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Introduction |
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This page is the place for Betta fanatics to share their
experiences. If you have some interesting information, from reading books, or from your
own observational experiences then please e-mail it to me and I will attach it to this
page.
At the present, I
have 3 sections open and I will add sections accordingly:
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Mating
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Making
a good groom
New comers to Betta breeding may
experience some difficulties with the male Betta not wanting to mate, even though you may
have prepared the breeding tank well, or even very well. Even despite following all the
steps the books tell you to. But your Betta does nothing but build his bubble nest and
never goes under it. The female has even come to entice him, but he just chases her
cruelly. Oh god, after 5 days he is still only nesting.
Now, here’s
the secret. Before you send the male back to the breeding tank, let him fight with another
male for 5-10 minutes. His fins and tail may tear off, but do not worry it will quickly
grow back later. This time when you send the male back to the female, he will mate
immediately. The logic behind this is that the male Bettas instinct is to fight in order
to mate.
(12 April 1998)
Scared
Bride
Some females are really scared of the
males; may be she has had a bad experience with a male. Instead of mating when you put
them together, she always runs away when the male approaches. This female is NOT
CONDITIONED FOR MATING.
To solve this unexpected problem, you
should prepare the female well before allowing her to mate. Place the pair in separate
bottles. Use a piece of cardboard to block their view, so they cannot see each other.
Remove the cardboard 3 times a day and let them spar for ½ hour only. Do this for about
two weeks. After two weeks you should see the female flaring her fins to the male. The
next day transfer the pair to a square glass tank about 12" x 20" x 10".
The female will approach the male, and the male will get excited and start flaring and
showing off for the female. Some will even start to build the nest. Let them stay together
for 10 minutes. Be careful to not let the male attack the female, after 10 minutes remove
the male and put him back in his bottle. Keep doing this for seven days. The female will
become totally acquainted with the male and the scaring symptoms will be greatly
diminished. You will also observe that the eggs in the ovum will increase rapidly and the
belly of the female will become slightly yellow. On the next day, place the female in a
separate bottle and place the bottle in the middle of the breeding tank. Make sure to put
in some floating plants for the male to build his bubble nest in. The male will flare his
fins around the female and quickly build his nest. On the fourth day release the female
with the male, they should mate within 1 hour. Some females will even help the male
collect the eggs and put them in the bubble nest.
(13 April 1998) |
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Disease
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Swollen
Eyes
Keep the affected Betta in a small
glass containing a half-liter of water, with a dry banana leaf. Feed your fish as usual.
You will see the water turn into a tea like color, it will also develop a bad smell, and
be very murky. Just leave it as it is. From anywhere in the fourth to the seventh day you
will find that the swollen eyes of your fish have recovered.
(13 April 1998)
Jackson’s
Thriller Disease
One day you may notice that
your lovely Betta has changed his swimming style. From smart and gentle movements to
thrusting around like a missile. Sometimes he will swim very fast to the surface of the
water, and then hurry and dive right down, shaking his body and head like Michael
Jackson’s Thriller "Break dance". He will jerk around and after a day or
two you might see lots of little white spots spread all over your Betta. Yes, your fish
has been attacked by Ich (Ichthyopthirius multiflis) or white spot disease. The
experienced Betta keeper knows that just a drop a day of Methylene Blue for 3 days will
cure the sick fish. But, once a Betta has been attacked by Ich it will lose its smart
manner and become a weaker fish.
To prevent your Betta being spoiled
by “Break dance” disease, try and make sure that the water temperature in the
Betta tank does not change too fast. But, this may not be enough prevention. You should
also put a foot of Alpinia Galanga in your Bettas bottle at all times. Alpinia Galanga
provides chemical substances like steroids, Phenolic acids, terpenoids, and others. These
substances help prevent and get rid of the disease, which comes from fungus.
Note: I got the tip about putting Galanga
in the bottle from an old breeder by word of mouth. And the chemical substances listed
came from a pet magazine.
(7 August 1998) |
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General
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Returning
Your Fish to its Natural State
An accident may damage the fins of your
beautiful Betta. Normal feeding may not be enough to restore the damage. To grow the fins
back to their former glory quickly, find about half a pint of mud from a lake and put it
in the Bettas bottle along with some banana leaf. Within 5 days you will find the torn
fins have quickly grown back to their former glory. After ten days you can shift your
fighter to a bottle with clean water. You will have a new version of your fish, more alert
and looking better than ever.
