The Wonder Of Reproduction (1958)

[Music] that's right Mr Spencer it'll be ready anytime afternoon tomorrow fine thank you very much I'll look for you then goodbye well hi gang what can I do for you yeah let me see uh your dog is sick no you want me to umpire a ball game no oh I know you want to buy out my fixed shop and become millionaire well I give up then we want to see your new fish come on Uncle Bob to us huh so that it huh my new certainly travels fast doesn't it who told you I had some new ones Tommy and Jimmy doy told me a couple of kids were talking about it recess yesterday well you know I think it's wonderful that you kids are eager to learn about nature and the Wonder world we live in and you know honest interest and careful observation are two requirements for becoming good scientists come on in my lab I'd love to show you my new fish oh there they are aren't they pretty yes they are must be lots of fun having an aquarium and taking care of all these little fish well it is fun and you know we can learn many wonderful lessons by carefully observing the way fish live and behave man oh man would you look at this one you sure is beautiful what kind of fish is she Uncle Bob well this she happens to be a he this is the mayale beta Splendid and he is one of the most beautiful fish you'll probably ever seen now if you look closely you'll see just about every color in the rainbow sparkling in his Sleek body and flowing fins as he swims around in there but not only does he possess great Beauty he also has a ferocious temper this little creature is known as the Siamese fighting fish because ounce for ounce he's one of the best and toughest fighters in the world a real Champion Scrapper among fish and strange as it may seem in the family of beta splendens it's the father who cares for the babies and raises the family the father what does the mother fish do well she performs her sole duty of laying the eggs you see the female Beta is much smaller and not nearly as picturesque as the male and Mr beta does not have very much respect for her either he would just as soon find fight with her as he would with another male fish now the beta is what is known as a surface breeder that is unlike most other fish he cannot get enough oxygen from the water so every few minutes he must rise to the surface and breathe oxygen from the air but not only does he use air for breathing he also does something very special with it when he has decided it's time to raise a family the male better will start to build a nest for his expected offsprings and he builds it with some of the air he takes in he builds it with air how does he do that he blows bubbles a come on Uncle Bob you're kidding no I'm not either that's exactly what he does first the father beta will go up to the surface and breathe in a mouthful of air then he will swim to the place that he's chosen to build his nest now this is usually by a plant or on the underside of a Floating Leaf then he will blow out the bubble of air which is coated with very special saliva from his mouth now it takes many trips back and forth to supply the hundreds of little bubbles that are necessary to houses young ones the finished nest looks like a shimmering layer of dew drops just below the water surface then when the mansion with many rooms is complete the betas are ready to mate and what a delightful spectacle of courtship this is Mr beta will Dart and dash around the female spreading out his Grand fins and tail displaying all of his colorful finery while Mrs better just swims patiently along finally he will coax her up under his newly constructed apartment house where the female will release the eggs and the male will cover them with a special fluid and as they emerge now this process is called fertilization and will cause the eggs to grow into new little baby beta splendids then as the eggs float toward the bottom father beta will swim after them and when he's gathered up a mouthful of eggs the male will blow each New Egg up among the bubbles in the nest this process is repeated until there are as many as 200 to 500 eggs in the Nest all sticking tightly to the bubbles and to each other I think that's so wonderful and beautiful ah girls are so sentimental oh your sister's right Gary the plan which enables life to continue and flourish across centuries of time is beautiful if it is thought of in the manner in which the Creator intended and every one of us should be careful to recognize the beauty and wonder of this process in all forms of life but I didn't finish telling you about the betas after the father beta has fertilized all of the eggs and placed them up in the bubble nest he swims back and forth underneath the nest guarding the eggs very jealously for fish eggs are just what other fish love to eat in fact he won't even let the mother beta come around to visit about a day after they are laid the eggs begin to hatch and after 2 days the water under the bubble nest is filled with new little baby Beth but after 3 or 4 days they leave the nest to search out their own food 3 or 4 months later they've grown up into adult male and female fish and are ready to mate and reproduce and carry on the endless chain of life of the better Splendid I didn't know the Father Fish always take care of the little ones well don't Gary with some other fish only the mother raises them in fact take a look at these in here now they look like just common ordinary little fish don't they M they're called Egyptian mouth breeders now why do you suppose they're called by that name Egyptian mouth breeders because they from Egypt right you are Kathy they come from a very famous river in Egypt I know the Nile the Nile good for you Bobby hey Uncle Bob look at this fish over here he looks like he has something in his mouth you're right Gary except for one thing this he is a she a female Egyptian mouth breeder and those tiny things in her mouth are eggs which will soon hatch into little baby fish you see that's where she gets the mouth breeder part of her name because she raises her babies in her mouth what how does she do that well let's begin at the beginning you see when the mouth readers have decided that it's time to increase their family the male will begin to prepare a place for the female to lay her eggs he digs a little hole in the Sand by violently Fanning with his fins then he gently coaxes the mother mouth breeder over the nest Where She lays a few eggs the male quickly covers the eggs with a fluid that will make them fertile so they will hatch into new little Egyptian KN breeders now this process is repeated until about 100 eggs have been laid and fertilized now the creator has given most wild creatures a strong instinct to protect their young and mother mouth reader performs this task in such a remarkable way now even though she has scooped up all of the eggs into her very large mouth she will not swallow them she keeps them in her mouth until they hatch into baby fish the eggs are only about half the size of a BB but 100 of them make a pretty good mouthful for this little mother fish during the 15 days that it takes for these eggs to hat the mother mouth breeder will not eat any food at all and she grows quite thin now just imagine the self-control she uses to keep from swallowing those tasty eggs that are in her mouth especially when fish eggs are fish's favorite food but she will not eat them even though she grows thinner each day from lack of food now she's not chewing the eggs that peculiar motion of her Jaws keeps fresh water circulating over the eggs which provides oxygen and also keeps them clean in about 12 to 14 days the eggs will hatch into baby fish but the babies are still kept in the mother's mouth for several more days then they are allowed to leave their floating nursery for short periods of time but until they are strong and able to protect themselves the mother will open her mouth when danger threatens and the little ones will Scurry back into the safety of their mother's mouth but of course each day they grow bigger here until one day the faithful mother mouth breeder must let her little ones go to face life on their own boy that's terrific you know you learn something new every day huh well you do if you keep your eyes and ears and mind open and really want to learn something I have an idea why don't we start an aquarium of our own it's a good idea hey yeah L wait a minute what are we going to use for fish you know kid you don't have to have unusual fish from strange far away places to start an aquarium in fact you know all of the common ordinary creatures that live right here around us are very fascinating to study and observe how they are made and the way they live and reproduce and you know even those little minnows you can catch down on the creek make very interesting pets they do great let's go I got a minet we can use we can get some little rocks and plants in the creek that's good because those little plants are very important to a balanced aquarium in fact I tell you what you kids do after you've caught your little fish you come on back here and let me show you how to set up your aquarium properly so your minerals will live okay thanks m b you later come on kid have [Music] fun