Only two months later than expected, my white spawn has sufficiently grown out to be sent out into the world - yay!
Bad news is there is only one male up for grabs. Only two survived through to maturity, along with a dozen or so females.
I'm keeping one male and two females, the rest are available for new homes. I still have a few females growing out, but I can put together a sibling pair for sale and then a few individual sisters.
These will all go up for sale on the Betta Buy/Sell Australia Facebook page and advertised this blog and on the CTPK Project Australia page.
I just need to find the time to take the photos...
On the spawning side, currently being conditioned are:
Male Yellow F2 combtail x female white DT HMPK (with extra yellow iridophores obvious)
Goal - increased chances of getting plakat combtails
- increasing spawn tank temp to see if I can get a better male ratio
- Commencement of DTCTPK line
- Introducing new blood into the recessive line for F3
- Looking to get yellow back in F5 (unless my white DT's have the nr1 gene somewhere)
- Looking to get DT back in F5 - maybe even Yellow CT DT PK
(very small chance though...something like 1.6%)
(not sure on the correct presentation of a fifth generation line which has had new blood introduced at the third generation...do I go back to F1 - which hides the amount of work that's gone into the line, or is the annotation more like F5 -2 to show the 5th generation two generations removed from new blood...)
Male White F1 DTHMPK x Female White F1 DTHMPK
These are F1 as far as I am concerned. Not sure what generation they came from when imported. I asked but wasn't informed so I can only play it by ear and keep an eye out for deformities. The spawn above with the yellow male will help as it will allow me to cross over and introduce new blood from a line of cousins.
Goal - Continue a line of white DTHMPK
- Breed out (as much as possible) the marble gene, which I wasn't aware of but has appeared.
- Gain more males in a spawn without any sign of marble
- Gain males with better dorsals
- Increasing tank temp (but different to above spawn) to test theory for gaining more males
Fingers crossed these spawns will take off over the next week or two.
The auction for the available white DT's will hopefully happen next week :)
One fish-keepers journey through the world of Betta
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
A New Year Begins 2015
It's been a long time since I've done an update, but that was because there has been a lot going on in the background that needed to be resolved before I knew what this update was going to be.
There was a strong possibility that I was going to have to rename this blog from Adelaide Betta to Townsville Betta. An opportunity arrived which may have led to the whole family moving north but the numbers didn't add up and so it has been shelved for the foreseeable future.
Due to us figuring out if we were moving or not, breeding programs were also put on hold. Pairs scheduled to spawn are yet to have their chance in the honeymoon suite. This will be rectified from early next week.
Current state of play:
Originally I had two green lines running side-by-side, but one of the F2 generations didn't pan out. I have, however, been keeping a F1 female from that line - a little green dragon girl I quite liked and couldn't bring myself to let go. So now I'm going to cross her with a F2 male from the second green line. It is a small step back in progressing to true CTPK's but I keep the genes in the green pool, and reduce the amount of lines I've got on the go.
My recessive line is looking promising, except I seem to be lacking male plakats from the F2 spawn. I do seem to have a few choices of female plakats though. I'll match one of those up with a male from my DTPK spawn. I also seem to have the beginnings of a green pastel line...need to think about whether to pursue that one or not...
Black Orchid plakat line is looking good and ready to go onto F3...or have DT introduced...
White DTPK spawn is almost matured - maybe another month before being fully cooked...which is fine as I'd rather only have a couple of spawns going at any one time with only a partial overlap.
Next move(s):
Green Line F1 female x F2 male...if not successful, F2 male will be crossed with sibling for F3.
Recessive F2 x DT (yet to decide on which sex from which spawn).
Sell excess fish from Recessive and DTPK spawns (February).
Spawn Black Orchids in March.
Have a break....start again :)
Heading away for the next few days, but I'll be looking to setup my spawns and take photos of the fish next week...stay tuned :)
There was a strong possibility that I was going to have to rename this blog from Adelaide Betta to Townsville Betta. An opportunity arrived which may have led to the whole family moving north but the numbers didn't add up and so it has been shelved for the foreseeable future.
