"It's a surprise!" HM dragon x HM spawn 2/9/13

[Myates]

Thanks guys!

Option, so far yes.. I am also trying with bowls - but hate not being able to see inside of them. But the tubs force them to pay attention to only each other, no hiding, nothing but seeing each other.

And nerve wracking is just the tip of the iceburg lol.

Here are a few blurry pics of the newly hatched fry.. a few dozen that I can see so far.. in a few days will get them out of the tub (holes in tub so water is the same as in the tank), then I can get a better view of them. They are just the tiniest of specks right now (those white dots in front and behind the leaf) :)

[MattsBettas]

Ooh looking good!

[Myates]

Thanks! Just got another pair to spawn today.. both virgins. lol.. no pics yet, they just finished and don't want to disturb daddy.

The pair and the set up:

[polukoff]

Sorry if I overlooked this but why is it that you use a bowl inside of a tank? Do you dump the fry into the tank once they hatch?

[Hadoken Kitty]

Oh wow how suspenseful! Pics ASAP. ;)

[dramaqueen]

I can't wait to see what the fry look like. I might want one. lol Not until I get moved, though. *sigh*

[Myates]

LOL drama.. it's okay, I'll add it to the stockpile I have that is growing for you already hehehehe :D

Will take more pics of the first set when I get them out of the tub, same with the ones in the bowl, hard to get a camera in there lol

Originally Posted by polukoff

Sorry if I overlooked this but why is it that you use a bowl inside of a tank? Do you dump the fry into the tank once they hatch?

Breaking in a ton of virgins, and for some reason they refuse to breed in the tanks for me.. I've kept the tanks bare, lots of plants, semi planted, partitioned off for smaller space.. and they would live together peacefully for a couple weeks until I gave up. Even the best breeding male who has had lots of spawns couldn't get them to give it up.

So, another breeder I know breeds exclusively in bowls (doesn't put the bowls in the tank though), so thought I would give it a try.

The mindset is that they can now only focus on one another, no distractions... no room to run away and hide, which can get one or both out of the "mood". Another benefit to using such small containers is it's a lot easier for the fry to find food, not as big of an area to cover. And it makes cleaning easier as you have less to siphon out.

The other breeder keeps her area heated so she doesn't need the tank, but I don't do that so I needed a way to keep the bowl warm.. so placed it in the tank lol. My small plastic bins (the first spawn on this log) I placed semi-small holes around the lower sides to help mix in the water from the tank into the bin.. once the fry start to free swim around and are a tiny bit bigger, I will release them into the tank to grow out some (before going into the 30g).

The bowl is a bit trickier, unsure if I like it.. wouldn't be bad if I had a drill to drill in holes to the bowl. But since I don't I plan on adding some of the tank water (very slowly) whenever I clean out the bowl and hope that I can get the fry adjusted to the tank water enough to gently tip them into the tank.

These were my first attempts outside of the "normal 10g" set up.. and I'm pleased with the result - first pair got the job done in a few hours, the second only took a couple days (both virgins) after I started leaving them alone (kept bugging them because I didn't like to see the waste on the bottom.. eventually I just let them be).

So over all - much quicker, better success with the bowls/bins - did notice though that the males really hurt the girls.. thinking it is because the female can't get too far from them after the spawn, so for me personally I will have to watch more closely to ensure the health of the female. Both have a lot of wounds, but are eating great and active.

[MiyuMikaelson]

Can NOT wait to see some of the fry's. How exciting.
C:

[dramaqueen]

How many does it make now for me, Meredith? 3 or 4? lol

[Myates]

lol not enough!


Update - first spawn I can see a few hundred wee ones in there.. they are all about horizontal now. Feeding on infusoria, going to introduce some cultures and possibly BBS today. Will probably move them into the tank from the tub sometime over the next couple of days.

Second spawn was a bust.. something went wrong with the pair and only a few eggs were laid. She was still huge, so reset them and last I saw of them last night he was furiously working on a nest and she would be head down waiting. They are figuring it out.. both are virgins, so can't expect all to be like the previous pairing :)

If I don't get anything in the next few days from the second pair I'll separate and recondition. Hoping this pair breeds soon... since my tanks are on double racks, don't want to disturb them while I set up a 3rd spawn tank. If they don't, I will wait.. getting 5 new fish today, so may just wait to breed a couple of those.. elephant/dumbo ears are next I am hoping.