Pictorial Betta spawing log

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TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
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Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Welcome to the bubblenest...I am going to attempt a "blow by blow" pictorial log with my pair of Cardinal HMs. These fish are 4 months old and this is their first spawn..Could be successful, could be a dismal failure...The male is a little "dense" and probably the worst bubble blower in history...Guess we willhave to wait and see what happens...Worst comes to worst, i have back up pairs...And on with the show...

Hmm, this looks like a nice place to build a nest...

I actually thought that he had clued in...Turned out that he is more interested in trying to eat the styrofoam then blow bubbles under it...Did I mention he is dense?

And then he noticed the heater...

I mighty battle ensues...I think they decided to call it a "draw"

WHOA! There is a girl here...

Ok he has noticed the female...Looks like it is over between him and the heater...They were no good for each other anyway. Notice that the female instantly starts to posture with her nose down...A good sign, albeit earlier then normal...Maybe their is hope for them...

I see you baby, shaking that tail...

His entire demeaner has changed, he is now strutting for all he is worth, trying to impress her...




Stay tuned for updates as they happen...
 
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TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
1,236
0
0
51
Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Tank Specs.

10 gallon, half full
Good old Big Als water conditioner, pinch of aquarium salt and some Maroxy to prevent egg fungus.
pH- 7.8
Gh and Kh- cant recall offhand...High and unshakeable...
Temp 81 degrees
Food- Preconditioned for 2 weeks with mosquito larva, FD blood worm and regular betta bits.
Frequent water changes are just as beneficial as a good varied diet--they get 100 percent change every other day.

These photos are the bare bones of an article I will compose at a later date...There is no guarantee this will be a successful spawn, so I thought it may be an interesting bit of "reality aquarium"..Whatever the outcome, i will keep posting the progress...
 
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TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
1,236
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51
Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Well, not much going on in the spawn tank...Alot of anxious pacing and showing off but that is it...Still no bubblenest or anything looking even remotely like it...I have set up another pair just to be on the safe side...Usually I give the male till the next morning to make a decent nest, however some males never do prepare one..Just sort of make it as they go along collecting eggs...One way or the other, they will be released at 8 am tomorrow...Start praying for big Red...I think he will need all the help he can get lol.
 

TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
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Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Well not much to report...I caught him "embracing" himself in the corner...Ofcouse I didnt have the camera...I do have a couple of new pics that are bang on to his colour...Photography has been tough in this house, but I think I have finally figured it out....


Still oogling her


Posing for the camera...FOR ONCE

No more pictures please....
 

TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
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Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Good morning all...Fins have been flying in the spawning tank...As predicted, Big Red never did figure out how to build a nest...I realeased them around 8:30 and all seems to be going well....She pretty much made a b-line to the "spawning site"...Ofcourse not a bubble to be found...


A little interaction near the site...She is digging him


First attempt at an "embrace" As you can see, she will have none of it...
I do give him points for slickness though..He is a real smooth operator...

Female retreating into the plants...

Big Red wont take no for an answer...He is pacing wildly trying to lure her out...
Stay tuned, updates as they happen.
 

TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
1,236
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51
Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Good eye EMG! All signs indicate that it is just a matter of time before they try to do the deal...
A little wooing on his part...A little hard to get on hers...


Hmmm, this looks ok...Perhaps I will let him father our kids...A little sparse, but he is a bachelor...

Another close call...HEAVY vertical striping...a good sign


Closer still...An embrace is eminent...


Just about a half a second after I snapped this pic, her head spun around 3 times and she beat the crap out of him...Yes, exactly like the Exorcist...She ripped him to shreds and contentedly ate what was left of his fins floating in the water...I have never seen a male flee so quickly...He couldnt get away from her fast enough...For the next ten minutes he was positively terrified...He jammed himself behind the filter to get away from her...She waited for him like Jaws


At this point I knew no good would come from this...This spawn is over...

HOWEVER- Being the smart girl I am, I had a back up....And low and behold-
AN EMBRACE




They had been so docile towards one another that I was quite suprised to see it...

Here is is releasing her...You can see the eggs falling...


Well needless to say, this continued for about 3 hours...Took him a while to figure out to pick them up, but a few seem to have made it to the nest...We are not in the clear yet though...Still so much that can happen....Stay tunned.
 

TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
1,236
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51
Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Oh that last picture of the reds is the female...The male was hiding behing the filter refusing to come out...

UPDATE-
Well, my second pair were much more successful at spawning, but unfortunately the male has decided that they eggs made a better snack...He is really doing a great job of guarding an empty nest though!

Well, there you have it...The joys of Betta breeding...I will recondition the two pairs and hope that the next time is sucessful...It is not uncommon for them "not to get it right" the first time, but be successful in other spawns...I promise I will have baby pics in the future ;) Thanks for sharing!
 

TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
1,236
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51
Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Well, im glad everyone enjoyed it...Sort of a real life glimpse at how challenging these little guys can be...It will take about 3 weeks, to heal up the reds and condition them...The Blood Gold HMs (the ones that look like my avatar) maybe 2 weeks...They were virtually unscathed...Ofcourse I always have other pairs ;) There is a Royal Blue pair and Some Black Coppers being introduced to each other...

Is it just me, or does there seem to be some sort of "etheral light" on this little guy? Perhaps Tiny Tim will save the day?

 

TheMightyQueenPixie

Best Invention EVER!
Apr 16, 2002
1,236
0
0
51
Barrie, ON. Canada
www.baycitybettas.com
Never Say Die

Well, looks like my Tiny Tim managed to pull it off...sort of...Once again, a good daddy for about an hour, then SNACK TIME...I removed them before they could eat every last egg....Now what??? Well, now i am a surrogate daddy...Swishing the eggs in my mouth, reblowing the bubble nest...No, I am not serious...Daddys wash the eggs in their mouths to protect them from fungus...Luckily so does Maroxy...I have lowered the tank to about 2.5 inches...Just enough to cover the equipment...The eggs are looking good and should hatch out sometime between tonight and tomorrow night if all goes well...The fry dont need to surface for about 4 days or so because their labyrinth organs are still developing..The key is to keep the surface as low as possible so they can get their on their own...I have never tried this, but apparently it can be successful...Once again, stay tuned.
 
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