Due to us figuring out if we were moving or not, breeding programs were also put on hold. Pairs scheduled to spawn are yet to have their chance in the honeymoon suite. This will be rectified from early next week.
Current state of play:
Originally I had two green lines running side-by-side, but one of the F2 generations didn't pan out. I have, however, been keeping a F1 female from that line - a little green dragon girl I quite liked and couldn't bring myself to let go. So now I'm going to cross her with a F2 male from the second green line. It is a small step back in progressing to true CTPK's but I keep the genes in the green pool, and reduce the amount of lines I've got on the go.
My recessive line is looking promising, except I seem to be lacking male plakats from the F2 spawn. I do seem to have a few choices of female plakats though. I'll match one of those up with a male from my DTPK spawn. I also seem to have the beginnings of a green pastel line...need to think about whether to pursue that one or not...
Black Orchid plakat line is looking good and ready to go onto F3...or have DT introduced...
White DTPK spawn is almost matured - maybe another month before being fully cooked...which is fine as I'd rather only have a couple of spawns going at any one time with only a partial overlap.
Next move(s):
Green Line F1 female x F2 male...if not successful, F2 male will be crossed with sibling for F3.
Recessive F2 x DT (yet to decide on which sex from which spawn).
Sell excess fish from Recessive and DTPK spawns (February).
Spawn Black Orchids in March.
Have a break....start again :)
Heading away for the next few days, but I'll be looking to setup my spawns and take photos of the fish next week...stay tuned :)
Thursday, 16 October 2014
Depressing
Recently there was another conversation regarding the use of salt in freshwater tanks.
I have used it for the last 12-15 months in my tanks. I reduced it from 1 tea spoon/10 litres to 2 tea spoons/30 litres about 6 months ago. I further reduced it to 1 tea spoon/30 litres around a month ago.
The conversation took place a week or two ago.
Since then, I thought I'd give it a shot at going back to no added salt...late last week, I had one female develop dropsy and keel over. A few days later, a prize male showed some lethargy, which developed into dropsy within 12 hours and he was gone. Yesterday a female lined up for a F2 spawn went the same way even quicker.
My tanks are far from salt free just yet, as I'm using the non-salted water for the water changes - so my fish are being slowly adapted back to no salt. I don't think it's the salt that caused the issue, nor do I think it is the lack of salt in the new water. It's Murphy's law - you talk about something and defend your stance and...bang...something kicks you in the softest of places to remind you of your limited understanding of things.
Then my largest fry from my DTHMPK spawn keels over...
Every now and then, the Fishroom is the last place I want to be...
But it doesn't matter how long you've been doing this, or how much you know and take care of your piscatorial charges...something, somewhere, sometime, will jump up and bite you.
Be supportive of others, and don't think your way is the only way to do things. What works for you, works for you...until it doesn't.
Good luck with your spawns :)
I have used it for the last 12-15 months in my tanks. I reduced it from 1 tea spoon/10 litres to 2 tea spoons/30 litres about 6 months ago. I further reduced it to 1 tea spoon/30 litres around a month ago.
The conversation took place a week or two ago.
Since then, I thought I'd give it a shot at going back to no added salt...late last week, I had one female develop dropsy and keel over. A few days later, a prize male showed some lethargy, which developed into dropsy within 12 hours and he was gone. Yesterday a female lined up for a F2 spawn went the same way even quicker.
My tanks are far from salt free just yet, as I'm using the non-salted water for the water changes - so my fish are being slowly adapted back to no salt. I don't think it's the salt that caused the issue, nor do I think it is the lack of salt in the new water. It's Murphy's law - you talk about something and defend your stance and...bang...something kicks you in the softest of places to remind you of your limited understanding of things.
Then my largest fry from my DTHMPK spawn keels over...
Every now and then, the Fishroom is the last place I want to be...
But it doesn't matter how long you've been doing this, or how much you know and take care of your piscatorial charges...something, somewhere, sometime, will jump up and bite you.
