Marble-based Black that Breeds True?

Since I have laid low on betta breeding over the past year, I lost most of my breeders and grow outs. However, I was left with three fish - one female and her two sons (one long-finned and a plakat/PK). The female is black. I only have a vague idea of what color the father is - a green marble HMPK. I'm not certain about that though. Because the female was able to breed successfully, then I assume she is not a Melano-based black. Eggs of Melano females do not successfully hatch - so they are effectively "infertile" in a sense (see the article The Different Types of Black for more information).

One shot of the female after spawning. Her color here suggests that it's a "Black Lace".

What's common to all three fish is that they are black. Of course, there is a fault of iridescence on the body and fins. The long-finned male started of as a black/red bicolor then changed to a butterfly pattern on the fins and marbling (white area) on the head, with no sign of red. The PK male, on the other hand, started as cellophane when it was juvenile but grew up to be solid black with no red as well. The color changes that these two fish underwent affirms that the black color is Marble-based (check this article to see how the Marble gene can change the fish's appearance). Since these fish don't show any red, they might also be carrying the Red Loss gene.

The long-finned son when he was a juvy. This fish looks like it will turn out to be a Bicolor.

The long-finned son now that he is older and has been bred.

When I crossed the Black PK male back to his mother, I wanted to get some doubletails (DT) back - whether as a DTPK or long-finned carrying PK. Given the broad dorsals of the male and his mother, there was a good chance. I did get one DT from the cross. It is black as well and still with iridescence like his father. Some siblings showed the same black color. Surprisingly, one sibling remained a Green/Red Bicolor. The number of blacks from this cross (backcross) gives a hint that the heredity of the color may be predicted accurately.

 

The Black DT.

Black siblings of the Black DT in the grow-out pond.

The Green/Red Bicolor sibling of the Black DT.

The black female was also crossed to a Copper HMPK and two Royal Blue SDs (there was a time I assumed that she is a PK). Due to the small spawn sizes, I decided to put the spawns together for efficiency. An unrelated spawn was also added to the grow out. From the mixed grow-out, I can see there are a few black fish. This hints that the black, like marble, can act in a semi-dominant manner. Most are iridescent colors and a few Marbles. (See here for more information on breeding marbles).

Black half-sibling. I think from the cross with the Royal Blue SD.

Non-Black half-sibling. Presumably from the cross with the Copper HMPK.

The next steps to check if the color does breed true is to do F2 crosses and also half-sibling crosses. The resulting offspring will provide more insight on this color. Will it breed true for another generation? Will it behave like marble - always changing color? Hopefully, I can get my hands on a Melano HMPK male and cross it to these Black fish. It will be interesting to see how this color interacts with the Melano gene. I wish that all goes well and I can write a sequel to this article.

UPDATE (Feb. 19, 2017): Pictures of other Blacks from the Black Marble SD x Black Marble SD (son x mother backcross) and Royal Blue SD x Black Marble SD (outcross).

Building a Betta Sorority Tank

It's been a long time (very, very, very long time) since I last posted. Only recently, I had the time again to get back into fish keeping. 99% of us don't have the whole day to spend for fish keeping. Time-saving, effort-reducing and productivity-increasing have become the rules of the game. Keeping in line with that, I decided to set up a betta sorority tank again. This was how I have always done it until I became very busy and had very few fish left.

So, what is a betta sorority tank? It is a tank of female bettas. Just google "betta sorority tank", "female betta community tank" and other similar keywords. You'll find article after article about setting one up. For this article, I just want something free-flowing. I'll simply list down my experiences and some points on how I do things.

Tank.
1. I don't use tall aquariums and I always choose horizontally-shaped tanks.
2. Gravel or no gravel, it doesn't really matter.
3. I make sure that there are many different hiding places for the females. These are places where they can retreat and rest between fights. Hiding places I've used are coconut shells, driftwood, pots, clay tiles and live plants. There are other things you can use.
4. I don't use any aeration or filtration for any of my tanks.

Number.
1. For me, the minimum number of females for a sorority is five (5). If it's less than that, keeping them separate is manageable too.
2. I allot 1-2 gallons per female.
3. I haven't read an article yet that says it's alright to add new females to the sorority but I have done so in the past. Yes, there is the fighting but I've seen it mellow down in a few days.

