# Eggs, I have eggs!!!!



## kitkat67

*First Spawn*

Yippee! Hey, all. Please forgive my excitement but I had so much difficulty breeding my bettas, and this is my first spawn, too! I have lots of questions so bless any of you who answer! Here goes my story:

My first betta, a yellow and blue hmpk, was getting old and I didn't want to lose him completely so I decided I wanted progeny from him. It took me a long time to find a female who was similar in coloring to him, the best I could find was green and yellow, pictured below. The other female I tried was not compatible with him. This one, however, was perfect! She has absolutely no ripped fins! I tried three times with the other female to no avail. I left this female in for half a week. My male, Duke, hasn't built nice bubble nest since he was young, so I stole nests from all my other males. He guarded his huge nest ferociously! But, I guess looking back, stealing nests was a waste. Today I checked the tank and found a tiny nest, the size of a silver dollar, underneath a banana plant leaf. There are so many eggs! There are pictures below. I touched it, not realizing there were eggs, and about twenty fell to the floor. *I hear this is okay, the fry will still be viable? Should I turkey baste them into the stolen bubble nest?* But I am super excited! He does not guard his nest at all, the female actually sleeps right under it. *Should I take her out now? She seems a little stressed but her belly is still huge.* Also, I was getting ready to clean the tank bottom (bare bottom) because they've been in there a week. *Should I at least spot clean with a turkey baster before the fry hatch, or would this disturb the nest too much?* I have a sponge filter meant for a 20gal. This is a ten gallon tank. I was assured this would be good. *How would I go about setting up the sponge filter? I hear you soak it and then run it. Should I rinse it first?* I also read that you turn it on when fry are free swimming. *Putting it in now would disturb the nest because it is so huge, but should I try, or wait until the fry are free swimming?* I want to apologize again for being overzealous and for this post being text and question-heavy, but I'm sure those of you who breed were excited as well your first time. I will be sure to post progress pics of the spawn if they do hatch!


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## kitkat67

I just took her out, it was getting too violent and she started showing stress stripes, poor girl.


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## kitkat67

Hmm, Duke seems to have no clue what he is doing. He keeps slamming into the nest and knocking eggs out, not replacing them. He keeps swimming head first into the nest, not eating or picking up the eggs. I am really frustrated because now ~80% of the eggs are on the floor.


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## kitkat67

Ooh! I just found a small clutch of eggs in the original bubble nest, less than twenty, which he is fervently tending to.


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## kitkat67

Though he's fumbling a lot , he is moving the eggs to the big nest.


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## kitkat67

They hatched!


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## hrutan

Awesome!


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## kitkat67

Here are Daddy and babies


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## Dylansbetta

where did u get your banana plant


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## kitkat67

On ebay, I got 10+1 for $13! Careful though, it comes with snails, snail eggs, and bloodworms. I hand picked the critters off and did many rinses and critter checks. They come straight from the wild that's why. The guy also sells them in bunches of 20 and 30, I believe. They are super cheap. I know at LPS and Petco they look crappy and are ~$6.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121528082491?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


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## Sadist

Wow, good luck with the fry! Since it was the fish's, as well as your, first spawning, I'm sure it's common for mistakes to happen. Instinct can only go so far. 

Are you doing the daddy take care of the fry or removing him once they're free swimming? I'd keep an eye on him when you can; since it's his first time, he might start eating them. A lot of people remove the father when the fry are free swimming; he gets to eat and relax in his own tank, and the person takes care of the fry after that.


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## kitkat67

I still have the dad in. I dont believe he is eating them...yet. He and the fry hang out around the heater.  I turned the sponge filter on, the fry don't mind it as they swim around it. I just fed them the first time now, with powdered fry food, nothing fancy. The water is...orange. Not sure if it's because of the mopani wood, almond leaf, or poo, or all three. Ammonia is at zero, just did the test. The fry have lots of places to hide as it is a heavily planted tank. Since it is a bare bottom tank, should I suck all the debris off the floor and drip new water in? I know how to rig a poorman's drip, just not sure how much water to take in and put out. Last time I cleaned, right before they hatched, I set up a drip line and hand filtered debris through a fish net, sending the cleared water back into the tank.


