Betta-mania

Uh oh, I think I have become unhealthily obsessed with bettas again. I am growing out a spawn from my multicolor HM male and green HM female at the moment and so far they are all doing fine. Only problem is they grow so damn slowly, despite the fact I am chucking in microworms in their thousands.

Anyway, in a bid to do some good in the world I just designed the new header logo for Steve Bell's www.bettasplendens.co.uk website.

What do you think?:



Can't wait to put my next pair together. I think it's going to have to be my male copper HM and the same green Hm female, as if my genetics research is correct I should get a spawn containing both green and copper HMs, which would be great.

Things are getting worse on the EBJD front, as I think I realistically only have two youngsters worth saving from the 30 or so EBJDs I originally kept from the brood. The rest are belly-crawlers or deformed. Will be interesting to see if I can get more from the parents' new spawn - currently living next door to their sibliings.

I sold on my pair of Jack Dempseys and my male Paratilapia polleni on Thursday morning, plus 5 Ancistrus. Made £40 which will go straight back into TetraPrima. This is great news as I now have a spare tank.

My pair of gold marble angels spawned and are now looking after fry, which will be free swimming tomorrow or the day after I guess. It wasn't a big spawn, but they look strong. Need to put another angel pair together, but want to get my next pair of BGJDs going first.

Lookig forward to the EACG auction on Friday.

Misidentification and other weirdness

Bullets for the week:

- male CT fighter ate his fry
- lost one P. multicolor, possibly the male!
- lost the male striatum killi
- put male HM RT blue fighter in with female PK super red
- removed divider from EBJD x JD tank
- Firemouths due to spawn again

Turns out my Blackbelts weren't Blackbelts after all. It had been bugging me for ages that they didn't look right, but I assumed Maidenhead Aquatics would have their labelling correct. Turns out they're probably melanurus after all that, so I now have 8 melanurus!!! Not that I mind, of course, as they're much rarer in the hobby than maculicauda.

The pair are looking in breeding condition again, so I stuck a mirror in with them today to try and cement the pair bond a bit better.

I have a cunning plan...

Went out to Amwell Aquatics and bought shed loads of these antibiotic tablets produced by an Asian company called 'AZOO'. I plan to treat both 4' tanks this week. If this can't fix the fish then nothing will. The main ingredient is chloramphenicol.

While I was there I saw some stunning marble long-fin Ancistrus, but luckily managed to stop myself buying any. Went for an amazing Dragon plakat male fighter instead, as their male fighters were reduced to £9.90. Hopefully he will make a perfect mate for my yellow half-giant plakat female.

Fingers crossed for healthy fish by next weekend!