“Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.”
Acts 4:2424And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: (Acts 4:24)
Hidden in the streams of Thailand, and in other places, there are some unusual and pretty little fish called the mouthbrooding bettas. Only three to six inches long, they are interesting little fish with a most unusual way of hatching their young.
Most fish prepare a place to spawn (deposit their eggs) and then, after spawning, swim away and forget them. But not the faithful mouthbrooding betta. Somehow the female fish lets the male know when she is ready to spawn. She lays the eggs on the back of his fins. Then she picks them up in her mouth, and in a bit of a process, she is able to toss the eggs through the water into his mouth. If he doesn’t catch them quickly enough, she sucks them back in and gives him another chance. They also have to protect themselves during this whole process from other fish, who would like a little snack of yummy fish eggs.
Then, what a mouthful the male has! But, surprisingly, he doesn’t swallow the eggs, normally. He casually swims around with his precious mouthful, usually for about two weeks, although a larger species goes up to 40 days. During all of this time, he carefully washes the eggs by rolling them around in his mouth. The female protects him from other fish during this time. Finally, the eggs hatch and the baby fish are released from his mouth. Now he can begin to eat again!
Then the father may continue to protect the little fish, called fry, sometimes even feeding them, until they are ready to live on their own. He will even take some back in his mouth if needed, to protect them from danger.
If the bettas live in a fish tank, the mother betta sometimes wants to have more babies right away. She doesn’t think about the fact that the father hasn’t eaten for two to six weeks! And the father is so devoted that he will do it all again.
It’s nice to see how devoted these father betta fish are to their babies! It gives us a little picture of how much God loves and cares for us, His children.
The greatest way He showed His love was in giving His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross of Calvary. There Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all who know they need to have their sins forgiven and accept His work in faith. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). Are you saved?
Did You Know?
Some mouthbrooding bettas may not eat for two to six weeks.
Messages of God’s Love 2/4/2024