# My 1st Spawn [Image Heavy]



## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

before i go on talking about the spawn, i'd like everyone to keep their negative comments to themselves. please dont tell me to do research and such because i have done plenty. i am well equipped and prepared for this.

the story before the real story:
my initial plan was to spawn the following couple: a ct male, and vt female. these two have been well conditioned for over two weeks. i have been feeding them purely bloodworm with the occasional brine shrimp.









needless to say, after a full day in the tank together, things did not work out. i had to stop this because the male was beaten up badly with very little tail left. poor guy.

now onto the real story:
my intent was to remove the red vt female and end it there. i figured, although beaten, the male is still healthily conditioned and has a big nest. what harm could it be to add in another female for a quick while.

the spawning pair:
male: grey and red CT









female: black orchid CT (although not conditioned by me, it's evident she is full of eggs and ready to spawn)









i was worried about putting the female in because she is too pretty. had anything bad happened, i would have taken her out immediately.

to my amazement, they took no longer than five minutes before getting down to business! they went at it for about an hour. during most of the time, the male kept eating the eggs, and it was the female that gathered the eggs into the nest. i was worried that the male wouldn't stop until he has eaten every last one. after they stopped embracing, i removed the female and left the male to tend the nest. im relieved that there are still plenty of eggs right now.


































































here is the result of the female fish. although still in good conditioned, im sadden by the few nips.










being a big ct fan, i am much happier spawning this couple than my initial pair. ct x vt will almost always result in vt offspring. i would rate this as a fairly successful spawn. please dont ask demeaning questions about food, raising, etc. i believe i'm well informed with all the necessary resource. there should not be any problems. *knocks on wood*

i will say that i will be culling a good majority of the offspring. i will not get into details nor do i wish to debate the ethical issues. you are entitled to your opinions as i am to mine.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

Hmm. That's cool. I don't think he was eating them, he has a little pouch he puts the eggs in then puts them up in teh nest. But I'm glad the second attempt worked.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

thank you! im glad to hear things are working out for you too.

he was definitely eating the eggs for the first half hour or so. im just glad he stopped.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Dangit!! Now I want these CTs too!! Vikkis made me drool enough and now these?


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## 5green (Jul 31, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> Dangit!! Now I want these CTs too!! Vikkis made me drool enough and now these?


 lol:-D


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## Rohland (Aug 20, 2009)

your female is beautiful!
I want her


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

andakin said:


> thank you! im glad to hear things are working out for you too.
> 
> he was definitely eating the eggs for the first half hour or so. im just glad he stopped.


Really? hmm, I thought Merlin was too, but he eventually put them up. At least you've got some eggs!! Wait till they hatch, you'll be super happy lol


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> Dangit!! Now I want these CTs too!! Vikkis made me drool enough and now these?


You sayin mine aren't good enough anymore? Huh punk? 
lol jk


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

And dont worry, if you keep the female with aquarium salt and some JFE or betta fix, she'll get all better.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

MrVampire, I think you need to order from Andakin AND Vikki! lol


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

dramaqueen said:


> MrVampire, I think you need to order from Andakin AND Vikki! lol


lol!


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

i'd like to keep making additions to the first post but the system wont let me.

it's raining fish right now! lots of babies are falling from the nest and trying to swim back up. the poor father is working so hard trying to keep up. i feel so bad cuz he hasn't eaten in 4 days and it wont be for another couple of days before he gets any food.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

He'll be okay. I didn't feed Merlin until he looked like he had no energy left. He stopped picking them up and just layed there. But bettas can go like 4 weeks without eating or something like that. He'll be okay.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

i just siphoned an inch of water out of the tank to make nest tending easier. i might do another inch before i head to bed.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

how is the brine shrimp working for you? i might do the same and skip the egg yolk completely.

got any tips on harvesting? i have both shrimp eggs and salt. the only problem is that i own only one air pump with tubing, but no air stones. think it'll be enough to aerate? if i plan on harvesting brine shrimps 12 hours apart, will i need two separate air pumps?


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

I don't use an airstone, just a pump with the tubing. I can take a picture and show you..hold on.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

Kay, here's the site I used. 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_brineshrimp_hatchery.php

jar with airlining tube and pump









my lid, could probably do with less holes lol









The jar, don't know if you an see the brine shrimp swimmin around, but you can see Pearl in the mason jar being the shrimps jar lol.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

And no you wont need two separate air pumps. You might need two jars though. Once they eggs hatch I stop their aeration and start a new batch.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

thanks for taking the time to show me your pictures.

is the purpose of a gang valve to allow for multiple tubing using a single air pump? if so, are you using one?


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

I've never used one, lol. I think a gang valve slows down the aeration.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

My aerator slows down when I turn it...


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

im almost certain that a gang valve allows for multiple tubing.

do you think a single station harvest will be enough to feed? i'm only asking because it takes a long long time to hatch. once hatched, i have no idea how long the bbs will be good for. most sites recommend feeding the babies several times a day.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

But I just looked it up and I guess a gang valve does allow to to use two or more separate tubes. I need one, lol.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

You feed the babies twice a day. And if you have alot of babies, I would do two jars for bbs. My eggs only take about 12-16 hours to hatch. And I think they live about 20 hours after they hatch.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

thanks for all the info! i'm gonna start a single hatching tonight then i'm off to the pet store first thing in the morning for a gang valve.

SO MANY BABIES. im as ecstatic as can be right now.


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

Yeah I just counted mine, probably didn't find them all but from what I could count and see resting there were at least 20 and that makes me completely happy for my first successful attempt at breeding.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

here is a video of raining babies. enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I8xLnXybzg


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## Vikki81207 (May 27, 2009)

That's so cute!!!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Aww how cute.


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## sumsum (Aug 24, 2009)

Beautiful female Betta!


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## AlexXx (Aug 23, 2009)

That video was amazing! Hes a great father! I can imagine he would get tired of doing that for so long! poor guy. Your female is amazing! If you are selling some babies, ill take a female


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

That video is awesome!!  Good luck raising the babies!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Cool video!


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