B. Simplex..

[Big_eyes]

Wish I'd of bought some of these when I saw them on ebay. The more I see of them, the more I like them!

 

[Inchworm]

I like these fish and have been worried about them because they have been so still and quiet. Since I've posted last, the old air pump I was using to keep the water from being too agitated gradually became weaker and weaker. The two bettas spent a couple of days hovering in the corner above the weak flow of water coming from the box filter. When I changed the pump to a stronger one they returned to hiding behind the java moss.

Then I saw the female upside down in the moss and when I freed her she swam away like normal so I removed the java moss and put in some java ferns instead. They seem to like this.

So far I haven't seen them eat any of the flake or Hikari betta pellets that I've tried to feed them. They will still take a few live blackworms but not even every time I offer them.

Today I fed them and sat watching them. Neither of them ate any of the worms but they looked alert and were together in between the plants. I noticed the male seemed to be making a chewing motion although I was sure he hadn't picked up any of the worms. Then I saw the female pick up a small white speck from the ground. She didn't swallow it but when she spit it out, the male picked it up.

After a little while I saw them embrace and watched as the female went through the same activity, this time with two of what I suspected then were eggs, although I didn't see her drop them. At that point I quietly crawled out of the room so as not to disturb them.

It's now about six hours later and they are still again but the male is still moving his mouth the way he was before. Is this typical spawning behavior and is he holding eggs? What do I do now?

 

[-Rob-]

I like these fish and have been worried about them because they have been so still and quiet. Since I've posted last, the old air pump I was using to keep the water from being too agitated gradually became weaker and weaker. The two bettas spent a couple of days hovering in the corner above the weak flow of water coming from the box filter. When I changed the pump to a stronger one they returned to hiding behind the java moss.

Then I saw the female upside down in the moss and when I freed her she swam away like normal so I removed the java moss and put in some java ferns instead. They seem to like this.

So far I haven't seen them eat any of the flake or Hikari betta pellets that I've tried to feed them. They will still take a few live blackworms but not even every time I offer them.

Today I fed them and sat watching them. Neither of them ate any of the worms but they looked alert and were together in between the plants. I noticed the male seemed to be making a chewing motion although I was sure he hadn't picked up any of the worms. Then I saw the female pick up a small white speck from the ground. She didn't swallow it but when she spit it out, the male picked it up.

After a little while I saw them embrace and watched as the female went through the same activity, this time with two of what I suspected then were eggs, although I didn't see her drop them. At that point I quietly crawled out of the room so as not to disturb them.

It's now about six hours later and they are still again but the male is still moving his mouth the way he was before. Is this typical spawning behavior and is he holding eggs? What do I do now?

awsome, yes hes holding eggs by the sound of it, he will hold them between 9-15 days depending , read various things, mine took 12 days. i would suggest that on the 8th day you catch him and place him in a very fine netted breeding trap, or somthing similer so that when he releases them they dont get out, like a few of mine did in my plastic breeding trap.

now on say day 5-6 would be good to remove her without stressing him as she can start bugging him to spawn again resulting in him swallowing the eggs and the whole process starting again.

good luck with them

 

[lljdma06]

mine were very timid for the first few weeks, they still are in a way, although now they are alot better at feeding time, these get really over excited about feeding, and my god they can jump.

what i have noticed with mine is, they dont like limited space, as a betta splenden will 9 times out of ten just chill out or sulk, these guys really stress out in small spaces, i have 6 in a 80l though i would rather i put them in somthing bigger.

No kidding! My imbellis were jumping beans too. What are the dimensions of your 80L?

 

[-Rob-]

mine were very timid for the first few weeks, they still are in a way, although now they are alot better at feeding time, these get really over excited about feeding, and my god they can jump.

what i have noticed with mine is, they dont like limited space, as a betta splenden will 9 times out of ten just chill out or sulk, these guys really stress out in small spaces, i have 6 in a 80l though i would rather i put them in somthing bigger.

No kidding! My imbellis were jumping beans too. What are the dimensions of your 80L?

31" long, 13"tall , 12"deep its a juwel rekord 80

 

[Inchworm]

awsome, yes hes holding eggs by the sound of it, he will hold them between 9-15 days depending , read various things, mine took 12 days. i would suggest that on the 8th day you catch him and place him in a very fine netted breeding trap, or somthing similer so that when he releases them they dont get out, like a few of mine did in my plastic breeding trap.

now on say day 5-6 would be good to remove her without stressing him as she can start bugging him to spawn again resulting in him swallowing the eggs and the whole process starting again.

good luck with them

Thanks, -Rob-. I'll plan on doing that. I recently bought one of those breeding traps in the hopes I could save some swordtail fry but now it will come in handy with the bettas.

