My Bettas are fixing to do the wild thang!

[TxBabyCat]

My Betta couple are very happy getting their new 10 gal invironment. I got a 10g from Haiven Saturday and set it up Sunday for the Bettas. I placed the female in the tank with him for a little bit and then took her out and put her in the plastic floating breeding tank and placed him a styrofoam cup bottom in there for him to build a nest. Well Monday night I noticed she was real big in the tummy, so thought it might be soon. Then around 8pm last night, I looked at her and she was putting eggs in the corner of the floating tank she was in. There were about 50 eggs in a bundle at the top of the water and she was picking up some off the bottom and putting them with the others.

I was like --- WHoaaaa! Look at this!

So we put her in with the male and they pranced around some but never did it. He cant quit get her to come to his nest yet. So took her out when we went to bed. Got up this morning and she has more eggs in there with her. So they are together now again and we will see what happens. They are both beautiful, so hopefully this will work and we'll have pretty little baby bettas.

I just didnt know the female would squirt out her own eggs and gather them together.. that was wild.

[bra8ndy8]

How neat!!! He's beautiful!

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks Brandy. He is red with turquoise blue in him and she is blue and gets pink hues in her.

[mrsadler]

congrats and gl

[greytdobe]

Pretty crowntail male. Is the lil girl a CT also?? If she doesn't cooperate or accept his 'offer', i've got a really nice 5mo metallic blue CT female you can try.

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks Greytdobe, She looks more like she has a spade looking tail. I have put her in there with him about 4 times now and he cant coak her to stay under his nest so they can mate. So I put her back in her little floating tank when I cant watch them all the time. She seems to flirt and flare up with him, but wont stay near the nest.

Might have to take you up on that offer..lol

What kind of tails would they be born with mixing the two different kind? We couldnt really find any crowntail females in the pet stores.

[pam916]

Petsmart has crowntail females. Halfmoon females are the ones I have a hard time finding. Maybe you should leave the female with the male instead of putting her in and taking her out. If he is not being really aggressive towards her.

[greytdobe]

What kind of tails would they be born with mixing the two different kind? We couldnt really find any crowntail females in the pet stores.

you will get combtails with this combo. Basically a veiltail with some stubble<G> What type of set up do you have? What's the temp of the tank? The one thing breeders seem to agree on is that optimum temp is around 80. I have not tried other temps so i can't agree or disagree. I'm one of those "if it ain't broke don't fix it" people. You may need to just condition both fish separately with live foods, clean water, almond leaf etc.
Check out the IBC website for articles.

http://www.ibcbettas.org/

[TxBabyCat]

I went to Petsmart and got a crowntail female the same color as the male. Then we bought 2 more males..lol ... A pretty pastel colored crowntail and a pink, white and red regular tail male betta thats beautiful.

Back to the breeding, they are in a 10g with no substrate, a sponge filter and the heater that came with the tank doesnt keep the water warm enough, it keeps it around 76, so I will need to go get a thermometer that I can adjust the temp. then to help out.

I will post pics of the others I bought when I get them on the computer.

[TxBabyCat]

Here's the pics of the new ones we bought at Petsmart.
Pastel Crowntail Male
Regular Male - White with purple and pinks
Crowntail Red and turquoise female

And
The One's we had already:
Red and Turquoise Crowntail Male
Reuglar Blue Female

[greytdobe]

OMG, you have Betta addiction now<G> They are all lovely. I love the little pastel boy. Glad you got them. They are going to love their new digs!

[pam916]

It is amazing the quality of bettas you can get at the lfs. They are beautiful.

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks, Pam
Yeah, I was amazed myself, most times they dont look too good and dont have a lot of color, especially the females usually dont look real pretty. But these two I have I really like them.

I've tried all 3 bettas with the red female and none of them will build a bubble nest now. She is prime ready with a fat belly.

Guess we will keep trying.

[TxBabyCat]

Hey Pam, I did as you suggested and kept the female in with the male. First off, we changed female. We put the red crowntail female in with the red crowntail male. He started building a big nest and then she got real fat and we put her in Thursday evening and left her there. They have been flirting and he wasnt real aggressive to her, so we felt safe.

This morning around 10:30, they are starting to go closer and closer to the nest together and it was like watching them learn how to slowly squeeze each other. Finally she was releasing eggs and unlike they say the male pics up the eggs, SHE was picking up the eggs and spewing them at the nest and then he was taking care to place them. She would gather them in floating and also from the bottom.

