In a previous blog entry, I mentioned 'species focus' and said that I would explain what this means in a future post. Well this is that post. Basically, the long-term goal for my fish room, is to have breeding pairs of all described species from within the coccina complex. This is obviously not going to happen overnight. However, it is something that I will be slowly working towards over the next few years. Anyway, while I want to collect and hopefully spawn all of these species at some point, there are a handful of species I have selected from this complex that I specifically want to work with in greater depth. This is based on several factors such as conservation status, spawning difficulty, and personal preference. With these species, I will be keeping multiple pairs to use as breeding stock, and intend to go beyond the usual F1/F2 generation. I'm hoping that by selecting high-quality pairs with strong parenting instincts (nothing more frustrating than fish that are poor parents) to use as foundation stock, I can provide Australia with exceptional, locally bred wild bettas. With species that are not part of my species focus, I will retain only a single breeding pair in addition to the original fish. The remaining fish will either be sold to other hobbyists, or housed in large groups to discourage spawning.
So far the species I have selected for my species focus are: Betta brownorum, Betta sp. apiapi, Betta coccina, Betta livida and Betta persephone. I suspect it will be difficult to source Betta livida, and I am after a replacement pair of coccina because my present pair are not what I am looking for in breeding stock. However, I've learned in this hobby that time can often make the seemingly impossible a reality. Comments are closed.
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AuthorLocated in Melbourne, Australia, I currently keep and breed a number of species from the coccina complex. Archives
November 2017
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