Betta fry

[winddancir]

Man, these babies are growing! And eating like pigs! I thought my two microworm cultures would be enough... but it looks like I may have to start another!

But it is so nice to look at the tank full of betta fry. Just like looking at a galaxy of little fish stars. And those full tummies of tasty microworms! I think only 3-4 have died. It's still hard to see the boogers, especially since they like to hide by the java fern!

[[email protected]]

I enjoyed your posts, it's good to read such things for happiness.
Continued good luck/fortune to you, later!

[John D. Goulden]

How is Sparky doing? Did he recover OK after being taken away from his
babies?

--
John Goulden

[winddancir]

How is Sparky doing? Did he recover OK after being taken away from his
babies?
--
John Goulden
Sparky is happy and flaring at Beauty... again! As if he didn't get enough of her the first time!!! He sees me walk in, glances at me, and goes back to flirting. Two days after I removed him, he started making another huge bubble nest. He seemed to have only the initial removal was hard for him.
I think I made it easier by doing it at bedtime. He gets taken away from the fry, put in a nice dark tank, and the next day when he wakes up, there's another adult to talk to!

I'll let Sparky know that you asked about him. I'm sure his response would be something like "leave me alone, can't you see I'm trying to convince her to join me in my tank?" LOL!!!

[blue sky]

Thats soo cool!
"winddancir" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> Man, these babies are growing! And eating like pigs! I thought my two
> microworm cultures would be enough... but it looks like I may have to
> start another!
>
> But it is so nice to look at the tank full of betta fry. Just like
> looking at a galaxy of little fish stars. And those full tummies of
> tasty microworms! I think only 3-4 have died. It's still hard to see
> the boogers, especially since they like to hide by the java fern!
>
>
> --
> winddancir

[winddancir]

I made a big mistake and didn't put my microworm cultures back on top of the fish tank. They have crashed. They're still alive, but not crawling up the sides. Good thing I have liquid fry food standing by as a backup. All of the fry looked at me when I put that in and the look said, "What is this STUFF? Where are those yummy wiggly microworms? You may have forced us to eat this crap, but we're not gonna like it."
Hopefully, my cultures will be back up and ready to harvest again tonight. I put yeast in them to give them a little boost last night, and they seemed to be a lot more active this morning. Just gotta wait for them to wiggle up the sides of their container.

Oh, the reason I keep them on top of the fish tank? The wasted heat from the vents helps keep them warm and active. I may live in Sacramento, California, but it can get cold at night and make the cultures go dormant for a bit.

[[email protected]]

Keep us up to date on the betta babies! I would love to do what you're
doing right now and raise baby bettas, partly for karma and partly for
the warm and fuzzy feeling I get to feel when I think back to the days
I had a betta and thought about breeding them. Microworm cultures sound
like the best. The karma thing is that a long time ago I had one betta
after another (for a total of 4 males and a few females) and I didn't
take the kind of care of them that gives me any dignity so the future
has an opportunity for me to make up for it. Bettas are beautiful! Did
you start the fry on microworms immediately or did you feed them any
liquid-like food of any kind? My ancient aquarium book says that betta
fry need infusoria, then microworms or something small enough, then
regular foods in conjunction with live food. It would be awesome if
microworms are all you need, cool! Later!

[winddancir]

said
"Keep us up to date on the betta babies!
Did you start the fry on microworms immediately or did you feed them any
liquid-like food of any kind? It would be awesome if
microworms are all you need, cool! Later!"
snipped

Yup, just microworms! I waited until they (most of them) were free swimming and then started feeding them microworms twice a day.
I think most of them have survived the day of fasting. The cultures are slowly coming back online. I have to harvest all three to get barely enough to feed them. They are not happy. Those little fishy glares can really get to you! Now I'm planning for the next time I have a spawn, I'm going to have a back up vinegar eel culture! But that won't be for another month or so. I will wait until I'm almost ready to try again before I order it. Have it set up for a week, and then...

I think each time you do something new, you gain so much from it. Raising this batch of fry has taught me that these little guys are really amazing. I will definately do it again to see how another male raises them to free swimming and for the joy of taking care of all the beautiful betta fry.

[winddancir]

Oooo, I forgot to mention that when I was looking at them on Monday morning, I saw one up close and saw something kinda fuzzy on the sides. My first thought was, "Oh, no! I've got fungus!" Then I noticed the fry being completely still, but the fuzz was moving. And as this tank has no moving water (except for when I swish my finger in with microworms) I had to take a closer look. The fuzz was NOT fungus, it was tiny fins!!!!! And now they have tail fins! Tiny triangles at the end.