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## kitkat67

The dad is also really slow because he is quite old, and has a small appetite. I am cleaning everyone's tanks tonight, so I will remove him in the near future back to his tank.

I had two more spawning tanks set up, I wanted to breed my king and another male, but after replicating stepsand onditions from my first time, they both failed. I will try again after the poor girls have had a month or two to recoup. I was stupid, I let them out of their chimneys this morning and went shopping, thinking everything was hunky dory but I came back and they were shredded. One to the point of me thinking I will never try to breed her or the male again.  I definetly learned my lesson not to leave them unattended for the day.


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## kitkat67

Just put them in a mesh breeder to feed them easier. I give them fry powder twice a day and once in a while microworms but don't see them eat anything.


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## hrutan

It is incredibly difficult to see them eat. Don't worry ... if they are still alive, they are eating.


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## kitkat67

They hang out on the bottom of tank mostly. Are yhry scavaging? Will they starve if they are suspended in a breeder net?


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## PurpleJay

Mother is beautiful and the father is _gorgeous_. Little babies are going to look great!

They won't starve unless the breeder net is glass and the food can't swim inside.


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## kitkat67

So the fry are about 1.5 weeks old. Is it normal for some to be twice the size of others?


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## LittleBettaFish

I've found there will always be fry that grow much faster than the others, just as there are fry that will grow much slower than all the others. So IME, it is perfectly normal.


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## kitkat67

Holy Cannoli!! I was suctioning dead plant matter from the tank where I have my spawn in. They are in a breeder net so I can monitor their feedings easier. I found a stray spawn that must have escaped the initial roundup. The fry in the net are smaller than a pin head. This fatso looks like he's a solid month ahead of everyone else! Now I am worried the others are not growing well enough. Fatso was probably growing so fast because he was scavenging 24/7. If I turn the fry loose, I think Fatso might eat them all. For a fry of his girth, he sure is a speedy fellow. Does anyone have any tips on what I should do?


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## kittenfish

At almost 3 weeks the babies should be a lot larger than a pinhead. Are you not using BBS?


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## kitkat67

No, I know I should but I'm not. The one fry outside the breeder's net is huge so I'm wondering it the food is falling through the net too fast for the little ones to eat.


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## InStitches

perhaps there are food sources growing on the plants outside of the breeder's net? I recall reading something about that. My platy fry do better in my planted tank than just on fry food in a quarantine tank.


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## kitkat67

I have plants in the breeder net also.


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## kitkat67

I just released the small fry into the tank and put jumbo fry into the net so he wont eat the others.


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## kitkat67

Almost four weeks old! The fry are getting fatter day by day! Today I just noticed the fry are at the top of the water line, I only ever see them at the bottom. I am feeding them fry starter still and microworms. Bbs are not happening and I think the vinegar eel culture is definetly dead. Should I be given them different foods? Or no more fry starter?


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## hrutan

They should be able to eat powder foods and BBs. If the BBs isn't happening, you can try Golden pearls or even grind up adult food, mix the feedings with a little live and a little powder until you know for sure they are eating. It is past time to get them off microworms.


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## kitkat67

Thanks, I also read about finely grated frozen daphnia and bloodworms. I'll be trying that.


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## kitkat67

I tried putting the daphnia and the bloodworms in a blender, but I think it worked too well! The particles were very fine and I think that maybe this would be a good idea for newly hatched fry, rather than fry that are a month old.


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## kitkat67

Oooh! I see tiny dorsal, anal, and even ventral fins!


