Well I was going to wait a couple weeks but Narcissa looked like she was going to pop so I went ahead and gave it a go.

First I put Siam in to the spawning tank and let him get his barings. I then put Narcissa in a plastic cup and floated her in the tank. Siam went nuts, flaring and dancing around. Narcissa flared back at him and spread her fins all out. Siam started building his bubble nest and after he had a good start on it I released Narcissa into the tank. They swam around flaring and dancing at each other and every once in a while Siam would chase Narcissa around, she'd dart off and hide while Siam went back to his nest. Every once in a while Siam would come looking for Narcissa and she'd swim out and chase him around and then go check out his nest. After about a 1/2 hour of this Saim got a bit rough and ended up taking a good chunk out of Narcissa's tail. This seemed to chill her out and she went up to the nest and swam head down with her fins all clamped shut. At first it seemed like Siam wasn't sure what to do but then he wrapped himself around her and......nothing happened, lol. It took about six tries to get eggs. At first only a few came out but then they started to fall like snow. Siam was being a good boy and picking them up and putting them in the nest. Narcissa however was coming out of her trance a bit fast and was eating them before he could get them. I let them go at it for a while but ended up taking Narcissa out before she ate all her eggs.

So far Siam is doing a fairly good job tending his nest, though he seems to be neglecting a few eggs that have fallen out. I've noticed the eggs have gone from white in color to tan.

I'll keep everyone updated on their progress.

Incase you all forgot what mom and dad looked like here are their photos. I know there is no telling what color their babies will be but maybe I'll get a few lookers, that is assuming they survive,

Saim,
http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1129874

Narcissa,
http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=1125575

Oh, and I found someone in town who breeds fish and has microworms so I'm going to go get some tomorrow.

Autumn

Wow, congrats! Good luck with it!

U'll certainly get a few lookers with Siam and Narcissa good luck mate!

congrats and good luck! i'm sure they will be gorgeous with those two as parents, keep us posted

Congrats on the spawn.Hopefully some of the eggs will make it.You might want to get any out that you think have gone bad.I remember the day my two spawned.They spent hours at it ,and Snap(My female) helped Levi carry eggs up to the nest.It could not have gone any better than it had.All picture perfect it was. Happy memories...thanks for sharing. Good luck!

Fantastic news! Good luck.

Hope you have a well-conditioned sponge filter and some infusoria standing by for the three day mark and a microworm culture ready for in a week's time. Sometimes hundreds can survive from a VT spawn.

Keep a look out for the little tails hanging down. So exciting!

Yes,that is all so very exciting,and even though I've dealt with alot of babies from alot of different fish,the betta babes were my most challenging ever.There was alot of time and hard work involved in that-for sure.Many nights I was up all night for those guys,but as Yabbie said,So very exciting!!!

Well no babies yet. Siam is being a good dad and tending his nest very well. He seems to be picking up the eggs that have fallen out of the nest now, or maybe there are no eggs in the nest! He's not getting a belly on him so I don't think he's eating the eggs. He's cute though, he's been moving the nest around under the styrofoam cup and adding more bubbles as he sees fit. He's also been putting bubbles around the outside of the cup and every once in a while he'll stick his head in the nest and poke it with his nose.

Narcissa seems to be recovering well. She did get pretty beat up, half her tail is gone. I suppose that's what she gets for being so cheeky.

Stay tuned, maybe with my next post well have fry!

Autumn

oOoO.. more baby stories!! hehe this is so exciting!!

reading everyone else's spawning and raising fry stories, makes me wanna try it! goodluck to your little babies!! we're rooting for them!

Sounds like you have a good daddy! Good luck and totally keep us posted!

How exciting!!! I can't wait to see the babies. Do you know how long it takes for them to hatch?

oooooh sounds textbook yay!