Finally... Fries!

[Shi Xuan]

Another alternative for those endless trips for daphnia would be hatching bbs eggs if you haven't attempted it before. All you need is a big can of eggs stored in fridge & rigged with 2 hatcheries, provides sufficient food for your fry everyday.

[Emokidz]

I'll definitely do that when I get my own place. Don't think my parents will approve of a bubbling hatchery!
But I'll definitely set up a fish corner in my study once I get my own place. Haha. Few years from now.

[Shi Xuan]

Hopefully, you can get to have your "corner" soon. Perhaps patience is the key & I hope to see more of your exciting endeavors in wild betta species. Good luck!

[Mudskipper]

Corner? Bernard, I think you'll end up with a fish "room". Hahaha. But I don't think that's so bad, do you?

[Emokidz]

I would actually like that haha. Provided there's enough space, of course. But I would like to have it in my study room where I'll do my own work too. :P

[johannes]

Hi Bernard, you can actually freeze your own daphnia. You will get cleaner daphnias than buying Hikari frozen daphnias.
You can freeze them using empty bloodworm cubes, i think bro Mudskipper and 900801 has followed my method before and it works.
This way you can actually reduce your daphnia trips to once or twice a month depending on your usage.
If you are interested you can pm/sms/call me and i will teach you on how to do it.

[Emokidz]

Haha. Thanks Johannes. I'll try that when I come back from shanghai. Leaving for holiday tomorrow.

[Mudskipper]

Hope you had fun in Shanghai. Johannes' method works amazingly well!!! It has saved me many times...that's why he's my guru.

[Emokidz]

Haha! Yup, will definitely try freezing them - that is, if I dont get frozen first myself. Temperature here is about 4 degrees, worst with wind. Haha. Will be coming back before the new year.

[Emokidz]

Yup tried Johannes' method and it works like a charm. Have been using it for the past 2 weeks and my fish seem to love it. Haha!

[Emokidz]

The persephone F1s which you've all seen since fry here have all matured and have started spawning. After 5 unsuccessful spawns (egg eating and fungus), I decided to hatch the eggs artificilaly about a week ago after my F1 pair spanwed by removing the eggs from the breeding tank and placing them in a small plastic pet carrier, added 2 drops of malachite green to the water (about 3 cm high). Of the 30 eggs laid, 10 survived to become fry - the highest yield I've had since the F1s were spawned themselves. The F2s are presently growing them out in a tub full of infusoria.

The F1 pair spawned again yesterday and I've since removed the eggs. Hope there's about the same number who make it...

[darylets]

congrats on the spawn.. nice pics as well. Yeap its a pity that the hobby is growing smaller, hopefully it will pick up or else it may just die out =(

[Emokidz]

True that. The wild betta scene here is almost gone, with oby a handfull of people still keeping them. Of the few, not many focus on the same complexes too. So it makes exchanges all the more hard. Getting the fishes here is also inconvenient for most - probably why the scene has dimished so greatly.

[stormhawk]

What species of US eggs/fish are you keen on?

Hi there, I totally missed this post. I am keen on South American Annuals but lately, Aquabid is dead. I use to get eggs from Roger Brousseau but he doesn't seem to be active anymore.

Sorry for off-topic.
-------
On-topic: A friend of mine in Malaysia is trying to get wild bettas. Bernard, Johannes, do you guys know what is being kept locally? Aside from the ones already shown in the thread.

[Emokidz]

Yup, not all though, but you can refer to the thread under 'what wilds do you keep?'
Quite a wide range of complexes among various formers.

In addition, there are: pallifina, spilogena.

[stormhawk]

Spilotogena is present too? I bet the list must be extensive. I think next Aquarama I should ask him to come down, so he can visit the BCS booth.

[Emokidz]

More than half a year since their birth, paring up and seeing some of their brothers and sisters move out to a few other hobbyists, these are the F1s who have almost fully coloured up and become sexually mature.










Hopefully these F1s will continue the line and last for a long time to come.

[Mudskipper]

Very nice pics, Bernard. Keep it up!!

[Emokidz]

Thanks Kelvin!

@SX: yes, youre right. These are from muar. no difference in phenotypes which I can observe with the naked eye. The pelvic fins, though red now, will eventually turn dark blue-black when they get older.

[Shi Xuan]

Bernard, I have never seen the subtle green on the body that can be easily captured by a camera. They are usually drab brown from the photos I have seen so far. I think this should be the "Muar" type locality right? Is there any slight variations in comparison with the "Ayer Hitam" phenotypically, from what you observe?

I'm really looking forward to see tankfuls of Betta persephone this coming weekend!