Betta Coccina Breeding Tank

[Sylvan]

I gave in to temptation and picked up another tank to become a breeding tank. I've bought a Juwel Primo 60 as I really like my 110. The plan is to get it set up, cycled and then move a pair of the Betta Coccina in there. I'm anticipating it being up and running by the end of February/beginning of March.
The set up is going to be a sand base either black or a natural tan colour depending on what I can find. I have a lovely piece of bog wood which will be left bare, a fake set of log/tubes which will be covered in moss before going in and some bio orb branches as I want the branch look but without the problems of spider wood. I have a pair of Microsorum plants to go in and will probably get some more plants along with some Indian almond leaves.
I was hoping to make a proper start in getting it set up today but I forgot to get a substrate so tomorrow I will buying a substrate.

 

[Retired Viking]

Sounds interesting, would like to see pictures of your progress. I also would like to set up another tank and have several ideas but need to convince the wife

 

[seangee]

swell have the black sand back in stock

Swell Limpopo Black Sand

Authentic looking black aquarium sand Grains of around 1-2mm in size Pre washed and inert - won't affect your water pH

www.swelluk.com

 

[Sylvan]

There will be photos to follow soon. Hit an hiccup with where I wanted to put it. I put some water in just so I can double check the sealant and noticed straight away that it wasn't level so got the spirit level and proceeded to check whether it was the floor or the stand and it's the floor. So I've been moving furniture around and eventually found a suitable place. The house is in complete disarray but at least I've found a good spot. Got to have priorities

 

[Sylvan]

I haven't got any further on setting the tank up yet, it's going to be a job for Monday now. I have several non fish projects on the go and I got distracted by the one that should have been finished for Christmas and is still no where near completion.
I've decided to go for natural coloured sand in the end but thank you @seangee for the link as it will certainly be useful when I change the substrate out in one of my Betta tanks. I have a couple of bags of sand to wash and I picked up some more plants while I was at it.
I'm currently trying to decide if I have 3 females or 4 as I thought I saw a flash of a white ovipositor on Filter boy. He does have a shorter anal fin than Boss Man or Big Daddy but it's longer than the females apart from Solid Maybe. I wasn't 100% convinced on whether Solid Maybe was male or female until I saw her spawning.
The breeding pair plan at the moment is Big Daddy and Split Fin as Split Fin is the best of the females. Boss Man and Little Girl may be a future pairing but I'd like her to grow a bit more first.
I'm definitely converted onto wild Bettas, they're such interesting fish. My local maidenhead has a pair of Betta Channoides and a pair of Betta bellica in at the moment so we had a good chat the other day about Bettas and breeding them. I also walked away with the promise of free water lettuce once the tank is set up.

 

[Sylvan]

Started setting the tank up today. Decided not to use the Juwel filter that came with the tank as it's massive and I didn't like the look of it when I put it in so I'm trying a Fluval Mini Filter. If I don't like that when I turn it on then I have another one to try as well. There's going to be a black background and the right hand side is going to be covered as well.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

@seangee is doing is “Back in black” speech again.

The tank looks great! Keep up the good work!

(I’m just kidding sea bee, your tank looks, great Andy I have learned a lot from you. )

 

[Sylvan]

Went to feed this evening and it looks like the Bettas are getting ready for round 2 of spawning. Again it's Big Daddy building the nest and the one he's built so far seems much denser than his previous build. Had to drop a bit of food in much closer to him as he didn't want to leave the nest, doesn't look like there's anything in yet but he's guarding and quite happy to have room service.

 

[Sylvan]

I take that back, round 2 is occurring. Split Fin is spawning. I just hope he keeps hold of her, he dropped Solid Maybe half way through last time and she sank like a stone until she landed head first on the plant underneath.

 

[Sylvan]

If you look closely at the moss behind Big Daddy there's a little white speck on it (looks like there's 2 in the photos but that's the reflection off the tank side) and that is one little Betta egg. He missed a few from a couple of trips but he's been very good at collecting them back up including the one in the photo though that one did take him a minute.

 

[Retired Viking]

That is so cool, I would try and film it .

 

[Sylvan]

I would but occasionally when I trim one of the plants I leave a couple of cuttings behind to float and they're behind one of them so I can see a bit of movement in the reflection and then a frantic swim after dropped eggs.
It also turns out Filter Boy is actually Filter Girl and also ready to spawn so Big Daddy is not getting any sleep tonight. I'm hoping for his sake that Solid Maybe doesn't decide she's ready to go as well.

 

[Sylvan]

Background is on the breeding tank now and it's fully set up and running. I changed the filter again, the Fluval Mini created too much flow so I've got the Aqua Range Aqua 50 internal filter in there as it has a spray bar and I can control the flow rate much more easily. A new pot of Salvinia has gone in along with Tetra safe start so just going to let the Salvinia grow a bit yet. The difference between the 2 tanks in terms of light is amazing, I'd forgotten how bright the light is when it hasn't got a load of plants covering the surface. Once everything has settled down I will take some more photos.

 

[Sylvan]

Photo of the tank as it is now.

 

[Sylvan]

Breeding tank is now fully set up, I'm just waiting on the Salvinia to grow a bit more and cover the surface before I move a pair in there.
In the other tank the Bettas have spawned again, in 3 weeks Split Fin has spawned 3 times and produced eggs every time. None of the other females have spawned as much, 2 have spawned once and the smallest, Little Girl, hasn't spawned at all though I did see a brief flash of breeding colours directed at Boss Man who has built a nest for the first time.
Having had 3 spawnings it's given me a chance to observe them and it's definitely very interesting, to me at any rate. The nests Big Daddy has built have varied each time he's built one. The first nest was the largest and quite flat, Boss Man's first nest also looks like this. The second nest was smaller but looked more condensed. This third nest is the smallest but also looks the deepest and the strongest so far. This nest he's remained guarding much longer than the others. The first nest he had left by morning before rebuilding to spawn again in the evening (I'm including this nest within his first one as he's had to make duplicates each spawning and they are identical to the type of nest he builds for the first female). The second nest I put in a breeding net but he hung around for about 18 or so hours. This time he's been guarding for 24 hours now and isn't showing signs of leaving.
His main problem is the other females, Split Fin always spawns first and this seems to trigger them so they attempt to attack the nest. He is the chosen male, he's larger than Boss Man so appears to be the better choice.
What I'm also finding interesting is the colouring of the Bettas. Boss Man has a very clearly defined green spot on his side's whereas Big Daddy has more of a streak of iridescent green scales on his side. Split Fin also has the same streak but none of the other females have it at all, I can only assume it's a dominance pattern as she is the dominant and largest female. She's also more aggressive in her approach to breeding when they start displaying to each other, the other females are more submissive.