Hey, all.
This was a while back, since 2006 – 2009.
Final Year Projects, thesis and work brought this hobby to an end.
Thought I’d share it here with you guys.

My fishes weren’t pure breed or anything.
I bred them for fun (and their colouration), not for commercial sales.
They may be considered below grade levels, but they were awesome fish none the less.

The tanks


The first betta that got me hooked into breeding them. (2005 Dec)
It was the stunning colour. It was like owning a little piece of the rainbow.
Like poetry in motion. It was the enormous character bound in each little fish.

Ice Meth
~nuff said~


Offspring:
The fair faced boy
Hash Ice Meth


The dark knight
Haifa Ice Meth



The little rascal
Gamble Ice Meth


And of course, the most beloved:
Keifer Ice Meth


Ultimate Devil: Lucifer Red Haas


Breeding


The one and only progeny:
The kick-ass: Asmodeus Haas

---

Added on January 31, 2011, 2:56 amI have more photos, but unfortunately, this came up:

"THE FOLLOWING ERROR(S) WERE FOUND
Sorry, but you have posted more images than you are allowed to"


How do I post more pictures?

This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Jan 31 2011, 02:56 AM

Continuation...

Super Poser: Goliath Loofa White


Eggs


After 1 day


The only male baby: Chivas Loofa White
And it was worth it.

Super Fighter: Timeus Duvaell


First progeny: Titus Duvaell


The albino progeny: Pico Brightwhite Duvaell


Family photo

Nope, these aren't HM.
HM comes later on.
I can't continuously post photos, so I'll have to wait till someone posts first.

Continuation...

Memps Perfection
The Perfection Series ~dunno why I named their family this..~

Breeding





Absolute Perfection


Ultimate Perfection
This fellow flared at everything that passed its tank, the ants, the lizard, leaves moving...
It was the family favourite as it seemed to say "WTF you looking at, punk?!" everytime you passed it.



It died of heart attack after half a year...

The Most Revered Fishes
My Rainbow: Hub Meth


Some f**ker stole him... Checked my tank the next morning and he was gone...


My lucky star: Cobalt Free (parents; unknown)
Some said it’s mutation or deformity. Some called it a retarded fish.
I called it...luck. I noticed this little fella terrorizing all its other siblings so I scooped it out and placed it in its own tank.

Continuation....


Crown Fins
Awesomeness: Alrinach Meth
I tried to get him to breed but he killed all the female bettas I placed with him. He was either some female-hater or ... gay. Either way, it was a damn good flarer.


Super Bad: Volchock


Starsplash



Half Moon
Eschoz Baffles [the first HM I attempted to breed]


Kid 1: Perfusion Calcott Baffles


Kid 2: Mass Royalty Baffles


The others in the collection:
Electric Blue Dude


Hamas Daruth Meth


Butterfly Meth


White Light



NewbieBetta and Blissguy, I fed them with infusoria for the first 3 weeks. I used potato peel to make them.

Potato Information: DO NOT PICK POTATOES WHICH ARE SPROUTING. IT CONTAINS DANGEROUS TOXINS FOR BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL.

How to make your own infusoria:

- get a clean potato, brush off any dirt (doesn't have to be super clean for this)
- collect a nice handfull of potato peel (helps if you're having potatos for dinner that day, you can get a lot of peel )
- place them in an air tight glass jar
- pour boiling water into the jar that contains the potato peel, all the way to the top
- cover the jar (Air tight)
- store the jar in a cool area with no sunlight (or wrap them up with newspaper / place them in shoe boxes)
- the liquid will become cloudy after 1 week
- after 2 weeks, the cloudiness will disappear and the clear liquid can be used to feed the fry
- pour a tablespoon for an approximate of 20 fry

Pros:
- it's cheap to make
- fry seems to grow faster
- you can feed it as much as you like, no water polution

Cons:
- it stinks a little....

Fionayee, unfortunatly, no. There was no dead body lying around.. And it was in a covered tank. I keep my tanks outside because my parents dont allow tanks in the house, so there is a high possibility of unknown "retards" stealing my fish... ~sigh~


And would you guys be surprised if I told you that that camera was my mom's chunky old model Olympus of only 4.0 megapixel?
One thing with betta photography, I realized that you need a white background (which was the wall) and a really clean tank (No algae growing on it) and heck lots of patience (for bettas who are hyper active). Most bettas remain still when they flare, so snapping a nice shot is pretty easy.

This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Jan 31 2011, 08:35 PM

Not a lot of work, just a lot of waiting time.
The smell of the "potato water" is like...wet socks.
But I prefer this over powdered food. It helps slower swimming fry to get enough nutrients.

HMs can have up to a 10cm diameter when in full flare. Super nice to see

Haven't tried breeding HMs and Crown Tails. But posting up all this photos makes me miss the old times of breeding them...
Dammit...Now I feel like going out and buying a few and revive the hobby once again.



