FishProfiles.com Message Forums

can some one tell me if the following bettas are woth bidding on aquabid for? i want to breed so concider how easy it is for me to find a suitable mate as well as if they will produce high quality offspring!

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1124992208

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1125037502

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1125055849

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1125084301

im pretty sure i want a red pair of half moons or crown tails show quality for breeding so if you see anything else let me know

edit

How do i get a betta like this?

http://www.inbs-club.com/album_page.php?pic_id=348

Last edited by african_man at 24-Aug-2005 06:37

#1 has a round edged caudal and uneven branching. Nice looking fish, but not traits you want in a show fish. Not a good breeder IMO.

#2 is nicer. Anal fin isn't too long, even 4 ray branching. Not 100% fussed about the colour or the edges of the fins, but it is a good starting point

#3 is not bad. Anal fin is longer than i'd like, but its a nice shape. Its an 8 ray by the looks of that tail, so that is always a good thing if you want HMs, always look for 8 ray splits in the caudal, 4 ray bare minimum. Again, not my favourite colour, but it is clean.

#4 The male is ok, a bit ragged in the anal fin, and a tad long, but not bad. The female has black edging on her scales and IMO is not the ideal mate for him. Her anal fin is very long and rounded at the end, something that you don't want in a showfish.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

To get the fish pictured on the InBS website, you need doubletail lines (for the voluminous dorsal) and HM lines (for the tail) and extended red (for the red covering the head).

I'd suggest contacting InBS, finding the breeder and getting prices on siblings or offspring


Now, Aquabid fish
CT that is currently in QLD, shown at EKKA
[link=http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettasct&1125072170]http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettasct&1125072170" style="COLOR: #990000[/link]
KCT (3 crossrays) Chilli Red.
[link=http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettasct&1125334202]http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettasct&1125334202" style="COLOR: #990000[/link]


For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

thanks for that!

its far more complicated than i thought!

few qns,

what colour do u prefer?

and in regards in particular to that QLD fish would he be too old to breed? i hear its best to get them quite young?

the other thing is i have experience in breeding african cichlids, is jumping to show bettas a big ask?

i know your based in syd, but do u know where i can go should i want to speak to real experts in melb that have quality stock on hand? most shops only stock VT and the occasional CT, but being reasonably inexperienced i wouldnt know what to look for and would probably buy duds

is there a difinitve guide in terms of what to look for?

thanks for your help thus far

Colour, well, red is a wonderful colour to choose as its a bugger to breed out (other colours get red wash, which is just the bane of the betta breeder's existance!)

"red" covers a wide range of things.

The ones you picked are mainly cambodian-base, which is that they have a washed-out body colour compared to the fins. Its not bad, but its not my favourite.

I prefer super red, or intense red. Greater depth of colour.

There is also extended red, which is like "red masked", which means the intense red colour goes over the head, instead of having the standard black face.

A red base also allows for you to dabble into metallics, including red/gold, platinum red, and metallic red. DO NOT start with metallics of you want matte fish, metallic is hard to breed out.



The show fish are almost always under 6 months, anything over that and the fins go bad (grow too long, droop, blow, etc) so he is breedable, but I'd do it in the next 3 months or so.
The importer can get you a more accurate age from the breeder.

Ideal age IMO would be 3-4 months.

I am petrified of cichlids, they are too much like 'grown up' fish for me, so I can't really say. I do know a lot of cichlid breeders that have made the jump though, so it can't be too bad
In actual fact, if you can devise a way to strip wild mouthbrooding bettas, you could be a hero Mine keep swallowing the silly things!
I started out breeding livebearers, so it can't be too hard


There are a few breeders/collectors in Melbourne.
PM and i'll get you their details One has one of THE MOST GORGEOUS doubletails in the country. 10/10 fish, won his class at Aquarama.
There is also a meet-up planned for the 3-7 of Sept, not sure what day. In the CBD most likely.

There are also a pair of melbourites flying up to Brissie to pick up a cargo-hold of fish from Aussiebettas, so you could ask them to bring you back your fishies

Definitive, yes and no, there are standards, available on www.ibcbettas.org > downloads > standards, and you can get the full standards handbook if you join up, but you are probably better off just joining an Aussie chapter.

There is room for interpretation within the standards, so you can certainly develop your own taste within that

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

if u are trying breeding for the first time, i would recomend, these bettas, always start small, so go with lfs and after u got it down cold, spend money on better bettas.

if anything i would go with number 4, i really dont like number 1, and the others could get expensive, if u buy 1 from some1 and 1 from another.

Last edited by bettachris at 24-Aug-2005 17:24