It's now 2:48pm and we are still watching them, so I will come back with another update in a little bit.

Its now 3:18 and they are both gathering eggs and taking care of the nest. She's way slimmer now and getting tired I would like to take her out now, but I dont want to upset the nest. She wont venture far enough away for me to get her out.

Pictures to come soon. Camera on tripod.

[TxBabyCat]

Ok, it took about 5 hours for them to complete this ritual. I know have her out of the tank and he is tending to the eggs.

Started out with no one retreiving the eggs, then she started to get them as they were falling and the others off the bottom. We thought she was eating them until she swam back up and spit the eggs towards the nest. I counted at the most 20 at a time she would hold in her mouth. He would then take them and place them in a bubble. Then as if he learned from her he started helping her retreive the eggs also.

She's out and he is tending to the nest now... so we will see what happens. What a neat experience seeing this all take place. :field goal:

[alta678]

WooHoo! How cool! They are beautiful and should make gorgeous babies!!

:woohoo:

[TxBabyCat]

The Dad is still watching the eggs, they seem to be doing fine. It should be about Tuesday sometime when they hatch. He moves the eggs around in the nest, pretty neat.

Once they have hatched and are wiggling, is that when I take the Dad out?

[bra8ndy8]

That is sooo neat!! Awesome pics!! Congrats!

[pam916]

Congrats! Great pics too. It is amazing to watch. I had the same experience with the female picking up the eggs instead of the male and I also thought at first that she was eating them. If you haven't started your baby brine shrimp hatchery, you need to start it today. If you go to BettaTalk.com, you can get a lot of info on breeding and what to do after the eggs are hatched.

[Dzhokar]

Hey, how'd I miss this thread! Congrats on the successful breeding and great pictures.

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks Brandy, Pam and Dzhokar on the pics....
Ok, there are babies this morning!!!! WOW so they hatched so fast in about 36 hrs. They are wiggling and falling out of the nest and he is trying to keep them all in.

I emptied the tank down to about half water, so they can swim back up to the top better. WOW!! I'm amazed! Sooo fast, your right Pam, I need to get the brine shrimp going. I bought the eggs Sat. and some baby first bites package food.

WOW!!! I'm just beside myself!:happydance:

[TxBabyCat]

LOOOOK at these little itty bitty babies!

Brine Shrimp are started. I read that it says the Dad can stay in there until they start swimming in about 3 days when their yolk sacs go away.

Wish me luck.. I think this is going to be the harder part at keeping them fed and keeping them alive long enough to survive.

[tsunderl]

Awesome!!! Congrats and keep us posted.

[bra8ndy8]

Awwww they are soooo tiny!! WTG!! That's awesome!! Keep us updated!

[TxBabyCat]

Tuesday afternoon - Took the Dad out cause it seemed like there is starting to be less babies, so didnt know if he was eating some or not. There is still a lot of fry moving around in there thou.

I'm not real sure my brine shrimp are working or I just dont know what I am looking at in the bottle...LOL
I had also bought a package of First Bites Fry Powder in case I messed up on the brine shrimp a few times.

Tuesday Eve - Ok I see the brine shrimp, now I just put some in the tank with the babies?

Wednesday Morning - The babies seem to be swimming more and are all over the tank, everything seems fine so far. Here is a pic of the Dad, Mom and Babies. (The one of the babies turned out yellow cause the flash didnt go off so close to the tank)

[pam916]

Great pics! I hatch my bbs in quart jars, when they are ready i take the airstone out and wait a few minutes and then I suck the bbs up from the bottom of the jar with a syringe, I then hold a bbs net over the jar and squirt the water and shrimp into the net and then feed the bbs to the baby fish. I also like Wardley's Small Fry liquid food.

[Dzhokar]

Too cool :cool: Keep the updates coming!

[TxBabyCat]

The baby bettas are still alive...woohoo... I must be doing something right, just need to make it thru these first 2 weeks. The brine shrimp are coming along nicely, I think I got that down now.

[pam916]

Sounds like you are doing a good job. Keep us posted on how they progress.

[TxBabyCat]

Its been a week and the babies are still doing fine. I think I have counted about 60-70. They are eating hardy and growing, growing big enough to get some pics. Its neat to see the stripe by their eyes already.

When can I clean that tank out some? Lots of brine shrimp egg hulls go in there when I do the brine shrimp. Do I still need to wait until they are about 2 weeks old before I do that?

Also there are little white worm looking things about 1/16 of an inch crawling up the sides of the tank. What are they? Will the babies eat them?

