THIRD SPAWN: An account of a betta spawn to produce a ruffle-tailed betta
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I was watching my ruffle-tailed betta Turkey and realized I had to try to develop a ruffle-tail strain of betta. Why? Because I hadn't seen a tail configuration like this anywhere else and there has to be value in preserving what is rare. The goal will be to get fish with their tails as heavily ruffled as possible. They should look like they got a perm from the same people that used to do Shirley Temple's hair. My main concern is that Turkey is very old and doesn't seem too interested in displaying to females. However, I'm hoping a regimen of rich live food will perk him up. Wish me luck!
This is Turkey. He's a three-dollar pet store betta that is one of the most entertaining of bettas to watch. His tails are so heavily loaded with scallops and whorls that they hang like heavy drapes.
I'll spawn him with Blue, female from a different pet store than Turkey.
NEW!!! After many delays this spawn is finally underway! I wanted to finish developing the super-capacity, fry-safe filter for this spawn and problems with its design caused repeated delays. However, the filter is finally working and on 4 May I introduced Turkey and Blue to the tank. I'll give then a few days to get used to it and release them to spawn. Hopefully, by 11 May I should be reporting ruffled-tailed fry hatching. Wish me luck!
NEW!!! Spawn failed! Blue was to big for Turkey to wrap himself around her so he could not squeeze any eggs out of her. It wasn't for lack of trying. They worked at it for eight hours before giving up. It's a shame because everything looked perfect: in spite of his advanced age Turkey was willing, Blue was showing strong vertical bars, and they both seemed enthusiastic about getting it done.
However, this does not mean I'm giving up! I've placed Blue back in a jar to inhibit her growth. Turkey is now in a ten gallon tank and is getting a high-protein diet that will, hopefully, help him to grow large enough to spawn with Blue in two months.
