Plakat temperament

[Andie]

This is more for curiosity's sake than a hunt for any real solution, but after a week of watching my girls in their (freshly planted and, once again, divided) tank, everything I've been seeing has got me wondering, so I thought I'd ask.

I've heard from various sources that plakats on the whole tend to be a bit fiestier than other types of bettas, and, granting that that's true, I was wondering if any of the breeders out there can share their observations on whether they feel that temperamant in bettas can be inherited along with colour/tail types. If so, that might possibly be why my girls are so. Freaking. AGGRESSIVE.

Their mum was a HM, and while they're all exhibiting her tail tendencies, their temperaments seem to lean much more toward the PK side of things (their father was a PK). After watching them for this long, I've begun to think he might have passed some particularly ANGRY genes along to his daughters, because these girls hate each other so much it's even tiring them out to be in a divided tank. They actually approach the divider and try to fight through it several times a day, and though it makes me laugh to watch them trying to swat the thing over with their tails, it also makes me wonder at the odds of all four of them being so aggressive without the explanation of any genetic influence.

Any thoughts?

 

[splashluff]

I have no experience with spawning Plaks (or anything else ), but I definitely agree that fiestiness is inherited. A lot of breeders bring Plakats into their lines just to add some fiestiness to really docile Betta strains that aren't good breeders.

Also, and more importantly, I need pics of your girls!!!

 

[wuvmybetta]

I believe it all has to do with what age they're seperated, whether they're carded etc. But plakats are known for being more aggressive- but not so much to their siblings (again seperation time and carding comes into play here). In my experience the most aggro little brats I've ever met were the two CT spawns I've raised. Sheeesh, they were meaner to eachother than any spawn I've ever seen.

Also, color has lot to do with it,too. Some strains are just evil *cough mustard gas!* And red is known for being very aggro. It all just really depends. I hate to label plakats as the most aggressive when I've seen worse.

 

[Andie]

Thank you both very much- it's not an emergency or anything but I was very curious.

Wuv, I must confess I didn't know much about the temperament of coppers before I got these, so whether or not coppers are typically this nasty is a mystery to me I had heard that about reds, though . . . I wonder if there's something similar in the copper gene.

Splashluff- there are more pics in my 'sorority tank' thread, but here's a couple of the little ladies.

Galinda

Elphaba

Nessarose (future mother of the beebees) giving fishykisses

Sarima being shy



So yes- showing off time is over, at least until I figure out what the devil is wrong with my computer this time around, and upload the next batch of pics

 

[RandomWiktor]

I suppose part of the reason plakats may be more agressive is that they were also the primary type used for fighting. I don't know about you, but most betta fighting pages I've seen didn't involve HMs and CTs and the like. So, I would imagine that just as agression can be bred into other animals over generations - fighting dogs, war horses, etc. - it could also be bred into fish, even if the most recent breedings were never used in fights. I would also guess that a male with real tenacity, who is is always flaring and showing off his fins, would get selected to breed more readily than the quiet guy all clamped up in the corner where no one can see what a beauty he is. But of course, everyone is different; I just got my first plakat, and while I'm sure part of it is his being scared of his new environment, I've noticed that he is actually quite terrified of the VT/CT mix in the tank next to him, who has been acting VERY game for a brawl. My boy might just be a submissive. Heck, that's probably why he was in the pet store; the LFS I got him from routinely takes the rejects of breeders, and unlike the others for sale, he doesn't seem to have mishapen rays or anything particularly wrong with him. Something of a boxy head, so he's not the prettiest thing, but I suppose temperament might have been a factor as well.

 

[splashluff]

awww, pretty girls! ! I was interested, because I *might* be doing a similar cross ~ Plakat x Super Delta with HM geno... I hope they turn out that gorgeyous!

I love the grass in Sarima's tank! what is that?

 

[DaSauce89]

I think plakats are more agreesive.....that.....or synirrs babies are just flare machines >__> Ive never seen a betta flare like that b4............>__<

 

[newfishies]

my plakat girls from wuv beat up on each other pretty good when i first got them, but they have mellowed a lot since then!

 

[riogal_11]

wuv- I'll second that on the mustard gas being aggressive. My only poor little girl that can't go into the sorority tank is the mustard gas I got from you...... Evil does not even begin to describe her. As for my plakat, he doesn't seem aggressive at all, but that may be just b/c he hasn't had a chance to be. I'm sure he could kick a little butt if need me.

 

[Synirr]

I don't think that the aggression levels are directly related to things such as colour or tail type, but they are definitely indirectly related and inheritable. Think about it... all "domestic" Betta splendens were originally bred for fighting, but once tail types began to split off and separate lines were formed, it was the plakat that continued to be bred for aggression. That means that most lines of plakats, even ones bred for looks, have had less time for the aggression to fade out of their bloodlines than their fancy-finned relatives, and are therefore likely to be more fiesty. That's certainly the case with my little devils.

Breeders of fighters often select their fighters based on colour, so that's where the correlation with that comes into play. In one tradition a breeder will take one fish of each colour from their spawn and fight them against one-another... whichever colour wins is the one that will be kept and the others are culled.

Personally I've found that bettas have such different personalities that it's hard to stereotype one tail type or colour as being more aggro than others... I mean, I've heard that CTs are like devil spawn, but one of my CTs, Malachi, has never even flared. Not once. Valefor, a red DT plakat from Wuv, is also extremely laid back and doesn't flare much. On the other hand though, my plakat babes sure are evil... as is their mother, Mini

 

[Andie]

That makes a lot of sense, Synirr . . . I just get bowled over every time I see these girls battering the divider so many times each day (they're actually paired off right now, swatting at each other through the canvas) that I figured there had to be SOME reason for it!

Splashluff- the grass in Sarima's tank was just a plastic plant I found in WalMart. I loved the look of it, even though it was shorter than I had planned on purchasing- it's now in with my male, Fiyero, and he's tipped it over and enjoys hiding inside it to see if he can freak me out and make me think he's evaporated.

I'll try to get some pics of the girls in the updated tank- preferrably ones of them demonstrating just how nasty they have decided to be. It just all depends on my computer

 

[SRC]

All of my girls are aggressive..more so then the boys imo.

I have a Purple Mustard Gas (had 2 chocolate ones but they have died..they were aggressive as well) and I have 4 red's. They've all been in divided sections in full view of each other for a good 2 months. Every morning when I turn the office light on..it's like that movie "groundhog Day" ..because it starts all over again lol.

But I also have several male plakats and they are pretty mellow, then I have a couple that are very aggressive.

I just think it has to do with each individual fish. Some people are just cranky..same with fish lol.

 

[Andie]

I guess I had just expected there to be a balance of aggression, you know? I had expected one or two of them to be nasty, and the others to be a bit less so, but all of these girls seem to think everybody else had better get out of their way!

Fiyero is actually downright docile in comparison- a pretty face and not much else! (though he does make lovely bubblenests, Sarima is determined to make even prettier ones. Hers seem to last longer, too) I think the ladies would make pretty short work of him if I let them