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## kitkat67

*One Month Update*

I have not had any deaths since removing the fry from the breeder net 2-ish weeks ago. They are growing like crazy, especially Fatso! I do water changes every few days, just 10-20%. Except last week when they were weened off the fry powder, I did 90%. They are still in the 10gal tank, but I have a tank separator in there, fry in one half, dad in the other. The old fart seems to have perked up, he occasionally chases the fry (who don't give two figs about him) up and down the separator. He is even eating more often. The fry are still on microworms. I offered them frozen daphia, finely crushed pellets, but they don't eat it. Should I starve them for a day or two and try again, or continue with the microworms?

Doing today's water change I counted only seven fry. I finally found Fatso on the other side of the divider, chilling with daddy. Not sure why he wasn't eaten. But I secured the weak spot in the divider, hopefully no more escaped fry! 

One of the smaller fry has a few red lines going through it's anal fin. I think I may have hurt him using a net. I don't think I'm going to QT him, though. Also, does anyone know of a better way to take the fry out when cleaning the tank? They are too big for the turkey baster, and I think the net is inappropriate for their size. I always ake them put when I clean it inclease they get suctioned or squished.


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## kitkat67

I will post pictures in a few days!


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## hrutan

I leave the fry in while cleaning the tank and just move very, very slowly.

Not sure about starving them...mine typically transition foods fairly easily.


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## kitkat67

Fatso is beginning to look a little darker and he has some emerging black horizontal lines!


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## kitkat67

Finally got a replacement camera charger! Here are a few quick snaps I got of the fry. Most of them are turning a purple-blue color. Only the runt is still pink.


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## Sadist

Awesome! I like your snail, too. They don't have them in that pattern here.


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## InStitches

adorable


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## kitkat67

Sadist, he's my favorite. Its a red tiger nerite snail.


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## kitkat67

*I am a terrible mother!*

My fry are a about five-six weeks old and I noticed within the past week or two their growth has slowed instead of sped up. I feel so stupid! We have air conditioning and have been using it a lot recently. Their temp has been 72-75°F!! The poor dears were probably too cold to grow normally! My heater isn't adjustable and the tank wasn't covered. I threw a towel over it and put in two mini heaters into their tank. Hopefully I won't have fried fry in the morning, but I'm going to monitor the temp for a couple hours. Hopefully now they will finally grow better. I just hope these two weeks hasn't caused any permanent damage!


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## kitkat67

"Heat!!!"


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## Sadist

Oh man! I hope the heaters help.


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## Ganggreenkhan

I set my house to 80 degrees for the fish.


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## kitkat67

Ew, I'm sorry, but I love the cold and 80 is disgusting. Unfortunately the highest my three heaters will put out, with a towel over the tank, is 75 degrees. I'm not sure I can afford a better heater at this point. >_<


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## kitkat67

*6 Week Update*

My fry are getting bigger! Up until a few days ago I have the 10 gal half full and divided so they had about 3 gal of water. Now completely full, and still divided, they have about 6 gal of water. I do water changes every few days, mostly sucking up the gunk on the bottom. I have been trying to wean them off microworms, they haven't had any new worms in a few days so I hope they are finally eating the grated from daphnia and bloodworms.

Up until today I had their father in the other half of the tank, and Fatso, the largest fry, has started doing the flare wiggle with his daddy. Now I have no idea if he was just curious about the other fish in he tank or if he was actually flaring, but it was entertaining to watch. Fatso also has super long ventral fins. I know it's way to early to know the sex of the fry, but I do hope Fatso is a boy! 

Hobart the butler snail is doing excellent work eating the gunk on the floor and scraping the walls and plant leaves clean.


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## Ganggreenkhan

wow that's a nice fry is that fatso?


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## kitkat67

Thanks! But those are a few fry, not just one. 

Nope, Fatso is camera shy and super fast. And a lot bigger. He is also a pretty violet color. I will try to get a picture of him soon.


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## Sadist

I love those curious faces! I've never seen a snail mouth so closely, either.


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## kitkat67

The eyes and the teeth are slightly unsettling. Reminds me almost of Sid from Ice Age.