We're past day two now but today I saw him do something that worried me. He spit out three eggs and only picked two of them back up. The other one drifted to the bottom. Is this a normal thing or a sign that he is having a problem?

My next job will be moving some corys around so I can free up a tank for the female. I've been keeping the temperature of the betta tank at 74 F. so I'll have to get a heater going in it too.

 

[-Rob-]

awsome, yes hes holding eggs by the sound of it, he will hold them between 9-15 days depending , read various things, mine took 12 days. i would suggest that on the 8th day you catch him and place him in a very fine netted breeding trap, or somthing similer so that when he releases them they dont get out, like a few of mine did in my plastic breeding trap.

now on say day 5-6 would be good to remove her without stressing him as she can start bugging him to spawn again resulting in him swallowing the eggs and the whole process starting again.

good luck with them

Thanks, -Rob-. I'll plan on doing that. I recently bought one of those breeding traps in the hopes I could save some swordtail fry but now it will come in handy with the bettas.

We're past day two now but today I saw him do something that worried me. He spit out three eggs and only picked two of them back up. The other one drifted to the bottom. Is this a normal thing or a sign that he is having a problem?

My next job will be moving some corys around so I can free up a tank for the female. I've been keeping the temperature of the betta tank at 74 F. so I'll have to get a heater going in it too.

sounds good, with him spitting them out, is he still young? may be that his mouth was just a bit full for him, also if its his first time they somtimes take a couple of times to get the hang of it all.

 

[Thewild]

Leave a small amount of java moss in the tank. Dont put any almond leaves in the tank. Find some PVC pipe and add it into the tank. They like to hide in them, especially the male once he's holding. Feed them alot of live foods and they'll breed for you. My suggestion is dont take the male out of the tank. Instead net the female and remove her. disturbing the male will cause him to swallow the eggs.
Below is a picture of my male and a couple of his broods.

 

[Inchworm]

Day Four and not a good one. Following -Rob-'s instructions I wanted to move the B. albimarginata out of the breeding net and into a permanent tank so I could free up the trap for the male. Well, I have two 50 watt heaters and only one seems to be working now so I used it for the albimarginatas. Since I still had to find a place for the female, I put her into the trap for now. I was lucky and was able to get her without a chase that would upset the male.

Once I had her relocated she readily ate some blackworms. Then I saw the male make two lunges at the bottom of the net. It looked like he was trying to get the worms. Figuring that he must have swallowed the eggs, I put some in for him too but, while he hovered over them, I didn't see him eat any. Then he swam back to their usual spot.

Now I'm not sure if he still has the eggs or not. Just to be on the safe side, I'll continue on assuming he does until I know differently.

sounds good, with him spitting them out, is he still young?

I don't know their age, -Rob-. I bought them just as a pair, not as proven breeders. I've had them less than a month so if they are young, I might not even had time to notice any growth.

Leave a small amount of java moss in the tank. Dont put any almond leaves in the tank. Find some PVC pipe and add it into the tank. They like to hide in them, especially the male once he's holding. Feed them alot of live foods and they'll breed for you. My suggestion is dont take the male out of the tank. Instead net the female and remove her. disturbing the male will cause him to swallow the eggs.

Thanks for your advice, Thewild. I bought some of the indian almond leaves but couldn't make up my mind whether or not to use them. I was nervous about doing anything to alter the pH. Now I'm glad I didn't. I'm also glad I didn't put any corys in there either although I was planning to do it soon.

I don't have any PVC pipe but I do have some terra cotta tubes in some of my cory tanks. I'll move one over for them. I think they'll like it.

 

[Inchworm]

We are up to day 11 and I'm still not sure if he is holding eggs or not. He looks healthy but I haven's seen him eat a thing in all this time. Before the spawning he would readily eat the blackworms but now he lets them pass right over him to the ground. If he was holding eggs would his mouth appear fuller or would there be any other sign by now?

Meanwhile, the female is still in the net and eating well.

 

[Inchworm]

I gave the tank a good water change tonight and took the female out of the net. He is looking in great shape, but there has never been a sign of fry and I still have not seen him eat. I think he must be waiting until I'm not around. Since I have been giving them live blackworms, it's possible that he's been pulling them up from the gravel.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens in the future.