Now I'm getting the itch to breed my other bettas, but I don't have the room yet. I'm keeping some space clear because this spawn needs room to grow out in. ::sigh:: So little space, not enough fry. LOL!

[[email protected]]

Awesome - what you said makes me want to breed betas, it gives me fond
memories of when my cats from a long time ago (they lived a long time
and one is still alive and well) were born on my bed in my bedroom.
Later!

[winddancir]

Awesome - what you said makes me want to breed betas, it gives me fond
memories of when my cats from a long time ago (they lived a long time
and one is still alive and well) were born on my bed in my bedroom.
Later!
Just remember, you are responsible for any that you breed. Hmm, just like kids, you are responsible for the rest of your life! Well, at least until the fish have new parents...
Microworms up and ... well, wiggling. Had a power outage on Sunday, YIKES! Unplugged all the heaters and lamps and worried. Thankfully, it was only out for 1 hr. power came back on, I plugged things back in. Had to unplug because I didn't want to burn out my heaters when the power came back on. Everybody survived. I don't think the tank temps dropped by more than 2 or 3 degrees.

Stay tuned for the next issue of "Betta Fry, as they grow"!!!

[Gill Passman]

"winddancir" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> Wrote:
> > Awesome - what you said makes me want to breed betas, it gives me fond
> > memories of when my cats from a long time ago (they lived a long time
> > and one is still alive and well) were born on my bed in my bedroom.
> > Later!
> Just remember, you are responsible for any that you breed. Hmm, just
> like kids, you are responsible for the rest of your life! Well, at
> least until the fish have new parents...
> Microworms up and ... well, wiggling. Had a power outage on Sunday,
> YIKES! Unplugged all the heaters and lamps and worried. Thankfully, it
> was only out for 1 hr. power came back on, I plugged things back in.
> Had to unplug because I didn't want to burn out my heaters when the
> power came back on. Everybody survived. I don't think the tank temps
> dropped by more than 2 or 3 degrees.
>
> Stay tuned for the next issue of "Betta Fry, as they grow"!!!
>
>
> --
> winddancir

Any chance of any pics? It is wonderful to hear/read about a happy story....

Gill

[winddancir]

Any chance of any pics? It is wonderful to hear/read about a happy story....

Gill
::sigh:: I lack a capable camera....
And you'de be more likely to see the guppies in the tank next to them. The 5 gal tank is like the top of a "T" and the 10 is the other part.

BTW, I think my guppies are part pirana. I feed my adult bettas frozen blood worms and brine shrimp. And instead of saving the extra thawed stuff and risk it going bad, I give it to the guppies. And they swarm over the good stuff! They like it so much, that some of them swim into the container as I'm rinsing out the last bits into their tank!

[winddancir]

Welcome back to another episode of Betta Fry!
They are now 3 weeks old, and almost the size of a newborn guppy. Some of them appear to have reddish eyes. And I can see darker spots in their bodies where the internal organs are getting bigger. Still can't tell how many I have, they move too quick.

[winddancir]

Well, now the fry are three weeks old. I haven't lost very many, and they are growing very well. I've judged their size from this chart - http://www.bettatalk.com/fry_growth.htm
and most of them are more at the 4 week old size. o_O WOW! There are a few, very few bigger than the rest. And about a quarter are at the 3 week size.
I finally vacuumed the bottom, cause boy did it need it! I had java ferns in there helping keep things stable. I removed them Thursday, so they could ge some sunlight, and so that all the dirt would settle. Only sucked up one fry! And then it got put back in the tank 15min later. Added water to fill the tank, and wiped the inside.

I am not counting them. There are too many. I count how many are in a small area, and then give a guess. Maybe 150? I wish I had a good digital camera. ::BIG SIGH::

[winddancir]

A little sad last night as I removed one dead fry. The others were fine, and I think it was just one of those casualties that happens. It couldn't have been dead for too much more than a day, as it hadn't been really nibbled on. I check tank parameters just to be sure. Nitrites 0, Nitrates 20, the other stuff within acceptable limits for my water. (hardness, ph, whatever). ph was higher than usual, but not really anything to worry about. Mine is usually about 7-7.2, and it was closer to 7.6. It was one of the smaller ones.
I have been giving them freeze-dried daphnia and bloodworms very finely powdered. They are a little interested, but still like the microworms more. Picky little things!

I will be putting the Java Ferns back in this weekend, but not all of it! I have a lot, and want to be able to see the fry grow.

[winddancir]

Okay, I found out what my problem with about 10 of my fry dead. Feeding them the dried foods. I had just dropped the food in the tank. If they ate it dry, it could have expanded in their stomach and killed them. Next time I expirement with new foods, it will be well soaked in tank water.

