Breeding for pet vs show

[ChibreneyDragon]

Originally Posted by trilobite

I didnt read all of this thread coz I'm lazy haha but I think trying to reduce/eliminate aggression in fighters is a bad idea. If you don't want to deal with aggression don't get a siamese fighter.
I personally love aggro ones. A fully flared fighter dead set on trying to annihilate his neighbour is my favourite sights.
It shows them at their finest otherwise they'd all look the same, just droopy tailed fish

I dont know about others, but I also value the full flare of the Betta. Im more concerned with OVER aggression, Aggression that is above and beyond the norm for these fish. But this is a subjective topic...that is basically up to the interpretation of us humans.

[Myates]

lol over aggressive bettas.. they are such a pain in the toosh when trying to breed! One of my girls would suck down a male's anal or dorsal fin from tip to body in one gulp and then hang on while he swam all over the tank trying to shake her.

I then will physically remove her from him hoping not to tear the fins and the moment she is released she goes and clamps back onto him.

And she has done this to multiple males. And she has learned to do this immediately after being released from the chimney.

So even though I love their attitudes, sometimes it can be a pain!

That little girl is now in time out waiting on her new home with Dramaqueen lol.

sigh.. silly fish.

[ChibreneyDragon]

Originally Posted by Myates

lol over aggressive bettas.. they are such a pain in the toosh when trying to breed! One of my girls would suck down a male's anal or dorsal fin from tip to body in one gulp and then hang on while he swam all over the tank trying to shake her.

I then will physically remove her from him hoping not to tear the fins and the moment she is released she goes and clamps back onto him.

And she has done this to multiple males. And she has learned to do this immediately after being released from the chimney.

So even though I love their attitudes, sometimes it can be a pain!

That little girl is now in time out waiting on her new home with Dramaqueen lol.

sigh.. silly fish.

I know, right? I never had this problem breeding CT and VTs twelve years ago...so for me, it just freaked me out and made me wonder. I leave the breeding game for 6 years, and come back to an entirely new situation!

[indjo]

I agree, their behavior have changed quite a bit. Today's bettas are sometimes more challenging to breed than 10yrs ago.

Over aggression, either male or female do get frustrating. But that's part of the fun - they constantly make you think. LOL

[ChibreneyDragon]

I think I may do an offshoot on my breeding scheme for aggression vs domestication... Only problem is finding the more docile fish. Makes me wonder if "Idiocracy" has any truth to it. *Shudder*

[Cephaela]

I always kind of thought of fish in a similar line as flowers, mostly for show, not really for personality. Like plants you don't want them to devour eachother, in the gardening world, some plants are more aggressive in that they'll outgrow their neighbors and take over.
However it would be nice to make a thornless rose in the betta world I think?
I don't mind the spunk, but I do dislike how bettas are loners(there's only so much space in one's house for separation haha).
If mankind genetically engineered a betta with the temperament of a goldfish, would you want it?
I suppose I'd be mostly focusing on, 'at what cost?'

[MrVampire181]

IMO, a docile betta isn't a betta. I like the aggression.

I aim for two things in my breeding. Show quality and health over all. My fish always come out built well (body wise, they're always thick and never scrawny) and are the longest living fish I've ever had. My fish have lasted through multiple bacterial outbreaks I had last year and finally died of old age late last summer - those ones were born in 2010 ^_^

So yes I breed to better them yet maintain the beauty and aggression. Not aggressive enough to kill but to be competitive and good breeders.

[chardzard]

Originally Posted by Meeko

IMO, a docile betta isn't a betta. I like the aggression.

I aim for two things in my breeding. Show quality and health over all. My fish always come out built well (body wise, they're always thick and never scrawny) and are the longest living fish I've ever had. My fish have lasted through multiple bacterial outbreaks I had last year and finally died of old age late last summer - those ones were born in 2010 ^_^

So yes I breed to better them yet maintain the beauty and aggression. Not aggressive enough to kill but to be competitive and good breeders.

i went and check up on bettas again (can never learn enuff ) and i found out they will only kill if they are keep or place in a small space so i give it a try and it true i place 2 males of same size in 30gal tank n they did not fight , now they are like best buds in there they just meet flear a bit and back off but no fighting ,with out they aggression we wont see they true beauty

[Myates]

Be careful, once they are adjusted they will set up territory and that will start the fighting. Make sure the tank is very heavily planted.

No, normally they don't fight to the death, but doesn't mean they should be housed together because that still can cause a lot of stress which could sicken or even kill them.

So, I wouldn't say it's true yet until they have been living together for the rest of their life. Things can turn in an instant with these fish ;)

[chardzard]

that true a few years a go i had 2 large VT females they would fight with each other in the female tank so only 1 could be keep at a time in the girl house with the other girls ,1 was royal blue the other was green n i could only get them bread at the time with 2 very large males i had so i move them from the 20gal to a 30.5gal tank add some plants n rocks to play hide in both got along for a while till i had put them to spawn n return them n the fighting broke out again n the worst part the smaller females started to pick fights too so i add some food the smaller girls stop but the 2 large girls ate n went back at it that when i notice every time i spawn some females would look too picks fights , i'm not to sure about the over aggression thing is true some males show that kind of behaveor n they fry when grow up dont behave like that but who know some 1 may be messing with these fish too in a bad way n if that the case they will kill the love of this hobby ,