[WesTexBetta]

Male:

Female:

Her form looks nicer than the picture. She didn’t want to hold still for me. Yellow with some faint black spotting.

Spawn Date: October 30th

Daddy Cosmo under a huge bubble nest.I watched for a while and I saw 6 or 7 wraps with an average of 7 eggs released per coupling. And I know they were at it both before and after a was watching, so might be a sizable spawn!

Stay tuned for results!

 

[FishandBirdLover]

Looking forward to updates! Following!

 

[betta4ever!]

You are so lucky...! Huge bubble nest....and beautifull bettas!!!! Looking forward to updates, and a lot more photos!!

 

[WesTexBetta]

It’ll be 72 hours this evening and I haven’t seen any wigglers yet… getting nervous. It was their first attempt so I guess I should expect that they might not have got it quite right. Male is still guarding and blowing the eggs back up into the nest if they fall. He did eat a few bites of food this morning, so at least he isn’t starving. Will update tonight.

 

[WesTexBetta]

I should never have doubted them. Here’s a small section of the bubble nest as of a few minutes ago. How many tails can you count? There has to be close to 100 in this spawn. Hatch Day!

 

[betta4ever!]

There has to be close to 100 in this spawn.
I think there are more...!! 🤣

 

[WesTexBetta]

There has to be close to 100 in this spawn.
I think there are more...!! 🤣

You might be right! I took a picture of a portion of the nest and counted. I got to 83 and that’s just what I can see in the unfocused picture on a PART of the nest. Daddy’s doing a good job. I feel bad for him he’s constantly swimming back and forth picking them up as they fall. When he puts one back in the nest and darts down to grab another, he knocks five out with us tail. At least he eats a little when I feed him. I’ve only been feeding him in the morning and just a few pellets because I dont want to foul the water.
I’m sure there will be a die-off when I take over x.x But even then might have over a hundred fry. I’m excited to see what they look like!

 

[WesTexBetta]

I’m also going to be uploading this journey on instagram if anyone wants to follow me there! I'm on Instagram as westexbetta. Instagram

 

[MABetta]

I bet it is twice that number! Can’t wait to see picture updates in the future!

 

[WesTexBetta]

About half of the fry are now free swimming. Bubble nest is nearly gone and the male has given up on putting the sinkers back up to the surface. I took him out for some much needed rest and turned up the heater for the fry. They needed it a bit warmer but I didn’t want to disturb the nest before now. Also gave the first feeding of microworm. I’ll also do the first water change tonight.

 

[betta4ever!]

I am jealous!!

 

[WesTexBetta]

5 days old and the fry are darting around the tub. I fed microworms twice yesterday and they were still alive this morning so no morning feeding. I plan on doing three small feedings a day and adding baby brine shrimp as two of those feedings at one week old. I’ve found one dead fry and the rest seem to be doing well. I keep thinking that there has to be more casualties but when I pass the turkey baster over the fry hanging out at the bottom, they dart away. I will update again at one week old unless something disastrous happens. There’s not much to look at right now!

 

[mollyyymo]

Following! I love the female you chose in particular. Do you have plans for the fry?

 

[WesTexBetta]

Following! I love the female you chose in particular. Do you have plans for the fry?

I plan on selling them online and At a local fish store, if they’ll take them for store credit or cash.

 

[WesTexBetta]

Day 6 and still no dead fry! I’m really surprised, given how many there are. Did a 20% water change last night and fed microworms again this morning. I actually saw them eating, which was a big relief.

 

[WesTexBetta]

Day 7! Dad is fully recovered and built another bubble nest. He seems in good spirits! I could actually take a picture of the fry today. I think I’ll leave them in the spawning tub for a while longer. I had wanted to put them in a grow out tub at 1 week, but I’d never find them in there. First feeding of bbs is tonight. Hopefully they’ll have a growth spurt with all the extra nutrients.

 

[WesTexBetta]

The fry are 9 days old and they’re darting around the tub more now. Less and less of them hang out around the bottom and are now exploring the water column. I read that bettas color up faster in a dark tub as opposed to a clear tub for growout. Does anyone know if this has any merit?

 

[MABetta]

Never heard of this….interesting if true

 

[mollyyymo]

I read that bettas color up faster in a dark tub as opposed to a clear tub for growout. Does anyone know if this has any merit?

I've never heard that before! If you try it please report back. I'm planning a spawn for March and might just give this a try too.

 

[WesTexBetta]

I've never heard that before! If you try it please report back. I'm planning a spawn for March and might just give this a try too.

I definitely will! I’ll try to catch one every couple of days once they go into the growout tub and report when I start seeing color, with pics.
I added I video to my instagram of the fry today. I’m still supplementing with microworms even though I would like to go full bbs right about now. My home made hatchery isn’t reliable and I’m having trouble separating the cysts and shrimp. I have a dish hatchery ordered so hopefully that will help. I’m already seeing a bit of a size difference in the fry, which leads me to believe that the ones that manage to gobble up the bbs are growing faster. Small water changes every couple of days and business as usual!