Betta Fish: An Introduction
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bosun_Sogeke]Bosun Sogeke
Betta fish scientifically belongs to animalia kingdom, chordate phylum, actinopterygii class, Perciformes order, Osphronemidae family, Betta genus and B. splendens species.
The Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) is one of the most well-liked types of freshwater aquarium fish, inhabitant to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and called pla-kad in its native Thailand. It is associated with the gourami family, but was in earlier times classified among the Anabantidae. Even though there are almost 50 other kind of bettas, B. splendens is the most admired species among aquarium hobbyists, mostly in the United States, and is normally referred to with the nick name "betta."
A betta fish grows in general to a length of just about 6 cm (~ 2.3" in). Bettas are famous for their colors and the shape of their tails. The usual coloration of betta fishes are light green and brown, and the fins of wild varieties are comparatively small. On the other hand, radiantly colored and longer-finned species have been developed all the way through selective breeding.
Breeders have developed a number of unusual tail shapes for example veil tail (non-symmetrical tail, simply 2 rays), crown tail (extremely frilled, extensive rays), half-moon (big tail fin that makes the shape of a half circle), short-finned fighting style (from time to time called plakat), double-tail (the tail fin is divided into two lobes and the dorsal fin is considerably stretched out) and delta tail (tail span is comparatively smaller than half-moon).
Betta fishes have been lovingly nicknamed "The Jewel of the Orient" because of the wide variety of colors which are formed through selective breeding.
In recent times breeders have developed in females the same variety of colors in the past only bred in males. Untamed bettas only reveal strong colors when troubled. On the other hand, breeders have been talented enough to make this coloration everlasting, in a wide range of shades. Bettas that are red or dark blue are the easiest to buy, being fairly enduring and time and again breed true. Though, bettas come in other colors, like magenta, orange, yellow (uncommon), white and emerald green. Breeders have also developed various color outlines such as marble and butterfly, in addition to metallic colors like copper, gold, and opaque.
Breeders all over the world keep on developing new strains. Though, females never grow finnage as flashy as males of the same category, and are roughly always more passive in coloration.
Betta fishes are somewhat easy to breed if provided with appropriate healthy environment. Females can be recognized by a little, white 'pearl' at the rectum, very easily noticeable from underneath the fish. They lay egg clutches of just about 100-500 eggs, on the odd occasions over 600 eggs. The male protects and feeds the eggs and baby fishes. The male betta fishes construct bubble nests of a variety of dimensions and thicknesses on the top of their tanks, at times even when not in the company of female or young. Rapid temperature alteration, barometer alterations, materials in the tank, and occurrence of other males or females all have been shown to encourage bubble nest creation. On the other hand, once the young fish are swimming liberally, the responsibility of tending them falls upon the human possessor. For that reason, it is sensible to do research and arrange for baby food, baby-ready (cycled) tanks, etc. earlier to authentic breeding.
In general betta fishes live to be 3-5 years old, but a few live to be almost 8 years old. Usually, males bought from a pet store are 9-12 months old; at this age the finnage of the betta fishes becomes fullest and most striking. Because of their smaller looking finnage, females obtainable in pet stores are most of the times only 3-6 months old. Male betta fishes existing in laboratories with big individual tanks and exercise on a daily basis have lived 10 years or much more.
Similar to anabantids and all associates of the genus Betta, betta fishes have a labyrinth limb in their heads that permits them to take oxygen straightforwardly from the environment besides the oxygen taken from water with the help of their gills.
For more information or to learn more on Betta Fish, please visit my [http://www.bettafishworld.blogspot.com ]blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bosun_Sogeke http://EzineArticles.com/?Betta-Fish:-An-Introduction&id=699157
Showing posts with label Betta Fish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Betta Fish. Show all posts
Breeding Betta Fishes
Breeding Betta Fishes
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bosun_Sogeke]Bosun Sogeke
Betta fishes are in reality very sociable fish as long as you don't place two males together. They can be very easily kept with most other fish, and what you truly have to watch out for is the fish that bothers bettas.
Betta fishes are slow moving fish with incredibly long fins, so they can't be placed with any fast moving fish that is being known for it’s fin-nipping, like zebra danios. They get along in a very good manner with most breeds of tetras, and you can let your baby betta fish grow with baby neons.
