Fish and Aquarium

Betta Splenden disease

2016-04-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Betta splenden is very sensitive on quality of water in where they live. They like clean water and will look unhappy with pale color when the water is turbid, the fish will look lazy and less motion. Good quality of water is the key of success to keep them health and longer life.

Bad quality of water and high organic chemical level where many parachite and virus live will risk betta with many disease. It could be caused by food remnant especially if feeding them with pellet and marked by bad smell of water.The source of parachite and virus also could come from unclean food, so ensure the worm or mosquito larva are clean before feeding them with these foods.

The common disease attack betta is the white spot at the spins and Dropsy = "big hard belly". White spot will attack the fin then grow to over the body, it caused by Ichtyophthirius multifillis bacterial attack and this disease can be ended with death of betta splenden. Dropsy or big hard belly is also marked by erected scales of the betta, this disease could be caused by virus or aeromonas bacterial or Hexamita parachite.Betta will stop eating and the same as white spot this disease it can bring betta ended with death.

White spot disease can be recovered by adding antibacterial salt such as Bliz Id with dosage of 4 cc/L/day or other antibacterial as per recommended dosage like Fismate or Root stop.

Dropsy disease could be recovered by taking betta splenden out the contaminated water and put in clean water with some drops of antibacterial. If this method shows no progress then change the method by add the food with Oxytetracycline atau Chloramphenicol dosage of 0.05 mg/g of betta splenden weight for about 8 to 10 days.

Instead of putting the fish with risk of death by the disease it is better to think about to keep the good quality of the water, right? Change the water regularly before it turbid and spread bad smell and don't totally change the water in one time, it surprise betta! Just replace a half of water in the container with the fresh water.

Agressive fishes for your freshwater aquarium

2016-02-24T23:44:00.000-08:00

When you create a picture of an aquarium in your mind, most likely it will be tranquil and serene. After all, most aquarium enthusiasts maintain an aquarium precisely to have a beautiful and inspirational bit of nature indoors– a source of passive beauty. This of course is accomplished by having a mix of fish that are compatible with each other. If you have a freshwater aquarium you must be versed in the temperament of aggressive freshwater fish species in order to keep the peace.

Before we look at the most common species known for their harsh temperament, it must be prefaced with the following. All fish will be aggressive and all fish will be passive. This may sound like a contradictory statement, but it is essentially a law of nature. Until one starts keeping great white sharks in a home aquarium, every species that you will have in your aquarium will be both a predator and prey of other species in nature. Yes, even your plant eaters prey on plants! Being aware of this natural occurrence will help you in avoiding Wild West style saloon fights, „fish-style.”

Now, who are the toughest of the tough… the meanest of the mean in aquarium freshwater fish?

Red Bellied Piranha

When it comes to aggressive freshwater fish, you cannot get more aggressive than the red belly piranha. They can make for great aquarium fish when kept with others of their own kind. They are large, growing as big as 12 inches and will eat fish smaller than them, so contemplating an introduction of red belly piranha into a cross-species tank would be a mistake.

Siamese Fighting Fish

This is the species most commonly labeled as an aggressive freshwater fish. This reputation is well deserved, but it should be tempered slightly. First, male Siamese fighting fish, or Betta fish as they are also known, are very aggressive. If two males are placed in the same tank they will fight to the death. This is how they establish mating and feeding territories in nature. Obviously, you would want to avoid this situation. Female Betta fish do not display this behavior and can live communally.

Male Bettas could be placed in a tank inhabited by other species, but even here caution should be taken. If your other fish display long wavy appendages similar to a Betta or if the tank is crowded, fights could break out which can be deadly for other less aggressive species.

Angelfish

Do not let their common name fool you. These cichilds can be as aggressive as they are beautiful. They can coexist in a tank with tetras fairly well, as the tetra is rather docile with the angelfish and the angelfish’s mouth does accommodate a tetra to well for biting or killing purposes. Guppies, however, do not generally mix well with angelfish. The guppy has a tendency to nip at the angelfish’s extended fins and due to their small size, often resulting in seriously injured or dead guppies by the mouth of an angelfish.

A good rule of thumb with angelfish is to avoid placing them with smaller species. When new fish are introduced into an aquarium environment with angelfish present, it is best to do so after feeding time and preferably under low-light or dark conditions.

