Archive for January, 2010

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Betta Mating – Betta Breeding 101


2010
01.26

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Betta Mating – Betta Breeding 101


Betta mating can be a hit or miss proposition unless you stack the odds in your favor. There are certain things you can do that will virtually guarantee that your betta mating endeavour is a success.

Don’t Let This Happen To Your Fish!

Let’s take a look at how you can turn your male betta into the Don Juan of the undersea world, and your female fish into an irresistible Marilyn Monroe. Just as a nice dinner, ambience and dancing with someone who interests you greatly increase the odds of intimacy, your betta fish can be gently led to optimum breeding conditions.

1 – Dinner For Two

You can greatly enhance chances of fishy fooling around by increasing the amount of live foods in their diet. This change usually takes about two weeks to work. Hey, no respectable betta female will get busy after one date. Freeze-dried brine shrimp that are thawed out are perfect.

2 – Set The Mood

Everyone likes a cozy, low-light environment for some snuggling, and your aquatic admirers are no different. Betta do not like bright lights and act even more skittish to it when in the mood. Betta temperature should be set at 80 degrees for a cozy love nest. And when setting up a breeding tank, introduce the male betta first, so he can create the love shack of his dreams. Provide him with some floating plant cover for the creation of the bubble nest.

3 – Hit The Dance Floor

When the female is introduced to the betta mating tank, the two potential paramours will check each other out like the last two in a bar at 3 a.m. This does not guarantee anything though, and you will only know everything is copasetic if the male allows the female to approach him. If he allows this, the two lovebirds will then cavort about not unlike two flamenco dancers, and consummate their neptunial nuptials.

(When breeding betta fish, it is also much easier to be successful in your betta mating project if you use two bettas that have been raised together.) Congratulations, you are the perfect match-maker! Now get ready to remove the fry, and start all over.

Want to know all about betta mating, and total betta care? An acclaimed 20 year betta expert answers all your questions in his acclaimed e-book Betta Fish Secrets located at http://www.godzillafish.info.

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Fighting Fish – Fish Fighting as a "Sport"


2010
01.22

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Fighting Fish – Fish Fighting as a "Sport"



Centuries ago Asian breeders of the Siamese Fighting Fish, given its name because of its aggressive nature, noticed that temperament, as well as appearance, could be bred into their fish. Once an especially nasty male was found, he was bred with a female. Then their offspring were bred, and so on, creating very surly fighting fish ready for a “betta fight“.
This led to the creation of fighting fish competitions, and eventually gambling on a betta fight was commonplace, and could even be found in the local markets. Even in present day Thailand (formerly Siam), fish fighting is a huge “sport”, and millions of dollars are bet on bouts every year. in the United States it is not usually fought, but remains one of the more popular tropical aquarium fish year after year, due to its incredibly wide range of colors, and fin shapes and styles.

Blue Male Fighting Fish

With several hundreds of years of breeding taking place on so many non-documented levels, unraveling the ancestry of this fish is impossible. But we do know that the first Siamese Fighting Fish landed in Europe in 1894, and considering that these fish can breed as early as nine months, and have a gestation period of about two weeks, so you can see that the numbers of possible generations in even a decade is in the hundreds.

Betta Splendens is the scientific name given to these beautiful fish, and actually means “Splendid Betta”. As the males have been bred more for fin size and coloration, their ability to swim has lessened, and that is why you will usually find them in tanks with little or no water flow. Whereas Fighting Fish competitions are commonplace in Thailand and Viet Nam, the only betting done in the United States is in Betta Fish Shows, with Regional, and National competitions frequently having hundreds of entrants.

When purchasing for a betta tank, remember that betta fight other fish that appear similar in shape and/or color. Males must be seperated, unless you plan on waking up to a dead Betta Splendens.

Want to know how to quadruple your fighting fish’s lifespan? What is the ideal tank setup? A 20 year betta expert answers these questions and more in his Best-Selling e-book on Siamese Fighting Fish at http://www.godzillafish.info.


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Betta Plant Selection – What Is The Perfect Betta Plant?


2010
01.15

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Posted in betta, betta fish, betta plant, philodendrons, philodendrons with betta fish | No Comments »

Betta Plant Selection – What Is The Perfect Betta Plant?



Bettas in nature usually are found around plants and vegetation, and some even depend on plants for creating their bubble nests. But there are so many plants out there, how do you know which would be the perfect betta plant? Lets take a look at some of the better options for your betta that will help him thrive while adding some visual splendor to your tank.

This Betta Loves Natural Plants

1 – Plastic Betta Plant

Plastic plants have a few benefits that natural plants do not. adding a plastic plant or two means no dirt to clean up! Huge benefit there. Also, plastic plants last indefinitely, and will not create the need for extra cleaning. While they do not create oxygen for the tank like natural plants, they come in a limitless variety of colors and styles, both top water and anchored, which allows you no end in choosing the betta plant that accents your betta the best.

2 – Natural Betta Plant

Natural plants are the purists choice, and they provide needed oxygen to your betta tank. However, they do create a dirtier tank, and may cause more frequent tank maintenance. When choosing natural plants, make sure to follow the progress of the roots, which usually hang down. If they start to cramp your betta’s movements, or begin to become brown and squishy, they need to be removed.

One great natural betta plant is the water lily. This plant hovers at the top of the tank, is a lush green color, and provides excellent nesting and hiding areas. Some other good ideas for a natural betta plant are Chinese Evergreen and Philodendron. Philodendrons are a favorite of mine.