[bra8ndy8]

Too cool....but that's all I got! LOL

[Dzhokar]

Do you ever feed live white worms? Or micro worms? Can't really tell, but looks like some sort of nematode or annelid. Look here (http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/trematodes-and-nematodes-in-fish.html).

Great to see the babies are still doing well!

[TxBabyCat]

No I havent ever fed white worms. These worms are straight and white. Gee I hope it is not a parasite!!!!! aghhhhh!!!!

[pam916]

I don't know what those worms are but if they haven't hurt the babies yet, they probably won't. Just my opinion. I am wondering if it might be from over feeding. You might try adding a couple of mystery snails to help clean up uneaten food. I always suck my brine shrimp from the bottom of the container with a syringe after I have let the water set for about 10 minutes so that the egg shells float to the top. I don't know why you couldn't do a small water change if you feel like it is necessary, you would have to be careful not to suck up the babies and that the water was the same temp as the water you removed. This is just my opinion. It looks like you are doing a great job with them.

[tsunderl]

What amazes me is that most fish start out looking the same, then over time they morph into whatever they are suppose to be. Mother Nature sure is cool. :)

[TxBabyCat]

Maybe I am putting too many eggs to hatch. About a teaspoon to the quart and a half. Cause the eggs gather on the bottom and around the sides of the top of the plastic container I am using. The brine shrimp seem to be swimming in the middle and it just seems I get too many egg shells in with the BBS. I suctioned some stuff off the bottom of the baby betta tank with the baster yesterday, putting it in a white bowl and if I happen to get a baby betta, i put him back in.

You can see the red color coming in on a lot of the babies. Their eyes glow red. It's cool! Love that magnifying glass.

[kSpieler]

Wow! Grats of the betta babies! Great job on all the pictures, all your fishies are gorgeous :D

[masroberts9]

about the white wormy things...i had the same thing happen right about the time my convict eggs were hatching. I was completely flabergasted. i still dont know what they, but the only time i had seen them was then. anyhow they all seem to have disappeared after a week or 2. and i never lost any fry.

[kSpieler]

Could they be hydras?

[TxBabyCat]

The worms dont seem to be hurting the babies and I been sucking out the bottom with a baster and getting some of them. Just added some clean water, raising the level of the water so the sponge filter can work. It cleared the top of the water off and the babies seem happy.

The babies are almost 2 weeks old now and I can still count about 60-70 babies in there. So I guess I been doing allright by them.

[kSpieler]

Sweet! Keep up the great work!

[TxBabyCat]

We had 2 other Bettas spawn last night. The Pastel colored crowntail male and the blue spadetail female. Hopefully get some pretty colored bettas out of that batch... of course better not count my fry before they hatch. Alls going well so far.

The others babies are 2 weeks old now and they are growing, some of the bigger ones are just about the size of a newborn baby guppy now.

[bra8ndy8]

WOW you got it down now!!!

[pam916]

Beautiful bettas, they should have really pretty babies. Congrats!

[TxBabyCat]

Bingo!! We have wigglers this morning... :ohyes:on the second batch.

The first ones are doing really well, growing like little weeds. Will try to get a pic today of the bigger ones.

[tsunderl]

http://www.pushupstairs.com/images/emoticon/neptune/Animated/Group/group019.gif

[bra8ndy8]

Congrats!!!!!!

[TxBabyCat]

Wow! In looking at these new babies, there are some that are white with black eyes and then the others look like the first batch with the black lines going thru their eye area. Maybe the white ones are going to be the pastel colored ones.

Maybe get some that will look like Pam's new little female betta ... pink with blue fins.

[TxBabyCat]

The first batch is 3 weeks old now from the red, purple and turquoise pair, and they still count out to about 70 babies! Here's some pics of them now.

The second batch (1 week old) of babies from the pastel male and blue female are all doing good as well. I count about 30 and the majority are white looking. Real curious to see how these turn out.

[lellison]

:Dooh, how exciting! Great pics!

[bra8ndy8]

Ohhh WOW they are growing fast!! WTG!

[TxBabyCat]

Here is some new pics of the 4 wk old red ones and the 2 week old pastel ones. The pastels are so cute and you can see the blue tint on their bodies. In the baby red crowntail pics you can see the definition in the tails on this larger baby. That is a baby platy in the one pic with the 4 wk old.

[lellison]

great pics!

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks for the compliments.

Question:
A few of the 4 wk old babies are kinda floating and hop around at the top of the water and are in a small curled position. Are these the ones that their lungs didnt form correctly and do I need to just cull them?

