Any Beta (Siamese Fighting) Fish Owners?

[SpottedCrow]

I had a trio of Bettas at one point. One female loved the male and the other couldn't stand him. Crabby female killed the male and the other female died of a broken heart.
I've learned my lesson. Bettas are singles, and can be fine in a community.
Bloodworms or those little Hikari pellets are fine. Live bloodworms are icky.
I just bought a Crowntail on Friday. He's all black with a tiny bit of blue on his dorsal fin and white on the edges of the rest of his fins. His name is Sasuke Uchiha.

 

[LisaJean]

I am going to try and put up a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Chips.

This is Mrs. Chips.

This is Mr. Chips. Mrs. was shifted to another tank right after this was taken.

Helmstead, I have been longing for a big tank for awhile, now, I'm just not sure if I can handle the upkeep. I love fancy guppies, they are so beautiful, and have such variety. I'd love a tank full of them.

 

[Bubba]

Whew here it goes.

Usually males cannot be kept with males, not always the case.

Usually males cannot be kept with females, not always the case.

Most females can be kept with females, usually the case.

I have a male and female beta that live happily with a large gourami in a 36 gallon bowfront tank.

Usually you cannot keep them together. I do have ALOT of vegetation and hiding spots in my tank thou. Originally set up for african cichlids. Like all animals, fish have personalities.

How they work. You put the male in a tank by himself, he blows a bubble nest. After feeding the female live food for 3 weeks or more you put her in a glass vase/baby food jar submerged in the males tank. I like to leave them for a day, so they get used to seeing each other without actually attacking each other. You then let her out. They breed and deposit the eggs on the bubbles. At that point take her out or he will. Do LOTs of water changes (When changing the water, it MUST be the same temp as the water your replacing){Ask if you need help when you get to that}, while being careful to not disturb the bubble nest. I make rings out of styrofoam to keep the bubbles more stable. Make sure the tank isn't to deep or the male will have to work alot also. One note on styrofoam you need to coat it. Little bits break off and they will eat it then die. I lost a tank of fish the first time I learned that one hmmmm.

 

[helmstead]

Quote:
I've never had luck with Fancy Guppies, but I used to breed commons to feed to my young cichlids!

The key to ANY tank, big or small, is bacteria and water movement. Once you have a good colonization of ammonia and nitrate eating bacteria, you rarely need to clean your tank. Put it this way - my tropical tank has a gravel base & silk plants. I've had it set up and running for (wow) 9 years solid. I NEVER clean it. I just replace the filter cartridge once quarterly. My 42 & 30 (both about 5 years old)have sand bases, rocks and plastic plants (cichlids are SO hard on plants) and again, I NEVER clean them...just add water and change filter sponges and carbon. They're all crystal clear and have no odor. Now...back when I had giant cichlids I did have to vaccume once a month because they simply poop more than anthing you've ever seen - but your average tropical tank should be self sustaining, basically.

 

[peeps7]

That's cool Helmstead, I raise African Cichlids. I have had a batch of babies and soon I'm hoping to have some yellow Lab cichlids breeding. Right now the YL's are too young but I can't wait. I also have a Jack Dempsy with the Cichlids that I'm thinking about getting a mate for.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The thing about bettas is that they are territorial. They defend their space. In the wild, they have enough room to get away from each other. When it's time to breed, they come together. It's not unlike the behavior of many wild mammals.

 

[helmstead]

Quote:
Mouthbrooders are fun. We breed cichlids you won't find, say, at the local Petsmart. Our primary breed is Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos. I just love Malawi species to death. We've also bred Pseudo. crabro even though they're pretty common but DH loves their color changing ability. The peacocks I've been involved with include Aulonocara stuartgranti, Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Chipoka) and Aulonocara jacobfreibergi. Gorgeous! Far as haps go, I've only bred one species...the giraffe. Common but neat. Altho we have one Green Terror female (she's 5 years old now) and have had other South Americans, we really don't like them as well. That Green Terror is a personality plus, tho! She plays with DD through the glass all the time LOL!

 

[peeps7]

That is awesome!!! Good luck with your breedings!!!

 

[chicks rule]

Can a male betta be put in with Tetra's???

 

[peeps7]

Yeah, I would put mine in with them, although you'd have to watch and make sure they don't eat his fins.