Marko's 10 gallon betta sorority -- UPDATE: 1/8/13

[@marko@]

here they are.
as you can see, there was some algal growth during the emersed phase, likely since there was an inch or so of water above the front substrate as it accumulated from misting. but im not too worried. some mechanical removal, shrimp, and healthy plants should clear it up.

pics:

[@marko@]

hear come the ladies:

[QQQUUUUAADDD]

Even though I've never kept a female betta, your females' bellies seem quite big.

[orchidman]

looks awesome! your fish are beautiful! i cant wait to get mine!

[@marko@]

Originally Posted by QQQUUUUAADDD

Even though I've never kept a female betta, your females' bellies seem quite big.

they are.
i just fed a large amount of frozen mysis, to help them heal from yesterdays battle royale (the first thing they did was fight to figure out who the alpha was).
many also seem to be full of eggs, and would likely produce some very nice large spawns if i were to put them in with a male.

Originally Posted by orchidman

looks awesome! your fish are beautiful! i cant wait to get mine!

thank you.
only a few days.
he is a pretty handsome fish. looks very much like a replica of the spawns sire (the fish in my avatar).

[orchidman]

Originally Posted by @marko@

they are.
i just fed a large amount of frozen mysis, to help them heal from yesterdays battle royale (the first thing they did was fight to figure out who the alpha was).
many also seem to be full of eggs, and would likely produce some very nice large spawns if i were to put them in with a male.


thank you.
only a few days.
he is a pretty handsome fish. looks very much like a replica of the spawns sire (the fish in my avatar).

yes, mr BDM03 is quite the looker! IMHO the best one out of the batch!

[@marko@]

update.
everything is growing very well. better than i expected actually. and the bettas are all doing fine and healing from their initially bout.

FTS:


the best looking orchid female:





lavender female (from same spawn, just exhibiting an unlikely phenotype):


nerite:


r. green:


h. tiger:

[SpecGrrl]

Who takes care of them while you're at college?

[SpecGrrl]

D they bite the nerite's antennae?

[@marko@]

Originally Posted by SpecGrrl

Who takes care of them while you're at college?

nobody.
they have a feeder and i show up to do water changes at least every other week. my college (rutgers) is only 35 min from my house, so its easy to go back and forth to dump my laundry and take care of the girls.

Originally Posted by SpecGrrl

D they bite the nerite's antennae?

i dont think so. they grew up with that nerite, and i dont think they even notice that its a living animal. i never saw them lunge toward it, and i see the nerite in a different spot every time i look, so im pretty sure they are coexisting just fine.

[@marko@]

single shot from my phone:

[@marko@]

its been a while and a few changes have occured.
1 - the timer got stuck in the on position for 2 weeks and i didnt notice (as i was at college), so some algae occurred. its going away now that i fixed the issue, and reduced the photoperiod by 1.5 hours.
2 - the resulting CO2 shortage did a number on the h. glomeratus and r. green. i removed them and added l. sessiliflora
3 - got a tellis raft and so i took out my old riparium planter and set them up in here. using an aluminum plant in the planter, and h. glomeratus on the raft.

pics:

[SpecGrrl]

Are the girls stress stripe-y bc they squabble? Or is it a coloring thing?

Still stunned by the beauty of the tank!

[@marko@]

the submissive ones get stress stripes when another girl swims by, then as the other girl swims away, the stripes fade. i think in this case, its more of a sign of submission than a sign of actual stress and fear.
i know its not a water quality issue, as the alpha (the larger, and darker devil girl) is jet black with blood red fins all the time, constantly flaring and strutting her stuff. her fins have never been perfect from introduction to the tank, though, as occasionally the other not-all-that-submissive girls get fed up with her and spar. since they all occasionally squabble with her, and not with each other, she is the most torn up. all of it is superficial though. no damage to anything but the ray extensions which are the easiest to get at.

[SpecGrrl]

Oh how fascinating!

Thanks for explaining!