I can't believe it!!!

[juliethegr8t]

Wow... you guys will never believe this.

Remember how I got my trio of betta falx on Tuesday? And let's see.. this is Thursday. Anyways, one of the males is holding. Yes, my friends, they spawned and I now have a pregnant boy.


Isn't that crazy?! I'm in shock, I don't know what to do. I'm so unprepared, I am expecting to lose this batch of fry but I'll still try to save it.

The thing is, should I move the male in a few days? He should incubate from 5 - 10 days. The fry are supposed to be large enough to handle a small current, but I still don't want to risk getting them sucked into the filter. Also, there is a matter of food. They're supposed to be able to eat BBS within a day or two... so they're bigguns when they're born.

Options? Leave him in the tank... AND turn off filter/cover filter intake with a nylon OR divide his section and remove him once they're born

OR move him to the 5.5 (remove current inhabitants), and then remove him once they are born...

Suggestions? Also.... I hope there are some of you out there who are interested in betta falx. They're supposed to have 20-100 per spawn and spawn every few weeks once they get started.

Edit: I got a few pics of the holding male, I'll post them in Photos.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Boil some water!!!

Shred some sheets!!

Set up a BBS hatchery!!

Divide him towards the end, what's that....5 days from now. Can you divide him on a side without any filtration? Moving him might freak him out and make him swallow them.

I'm so excited!!! your pics were fabulous!!!!

 

[juliethegr8t]

Boil some water!!!

Shred some sheets!!

You're hilarious, thank you for just helping me feel quite a bit better. This was just such a huge surprise.

I think I'll have to set up a brine shrimp hatchery. I've never done it before...but we'll see how it goes.

I would die if he swallowed them, eek! I will definitely leave him in his tank after realizing that possibility. Yes, I can divide it so that he's got no filtration, so that will probably be the best bet. And then I guess I can always try to move the babies a few days or something after that. They're not gonna like being in a gallon or so!

 

[wuvmybetta]

Damn...removing the babies!!! That's going to be tough Maybe you can scoop dad into a breeder and force him to spit them out on the last day or so... I have to think about this one, it's all new to me too!

 

[juliethegr8t]

Bah... well we have a few days. Let me know what you come up with asap, cuz I haven't decided for sure. I just don't know if I should put him in another tank or not. Some sites about mouthbrooding bettas say you should, but I don't want him to *gulp*. And then again... if I leave him, how will I move them? Eek! They're supposed to be large, but I have no idea how large is large, and I don't want to hurt them at all.


Just watch, I'll end up with two kiddos, just like you and the orangies.

 

[cometcattle]

Congrats julie!

Hope it works out.

 

[wuvmybetta]

@ two kiddos

From what I've read in the past, they don't swallow the eggs/fry very easily. It takes a lot to frighten them into doing that, so maybe move him....

Watch, I'll come back in 20 minutes and change my mind

 

[Gill]

That is so Great Julie.

Best of Luck with them.

 

[shrks1fan]

That's soooo cool! Congratulations! I know absolutely nothing about about mouthbrooders, but if what Wuv says about them not scaring easily then I would seriously think about moving him before he spits them out, get them in their own tank to raise them. And if worse comes to worse and he does swallow or they don't make it, well it would seem you won't have any trouble getting them to spawn again if they did it this quickly after shipping, hehe.

What size are the adults? I might like to try these guys too, something different

Linda
http/www.pet-emporium.com
http/www.cooking-fanatics.com

 

[buggyboutbettas]

Awesome julie! that's sooooo cooooool! cangrats and I hope everything goes well.






Do I still get first dibs?

 

[gouramiguy]

save some for me pics when you get them

 

[wuvmybetta]

I've been pondering on it, I'm still thinking that he should be moved towards the end, maybe on Monday or Tuesday...

Have you emailed that lady and asked her how she usually handles it? Just for some experienced advice.

 

[cation]

Have you emailed that lady and asked her how she usually handles it? Just for some experienced advice.

That sounds like a good plan!


And congrats, Julie - You know, if you end up overrun by the buggers, I could probably be persuaded to drive down for a couple...


(oh yeah - little amazon currently has lovely double tails, in case you wanted to be updated... )

 

[juliethegr8t]

Alright, I emailed the lady who gave them to me, and here is what she said -

"He will hold the fry between 12 and 14 days.
Personally, I move the other fish out rather than move
the male who is holding, but some others who have
been successful move the male. It may not really
matter.

The fry will be about the size of newborn guppies, or
average 3 week old splendens... The best thing to
feed them is baby brine shrimp, so you have about two
weeks to get that ready. They will also eat
microworms, but they really don't need anything that
small. They will usually take crumbled dry foods if
you feed them at the same time as the live stuff."

Soo.... where does this leave us!!

I am excited to hear that the fry are that large... that'll be handy. However, I still don't know what to do about moving him! Grr! Sounds like I have more time than I read though.. so let's figure this out.


Some of you guys better mean it when you sound interested! If I get as overrun with these guys as it sounds like I will, I'm gonna need to try my shipping skills. Linda - the males are about hmm *runs to check* 2 to 2 1/4 inches, with the female being a bit smaller. They're just a bit bigger than splendens.

cation - I'm gonna take you up on that, I would love to give you a few!! And gosh darn it, I'd love to get a doubletail. I just can't drive all the way up there again *sigh*. No time, no gas money!

 

[buggyboutbettas]

I think that it would be safer to move the other falx instead of moving him just to be on the safe side. did that lady happen to mention if he might eat the fry or not?
I do mean it! I would LOVE to have a 10 gallon with with 2 or 3 of them. as soon as you're ready to ship the to-be fry, (probably not for a while I assume -- I don't know how fast they grow) please PM me. those falx are so cool...