Conditioning Your Breeder (Simple Tips)

First - 2 day before spawning your breeder, feed your female 3-4 times a day with mosquito larvae or daphnia. Best result is feed with mosquito larvae. The result is your female breeder will produce more egg.

Second – 2 day before spawning your breeder, feed your male 3-4 times a day with frozen/live tubifex, frozen/live blood worm, or brine shrimp. This will give your male much energy for spawning and 2 days after the fry hatched until they can swim horizontally and avoid male to eat the egg or fry.

Third – conditioning your water in spawning tank with Indian Almond Leaves extract or Ketapang Leaves extract to avoid you lose much fry after hatched. Keep the water temperature 26-30 Celcius degree. Do this in your breeder tank too.

This is what work best for me. If you have another way or tips to conditioning your breeder, you can comment or message me for sharing. Thanks for read this article!

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Colour & Genetic

Colour Layers in Betta :
Iridescent layer (top layer) Iridocytes/guanophores are blue/green cells demonstrating Iridescent colour, Spread iridocytes and Non-blue
Black layer (after iridescent layer) Melanophores are black cells, demonstrating Cambodian, Blonde, Melano
Red layer (after black layer) Erythrophores are red cells, demonstrating Extended Red, Reduced Red, Non Red and Variegated fins
Yellow layer (bottom layer) Xanthophores are the yellow cells demonstrating absences of the other layers

Types of Black

Melano Black is the darkest black pigment with a mutated gene (such as the Extended Red) where the appearance is opaque black. The melano female is infertile, and is often crossed with blue or steel to retain the colour, this increases the presence of iridescences since blue or steel has iridocytes layer (iridescent layer). This gene is recessive to the normal black. 

Black Lace describes a dark fish with clear or cellophane edges, often not dark enough to compete with melano in the black class and will often be shown as a dark bicolour. 

Melano Butterfly is not to be mistaken with Black lace, the body is particulary dark and often shows iridescence, with white or clear variegated fins. The colour behaves as it would normal Melano.

Normal/Marble Black is the result of a marble spawn, this black is dominant over all other blacks, but is not as dark as the melano. This colour is difficult to breed with as with the marble gene the outcomes can be unpredictable










Red & Extended Red
As we know, the 4 colour layers in Betta Splenden are ordered as such : iridescent (blue layer), black, red, and yellow layer. The only colour that can cover red is either iridescent blue or black.

The Extended Red gene demonstrates a thick red colour that often covers the face, eyes, gills, body and fins. In show standards the ideal red should demonstrate no black edges to scales, along with as little iridescence as possible, and he most vivid colour.

The Red layer also demonstrate the following traits :
Extended red
Reduced red
Non-red
Variegated fins 

For the latter point, there are often black lace butterflies that come out of solid red spawns.

Cambodian 

Cambodian are classed as a light bicolour fish, where the separation light body and dark red finnage, there are also other bicolours known as “blue, green or black cambodian”. This colour is where the red gene is demonstrating the Reduced red traits.

Yellow & Orange 
Yellow also known as Non red, the Yellow layer not only demonstrated Non red traits, but Non black and Non blue.
While this is the last layer, it is clear that the vibrancy of colour is not as strong as that of the more surface layers such as red and blue. There are many variations of betta demonstrating the Non red traits (yellow) such as Mustard Gas, Chocolate, Yellow Salamander, Pineapples, Yellow Dragons, Yellow Armadillo, Marbles, Butterflies and Pastels.

Orange is relatively new evolution in betta colour, and as with the yellow, is most desirable with as little black scaling as possible, it is a notoriously difficult colour to breed true, as orange X orange colour washes out rapidly.

Metallic Colour

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Tips For Buying Betta Fish

I would recommended first you buy a betta fish from high quality breeder. They have very high quality fish, more variety colors, healty fish, and you would know your betta genetic they have bring. Second recommended is you buy from web such as Aquabid.com, the have a great or fine quality fish and you can choose much more variety of colors. The last recommended is buy from petsmart or petshop. You must have a great observation and luck to get a good fish when you buying them from petsmart or petshop. Much of that place didn’t have a good care about fish they sell, so I just say “Good Luck” .