Be supportive of others, and don't think your way is the only way to do things. What works for you, works for you...until it doesn't.
Good luck with your spawns :)
Thursday, 25 September 2014
White Out With A Chance Of Blackness
Spawn Updates
The white Double-Tail Halfmoon Plakats are going okay. As is usual for my spawns, they are starting to slip behind the accepted growth rate and week three is where I normally have a bit of a "wheat from Chaff" die off period. That is to say, by my way of thinking, I tend to lose quite a few of the weaker ones.
This time round I'm not particularly concerned. I started with a ridiculously high number of fry and there is still more than enough left for me to deal with.
I did manage to get the first pic showing their caudal lobes tonight...even though the rest of the fry is still blurry...another week or two till my camera picks them up well.
My second spawn tank is also full of light bodies, with the F2 of my recessive CTPK line. I started with even more fry in this spawn than the DTHMPK spawn above. They are also going well although a little behind the growth curve and also going through the Wheat from Chaff phase. This photo was taken pre-feed, hence the slightly gaunt look. I assure you, they all have orange bellies now :)
And last but not least, the Black Orchid CTPK F2 spawn...Looks to be around 50 or so that will make it to maturity. There doesn't look to be a high ratio of males in this spawn again...mostly female in F1 and it will be mostly girls again it seems.
The first male looked nice but lacked almost every trait I was trying to improve...I was worried.
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As you can see, nice caudal spread, decent dorsal spread, anal is too long and a little too much hump in the top line...and bugger all webbing reduction. Feisty fella though...
But tonight I found another male who is just about ready to be jarred...
There will be a better photo once he's been jarred and a chance at a mirror, but his top line is better, webbing reduction is better, anal is more in balance...a better all round fish for my goals.
No more spawns planned till January - but I have two pairs ready and waiting to go when these spawn tanks become free and the little fellas have grown to juvies...well, at least two pairs ;)
The white Double-Tail Halfmoon Plakats are going okay. As is usual for my spawns, they are starting to slip behind the accepted growth rate and week three is where I normally have a bit of a "wheat from Chaff" die off period. That is to say, by my way of thinking, I tend to lose quite a few of the weaker ones.
This time round I'm not particularly concerned. I started with a ridiculously high number of fry and there is still more than enough left for me to deal with.
I did manage to get the first pic showing their caudal lobes tonight...even though the rest of the fry is still blurry...another week or two till my camera picks them up well.
My second spawn tank is also full of light bodies, with the F2 of my recessive CTPK line. I started with even more fry in this spawn than the DTHMPK spawn above. They are also going well although a little behind the growth curve and also going through the Wheat from Chaff phase. This photo was taken pre-feed, hence the slightly gaunt look. I assure you, they all have orange bellies now :)
And last but not least, the Black Orchid CTPK F2 spawn...Looks to be around 50 or so that will make it to maturity. There doesn't look to be a high ratio of males in this spawn again...mostly female in F1 and it will be mostly girls again it seems.
The first male looked nice but lacked almost every trait I was trying to improve...I was worried.
As you can see, nice caudal spread, decent dorsal spread, anal is too long and a little too much hump in the top line...and bugger all webbing reduction. Feisty fella though...
But tonight I found another male who is just about ready to be jarred...
There will be a better photo once he's been jarred and a chance at a mirror, but his top line is better, webbing reduction is better, anal is more in balance...a better all round fish for my goals.
No more spawns planned till January - but I have two pairs ready and waiting to go when these spawn tanks become free and the little fellas have grown to juvies...well, at least two pairs ;)
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Fry Everywhere
It's been over a month since I last updated this blog - smack my wrist...bad blogger!
Got a fair bit to report on now :)
The accidental spawn was culled due to an outbreak of Swim Bladder Disorder. The poor fellas had a rough start and never recovered.
But, that spawn was replaced by two others who have more than made up for the false start to breeding season.
