Gooie is a male betta that grew much slower than his siblings. I separated the spawn, including him, into the slower growing group of fry. Later, my 5 year old daughter wanted to pick out a fish from the spawn to keep as a pet in her room. Although she had her pick of the entire spawn, she picked one of the smallest brightest colored fish that seemed to have a mild case of swim bladder disorder. I advised her to pick a different fish. He was obviously a a runt, but I guess she saw something special about him. So, she picked him anyway. With my help, she changed his water twice a week, fed him and scrubbed his tank. The fish appeared to be female and even had an ovipositor when kept alone for months. All of the other sibling males already had developed their full finnage.....while this little guy was still looking like a small juvenile fish. The swimbladder issue mysteriously disappeared within a week of removal from the growout tank, and it has not returned. Maybe he was just constipated?( I wonder how many breeders cull young fish that apppear to have swimbladder disorder when they are just maybe constipated?) It seems like almost overnight at around the age of 5 months old, he started to grow longer finnage and had a major growth spurt. Then, a nice butterfly pattern began to develop on all of his fins. Although he would never be a show fish like some of his siblings, he is a very special pet that wags his tail like a puppy every time we enter the room. I hope you enjoyed meeting him. He really grew on me over time. Here are some pictures of him from today.
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