Betta uberis

[Emokidz]

Just an update:

Fry are all doing well and have left the nest. The parents don't seem to bother them either, so I'll just leave them with the parents so as not to move or stress anything out.

Here are some pictures of the parents. Enjoy!


Really like this one. The couple flaring.


Dad...



Mom...


And of course, junior!


And here's the tank set up.

[kenny]

Nice pics Bernard

they still maintain that colour and flare to each other after the eggs are laid?

Wrt the infusoria, I was thinkin whether the were in the tank already and the addition of liquifry supplemented their growth, or liquifry contains them in the dormant state?
Has the parents been in the tank for a long time or was the breeding tank specially set up for spawning?

Paisei if I asked too much hahah...
Realised that these are somethings I didn't think of in the past

[Emokidz]

Yup they are coloured up like this even with the fry. My guess is that they may spawn again. Liquifry supplements the diet for industrial which was already in the tank. Not sure how they got there too haha. Ive had the pair for a few months and have been conditioning them and all. They only spawned recently in this new set up. My guess is because the tank space was smaller.

[kenny]

wow hope they really spawn again !

won't have any problems with the current batch of fry in the same tank ?

[Emokidz]

Nope! Surprisingly not. Just like the persephones which grew up alongside their parents. It's not uncommon to have a tank of fry at various stages in growth living in harmony. The parents will stop spawning once fry are old enough to show colour though. The fry must then be removed.

[kenny]

Saw your thread on the persephones and seems like they are similar ya. Can hold a batches of fry in the same tank before they stop spawning.

Was that 2 spawnings in a 1 ft tank?

[Emokidz]

Yup the 2 spawnings were in the same tank and the parents never bothered the fry. Do note that Fish may differ among individuals though. And what works for me may not necessarily work for everyone. For example, my channoides ate their young the first time round, so I separated the male from his brood after releasing for subsequent broods. Others have never had the problem of predation though. And some others can never get their males to brood beyond 3 days if the males insist on swallowing. Hence, you really have to be patient and observe your fish. The first spawn may not be successful, and could be so for various reasons - new pair doesnt wrap well and eggs are infertile, female eats the eggs, male eats the eggs, bubble nest disturbed etc. but I guess that's what makes the hobby fun.

[Emokidz]

A little update, they uberis fry are doing well growing alongside their parents (who seem to pay no attention to them). The parents just spawned again this morning and the nest is full of eggs again. Will continue to monitor it and update. But given the parent's previous spawn, there shouldn't be an issue of egg-eating/infertile eggs.

[kenny]

They must be really happy in there

[Emokidz]

A little update, they uberis fry are doing well growing alongside their parents (who seem to pay no attention to them). The parents just spawned again this morning and the nest is full of eggs again. Will continue to monitor it and update. But given the parent's previous spawn, there shouldn't be an issue of egg-eating/infertile eggs.

Guess I was wrong! All the eggs from the second batch fungussed. Haha! Probably due to improper wrapping or my water parameters. Not too sure, but since both my persephone and uberis share the same water sources and had the problem of fungussed eggs, it could be possible that the chemistry wasn't right the second time round. Can't remember exactly the original parameters.

[johannes]

Infusoria usually exists in matured tank. You have the option to not use Liquifry, which i usually did so. The amount of infusoria in the tank would be sufficient for the fry until they take daphnia.

Looking at those pictures really make me miss my wild betta keeping days...

[Emokidz]

Thanks! Yup, there is a certain beauty about wild betta. Their character/ behaviour and looks are fascinating. Come back to the wild side!

[Emokidz]

Some updates on the fry. There are about 25 of them or more swimming alongside their parents. The fry have started colouring up (red) and some have started showing some irrids.

Some pictures (not too clear though.. due to ketapang water + shaky hands). Enjoy:

[Emokidz]

Just moved the young ones over to a grow out tank with some 10+ channoides fry. After transferring 30 uberis fry over, there are still about 7 other fry that I can't seem to catch without stirring up the tank. Guess I'll leave them with the parents for a while longer. That brings the total spawn up to 35+ fry!!

Hope they will grow out nicely and stay well... More updates and pictures to come!

[johannes]

Nice update bro!
However, after looking at your fries and parents picture again, i may think that they are B. burdigala instead... (may...)
They look different from the Betta uberis that i used to have many years back. Betta uberis tends to have dark red body with a striking green spot but minus the green irids on the flank and fins. There are some patterning on the unpaired funs but not in the form of irids. Let me dig up some old pics... hahaa

[Emokidz]

Haha. Thanks Johannes. This pair was from Hermanus and I've kept them by themselves all this while. Perhaps there are variations within the phenotypes of Betta uberis. The male does have a blue lateral spot though.[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Bernard/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.png[/IMG]

[stormhawk]

Bernard, the photo not showing.

Were the fry fed on a mix of Moina and BBS? They're looking awesome.

[Emokidz]

Hi Jianyang, thanks! You're right, they were fed on live bbs, daphnia, tubifex, frozen foods and flakes. Eating well and starting to colour up. Hmm yea the picture isn't showing. It's one of those from the start of this thread with the distinct turqoise lateral spot.

[stormhawk]

Flakes? I could never get my Bettas to take flake, even the fancy ones. They'd take a nibble then spit it out..

On a side note, with Liquifry No.1 for egglayers, make sure you "dissolve" it in a cup of water before usage, otherwise it just stays in a lump and fouls up the water faster. The use of a little bit of crushed egg yolk is basically the same effect, which I believe is what makes up the Liquifry mix.

[Emokidz]

Yup. They take Hikari micropellets, first bites and crushed tetrabits. I feed them mostly with live and frozen foods though. The juveniles have coloured up and grown a little bigger. About 1.5cm on average now. Here are some pictures:

The fries have grown up and look mostly like this


The more dominant males are slightly larger, have brighter colours, and started displaying the 2 gold bars on their operculum and white tips on their pelvic fins


A possible female


Part of the family



Will update again once they grow up!