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## kitkat67

Finally weaned off of microworms! They all attack the daphnia and microworms I grate into the tank! The snail loves them most of all. I feed the fry in the evening and by morning all that remains of the daphnia and microworms on the tank floor is snail poo. 

On another note, the fry LOVE to wedge themselves into the sponge filter. Maybe this is their squeeze shoot. (Cows calm down and feel safe in a squeeze shoot.) But the bigger try and try but they are too big to fit!


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## kitkat67

Ganggreenkhan said:


> wow that's a nice fry is that fatso?


 Here is fatso, he looks violet in person, the flash lightens his color. He is no longer the fattest, the biggest yes, but the sleekest bodied of all my fry now. No more big belly. He's getting long and more betta-shaped. He eats so much though. (One time I caught him chasing a poop string in doggie-tail fashion for a solid two minutes.)


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## Ganggreenkhan

Wow i'm jealous. That's so funny how they cram in the filter.


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## kitkat67

My heart sank today. Duke, the frys' father has diamond eye. I hope it's not genetic, but I do know dragons get it. I've had him for years, the old fart. He is my first betta. I am a firm believer of if there is something you can't fix, you put it down. Guess my school drilled that into me. I don't want him in any discomfort. He's old and not as spry as he once was. He is a very light eater, and going blind will probably make him eat less. As soon as he gets to that point, I'm going to euthanize my baby. I just wonder how quickly it will progress. I don't know when it showed up, but the scales are creeping down from the top of both eyes. Now that I watch him, he runs into the plants in his bowl. His right eye has a scale dead center. I don't want to lose him.


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## kitkat67

Just did search confirming it is genetic. Would it be best if all the fry were also euthanized?


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## Nimble

That's up to you. Diamond-eye is something that doesn't hit them until late in life, and is possible that the fry won't have it, since the mother is not so nearly heavily dragonscaled.

I would not euthanize the fry, as that might be overkill. If you feel that you cannot care for a blind betta, that is up to you to euthanize the father. I offer you no advice either way.


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## Sadist

Wow, Fatso is looking like a fish, now! I'm sorry about their father. There's at least one person on the forum who knows how to care for blind bettas. I wish I remember their names -- they could tell you how until it's time to euthanize.


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## kitkat67

I read up on how: the tube circle, tapping a certain way, smelly foods. But I don't think I coukd handle it emotionally. Also, don't think I have it in me to euthanize Duke and the babies. After thinking about it I'm more leaning towards "we'll see what happens."


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## kitkat67

Human error, down to six fry, including Fatso.


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## Nimble

How many did you have before?


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## kitkat67

Eight, I somehow turned the power strip off and the heater was off for probably a couple days. Did not find any dead fry, just netted all of them out and counted only 6.


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## kitkat67

Here is a picture of Duke's eye. Can anyone guess as to how quickly this progresses?


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## kitkat67

My little (not) Fatsco appears to have an attitude!


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## FredDaBetta

This is so cool


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## Nimble

Dusk should be fine, since Diamond Eye takes a long time to progress. It's hardly even noticeable now, so it won't get bad until he's much, much older.


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## kitkat67

Nimble said:


> Dusk should be fine, since Diamond Eye takes a long time to progress. It's hardly even noticeable now, so it won't get bad until he's much, much older.


I'm so relieved! He's an old fart already so I'll make sure he spends the rest of his life spoled rotten...oh, wait, he already is. I am a slave to my fish. 

No euthanasia happening anytime soon! Phew!


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## LoveMyBettas

I enjoyed reading through your journey!!! I loved seeing your pics


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## kitkat67

So I haven't done anything yet. I think I will let Duke SIP before I leave for school. The fry I just want to see grow up at this point. Today I found out Fatso pulled a Houdini and wound up on the wrong side of the divider with the females. No clue how long he's been there. But after a great chase he's back with his siblings. I will post picture updates soon. Fatso and one other fry are double to triple the size of the others. I'm guessing its the GIH. Fatso and the other one fry are a pretty violet color, but more blue than last week! 