The players
Many of you know that I've been after a white pair of DTHMPK for a while now. Through the graciousness of SSS's Yolandi, I managed to purchase a pair from Indonesia. As per usual, they were imported through FishChick in QLD and arrived in excellent condition.
Male
Female
Result = a big spawn of approximately 200+ fry. Unfortunately my camera doesn't have a macro lens and so photographing the little blighters is futile...
At the same time, I setup the following pair:
Male
Female
These are my F1 choices from my recessive line of CTPK. They carry the Non-Red (nr1), Cambodian (c), and Opaque (Op) genes (among others). The goal here is to get back yellow, Opaque and Cambodians to have three separate recessive lines moving forward. These separate lines will then get crossed with fry from the DTHMPK line above. Then, as required, they will get crossed into my green and black orchid lines, and future lines I have planned.
The result (please forgive the photography - like I said, no macro lens)
This is just one corner of the spawn tank. The fry are everywhere! I estimate 400+ - easily the biggest spawn I've ever had.
BBS production has increased accordingly with a new BBS hatchery created. I'll post pictures of that once it's fully operational. For father's day I was also lucky enough to get a mini fridge with a good size freezer compartment. I need to move some things around but this will be installed into the Fishroom by this weekend (no more traipsing back and forward from the kitchen - yay!) - photos to come.
As always, both spawns were started on Vinegar Eels for the first few days and then BBS. Both are now solely on BBS, three or four times a day. Water is being added every second day to fill the spawn tank, with a water change being done every day in between (alternated between the two tanks - so one gets extra water while I do a change on the other, and then the following day I alternate).
This time round, my spawn tanks were very basic. A 20L tank from Target with 8L of IAL treated water, a small sponge filter, a half polystyrene cup (not taped to the glass) and a heater. Yep - no plant anywhere in sight. Only the sponge and the heater for the girl to hide behind.
Both girls were still introduced in a separate container, and then into a clear tube - but on release, they stayed in there respective tanks til they had done the deed (two and a half days - no tubing overnight). Both boys were very gentle, so they sustained no damage other than a nip here or there.
Both boys tended their eggs well. Red built a huge nest while the DT had virtually no nest to speak of. Both males were removed once the fry started free swimming.
After advice from a well respected source, I'll be moving them to bigger digs in two-three weeks time, and then probably splitting the spawns even further down the track.
There will be no more spawns till around January - I think I've got enough on my plate...
Got a fair bit to report on now :)
The accidental spawn was culled due to an outbreak of Swim Bladder Disorder. The poor fellas had a rough start and never recovered.
But, that spawn was replaced by two others who have more than made up for the false start to breeding season.
The players
Many of you know that I've been after a white pair of DTHMPK for a while now. Through the graciousness of SSS's Yolandi, I managed to purchase a pair from Indonesia. As per usual, they were imported through FishChick in QLD and arrived in excellent condition.
Male
Result = a big spawn of approximately 200+ fry. Unfortunately my camera doesn't have a macro lens and so photographing the little blighters is futile...
At the same time, I setup the following pair:
Male
These are my F1 choices from my recessive line of CTPK. They carry the Non-Red (nr1), Cambodian (c), and Opaque (Op) genes (among others). The goal here is to get back yellow, Opaque and Cambodians to have three separate recessive lines moving forward. These separate lines will then get crossed with fry from the DTHMPK line above. Then, as required, they will get crossed into my green and black orchid lines, and future lines I have planned.
The result (please forgive the photography - like I said, no macro lens)
This is just one corner of the spawn tank. The fry are everywhere! I estimate 400+ - easily the biggest spawn I've ever had.
BBS production has increased accordingly with a new BBS hatchery created. I'll post pictures of that once it's fully operational. For father's day I was also lucky enough to get a mini fridge with a good size freezer compartment. I need to move some things around but this will be installed into the Fishroom by this weekend (no more traipsing back and forward from the kitchen - yay!) - photos to come.
