# Brand New Betta Parents!



## michellelouise (Aug 22, 2010)

So today, my boyfriend and I bred our two CT bettas. The female: Juno and the male: Frederick Pippens the 3rd, King of Scottland (Pippens for short). After being in a 10 gallon tank (with a filter and heater) together for 6 days, we took out the divider between them and allowed them to get to know eachother. 4 days after being introduced to eachother, they began the mating process. This has been going on for about 2 to 3 hours. At first they were awkward about it and acted as though they didn't know what they were doing. We also were concerned because Juno never showed the vertical bars on her body that were said to appear when she was ready to mate AND Pippens' bubblenest was very small. But now they are mating and doing quite well and we are excited to see what their fry will look like. 
(We also have pictures and a terrible quality video that we will be posting soon)

Wish us luck! :-D


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## Kokonoko (Jul 28, 2010)

Good luck on the breeding, but I have to ask out of curiousity, you do know what you're getting yourself into right? o.o You've done plenty of research about this and such? How to feed them, what they're environment needs to look like, how to condition the mating pair? Sorry if this seems accusator of ignorance, but I just want to make sure =D Theres alot of changes in environment that are needed for baby fry versus the regular environment that an adult can have. Again though, Good luck!


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## michellelouise (Aug 22, 2010)

Yes we conditioned them for 6 days in a 10 gallon tank with divider heater and filter noticing that the female was passive we decided to introduce them to eachother. There was no fin nipping but a lot of chasing and what looked like fish flirting. Needless to say we left them in the same tank together for 3 days and on the 3rd we noticed they were humping eachother under his bubblenest. so we hawkeyed them for the next 6 hours and eventually they mated. After it was done we took her out and put her back in her home. Hes now tending to the eggs in the nest...quite diligently if i say so myself. We're about to upload the video of them mating to show everyone the couple. :]


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## michellelouise (Aug 22, 2010)

breeding video


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Just dropping this picture in here, to show day1 of eggs after being hatched, im slightly worried about his small nest, i hope itll end up being a successful spawn, shooting for atleast 1 live betta fry at the end of this ordeal, and we'll still be happy lol.

The eggs ARE in the nest above him.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Don't worry about the nest. As long as he is tending to the eggs is a good sign. Most males I know won't eat their fry, but some will. So hawkeye them till the fry are free swimming, then you can remove daddy.
Don't disturb him too much, like touching the nest to see the fry (very big no no!). 

Congrats and good luck on raising them.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

thanks. and yes hes tending to them very diligently. and unfortunately there has been 1 mishap so far, a snail climbed up that vine in the picture, and we feared him eating the eggs, so we had to intervene and take him out with some tweezers, but we didnt ruin his nest, or anything. and that was over 12 hours ago, and hes still tending to them. We're mucho excited xD


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Well your female couldn't show vertical bars. She's light colored so you can't see them but she was obviuosly ready.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Ok....So theyve all hatched, or are just starting to hatch, but i need some advice, and ASAP, from you guys.

The babies are there now, so how should i be able to determine "Free swimming"? 

like the babies will fall out of the nest, but they get themselves back up on their own, and the male is starting to lose interest in tending to them it looks like.... But the icing on the cake is, im pretty sure there still are more eggs in there to hatch...

its roughly 48Hours after their spawning....Should i just wait till tommorow morning to take him out?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Bloodeath said:


> Ok....So theyve all hatched, or are just starting to hatch, but i need some advice, and ASAP, from you guys.
> 
> The babies are there now, so how should i be able to determine "Free swimming"?
> 
> ...


 No they're not free swimming but by tomorrow they will. If youre feeding Brine shrimp start your hatchery now. Free swimming means when they sit right in the water and swim like regualar fish and swim away from the nest.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

> No they're not free swimming but by tomorrow they will. If youre feeding Brine shrimp start your hatchery now. Free swimming means when they sit right in the water and swim like regualar fish and swim away from the nest.


i started my brine shrimp hatchery yesterday, should i hatch some more today just to be safe? ( i have like 10 million eggs, in that handy little vial)


And i should take a picture of this to better explain it, but my filter has slits in it, where i fear the babies could get sucked up in...should i cut out a brine shrimp net and cover it with it? just to be on the safe side?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Bloodeath said:


> i started my brine shrimp hatchery yesterday, should i hatch some more today just to be safe? ( i have like 10 million eggs, in that handy little vial)
> 
> 
> And i should take a picture of this to better explain it, but my filter has slits in it, where i fear the babies could get sucked up in...should i cut out a brine shrimp net and cover it with it? just to be on the safe side?


