10gal Betta Albimarginata: rescue male 10/27

[Phoenix-cry]

Okay since I'm breeding a rare fish I thought I'd start a little thread for them. I bought a pair of wild caught betta albimarginata (White Seam Fighters). Within two week they bred, and now they have had their babies and bred again!

Here's daddy holding the eggs (you can only see the eggs when he yawns at the moment).




Here is a baby on the first day out of the mouth. He spat out an unknown number but sadly they were sooo small that were able to get out of the breeder, I ended up saving seven of them.




Here is one of the little guys a week or so later. I have set them up in a ten gallon grow out with tons of frogbit, hornwort, riccia, and terra cotta pots. This time around I am going to put daddy in the tank when he is a few days from spitting them out (last time the tank wasn't cycled yet).

Look at that belly! Feeding them crushd snails, cycopseze, and newly hatched brine shirmp (live). Feeding parents live blackworms.



I'll post a pic of the whole tank later.


Other babies: I just had about twenty baby Crystal Red Shirmp hatch, and a dozen or so cherry reds. My CDP have yet to breed that I've noticed. Sigh.

[Ugly Genius]

That's a really cool-looking betta. Do you have another photo of it that shows the whole fish?

[Phoenix-cry]

Thanks! Here's the whole fish

[Phoenix-cry]

Here is the female. She turns really dark with white vertical stripes when she's in the....uh...'mood'.

[cintamas]

This species of betta is so fun! The males are just gems, especially if there's a female in sight. Congrats on the 2 spawns! There are a lot of folks out there who try really hard to get these fish to breed and here you've gone and done it after two weeks of bringing them home! I'm impressed. I can't find any locally for less than $100/pair. Worth it? Maybe. Especially after watching your success with them.

I hope you keep us posted on the growth of these little guys.

[CAM6467]

Thanks for starting this thread! Your babies are growing very well, and I'm sure that they will be very beautiful!! Congrats on the success of your bettas.

[Phoenix-cry]

Thank you both! I bought my pair for 80$ and so far it's been worth it, I just love them. Although I was a little upset when they bred a second time...the male had only been eatting for four days! I'm going to have to separate them for a little while to give him a break after this!

I'm hoping to be able to help add to the captive bred population so that people don't have to rely on wild caughts.

[Jack Gilvey]

Wow...that's a stunning fish I'd never heard of. Much prettier and more interesting than the Betta Walmartus. What'd you have to do to your water for them, if anything?

[Phoenix-cry]

They don't need anything special done with their water!

[Phoenix-cry]

The babies look like real fish now. I think this may be a little boy.

[Jack Gilvey]

Awesome.

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Wow that looks really cool! What's their adult size?

[Phoenix-cry]

The parents are a little over two inches. They are an awesome fish, I just love them! They are rarely found captive bred in the US and I'm working to change this.

If I can prove to my husband that these guys can bring me some income I think I can talk him into letting me set up a few more tanks devoted to breeding.

[CAM6467]

That's awesome! Are you going to buy more wild caught parent fish to avoid inbreeding?

[Phoenix-cry]

I've got another friend in the area that is captive breeding, not intentionally, his just bred and he didn't do anything about it so he has some fry. So I'm going to get some of those for genetic diversity. As time goes on I'll inject new blood.