This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Jan 31 2011, 08:55 PM

Blissguy, 10cm is the maximum flare that I saw at one pet expo a long time ago. The fish was worth a few hundred. @_@ I once saw a normal HM at the aquarium sho for RM25 but its flare was about 9cm, but unfortunately someone had already booked it.

There's an aquarium shop I always went to when I was still staying in Rawang (like every week without fail). After the Rawang tol, turn left and go all the way towards Bandar Country Homes. The aquarium shop will be on your right beside a furniture shop. It's pretty huge and has a lot of stock. It once had Axolotls (The owner knows me so I got a discount. Hehehehe...).

There is another one inside Bandar Country Homes. It's a side corner house that became a aquarium shop. The owner is very friendly. Can't remember the name of the shop, but if you ask the locals, they're sure to know.

I got my bettas from those 2 shops. They seemed to have the best quality, especially the aquarium shop the road.

Fionayee, most of those that I bred were the RM2 types. It started off with those and then the HM and Crown tails.

You know what....after CNY...I just may restart this hobby..
sheeeeeeeeeeeeet~!!

Here's a good link on infusoria:

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Live%20Food,%20Infusoria.htm

Check it out.

Bukit Jalil...I'm no very familiar with that place. I stay in Puchong now, and there's a lacking of proper aquarium shops here. I still go to Irene Aquarium in PJ, or you can try Nautical in Subang. Pretty good shop.

Blissguy, I don't recommand feeding baby guppies to your betta if you plan to breed him. He may eat his own fry in the future @_@

I never tried daphnia because they were labled "water fleas" and I was afraid that the excess in the water my cling on to my bettas' gills. I dunno if it was true, but I just avoided it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. They look pretty scary.

mikacarrick, chicken poop?? Ewwww....that is so gross and i think it's dangerous because poop contains lots of bacteria and viruses.

Fionayee, the colour was natural actually. I fed the older fry blood worms. Maybe those helped.

---

Added on February 1, 2011, 3:30 pmOh yeah, one more fish:

Kovick Berquenil Meth


Kovick vs Sodapop
Yeah, he’s baddass!



This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Feb 1 2011, 03:30 PM

Here's a guide (from my experience). Please pardon any spelling mistakes.

Breeding Betta










Separating Sexes.
Around two to four months, males start developing brighter colors and slightly longer fin extensions. If you keep lots of them together, they fight a little bit, but not much. Once you separate your males into individual containers, they start wanting to fight. Many females also get very aggressive when you separate them. And some females fight when kept with other females. These are guidelines, not rules.

Change Your Water.
Weekly water changes will make your bettas grow faster. So will larger containers. So will frequent SMALL feedings.



Feeding guide:
Option # 1. Feed them Infusoria.
Breeders who start their baby bettas on infusoria usually rear 90% of their spawns -- some 400 to 600 babies. Get your cultures started at least two weeks before you set up your breeders. Raise it in non-aerated quart jars filled with aged water.

Option # 2. Feed Newly Hatched Shrimp.
Breeders who start their betta fry on newly hatched brine shrimp will rear spawns about half the size of those who start theirs on infusoria. Try your hatching methods early so you know they work, and you know your “eggs” (really cysts) will hatch for you. For best results, feed infusoria their first two weeks and start adding brine shrimp their second week.

Option # 2.5. Feed Microworms.
Possibly better than Option # 2. Use same as brine shrimp. Better, use Option # 2 and # 2.5. Best, go with Option # 1, then add #2 and # 2.5 two weeks later.

Option # 3. Powdered or Liquid Fry Food.
You will successfully rear about 5% to 10% of your spawn if you start them on powdered or liquid fry food -- about 50 bettas. Your betta fry don’t eat those foods. Actually, the infusoria naturally occurring in your water eat the bacteria that eat the liquid food, and the baby bettas eat the infusoria. There are just not enough of the infusoria surviving this way to feed many baby bettas. Only the strongest survive.

GOOD LUCK BREEDING!


This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Feb 1 2011, 09:34 PM

Yup
I thought that I should share my knowledge with you guys. I had all the photos, so I just put them together.

And it's making me want to restart the hobby even more...
After CNY!! Must wait till after CNY or my parents will kill me, for sure..

And this time, I wanna experiment with more colours and finnage type (perhaps the HM and crowntail)

This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Feb 1 2011, 11:59 PM

Hahahahaha..I was going to tell you to stop calling me "bro", but decided to see how long till you figured out.


I know a lot because my parents weren't and still aren't into my fish keeping hobby. During the period of my betta breeding, they have said things like:
"I'm going to cook all your fish (my mom)", "I'm going to pour them into the drain", "I'm going to send (not even sell...) them all to the aquarium shop. FOR FREE! (my mom and dad)" and the worst "I'm going to throw away all your aquariums (my dad)".

I think the harder you try to keep you hobby alive, the more you learn. Dude, I dunno if you're a breeder, but trust me, when your little babies hatch, you'll be so so happy. And when they start growing up, producing nice colours and fins, you'll be going Nothing beats that.

