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The Breeding of Quality Bettas By: Chris Yew Submitted: 9/28/2004 Steel HM single-tailed female It's every hobbyist's dream to breed a good true Half Moon betta, but what are the success rates? Well probably, instead of Half Moon, most of us will end up with Super Deltas or Deltas. So what are the guidelines or criteria that we should look out for if we intend to breed a good true Half Moon? 1. Selecting the Best This will definitely be easier said than done for some due to budget constraint. My advice is to choose a pair that is within your maximum budget and always go for the best pair. If you're seriously going into breeding them, there is no point to waste 2 to 3 months down the road after spawning them, and realise that the spawns are not what you expected. Try to purchase your first breeding pair from a reputable breeder who knows about the 'parentage' of the fish. If you wish to increase your success rate, it's best to purchase a pair from the same parent fish. Try not to purchase a male from one breeder and a female from another breeder. The reason is that if the pair you purchased is from the same parent fish, this pair will be termed the F1 (1st generation), and the subsequent spawn that you breed will be F2 (2nd generation). In most cases, only thru selective breeding (meaning selecting the best pair from F1) of the F1, will give you a higher success rate in the F2. 2. Caudal Fin The most important point to look out for is the straightness of both the outermost edges of the caudal fin. If both the outermost edges are curved towards the same direction, do not choose them for breeding. A good Half Moon is defined as a 180 degree caudal spread measured from one outermost edge to the other. So if the outermost edge is not straight, it will not be considered a true half moon. Also, most Half Moons tend to have shorter caudal fins then Super Deltas or Deltas. 3. Ray branching or Splitting This is another very important feature to consider. The more ray branching or splits that the caudal fin (include the anal and dorsal fins) has, the larger will be the spread of the fin. It will help to give a better support of the fin and the betta will have larger and more beautiful finnage even when it's not flaring. In a very good trait of Half Moon, we may have primary, secondary, tertiary, as well as quaternary splits or branching. This will give you 16 splits out of one main ray! A primary split gives you 2 rays; secondary split - 4 rays; tertiary split - 8 rays; and quaternary split - 16 rays. This is what Peter Choo taught me who is renowned for his line of Yellow bettas which some have up to quaternary split! 4. Clean water environment This is one factor that will affect the appearance or the development of the finnage. Poor water conditions will cause fin collapsing and even fin rot. It's important to have frequent water changes and dechlorinate it if the water used is direct from tap. Chlorine will have a 'burning' effect on the fins and will affect it's finnage. Source: Bettas Onli

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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

For all the betta inquiries:
Just a reminder, I am not selling bettas in the US at the present time. I may begin to supply a few select bettas throughout Europe sometime in late Spring 2011. Cheers!

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