betta questions

[binka_nugget]

i was on that website flamepony12 gave me and it said "there were quite a few curvy spines that had to be culled." does this mean they have to kill them?

When a betta breeder says "cull", it can mean that they either actually do kill it, or simply remove it from their breeding program. I had one baby that couldn't close his mouth. He swam, ate, and functioned just fine though. I would have culled him, but not killed him. He would have been adopted out for the price of shipping only to someone who wouldn't breed him. But unfortunately, he was one of the babies that died from ich.

[bckrazy]

Actually, I had quite a few bent spines in my last spawn (around 12, I think), and all of those Bettas grew up just like any and were just as healthy. Bent spines can be the result of a number of things; not just genetic. Almost any domesticated line of long-finned Bettas has bent spines here and there, as long as they are not severe it isn't an issue at all.