Paradise Fish

Males of this species can be aggressive, but tend to temper their aggression once a hierarchy has been established within the aquarium population. Females will not display aggressiveness.

As was stated at the beginning all fish can be aggressive and all can be passive. It is just a matter of you, the aquarium keeper, being aware of each specific fish species’ temperament before blindly adding a new member to your tank.

Always keep in mind that your fish selection should not be based entirely on how beautiful a fish looks. Never abandon the temperament and aggressiveness comparability factor. As long as you do this, even the so called aggressive freshwater fish can be beautiful additions to your aquarium.

Siamsese fighting fish breeding

2016-02-24T23:19:00.001-08:00

Before betta breeding it is important to under stand the basics. In the world of betta splendens, the males are the ones who will look after the eggs and young. The males do this by building a nest out of bubbles. His spit is on the bubbles which acts like a dis-infecting agent. The females only job is to lay the eggs.

Step 1: Conditioning

You must first condition both of the breeders. 2 weeks is the suggested time frame because you need to feed the female a lot of highly fat and protein rich foods. The male needs a lot of food in those 2 weeks because he should not eat while he is in the breeding tank and will not eat when he is with the fry. Worms are a good food for conditioning bettas. Feeding the bettas worms 2 times a day is a good feeding plan. Do not let the male and female see each other until the week before adding them both in the breeding tanks.

Step 2: Tank set up

A bare tank is a must. You need a bare bottom because the eggs are very small and will fall constantly so gravel will just make the eggs get stuck, rot and fowl the tank. It is a good idea to keep the sponge filter on the opposite side of the tank and not even have it running until the male is out. Adding live plants around the tank will add protection and food for the fry, also helps clean the water. For the nest you can either go in three directions. One is to add a half cut sytrofoam cup in the tank and tape it to one of the sides. The male will usually build the nest under this. Another way to go is use a lot of floating plants like ricca to get the male to build under there. The other way to go is to just let the male build a bubble nest anywhere. The best way to go is with the stryofoam cup. A heater is a good idea and should be placed at the other end of the tank. Keep the tank covered, it is very important to keep the atmosphere temp the same as the water as the baby fish don’t have have their labrith organ ready yet and cold air can kill them. So a book or a hood provides good coverage. Always allow the water in the breeding tank sit for a day or two like you would for any fish tank. A good temp is 85*F as bettas naturally come from a warm environment.

Step 3: Adding the bettas

It is a good idea to add the female in her bowl first,allow her the time to get use to the surroundings. Next you can add the male into the main section of the breding tank. He should see the female and within hours he should be a usual male betta and start flaring. By allowing the female to be comfy she should respond with confidence and not be scared. The male should soon start to build a nest. During this time it is important not to bother them. Keep the noise down and the surrounding light dim.

Step 4: First signs

Within a day you should see progress. The male should have a few bubbles in the nest site, and the female should be vertically barred up and dancing. If you see her scared and at the bottom with horizontal stripes, she isn’t ready but give it time. If these signs persist they probably wont breed. A common mistake is releasing the female to early. This not only endangers her life, but makes the breeding process go slower. There is no need to release her when the following signs aren’t present. When the female is attacked by the male to early, she will have fear stripes and breeding slows down. For the female signs, she should be confident and rich in color and have vertical stripes. This will only make the male work harder to get the nest done. Just allow her to stay in the bowl for awhile longer until the nest is done.

Step 5: Additional Signs

When the male has the nest the way he likes it, he will change is approach. He will stop trying to bite her every time, and instead almost do a dance trying to lure her to the nest. If you see the male doing this „dance”, you should also see the female acting in a similar way swimming and dancing. Now you can release her. The female will sometimes go under the nest, because she is ready and the male may not understand this(especially younger males, thats why it best to start out with older males) The male may attack her and the female will usually either, swim away and try again later, or she will stick around and if she is really ready, than she will swim head down, clamped fins, and in a „S” pattern. This is a good sign. Now sometimes before this, the male may attack her and keep going after her, if this happens it is a good idea to put her back into the bowl before she gets really hurt. If she is swimming in that pattern, the male should understand this sign. Usually he will continue building the nest and in a perfect world the female will push the male and they will wrap under the nest. Sometimes the male could be too involved with his nest and the female can get bored and leave or attack the male.