[greytdobe]

unfortunately, these need to be culled. Do it asap ....you are like me and will get too attached and keep them....they will live in shallow tupperware containers and you will have them spoiled and living for years...

DO IT NOW...before they break your heart.

[TxBabyCat]

Yeah, you called it, I hate to cull any of them, but they look so helpless swimming curled up on the top of the water. They may be about 10 of them... Ok..... I will go do it......:(

[Mr.Malawi]

wow nice.. congrats.

[lellison]

Yeah, you called it, I hate to cull any of them, but they look so helpless swimming curled up on the top of the water. They may be about 10 of them... Ok..... I will go do it......:(


aww, sorry to hear that. sometimes you have to be a messenger of mercy. It will be okay :)

[budwick weiser]

put them on a piece of bread with a little mustard

[TxBabyCat]

LOL yeah that sounds tasty budwick... LOL

I only culled out about 14 of them, thats all I saw for now. I had counted the pastel fry when I moved them and there are 50, instead of 30 like I thought, and there were about 65-70 of the red ones.. so 14 isnt too bad to lose.

Red Betta Fry - 5 wks old now
Pastel Betta Fry - 3 wks old now

At 5 wks, the largest of the red ones (seen in the pics) he's about 5/8" long and is starting to get the red color on his tail and on his anal fin. Also red is showing up on his pelvic fins. I will try to get a pic of him.

[Everest]

Really cool...

The kids don't want to lose the 55g but it must go... So I have been thinking about a 10g betta tank. Can 1 male live with 2 females in a 10g and be ok?

[TxBabyCat]

No, you can only put the male by himself. You only add a female when you know it is time for her to spawn and the male has built a bubble nest, then she is removed. The 10 g is just for the babies to grow out. Soon I will have to start seperating the older ones out, when they act aggressive. They say female bettas can live together, but you have to have about 6 or more (and thats if they are not aggressive to each other) ... and the males.. well, they will always be loners.

Speaking of having to put them in seperate containers soon, does anyone know who might sell those type of betta cups in bulk or where I might can find them locally? Or suggest something else to put these males in when they cant be together anymore, something maybe bigger then a cup but not too big, so I can store them until they get sold or go to new homes?
My Mom is donating anything around her house she finds, that she thinks a betta could live in: vases, clear bowls, etc. I'm also going to check out the thrift stores.

I need to be prepared when all this starts happening...LOL

[pam916]

Mason jars, you can buy them by the case, I think that some Dollar stores carry them. Some people use clear plastic beanie baby containers. The babies are looking great!

[lellison]

Really cool...

The kids don't want to lose the 55g but it must go... So I have been thinking about a 10g betta tank. Can 1 male live with 2 females in a 10g and be ok?


males and females cannot be together. I have two or three females together and they were just fine though.

[TxBabyCat]

Where do you find beanie baby containers?

Uh Ohhhh disaster.... my twin grandsons just poured the whole vile of brine shrimp eggs in my tank with the baby bettas...aghhhhhhhh :eek:.

I had to work fast so the babies wouldnt eat too many of the eggs. I scooped all the fry out and put them in a bowl with clean water and then cleaned the whole tank out, putting the brine shrimp eggs in a 10g bucket and a 5g bucket. Now cleaning the tank and fixing to put some new water in there.. I hope I dont lose any babies! Guess I'll fix up a light and some bubbles for those buckets... hatch the shrimp in there.... wheww that scared me.

[lellison]

uh oh. fast thinking :hehe:

[Haiven]

Micki, you've gotten awesome results with your breeding and with your photography. Kudos!

[pam916]

Hope you didn't lose any babies. Kids love to help feed the fish. I am not sure where you get the beanie baby containers, try looking online.

[tsunderl]

Betta Cups (http://superiorenterprise.com/containers.html)

Might check the deli at your local supermarket and ask where they get containers. I'd bet Sam's or Costco has them.

[pam916]

Betta Cups (http://superiorenterprise.com/containers.html)

Might check the deli at your local supermarket and ask where they get containers. I'd bet Sam's or Costco has them.

That is an excellent idea.

[tsunderl]

Every once in a while, that lightbulb goes on. lol

[TxBabyCat]

I have them all finally back in the cleaned up tank. They look a little haggered, some have their tails clinched together. I think I shocked them and stressed them out netting them so frantically.

Thanks Haiven for the Kudos. I will check on those resources ya'll gave to find the containers. Thanks for the help.