When you place bettas in a community tank, the most significant thing to keep in mind is that they are fish that initially came from an area with slow moving water. So any kind of big filtration on the tank will shock a betta and make him conceal in a corner away from the current. You have to create a sense of balance in this case with the other fish in the tank that have need of the current and bubbles for the oxygen in the water for them to survive. Alternatively, once a betta fish gets accustomed to the current from a filter, you will every now and then see the betta playing in it for fun. Simply take care that there is an area with slow moving water or still water in the tank for the betta to move to when they are exhausted.
Normally you can’t place a male and female betta fish in the same tank if
* The two fish are not very babyish (more than a few months old generally won't work)
* They are not prepared and ready to reproduce,
* They have not grown up together from a very young age, and
* You do not have sufficient hiding places for the female.
This is a sweeping statement - your mileage may differ on this one!
Generally, even for usual breeders, getting the silly small fish to breed can be either an effortless joy or a royal pain. They're not as good as the humans on blind dates. Many a times one couple will take to each other right away and you'll have eggs spread here and there in the tank, and sometimes they can swim around the tank for weeks and in no way look at each other. Or in certain cases one will be attracted but the other won't. So don't ever get depressed about not being able to breed the fish.
As a universal rule, for a female betta fish, give her sufficient time for her to recuperate and start looking prepared again; Sorry, that won’t help out a lot, but every fish is unusual just keep an eye on your betta fish. If she had a despondent initially, it'll take her a while to recuperate. If the whole thing went well, she can be hot to trot again within a week.
Generally the second mating produce less number of eggs as compared to the first one, but it's never debilitated the female yet. If the female betta fish hasn't been fed, high-protein food regularly, then it takes normally a minimum time of 2-3 weeks after starting that food that she'll be prepared for breeding. After having been bred, if the female fish has been put on that same food again, usually within 2-3 weeks she'll be prepared again. However, it would better on your part to maintain a gap of one month in between.
Look carefully while placing the fish together. If the female is trying to attract the male aggressively and the bubblenest, and hanging her head down in the water, she's prepared. If all she does is swim away worriedly trying to run away, she's not.
Males also have to be conditioned as they use up a lot of exertion in tending the fry, but they're time and again more prepared than females. Though, keep an eye on the fish. From time to time the male is just so eager to be with a female that he's more involved in either fighting or showing off to truly doing anything about it. Or he's been around females so much that being lonely with one just isn't a delight anymore. Make use of your decision.
Normally after a fish is beaten up, it's fine to give them sufficient time to recuperate from whatever wounds they received, but torn fins aren't generally a trouble.
For more information or to learn more on Betta Fish, please visit my [http://www.bettafishworld.blogspot.com ]blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bosun_Sogeke http://EzineArticles.com/?Breeding-Betta-Fishes&id=699162
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bosun_Sogeke]Bosun Sogeke
Betta fishes are in reality very sociable fish as long as you don't place two males together. They can be very easily kept with most other fish, and what you truly have to watch out for is the fish that bothers bettas.
Betta fishes are slow moving fish with incredibly long fins, so they can't be placed with any fast moving fish that is being known for it’s fin-nipping, like zebra danios. They get along in a very good manner with most breeds of tetras, and you can let your baby betta fish grow with baby neons.
When you place bettas in a community tank, the most significant thing to keep in mind is that they are fish that initially came from an area with slow moving water. So any kind of big filtration on the tank will shock a betta and make him conceal in a corner away from the current. You have to create a sense of balance in this case with the other fish in the tank that have need of the current and bubbles for the oxygen in the water for them to survive. Alternatively, once a betta fish gets accustomed to the current from a filter, you will every now and then see the betta playing in it for fun. Simply take care that there is an area with slow moving water or still water in the tank for the betta to move to when they are exhausted.
Normally you can’t place a male and female betta fish in the same tank if
* The two fish are not very babyish (more than a few months old generally won't work)
* They are not prepared and ready to reproduce,
* They have not grown up together from a very young age, and
* You do not have sufficient hiding places for the female.
This is a sweeping statement - your mileage may differ on this one!
