Accidental spawning!

Just keep an eye on the ammonia levels in the tank if they start rising do 50% water change, as you have spawned in a established tank make no difference, if you can get a sponge filter in now jut bubbling this will help as thats the killer ammonia, but their is nothing stopping you from doing a water change i did one yesterday on a 5 day old fry tank only because it had taken the parents a bit longer to spawn so it was a bit messy so did a 50% change and the bottom was cleaned at the same time......

Thanks Bettaman

I have a fluval 1 is that too strong? Will have to put tights over it though so nobody get sucked into it

Will check levels today. Microworm culture still going strong and I think I'm becoming immune to the smell My culture I started has gone fantastic, its already over half the surface. Will start another one today as well to be safe.

Have seen babies actually eating the worms now but I can only count 13 now so not sure if they are hiding or if I lost some They are very translucent pink but I guess this is no indication as to what colour they will turn out.

Here is Dad

here is the mum


I like your Giraffe Bettaman

Just for anyoone new or thinking of breeding........These are an incredible breed of fish. Even more incredible is to breed them. If you are considering breeding these fine fish, keep a few things in mind. Your female will most definitely get beaten up, whether it is a little or a lot depends. You have the potential to end up with anywhere from 50 to 300 baby bettas. Make sure you have the space to keep hundreds of jars that the males will have to be separated in to. You will have to culture your own live food, such as MicroWorms or hatch out live Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS). These are essential in the diet of your growing babies. This is a very time consuming project to take on. It cannot be done half-heartedly. This entails 5 to 6 months of total attention. Keep this in mind before venturing into breeding.

I'll second that

I'm lucky that I'm a stay at home mum and have the time to cope with this spawn and that its a small one. Probably under 20 babies left in mine but my kitchen still looks like Dexter's Laboratory with the microworm culture and the BBS hatchery bubbling away

Am still so worried that as my conditions aren't right that a lot of the babies will not make it but I can only do my best for them. I'm collecting jars now and I've also had to go out and buy a new 30g tank ready for them to grow out in as my brother still hasn't brought his spare tank round so yes, research lots before you PLAN a spawning and kick yourself every minute if you let it happen by accident

Managed to get a couple of photos of the fry now they are getting bigger. They are on BBS now and loving them! Trouble is they now spit out their microworms but I only offer BBS once a day

Wish I'd taken this picture a nano second earlier as the fry was disappearing behind the tunnel

contemplating going through the scarey new tunnel!

they are sooo cute!

wow clear pics! what kind of camera?

I was lucky to get clear shots. I don't normally do so well, but last night I put the camera straight on the kitchen counter top where the tank is sat and so no wobbly when I took the picture.

Its an Olympus u[mju:] 400 digital and I had it on macro setting without flash

The babise are 2 weeks old today

happy b day i say.

i still cant stop looking at the pics.

Awesome pictures!! They look great and I love the parents

Well hi there the wittle bitty babies! Joby, you're doing great. Keep up the good work. Remember: Water change, feeding, water change, feeding, water change, feeding. They can rarely get enough of either!

Thanks you guys, I'm so proud of my itty bitty babies

They are quite big for their age as they eat like little piggies

I'm doing water changes every other day and 50% is this enough or should I do daily? they don't seem to mind the changes, I use my normal tube for the gravel vac, but take the vac off the end. Then when I put the water back in I use a plastic jug. They just hide out in the plants till I'm done then come back out again to see what I've been up to

They really like the bbs now and look at me when I put in microworms as if to say "is that it? those little things?" I've read up and it seems that this is the right for them to eat at that age. Should I offer bbs for more than one meal or are they ok? they seem to have fat little bellies most of the time though

Just gone 3 weeks old now and we're getting some bossy fry in the tank now Saw a few of them flaring at eachother today, mainly the big ones and one is down right narky and nipping everything it can!

The largest is now _______ and the smallest is _____

Do I need to worry about these spats or is it normal?

They are getting live BBS in the evening meal and microworms throughout the day when there's none left in the tank. Is this still ok for them or do I need to move onto larger meatier foods?

They are now having daily 50% water changes and every now and again I still managed to suck one up

One little worry I have is that about half of them still seem to have problems staying horizontal and have to jiggle themselves to the surface to gulp air then drop like a stone to the bottom. They often lodge themselves onto plants to stay up near the surface. Is this something they will grow out of or is it something I should be concerned about

Here is a picture of my "fry plant" they love to sit in this one, plus there are always a couple sitting on top of the sponge filter