Step 6: The actual spawning

The male and female will embrace under the nesting area. They will either stay at the top or fall to the bottom. The wrapping it self maybe unsuccessful at first. Many bad wraps can happen before the male and female get it right and eggs fall. If it is successful, you will see the male and female be stunned for a few seconds. Don’t worry this is normal and they will soon get back to normal. The male is usually the first to recover and he will usually go down and get the eggs using his mouth. The female will usually help pick up the eggs. At some point the male and female will get the eggs and release them into the bubbles. The whole process can last anywhere from 1 to 7 hours. After they are finished, the male will take care of the eggs and chase the female away. At this point it is a must to remove her. The male is now left with the responsibility to pick up the eggs when they fall.

This will take you through the breeding process. However, the after care of the Bettas are just as important as the breeding itself.

Betta splenden care tips

2016-02-24T23:17:00.000-08:00

Betta fish care includes all about caring for your Betta fish from buying and safely transporting them to breeding them. Although Betta fish may appear to act strangely when compared to other aquarium fish, you must remember that Bettas are not like any other aquarium fish at all. Believe it or not, as your Betta gets to know you, and especially as he comes to know you as his caretaker, he may do a little happy dance or wag his tail as you approach his bowl. And they’re not always begging for food often, they just want your attention. Some Bettas have been known to stick their heads out of the water for a little pat. If you do touch your Betta, be careful not to disturb the slime coat. It’s there to protect the fish from infections and disease.

One of the main keys to Betta fish care is feeding it properly. If you feed your Betta fish the wrong food you are going to end up with sick Betta fish. You can feed your Betta fish with Betta fish specific food pallet but it is preferable to instead use live and frozen foods. Betta fish are carnivorous and feed on a diet of Zooplankton and water bound insect larvae and mosquito larvae when they are in the wild. When Betta fish are raised in captivity this diet is replaced with bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia. Make sure to include these three foods as the basis of your Betta fish diet.

The main thing that’s so great about Betta is how smart, aware of what’s going on, and affectionate they are. Their enthusiasm is what makes Bettas so amazing. Unlike the stereotype of dumb fish, Bettas possess strong and unique personalities. Some are super mellow, while others will flare at anything they see. They even have unique ways of flaring too.

The next step in Betta fish care is to avoid putting two males together! That’s the surest way to prevent them from fighting. If you wish to introduce a female to the environment, do not hurry. Start by putting the female into a tank and placing it next to the male’s tank. Let the male get accustomed of seeing her for a week or so. Then place her to the male environment. If you notice any signs of aggression, remove the female and begin the process of familiarization again until the male finally accepts the female. Sometimes, for no reason that we understand, a male will reject one female yet accept another. Try switching females if you continue to have a problem.

So, you can make your Betta the happiest, safest, healthiest, most cared-for and indeed the most spoiled little fish in the world by following the simple tips mentioned above.

Beautiful world of aquascaping

2016-02-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

When it comes to pimping out a fish tank, a novice might purchase a bag of brightly colored gravel and a few plastic ornaments.

For Dan Crawford, a founding member of the UK Aquatic Plant Society (UKAPS), that simply will not do.

He and a growing number of "aquascapers" are creating underwater marvels that require knowledge of biology and design—not merely kitsch fish trinkets.

Using rocks, wood, fern-like plants, special lighting, and plenty of creativity, they are dreaming up seascapes that would leave Poseidon in awe.

It's relaxing, it's artistic, it's scientific and when done correctly it creates a piece of living art
Dan Crawford, founding member of the UK Aquatic Plant Society

"For me aquascaping ticks a lot of boxes," Crawford says. "It's relaxing, it's artistic, it's scientific and when done correctly it creates a piece of living art."

For competitive aquascapers, their art goes on show at international aquascaping contests like Russia's International Planted Aquarium Design Contest and the International Aquascaping Contest put on by the Houston-based Aquatic Gardeners Association (AGA).

Competitive designs may invoke the Wild West and include submerged cacti, or recreate the taiga of Russia, the valleys of China, or even lost beaches.

Cheryl Rogers, the president of the AGA, says the desire to innovate leads to a familiar pattern among aqua gardeners.