Generally, even for usual breeders, getting the silly small fish to breed can be either an effortless joy or a royal pain. They're not as good as the humans on blind dates. Many a times one couple will take to each other right away and you'll have eggs spread here and there in the tank, and sometimes they can swim around the tank for weeks and in no way look at each other. Or in certain cases one will be attracted but the other won't. So don't ever get depressed about not being able to breed the fish.
As a universal rule, for a female betta fish, give her sufficient time for her to recuperate and start looking prepared again; Sorry, that won’t help out a lot, but every fish is unusual just keep an eye on your betta fish. If she had a despondent initially, it'll take her a while to recuperate. If the whole thing went well, she can be hot to trot again within a week.
Generally the second mating produce less number of eggs as compared to the first one, but it's never debilitated the female yet. If the female betta fish hasn't been fed, high-protein food regularly, then it takes normally a minimum time of 2-3 weeks after starting that food that she'll be prepared for breeding. After having been bred, if the female fish has been put on that same food again, usually within 2-3 weeks she'll be prepared again. However, it would better on your part to maintain a gap of one month in between.
Look carefully while placing the fish together. If the female is trying to attract the male aggressively and the bubblenest, and hanging her head down in the water, she's prepared. If all she does is swim away worriedly trying to run away, she's not.
Males also have to be conditioned as they use up a lot of exertion in tending the fry, but they're time and again more prepared than females. Though, keep an eye on the fish. From time to time the male is just so eager to be with a female that he's more involved in either fighting or showing off to truly doing anything about it. Or he's been around females so much that being lonely with one just isn't a delight anymore. Make use of your decision.
Normally after a fish is beaten up, it's fine to give them sufficient time to recuperate from whatever wounds they received, but torn fins aren't generally a trouble.
For more information or to learn more on Betta Fish, please visit my [http://www.bettafishworld.blogspot.com ]blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bosun_Sogeke http://EzineArticles.com/?Breeding-Betta-Fishes&id=699162
Halfmoon Betta Fish
Halfmoon Betta Fish
Hans Chee
So you've some experiences keeping betta fish and breeding hundreds of them, are you ready to go for the trophy in betta fish rearing?
Halfmoon betta, one of the most sought after betta strains in the market anywhere, is perhaps the most fascinating and gorgeous breed you can ever spawn. One reason is because this strain of betta has many challenges for the breeders and keepers alike. Listed below are just some of them:
About halfmoon betta fish finnage - what is considered a true halfmoon?
Most layman will consider any betta fish with tail shaped in the form of a half-circle to be of halfmoon strain. While this can be used as the basis to determine if you've got a halfmoon betta, the experts will tell you that there is more than meets the eye. A more critical definition of a true halfmoon betta is one which forms an almost complete full circle where the dorsal fin (top), anal fin (bottom) and caudal fin (tail) overlap each other and forms a complete circle. Some may even classify this as a "fullmoon" betta.
The halfmoon betta's caudal fin should spread more than 180 degress when flaring and the best halfmoon bettas are those with both edge of caudal fin as straight as possible. The last condition is perhaps the most difficult to fulfill by most breeders since majority of the so-called halfmoon bettas have "rounded" edges and corners at the caudal fin.
What about color of halfmoon betta?Technically, finnage itself defines what's a halfmoon betta, but most savvy breeders will shoot for exotic or even colors too. Frankly, to get a desirable finnage pattern together with scarce color combination in a halfmoon is difficult. Most breeders could only have success in either one of the other, but seldom both. Indeed, there are real secrets in getting both traits at the same time.
These could be trade secrets that allow some well-known betta breeders in the world to price their stocks at a premium. Just imagine viewing an active halfmoon betta with flaring in full finnage in one of the purest single tone color without any other color spots? These strain of halfmoon bettas routinely fetch sale amount in the four-figure range easily. What's more, wait till you ask about the price of the female halfmoon betta to mate the pair - that is, if the breeder ever put any on sale at all!
About female halfmoon betta?
This leads us to discuss a little on mating the halfmoon pair and associated genetics. Have you wonder why there is almost no sale of female betta for special strains like halfmoon? Look around and you'll discover that sales of these betta are almost non-existence for prized strains. Reason is simply because that is the most critical "ingredient" to the reproduction and further genetic manipulation of such line of betta!
