# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Anabantoids >  hello any betta lovers ?

## TNB

Hello everybody !
i just joined this great forum and just wondering if there are any betta lovers here?

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## Simon

saw some beautiful wild bettas in one of our members shop... very nice... kinda thinking of getting a pair// but wonder how it will react to my apistogramma

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## TNB

read this

there is a betta show in sg soon ....

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## Simon

I prefer the wild from the hybrid, though everyone must agree, the hybrid are very nice

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## stormhawk

> ---------------- 
> saw some beautiful wild bettas in one of our members shop... very nice... kinda thinking of getting a pair// but wonder how it will react to my apistogramma
> ----------------


Simon, which member's shop? they should be fine with your apistos as long as u get the smaller ones. betta coccina would do just nice for u cos they're bubblenesters. should stay out of each others way. [ :Grin: ]

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## Gary

Amoae's shop got betta coccina.[ :Grin: ]

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## Vican

Betta coccina need pretty clean and acidic water to look their best. If I remember correctly, about pH 5.5

They're also super shy fish, so you'd never see them in your tank swimming. Not too sure if they'll even get to feed because they're so shy.

I've kept some before. Maybe it's still best to keep them into species tank with lots of hideouts, caves etc.

I still do keep bettas, a be it not too many nowadays. Just got a Extended red superdelta spawn. A few more spawns also planned.

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## lsz

victor can share details of your betta setup again? 

i saw it once when you posted before and i think it is a great setup.

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## Vican

Aiyah. Simple setup lah. Filtration not enough for the barracks, think I'll add my canister into the setup soon. But not too much fishes in the barracks, so it's still OK.

Anyway, here are some pics of my barracks to simplify water changes and maintain a decent water quality. The 1st pic is an overview shot and the second is a picture of the bottommost tank with a built in sump. Water is pumped by the Eheim 1250 thru a UV filter, to the topmost tank

The main link is HERE

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## Anonymous

> ----------------
> On 12/22/2002 9:21:03 AM 
> Hello everybody !
> i just joined this great forum and just wondering if there are any betta lovers here? 
> ----------------


I am keeping some red crowntail bettas and some normal short fin bettas. The crowntails not doing well, so currently going back to the basics with some normal ones.

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## Vican

Recently, CTs prices are quite cheap. Sometimes can get very good buys at C328 for red CTs $12-$29. The Red CTs at Straits are also extremely good, but price is a little more expensive, $30+

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## zac08

I got a black CT from C328 at $12 (young juvenile then).... and a female Ct from a home breeder at $10.... so prices have kinda dropped..... Even Hm have been going lower in pricing. Somehow I hope this will not affect the fishes quality, as the prices gets more and more competitive....

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## Vican

Well, a lot of fish touted as HMs are not true 180deg HMs. I have had true male and female 180deg HMs before. Some of my friends who were at my place before can attest to this. Too bad, they don't breed well and I didn't get to take much pictures before they passed on or went pass the stage to hold up the 180 deg caudal. Lost a lot of good fish during my son's birth as I didn't have the time to spawn them or to care for them properly

Some touted as HM are even roundtails, not even deltas. No such thing as HM geno, as it's a multi-gene trait. It's best to select fish based on the visible traits of the fish and not from the brand name of the fish. Even true HM pairs do throw out crap fish that breed to give you more crap fish.


I think not much home breeder will sell off the true HM in the spawn. Even if they do, it will be $60-100 or more. Also depending on the colors. Reds and yellows tend to be more expensive.