"For purposes of competition, most aquascapers of winning caliber create a layout, grow it to peak in a few months, snap the photos for competition, then tear it down and create a new one," she says "This is what they do for fun."

Global interest

Interest in aquascaping is particularly strong in Asia.

Takashi Amano, the noted Japanese landscape photographer, helped popularize the hobby in Japan in the mid-1990s with his three-part book series Nature Aquarium World.

Westerners have been slower to latch onto the pursuit—and are often seen as slightly kooky when they do.

"It's a very specialized hobby and because of this it's rare that you'll bump into a fellow aquascaper in the local pub or coffee shop," says Crawford. "Generally we will convene at a chosen Aquatic Shop for a chin wag and a look around then move on to the pub to talk about the latest trends and 'scapers."

Courtesy all4aquarium.ru

But today the Internet is helping grow the activity. Web sites connect existing enthusiasts who exchange tips and tricks, and help newbies learn the basics of building their very own marine masterpiece.

Started eight years ago, the UKAPS web site now clocks more than six million page views per month and has 9,000 registered members.

In the online forum they discuss topics like the best water filtration systems, appropriate lighting, why their shop-bought plants are failing to flourish and how to add Java moss to an aquarium.

You can have a lovely planted tank in your living room that pleases you, even if it would never win a competition
Karen Randall, author and aquascaping competition judge

Sometimes it's a matter of life a death. As one user recently asked in the forum: "Does copper in fertilizer kill shrimp?

Suppliers are also waking up to the opportunities to cater to the aquascaping community.

Read more: Life of a muse: What is it like to inspire art for a living?

Rogers of the AGA says these retailers are helping aquascapers source the plants and materials they need to make their gardens grow.

"Unless you have a local pet store in your area that specializes in our little corner of the hobby, it's difficult to find quality plants, or new plants, or rare plants," she says. "So we get our plants from other hobbyists and online retailers."

Master aquascaping requires a lot more than goldfish and plastic rocks.

Among other things, enthusiasts must stock their supply cabinets with algaecide products that help control green water and systems that supply plants with the carbon dioxide they need to stay alive.

Art in a box

Mastering the hobby takes time.

Karen Randall, an author who has judged several international aquascaping competitions, says that aquascapers approach their work like any other artist would. They have to think about the rule of thirds, areas of negative space, and how best to utilize colors, texture and form.

Rocks and wood formations create the "hardscape", which is used to support the plants in the aquarium. The hardscape also helps set parameters for the rest of the design.

"In the terrestrial garden, the gardener usually has to think more about the natural terrain he or she has to work with, along with large trees and buildings, and work those into the design," she says. "In aquatic gardening, the only thing we start with is four glass walls."

Judging art is always subjective. But competition organizers do their best to ensure fairness and impartiality.

Courtesy all4aquarium.ru

For the Planted Aquarium Design Contest 2013, organizers brought together an international jury of nine aquascapers and aquarium designers from countries including the Czech Republic, Poland, and Turkey.

Judges praise and criticize aquariums in equal measure.

Critiquing "Charm of light", a tank submitted by a Turkish aquascaper, one judge applauded its use of back lighting and left side reflection.

He still saw room for improvement: "White gravel and shape of small stones is inconsistent with bigger rocks and forest soil layer in nature. I would like to see some fishes or invertebrates in this tank."

Competitions promote interest in the hobby and give enthusiasts a platform to share their love of aquariums. But aquascapes don't have to impress a jury to create a sense of Zen.

"You can have a lovely planted tank in your living room that pleases you, even if it would never win a competition," Rogers says. "Most hobbyists are not competitors. They just like plants."

Guppies fish jump

2016-02-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

The world record long jump of 29 feet, 4 1/4 inches, set by American Mike Powell, has stood for nearly 22 years.

That imposing distance is nearly five times Powell's 6-foot-2 height. But an athletic, evolved guppy would scoff at that accomplishment, if you can consider guppies athletic. And if guppies scoffed.

The popular pet fish can jump up to eight times their body length, at speeds of more than 4 feet per second, according to a recently published research paper in the online peer-reviewed journal PLOS One.