Tankmates. I've had placed different tankmates for my female bettas. These include corydoras, rainbow sharks, guppies, angelfish and even goldfish. The females get out of the way of the bigger fish and ignore the bottom feeders. They do show some aggression to the guppies. The long fins and colorful patterns remind them of other bettas. In my experience, this does some good - the female bettas get distracted and show less aggression to others of its kind.

On breeding. I have taken females out of the sorority to breed them and then put them back afterwards. There is not much fuss with the females. They do remember tankmates but there might be some nipping as a reminder. It is as long as the returning female is in good shape. If not, then she might not be fit enough for the tank.

Feeding. I feed my sorority tank as I would any other tank. I drop the food in two or three places (only one if I'm rushing). Leftovers are cleaned up by the bottom feeders and the snails in the tanks.

That's about it. I just wanted to share. I hope you can find this useful in addition to whatever else you've read in your research.

Happy Fish Keeping!

Working on Symmetrical Bettas

Well, I'm thinking of working on the three unpaired fins of bettas: dorsal, caudal and anal fin. In my plans, I have two of the three fins down. The sailfin trait for the dorsal and the rosetail for the caudal. Now, I'm thinking of working of the anal fin. Thus, breeding for the symmetrical trait will deal with the anal fin.

Here are some links about symmetrical betta.

The Plakat Trilogy

Proposal for Adjustment of the IBC Plakat Standards

I see some work in progress in the anal fins in a handful of my bettas. They show a more rectangular anal fin than a trapezoidal of a typical asymmetrical betta. 

Here are some pictures:

Here is the most prime example of the anal fin I'm looking for. This has the rectangular shape. The outline is smooth from the front part of the anal fin to the back. Aside from the anal, this has the dorsal and D-caudal to boot.

These two have rectangular anal fins. However, as you can see, the anal fin is not as smooth from the front to the back. This hints that the rear part of the anal fin will extend in the future...leading to an asymmetrical form. The extreme branching of the Copper Red Rosetail HMPK causes the anal fin to wrinkle and further make the outline more bumpy.

With more work, I will try to bring the form close to the first fish.

UPDATE (10/26/2013)
I got several new breeders from a friend. These fish are gonna be symmetrical!!! I'm excited to breed them!!! Then, breed them with my fish!!!!

Moreover, I am planning to breed the Platinum male to the DTPK daughter of the solid Copper male. If I'm lucky, he'll produce more symmetrical fish for me.

My way of verifying sex in angelfish

Here are my steps:

1. I keep males and female seperate...these are the ones that I am definitely, absolutely sure
2. I get two unsexed breeder sized angels
3. I place the two unsexed breeders and one sure sexed breeder
4. I wait and observe for a few days

Normally, the sure sexed breeder will nip at the unsexed breeder that is the same sex. Sometimes, the two unsexed breeders nip at each other which means they are the same sex and want to pair up with the sure sexed breeder.
If they all fight, try changing the sure sexed breeder with a sure sexed breeder of the opposite sex.

Here is a sample. The gold in the middle is the mature female. The platinum at the right side (near the female) is a male. The fish at the left, hiding behind the slate is a female. The mature female chased her away because she wants the male for herself.

EESDA Guppy Breeding

Guppies are live-bearing fish and are one of the easiest fish to breed. Because of their ease, their population can easily boom. Here are just the methods I use in breeding my guppies. Males and females are easily told apart. Males are more colorful. They also have smaller bodies and bigger fins. The females have bigger bodies, shorter fins and duller than the males. The females also have a more rounded body compared to the males.

1. Prepare a trio or a quad of guppy breeders. Male to female ratio is 1:2 or 1:3. Just place them in a tank with plants for fry's hiding places. Take care of them as you would as other fish and wait for them to give birth. Female guppies can give birth 6 times using the sperm from one mating.

2. When the fry are born, I do not remove them unless they are being eaten. If plant cover is sufficient, eating will not be a problem. I give the fry baby brine shrimp at first but they are also big enough to be given daphnia.