And on a side note...OH MY GOD SO MANY NERITE SNAIL EGGS. They are everywhere!!! Anubias, glass, rocks, swords, etc.! I put a red tiger and an olive tiger on the same side of the divider to clean it up amd since then there are eggs everywhere! I would be interested in seeing if they hatch but don't have the time or the materials.


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## kitkat67

LoveMyBettas said:


> I enjoyed reading through your journey!!! I loved seeing your pics


Thank you! I'm happy to share my adventure!


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## kitkat67

Well, I sacrificed the smallest fry to my sorority females. I believe I only have fatso and another big fry left. The smaller ones were just not growing at all and looked sick.


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## FredDaBetta

*Pictures!*

I would love to see more pictures! Everything you've done is so cool!


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## Akkikumar

any update?


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## kevinap2

Akkikumar said:


> any update?


The OP just posted an update yesterday. Be patient.


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## kitkat67

Hello all! Apologies for the delayed photos. I think I mentioned earlier I am down to two fry. Here they are! They got so big!


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## Nimble

They're so cute at that size. Sucks that you're only down to two. Let's hope they make it.


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## Sadist

What awesome fry!


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## kitkat67

Haha, thanks! Although I do think so few fry is a blessing in disguise. 400 fry would be hard to take care of in a dorm room! I just hope that they survive the trip next week.


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## kitkat67

Well, they are a-okay in their new home! No air conditioning >_< so they have a nice warm tank. I switched from bare bottom to a sand substrate so I feed them their worms over some mopani wood so they find them. I forgot all of my frozen foods at home! >_<


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## kitkat67

Got frozen food replacements. I bought pe mysis (and good ole bloodworms). It's some pretty stinky stuff. I just let the thawed goop fall in the tank instead of grating it frozen. So Fatso LOVES pe mysis. I haven't seen the other fry eat any. I fed them only a few hours ago (BTW adults bettas love this stuff too) Fatso's stomach has bloated so much I am actually worried. He looks prego. He has literally been snuggled up next to the same shrimp tearing into it every few minutes (like me and a box of cookies ^~^). He only moves to scare the other off or to get air. 

BTW, I think since I can tell the difference between just two fry I need to give the other one a name! I am open to suggestions.


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## kitkat67

My bestie decided tiny fry shall henceforth be called Tuna.


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## kitkat67

Omg, Fatso is such a fat***. He can't even move across the floor, he swim hops. :frustrated:


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## kitkat67

Picture updates! They seen to be very behind in their growing. They look to be 5 weeks old instead of 8-9 weeks old.


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## kitkat67

*I love seeing tiny blue bodies darting around the tank! @11weeks*

In the past week or two weeks I noticed they have a dark blue line around their fins like Daddy (yes!) and tiny blue spots in their dorsals, too!!


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## Sadist

I love speckled fins! Awesome! I wish I had room for more tanks.


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## InStitches

oh they are so cool! I love the markings beginning to show


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## kitkat67

No pics yet, I will upload them within a couple days as orgo has consumed my life. I went home for the weekend and apparently the fish sitter has the magic touch. Even though she didn't feed the babies, the 90*F room (no ac here :/ ) must have helped accelerate their growth. Tuna and Fatso are almost double their size. IN THREE DAYS. I couldn't believe it, but my roommate came back same time and she exclaimed how big they got over the weekend! I can now see yellow fins!!! Blue bodies and yellow fins!!! So excited! On another note the high temperatures over the weekend caused all my aquarium plants to grow like crazy and send babies everywhere. And speaking of babies my ramshorn snail decided to double it's shell size and also lay 70-100 eggs all over my bowl and they are in different stages of development....assassin snail might be a future purchase, but for now my roommate and I are fascinated by the prospect of tiny snails (even if they will take over the tank. So I had no idea snails can "swim?!" My ramshorn snail crawls to the top of the water level, turns upside down, and crawls along the surface tension!! It's amazing! We get super excited when one of us spots it cruising along.

