New to betta rearing :D

[Stla]

Currently i own a pair of bettas. I don't know their breeds though... Any advice to give for betta rearing?

[Stla]

The male was given by a friend and the female was bought from a fishshop in the market at Jurong.

[Unmarked]

Perhaps you could put some photos of them here?

What kind of set-up do you have them in? When I first started keeping bettas, a shop assistant at one of the lfs told me that bettas like small spaces and do not need to have a filter.

Looking back, that was terrible advice but unfortunately, by the time I realised, it was too late. That betta only lasted about 1.5 months before it died of dropsy. I was also given that betta by a friend and at that time, I didn't do any reading up and just took the shop assistant's word at face value.

[Stla]

I put them in a 2.5 gallon tank. Did some research on tank size, some say 2.5 is fine, but some say it is pretty cruel... But that is the only size i have now
Would post some pictures later. I need some help identifying the breeds though..

[Rutilans]

We'll help you ID if you post pics.or at least a description but will be hard
and if you need info post the question so we'll know what you're looking for

[Stla]

This is my female betta (sorry the image is abit large)
And this is my male

[Rutilans]

The male is a fancy delta and the female is a hybrid pplakat pls correct if I'm wrong

[Stla]

Ooh thank you but do you know the tail type?

some questions:
- Do bettas like bloodworms? How often can i feed bloodworms?
- What type of bloodworm is the safest? (Frozen, live or freezed dried)
- How often to clean the tank?
- My male built a bubble nest but when i siphon the water, his bubble nest sticks on the glass... What should i do?

[stormhawk]

Your male is not a typical delta-tail. It has a comb tail with hints of a crowntail gene and possibly Half Moon as well. The female is a fancy "plakat" female, which may not be compatible to your male.

Bettas will take bloodworms, but you should not overfeed them on this food item. You can feed them with FBW once a day, just enough to get their bellies fat. Do not overfeed or you will have an obese betta that may develop dropsy later on. There is no type of bloodworm that is the safest. You can opt for frozen or live, just make sure that the frozen ones are not too dark in color. You just need to suck out the poo at the bottom of the tank and change at least 25-50% of the water every week. This depends on the size of the tank your fish are in. Smaller tanks require more frequent water changes.

When the male creates his bubblenest, you should give it a half-cut plastic/foam cup and leave it in place with a piece of tape to act as a support for the bubblenest. If you do not intend to breed them, then this is no issue. The reason why the bubbles stick to the side of the glass is because they are basically created by the mucus of the fish. They stick to the sides of the tank like how soap suds stick to your bathroom walls, but will burst at one point or another.

[Stla]

Thanks for answering my questions really appreciated it.

Question:
- If i do breed my bettas, would the tail type differ or be dominant?
(not really sure about dominant traits and all)

[stormhawk]

Fancy Betta genetics can get complicated. For example, I bred a combtail dragon? female with coppery scales to a tricolor crowntail male. My spawn resulted in 2-3 veiltails and a bunch of crappy crowntails among other things. You need to select the trait you wish to breed for and hope the fry will show the traits you require. For example, breeding a CT male to a CT female will usually give you a good number of CT young. The colors on the other hand, are dependent on the parents' genes.

If you manage to breed the pair you have now, the young may show a mix of colors and the finnage may differ, depending on what genes the parents are carrying. You must also understand that some fishes may show a particular phenotype or trait, but end up producing fry that are vastly different. The generation right after, depending on the crosses made, will also be different.

[Stla]

What is the gender ratio most of the time? Females more or males more?

[stormhawk]

This one is rather random because I have no idea how the ratio usually works out. Sometimes you get more males sometimes more females, it depends.