A little vain when it comes to betta's

[ChoclateBetta]

These fish are my first real pets and I'm at loss as to how to handle their deaths and how to relate to their lives when they don't meet my expectations. You see, only the breeders of wild-types, who specialize in threatened or endangered species, can say that they keep them "for the fish." The rest of us, if we're brutally honest, will admit the we keep them for what they can do for us, aesthetically, emotionally, ego-fulfillment or vanity.[/quote]
If I did not buy Carter he would be dead. I keep Carter as a pal.

[LittleBettaFish]

I keep wild species (a couple of mine are on the red list so critcally endangered in the wild) and first and foremost they are my pets because I find them beautiful and love just watching how they behave and interact with me and each other.

Successfully breeding them is secondary to that. When my rutilans got sick, I was more worried about losing my original pair who are two years old rather than their juvenile and adult offspring. They were my first wild bettas and I love them for what they are - a pet.

I squandered a lot of money on buying pretty fish that I really didn't care for once I got them home. Nowadays, I buy only fish that I actually want as both a pet and potential breeding stock no matter what. That way I don't get disappointed if something comes up (such as one part of a pair dies) later down the track.

[ChoclateBetta]

What are all the species you keep? I dont get this part?
Nowadays, I buy only fish that I actually want as both a pet and potential breeding stock no matter what. That way I don't get disappointed if something comes up (such as one part of a pair dies) later down the track.
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Can you please explain it again?

[nel3]

i can understand your feelings. i got Blitzkreig as a pineapple CT but he lost 30% of the black spot darkness. now hes gaining orange/red dalmation spots on the interior fins, black edges on all fins and black spots on pectorals. Grimmjow was a turquoise ct but i looks like his fins are destined to go white, 50% have gone white though its not uniform. it shocked me when grimmjow lost some of his blue but ive come to anticipate more white on the fins. Blitzkrieg does have a blue/black spot on the leading base edge of the dorsal and various iridescent blue lines on his body.

[ChoclateBetta]

I think somepeople think a Betta has to be colorful to be nice but look at my avatar. He is a chocolate from what I have read they are not very common.

[LittleBettaFish]

I keep nine separate species aside from my two splendens.

I fell into the trap of purchasing a lot of splendens because I really only liked their colour and nothing else. Then when their colour changed (because I only purchase marbles) I had all these fish I had to dedicate time, money and space to that I didn't really like all that much.

It's why now I usually only get wild bettas since their appearance doesn't drastically alter, I enjoy having them around, don't mind dedicating time and effort to their care, and if they do spawn for me this is an added bonus.

Only time I would get a splendens now is if it has exemplary form and a nice colour. Otherwise I won't bother. Costs too much to have tanks running that are filled with fish I don't particularly care for. I shaved a couple of hundred dollars off our power bill simply by closing down half the tanks I was needlessly running.

[ChoclateBetta]

Are the 2 a pair? What is the fish in your avatar?

[LittleBettaFish]

The splendens are just one male HMPK and one female CT. They share a divided tank but otherwise no I don't breed them or intend on breeding them. They get to stay because I like them and their tank requires very little effort to maintain.

The one in my display picture is a juvenile Betta persephone. It's just starting to get the blue through its caudal and anal fin, which why it does not look like pictures you might see online.

[ChoclateBetta]

Can you give me a list of your species? Are B.Imbellis easy to care for? What is so special about those 2?

[LittleBettaFish]

I don't actually like the splendens complex so I don't have imbellis. Used to, but they were poor examples of the species and once they died I didn't bother replacing them.

Current species are burdigala, brownorum, rutilans, persephone, tussyae, uberis, unimaculata, palangkaraya and ideii. Not all of them are in pairs. Tussyae is a juvenile from my now deceased pair and I am currently growing out persephone, rutilans, a single brownorum, and unimaculata fry.

Those two stayed because everyone else either died or got sold. Plus they are two of my favourites so I don't mind having them around.