 Can you pst a pic of your filter?


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Yes i certainly can.

its the one on the right, the thing on the left would be a heater. 
see i was thinking about cutting the net off of the brine shrimp net and covering the end with it, and then just going and buying another net lol.













Off topic: A video showing all our betta's since we dont have a good enough camera to capture their beauty  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O52143GnCzE


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah, rubber band the mesh over it. They'll get sucked up. Normally you'd use a sponge filter in a breeding tank. It's much more gentle.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Id just take the whole thing out and replace it with a sponge fiter. The current would be to much for the fry even if there was the mesh to keep them from getting sucked up.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

i can actually adjust the current of the filter and make it as low as a few drops lol. But i cant really afford to replace the filter at the moment, so im gonna stick with the mesh....


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Oh well then that will work as long as you have some sort of surface disruption that isn't to over powering for the fry.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Or you can get a regular sponge (brand new) cut a hole halway through stick your airline tubing through and tada a sponge filter 

Watch this video it goes more in depth a little more than halfway through and its basicly the same breeding method I use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL7FdzsR7Gw&feature=related


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Well... i spent about 7 hours watching them today...it looks like some low numbers on the fry, im only seeing about 7-10 fry... :/ oh well, some is better than none. Hopefully they'll live -_-. But, their still not free swimming to their full potential and i dont want to take away the father until probably tommorow morning or mid day tommorow. 


OFFTOPIC: The females in my sorority tank are flaring at each other, and the one who i mated with is, occasionally fin nipping the other...is this expected with 2 females, ive never put them in the same tank before, and everyone says its ok, but i just want to check, is it more of, its generally ok, but sometimes females wont coexist with other females? Or is this normal?


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

yes its normal they are showing dominance but also you will need many plants and a lot of hiding spots for females to be in the same tank the tank has to be at least 10 gallons, also there has to be at least 4-6 females no more no less!! i love your fish!!!


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

...


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

> also there has to be at least 4-6 females no more no less!! i love your fish!!!


I have them in a ten gallon, with live plants and plenty of hiding spots.... i have a link that shows there tank. But i only have 2 females in it, with 2 cory cats, i was scared of overstocking it. xD 


Update: I woke up this morning and i dont know if whether the fry are in the nest still, or their freeswimming, or theyve been eatin or fallin to the ground and never picked back up, because as of yet, i can only see 1 fry in the nest. (Starting to panic now Lol)


EDIT: He picked up some lost babies i guess, because he spat a few back to the bubble nest so im not really too worried anymore lol


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

(Side-Note): okay you have to have 4-6 females because if ot the weaker female will get picked on by the other dominant female. 

also. i hope th fry are okay. keep us posted


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Bloodeath said:


> Well... i spent about 7 hours watching them today...it looks like some low numbers on the fry, *im only seeing about 7-10 fry... *:/ oh well, some is better than none. Hopefully they'll live -_-. But, their still not free swimming to their full potential and i dont want to take away the father until probably tommorow morning or mid day tommorow.
> 
> OFFTOPIC: The females in my sorority tank are flaring at each other, and the one who i mated with is, occasionally fin nipping the other...is this expected with 2 females, ive never put them in the same tank before, and everyone says its ok, but i just want to check, is it more of, its generally ok, but sometimes females wont coexist with other females? Or is this normal?


I know this is too late, and I'm sorry. I'm commenting for future breeding. Bettas lay a lot of eggs. A full grown female can lay over 1000 eggs. So if they've just hatched and you only see a few ..... that is a bad sign. The nest area should be swarming with tiny dots swimming in circles. 