But, I'm back into breeding again, itching to roll up my sleeves and improve some finnage of some lines and produce some decent bettas!  :Wink: 

No choice lah. If I don't want to spend a couple of hundred of $$ to get Hms, have to work on different lines to get my goals... :Smile:

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## kenny

hi,
i used to keep bettas, not alot of them though.
but the hassle of changing their individual containers' water drove me nuts , so i gave them away to my friend....

but i still like them alot loh, always go to C328, sometimes Straits and even Sembawang shopping centre just to oogle for an hour then dun buy! 
 :Evil:  

then got to know this betta guy and other fishy guys in camp, always want to go see bettas so i go along also...

basically i'm also interested in other species of bettas, and thanks to A.Moae i got a pair of B. coccina !!hopefully can breed them eventually, :Razz:  . Go check out his coccina, persephone and pugnax , they dun come by easily.

btw, trying hard to get my bee shrimps to breed.

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## TNB

Glad to see all your replies!
I have just recently spawned a super delta red male with a crowntail red female...
The fries are 9 days old now...not too many of them though.

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## Vican

Have fun.
It's always fun to see the development of the betta frys day by day.
Then when they are young adults, see them flaring.

Have you gotten enough jars to house the males?

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## TNB

Planning to use small plastic tanks to house them.
Right now just hoping that they will survive...

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## Vican

They can all survive if you feed live daphnia or baby brineshrimp.
No dried food cause they don't eat non-moving food.

The only headache comes when male-jaring time comes around in 1mth's time  :Smile:

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## kenny_G

hi all,

have any one come accross king crown betta? the type that appear in betta posters with the ray on the fins criss crossing each other.

very beautiful fish, but can't seem to find them anywhere.

ken

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## rain

i dont think king crown is in sg, they r also called pharoah betta. seen in the net but not here. maybe white palace will have one or two.

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## route

hey TNB , check out my sales
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6959&amp;amp;pageNo=1&amp;amp;num=20&amp;amp;sessionID={FA7B2889-6CDE-43F7-808C-F07E6F9DEA4E}

 :Smile:

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## stormhawk

Vican, yea you're right on their shyness. i kept several betta coccina before and they're territorial, but they hide most of the time. if u have a 2ft tank to spare u can keep around 2 to 3 pairs. a leaf-litter shaded tea-coloured water set-up will suit them fine. they don't like bright lights and they're bubblenesters too. a lot of those ketapang leaves on the tank bottom should suit them fine. they'll feed on tubifex worms and daphnias. preferably live foods cos i've never seen mine eat any frozen food. they're subsceptible to velvet so care must be taken when introducing them. keep them in a species tank cos they don't do well in community setups. [ :Grin: ]

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## Vican

> ----------------
> On 12/25/2002 9:41:35 PM 
> 
> hi all,
> 
> have any one come accross king crown betta? the type that appear in betta posters with the ray on the fins criss crossing each other.
> 
> very beautiful fish, but can't seem to find them anywhere.
> 
> ...


I think there are King Crowns in Singapore. Some of the specialist betta farms might have it, but might not be in red.

I do believe that it's a breedable trait just the halfmoon. Just have to roll up your sleeves, and put in lots of hard work and investment into the right breeding stock.

You'd probably not find them anywhere because the owners will most likely keep them for competition or breeding.

The original Henry Yin King crown's sibling also didn't show the traits and it was lost for a couple of generations before someone got it back again.

I suspect that breeding for thick rays in the tail could be 1 of the requirements, but I've never got round to trying it. Keeping 1-2 colors of superdeltas keep my hands full. :Smile:

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## Vican

*stormhawk*
Wild bettas have their beauty. coccinas, esp macrostomas are pretty interesting bettas to keep.

But being the lazy person that I am, just couldn't afford the extra care with 
1x5' planted aro tank
2x2' large LH tanks
2xbetta fry growing up tank
1x200L betta barrack
+assorted bettas kept in jars and growing up tanks.... :Smile: 

That's why I gave up all my wild bettas to a betta researcher at our local NUS

You're right on with the conditions for the coccina. I didn't have too much time with my coccina. Heard that the best time is when it's near spawning time for them


BTW, isn't it crazy that the prices for imbellis has reached S$60-80
I used to buy them for $4-8 before all this craze. Too bad I gave the whole spawn away.
[ :Knockout: ]

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## stormhawk

hehahaha, yah, and smaragdinas skyrocketing up the roof too. plus some betta sp. &amp;quot;Mahachai&amp;quot;. looks pretty much like a smaller slimmer version of smaragdina  :Razz:

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## Vican

Stormhawk,
Where are you getting these wild bettas nowadays?

