www.feistyfins.com
Bettas by Jennifer Lapello
Sire: Andre
Turquoise BF STM
Bred by Sieg Illig
Turquoise BF STM
Bred by Sieg Illig
Dam: Bella
Turquoise Grizzled DTF
Bred by Sieg Illig
Turquoise Grizzled DTF
Bred by Sieg Illig
I picked up these two at the silent auction at the IBC Convention in June. They were both bred by Sieg Illig, and I talked to him after the win and found out that they are not directly related (not spawn siblings). That doesn't matter to me though. Anyone who knows my breeding practices knows that I prefer to start a line with unrelated stock. I'm sure they are distantly related, but at least this qualifies as an F1. I thought that they complimented each other well, her being DT, and him having the extended dorsal. Also, she is a genuinely huge female, and he was pretty close to her in size, so I figured he could wrap her, and I was right. :) As far as color in this spawn, I do know that any iridescence in this spawn will be turquoise, since turquoise X turquoise produces 100% turquoise. I don't know the genetic background on these fish, so it should be fun to see the fry grow up. I could get marbles, butterflies, grizzles, solids, and maybe pastels. I am hoping to see at least a few grizzles, but I'll be happy with any of the colors honestly.
6/29/07: Here is the pair spawning. This was one of those "perfect" spawns. I put them in together at about 8pm on 6/28, and they were spawning in the morning. He had no fin damage, and hers was minimal. There weren't a huge amount of eggs, but he tended to the ones he had perfectly. They hatched on 6/30/07, and he was a great dad!
7/24/07: The spawn is about 3 1/2 weeks old now. I actually moved them along with 9 other spawns to 21-gallon and 28-gallon growout tubs today. I counted 42 babies in this spawn when I moved them. I normally wait a couple of weeks longer before moving them, but I am determined to get some fish up to show size by the September shows. I also picked my 3 featured babies.
#1 and #3 are cute little singletail babies and #2 is an adorable doubletail. They are a decent size for their age, and they are all beginning to show irid sheen. The sheen isn't evident in all the photos, but it's there. Here are my 3 subjects:
#1 and #3 are cute little singletail babies and #2 is an adorable doubletail. They are a decent size for their age, and they are all beginning to show irid sheen. The sheen isn't evident in all the photos, but it's there. Here are my 3 subjects:
7/31/07: They are almost 4 1/2 weeks old now. I'll probably continue to just do updates on Tuesdays, because it is a day that works out well for me. These three have all grown somewhat since last week, and they are about 1/2" long from nose to end of tail, give or take a little. Try measuring a fry in a beanie...it's not easy! But that's my estimate. These are medium-sized fry in this spawn. They have a few spawnmates that are bigger than them, a few that are smaller, and a bunch around the same exact size. I am trying to wean them completely off of BBS as soon as possible, and they are eating Grindal Worms quite well now, but are still getting a portioned feeding of BBS at night. Their color is showing up a little better this week too, although #1 and #3 were not cooperating with me at all. The little DT is so cute. I'm not sure if it has a complete caudal split, but I like it anyway. :)
8/8/07: I'm a day late posting this because of a power outage and a basement flood last night that I won't get into. Anyway, the fry are now about 5 1/2 weeks old and these three are about 5/8" long, including tails. They are readily eating grindal worms, daphnia (live and frozen), and even picking at crushed Atison's Betta Pro pellets. Their iridescence is becoming more and more visible. The DT (#2) was blowing bubbles tonight, so we'll see if it ends up being a boy. It looks like it may be developing a little bit of a spinal curve (note the dip in its back right behind its head). I'll have to keep an eye on that, but these types of things are pretty common in DTs. Here are the three fry:
8/14/07: The fry are doing well. These three are now about 6 1/2 weeks old and 7/8" long from nose to end of tail. They are eating just about everything I offer now, live or not. Their color is coming in more and more. Unfortunately, the spinal deformity on number 2 seems to be getting worse. The only thing to do is wait it out and see what happens. Here they are:
8/21/07: The fry are about 7 1/2 weeks old now, and growing well. I actually got decent pics of all three this week! They are just over an inch long now from nose to end of tail. They are also developing their secondary branching. There are several spawnmates in the growout that are larger and are already showing impressive finnage, but I'll show those later.
#2 doesn't seem to be improving as far as the obvious spinal problem. Also, please note the other faults on this fish. For one, the caudal lobes are different sizes. If you look closely, you will notice that the top caudal lobe is a little smaller than the bottom one. Also, as I suspected a few weeks ago, this fish has an incomplete caudal split. The caudal issues are not a big problem for breeding into your singletail lines to improve dorsal fins, but this kind of caudal would never do well for IBC showing purposes. Even though the caudal is not that big of a deal, fish with spinal issues like this should never be used for breeding. He's still young and could outgrow it, but it seems to be getting worse, rather than better, in my opinion.
#2 doesn't seem to be improving as far as the obvious spinal problem. Also, please note the other faults on this fish. For one, the caudal lobes are different sizes. If you look closely, you will notice that the top caudal lobe is a little smaller than the bottom one. Also, as I suspected a few weeks ago, this fish has an incomplete caudal split. The caudal issues are not a big problem for breeding into your singletail lines to improve dorsal fins, but this kind of caudal would never do well for IBC showing purposes. Even though the caudal is not that big of a deal, fish with spinal issues like this should never be used for breeding. He's still young and could outgrow it, but it seems to be getting worse, rather than better, in my opinion.
9/1/07: The fry are 9 weeks old today. I didn't update on Tuesday, because I have had a bad cold and was barely able to move Tuesday, so now I will just update them weekly.
They haven't gained much length since the last update (probably because they weren't receiving the kind of care they normally do because of me being sick). They have grown a little though, and they are getting more branching. They all have two rays with the tips starting to branch to 4-ray in the caudals now.
#1 is the biggest right now, at about 1 1/4" total length. #2 & #3 are about the same size, measuring at about 1 1/8".
The biggest difference I've noticed this time is that the DT seems to have had the spinal deformity all but disappear. I swear it's the same fish. You just never know with these guys. Hopefully this will end up being a breedable fish, but I am keeping a close eye on that spine and not getting my hopes up.
My guess right now is that they are all boys. #3 looks like a female so far, but "she" blows a mean bubblenest. And don't let the round tummies fool you. These pictures were taken right after a large meal.
They haven't gained much length since the last update (probably because they weren't receiving the kind of care they normally do because of me being sick). They have grown a little though, and they are getting more branching. They all have two rays with the tips starting to branch to 4-ray in the caudals now.
#1 is the biggest right now, at about 1 1/4" total length. #2 & #3 are about the same size, measuring at about 1 1/8".
The biggest difference I've noticed this time is that the DT seems to have had the spinal deformity all but disappear. I swear it's the same fish. You just never know with these guys. Hopefully this will end up being a breedable fish, but I am keeping a close eye on that spine and not getting my hopes up.
My guess right now is that they are all boys. #3 looks like a female so far, but "she" blows a mean bubblenest. And don't let the round tummies fool you. These pictures were taken right after a large meal.