University of Maryland biologist Daphne De Freitas Soares and biology lecturer Hilary S. Bierman discovered the guppies' ability while using high-speed videography and digital imaging to analyze the jumping behavior of nine guppies from a wild Trinidadian species, Poecilia reticulata, related to the familiar pet-shop fish.

While studying evolutionary changes to the guppies' brain stems, one of the fish jumped out of a laboratory tank and into Soares' cup of iced chai, prompting closer scrutiny, she said.

Soares and Bierman reported the jumping guppies started from a still position, swam backwards slowly, then changed direction and hurtled into the air. No researcher has ever reported seeing a fish preparing to jump like that, Soares and Bierman said.

The Maryland researchers concluded that while many fish launch out of the water into the air to capture prey, migrate, or avoid predators, the guppies have a different evolutionary motive: to reach all the available habitat in Trinidad's mountain streams.

By dispersing, guppies move away from areas of heavy predation, minimize competition with one another and keep the species' genetic variability high, the researchers said.

That probably comes as no consolation to your children if their guppies jump out of their fish bowl. But at least now, you'll have a plausible explanation.

Why Betta make bubble?

2012-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:00


betta's bubble

White bubble on betta tank water is made by male betta and it is a sign of he is ready for a breeding.The bubble is the nest where he will lay the eggs form a female betta. Just like most of other fish, betta male fertilize the eggs externally.

The male betta will make the bubble on a stone,water plants or anything on the water surface. Betta tend to make the bubble in hidden place to protect their eggs and sometimes betta will make the bubble near to edge of the tank if they can not find stone or plant to place the bubble on.

Struggle for worm

2012-01-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Let this pics show you how these bettas struggles to get the worms.

Betta splendens love worm so much. It is a delicious food.... yum.. yum.. yumi..

Put Betta females in one tank?

2011-10-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

Mixed female betta

Yes, you can put betta splendens females in one tank/place but you will find on or two of them will try to dominate the pool or tank and as long as they don't hurt each other, it will be fine.
When putting Betta splendens in one place, the thing you should take concern is the size. The small betta splendens tend to be lose when they compete for eating, so spreading the food in all over the tank to give the chance for small ones to get food.

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Other thing you can do to reduce friction between betta in a tank is by putting water plant and other tank accessories. This things will give a place for the weak ones to hide and unseen each other.

Be careful when feeding betta fish with tubifex

2011-03-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

Tubifex worm

You should have heard tubifex worms. Smooth red worms and live in clotted group. This worm is very clearly visible in the sewage or gutter and waving like a tassel by water's flow.

This worm is another type of betta splendens fish favorite food. Betta will look vibrant and difficult to stop biting this tubifex worm lump.

This worm is fleshy and of course it highly contains protein that will make betta splendens become more healthy.

Behind its high protein content, tubifex also have harmful effects to betta splendens fish. One of my experience is when the tubifex worm looks come out from my betta's gill and it makes betta splendens fish pain. Betta splendens fish becomes wild and move in disorder path. Mishandled on this situation can lead to the dead of betta splendens. Provide assistance by removing the betta splendens from the tank when it happen and slowly pull the worms out of its gill.

Tubifex worm in water

This incident could be happened when giving betta splendens with excessive tubifex worms at once. Betta splendens will look excited when fed with tubifex and betta splendens will bite the worm brutally and greedy. Betta splendens fish takes another biting before completely swallowed its first biting. In same time the worm is still alive in betta's mouth and will try to get out and sometimes it comes out from betta's gill

Remember, worms can grow and live with only part of its body.

To prevent this from happening can be by giving tubifex worms to betta splendens bit by bit so it can eat and swallow the worm properly before having next small lump of tubifex.
Another important thing needs to give concern when feeding betta splendens fish with tubifex is the cleanness. Tubifex live with various bacterial and virus in the sewage. Make sure the tubifex is already flushed before giving to betta splendens fish and it will help to ignore bacterial and virus attack .

Betta Splendens Fish Care: Points to Remember

2011-02-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

betta fish tank

Once you have chosen the living space for your betta splendens fish, then you are almost ready to add your fish to their new environment but there are some important points that you should take into account for optimum betta splendens care to keep your fish free from danger and disease and to keep them healthy.

When decorating your betta’s home you should:

1. Take care to avoid jagged rocks and decorations because the betta splendens fish could tear their fins on these. Stick to smooth surfaces when thinking about optimum betta splendens care.