I counted a true count and there are 121 fry. I saw 2 for sure dead and the rest are not swimming around as much as they usually do. So I think they are stressed. Hopefully they will come around and make it.

[TxBabyCat]

Only lost 7 babies so far. There are a few more that are questionable, but we'll see. I actually found a baby betta in one of the buckets of water with all the brine shrimp eggs, which I had added salt to those buckets, but there he was swimming around.

So that made 122 total and a loss of 7 last night.. so 115 alive.

[greytdobe]

alot of folks (including myself) use CCW products:

http://www.ccwproducts.com/mprod.php?cat_id=157


i like these better than beenie boxes. I don't by the lids. I use plastic craft cloth cut to fit. Also alot of folks use those $1 CD holders by Sterilite- With the blue tops... if you are lucky you can find them at a dollar store. Walmart is inexpensive. I think Wally likes these...he has a cool way of noting who ate and who didn't by the tops..

Or at least i think it's Wally!

Keep us posted on the babies. This way i can enjoy babies with out the cleaning;)

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks Greytdobe, that looks like a good site and I will check for those CD holders also.

Yeah everyone can see the progress of these little guys and not worry about the mess..LOL

[dueho]

I have LOTS of new beanie baby acrylic containers (4 x 4 x 7.5). I also have LOTS of the 4 x 4 x 5 acrylic containers. I would part with them for cheap if you're interested.

[dueho]

Yeah everyone can see the progress of these little guys and not worry about the mess..LOL

I recently found this thread. Love it! Great job breeding and tending the fries.

I've kept a few bettas and thought about breeding them but haven't found the courage. This thread helps tremendously! :) Hopefully, I'd get some pointers when I get there. ;)

[dueho]

Q: Where did you get your brine shrimp eggs? Thanks.

[biggin]

I get mine from Jehmco

[TxBabyCat]

I got mine from DNA. Also to let ya know.."NONE" of the Petco's carry brine shrimp eggs.

Dueho... Thanks for liking the thread, glad it can be heplful to anyone. I sent you a PM on the Beanie baby containers. How much and how many do ya have? Send me a PM.

[dueho]

Thanks both. I take it that DNA = Dallas North Aquarium?

I'm going to start getting stuff together. :)

dueho added 0 Minutes and 37 Seconds later...

Oh yeah, I got the PM. Need to bump my thread count so I can PM back. This should do it now. ;)

[biggin]

Correct.

Just for Pets also has them.

[dueho]

Thanks.

Btw, the auto-merged kill my post count. This oughta do it. :D

[TxBabyCat]

I have now had to seperate 11 young males as they were nipping at each other. I have them in Vases right now. 2041

The first large red male that I have now named Sammy is in the 29g fry grow out tank. 2042

The pastels are coming along and looking pretty. 2043

[dueho]

Very nice!

Are you still feeding them baby brine shrimps?

[TxBabyCat]

Yes, bbs and am introducing them to betta flake food crumbled real tiny also. When they were first born after about 2 days then I started feeding them bbs. You are suppose to feed them bbs until they are about 5-6 wks and then introduce flake food and feed them both for a while longer.

[TxBabyCat]

Was very nice to meet you today Dueho. Thanks so much for meeting me, I really do like the beanie baby containers, they will work great for the betta young.

[dueho]

You're welcome. It's a pleasure meeting you.

Keep us posted on your progress. I'm very interested! ;)

[TxBabyCat]

After the disaster of the bbs mishap, a lot of the smaller fry have had a hard time. Having deaths occur. The heater went out in the 10g fry tank, so I've had to shuffle them around some, which probably isnt good for them either.
(Lesson learned: Protect your baby bettas from kids dumping things in it)

I have now seperated 18 males in vases and beanie baby containers.
2080

I have 37 in a 1 1/2g tank with lights to keep their water a little warmer.

And the smaller ones, about 50, I put in the 10g tiny fry tank with the guppies and platys. A lot of them I was not sure if they would make it. I have seen at least 6 of the betta fry swimming around in there, but some may be in the castle ornament.

Sammy is doing great, 7 wks, still in the 29g with the other juvies.
2083 2084

Here are some updated pics of the pastels 5 wks.
2081 2082

[dueho]

Thanks for the update.

Are those containers near a heat source? How warm is the water in there? Bettas like warm water. I take it that the little ones do as well.

Btw, do you use almond leaves? I have a few that I can share. Just remind me next time we meet. Bettas seem to like them.

[TxBabyCat]

I'm keeping the house pretty warm, but I need to find another way to warm them up. I'm going to put all the containers in one area and set up a lamp today somehow. Cause I am worried about them being cold.