Put two small clumps of fern in. Now I can't see about 1/3 of the fry. They like to hide by the plant.

[[email protected]]

Thanks for sharing what you have learned - I wouldn't have thought of
soaking dry food in the tank's water before feeding. That's a good idea!

[winddancir]

I am now also feeding them BBS (baby brine shrimp). They are now officially pigfish. I carefully release a ton of BBS, and the fry ate them all within a few minutes. Their feeding schedule is now microworms in the morning, and 2-3 light feedings of BBS.
Any questions?

[sophiefishstuff]

In message >, winddancir
> writes
>
>I am now also feeding them BBS (baby brine shrimp). They are now
>officially pigfish. I carefully release a ton of BBS, and the fry ate
>them all within a few minutes. Their feeding schedule is now microworms
>in the morning, and 2-3 light feedings of BBS.
>Any questions?

pictures?

(and I like "officially pigfish" a lot)


>--
>winddancir

--
sophie

www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
(under construction. ish.)

[Uncle Davey]

Uzytkownik "sophiefishstuff" >
napisal w wiadomosci ...
> In message >, winddancir
> > writes
> >
> >I am now also feeding them BBS (baby brine shrimp). They are now
> >officially pigfish. I carefully release a ton of BBS, and the fry ate
> >them all within a few minutes. Their feeding schedule is now microworms
> >in the morning, and 2-3 light feedings of BBS.
> >Any questions?
>
> pictures?
>
> (and I like "officially pigfish" a lot)
>
>
> >--
> >winddancir
>
> --
> sophie
>
> www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
> (under construction. ish.)

What's an official pigfish?

Uncle Davey

[Tynk]

"Pigfish" their Betta fry, hehe. = )~
They are such piggies. Sounds like they are doing a good job in keeping
them, and fed correctly.
Uncle Davey wrote:
> Uzytkownik "sophiefishstuff"
>
> napisal w wiadomosci ...
> > In message >,
winddancir
> > > writes
> > >
> > >I am now also feeding them BBS (baby brine shrimp). They are now
> > >officially pigfish. I carefully release a ton of BBS, and the fry
ate
> > >them all within a few minutes. Their feeding schedule is now
microworms
> > >in the morning, and 2-3 light feedings of BBS.
> > >Any questions?
> >
> > pictures?
> >
> > (and I like "officially pigfish" a lot)
> >
> >
> > >--
> > >winddancir
> >
> > --
> > sophie
> >
> > www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
> > (under construction. ish.)
>
> What's an official pigfish?
>
> Uncle Davey

[winddancir]

Sorry guys and gals. Unless you all want to chip in to get me a good digital camera, no pictures available.
::sigh:: I lack a capable camera....
And you'de be more likely to see the guppies in the tank next to them. The 5 gal tank is like the top of a "T" and the 10 is the other part.
And would you really like to see the guppies instead?

And pigfish just means that they will eat and eat and eat and eat... until their little bodies explode. The official part was because until then, I couldn't really see how much of the microworms they were eating. I can see how much BBS they eat.

[winddancir]

"Pigfish" their Betta fry, hehe. = )~
They are such piggies. Sounds like they are doing a good job in keeping
them, and fed correctly.
Hey, tynk is back! Kinda missed you.

I've been feeding them bbs more like 4-5 time a day now. One nice good feeding in the morning before I leave for work (and yes, they eat it all), and 2-4 light snacks between the time I get home and bedtime.

[Tynk]

Thanks for missing me. = )
I had a bad time of it for 4 1/2 wweks straight. My neck was messed
from a car wreck back in 1994. I had flare up of pain here and there
from it, but they decreased over the yrs to hardly at all.
Then in 4/04 another idiot crashed into me and screwed up that previous
damage much more.
I had 3 flare ups of pain, the worst was the last one in March of this
year. So bad that I went to the doc and he put me on extra strength
Vicodin, strong muscle relaxer and therapy 3 X's a week.
I was in bad shape..not from the heavy meds, from the amount of intense
pain in my neck, across my shoulder, down my arm and into my left hand.
At one point, in therapy my C6-C7 disk blew out in my neck. It
herniated badly and a lot of nucleus *inside materail of the disk* was
pushed out so far and stretching out the nerve there quite badly.
My Neurosurgeon was quite surprised at how bad a shape the nerve was.
I ended up needing surgery on it and I'm much better now. I had some
healing to do afterwards. I still have a bit of trouble with the left
arm, but that is the last symptom to go away. I'll deal with this
dumbness, tingling, and areas of soar muscles that pop up here and
there along the arm. It's because of the nerve and takes time to get
better.
My poor tanks! Ah! = O
I couldn't do anything with them except feed. My hubby would have
killed them and my little girl is just too little to do them.
My oldest moved out so he wasn't out here to help either.
They all look like the Dentist's tank in Finding Nemo!
= O Ah, again!
My fish don't know what the heck is going on. I swear they're looking
around like what is this crap? (algae)
My 75g is across from a large picture window and gets a lot of
light...therefore a lot of algae growth, as well as we have
Cyanobacteria (aka Bluegreen "algae") in our city well water...so this
is something that has to be kept up with or my tanks look a mess.
Remind me how old these fry are again.