2. Make sure that you avoid any hard plastic plants as they can damage the betta’s fins because they can be quite rough. If you are not sure about the roughness of the plants, then why not try the ‘pantyhose test.’ Rub the plastic plant over a pair of pantyhose and if they snag or rip them then this means that the plants might damage the betta’s fins. To be safe, by silk plants to increase betta care and happiness.

3. You don’t have to use live plants but they can be a great addition to the betta splendens fish tanks. Betta’s enjoy hiding in the leaves to sleep and they can be much prettier than silk plants- and gentler on the betta’s fins.

Another important point to consider when it comes to betta splendens care is the water preparation. You should always use a water conditioner for any fish when putting tap water into a tank, and it is important to note that chlorine in the water can be harmful to betta splendens fish. You can also let the water stand for a few days to remove the chlorine, but it is still very important to use a conditioner to remove chloramines.

When you fill your tank, you should fill it to about 80% of its capacity if it is an open top tank because when motivated, betta splendens fish can jump over 3 inches! And you don’t want your fish to leap out all over the place. you can use a mesh cloth which sits over the top of the tank so that the fish are not encouraged to jump and your can add extra water which will make the betta splendens fish happier and can access the surface air easier. Before you add the fish to the tank, be sure to test the temperature of the water, it must be maintained at 78-82 degrees so a small heater will make this easier to do because the water temperature is often cooler than room temperature. You are now ready to add your betta splendens fish to the tank!

Mosquito Larvae, Betta love it so much!

2011-02-03T23:35:00.001-08:00

Mosquito Larvae

Mosquito larvae or wigglers is one of betta splenden favorite food. Betta Splenden will look happy

and move swiftly to eat the larvaes one by one. Mosquito larvae is a healthy and nutritious meal for Betta with protein content about 15% and 7% fat. Mosquito larvae is also good to increase betta splenden's agility.

Mosquito larvae is a cheap food and can be obtained from a pool of water or long stagnant water where mosquitoes like to lay their eggs. The important thing to remember before feeding Betta with this larvae is to ensure the larvae is in clean condition before given to Betta splendens and it can be done by filtering and washing the larvae with clean water.

Mosquito larvae has a lifetime of about 5 to 7 days or longer before they become mosquitoes in a cycle of egg-larvae-pupa-mosquito-egg. Choose right size of larvae for your betta splendens size, younger larvae is smaller and more appropriate for younger betta splendens. It is better to mosquito pupae to give betta splendens if available ( but this cycle is shorten in mosquito life cycle) which have more agile movement that will make betta splendens become busier and keep moving.

Seven to ten larvaes with 0.5 cm long is enough for an adult and normal size betta. It is difficult for Betta splendens to control his appetite when fed with mosquito larvae and betta splendens will continue to eat even though his stomach was distended and eventually they become lazy to move. That's why need to control number of larvae given.

How to make Betta care easy

2011-01-22T02:06:00.000-08:00

betta splenden care

Good care and treatment on your betta splendens will give them longer and healthy life. Betta splendens could live for up five years!!.

Here another great book "Betta Care Made Easy" presenting the technique to build and maintain healthy environment for your Betta Splendens

In fact, betta splendens fish get sick easily. In fact, most betta splendens in captivity live just a few months! But most diseases are 100% curable if you know what they have, and which medication to give them.

Bettas thrive when their water conditions are "just right"...unfortunately there is a ton of *wrong* information out there on how to do this.

This book contain right information in doing caring and treating your betta spledens and also reveal three essentially main things you need to know about betta splendens care:

1. How to setup your tank properly

2. How to maintain quality conditions in your tank.

3. How to cure your betta splendens fish should he fall ill.

You can get more detail information Here!

beta care

Betta care books

Caring Betta Splendens and Betta Fish Tank.

2011-01-16T00:34:00.000-08:00

betta splenden care

Caring betta splendens can be a frustated thing when you have no adequate knowledge to do it.
Broken fin and bacterial infection and many more disease can attack your lovely betta splendens. I my self sometimes just can see my betta splendens slowly dead with have no proper medication.