1. The eggs never hatched due to failure in fertilization. Usually in this case you see many unhatched eggs after 24 hours.
2. The father may have eaten them. Usually you don't see or only few eggs or fry after 24 hours.

You can't do anything on the first but if it's the second reason, you should pull out the daddy and hope the fry can survive on their own.
I'm sorry I didn't read this earlier. I thought everything was ok.

offtopic: Females will fight each other and those who just spawned are more aggressive. If the dominant female is over aggressive, you should separate them. This is why it is best to place at least 4 females in a sorority hoping that the inferior will not be over bullied.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

> I know this is too late, and I'm sorry. I'm commenting for future breeding. Bettas lay a lot of eggs. A full grown female can lay over 1000 eggs. So if they've just hatched and you only see a few ..... that is a bad sign. The nest area should be swarming with tiny dots swimming in circles.
> 
> 1. The eggs never hatched due to failure in fertilization. Usually in this case you see many unhatched eggs after 24 hours.
> 2. The father may have eaten them. Usually you don't see or only few eggs or fry after 24 hours.
> ...


yea...im only seeing about 2-3 Fry, so im assuming this is going to end in an unsuccessful breed. but i suppose that's ok, i have another female thats full of eggs and another SuperRed Crowntail thats prime for breeding himself, only this time i wont be an idiot about it and make sure i take out all the rocks and lower the water...


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Bloodeath said:


> yea...im only seeing about 2-3 Fry, so im assuming this is going to end in an unsuccessful breed. but i suppose that's ok, i have another female thats full of eggs and another SuperRed Crowntail thats prime for breeding himself, only this time i wont be an idiot about it and make sure i take out all the rocks and lower the water...


hey at least you got to see the betta embrace in person!!:-D:-D


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Little update: theres roughly 6 or 7 fry that i can manage to see, and ive begun feeding, and took out the male already. Expecting none to live, but hoping all of them will. xD

got my super red ct male, and my Female red ct in the same tank and everything, their all set up for the long breeding process, this weekend we're going to take the divider out (Depending on their behavior by then)


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Glad there are some fry there left i hope all goes well!!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Update: Alive and kicking those 5 fry are. Lol, getting bigger each day, and eating daily as well.

Offtopic: Our latest breeding tank, featuring Clifford and Gryxi - have induced mating this morning, and i have a nice 5 min(ish) Video of them doing the do, except this time, we remembered to lower water to half, and took out all the rocks, *Peers behind shoulder* And their spawning like crazy, and it only took about 5 days of conditioning and not even a full 24 hours of being together.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Bloodeath said:


> Update: Alive and kicking those 5 fry are. Lol, getting bigger each day, and eating daily as well.
> 
> Offtopic: Our latest breeding tank, featuring Clifford and Gryxi - have induced mating this morning, and i have a nice 5 min(ish) Video of them doing the do, except this time, we remembered to lower water to half, and took out all the rocks, *Peers behind shoulder* And their spawning like crazy, and it only took about 5 days of conditioning and not even a full 24 hours of being together.


Nice pictures of the fry?

Also good job on the other breeding!!

And can you post the video of them spawning?:lol::lol::lol:

Im excited!!!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Unfortunately we accidentally deleted the video of clifford and Gryxi spawning, but i oughta upload a video or some pics today, this spawn is by far 10x more successful than pippins and juno. We peer in there and see like 30+ babies...But yea, updates shall ensue after school (around 4ish hours, if anyone still cares lol.)


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Bloodeath said:


> Unfortunately we accidentally deleted the video of clifford and Gryxi spawning, but i oughta upload a video or some pics today, this spawn is by far 10x more successful than pippins and juno. We peer in there and see like 30+ babies...But yea, updates shall ensue after school (around 4ish hours, if anyone still cares lol.)


i doo!!! take pics and a video i want to see the fry so badly!!!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Unfortunately the Fry from Clifford and Gryxi's spawn are just too small to see. but their not even 2 weeks old...(I mean too small for my Piece of Crap olympus camera) But their doing excellent, theres still roughly 20-30ish fry alive in the tank, and their being fed twice a day with my baby brine shrimp.


as for pippins tank (The breed that is Relevant to this thread) 

We thought that we were going to call it a failed attempt this weekend, but we saw and counted 4 fry today lol (Kinda sad, but 4 is better than none) and their doing great, eating twice a day as well....i just fear their future, i really hope they survive,

And i was able to capture a pic of one of pippins fry...and a ton of baby snails that aparently have been reproducing in the same tank...