[Gill Passman]

"Tynk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks for missing me. = )
> I had a bad time of it for 4 1/2 wweks straight. My neck was messed
> from a car wreck back in 1994. I had flare up of pain here and there
> from it, but they decreased over the yrs to hardly at all.
> Then in 4/04 another idiot crashed into me and screwed up that previous
> damage much more.
> I had 3 flare ups of pain, the worst was the last one in March of this
> year. So bad that I went to the doc and he put me on extra strength
> Vicodin, strong muscle relaxer and therapy 3 X's a week.
> I was in bad shape..not from the heavy meds, from the amount of intense
> pain in my neck, across my shoulder, down my arm and into my left hand.
> At one point, in therapy my C6-C7 disk blew out in my neck. It
> herniated badly and a lot of nucleus *inside materail of the disk* was
> pushed out so far and stretching out the nerve there quite badly.
> My Neurosurgeon was quite surprised at how bad a shape the nerve was.
> I ended up needing surgery on it and I'm much better now. I had some
> healing to do afterwards. I still have a bit of trouble with the left
> arm, but that is the last symptom to go away. I'll deal with this
> dumbness, tingling, and areas of soar muscles that pop up here and
> there along the arm. It's because of the nerve and takes time to get
> better.
> My poor tanks! Ah! = O
> I couldn't do anything with them except feed. My hubby would have
> killed them and my little girl is just too little to do them.
> My oldest moved out so he wasn't out here to help either.
> They all look like the Dentist's tank in Finding Nemo!
> = O Ah, again!
> My fish don't know what the heck is going on. I swear they're looking
> around like what is this crap? (algae)
> My 75g is across from a large picture window and gets a lot of
> light...therefore a lot of algae growth, as well as we have
> Cyanobacteria (aka Bluegreen "algae") in our city well water...so this
> is something that has to be kept up with or my tanks look a mess.
> Remind me how old these fry are again.
>
Hi Tynk,

Sorry to hear you've not been well.

You have my total sympathy.....I know what it is like to have all the nerves
damaged and shot - in my case my left arm through surgery. It does get
better but as with everything it takes time....18 months down the line now.

I occassionally worry that the muscles on my right arm are growing bigger
than the left with all the tank cleaning :-)

Gill

[Tynk]

LOL....I know what ya mean about the arm muscles. = )~
The numbness and degree of tingles in my thumb come and go.
It does seem better though.
However, I still don't have much stregnth in the whole arm and I can't
straighten it out all the way yet.
I've got a lot of scraping algae growth in my 75g today, My right arm
is going to be worn out for sure, lol.
P.S.....you too have my sympathy if you have gone through this too. "I
know your pain....." = )~

[winddancir]

Hey Tynk!
Good news is : You will get better.
Bad news is : Your fish keep looking at you funny and wondering if they need to get a new pet person.

[Gill Passman]

"Tynk" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> LOL....I know what ya mean about the arm muscles. = )~
> The numbness and degree of tingles in my thumb come and go.
> It does seem better though.
> However, I still don't have much stregnth in the whole arm and I can't
> straighten it out all the way yet.
> I've got a lot of scraping algae growth in my 75g today, My right arm
> is going to be worn out for sure, lol.
> P.S.....you too have my sympathy if you have gone through this too. "I
> know your pain....." = )~
>

I know that this very much going "off topic" and I very much love the
updates on the Betta fry - thanks Winddancir :-)

I found that the physio stretching exercises helped immensely although mine
were obviously tailored to my condition and surgery but from my experience
of Physio most of the exercises are similar....I then adapted those to
involve normal household chores - like using that arm to clean and stretch
at the same time....my stretch in my left arm now is nearly 100% what it was
before (18 months down the line)....it gets worse if I do something stupid
like carry heavy weights...(and by heavy I mean shopping bags) and also if I
get tired....and I must admit if I use that arm on the major tank clean ups
(algae scrapes, gravel vacs etc). I still remember comparing stretches in
the school playground with someone a year further on than me (same surgery)
and falling about laughing....