I have searched and read many articles to increase my knowledge on how to take care betta splenden and to be able to give my betta splendens a right action instead of just changing the water when they are sick and lasting with dead.

Untill then I found a book that help me very much in understanding more about betta splendens especially for prevention from disease and growing healthier betta. The book is titled Betta Lovers Guide. This books give complete information about caring and providing proper environment for your betta splendens. They contain many information that I have learned for long time from my own experience and from my exploration in searching and reading articles from internet.

Look at some paragraph taken form Betta Lovers Guide the which giving information good information:

The ideal water temperature, thoroughly tested by 27 expert breeders, to keep a betta's tank. Water temperature is extremely important. It can make your fish lively (not sluggish) and even keep destructive bacteria to a minimum so that your Betta splendens is happy and healthy. I also reveal how you can keep the water temperature at that ideal level. (Page 24.)

When you put a betta splendens into a brand new tank, there can often be high levels of ammonia build-up, which makes your fish sick. You'll learn how to avoid that, using my very private "seeding" method. (Page 25)

Good news: despite what you might have heard, bettas don't necessarily have to live by themselves, as long as you follow these 9 rules. (Page 22)

You an even have two males in the same tank together (and they won't fight with each other!) under these special conditions. (Page 21)

Learn what the best food is to give your betta splendens and why. You'll also learn what treats should only be given in moderation. You won't need to worry anymore about whether you're feeding your betta splendens nourishing foods, since you'll know what exactly to do. (Chapter 6)

Plus... what to do if your betta won't eat. Don't be alarmed. Just follow these two simple steps. (Page 32)

A guide to boosting your betta's life expectancy. It's normal to become highly attached to your little one. Follow these unbreakable rules and your Betta will be alive and thriving for as long as possible. (Page 49)

What you must do before bringing home your new pet betta splendens. Doing this simple series of steps can avoid having your fish die from "New Tank Syndrome."(Page 20)

What it means when the tank keeps getting a foul smell even though you cleaned it... and what you can do to get rid of the odor once and for all. (Page 32)

Give even the most aggressive male betta splendens the best possible life of socializing with other betta splendens -- without any risk whatsoever of there being a fight!(Page 13)

Betta splendens have a unique ability to breathe the same air we do. Discover why this means betta splendens should be in a different kind of tank than other types of fish -- and how specifically to make your tank "betta-friendly" so your little one can breathe as easily as possible. (Page 8)

How to safely and humanely prevent your Betta splendens from jumping out of his bowl. (Bettas must not dry out -- which is what could happen if they jump out of their bowl -- causing them to die.) (Page 8)

If you ever are going to take your betta splendens to a show competition, your little guy will need to flare for the judges. I'll show you an easy, insider's trick used by top betta splendens breeders to get them to flare practically on command. Even if you'll never go to a show, this trick will make your friends ask you what your secret is.(Page 13)

If you do decide to get your betta splendens from a pet store (as most hobbyists do) watch for these 7 danger signs and you'll maximize the chances of bringing home a happy betta splendens. (Page 16)

The 7 steps of introducing your betta splendens to his new environment. (I cover everything from the best place to put your betta's tank to how exactly to put him into the new tank so that he doesn't go into shock and possibly die) (Page 19)

How to train your betta splendens to swim around the tank in whatever pattern you command. Your friends will be dazzled! (Page 55)

Get Betta Lovers Guide for your reference in caring your bettas Here!

Betta Splendens Velvet disease

2010-05-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

Velvet

Velvet is a kind of disease caused by parasite than known as Saprolegnia sp.

This disease is marked by rust color wrapping betta splenden’s body and it will be more clearly visible under the light.

Fin is commonly first part of betta’s body attacked by velvet and it spreads around the gill and body. Velvet will make betta splendens seems feel itchy and it is indicated by betta’s motion, fast and disorder. Scratching their body to the gravel in the pond or aquarium wall is other indication for this disease.

At the beginning this disease will shown like copper or rust color covering betta’s body and white spots spreading around betta’s body. In serious condition the fin and the tail will be rot and torn, the scale is peeled. Late in treatment will lead to the death of betta splendens.

Low pH is one of trigger for velvet attack, late and irregular schedule for changing the water can cause low PH. Unclean food and Rotten foods remnant will lead to bad quality of water, it is also can be trigger for this velvet disease.