I didnt know about the almond leaves or where to get them when these bettas spawned. But, yes that would be good to have a couple, thanks.

[dueho]

The lamp would not heat evenly. And I'd think the little ones would have trouble sleeping. :)

Here's an idea. Put the beanie boxes in a larger tank or plastic storage container filled partially with water. Put a heater in there to heat the water in the large container. Let heat transfer do the rest. I'd imagine you can find plastic containers that can house 20 beanie boxes for cheap at Walmart or Target.

Also, I find that it you agitate the water, it spreads the heat more quickly and evenly. So, an extra air line with airstone would do.

dueho added 3 Minutes and 54 Seconds later...

If you need the almond leaves soon, just let me know and see can meet. Lewisville is on my way to/from work.

[TxBabyCat]

I've got some plastic tubs and a square styrofoam box also. I'll try that.

I think I will be waiting until it gets a little warmer weather to try to breed the bettas again. I would like to breed the blue female again and try to find me a male plakat to go with her.

[TxBabyCat]

So out of about 120 fry - I think I have about 36 betta fry left in all.

Out of the 50 I put in the 10g tiny fry tank, I can see only about 6 still swimming around.

The ones I put in the 1 1/2g (30 something) they started dying too, so I removed what I had left put them in a container and there are 14 survivied.

The ones in the containers and vases are all doing great - 16 of those.

[pam916]

The lamp would not heat evenly. And I'd think the little ones would have trouble sleeping. :)

Here's an idea. Put the beanie boxes in a larger tank or plastic storage container filled partially with water. Put a heater in there to heat the water in the large container. Let heat transfer do the rest. I'd imagine you can find plastic containers that can house 20 beanie boxes for cheap at Walmart or Target.

Also, I find that it you agitate the water, it spreads the heat more quickly and evenly. So, an extra air line with airstone would do.

dueho added 3 Minutes and 54 Seconds later...

If you need the almond leaves soon, just let me know and see can meet. Lewisville is on my way to/from work.

That sounds like a really good idea to keep them warm. Another idea that might work would be if you had a small room, like a walk in closet or just a small extra bedroom, you could put a small electric space heater to keep the room warmer than the rest of the house.

[TxBabyCat]

I placed the BBC in a shallow plastic tub I had and put warm water in it. Put the heater in there, but its not a very strong heater for one thing and the heat just escapes anyway because you cant cover it. So I had to take them out of that.
2157
You really have to be prepared for this and we ended up with our twin Grandsons the day after Christmas - after I had already spawned the bettas. So having the children here since then, we had to use our other 2 bedrooms for them. I was going to make one of them a betta room and keep them warm and all the things I needed to do, but that didnt work out.
The boys are going home to their Mommy this Friday, so my husband says he will fix up one of the rooms the way I want it and make me some betta bunks and the whole water system and heating going on, so I can raise bettas. I really love it and want to keep doing it, just wasnt real prepared this time.
Here are some updated photos. 2 close ups of 2 different reds to see their fins. I counted and I have 32. So 42 bettas in all so far have survived.
2159 2160
This guy keeps making himself a bubble nest.. how cute :)
2158
And here is one of one of the pastels I have left, not sure on them, I know I have 2 in the BBC that are blue and then I have the little ones, maybe 10 in all on the pastels.
2161

[pam916]

I think you have done a great job and who is ever prepared the first time around, you learn as you go.

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks so much Pam :)

Its neat that they are starting to have little personalities, some are fiesty and some are calm, some build little nests.. they are all just too cute.

[lrw46]

Here's another idea about the breeding tank. Wal-Mart used to carry Coleman lantern globes. They have no top or bottom, just side glass. put the bettas in the tank with her in the lantern globe. ( This way he can see her but not hurt her. ) He should start building a bubble nest. If not, float a small piece of waxed paper in one corner. ( he will think he has already started and in 3 -4 days he will have a huge bubble nest.)
When you think that they are ready, simply lift up the globe and let her out. If they are or not ready, when he starts to run her off. Simply lift the globe and save her without disturbing the bubble nest.
If they have spawned, take a small net and dip her out of the top of the globe.
I have used small party cups to seperate the males until I sold them off. A flat tub would work if you need to heat the water and float the fry in their cups with a heater placed in the tub inside a jar with water in it ( so the heater won't break ) you can also do this to heat the breeding tank.

