I am pretty new to betta breeding and don't have a large stock so I took the best fish in my arsenal and put them together. A blue marble PK boy and a black (Green lace?) single tail female. Both came from the IBC 40th auction. I already get a sense that I will have to follow them through several generations but I am still learning what to look for and who to breed, so I guess if possible to rate the fish individually and then as a pair? Any help is much appreciated.

Yes. I would love to know about this two. Whos betta is this from? You know the breeder?
Ohh. Dr Robert is having a honey mood with his 10,000 bettas now. LOL :lolo:
He sure will be right back when he has nothing to do. ;)

The Male:

Body nice and strong looking though maybe a bit stubby. This may be a genetic deformity. Caudal pendacle is nice and thick, very good for breeding more rays! Color is fair but could use some improvement. Marbling is weak! I wouldn't breed this fish as solid and would definately pick a female for him that has a better marble pattern. Dorsal nice and wide and very symetrical to caudal (nice line up!!!!). Dorsal is two ray, not my choice in dorsal but looks good on this fish. Anal fin is nice and wide but is losing the plakat point. Caudal is two ray and wild plakat type. Needs to be 4 ray and have the thinner rounder long fin rays for a HMPK line. Caudal is not ideal for creating a HMPK line definately a spade tail. It would require a lot of work to convert this tail type to show plakat HM tail type.

Would I breed this fish? Probably not! Fish is a pretty nice looking fish but has a lot of undesireable traits that would require a lot of work. The short body may turn out bo be a trait you can not over come. I rate this fish a 3 out of a possible score of 10.

The Female:

Budy is mishapen. Possible curve in the spine. The face is definately skewed from the natural shape of a normal betta female. The fish is definately a long fin female. Dorsal fin is thin and mis shapen. Anal fin is slightly too long and has wash along the base. Caudal pendacle is very wide and strong. Great for breeding fish with a lot of rays and with big heavy fins. The caudal itself is pretty nice. Good branching along the center rays looks like about a 8 ray. Pay attention to the first and last ray set.... The rays are short and non branching. Not a good quality. The fish does have potential and some desireable traits. The color may suggest that it is a melano. If so she would be infertile. The picture of her is dark so I could be wrong on this. Would I use this female to breed? No cause of the deformaties in the body. She does have some desireable traits! I rate this fish a 3 out of a possible score of 10.


OK. As a pair.

Both have body deformaties. Both have nice thick caudal pendacles. Both fish carry marble. Yes these fish are compatible in color. Importantly the long fin would complement the plakat in the males genetics. I think you should breed the two together and see what comes out of it. You should get Turq, Steel, Royal, marble, and BF's. Grow out the babies to see exactly what you got cause marble causes the fish to develope its patterns later in life and constantly changes. I would be curious to see the progeny when they are 4 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 months old.

Rob

WOW. We all keep learning from you Dr Robert! ;) I like this. It is a way to seat down and observed a betta in details. What is wrong, what is good and they are great information you put in. Thanks Robert. You did a great job helping us in here to undertand more in a standard betta. Love it. :Y

It is such a great asset to be able to learn from a man with your experience and I appreciate the advice. It shows me the finer things to look for other than, "Hey a pretty betta." Thank you sir! I did get eggs from them, I will know soon if they are fertile.

Just an update. Some of the eggs did hatch, however there were a lot that the male didn't pick up and they fungussed. There were probably 30 that were hopping up and down out of the nest. I just went to check on them.... Dad ate every single one of them. :angry:

Mark him as an egg/fry eater and get them conditioned up again. This time pull him as soon as he nests the eggs and hope for the best. Also if you are turning off the lights don't. Some males forget that they are tending and when the lights come back on they look for breakfast.

Rob

Will do. As for lighting I keep a 60 watt Flourescent spring bulb on them 24/7.