The first thing to do in treating betta splendens velvet disease is to isolate them from the health ones because this disease very contagious. For the medication, put them in new water and add antibiotic as per dosage recommended at the package such as Tetracycline HCL 250 mg, Amoxcycilline, or Flagil 500. Gold 100, Root Stop, Super Internal atau Blitzcth can be the alternative .

For prevention of this velvet attack is best by changing the water reqularly. Adding 1 or 2 tea spoon of salt for 1 gallon of water will make betta stronger against velvet and benefit better betta’s health.

Ketapang (Terminalia catappa)/Indian Almond for Betta Splendens Health

2010-05-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

It is so sad to see your wounded female betta splenden after a breeding process because it is sometime the male bite and strike the female during breeding process.
Broken fin and scratch at the body will make the female limp and it is also a susceptible condition for infection by bacterial and parasite attack.

In their natural life, there many subtances sourced from fallen dried plant leaves into the river that help betta splendens for recovery. One of known plant that help betta splendens for recovery is Ketapang. Ketapang’s leaf (Terminalia catappa L) or also known as Indian Almond's leaf contain much antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds.

When dried Ketapang's leaf submerged into the water, it will give strong brown color to the water. Put wounded betta splendens in to this brown water and broken fin and scratch at betta's body will slowly recovered. Betta splendens will looks comfort and the broken fin will slowly grow and the scratch is healed.

Not only for wounded betta splendens, this dried Ketapang's leaf also good for keeping health Betta's become healthier, it harden the scale and sharpen betta spleden color.

Get catappa (Indian Almond) leaf for your betta

Breeding Betta Splendens (cupang)

2010-05-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Breeding Betta Splendens is an exciting experience.And also breed betta splendens is very unique. When both mature female and male bettas put together in one place, the male will be aggressive and move around to persuade the female

The male will flare his fin and its color will change become stronger and sharp The female also change the color become more stronger with stripe around its body. The mature female which is ready for a reproduction will have rather big belly containing the eggs and also there is white spot under her belly.

The male create the bubble for breeding process, the bubble will be the nest for puting the eggs from the female. The male create the bubble on water surface at side of the stone or under the floating leaf of water plant or other floating material. When it is ready the male will attrack the female and drive her to the bubble with him. The male will bit the female and sometime the male will bite the female to force her for breeding.

Once the female ready, the male will bend his body and wrap the female and the female will looks like drifting and small white eggs will come out from her belly. The male will collect the eggs by his mouth and put them in the bubble he created before. When this process is finished, the male will keep the eggs and moves around the bubble.The male will hinder the female form the bubble. At this point, the female should be taken out or the male will mess up the eggs because he chase the female around the bubble or even kill the female.

The eggs will hatch in one to two days and will look like small white object with small black dot. The babies will grow and look like needle after three or four days. The babies will move around the bubble and some of them fall down to the bottom and the male will put them back to the buble. The funny thing is to watch the babies twist as they can not swim well yet.

To keep the babies fine and health, the temperature should be controlled at 27-29 degreeC or around 80 -82 F. For the food, start it by feed them with infusoria and change the food gradually by feeding them with Daphnia when their size is bigger enough to it (after two to three week).

Breeding Betta Splendens Guidance and books

Beautiful Cupang (Betta Splenden)

2010-05-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

Betta splenden or Siamese fighting fish, in natural it lives in paddy field, small river and other clean water ponds.
In Indonesia, this fish known as "ikan cupang" or "ikan laga" which means fighting fish. Many interesting things about this fish, the color, the tail and off course, flaring fins by the male when he tries to attrack the female and also it is really interesting to watch the male's "show off " when he challenge other male.

I really like to watch the combination of supple and fast movement of the male, it is really fantastic especially when they are in fighting, though I don't like them to fight because it will break all their beautifull fin .

Here is the image I took from Wikipedia to show the beauty of this fish.

It is different appearance of the female. They are not as beauty as the male :). Female's color is rather pale and not as slim as the male. The female has bigger belly and the short fin. There will be stripe around her body when she is attracted by a male and it is also a sign for her readiness for a reproduction process.

All about Betta Splendens

fishy and aquary

2010-05-08T18:51:00.001-07:00

it is al anou fish and aquarium