There are however some alternative breeding techniques that will enable you to breed trophy fullmoon bettas without starting with an equivalent female. This involves some time and a lot more attention in mating pair selection. What are the criteria to consider when starting a line of fullmoon? How do you choose a female to produce the right genetic combination that caters to both finnage and color?
These closely guarded secrets are not found anywhere even on the internet, at least not easily. Over the years of breeding special strains of bettas like halfmoon bettas, I've seen such knowledge being disclosed sparingly and perhaps accidentally by chance from experienced breeders all over the world.
Hans Chee and his friends started the Bubblenest Betta Forum website back in the days when betta fish sells for hundreds of dollars each and they went to the extend of ordering these prized creatures from distant overseas. The website was started initially as a repository of all information about keeping and breeding betta fishes, later it spawn into an interactive forum and what is known today as "The Place For Betta Splendens Lovers". Visit http://www.bubblenest.com and share your passion with the others!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Chee
Hans Chee
So you've some experiences keeping betta fish and breeding hundreds of them, are you ready to go for the trophy in betta fish rearing?
Halfmoon betta, one of the most sought after betta strains in the market anywhere, is perhaps the most fascinating and gorgeous breed you can ever spawn. One reason is because this strain of betta has many challenges for the breeders and keepers alike. Listed below are just some of them:
About halfmoon betta fish finnage - what is considered a true halfmoon?
Most layman will consider any betta fish with tail shaped in the form of a half-circle to be of halfmoon strain. While this can be used as the basis to determine if you've got a halfmoon betta, the experts will tell you that there is more than meets the eye. A more critical definition of a true halfmoon betta is one which forms an almost complete full circle where the dorsal fin (top), anal fin (bottom) and caudal fin (tail) overlap each other and forms a complete circle. Some may even classify this as a "fullmoon" betta.
The halfmoon betta's caudal fin should spread more than 180 degress when flaring and the best halfmoon bettas are those with both edge of caudal fin as straight as possible. The last condition is perhaps the most difficult to fulfill by most breeders since majority of the so-called halfmoon bettas have "rounded" edges and corners at the caudal fin.
What about color of halfmoon betta?Technically, finnage itself defines what's a halfmoon betta, but most savvy breeders will shoot for exotic or even colors too. Frankly, to get a desirable finnage pattern together with scarce color combination in a halfmoon is difficult. Most breeders could only have success in either one of the other, but seldom both. Indeed, there are real secrets in getting both traits at the same time.
These could be trade secrets that allow some well-known betta breeders in the world to price their stocks at a premium. Just imagine viewing an active halfmoon betta with flaring in full finnage in one of the purest single tone color without any other color spots? These strain of halfmoon bettas routinely fetch sale amount in the four-figure range easily. What's more, wait till you ask about the price of the female halfmoon betta to mate the pair - that is, if the breeder ever put any on sale at all!
About female halfmoon betta?
This leads us to discuss a little on mating the halfmoon pair and associated genetics. Have you wonder why there is almost no sale of female betta for special strains like halfmoon? Look around and you'll discover that sales of these betta are almost non-existence for prized strains. Reason is simply because that is the most critical "ingredient" to the reproduction and further genetic manipulation of such line of betta!
There are however some alternative breeding techniques that will enable you to breed trophy fullmoon bettas without starting with an equivalent female. This involves some time and a lot more attention in mating pair selection. What are the criteria to consider when starting a line of fullmoon? How do you choose a female to produce the right genetic combination that caters to both finnage and color?
These closely guarded secrets are not found anywhere even on the internet, at least not easily. Over the years of breeding special strains of bettas like halfmoon bettas, I've seen such knowledge being disclosed sparingly and perhaps accidentally by chance from experienced breeders all over the world.
Hans Chee and his friends started the Bubblenest Betta Forum website back in the days when betta fish sells for hundreds of dollars each and they went to the extend of ordering these prized creatures from distant overseas. The website was started initially as a repository of all information about keeping and breeding betta fishes, later it spawn into an interactive forum and what is known today as "The Place For Betta Splendens Lovers". Visit http://www.bubblenest.com and share your passion with the others!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hans_Chee
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