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

wow they are so cute and tiny!

Also, that is cute!(baby snail invasion!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I have a snail invasion!! My eggs just hatched and I need to figure out how to get them in the fry tank  They're in a plastic cup right now and they just hatched but how do I get them out and into the fry tank? Never had snails before


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> I have a snail invasion!! My eggs just hatched and I need to figure out how to get them in the fry tank  They're in a plastic cup right now and they just hatched but how do I get them out and into the fry tank? Never had snails before


If you put the cup inside of the tank with the snails then they will eventually climb out and stay in the fry tank. just make sure you leave the cup in the fry tank for about 1-2 days to be sure they are all out.

How did they get in the cup to hatch anyway?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

bettalover2033 said:


> If you put the cup inside of the tank with the snails then they will eventually climb out and stay in the fry tank. just make sure you leave the cup in the fry tank for about 1-2 days to be sure they are all out.
> 
> How did they get in the cup to hatch anyway?


 Well the breeder sent me a plant and I threw it in my infusoria culture. Then I saw a blob of jelly like stuff and messaged the breeder. Upon realizing they were snail eggs I took the plant out and put it in a plastic cup in a heated tank. They hatched today and there's less than 10 in there but I'm going to add them and see if the tank stays cleaner.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> Well the breeder sent me a plant and I threw it in my infusoria culture. Then I saw a blob of jelly like stuff and messaged the breeder. Upon realizing they were snail eggs I took the plant out and put it in a plastic cup in a heated tank. They hatched today and there's less than 10 in there but I'm going to add them and see if the tank stays cleaner.


Wow its an extra gift lol!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Big update today....

so lets get right to it,

took a 75 mile trip today to take my mom to the airport for her trip, decided to stop at petsmart, got a few aquatic plants, (some, cabomba and some water wiseria, or something like that) and threw it in the breeding tank (after thoroughly washing it off), and decided to take some pictures. well i took some, then looked through the camera, and found the video of clifford and gryxi mating ( the other pair) so i bring pictures and a video today...

(Video link will be edited in once its done uploading)


this is what the tank looks like now (Pippins babies tank anyhow), its still populating more and more snails daily lol.











Red circle=baby.










same goes on this picture
(sorry about picture size/quality, i have a crappy camera, and a photobucket account that likes to resize my pictures. lol) Oh and if you havent noticed, the airstones tube is kinda...crooked, its all fixed now, and theres a sponge under it so i dont gotta worry about the babies getting sucked up xD












erm....i guess clifford doesnt like cameras? lol:










Anyways thats it until the videos up.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Nice!

Im a betta parent too lol i have some fry now im doing my brine shrimp hatchery


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Update with no pictures: Pippins tank (Our first spawn) his fry are showing vivid colors, blues and reds. Pictures will probably be here tommorow.


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

I can't wait to see the fry!


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## BettaBoy84 (Jul 25, 2010)

Fry are looking real good...I don't envy you for your tank however, my planted tank is hard enough to find my fry in, that tank looks like you may have more fry than you think lol!

Awesome work keep it up, Id love to see more pics!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

> Fry are looking real good...I don't envy you for your tank however, my planted tank is hard enough to find my fry in, that tank looks like you may have more fry than you think lol!
> 
> Awesome work keep it up, Id love to see more pics!


you have no idea, some times i think their all gone, and then like 5 just swim out of the dark abyss of plants and caved areas, haha. 

anywho, i thought i might as well post this here too...

You can see the red and blue coming in on this little bugger.

and Note:Snail extravaganza.

they breed....like rabbits. at first i was scared of suctioning them out, but the deed has been done, this pic is 3 days old.