If you find any nice ones post pictures of them!!

The female will look very fat and you can see a white spot on the belly. If you want to condition a female (meaning there is no white spot yet), you can place them in two seperate containers, side to side so they can see each other. The male will built a nest and the female will take about 1 week to produce eggs (become fat).

Then you can put them together.

IliekIZ, not planning to restart your hobby again?

Blisssguy, that white male is awesome!
Is the female a pure breed copper plakat? Those cost a bomb.

Hey, Mika and Fiona! Congratulations! Photos!
I wanna see the photos!!
I'm getting my tanks ready, gonna go buy some aquarium pumps tomorrow evening.

Blissguy, usually there should be no problem if the female is larger than the male. The only problem that could occur is that they may not be able to spawn properly (Coz the male will have to bend his body to "clip" the female to spawn. So the eggs may not be properly fertilized. But if everything goes well, you ARE ONE LUCKY FELLA! there'd be tonnes of babies )

Start uploading the photos, guys!

Here's some guidelines:






Changing the water will affect the:
1. pH
2. bacteria population (which can cause an increase in ammonia)
3. temperature

Your tank will be clean, but it'll be a different kind of clean, and the fry may not be okay with it. Changing water within the first week of hatching is very risky. I'd advise you not to do so. The plants help maintain the ecology of the tank, but it depends on how much of a water change you undertook. Like a 1/4 tank should be okay. A 1/2 water change is not advisable.

Feeding:
If you're not comfortable with infusoria, you can feed them microworms. They are just as good, but DO NOT overfeed, because left over microworms may die and dirty the tank water.

Filtration:
DON'T EVER, EVER, EVER USE A MECHANICAL FILTER THAT HAS SUPER SUCTION POWERS AND WATER FLOW THAT CAN RIVAL A WATERFALL. DON'T KILL INNOCENT LIVES!

Stick to a simple bubble filter.

Once you have passed this part (it's really not that difficult), you can proceed to the second part.

Babies are now large enough to be fed powdered food (flake is for waaay bigger fish).
You can now feed them brineshrimp or blood worms or

WARNING: OVERFEEDING THE FRY WITH BABY BRINE SHRIMP WILL CAUSE SWIMBLADDER DISORDER Microworms and the rest, no problem.


Blissguy, is it the white male betta, the one whose picture you posted?
Sheeeeeeet! that was a nice fish!

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Added on February 8, 2011, 1:02 am[quote=Wesya,Feb 6 2011, 09:01 PM]


That is a frickin' awesome fish!! Such solid colour. Like a pastel crayon.

This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Feb 8 2011, 01:02 AM

Buy from online breeders. There are more colours and are waaaaaay healthier than those in the shops.

That it a good link! his price is good too.

I think it is stressed. Try cleaning its water and move its tank to a more peaceful place.
Mudah.com has a few Super Plakat sellers. But the price is also very "super". But I must say that the variety of colours are really awesome. I'm hoping to get a few from them.

Should be okay because the temperature of the water doesn't drastically decrease.

Awesome coloured bettas:

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz136/g...gonHMPKMale.jpg

Check this website out too. Beautiful marbles and fancies.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/sarawut/p...ar-interesting/

I really like the Black Blue Marble Monster HMPK.

This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Feb 17 2011, 01:01 AM

Very very uneasy. I'm looking for dragon/marble bettas to breed now. So difficult to find.
I'll post some more photos later at night. Damn beautiful colours. Make you all feel uncomfortable too hehehehehe....

Bettamalaysia, fancy marbles are seriously awesome.....


Blissguy, here's a lavander picture I found:


Other super awesome photos (unfotunately they were not for sale )

I seriously want this....



OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!


Pink Dragon


Green Dragon


Marble: Frickin' nice colour!!



Check out this site: It'll make you go crazy
http://bettavillage.blogspot.com/search/la...FHMPK%20%28M%29

This post has been edited by beer8bottles: Feb 17 2011, 06:35 PM

Dude, that is an awesome fish! But like the rest said, if you are planning to breed him (Which you MUST do, or else it would be a great sin and no betta keeper would ever forgive you and because you're spending a whole lot of money there), you NEED to get a pure HM female or the babies will be ..... kinda strange. Or you'd end up with delta babies.


Where is the seller from? Any links?
I looking for bettas with those kind of colourations.


Not really. It's not hard, you just need to be hardworking. Flaring exercises are important for them or else their fins would start to droop. They need water changes every 5 days (max) or their fins would start to get small tears or infection. If you can put up with these two demands, then, it should be no problem.

HMs are awesome when in full flare.

Wei!! Blissguy!!

Why you show me that link at this time of the day, huh??!

jskhobvjasriouvznsldkjlekfeawyucba! So uneasy now! cannot sleep!

Mustard HM


Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Black Gold


White Peacock


Copper Yellow


Fancy HM




Their colours are so nice, I want to cry....

But this betta is "the bomb"!
I WANT IT.



Some sellers are selling at about RM400 - RM500 a pair