Fiyero And Elphaba's Spawn Diary

[Andie]

Durbkat- you're right that usually the fry stay in the nest for a few days with dad's help, but it's a little hard for them to stay in what's not there If you'll read back a bit you'll see I explained the nest was falling apart and the father was eating the eggs, so I had to take him out. I placed all the eggs I could save in the bottom of the tank and these are what have hatched out.

When I was taking out some undeveloped eggs before they could start to rot, another little guy took advantage of the current to make a voyage to the surface. He paused on the way down for me to snap some pics; this one turned out pretty well.

 

[Durbkat]

Yeah your right about they can't stay in a invisible nest with a egg eating father. He sure isn't a good father with him killing his kids....somebody should call fish protective services...LOL

 

[SRC]

Awwwww Andie they are totally adorable!

 

[Andie]

Awwwww Andie they are totally adorable!

Believe me, you're preaching to the choir

They completely amaze me- so tiny and yet so perfectly formed. I'm actually grateful for the small spawn size because it allows me to keep track of all of them quite easily. At least two of them (the little fella in the first pic included) appear to have 'bent' spines- their tails are sort of at an angle. It may be they just haven't exercised enough since hatching, but I'm keeping an extra close eye on those two to make sure they're alright. The rest of them are straight as knives, and so impossibly perfect; each little eyespot is perfectly defined, and I'll confess that what little of them I can make out has only fueled an intense desire to get one in a petrie dish and see it under a microscope )

 

[splashluff]

how CUTE! Congrats on the surviving fry, I hope they all turn out to be really pretty grown-ups. ergh, mean daddy if Maui eats his babies, I swear he's getting flushed... heh

 

[Andie]

We have a latecomer! One of the two eggs that looked like they held betta fry is just now slooowly hatching. A teeny weeny tail has begun to emerge, and I'm relieved to see it because a few babies seem to be among the missing. Five are accounted for, but three - including one of the two li'l guys with crooked tails - are not, and I wonder if they might have just not made it and decomposed super-fast, or something

The other five are all adhered to the front side of the tank, now, and they seem to be in it for the long haul. I'm so proud of them- they seem to be just as stubborn as their Mum! Though hopefully they won't be as nasty- Elphie was NOT cut out for community living!

 

[Andie]

I found two of the missing babies, crooked-tail included- they mysteriously materialised at the front of the tank as well, as if they had never been gone. I think they're conspiring with each other to drive me crazy

In fact, I would like to submit the following pictures in support of this suspicion:

Hey- hey, there, you look just like me!

Let's get together and plot to overthrow the woman breathing on the side of the tank

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

I cannot get over how freakin' adorable and tiny they are!!! I am so happy that you found your 2 lil' mischievious ones, I was sad until I saw that they "rematerialized." I love the conspiracy theory too...reminds me of when my sister and I were young and would co-conspire on ways to drive our mother crazy )

 

[Andie]

Haha I think all sisters did that . . . mine and I did as well, at least. )

The babies are becoming more active now, and are able to stay afloat a little longer today. Taking advantage of this newfound asset, they have again spread out all over the tank, so I've given up trying to keep track and will just count 'em up once they're free-swimming.

They're especially good for me to have right now, I think, because now that Galinda has developed dropsy I'm glad to be able to have something to focus all my energy on in the event that she won't make it. Otherwise, I'd be moping around Galinda's tank instead of cooing over my fry tank! So they're therapeutic, you see?

 

[Lady]

Andie....Sorry about your sick girly...hopefully she will get better so youll have TWO things to rejoice over...a well fish and a batch of babies! That would be great but as to your remark about them being therapuetic...I can definetly agree with you on that these past couple of months have been just wierd ones but as soon as my babies were born the sun came out! haha (dont you think they look like little mickey mouse heads...when you look at them from the top...they just make me giggle)

 

[Andie]

I know what you mean- the eyespots do kind of look like ears, don't they? They're currently trying to patrol their tank, but they just keep on falling! They'll go in frantic, squiggly little spirals and get about an inch away from their starting point, and then they'll drift downward again. When they hit the ground they flop for a second, as if they're frustrated they didn't make it farther

I try not to laugh at them because they're trying so hard to swim (so they can be just like the big fish in the jars next door!) but it's just too darn cute!

 

[Andie]

Something GOOD, finally! Amidst the expense of a new harddrive, operating system, Galinda's dropsy and now a mysteriously-broken television, I have my first free-swimmer! It's enough to make it all seem okay, oddly enough . . . he's too precious. Just cruising around the back half of the tank, looking a little astonished at his newfound abilities, but pretty darn pleased with himself

He's too far away to get a decent pic, but I expect others will start to 'levitate' now that their eggs sacs are disappearing, so hopefully I'll get some shots of them over the next day or two

ETA: Two more guys have joined him; one is strutting around the filter, just pleased as punch, and the other is hypnotised by his own reflection in the glass. Two more guys are flopping around on the ground, just eaten alive with jealousy at this strange new trick

 

[Andie]

I got home from my Thanksgiving weekend on their one-week birthday, and found two of the little bent-tailed guys just couldn't keep up, so they're both gone I have five left; one little fellow is struggling mightily as well, so I don't hold out too much hope for him, but the other four are active little fiends, just zipping all around the tank.

I did a partial water change; everything looked very sludgy and with two babies decaying over the weekend I really didn't like to risk anything, so now everybody is twice as active and ready to show off. One little bugger was chasing its sibling around just mercilessly- I was laughing too hard to get a pic but it was priceless; the chaser looked for all the world as if he was saying "Just one bite! That's it! I just wanna see how you taste! Hold STILL, will you?!"

I'll try and get some pics today, but they're so darn active I'm not sure how I'll manage!

 

[wuvmybetta]

How absolutely adorable I love this thread, I had a lot of catching up to do (I hadn't even seen the baby pictures! awww!)
Good work, Andie. It's a great feeling when they make it past each hurdle. Every week is a milestone, it's amazing how much they change the first few weeks of their life.

 

[Andie]

Their first 'big fish' feed was yesterday! They've graduated from infusoria, although the little guy on the bottom might benefit from me keeping it up a little longer.

For their 'grown up' food I kept back three ice cream tubs of planaria that I harvested from the sorority tank when it became overrun. I've been keeping an eye on the ammonia levels in the tubs just to be on the safe side, but it's less than 0.25 ppm so yesterday I turkey-bastered in some li'l white wigglies for everybody to enjoy.

I didn't have the chance to really watch the feasting yesterday but today I made up for it, and it was priceless. I love watching them try to figure out exactly what it is in front of them, and as soon as they realise that it's food, bam! Down it goes

The little guy on the bottom 'chops' his tail to get to the top but he's far from equipped to go hunting, so I think I'll still give him the infusoria and maybe powder one or two of the micropellets. If he can survive until he's big enough to eat whole pellets, he'll be all set

I tried for pics today when they came out to eat, but they're playing hard to get and my camera is not quite equal to the task of capturing them properly, so this is as good as it gets.

On the prowl

Striking a pose

Thassa biiig bubble . . .

His brother/sister . . . two of them have darker bodies than the rest. Possibly just faster developers? All of them have their little pectoral fins now, though; either that or some sort of miscellaneous gill appendage growing out the sides of their heads.


I also got this excellent shot of their mummy- she thought I was there to feed her, but I was really just admiring her babies (I can't get over the irony of how healthy all three girls are in their jars; they're active, colourful, flaring and fiesty, whereas in their 10g they were all kind of listless and pale. Silly things)