Pictorial Betta spawing log

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Never Say Die-again

Well, here we are a month down the road...Everyone has grown a bit and starting to mature nicely...Although Bettas can breed as early as 4 months, 6 is better and much more common...Ofcourse I had to try lol....
My little Black Copper made a huge bubblenest yesterday, the biggest and most substantial one to date....I said "boy, get yer breedin shoes on..."
And he did.......

WELL, HELLOOOOOOOO THERE... ...some dangly tails tomorrow???? Stay tuned!

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Still a full nest!

Well daddy has been a busy little fishy....I got up at 4 am (fretful grandmother) and he was workin away...COMPLETELY consumed by his task...Barely paused long enough to notice me there...

8 am feeding time was not much different...Normally they all go berserk because they know breakfast is comming, not him though...Too busy tending eggs...Fed the female and offered him a taste...He paused long enough to eat a couple of crumbs and back to work...

Noon will mark the 24 hour period...I can expect "tails" anywhere between then and noon tomorrow...The tank is a little warmer then usual, 82 degrees, so this may speed up the process a bit...

Not much to do now except wait and hope he keeps up his great daddy skills

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Not much to report....This pair has been cursed with constantly dropping eggs...Sometimes it happens, as fast as he puts them up, more drop...This can be a tiring process another reason why you use healthy young stock...Takes alot of energy to chase the eggs...Eggs left on the bottom will eventually rot so the fact tht he is intent on keeping them up is a good sign...

Proper conditioning is so essential, particularily in this situation...He is using a TON of energy...Without proper feeding he would have never been able to do it.

Updates as they happen

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Eggs are still a bobbin...Daddy still goin strong...The good news is I can see a tiny grey speck in the eggs...A baby is in there! Good news because
a) I know they were fertilized and
b) I know nobody is sterile...
I took a few pics, but it is impossible to see them on film...I had to squint with a magnifyng glass to spot them...To put it into perspective, you can fit about 3 eggs on the head of a pin...Most of that egg is yolk sac...

No matter how many spawns I have, I am always fascinated by these tiny mircles...It is almost impossible to immagine that these teeny specs will be beautiful young adults in 3 months. Hope I havnt cursed them lol!

You know what they say about counting chickens!

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

We Have Tails

Yes, just saw an egg drop down with a tail hanging out! They have begun to hatch... The eggs are dropping faster now...The fry are trying to break out of their "cysts" and they are totally helpless...Daddy is REALLY working now, trying to keep them up in the nest...Over the next several days their internal organs will develop as well as their labyrinth organ...They have no functioning swim bladder and are unable to control any movement...Basically all they can do is fall to the bottom...Good parental skills is imperative for the fry to survive the first few days of life...

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

New baby pics

I managed to get a half way reasonable pic of the fry guys...So tiny, almost impossible to photo...Most of them have hatched now, and clinging for dear life onto the side of the styrofoam cup

Daddy is still working his fins off...No rest for the wicked!

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

New baby pic

Well things have finally settled down in the bubble nest...No more frantic parachuting from the nest...Daddy is finally getting a break! I just took a picture of the fry guys...Notice how much darker they are!

Their yolk sacs will be depleted by tommorow or the next day so they should start trying to get into a horizontal position...As soon as the can move about "horizontally" they will start looking for food...Daddys job will finally be done and he can go home to get some much needed rest.

Taking care of your breeding stock is very important after spawning...The process is long and tiring and your fish can succumb to infection and disease easily in this exhausted state... Feeding should be done sparingly, but more often...Remember the male has not really eaten in 3 days, so gobbling up a bunch of food at once can cause stomach upset. Split a normal portion into 2 and feed twice instead of once. I also soak mosquito larva in a shot glass with some Kent ZOE in it...A liquid multivitamin that will help them on the road to recovery.

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Exploring a new world

I removed Daddy at 9 am this morning after a job well done...Not as many fry as yesterday, however they have started to leave the nest and investigate their new world...Probably be a few weeks until I have an idea of how many there are...Their bellys are not as full as they were, so they have almost consumed their yolk sac...They will start really looking for food tomorrow or so.
I noticed a significant number missing last evening...They were not free swimming yet so I was starting to worry...WHere did they go? Did he eat them??? I figured that he did, so i thought it was a good time to give him some larva...Low and behold he ejected about 20 out of his mouth back into the nest and had a real snack...Seems that he is enjoying mouthbrooding...He is a funny guy!
Daddy is now back in the adult tank and recovering nicely...Already flaring at his neighbour

As always- updates as they happen

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

More Fry pics

You asked, I snapped
It took several attempts to get a pic, but I did manage to get two...

Fry are doing well and eating lots...Not much else to report really...Gonna be a few weeks before they really show up on film...

 

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Fry guys

The little fry guys and gals are doing well...Still not much more then bellies with eyes...

Still wont see even the slightest hint of colour for a few weeks yet