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## juilian75

Hi...really supprised to see a betta discussion here...

well...most wild bettas and imbellis are generally cheaply available in thailand. not becos of the quality but due to its poor demand in thailand. Show bettas are the more desirable fishes over here and in thailand thus commanding a much higher price.

I strongly advice pple not to purchase wild bettas at high prices.ex. betta smaragdinas. and betta mahachai. just some of the few.(basically bubblenest) ...but some species of wild ex.(macrostoma) are very costly becos they are endangered.


pple who are interested in geeting the wilds coccina, persephone and pugnax at very low prices can go down to a.Moae's newly open shop .those interested in getting smaragdinas. and betta mahachai and drop me a msg.

julian
current spawn: MGs,
Ext Red. 
Pure white Plakats.

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## Anonymous

> ----------------
> On 12/26/2002 11:14:01 PM 
> BTW, isn't it crazy that the prices for imbellis has reached S$60-80
> I used to buy them for $4-8 before all this craze. Too bad I gave the whole spawn away.
> [] 
> ----------------


yes, it is strange. If they are about as prolific and hardy as common bettas, they should be priced at $2 ! [ :Grin: ] 
what are the differences of imbellis compared to common short fin bettas? :Smile:

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## juilian75

reply

The main diff is the body shape, imbellis 's body is long and slender with short fin tail. Plakats has a more muscular shape with short fin tail. Show bettas have similar body shape as plakats but with broader longer fin tail.
hope that helps.
julian.

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## Vican

I don't really see the value of these copper imbellis. They breed just like normal bettas and they do not have special traits like true halfmoons, where you'd be lucky to get 1-10 in a spawn.

Color of bettas are breedable. Just need the correct breeding stock. I think the prices of these imbellis will drop quite soon.

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## chia2k

hey guys , i was thinking of getting those fine looking fighting fishes for me tank ( sep tank , nothing inside) . 1 thing , is it safe to have more than 1 male ? coz they are called fighting fish for a reason.but the males look nice and i was thinking of getting 2 males and 4 females

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## BFG

nope, it's not safe at all 2 mix 2 male together.

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## tayyeow

Just went down to Straits today and saw some really nice copper imbellis. It is priced at S$80! Did not bother to bargain as I WILL NOT pay such obsence prices. Anyway there was one very nice Royal Blue HM again at S$80; my heart a bit itchy thought of buying.... But finally decided against it as I do not wish to see the fish lose its beauty due to my neglect. I used to have about 15 betta but eventually the chore of changing water every 3 days got to me and quite a no. of my HM became &amp;quot;short tail&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;crown tail&amp;quot;. Anyway I was thinking that if I house a betta in a 1 feet tank...than I would only need to change water weekly or maybe longer? Any suggestions as to make it a less time consuming hobby. I think a water change every 5 days is fine..

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## Vican

Chia2k,
I had a friend that kept 2 males in a heavily planted 4' tank before. They didn't fight till death. One male became dominant. 
But, the tank had other larger fishes like congo tetras, SAEs etc. But they had nipped fins.


Tayyeow,
I've kept more than 200 bettas during my peak breeding days, individually jarred!

You can change the water every 5 days if you keep them in a larger jar of &amp;gt;3L of water. I used to stretch them to 1 week before 100% water change. They weren't sickly then. Feeding was 1x a day of bloodworms. If you feed more, you'll need to change more often

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## Anonymous

I usually feed daphnias to betta fries. I am thinking of using microworms too. which lfs sells microworms? and what is the usual price?
I heard that microworms are not very nutritional food for fries. suppose I add in some multivitamins to the microworms' culture, do you think it will work?

