Just wanted to start a thread on these things. Does anyone have experience with bettas? I have heard and read they are supposed to be docile and hide most of the time.
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
Calloplesiops altivelis, another of my favorite fish. Yes they are docile and shy. They can be a bit difficult to get over to frozen food but I've never lost one that way. Come to think of it, I've never lost one.
Currently, I have two Marine Bettas in my 135 with terrific results. Mostly they ignore each other unless they are passing. Then they pause, display their fins wide and pass slowly by. It's real cool. I have yet to have camera in hand when they do this so can't show you that but here's a pic of one.
They are definitely camera shy, too.
Great fish though.
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
Calloplesiops altivelis, another of my favorite fish. Yes they are docile and shy. They can be a bit difficult to get over to frozen food but I've never lost one that way. Come to think of it, I've never lost one.
Oh are they primarily live-food snobs? Other than brine shrimp, what would you feed them if live is all they will take?
Ty for the pic! the more i see of these the more i am sold on them...well...other than not haveing a big enough tank, yet (my 100 is still in the works). Speaking of which, you said you had two in 135. Would 2 in a 100 work do you think? If they primarly ignore each other then i would venture to guess they would be okay, but it never hurts to ask What other fish do you keep them with?
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
actually, unenriched live artemia is a rather bad food for anything. however, they can be enriched with just about anything you'd like to get inside your fish. selcon is a good enrichment, as is spirulina. beta glucan is a great one for boosting the immune system.
the favorite food of marine bettas is live shrimp, such as ghost shrimp. unfortunately, ornamental shrimp fall into this category as well.
Yes i have heard this about BBS before. Gut packing BS is a whole new world for me. I caught Rob's cast on hatching BBS, but how long till they grow up? I assume the gut packing, or enriching, is the same deal as with rotifers and such? Just stuff the food in until the shrimp eat it all and dump them in the tank?
Second part though, how about copepods? Lets say i raise some copepods in another container and dump them into the betta. Would these be too small probably? From that podcast Rob did on those buggers they sound like one of the best foods available.
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
Second part though, how about copepods? Lets say i raise some copepods in another container and dump them into the betta. Would these be too small probably? From that podcast Rob did on those buggers they sound like one of the best foods available.
Both of mine are eating mysid shrimp but now and then I'll see one staring at the rock work and then lunge and grab something. Copepod I assume.
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
Does your betta eat any thing else Amphibious? What about chopped table shrimp, formula 1 or 2, bloodworms (not sure if these are common in the marine world), algae sheets, etc.?
Also, TY for the reminder on the ornamental shrimp situation Saxman (cool name btw ). I wasn't planning on keeping any in my tank, but do you think they would eat cleaner shrimp too? Maybe better to not take the chance...but wouldn't they also eat cleaner gobies? Why can't they all just get along.....
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
They do best when they have a cave for cover and posing. They mimic a moray eel sticking its head out of a hole.
Yes i had read about that; their coloring is supposed to mimic an eel to scare away predators (although i don't think my cat will be worried). I have also heard that feisty, but not aggressive, fish will help pull them out of their caves.
Now that we captured your interest walrus, what do you think about keeping a betta with a snowflake eel?
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
I thought that fresh hatched brine (20 to 26 hours) were extremely nutricious.
yea i thought so too, because of the yolk sac they still have, or are you referring to adult brine saxman?
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
yea i thought so too, because of the yolk sac they still have, or are you referring to adult brine saxman?
yes, i was referring to adult live Artemia...you're absolutely correct about less than 24 hr old baby Artemia. the funny thing is, you can't even enrich Artemia of that age if you WANTED to...they have no mouths for 24 hrs.
Quote:
As long as the betta is large eough, the snowflake should leave it alone. Might have his fins chomped on occasionally though.
having kept a snowflake for over 15 years, and seeing it go thru all of its "phases", i wouldn't trust one with anything it could even REMOTELY take a bite out of. i've lost fish (some too large to swallow whole), inverts, and even have scars from the specimen i kept.
that being said, a small one (< 18" or so) is typically a model citizen, but even then, you may begin losing tankmates. even tho snowflakes aren't normally piscivores, they'll eat what's handy if they become hungry.
Once over the live food only phase, Marine Bettas will eat just about anything. They are omivores, so a large variety of food is always the best.
Wally, are you sure of this? The Marine Beta is a member of the Grouper family and therefore a carnivore. I've had a few MBs in my time and never witnessed them eating veggies.
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
What other fish do you keep them with?
). I wasn't planning on keeping any in my tank, but do you think they would eat cleaner shrimp too? Maybe better to not take the chance...but wouldn't they also eat cleaner gobies? Why can't they all just get along.....
USA