Don’t forget to read an article about IBC Standard in this blog if you want to buy betta fish for competition. Just download the PDF files here :

 http://www.mediafire.com/?bu6m1crddavq4sl

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Defining A Good Crowntail

Let's start by providing a definition of what a good CT should look like, using the new IBC Crowntail Standards published in the March/April 2004 issue of Flare! magazine as a medium of reference. It should be kept in mind that the standards only apply to male CT bettas; females are judged in the standard color classes for their respective color types.

For the purpose of showing in the CT class, Crowntails are defined as bettas exhibiting at least 33% reduction in webbing versus ray length in each of the three primary fins (caudal, anal and dorsal). This requirement must be demonstrated in all three primary fins but does not need to be exhibited between all rays to meet the minimum requirement to be classified as a Crowntail betta.

Single ray - In the 'SR' CT, web margins are, ideally, uniform and webbing reduction is equal between primary rays and rays with branches.

Cross Ray - The crossing of rays ('CR') is manifested by pairs of ray extensions that curve over each other.

Double Ray - In the 'DR' CT, webbing is reduced at the two levels: one between a pair of rays and the other, more profoundly, between two ray branches. Breeders put a premium on double-ray and 4 ray extension Crowntails. These traits are to be regarded as neutral and are not to be pointed above single ray extended Crowntails. Four ray and even eight ray extensions are less common and the effect is almost always confined to the caudal fin only.

Double Double Ray - 'DDR' is double double ray, hence a four ray extended branching.












Random Ray - The term 'RR' basically means that the caudal spread has mixed single ray, double ray, 3 rays and 4 rays extended branching all mixed up. It is used to describe those whose extended ray patterns are not fixed.

For the purpose of judging CT in IBC sanctioned showing, these are the desired traits judges are encouraged to look for :

1. 33% reduction in webbing material for each primary fin is minimum. 50% reduction in webbing material in all three primary fins is ideal.
2. Ray extensions to be uniform in balance, length and spacing (symmetrical).
3. Double and 4 ray extensions in dorsal and anal fins to match caudal extensions.

Undesirable traits for Crowntails:

1. Less than 33% reduction in webbing material in 2 or all 3 primary fins is a DISQUALIFYING FAULT.
2. Less than 33% reduction in webbing material in 1 primary fin is a SEVERE fault.
3. Ray extensions of different lengths are MINOR faults unless the rays are in even, repeating pattern.
4. Random rays, for example, single protruding rays in a double ray or 4 ray Crowntail, should not be regarded more than a MINOR fault and ignored if there is only a single ray protruding ray.
5. Curled or bent ray extensions are each a MINOR fault.
6. Non-symmetrical spaces between ray extensions are each a MINOR fault.

Source : BettySplendens.com

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Betta Fish Food (Nutritional Content)

Mosquito larvae

Protein                 15.58%
Dry protein         48.96%

Moisture             68.18%

Fat                          7.81%

Fiber                      3.46%

Ash                        1.4%

Blood worms

Protein                 10.5%
Dry protein         69%

Moisture             84.8%

Fat                          2%

Ash                        7%

Tubifex worms (Silk worms)

Protein                 48%

Moisture             (unknown)

Fat                          21%

Glicogen              7%

Organic acid        1%

Nucleid acid        1%

Daphnia

Protein                 5%
Dry protein         45.45%

Moisture             89%

Fat                          5%

Ash                        9%

Artemia (Brine shrimp)

Protein                 9%
Dry protein         75%

Moisture             88%

Fat                          2.5%

Fiber                      3%

Ash                        6%

Maybe this can help you choose best living food for your betta fish. Don't forget feed your betta fish with variety of food (live or dry food).

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Breeding Betta Fish (Video Link)

There is great link of example videos breeding betta fish on YouTube :

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL637C44C2F40B0B42

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Defining A Good Plakat

Plakats are the oldest of the domesticated Betta and are derived from animals bred for fighting. Show plakats bear certain distinctive features reflective of this ancestry. All plakats are short-tailed fish designed for rapid swimming. Specifically the dorsal and anal fins should not greatly exceed the body width and the caudal fin should not exceed 1/3 of the body length. Relative to other show Betta, the plakat body form is more stout and body mass greater. Plakats are expected to be notably more aggressive than other show Betta, to have the demeanor of a pit bulldog, and be constantly on the alert for intruders.

