've done a lot of research. You should try again


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## Bluewind (Oct 24, 2012)

If you want to see a pic of the bulbs grown, swing by my album. I JUST uploaded a pic of him in front of mine. I also posted it on a couple Betta Art threads to see if I canget lucky and get a drawing of Gus 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Oh awesome! I hope mine sprout, they look neat


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*Depends on the plant & the root system.*

You can use almost any type of string to attach plants to objects. (Just can't contain any harmful ingredients/dyes/materials) 

I use anything from ...........

butcher twine which is made out of cotton 
fishing line (your fish can get trapped if it's done wrong.)
even sewing string (thin & breaks down in a few weeks = good)
rubber bands (not too tight against the weight & remove when they break down)
crazy glue (cyanoacrylate)
100% silicone is used by some people, but I don't know how they cure it properly without drying out the plant.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Well, the only plants I have that need to be rooted are my hygrophilia corymbosa and bacopa caroliniana...I might try tying the stems to the rocks with thread and just see what happens. Right now, they are floating and don't really seem to be doing much except twisting to get towards the light (which I'm taking as a sign that they might eventually grow roots...)


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