So back to Tuna and Fatso. They loooooove this pe mysis shrimp frozen food. I have definetly noticed a huge growth spurt in them both from the time I first gave it to them. I grate the frozen cube directly into the tank and they attack the pieces with gusto. Still on microworms. They are so cute darting around the worm clouds trying to eat as many of the tiny snacks as possible. 

I fed my fry (when they were newly hatched) a diet of 97% microworms, with powder for only the first few days. And they have gorgeous ventrals. I wonder if it's a bacteria that causes them to never grow or become very damaged. I only got into the frozen foods seriously when they were a whole lot bigger.


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## kitkat67

Oh my gosh, I just realized they will be 3 mos old tomorrow!


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## kitkat67

Baby fishies, ramshorn snail eggs, and the thing that spawned my future snail problem.


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## FredDaBetta

Ahhhhh! This is so cool!


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## kitkat67

Snails hatched! There are so many!


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## Tsukikoi

Adorable! At least they wont be big enough for too much of a bio load for a while.


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## kitkat67

These snails are thankfully in a different bowl. I didn't want them to contaminate my 10 gal. I also ordered snails that specifically dig in substrate to move that around in the ten gallon, but with the amount of plants in there, the extra bioload will definitely be appreciated!


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## Tsukikoi

Ahh some MTS? I have a few- and I never see them. I know they're there when my plants that do not really take root go floating ^_^

If you have a petco nearby, and scour the gravel, you'll probably see some. They give them for free at the one nearby me. "Oh those things? I don't know how they get in there, but we cant keep them out. And they reproduce like crazy!" -pet store worker

Plus they're betta-proof. Its fun to see them the first few minutes when they're in the tank... Before they enter the gravel to vanish.


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## kitkat67

Lol! Thanks for the suggestion, but they are already on their way! I hear that they are virtually indestructible! And that plant comment has me worried...How bad are we talking? Small plants, big plants, all plants? Also, how many do you think you have? I really need my substrate stirred, but I only ordered 10, figuring they will make babies soon enough. I heard if you keep the light turned off at night, and flip them on, you can find them crawling up the walls. I'm sorry for all the questions, but I am new to this species. Do you need to feed them anything like snail jelly, wafers, or do they get along find on whatever they find in the bowels of my substrate?


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## Tsukikoi

I have 3 in the tank where my plant keeps getting uprooted. The plant is about 4 inches long, but it has wrapped roots, so there's hardly anything holding it down anyway. 

As long as the plants have roots, or a something sturdy holding them down, even the teeny java fern babies are fine. I have 4 in my sand tank, which is the mother-load of baby java ferns. 

You likely will not see them on the glass if you have a Betta in the tank that is aggressive. (For example, all of my Bettas ; -  But if they're in a tank with non-harmful fish, such as my 15 gallon minnow tank, you will see them above the substrate.

You do not need to feed them, as long as you leave some mess in the gravel for them. They just further decompose the uneaten food and poop. 

Even then, have you seen those tiny mouths? It's too adorable... (I want to keep one in a bare bottom kritter keeper just to view the cuteness, but I cant ; - ; ) 

Overfeeding along with warm temp will lead to a burst in the population...

Read as; a continued supply of food for the future assassin snail.
(who is also very cute, but a murderer. so eh.)

In all of my tanks total; I have 12 MTS. Unless they already had babies, since I keep them in groups of 3-4 eep.

Hope that helped a bit.


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## kitkat67

Thank you so much!


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## kitkat67

Entire tank crashed so as an added precaution until the cycle is restored, the babies are in a 1.5 gallon jar and the females in a 5 gal. bucket. Fatso looked sickly last night before I moved them and this morning the act like nothing ever happened. Tuna, however, has some white growth on the tip of his dorsal fin, but it will probably go away like it did with Fatso last week. I don't want to risk treating them. 