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## wystearya (Sep 27, 2010)

Oh how exciting! I don't know that I would ever be brave enough (or have the right supplies) for breeding, but it has to be fun watching them grow!


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## BettaBoy84 (Jul 25, 2010)

Nice color at that fry!

Cant wait to see some more pics, once they come outta the wood work lol!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Hmm their a whole 9+weeks old...and their still not able to be sexed...should i start doing more avid water changes or something to promote growth?


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## BettaBoy84 (Jul 25, 2010)

Water changes will definitely help with growth. Plus feeding them LOTS from birth on ward is a good way to ensure proper growth and health..

Make sure you don't replace too much, depending how many water changes you have been doing...IMO could be a shock to the fry if there hasn't been many water changes or just small amounts!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Ive just started filling my spawning tubs up with water right after dad is out. And when theyre at least 2 weeks I just dump in water. I dont really care what temp it is as long as its not freezing. I feel it makes hardier fish and culls out the little weaklings.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

everytime i look inside the tank i notice 2 little buggers showing aggression to each other and the rest of the fry, going out of their way to nip others, or whenever a fry comes near them whilst their trying to eat, they pick a little fight, and basically stand their ground until the other/smaller fish swims away in fear. 

Now i know this is a good indicator i should take them out and seperate them, but their still not really showing their sex, they could be females, or their fins could keep growing and they could be males, so the fact of me not being able to sex them yet, makes me leery on taking them out, i dont wanna kill the few fry i have.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I would seperate them as soon as they start showing aggression.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Well i just finished seperating the meanest fry. she/he is in a small critter keeper type thing inside of the 10gallon (so i dont have to worry about heating)

I want to seperate the other biggest/meanest one, and i have a good sized 2g(ish) vase to house him/her (i think shes a girl xD) for her growing, but im worried about keeping it heated. i dont want the little bugger to get terribly stunted/die because of a low 70s temp......What to do?


Edit: and the small critter keeper im refering to is one of those evil betta flare mini tanks, thats plastic and comes with the plastic divider, will this be big enough to house the fry for another week or 2? (only 1 fry)

This is the Critter keeper that im currently housing 1 fry in, is it good enough for a week or 2?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I think it would be fine as long as water changes are kept up with.


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

Long story short, i only have 2 little boys left in my first spawn, which sucks, but is alot more manageable number than the 7+ i was expecting. (Pauses for a moment of silence for the lost babies due to my ignorance.)

Anyways Update, update, update, look at my 2 little boys, (only 1 picture shows the smaller one, he likes to hide.) 
Im really proud of how pretty their becoming, their so much prettier already than what i imagined them to be, since i was breeding petco/walmart fish.























































and the littler guy:










Unrelated: new 10g


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They're very pretty!


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## Bloodeath (Aug 22, 2010)

*Cough Cough* 

i know i havent been around for quite some time, but the little boy thats in 90% of these pictures (who is now a Young adult/late teenager lol) has now been 100% distinguished as a male. Hes grown enough to pick up the ability of Flareing, and he is up and eating regular betta food now. Pictures following tommorow, of him flaring, maybe even a video if you guys really wanna see.

i figure in 3 months time, or so, ill end up mating him with another CT, although this time i'd like to do it with a little more unique female, than with the typical walmart bought betta. xD


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## mand (Nov 19, 2010)

Congratulations on raising him. I've just had my first breeding hatch and hopefully i'll be able to keep them alive now i've taken dad out.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Bloodeath said:


> *Cough Cough*
> 
> i know i havent been around for quite some time, but the little boy thats in 90% of these pictures (who is now a Young adult/late teenager lol) has now been 100% distinguished as a male. Hes grown enough to pick up the ability of Flareing, and he is up and eating regular betta food now. Pictures following tommorow, of him flaring, maybe even a video if you guys really wanna see.
> 
> i figure in 3 months time, or so, ill end up mating him with another CT, although this time i'd like to do it with a little more unique female, than with the typical walmart bought betta. xD


I cant wait to see pictures! Keep us updated. Hey how many bettas did you finally raise, sell/give away?


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