GuppyDude's Spawn Journal Thingy

[GuppyDude]

Alright, iv got the tub set up for the spawning, got the 1/2 styro-foam cup with bubble wrup under it, have a hanging cup on teh side to put teh female in (when i get to that stage), got some fake plants for the girly to hide in, and i just added the male about 2 hours ago, he's likeing the place. the water has a mix of conditioner/stress med in it, and some methanol blue. iv got an airhose blowing a bubble per second and the water temp is just above 80F. iv got this down to a science now so this time i should have success. trying a differant pair of fish now, a crimson ct male and a multicolor ct female. the black pair just wasn't working out, ill have to spawn them another day. and now iv got questions!

How long should it take the male to get used to him new home before i can vase the female?

The last time i spawned a pair of bettas, (my black hm pair), the fry hatched and died, i never did get to the bottom of that and i need an experianced breeder to watch every move i make as i am recording it here so i dont do anything to screw this up for myself.

Edit: can someone send me a fry growth chart plz, cant find it

ill post pics wen i can get them, shouldn't be too long.

 

[CatLover]

Good luck with that! Too bad the black ones wouldn't spawn; I bet those would have been cute.

I can't wait to breed someday. Crowntails are my fav!
Looking forward to pics, and seeing another spawn journal progress

 

[GuppyDude]

it wasn't that they wouldn't breed, it was that the fry that hatched wouldn't live, i lost em all and i just cant figure out why, im trying a differant approach now thogh, gunna leave the daddy in there to care for them, maybe he'll keep them from dieing off

 

[Joby]

Here is the growth chart from Bettatalk Growth chart

Spawn tank sounds great although I don't add any meds. I usually introudce the vased female after the first couple of hours if the male looks settled or at the latest by the next morning. He then usually makes his bubblenest and I release the female that night.

I had a few instances where I got fry and then they died off within the first day or two and found my water quality was awful, high ammonia and nitrite so I now used a seasoned sponge in my filter and have had no problems since

Am by no means an experienced breeder having only had 3 succesful spawns in one year but wish you the best of luck with this spawn

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

Can we see pics of Mom and Dad??

 

[SRC]

it wasn't that they wouldn't breed, it was that the fry that hatched wouldn't live, i

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Try treating your water with methylene blue this time...supossedly the #1 killer in fry and eggs...is fungus. If dad didn't keep them thrown up in the bubble nest often enough and they sat on the bottom..that could have been your culprit.

The methelyne blue is made just for them ..prevenitive measures are better then treratment options I say lol.

Good Luck with this one though.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Good luck, GD. I hope this one pulls through for ya
Everything sounds perfect so far. You can introduce the female anytime,as Joby said.

 

[GuppyDude]

Alright ty guys, i did use meth blue last time, but i put it in after the eggs had been laid. never realy liked the stuff but i dont suppose i have an option. was likely change in the water that casued the fry to die off. this male should be a better dad, he's a little smarter than teh last one i spawned.

The male has been in the tub for almost 10 hours now i would guess and its teh happiest iv seen him in a while so i hope this works. now im off to prep teh female.

 

[GuppyDude]

Ok i added the female a few hours ago, at firt teh male went balistic over her, flareing all over the place. the female was flareing back at him for a while but she has quite and is now resting at teh bottom of her cup. the male is really relaxed now, seems more interested in teh fake plants rather than the female, purhaps thats where he'll build his nest, i dont know. im looking at him now and he appears to be resting under the fake plants.... do you guys think i should release the female and see if that'll get him going?

 

[Andie]

Some breeders release the female even if there's absolutely no sign of a bubble nest, but I'm not sure of the advisability of that if, like myself, you're not an experienced breeder.

ETA: You mentioned your female was in a cup; what sort of cup? Is it something that will allow them an exchange of water? If not, try putting a few holes in the container or switching her to something that allows water flow, since her pheromones in his water might get him going as well.

 

[GuppyDude]

Wow andie, accually that had never crossed my mind, its a little betta cup that one of my fish had come in, there are no holes but there is space between the surface of the water and rim of the cup. i will add some holes to that cup asap, had no idea females gave off any kind of chemical.

The male is still kind of laying around, comes up to flare at teh female on occasion but does not seem interested in makeing a nest. i built a couple nests in there from bubbles made by my other bettas, but he's paying them no mind.

The female accually jumped out of her cup earlier and was being chased by the male, iv tryed releaseing the female before the nest was built in other spawn attempts and i haven't had success with it, im not sure i want to do that as they are in a small space and theres not a whole lot of places fro the female to get away at. if i run out of ideas i will add a little cage for her to hide in if she needs, but it shouldn't come down to that, im determined to get this guy to build a nest, he's built them before, not sure why he wont build one now .

thnx andie, im off to put holes in that cup

 

[Andie]

It's not a guarentee, mind you, but I really hope it works for you. I just remembered seeing that suggestion made in another spawn thread; I guess that sometimes that little extra hormonal kick is what it takes to wake him up and get him started

 

[GuppyDude]

well holes have been cut into the cup but he still isn't comeing out, i threw in some pellets to see if food would make him come out and at teh very least flare, but hes just hangin out like the female isn't even there. wont eat either, lol maybe he's scared im gunna give him over night to see what he does but if he's up to something he's really takeing his time

 

[SRC]

I've heard that you should cover the tank so they can't see out..makes them feel safe and comfortable.

Maybe you should tape some dark colored construction paper (I've found that they REALLY do not like white paper for some reason lol), or a black garbage bag, all the way around, leaving yourself a couple small spaces, so you can peer in ever so often (or maybe set you up a web cam, if you have one, so you can look in that way, without disturbing them).

Also, from what I've read on here..you really need to have lots of places for the female to escape too. A "cage" doesn't sound ideal..as he could corner her in there and hurt her, or vice versa.

 

[GuppyDude]

she is not in there now and i dont plan on releaseing her until the male appears to be redy, will cover the tank and try that.

male still not interested at all, not a bubble outta him, not even a flare....