This is alot cheaper way of breeding betas and and alot cheaper way to keep the fry. This is the old school way of breeding betas. The globe can be reused. Waxed paper is cheap. A 10 gal.aqua is the ideal size, filled to about half full or just below the lip of the globe.

I personally have used this method many times with good luck.

One other side note usually female betas don't show good color except every other generation. If yours are showing good color congrats.

Lawrence

[alta678]

good information! :exactly:

[pam916]

You might try putting saran wrap over your plastic tub, that might make it easier to heat because it would keep the heat in.

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks Pam, thats a good idea too.

[TxBabyCat]

Here are some pics of some of the fry this weekend.2246 2247

This pastel one looking straight at the camera.. thought it looked funny, made him look like a tadpole or something..LOL.2245

Heres some of the pastels.
2248

[pam916]

Awww, they are so cute. I am partial to the pastels.

[TxBabyCat]

There are 32 babies left and they are growing good, they are eating baby brine shrimp and flake betta food. I love these pastels and love watching them get their color. Maybe one of these pastel blues will be a female and I could match her up with that copper male I have now.

Here is some pics of the reds - now 9 wks old - 2276 2277

Here is some pics of the pastels - now 7 wks old - 2278
2279 2280

[alta678]

Looking good!

[pam916]

Very nice.

[lellison]

I love updated pics! They are growing!

[dueho]

Good to hear they're healthy and growing rapidly.

[TxBabyCat]

I have 29 betta in all now, about 11 of them are the pastels.
The reds are 10 wks old now. One is growing real good, he has dark colors of the red and deep purple almost and you can see some tiny hints of the blue green color. 2331
This one is Sammy in the big juvie tank, surprisingly he hasnt grown as fast as some of the others in the BB Containers, but seems very content in there, this pic is not great, hard to get a pic, too much movement in the tank with all the juvie fry. 2332
The pastels are growing slow, actually according to the Betta Meeting, all mine are growing slow. Wally can grow them out to what they will look like in about 2 months he told me. 2334 2335
So..........My husband is going to fix me up a fish room...:woohoo: in our back bedroom that has a concrete floor already to start with. We will be making it to where I can raise the bettas with spawning tanks and have some betta bunks for the juvies, where the water can be emptied from the bottom and fill all betta tanks back up at once or a drip system, all using heated water, so there is a better grow out rate to the bettas.
I've learned from this experience and lost a lot of babies to mishaps and cold water. 2333
So we will be focusing and getting ideas on how to make a better betta system and fish room. I'm very excited to get all this started, will take any ideas anyone has to throw out there too for the water system, sump, etc. Ideas that can be achieved without spending tons of money on plumbing and the system working is what I have been looking at on the internet.

[Fir3_Cr0tch]

I hope it all works out for you, cant wait to see pics of the contraptions ya assemble for the fishies.

[TxBabyCat]

The Reds are 11 1/2 wks and Pastels now 9 1/2 wks old. 25 Total Fish

I was still having trouble keeping these fish warm, I had 9 in BBC's and they started looking sick, clamped fins, swimming funny, pretty much looking like the edge of death. So I put those 9 in a 10g set up, all together, that I had already had up and started medicating all of them with Bettafix. We are into our 5th day of treatment and they are recovering well.. surprised me, I thought I would lose all 9.

They are all swimming good together and not really nipping at each other like I thought they would. They look 90% better.
2413
I have Sammy (red) still in with the juvie guppies in the 29g
2415
and I have 2 reds in a double floating breeder tank inside the 29g.
2416 2417
I have one red male in with the platys and mollies.
Then I have a floating breeder tank in the platys tank with 5 smaller bettas. I think they are all pastels. They are all doing well.
Also have a 1 1/2g that has 7 small pastels in it, they are doing fine and growing. 2414

[bra8ndy8]

You're doing such a good job! Keep up the goood work! You can defiantly tell you love these little guys!

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks Brandy. I'm so glad that I didnt lose all the pastels. I just think they are going to be really pretty.

There is one in the 1 1/2g that is really white, I couldnt get it on
the post above, but now I can :)
The pics are not the greatest, but shows how white it is, you can see a hint of blue in the bottom fin.
2419 2418

Here are some more of the pastels.
2420 2421

This is the largest of the pastels, it is in with all the sick red ones being treated. This fish looked really bad,
the medicine has helped a lot, but it has a ways to go to get
back its fins completely. The pic is not so great but you can see
the colors, blue body, reddish tail.
2422

[dueho]

You're doing good. Hang in there!

[alta678]

Looking good!! Can't wait to see your babies in their plumage!!

