Sad Decision

[1fish2fish]

So I think I'm getting out of breeding for a while.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately (hence my absence) and I just don't think I can keep up with this anymore. Last semester I found myself just stretched too thin what with raising fry, keeping my adults, school, work, and volunteering. Its one thing to have a full time job and a hobby... it's another to work 30+ hours a week, go to school full time, volunteer, and still have enough time and energy to do millions of water changes daily. It wouldn't be so bad but I just don't have the space to have the set up I really need to do this properly.

I've been back and forth and back again but I really think this is what's best for me and the fish. I want to nip this in the bud before it begins to affect the fish.

I still want to breed and I still have my goals laid out, I just think I need to wait until I have more space and am more settled. I'll still be around here all the time, learning and posting. There just won't be any of my lovely spawn threads for a while.

So once it gets warm enough I'll be selling off my babies and maybe my breeding fish too. Right now I have 30 fry (15 that are small but about 3 months old and 15 that are 1 month old). I'll also be adopting out some pet fish also. My goal is to get down to at most 5 tanks (including my non-betta community tank). That leaves at most 4 bettas to keep, one of which will be General Lee so I have to choose three out of the remaining 9.

I don't know how I'm going to choose, y'all know how much I love my fishies. It's going to be extremely hard giving up breeding, even just temporarily but I think its the mature thing to do, you can't grow fish effectively only doing a few water changes a week and feeding once a day.

Anyways.. there's some of my fry I'm really hoping go to breeders (Biggun and the Multi BF male especially) and if I can manage to part with my adult breeders I want them to go to responsible breeders as well so if your at all interested please get in touch with me. I won't even consider shipping out until it warms up (so probably March at the earliest) but I would like to start lining up homes now.

[beat2020]

Sorry to hear you're leaving the hobby for a while... :(

I MIGHT be able to take your light colored marble male,once he's ready to go.... :)

[dramaqueen]

I'm still interested in 2 babies. I'm sorry you won't be breeding anymore for awhile but you need to do what's best for you. You don't want to end up getting run down and making yourself sick.

[vaygirl]

I was wondering where you went. I was starting to worry! Frankly, I don't know HOW you kept up with all that. You gotta do what you gotta do. I think it's a responsible decision. Don't wear yourself out. At your age you should be having fun, fun, fun. Well, as much fun as one can have working and going to school. :P

[JaspersANGEL]

Sorry to hear that :( And I hope everything settles soon.

I would love to adopt a fishy pet from u, but I have no available condo's at the moment *lol* :)

[1fish2fish]

I also might have a few marble females although none of the babies have really changed that much. The male seems to be marbling out because he's losing the little color he had. He's not HM and won't flare for me for anything. The two males I was keeping are coming along nicely and I think may go HM if I keep working with them.

I have some females who are looking REALLY nice.. there's three of them that it's gonna kill me to get rid of because I had big plans for them. I also have a few who I think are males but still aren't showing much aggression at all.. nor are they eggy so who knows.

DQ.. I have a couple of fish in mind I think would do good with you. One is a male (I think) who has swim bladder problems if he eats too much. Otherwise he's fine but I'm still going to give him away instead of selling him. Then I have some females who I don't think are really breeding worthy.


Getting rid of the babies is heartbreaking... I had a lot of plans for the pairs I had selected. I have to keep telling myself that keeping them is not what's right... it still sucks.

ETA.. Glad to hear I was missed :) I just needed a fishy break. I sort of had a mini-meltdown during/after finals which is what made me realize I needed an overhaul. I guess my juggling skills aren't what I thought they were.

[Dragonlady]

I am sad to hear that you are taking a break from breeding for a while. I hope you return to breeding bettas later. Breeding/raising bettas can be quite time consuming if you do it right.

[beat2020]

I might be interested in a marble female or one of those really nice females as well. :)

[1fish2fish]

I'll get pictures soon. One of the marble females is light bodied with splotchy red fins, the other looks like she's turning dark and has orangy-red splotchy fins.

I have two big pastel/yellow females and one absolutely gorgeous steel blue/yellow (MG) female that I had selected to breed with Biggun.

[MrVampire181]

I can most definately take a pair or two off your hands :)

Sorry you're getting out of breeding....I hope you get back into it eventually!