They have a heater, lots of plants, but no filter. Also, just split the MTS between the jar and the big tank just in case they all die in the big tank. The chasing and nipping between the two is happening more and more, but not to the point of ripped fins or anything. For now it just seems like normal squabbles, probably imitating the females. Lol, I even saw them body slapping one time! But nothing ever happened after that. I might have to separate them soon, but for now they still get along well enough.

[Yes, the MTS arrived this morning! I ordered 10+ and wound up with ~40 snails of varying sizes, two of which were sooooooo tiny they must have been born in the mail packet! I plopped them into the tank and jar (should have quarantined them, but do not have the space) and they immediately started scooting about and one started crawling up the tank wall. I wonder if I will ever see them again! I split them up just in case the crashed tank's environment kills them so I have a backup population.]


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## Tsukikoi

With 40, I'm sure you'll see them again! (Perhaps when they overpopulate the gravel/sand- they're not known to show up much with fish that peck at them like Bettas.) Those tiny shells are hard to hold, right? You might want to but a bit a cuddle bone in with the snails, the baby's need it for their shells. 

Hopefully the Bettas wont mind the bucket/jar! How long did it take you to get them in there? That must have been hard!


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## kitkat67

Quickly? I use the scoop and plop method.


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## Tsukikoi

Ahh they're too young to avoid it? My full grown bettas will wedge themselves in plants just to avoid cup time during water changes. 

"You're not getting me this time! You'll need to uproot this plant for me to go in there! I win!"


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## kitkat67

Lol, no, I have my fish trained to come to my hand before I feed them, so if they are in open water, they are getting scooped! The babies are trickier because I want to be gentle with them, but overall everyone got relocated in less than two minutes.


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## kitkat67

Just some quick pic updates! Sometime this week I'll post clearer ones. So I got rid of the substrate and the divider in the 10 gal., restarted the cycle, and just added my babies to the tank. So far they are holding their own against the three terrors! Mom inspected them up close, but left them alone. I have plants waiting for me in the P.O. so that will provide more cover for the babies. I will be potting them for this tank since I am done with substrate. 

Fatso is now Petco baby betta sized and Tuna is still the same tiny self he was last week. Fatso is roughly 5X his size.

I just plopped a pe mysis shrimp frozen cube into the tank and all the girls went crazy. Fatso and Tuna even joined into the frenzy. Finger's crossed my babies will be safe with the girls!

Pics 1&2 Fatso, 3 nerite, 4 Tuna, 5 baby ramshorns.

(Also, baby snail update! The mom/dad keeps laying eggs! When will she/he run out of sperm?!)


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## kitkat67

More pics, mostly Fatso and his mom. (So far his coloring is exactly like hers! *sighs* I am hoping he will turn out more blue than green.) Tuna is the one with the blood worm sticking out of his mouth. Tuna hides so much I barely even see him. I am happy to say that Fatso is now completely ignored by everyone in the tank. ^~^ He eats alongside the females and it's as though he does not exist. 

Also, tank update. New plants, and no more substrate except what is in the pots. The ammonia is still very high, but I am working on it, also just did a thorough cleaning today. The tank looks dark, but it is actually super bright, especially now that I switched from a 40 watt bulb to a 60 watt.

Update: Lol, I was going over this post and I just realized Fatso and his mom have more than color in common! Attitude as well!


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## kitkat67

Got a good shot of Tuna today!


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## Akkikumar

OMG she is full of eggs.. Breed her


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## kitkat67

Hah, I thought she looked fat. I don't want to breed right now for so many reasons. School, cold dorm rooms, no space, etc.


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## FredDaBetta

Thanks for sharing all this! Its so cool to watch them grow. Well done!


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## kitkat67

SIP Tuna, baby. I took my fish home on break. Prior, one of my females was showing dropsy. I came home and Tuna died the next day. Today it was one of my females who was showing fungus on her back who died. Now I just have the healthy female, the dropsy female (aside from the scales she has been acting and looking fine for a week now) and Fatso.


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