As always, both spawns were started on Vinegar Eels for the first few days and then BBS. Both are now solely on BBS, three or four times a day. Water is being added every second day to fill the spawn tank, with a water change being done every day in between (alternated between the two tanks - so one gets extra water while I do a change on the other, and then the following day I alternate).
This time round, my spawn tanks were very basic. A 20L tank from Target with 8L of IAL treated water, a small sponge filter, a half polystyrene cup (not taped to the glass) and a heater. Yep - no plant anywhere in sight. Only the sponge and the heater for the girl to hide behind.
Both girls were still introduced in a separate container, and then into a clear tube - but on release, they stayed in there respective tanks til they had done the deed (two and a half days - no tubing overnight). Both boys were very gentle, so they sustained no damage other than a nip here or there.
Both boys tended their eggs well. Red built a huge nest while the DT had virtually no nest to speak of. Both males were removed once the fry started free swimming.
After advice from a well respected source, I'll be moving them to bigger digs in two-three weeks time, and then probably splitting the spawns even further down the track.
There will be no more spawns till around January - I think I've got enough on my plate...
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Where Am I?
Some of you may have noticed my absence around the place, in the Betta Community Facebook pages and in the AusAqua Forum - it's not because I'm withdrawing from breeding my fish.
To be perfectly honest, I'm over the politics involved in the Australian Betta Community. I have friends in Betta Australis, Sydney Splendens Society, and in Victoria Betta. Unfortunately, it means I hear all sorts of things from all sides of the topics under dispute, from a wide range of people. It saddens me and frustrates me that people cant work together to come to an equitable solution for the benefit of the community as a whole. I am not pointing the finger at any one individual or group - but I'll not get into expressing my opinions here. That's not what this post, or indeed this forum, is for.
So, to maintain my love of the fish, and not get trapped in arguments with people over topics that aren't life threatening, I've decided to simply withdraw from interaction in the scene, at least for the short term.
I am still breeding, and I'm still contactable if anyone wants to talk about the fish, but I don't want to know anymore about the clubs/chapters, or the parent organisations. I will continue to watch from afar how the scene develops.
When my current memberships of the different organisations run their course, I wont be renewing them - with anyone. This means I wont be able to show my fish - so be it...I was never in this to show fish or win ribbons or trophies - the idea that I can create the fish I want, fascinated me -> still does, so I will continue to breed. Eventually, I may even offer some up for sale, but for now, and probably for the next year or so, I'll be very quietly working away in my own fish room.
I will interact occasionally on the forum, the AusAqua FB page, and on the CTPK Project Australia page. I will answer any questions or requests made to my FB page.
I will update this blog on occasion when I have something to report from the fish room.
I wish everyone nothing but success with their fish.
To be perfectly honest, I'm over the politics involved in the Australian Betta Community. I have friends in Betta Australis, Sydney Splendens Society, and in Victoria Betta. Unfortunately, it means I hear all sorts of things from all sides of the topics under dispute, from a wide range of people. It saddens me and frustrates me that people cant work together to come to an equitable solution for the benefit of the community as a whole. I am not pointing the finger at any one individual or group - but I'll not get into expressing my opinions here. That's not what this post, or indeed this forum, is for.
So, to maintain my love of the fish, and not get trapped in arguments with people over topics that aren't life threatening, I've decided to simply withdraw from interaction in the scene, at least for the short term.
I am still breeding, and I'm still contactable if anyone wants to talk about the fish, but I don't want to know anymore about the clubs/chapters, or the parent organisations. I will continue to watch from afar how the scene develops.
When my current memberships of the different organisations run their course, I wont be renewing them - with anyone. This means I wont be able to show my fish - so be it...I was never in this to show fish or win ribbons or trophies - the idea that I can create the fish I want, fascinated me -> still does, so I will continue to breed. Eventually, I may even offer some up for sale, but for now, and probably for the next year or so, I'll be very quietly working away in my own fish room.
I will interact occasionally on the forum, the AusAqua FB page, and on the CTPK Project Australia page. I will answer any questions or requests made to my FB page.
I will update this blog on occasion when I have something to report from the fish room.
