# Father and fry?



## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

If you followed my log youd have a better background but basically my male "oldman" was bred with a young pretty girl named Electra. This was a week and 6 days ago. When the fry became freeswimming i noticed alot less, so i removed him fearing the worse. Once put into his 3g recovery tank he spit out 3-4 fry so i got those back in the main tank, well now a week and a half later i go to feed him in his 3g barebottom, no planted tank and when he eats the pellet i notice something moving. THERES A FRY WITH HIM! Hes been bubblenesting since the breed but i figured his instict was running wild, i had no idea he was trying to house a fry hed hidden. Water changes? 90% every other day in the 3g, how did i not syphon this fry up with my gravel vac?!? He protected it? How does it eat? He feeds it pellets somehow?? Its health is quite well, it puts its brothers and sisters that i care for to shame, its larger then them! I dont know why after a week and a half, he hasnt eaten this single fry, i mean he was stressed and moved, yet hes still fathering it quite well. Im in such shock about this, i dont want to remove it as it seems to be very attached, as does he, i guess im willing to "sacrifice" this fry if he decides to eat it but im unsure if he will by the looks of things. What will happen to this daddys boy/girl? Are chances good it will survive? Can a father successfully raise his own single fry in a 3g, this just doesnt go wth anything ive learned or done so im baffled...... But i know one thing, no matter what this fry is, if it makes it to adulthood, even if its the ugliest fry in the world, ill keep it, because its amazing.


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

well, i guess no one told Oldman that betta dads are supposda be a threat to the fry. So he is being a good daddy.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I think it depends on the individual male. I know that some people keep the father in with their fry as they feel he will cull out the weakest ones. I have left fry in with my gourami pair and my rutilans, and the only casualties were from older siblings.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

I just have read that stressing the dad can cause him to eat the fry/water changes kill fry/ they need 3 meals a day/temps 80+ and ive been gravel vaccing, only feeding food 2 times a day for the daddy, and pouring the fresh water in much faster then i do for my fry tank, they get a drip. But its doing so well, i can see more of its body, its larger, and very alert. He tends to it and it lives and swims under his nests all the time. I cant imagine the possible trauma this fry has experienced with all of the water changes and 76-78 temps but its thriving very well despite going against most odds. Is there a chance he will raise it completely? If i removed it id worry about how it would adapt to the fry tank and how daddy would handle losing his fry.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I'd just leave it in for now if it's very young since even if you carefully acclimatised it to the water conditions in your fry tank it might still die from the stress.

However, with that said, if water changes killed fry, all of mine would be dead. I usually change 25% of water out of my rutilan tank and I have a fry that survived a whole tank tear out because I didn't know he was there. I have three week-old fry that are now living in with their parents and they will be getting a water change tomorrow.

I wouldn't do huge water changes, but something like 10-20% shouldn't make them all keel over as long as the water used is similar enough to the tank water. 

I have found a fry living in freezing water that had an ammonia reading of 8 that had grown quite large. I suppose it all depends on the individual hardiness of the fry in question. I imagine living in the wild would be fairly stressful and yet no betta species have died out because of it.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

I wasnt to clear lol I blame the shock, the water changes themselves wouldnt kill fry, its just that with my fry tank i airstone syphon very sloely 2 gallons out every day, then drip 2 gallons back in throughout the day equal temp, im so gentle because i worried just pouring it in would knock them around and injure them. The parents are large so i just slowely pour in a gallon, but to a fry that must be a RUSH of water that could possibly be 1-2 degrees off from the current water. Ill def leave it for now, i guess im just curious if this is ever experienced, i know males can be left with a group of fry, undisturbed or stressed for a month or so but id never imagine one being put in a cup for an hour to acclimate to a cooler temp small 3 gallon QT with few hiding places and aq salt not be stressed or eat his fry, but instead somehow acclimate it to the 3gal and help it. Im just over amazed i guess, it wasnt in my plan at all. xD Before i get my hopes up that this fry will be mine forever permenantly and attach to it because im in awe of its survival skills with dad.
Its amazing how hardy some are, you can really tell which ones are chasing the food, and thriving in the fry tank. I guess oldman quickly picked the strongest one he could to carry with him )


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## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

Wow that's...amazing! >.< Oldman is turning out to be such a good dad!


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## BettaHeart (Jan 2, 2011)

awww ... Balthazar was with his babies for a good one and a half until i decided he needed a well deserved rest from being such an attentive father. Sadly he was the only daddy that didnt munch on his babies.

I think the little one will do well if you do decide to leave it.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

I have left it, i watch the daddy munch on his pellets and then go on a search for his little one, then he sortof, expells dust out of his gills. Im assuming its pellet. Im sure im gonig to keep it if it makes it because besides the fact that its thriving really well, it will have learned its daddies ways itll be easier to feed also  My fry tank fries are starting to show transparent tail shapes but this one is longer and has more definition


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Are you sure that the fry is easting?


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Well its larger then my fry tank fry and its two weeks old and had no live plants or anything so it must have been. OFL said that the male will sometimes feed his fry and he probably was by the sound of things so im going to assume so. I do throw in some nematodes and put some plants in now that im aware its in there just for added benefit, i tried bbs but daddy gobbled them up too fast and he ignores the nematodes so it works.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It sounds like he/she is doing very well.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

dramaqueen said:


> It sounds like he/she is doing very well.


Yeah thank goodness 
But it turns out he had two hidden this whole time lol, both are healthy and living with him for now xD


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

he has two?  he is sneaky.


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