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Maintenance of Halfmoons By: BettySplendens Submitted: 12/23/2003 Young halfmoon in full flare Halfmoons are probably the most demanding betta type to maintain. It helps to bear in mind that long-finned bettas such as HMs are developed domestically and are probably poorly adapted for survival in the wild. This means that HMs would probably require more care and space than a typical short-finned wild betta. 90% of fish ailments have a common root cause: poor water quality. The secret lies in using as big a container as possible for your HM and changing the water like crazy. Unfortunately, the best way to maintain a HM is to do what most of us don't have the time to do - change 100% of the water daily! If you only do partial water changes, some of the bacteria remain in the container with the fish. It only takes some stress for your fish to fall prey. If you can not possibly do full water changes every day then every other day or every 3 days can suffice, depending on the size of the container. Siphoning the debris from the bottom (and then topping off the container with clean, treated water) every day is strongly recommended. Use dechlorinated water (preferably aged). This is necessary to remove all traces of harmful chlorine and chloramines which are not present in natural ponds. Also, adjust your pH to ensure that it matches that which the fish is used to. There are commercially available pH raisers or lowerers for this purpose. Plants are another good option. As in the wild, they help to remove phosphates from the water, which would otherwise build up in your aquarium through the partial water changes. While phosphates are not toxic to fish, it would encourage the growth of unsightly algae in your tank. I would recommend the hardy java fern to help reduce the phosphates in your betta tanks. Java ferns usually come with driftwood. If so, detach the plants from the driftwood before placing them into your betta tank as the driftwood typically has sharp edges that could tear the fins of your betta. Plants also absorb nitrates in producing food for themselves. Do ensure that there is space for free movement of your fish as plants occupy space. Do monitor the amount of space that your bettas have from time to time as plants do grow. Remove plants where necessary to ensure that there is a balance between space and plants in your tank. Use the same type of plants that you used in the fry tank when the time comes to jar your HM fry. If the fish was purchased from another breeder, ask for the water conditions used to raise the fish and replicate those conditions as closely as possible. This could be critical! Reds and non-reds in particular are very sensitive to any changes in water perimeters. Provide your HMs with good food. Feed as large a variety of foods that is available to you and supplement your betta's dietary intake with dried foods containing essential vitamins. Personally, I would advocate frozen foods (which are fresher than dried food but will not introduce nasties like live food). However, you should feed small portions regularly (enough so that the fish can finish up the food within five minutes). Otherwise, the uneaten food will introduce more ammonia into the system as it decomposes. Allow the fish to stretch his fins every day by exposing him to his own reflection or to another betta. The fish shouldn't be constantly in view of other bettas, or his interest in them will start to wane. If you have to keep your fish in site of each other, than either 'card' them (block their view of each other with an index card or other suitable view-blocker) or shuffle the jars around so that they are constantly switching neighbors and having to reestablish their pecking order. Be aware that fish with very full finnage that flare too hard for too long can blow their fins, so these individuals are best limited to 1-hour flaring sessions. It is a lot of work, but the beauty of the HM betta in full flare makes them undeniably worth it. Special thanks to all the fellas at Betta Club Singapore for their wisdom and input in writing this article. Source: BCS

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HEJSAN FROM SWEDEN EVERYONE! Everything in Sweden is going well, although I'm still busy learning the language and coping with a newborn, so it will be a bit before I'm as active as I'd like with the fish. This is a Facebook update! I have created a new BettySplendens Facebook page that will be used exclusively for betta-related networking. On the 16th of August I will be going through and deleting most of the people on my personal Facebook page who are not actual friends or family (many of you have become friends through the course of the hobby, and of course will not be deleted). If for any reason you wish to remain on my personal page, please let me know by emailing bettysplendens@yahoo.com, or FB email. Otherwise, go to the new BettySplendens Facebook page and click the 'like' button for more betta-related news and updates :).

Tack så mycket (that's ''Thank you very much'' in Svenskie-land ;))! ~Victoria~

Slight change of plans! I have decided that, instead of reinventing the wheel, I'm going to create a personal FB page and use the old one purely for betta stuff. So if you're on the original page (now called BettySplendens Bettas), please stay put! :P

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