Betta Beauties

Hello all! I just wanted to share some photos of the betta pair I got for Christmas. I know I haven't been on in a while - life is insane right now! But I just couldn't wait anymore to share these two with everyone.

Sorry for the ugliness of their tanks - they aren't finished yet. I'm still deciding on a substrate. I did order the rest of their plants today, so there is that, at least. I'm planning to go full blackwater with them, and aside from their java ferns and moss, they will be getting floating plants only for the rest. I need to find them some wood as well so I can put their rock decor in such a way that it looks more real.


Anyway I got these two from a US breeder on Ebay and I have to say, they are just the cutest things ever (the female in particular). Though I can't seem to get them to eat flakes... picky little buggers LOL. They like sinking food.

 

They are really adorable! The female reminds of a panda! What are their names? They are really gorgeous.

 

Haha I know, that was the first thing I thought when I saw her picture.

They don't have names yet. I haven't officially decided if I'm going to breed them or just keep them as pets. The female in particular is a real ham (she begs for food SO bad whenever I come near the tank). She also has something weird going on with her dorsal fin that I can't tell whether it's a deformity or an old injury that tore her fin down to the base, where it won't grow back.

 

Are you open to name suggestions? They would make such pretty babies if they bred! But I understand not wanting to breed her if she might have a deformity, maybe ask the seller? That's funny she likes food so much, reminds of Po(King Fu Panda). They're so cute when they beg. They looks like the perfect pair with the male looking a bit more "cool" and the female more so "adorable!". KimchI could be a cute name for her. She honestly is one of the cuter bettas I've seen, I'd be tempted to buy on of their fry!

 

If her fin is a deformity, it's a minor one and it would be weird to see it in the offspring (it's like a missing chunk in the middle of her dorsal - looks more like she got a bad tear in the sorority tank). But before I even consider it, I need to make sure the male won't kill her like all of my others have. He hasn't built a nest yet and their tanks are next to each other, though I've noticed that male "Koi" bettas seem to have that problem. The only one I've ever had that built a nest was a plakat, all of the others haven't bothered with it.

 

They are real cuties, especially the girl. I hope they do have pretty babies.

 

Wow that'll be some awesome koi fry genes and colors mixing with that batch if you did decide to breed them . Good luck

 

I noticed you don't have any gravel in with them and looks like

 

I noticed you don't have any gravel in with them is there a reason for that? Also looks like a lot of algae is growing all over your tanks do they eat it?

 

They said they haven't decided on the substrate yet, so that's probably why they don't have gravel. Bettas don't usually eat algae(even if they did it would probably just be a little taste test).

 

They are getting nerite snails to eat the brown diatoms. Its ugly but not especially harmful or problematic. I am also adding fast growing plants to each tank which will help. My fishroom gets a fair amount of sun so most of my tanks have algae to some degree. Make a a nice food source for the snails I like to keep with them.

As for substrate, I'm not using gravel, I know that much. I just haven't decided what I will have, so I haven't put anything in yet. I have some playsand I can use if it comes down to the wire.

 

Nice bettas! I thought the female was the male for a second!

 

Well they are about the same amount of fat... lol