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## Vican

> ----------------
> On 12/31/2002 3:02:42 PM 
> 
> I usually feed daphnias to betta fries. I am thinking of using microworms too. which lfs sells microworms? and what is the usual price?
> I heard that microworms are not very nutritional food for fries. suppose I add in some multivitamins to the microworms' culture, do you think it will work? 
> 
> ----------------


Although I've never tried putting vitamins to MW and feeding that, I wouldn't do it myself. I've tried feeding MW as a sole food for frys for 1 mth and that spawn was a diaster. The frys were all stunted, ventral-less and had crooked spines. I'm not too sure what exactly is lacking in MW.

But from the symptoms, seems like protein and calcium and other assorted trace elements are missing from a MW diet.

If you find it a hassle to buy daphnia everyday, how about starting 2 brineshrimp hatchery? It isn't that much more work than raising MW and you'd be sure that your frys will grow up a lot more healthier

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## Anonymous

WOW, your reply record time !! [:0] 
daphnias is still the best bet. If i do up some BBS setup, its going to be untidy. mama scold.

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## Vican

hahah...Just happened to logon at the same time.
This reply is certainly much later.

Daphnia is still the best food. I've compared growth rate between daphnia and bbs and daphnia came up tops. Just blew the competition away.

Thus, I've thrown away all my MW cultures and swear by daphnia. It's the 1st food for my frys till they're big enough for frozen daphnia or bloodworms. Some people might want to switch to tubifex at a certain size.

Note that frozen daphnia is bigger in size than your local live daphnia.

But care has to be taken during the 1st week when feeding daphnia. Don't put in excess. What I do is, pass the packet of daphnia thru a white aquarium net, then underneath that is the fine brineshrimp net.

Those that get caught in the brineshrimp net are really tiny and can be eaten by a free swimming fry.

If too much is put into the fry tank , the dead daphnia will accumulate into a gunk and trap frys, killing them.

I've raised at least 10 spawns thru this method

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## stormhawk

Vican, but live daphnias may introduce in some hydra with them. that might prove fatal for the fries. i lost some of my betta fries last time when i last fed them with daphnias.

yup you're right about microworms. not very nutritious but fine as a food for the 1st 2 to 3 days when u can't get your hands on daphnias or rotifers.

about the bbs hatchery, from what i see the current stocks of bbs eggs from local lfs are not having very good hatch rates. oh yes, btw, where did u get your brine shrimp net? i'm looking for one. 

regarding the wild bettas, sometimes some shops will bring in these fish but also depending on availability. i've seen b. coccina, persephone and pugnax being brought it. but not those astronomically expensive ones like b. macrostoma or b. albimarginata. julian has said that A.Moae's shop has some for sale. i've seen em myself. very active B. pugnax. btw the name of the shop is Biotope and its at Bt. Merah. just beside SAFRA Bt. Merah.

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## kgoh88

> ----------------
> On 12/31/2002 3:02:42 PM 
> 
> I usually feed daphnias to betta fries. I am thinking of using microworms too. which lfs sells microworms? and what is the usual price?
> I heard that microworms are not very nutritional food for fries. suppose I add in some multivitamins to the microworms' culture, do you think it will work? 
> 
> ----------------


hey,if yr still interested to get microworms,i haf some for sale...for 1 buck each[ :Grin: ] no profit gained...$$ to cover for the $$ spent on the oatmeal for the mw[ :Knockout: ] if u interested,sms me at 96206177,dun pm...i hardly check pm...thanx

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## Vican

Hhmmm.. I guess my source of daphnia is cleaner than yours. I've never encountered hydra in my daphnia before. 

How about putting them in a basin and only scooping out the lively daphnia at the surface?

That's what the LFS owner does to pack his daphnia.

I've heard good reviews on Lam Hong's bbs. 90+%. You might want to try there

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