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks ya'll.. I've been cleaning tanks today and moving some
fish around. Bill is going to work on the lighting and get the air
hooked up sometime this week for the fish room.

I've moved all the bettas into one 10g tank, some are loose, some
in a plastic breeder and some in the fry net. I'll be posting pics
tomorrow of them.

[TxBabyCat]

I have moved all my bettas into the fish room into a heated 10 gallon that they were being treated in, treated them a week with bettafix and did a 50% water change and they look like they have all recovered nicely. Their fins have all gotten back to normal. I got some good pics of them this time.

There are 13 in the tank, mostly red but a few pastels. This pastel has a short type tail like a plakat, or it is a female, I think.
2453 2454 2455

There are 11 in the mesh net basket that are smaller.

And the one beautiful pastel with the black stripes on her sides and some blue in her fins, her tail is short like a plakat with some small tips on it, or just short cause she is a female. There is another one like her in the basket and the real white one. Couldnt get pics of those cause of being in the basket.
2456 2457

[bra8ndy8]

Still just as beautiful!

[lellison]

so purdy!

[TxBabyCat]

Went to the betta meeting on Sunday. I took my biggest red male and the blue one with the red tail to show them to Wally and everyone. Wally said the red one is a Combtail Betta.. hmmm ok .. that was cool. He said that crowntails can throw combtails, or I thought maybe my red female is a combtail, not sure. If thats the case then, most of the reds are combtails.

On the blue one with the red tail, he said that was a female. He said her tail could end up being a short crowntail, but it didnt look like a plakat tail.

So that was cool, I learned some more good information about how to breed bettas. I really enjoy going to these meetings each month. Also got 3 female plakats from Wally, pretty white with pink and blue. They are the sisters to the male plakat I got last month at the meeting. Now I have pretty females to go with all those males I bought.

I made my first sale of my red male bettas..:woohoo: The one I took to the meeting. Evan wanted him and he went home with him. When I was leaving I had the feelings of that I was going to miss him :( Crazy how you want to get attached to all your fish, you just love them all.

Good luck Evan with your new male crowntail betta.

[lellison]

I get attached too! Going to good homes though- you can't complain. :)

[tsunderl]

Micki, I know the feeling. I've got to rehome my babies and I'm dreading it. I birthed some of those!

[lellison]

awww. :(well look on the bright side....some mothers eat their young :confuzeld:

[TxBabyCat]

roflmaoroflmaoroflmaoYeah way better then eating them.

[TxBabyCat]

Sorry ya'll, I know I'm a little late on getting their weekly pics on here. The bigger reds are all in a 10g tank and all get along so well, I was looking at them and what Wally told me about the females and I think they are all mostly females with a few males.. I dont know maybe I'm wrong, but they look like they have the little white spot like the females egg tube on the majority of them.
Here is 2 different reds, the one has black tips on his bottom fin and the other one seems to be without as much blue as the others, more just red.
2543 2542
The white one, I just think she is precious, there is just blue tints in her fins.
2544
On the pastels, the white with the black stripes got more color in its body this week with the blue fins and some hint of red on its tail. Also looks like her side fins are turning red. Cute!
2545
This is another pastel not really pictured here before. He is getting more blue and his tail also looks to be going red as well.
2546

[lellison]

wow, looking beautiful!

[guppyfreak2]

very nice looking i love the blue

[Haiven]

I love the little white girl!

[TxBabyCat]

Not sure if it will be a male or female yet, still too small to tell.

[TxBabyCat]

Sorry to say - The little white betta died :(:( It got that stomach bladder problem and it never could recovered.

In all I have 13 survivors of the 2 first spawns. 3 of the red males are just getting beautiful. One has a partial sporatic combtail - 2647

Second one has a pretty good long combtail - 2648

The last one has the short combtail - 2649

The blue in them is so pretty. I got some good up-close pics of those 3.
These 3 will be going into the for sale section soon if anyone wants one.

[TxBabyCat]

These bettas have turned out so pretty from the multicolored pastel CT male and the blue female.

I just look at them and say WOW! I thought I would share some of their photos.

I have 2 males, one blue male (he looked purple 2 wks ago) and a dark turquoise male.
2872 2874

There are 4 females, 3 are the dark turquoise and one was white a few weeks ago and now has some pale blue and reds going on.
2875 2876 2873

[guppyfreak2]

they are beautiful

[TxBabyCat]

Thanks, I love the blue male, he looks just like his Mom. I will definantly be keeping him for a breeder.