Betta Coccina Breeding Tank

Crispii said:

Oooh yes! Finally, another update! Thanks for sharing!

Click to expand...

Haha, yeah I realised it had been a couple of weeks since I posted anything about them. They're also now joined by a lone cherry shrimp who seems to be the only survivor of the ones I put in to feed them.

I've upset the fry today. I decided that since they're eating the dry food so well that I'd bring the biscuit cutter back into action to stop the annoying problem of food landing on the Salvinia. The fry were not so sure about this idea until, of course, food started appearing from the biscuit cutter. I'm sure once they've worked out to go up into the middle rather than up the sides they'll appreciate it.
I'd thought Teeny Tiny and Tiny had had a good growth spurt and caught up a bit. Turns out it's only Tiny that has grown, Teeny Tiny is still miniscule. I have very small hands and Teeny is about the length of my little finger nail or slightly smaller. I do suspect the day when one of its bigger siblings decides it will make a nice snack is fast approaching as they're all more than big enough to have a go.

I apologise in advance for the not so great quality of the photos but here are some from tonight. They've really coloured up now, eyes have all gone blue and the line of blue iridescence on the fins has appeared. They've also really got the taste for dried food, every time I walk in the room they come to the front of the tank and wait under the biscuit cutter.

Beautiful!

Wow!

I put a new ornament into the adults tank to give them an extra hiding spot as the 2 males take it in turns to occupy the cave that's in there (there are other hidey holes but the cave seems to be the favourite). Big Bertha (largest of them, this is her forum acceptable name now) seems to be confused about which bit she should actually be using and prefers living under it completely.

Few photos from tonight. I think the majority of them are male, I've got my eye on a couple that I think are female to decide which one to keep back. I've also decided that once these guys are moved on to split the adults up a bit depending on what they're like once Big Bertha has gone. Current idea is to move Big Daddy and Split Fin into the current breeding tank on a more permanent basis and leave Bossman, Little Girl and which ever female fry I keep in the big tank.

Some photos from tonight. I need to get my backside into gear and speak to some shops about taking them now but I'm quite attached so I've been procrastinating over it. The colour is much more vibrant than it appears in the photos but trying to get a clear photo is like herding cats.

Don't they grow up quickly?

seangee said:

Don't they grow up quickly?

Click to expand...

I can't believe that a few months ago they were tiny little dots that I had to squint to see and now they're little adults. Time flies.

It's been nearly 3 years since I bred this lot. I have 4 males and 1 suspected female left from the original breeding. My tank was absolutely annhilated by whitespot when I was away for an extended week. The males are absolutely stunning, deep red bodies with electric blue on the edge of the fins. I would recommend betta coccina to anyone, they're more interesting than splendens and they have a more subtle beauty.