3. When I can discern the males from the females, I remove only a handful of females (6-10pcs). You can also choose to remove all of them but it is not necessary. This is important to keep them virgin so they will be flexible for future use because you know which male mated with them. You can identify females by the black spot at the back of their bellies. The pointed anal fin of the male (or the gonopodium) is not yet developed so anal fin shape will not be an effective tool.

4. Raise the main spawn group and selected females separately. When they reach about half an inch long, adult food can be given. No need to crush the food. The water will soften those up for the fry.

5. When you see your potential breeders, separate them and prepare for another generation.

The challenge with guppies is that they can easily boom. So be prepared with what to do with your excess fish. Well, you can sell them if you have enough space to raise a lot of fry to sell. If not, you can also opt to use them as feeders to carnivorous fish or turtles.

UPDATE (11/04/2013)
Here are some tips!

1. Choose a fry tank that is not too wide. Position it so you that you face the "short breadth" of the tank.
2. When your guppies give birth, catch all fry and move them to the fry tank. Grow them out together.
3. Every time you feed look for males. Catch them and transfer them to another tank. I put my juvenile males along with the adult males in the community tank.
4. You can now choose your potential breeders!

Good luck on your guppy breeding!

EESDA Betta Breeding

To start off, I think I should identify with sexing bettas. Some might think that plakat (short fin) males are females. To prevent you from putting two males together and end up with massacre, I am going to give some tips to identify if your "female" is really a she.
1. ovipositor: this is a small salt-looking organ behind her belly, before the anal fin. Be warned though because some chubby males have a similar looking thing on some occasions.
2. triangular belly: the belly of a female is more of a triangular swelling compared to a stuffed male's round belly. Looking from above, the female is wider and still has a triangular outline. If you look at a male from above, the belly is circular and round while the rest of the body is streamlined.
3. generally short fins: female bettas have short fins, even shorter than plakat males. However, I have seen long-finned females lately.


Now, here are simple steps I do to breed my bettas:

1. Prepare a barebottomed 2.5gal tank*. Place a few live plants and a piece of styrofoam for a bubblenest anchor.

*I have spawned in bigger tanks (10gal+) and with a fine substrate but not quite as fine as sand.

Here are more common set-ups.

2. Add the conditioned male and female. Some would use a chimney to separate the pair first but I have long stopped using those. Just let them be together.

3. Wait. Check the pair occasionally to make sure that none get too hurt. Although the wife-beating is part of betta love, there is a point where a female betta is too abused. The breeder must use his personal discretion.

4. After 2 days to a week, the bettas would have spawned already. The spawning process involves the female approaching the male's bubblenest in a bowing, submissive way. The male tries to flip the female and wrap his body around her. The female will release her eggs and the male will fertilize them.
At this point, you will have eggs. Betta eggs look like small pieces of salt hanging on the bubblenest. Remove the female. The male will kill her if you don't. Trust me. I tried.

5. Wait. After 24-48 hours, the eggs would have hatched and you will have fry hanging vertically. Just let them be. Wait again.

6. 2-3 days from hatching, the fry will be free swimming. You can remove the male at this point or opt to keep him with the fry as this method in these links:
http://www.bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=809
http://www.bettysplendens.com/articles/page.imp?articleid=839

7. If you opt to remove the male, use a coarse net to avoid taking any fry. When you catch the male, do not remove him immediately. Just dangle the net in the spawning tank for around 10 minutes. This will allow the male to spit out any fry in his mouth.


So there you have it. Betta breeding is easy. It might be tricky at the start but when you get the hang of it, it will be a breeze. Good luck on your spawns!

UPDATE (11/04/2013):
What I forgot to add in this post are tips!

1. Aggressive breeder = more volume, example: add water to a half-filled tank
2. "Too Battered" breeder = depends on you...if you think they will spawn, add more water; but if you think otherwise, scratch the pair
3. "Not Aggressive Enough" breeder = less volume, example: drain water to half level
4. Short-finned male = more volume
5. Long-finned male = less volume
6. Female is larger than male = more volume
7. Male is much larger than female = more volume
8. No bubblenest = normally, I let the pair be...this type of male builds a small one after he squeezes the female; but other times, I scratch the pair
9. Female is not moving anymore = separate the female, out of other fish's sight...if she swims fine/properly/upright, put her back in; but if she doesn't, scratch the pair
10. Judgement and gut feel and intuition = breeders develop some kind of instinct as they breed more fish; trust your self!