(13 April 1998)
Warm
Alive, Cold Die
I have been reading about your
experience with Betta with great happiness. I have been taking care of
Betta in a
Pet Shop for 13 years. I learned from my customers about using plants to make them well.
Since my customer could not find the plants he used in Thailand, he picked out a plant we
call Bacopa for me to use. I have tried other plants but they do not have the same
effects. Most Americans feel that fighting Bettas is a cruel sport. I was one of them
until I asked Thai people to tell me about Bettas. I learned that the fight is not to the
death of the Bettas. I was told that the Betta that quits or swims away is taken out of
the fight so that it is not killed. I learned from you that the fight is for better health
and breeding. One young man told me that he conditions his Bettas before a fight by
putting them in salty water. He says that it hardens the scales and that his fish are not
easily injured. I found that I lost most of my Bettas when they were shipped to us during
our cold months. I could not getting any help from the shipper. It was so sad to see all
these beautiful fish get a white film on their bodies and eyes. They could not eat or
breathe. They usually died within 48 hours. I discovered how to keep them from getting
sick. The reason why the shippers could not help me is that they did not have to take the
fish out of the little bags and put them into containers. The only people who know of this
problem would be people who live have cold winters. Cold water carries more oxygen than
warm water. I knew this but it took a long time to
discover what could make that a bad problem for Bettas. I discovered that if I made up a
container of mixed cold and hot water that there were tiny air bubbles in the container.
They did not dissolve for days!! Those little tiny bubbles were covering the Bettas bodies
and their gills. When the bubbles dissolved they caused damage to the gills. So what if I
try to just use a little cold water and let it sit? Still the same problem. I tried
filling the container with only hot water faucet. No bubbles!! I let the water sit till it
was room temperature. The Bettas still died a few days later. I tried again. I let the
water sit and filled dup the cups with warm water. I pour out the extra water from the bag
and pour the Bettas into the cups of warm water. Never touching their bodies with NETS!
None died. They loved the warm water! The temperature can be up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
None of them sink to the bottom. They swim around and They eat good. They did not get
sick. I find that Bettas get sick if they suddenly get chilled. I tell people to keep
their Bettas in the warmest and quietest place in their home. I have been doing this for
many years. If someone else in the store has to put the Bettas in cups or moves the
Bettas
to a bright and noisy location in the store, the fish die. They think I have magic with
Bettas.
From
Gail Beebe, The Delphi Pets Forum.
(9 July 1998) http://www.delphi.com/pets
The
Mantra for Fighting Fish
The following ancient Thai verse is a
magic spell to use when you feed the fighter. The magic verse wills your Betta to become
the winner. I don’t know the beginning of this verse; I got it from a Thai aquarium
booklet. I will try my best to translate it into English verse. I know that the result
will not be the same when translated into English. So please just read this for fun.
This verse is meant to tell the
fighter keeper is looking after his fish well. When feeding his fighter the keeper will
focus his eyes on his fish. The spell in the verse is to trick the keeper into
concentrating on his fighter. Then the fish becomes the center of focus, not the owner. In
that moment the owner may observe the readiness of his fighter.
Thai
Script
"นะกัดตัง
กะขะชนะ
ตัวข้ามีกำลังดังพระยา ปลาในมหาสมุทร
สุกุโยเกล็ดแก้วมณีหุ้มห่อตัวข้าดังเกราะเพชร
พุตากะเก เขี้ยวแก้วทั้ง 4 ดุจตรีเพชร
หนุมาน มะอะอุปลา ใดมารอนราน วินาศสันติ"
Paraphrase
Script
"Na Kad Tang Ga Ka Chana
Toa Khar Mee Kham Lang Dank Phra Ya Pla Nai Maha Samut
Su Gu Yo Grade Kaw Manee Hum Haw Toa Ka Dank Krax Phet
Pu Ta Ka Ge, Keow Kaw Tank See Duj Tree Phet
Hanuman Ma Aa Au Pla Dai Mar Ron Raan Vinas Santi"
The
Translation into English Verse
"Oom you are the real fighter,
the Superior.
You are the Mighty Mega-power Worrier, the LORD of all fish in the Oceania.
Your dynamic crystal scale is as tough as armour diamond.
The four quartz teeth as sharp as Shiva's spear
Hanumana, Oh the great fish, no one can defeat you, the Destroyer."
(21 May 1999)
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