The plakat classes are defined on differences in body form and finnage as well as color, as detailed in the standards below. The two plakat forms are the traditional plakat and the show plakat. Either of two plakat forms may be entered in the regular and New Breeder classes. Here they are judged not only relative to one another, but by the degree to which they are faithful exemplars of their class.

The traditional plakat may be shown in any color. Show plakat classes are recognized in all color types.

Traditional Plakats

The traditional plakat is a stout, heavy bodied aggressive fish with distinctive finnage.

Dorsal - The dorsal fin may be either uniformly rounded or come to point (see figure).

Anal - The anal fin has a trapezoid shape with the forward (anterior) edge shorter than the rear (posterior) edge. The posterior tip should be pointed (see figure). When flaring the rear edge of the anal fin should overlap the lower portion of the caudal fin.

Caudal - The caudal fin may be either spade shaped (see figure) or rounded.

 If spade-shaped the point should be at the midpoint of the fin. A caudal spread of 180° is preferred, but differs from the requirements for other show Betta and for other plakat classes in two respects. First the edges of the caudal fin are expected to be rounded rather than shaped in the configuration of the letter D (see figures). Second, the 180° caudal should not be achieved by greater than primary or secondary branching of the caudal fin rays. Thus the caudal spread in a traditional plakat is achieved by an increase in the volume of tissue between rays rather than by an increase in fin ray branching.

Ventral fins - Ventral fins can be either full or thin, but are expected to be notably longer than in other show Betta, 2/3 the length of the length of the body (as measured from the base of the ventral fin to the caudal peduncle) or longer -see Figure.

Pectoral fins - As in other show Betta.

A good sample of Traditional Plakat

Show Plakats (Halfmoon Plakats)

This is the most common of the plakat forms bred today, combining traits of traditional plakats and show Betta. Like the traditional, the form is asymmetrical. The show plakat standard is the same in all respects to that of the traditional plakat with two essential exceptions:

Dorsal - The dorsal fin should be semi-circular and preferably snap open as a fan. In the most ideal situation the dorsal overlaps the upper part of the caudal. The upper front edge can be either sharp or slightly rounded.The capacity of the fin to open in this fashion is often achieved not by in increase in volume, but by an increase in fin ray branching and possibly a slight increase of rays. In the most ideal situation, the dorsal overlaps the upper part of the caudal. Overlap of the dorsal with the body is not desirable.

Caudal - Unlike the traditional plakat, the caudal fin is the same as the standard show Betta. The caudal spread is 180 degrees, has straight rays, sharp edges and the shape of a semi-circle (capital “D”), no longer the 1/3^rd the length of the body. The ray splitting should be evenly distributed with a secondary branching (4-ray) or more without becoming too excessive. A >180 degree spread (overhalfmoon, oHM) is not preferred above a 180 degree spread.

Anal - The anal fin has a trapezoid shape with the front rays (anterior) part shorter than the rear (posterior) part. From the front to the back the anal show as gradual slope coming to a pointed tip. The longest ray of the anal ideally should be at least twice as long or longer (preferred) as the length of the outer rays of the caudal. During flaring, the front should be directed forward a nd the back should overlap the lower part of the caudal.

Ventrals - The shaper of the ventrals mimic the blade of a knife with the cutting edge directed backwards. The ventrals have a full appearance, are equal in length and should not appear to be permanently crossed. The length of the ventrals should be at least equal to the longest ray of the anal.

Pectoral fins - As in other show betta.

A good sample of Show Plakat (Halfmoon Plakat)

Source : IBC Standard

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IBC Standard (General Faults)

This standard is use to judge the fish appearance at IBC Show or another international show. Maybe this can help you to choose your betta fish before you send your fish to the show.

This is the download link :
http://www.mediafire.com/?bu6m1crddavq4sl

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