Always consult an extensive Betta Care Manual when choosing a natural Betta Plant because some plants give off poison toxins, and could be harmful, if not deadly to your fish.

Want to know all about the perfect Betta Plant as well as all the ins and outs of raising better Bettas? Then get the book pet store owners don’t want you to read. An acclaimed 20 year betta expert answers all your betta questions in his e-book  Betta Fish Secrets located at http://www.godzillafish.info. A must-have for all betta owners.

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Why Does My Betta Fight? Its All in the Breeding!


2010
01.15

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Posted in Angchae, Hokmokwai, Honkamten, betta, betta fight, betta fish, betta lifespan, betta splendens, breeding betta, fighting fish, pla kat, pla kat mor, pla kat tung | No Comments »

Why Does My Betta Fight? Its All in the Breeding!


Have ever asked yourself the question, “Why does my betta fight?” In Thailand (formerly Siam) people bet on the outcome of a betta fight, and raising and breeding betta fish (called Pla Kat in Thailand) specifically for fighting has become a nationwide hobby. The increased popularity of this “sport” over the last several hundred years has actually made the betta a much more aggressive fish than nature intended, but shortened the betta lifespan. Let’s take a look at the way breeding has given your beautiful Betta Splendens its fierce nature.

Ever since American C. Tate Regan named this colorful fish Betta Splendens (splendid betta) in 1909, hundreds of color and fin varieties have been bred, but few know that the color of a betta has a lot to do with how aggressive he is. Going back hundreds of years, a betta’s colors were tracked, and if the offspring of a particular betta were noted to be more aggressive than another, the coloring was noted, and bred then with other bettas of another agressive coloration, creating a particularly nasty fish in an entirely new color variation. Lineage can often be tracked back several generations to a particular color or fin style.

When weaker fish were bred, as they proved to be less aggressive, they were discarded. Nobody wanted weak fish in a betta fight! Because of this, after hundreds of years, the fish you now see in your local pet store are much more aggressive and fighting-inclined than nature intended. Just think, your betta might be the ancestor of a great fighting champion. Hail betta!

Further evidence in favor of the breeding argument is the fact that a betta fight between two Pla Kat Tung (a betta raised in nature) lasts only about fifteen minutes. However, a betta fight between two Pla Kat Mor (commercially grown betta) can last up to six hours.

The best fighters fall into three categories.

1 – Hokmokwai

This betta has a gray-blue/green body and no red coloration in its unpaired fins, with black pelvic fins.

2 – Angchae

The Angchae has a totally green body with its unpaired fins only half red.

3 – Honkamten

This fish is identified by a brown body with rows of green spots and a crescent pattern on the tail fin.

A betta fight generally never leads to death, it is more chasing and nipping, so a healthy fighting fish can be used for years. Pet-store bettas don’t usually live longer than six months, though the betta lifespan can be stretched up to five years if proper steps are taken and the tank is maintained properly. There are basically three secret ingredients to raising a healthy, long-living Siamese fighting fish; tank conditions, proper diagnosis of disease (betta get sick very easily), and tank maintenance.

Want to know how to triple your betta’s lifespan? Then get the book pet store owners don’t want you to read. An acclaimed 20 year betta expert answers all your betta questions in his acclaimed e-book available for immediate download at Better Betta Lifespan located at http://www.godzillafish.info. A must-have for all betta owners.
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Betta Diseases – Curing Your Betta Fish With a Salt Bath


2010
01.15

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Betta Diseases – Curing Your Betta Fish With a Salt Bath

Since many betta diseases occur due to improper tank conditions, most of these afflictions can be treated the same way. A salt bath may be the last thing you think could benefit your freshwater betta fish, but is actually a very effective, age-old cure that is one of the first steps you need to take to nurse your betta back to health.

How can salt help a freshwater fish, you ask? The bacteria and protozoa that attack your fish when its immune system is deficient are very low single cell forms of life. Common betta diseases are then transmitted to your fish by these simple life forms. They have almost no form of defense system, so even a gradual change in the level of salt in your aquarium will cause instant death to these primitive beings. They simply can not adapt quickly enough to the resultant change in their environment.

Why doesn’t it harm my betta, you ask? Fish are more complex beings, and have internal organs such as kidneys to help them deal with external environmental changes. They are much hardier than microscopic bacteria. Therefore a very minute change in the salt levels of their tanks causes them almost no discernible level of discomfort.

To learn what ratio of salt to fresh water to use, consult a guide for your particular fish. Usually, a ratio of one tablespoon per five gallons of aquarium water is fine for ongoing conditions, but this level needs to be significantly increased when treating betta diseases in a recovery tank or bucket.

Using salt to treat your sick betta is just one step to take to bring your fish back to full health. Once healthy, ongoing tank maintenance needs to be followed, and other tips and tricks can be used to ensure your betta lives as long and healthy a life as possible. Most bettas live about six months on averge, but when proper preparation and care are employed, you can have a vibrant, lively betta for three to five years.

Want to double your betta’s life? Need to know all about betta diseases? How about ongoing maintenance? Let a 20 year betta expert answer these questions and more in his best-selling Betta e-book Betta Fish Secrets located at http://www.godzillafish.info. It is the only resource for betta fish I recommend, and the only one you will ever need.

Check out all my Betta Fish Care articles at -

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