EESDA Angelfish Breeding

Before we start, we should identify a male and a female scalare.
Most would buy around 6 juveniles [or even more] and let them pair off at maturity. This is a viable strategy and you will surely end up with a pair. However, I have had an experience where two females paired. I found out eventually because both laid eggs. On the other hand, if you are like me, I choose adults and hope they are the sex I think they are. I also choose from sub-adults of my grow-outs to sort them. Most of the time, I am correct at my guesses but it is not a perfect science.
I use this webpage as my guide: http://fish-info000.blogspot.com/2011/05/difference-between-male-and-female.html The sketch is really helpful.

But here are the criteria I have for male and female scalare. I ranked it to from the most reliable to the least reliable but still usable.
Male:
1. a pointed and thin tube near the anal fin
2. round body
3. hump on the forehead
4. splits on the ventrals
Female:
1. broad tube near the anal fin
2. "diamond" or box-ish body
3. round belly especially obvious at the front view
4. smooth ventrals


Here are the steps in breeding my angelfish (scalare):

1. Clean a tank. I use a 18" x 18" x 12" tank without aeration or anything. It has a bare bottom too.

2. Place 2 clay slates inside. One on the left and one on the right.

3. Place breeders. I keep my males and females separate. I just put them together when breeding.

4. Wait for them to lay eggs.

5. [The pair has laid eggs] Wait for eggs to hatch

6. When the eggs hatch, remove the parents.

7. Slide the slate some more to make it less steep. Put something to prevent it from sliding all the way flat.

8. Wait for the fry to go free swimming (around 5 days from hatching).

9. When fry are free swimming, feed with baby brine shrimp twice or even thrice daily.

10. As the fry grow, increase water level until full. Once full, do 50% water change once/twice a week.


Perhaps, the challenge with scalare are first time parents. Because of their inexperience, they might not fan the eggs enough and some are stressed so much that they eat the eggs. But, there are still times where first time parents are fantastic and successful. There is not really much we can do with first time parents. That just what they are, first timers. All we can do is be patient and give them another chance until they get it right.

Pictures:

This is the reason for the two slates. The slate on the left is where the eggs were laid. The parents are transferring the newly hatched fry to the slate on the right.

This is a sample of the slate. I lower the water level too. This makes the fry more confident to explore the tank and also make it easier for them to find food. 

These are the fry attached to the slate.

And if you want to find out what your breeders will produce, you can try this genetic calculator. It gives you the possible results and also the percentage of those possible results will pop out. It is really helpful when you're aiming for some purebred line.

Raising Mixed Spawns

Having many fry and few tanks is a problem especially if the fry are not yet at the point where one can choose the best and cull the rest nor is it at the point where they can be sold or given away. Or maybe one just wants to make space for other fish and fry. One may resort to raising mixed spawns. It can be one of four cases:
Case 1. Same species, same strain just the different birth dates and/or parents
Case 2. Same species, different strains
Case 3. Different species
Case 4. Combinations of the other three cases.


Here are some tips and considerations:
Case 1. There is little to no chance of differentiating. Size is a clue but not always because there can be runts and shooters in the spawns thus obscuring any size differentiation. However, for genetics sake, keeping fry of the same parents together is recommended.

Bad Luck From The Survivors

A while back, I had difficulty raising my spawns. Thus, I end up with only one or two fry only. It is fairly recent (during the summer when it was not rainy yet) that I was able to increase the size of spawns.

Why "Bad Luck From The Survivors"? In bad conditions, there will only be less than a handful of fish or fry left. There is little chance that you can find a suitable pair especially with obviously one or two survivors. Also, the spawn could be huge but with a strike of bad luck, they are all males or all females. Although, this second incredibly unlucky scenario has a small chance of occurring but it still happens. Then, the continuation of the line is now a problem for the breeder.