IME it is very important to keep up the physio....

and BTW Winddancir - my fish never knew any different - but I guess they
still laugh at me - lol

Gill

[Tynk]

ROFL!
All my male Betta tanks are cleaned and they are all going crazy!
Just picture them all with a big grin instead of their pouty mouths,
hehe.

[winddancir]

Okay, I finally am doing another update. I just moved into my new apartment on Saturday. I had also posted on suggestions for moving my fish.

-snipped-
I wish I had been able to get the fry suggestion earlier. Pouring them into a smaller container would have been better. I have major casualties. Sigh.... My poor babies never even had a chance to flare at me.... It seems as if all the bigger ones are okay, but the smaller ones suffered bad. I tried to count last night, and kept coming up with between 18-24.
-end snipped-

Yikes! I've lost a bunch. All I can say for myself was that this was my first time. And I hate having to move fish.

I have started jarring the bigger, more aggressive ones. I pulled out two on Monday, and tonight will be taking out a third. It's almost funny to watch them snap at who ever gets close to them. I am now feeding shaved frozen bloodworms. and the jarred ones get 2 small worms. Yum.

I think I will set up my 10gal and start my next one this week. Yay! So, who wants to chip in to get me a digital camera so you can see them? oh, and maybe internet and a computer at home? Kidding! I'll do that eventually, but when you just move in, money is kinda tight.

[Daniel Morrow]

"winddancir" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> Okay, I finally am doing another update. I just moved into my new
> apartment on Saturday. I had also posted on suggestions for moving my
> fish.
>
> -snipped-
> I wish I had been able to get the fry suggestion earlier. Pouring them
> into a smaller container would have been better. I have major
> casualties. Sigh.... My poor babies never even had a chance to flare at
> me.... It seems as if all the bigger ones are okay, but the smaller ones
> suffered bad. I tried to count last night, and kept coming up with
> between 18-24.
> -end snipped-
>
> Yikes! I've lost a bunch. All I can say for myself was that this was my
> first time. And I hate having to move fish.
>
> I have started jarring the bigger, more aggressive ones. I pulled out
> two on Monday, and tonight will be taking out a third. It's almost
> funny to watch them snap at who ever gets close to them. I am now
> feeding shaved frozen bloodworms. and the jarred ones get 2 small
> worms. Yum.
>
> I think I will set up my 10gal and start my next one this week. Yay!
> So, who wants to chip in to get me a digital camera so you can see
> them? oh, and maybe internet and a computer at home? Kidding! I'll do
> that eventually, but when you just move in, money is kinda tight.
>
>
> --
> winddancir

Thanks for updating us all win! Sorry to hear you had casualties - cheer up,
you should still come out ahead and you now know what to do to minimize or
entirely eliminate casualties next time, look at it as positively as
possible like it's a good lessen learned. Keep updating us - bettas are
fascinating, later!

[winddancir]

Thanks for updating us all win! Sorry to hear you had casualties - cheer up, you should still come out ahead and you now know what to do to minimize or entirely eliminate casualties next time, look at it as positively as possible like it's a good lessen learned. Keep updating us - bettas are fascinating, later!
Well, I had five out of eight left together, one died of shock and stress, and 2 were eaten by siblings (or maybe those killer snails). The other two weren't having problems with each other, but I separated them any way. I don't trust them.

[Gill Passman]

"winddancir" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> Daniel Morrow Wrote:
> > Thanks for updating us all win! Sorry to hear you had casualties - cheer
> > up, you should still come out ahead and you now know what to do to
> > minimize or entirely eliminate casualties next time, look at it as
> > positively as possible like it's a good lessen learned. Keep updating
> > us - bettas are fascinating, later!
> Well, I had five out of eight left together, one died of shock and
> stress, and 2 were eaten by siblings (or maybe those killer snails).
> The other two weren't having problems with each other, but I separated
> them any way. I don't trust them.
>
>
> --
> winddancir

I think you have done very well :-) It is always a learning curve....good
luck for the next attempt!!!!!
Gill

[winddancir]

I've been trying again, but my boy Blaze is being an aggressive little <nevermind>. I've tried him with both of the females (Sweetie & Frisky) (one at a time) and now he's on time out! I'm thinking of trying out a different pair to see how they would turn out. Well, maybe after isolation Blaze might behave a little more like a gentleman and not kick the poo out of the girls. I'll give him a couple more chances, then see if I can find one really ****ed off female to kick his butt. You've got to match the tempers if you want little ones!