Round Three - Nova & Trinity Blue Spawn

[Iggy]

Well, after my relative success with breeding Finchy (RIP) & Ruby, I decided to do another spawn.

This time, I picked up a beautiful blue crowtail male (Nova) and a gorgeous blue longfin female (Trinity), who almost looks like a male with her long fins.

They really took to each other, and this morning now, 2 days after I introduced them, Trinity and Nova have already done the deed and I have eggs!

I am guessing I have a smaller spawn than last batch, because the nest is smaller and the spawn took less time.

So, right now Nova is standing guard by the nest, and Trinity back in her jar recovering with some betafix.

 

[FroggyFox]

cool I'm sure you'll keep us updated right?

 

[Iggy]

I've got fry!

Yes, those little buggers are all over the nest now. Daddy betta is busy picking them up as they fall and blowing them back into the nest.

I have at least a hundred, maybe two hundred, but certainly less than the Finchy/Ruby spawn.

I have a BBS factory going and 3 cultures of micro-worms ready to use (yum!). In another day or so, they should be free-swimming and ready for some food.

 

[MrMup04]

cute... any pics of parents/

 

[Iggy]

Not yet... I dont have a really good setup for taking pictures so I have not bothered yet.

Plus, right now Nova is pretty busy chasing around his babies that keep dropping and swimming around.

Trinity is still pretty ragged, so maybe in a few weeks once they recover I will try taking a picture.

 

[MrMup04]

well hopefully in a couple days or weeks we'll see some pretty fry

 

[Iggy]

Well, the fry are free swimming now. Nova (daddy) did not want to leave, I had to use my hands in order to catch the little bugger!

Well... another BIG BATCH. So far, I am guessing over 300 betta fry! Looks like I need to keep all my old jars

The fry are still learning to find food. I am feeding them microworms and baby brine shrimp, but have yet to see a fry eat either. Its still pretty soon, and I should know tomorrow if they are finding food or not.

Too small for photos now, but will keep everyone posted.

 

[MrMup04]

hehe any video? like your old spawn?

 

[Iggy]

Well, the fry are nice and fat and having no trouble finding food anymore. They are effectively picking microworms off the bottom or hunting down BBS.

I am slowly getting the right food ratio, these guys are cleaning the tank every feeding.

Only 3 lost so far, out of a couple hundred.

Nova (daddy) is doing great. He is a really beauty (Blue/Black Crowntail) and Trinity (Mommy) is ready to go again!

I am planning another spawn in 3 months, and then again in another 3 months. I am shooting for a blue/red mix with Oscar (my marbled male) and one of Ruby's daughters.

No video yet, still need to borrow a digital camera. My video cam is too short to reach the tank with any detail.

 

[Iggy]

I went on a short (3 day) vacation, the first time in 5 years, so I asked my sister to feed my fry every day, a good portion of microworms.

Well, she did her best, but I still lost about 40 fry. They need to be fed twice a day, so I cannot blame her. I still have a lot of fry, but now some are weaker than others, so I will likely loose a few more.

I am feeding 3 times a day now, smaller portions, more variety and the mortality rate is dropping.

I am posting this just to remind others that once you have these little buggers, they do demand specific attention and cannot always adjust to our personal schedules.

With over 300 fry, I am not all that worried about loosing a few here and there, but it still bothers me to loose fish when its not planned.

 

[Lotus]

Sorry to hear you lost some Keep the updates coming

 

[Iggy]

Just a quick update.

This batch is a lot different than the last batch. I added more water from the get-go, but I am noticing more variations in fry sizes, some are 4 times larger than others. I think with more water, the food gets more spread-out and some fish are starving while others are adapt at finding food.

Its a bit of an issue, cause the biggest fry can literally eat the smaller fry. In fact, I caught it with 1/2 a fry in its mouth before it spit it out.

This batch is likely under 100 fry now, more like 80. I am starting another spawn at the end of October, still deciding which pairs.

The plan is to spawn 3 months apart, jar them at 5 to 6 months and sell them at 8 to 9 months old. There is a constant demand in my area for females, and males are often low in supply after the weekend rush.

I never plan on making a killing at breeding bettas, but maybe a couple hundred bucks every few months would sure help offset the cost of this wonderful hobby!