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Bettas by Jennifer Lapello
9/15/07: I didn't have time to update last weekend, so the fry look a lot different for this update. They haven't grown much longer, but their fins are filling in, and they are resembling adult Bettas much more now. The largest is #1, measuring about 1 3/8" total. The other two are slightly shorter, but not by much.
#1 is clearly a young male, and he reminds me of his dad right now, but his coloring could definitely change. He seems to be getting pretty decent finnage. His caudal edges look a little rounded, but he has time to grow.
#2 has shocked me completely. The spinal deformity that was so obvious early on seems to be completely gone.
#3, who was acting like a male and blowing bubbles has stopped this behavior for now, and it really appears to be female now.
They are all coloring up and gaining branching, and I can't wait to see what they look like in a few weeks. Here they are:
#1 is clearly a young male, and he reminds me of his dad right now, but his coloring could definitely change. He seems to be getting pretty decent finnage. His caudal edges look a little rounded, but he has time to grow.
#2 has shocked me completely. The spinal deformity that was so obvious early on seems to be completely gone.
#3, who was acting like a male and blowing bubbles has stopped this behavior for now, and it really appears to be female now.
They are all coloring up and gaining branching, and I can't wait to see what they look like in a few weeks. Here they are:
9/22/07: 12 weeks old and looking great! I didn't do an official measurement this week, but they are all bigger, with #1 being the largest. #1 is developing a BF pattern right now, while the other two are remaining solid for now. I love the way #1 looks. His dorsal is so nice, and I think his caudal will improve considerably over the next few weeks. #2 isn't looking bad considering how he looked so early on in this log. And #3 is definitely a girl, no matter how many bubblenests she chooses to make.
9/29/07: 13 weeks old. All 3 fry are looking great. They haven't grown much longer (the biggest, #1, is a little over 1 1/2" including fins), but they are looking more and more like adult Bettas and their fins are taking off. Number 1 has a BF pattern for now, while the other two still look solid turquoise, but that could most definitely change. They all look like very nice fish with a ton of potential right now, so I am very happy with this spawn log so far. I will have to up the water changes on these guys so we can start seeing more growth body-wise.
10/6/07: Sorry! No new pictures this week. I was busy and didn't have time to update. All 3 fry are doing great. I promise new pics next weekend!
10/13/07: 15 weeks old. They all look like mini-adults now. #1 is adorable and quite a showoff. His spread continues to get better, but his caudal edges may be a bit too rounded to reach full HM potential. The DT is looking good, and is impossible to photograph, and seems to be getting a slight BF edge in his caudal. #3, the female, looks really good. She has straight caudal edges, 4-ray branching (and she's still growing), and an obvious DT geno dorsal. So far she looks like a solid turquoise...we'll see.
I did an official measurement on #1 (the largest) today. He is just shy of 2" long from nose to end of caudal. The female is about the same size in body length, but obviously isn't as long overall, because she has shorter fins. The DT has the shortest body, but I'm not too surprised with him being a DT.
They have been fed 3 times daily for the past week and a half and are receiving 100% daily water changes. Hopefully with another week of this, we will start to see some improvement in growth rates. They aren't tiny and pathetic by any means, but I know I could have had them larger by now had I been using this technique longer. But, there are only so many hours in a day. They have surpassed all of their spawnmates in size, simply because I do not have the time to do 100% daily water changes on them and the other 8 or so jarred spawns.
I did an official measurement on #1 (the largest) today. He is just shy of 2" long from nose to end of caudal. The female is about the same size in body length, but obviously isn't as long overall, because she has shorter fins. The DT has the shortest body, but I'm not too surprised with him being a DT.
They have been fed 3 times daily for the past week and a half and are receiving 100% daily water changes. Hopefully with another week of this, we will start to see some improvement in growth rates. They aren't tiny and pathetic by any means, but I know I could have had them larger by now had I been using this technique longer. But, there are only so many hours in a day. They have surpassed all of their spawnmates in size, simply because I do not have the time to do 100% daily water changes on them and the other 8 or so jarred spawns.
10/14/07: This will be my last update on these three. They are pretty much adult size now and won't change much more, except for gaining some size and possibly slight changes in pattern on the two boys.
#1 turned out to be a very nice Super Delta. I don't think he will quite reach 180, but he is still a nice breeding fish and should definitely produce HM babies of bred to a decent female.
#2, the DT, actually turned out to be a pretty nice fish. I think he will continue to gain white on his edges and may eventually become a full-blown BF like his brother.
#3, the female, is very nice and may very well be kept as a breeder. She has a nice long dorsal, straight caudal edges, and decent branching.
#1 turned out to be a very nice Super Delta. I don't think he will quite reach 180, but he is still a nice breeding fish and should definitely produce HM babies of bred to a decent female.
#2, the DT, actually turned out to be a pretty nice fish. I think he will continue to gain white on his edges and may eventually become a full-blown BF like his brother.
#3, the female, is very nice and may very well be kept as a breeder. She has a nice long dorsal, straight caudal edges, and decent branching.