I wish everyone nothing but success with their fish.
Sunday, 27 July 2014
So Much For The Off-Season
Last weekend, I think, I setup two spawns after nearly ten days of conditioning my pairs.
I think I might have to come up with some names for my lines....
Anyway, as reported on my last post, the gold male ate his eggs. The green pair just didn't seem interested. Truth be told, I'm a little more blasé about the actual spawning process now-a-days. I condition, I introduce, and then I let them be once I think they've shown enough interest in each other.
So, every time I looked in on the green pair, she was on one side of the tank, he was on the other. Occasionally he'd go over and try to encourage her back to his pitiful nest. At no time did I see her acting submissive or hiding, and at no time did I see him trying to warn her away from the nest.
I checked the nest for three days, and saw nothing to indicate success, and the behaviour of the pair hadn't changed, so I called it a failure, fished the girl out, and went about my business a little disheartened. It was here I decided a I needed a break and implemented an off-season.
Today I thought it was past time I did a little tank maintenance, so I started doing some cleaning and water changes. Last on my list was the failed spawn tank, which the male was still in.
I began siphoning, and something moved, so I moved the siphon over to get it, and it moved again. I thought it was the biggest infusoria I'd ever seen, or maybe I's begun cultivating larger single cell organisms - I had been pretty slack in cleaning this tank up. There was hubris all over the bottom, I'd been feeding the male pellets each night, and I'd not done a clean since I'd removed the female.
I got up closer to the tank with my magnifying specs on...and there was fry in there....quite a few...
The tank has now been very carefully siphoned, new water, and BBS added.
These guys are very active, but a little on the small side, but then I have no idea when they were actually hatched. If they are a week old, then they're not so small, if closing in on two weeks, then maybe a touch behind where they should be. Plenty of BBS in there now though so they should catch up fairly quick.
I now have a spawn of Black Orchid F2's in the grow out, and now this Green F2 in the spawn tank...the early morning feeds continue then for the foreseeable future :(
Isn't Mother Nature grand...
- Gold HMPK pair
Female
The egg-eater Male
- F1 of the CTPK line Green II
He's marbled a little since this photo with a lot more black now showing in his fins
She's not changes at all
I think I might have to come up with some names for my lines....
Anyway, as reported on my last post, the gold male ate his eggs. The green pair just didn't seem interested. Truth be told, I'm a little more blasé about the actual spawning process now-a-days. I condition, I introduce, and then I let them be once I think they've shown enough interest in each other.
So, every time I looked in on the green pair, she was on one side of the tank, he was on the other. Occasionally he'd go over and try to encourage her back to his pitiful nest. At no time did I see her acting submissive or hiding, and at no time did I see him trying to warn her away from the nest.
I checked the nest for three days, and saw nothing to indicate success, and the behaviour of the pair hadn't changed, so I called it a failure, fished the girl out, and went about my business a little disheartened. It was here I decided a I needed a break and implemented an off-season.
Today I thought it was past time I did a little tank maintenance, so I started doing some cleaning and water changes. Last on my list was the failed spawn tank, which the male was still in.
I began siphoning, and something moved, so I moved the siphon over to get it, and it moved again. I thought it was the biggest infusoria I'd ever seen, or maybe I's begun cultivating larger single cell organisms - I had been pretty slack in cleaning this tank up. There was hubris all over the bottom, I'd been feeding the male pellets each night, and I'd not done a clean since I'd removed the female.
I got up closer to the tank with my magnifying specs on...and there was fry in there....quite a few...
The tank has now been very carefully siphoned, new water, and BBS added.
These guys are very active, but a little on the small side, but then I have no idea when they were actually hatched. If they are a week old, then they're not so small, if closing in on two weeks, then maybe a touch behind where they should be. Plenty of BBS in there now though so they should catch up fairly quick.
I now have a spawn of Black Orchid F2's in the grow out, and now this Green F2 in the spawn tank...the early morning feeds continue then for the foreseeable future :(
Isn't Mother Nature grand...
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