betta imbellis- flaring!!

[ValRasbora]

Okay, a couple of you know I have a pair of betta imbellis- well, they've always been a bit drab since I've got them in February. My Mum always nags me that my boy is "mean" (only as much as a female splendens...) and ugly and eel-like

Only a bit...

She refers to him as "The Tongue". why the weird nickname? His territory\hideout is this opera-singing fish thing. He always peeks out like a tongue

Today I put a mirror up next to the aquarium to see if his lame colors would intensify. Did they? Did they eva! Soo check out mah sexy fish.

"Who dis sexy beast? Get away from mah chick!"

This is his girl. She's cute, shy and little. She was showing crazy breeding stripes when he was defending his territory from rivals.

Look at his amazing tail! C'mon. You're jealous!

His gills where going SO far out I could easily see the insides!

"RAWR"

he was rubbing his body all over the glass to try make the intruder go away!

When I came back downstairs and saw his coloration, his flare, his pose... I flipped, did a huge happy dance and started jumping up and down! FinallY all those live foods have paid off! I yelled for my mum and she was shocked. "WHOA! What fish is THAT?! What happened to him?!"

"I warned you once! Dis MAH terf, thug!"

The gill coverings are awesome !

Thanks for looking thru my photo album- you can tell I was overexcited. Him and his gurl are going to be one of the inhabitants in my 16g paludarium (see sig for link!) and they are going to look FAB.

Thanks for looking at my gorgeous sexy boy's picture album

 

[lauraf]

Wonderful pics! Wonderful storytelling! Thanks for posting this. I'm impressed.
I'm gonna be a betta mum soon (doing my happy dance now . . . .)
Back to you, Val. Back to you.

 

[ValRasbora]

You're going to breed bettas laura? Awesome! You should've seen my happy dance. It was hilarious, only something a fishgeek could dance about hehe.
Good luck with your bettas!

 

[riseabovethesun]

@val&laura, you two are so funny.

Those are great photos of the betta! And I'm totally not picking at you (because I've done it myself) but just asking because I've always wondered, I heard you weren't supposed to hold mirrors up to bettas because it can start to stress them a lot since they want to 'attack' so to speak.

Either way he is gorgeous!

 

[lauraf]

You're going to breed bettas laura? Awesome! You should've seen my happy dance. It was hilarious, only something a fishgeek could dance about hehe.
Good luck with your bettas!

No, sorry I meant I'm going to own a betta soon. I've just set up a 5g mini-me tank for ADFs, a betta and shrimp. To keep Mercedes happy.
I haven't had a betta in, like, 20 years!
Anyhoo, back to yours.

 

[bassbonediva]

Gah! Now I want betta imbellis! rofl!

A word of caution on shrimp and bettas...I put four ghost shrimp in Edward's 5gal tank. Yeah, noticed the other day that they're slowly nibbling away his fins. Tested my water parameters, thinking maybe he had fin rot, but everything was normal...then I WATCHED one of the little buggers take a swipe at his tail! Yeah, netted all four out and put them in the empty 20gL. I should have moved their happy little butts into the 29gal and let Grover have a snack. Grrrr!

 

[lauraf]

Thanks Paige, duly noted. Let's talk more about this in my 5g nano tank thread, so poor Val gets hers back to devote to the imbellis.
Val, remind me, where did you get your imbellis from in the first place?

 

[littletankbigworld]

That's unusual. From what I've read, docile bettas will bother the shrimp a little bit and then leave them alone if the shrimp have a good hiding place.
He is gorgeous! I love your photos! I've been trying to get a picture of Finn flaring but every time she flares, I reach over for my camera and she stops. I'll try the mirror trick some time.

 

[misterking]

Gah! Now I want betta imbellis! rofl!

A word of caution on shrimp and bettas...I put four ghost shrimp in Edward's 5gal tank. Yeah, noticed the other day that they're slowly nibbling away his fins. Tested my water parameters, thinking maybe he had fin rot, but everything was normal...then I WATCHED one of the little buggers take a swipe at his tail! Yeah, netted all four out and put them in the empty 20gL. I should have moved their happy little butts into the 29gal and let Grover have a snack. Grrrr!

I think ghost shrimp have a habit of this.. I've seen videos of them trying to pick off weak tetras before, actively trying to bring the fish down.

That betta is gorgeous... secretly wanting one for my 9g now haha!

 

[Newman]

sexy bettas. certainly something special, you can even keep the male and female in the same tank always

 

[ValRasbora]

ooh ok that makes more sense, laura! hehe my bad. When somebody says betta mommy I think mommy takes care of babies, to get babies you breed... I hope it turns out amazing and you get a really sweet betta.
I only ever use the mirror for a few minutes (just long enough to get some good pics!) so if he is stressed, it isn't for long.
bass, I know you want him! I love him, he's the most unique thing I've ever had and it's great you can keep them together.
I will note the shrimp thing, I'm not even sure if I'll be getting them because they are hugely over priced here- ghost $2+, cherry up to $8! MK, you should get some for your 9g they'd look awesome in there with a school of pygmy cories... I got mine for the amazing price of $6each! I've seen them on aquabid.com for about $15 each.

Ooh and guess what?! The 16g is almost done the cycle! That means they'll be moving in soon! Wheee!

 

[riseabovethesun]

No, sorry I meant I'm going to own a betta soon. I've just set up a 5g mini-me tank for ADFs, a betta and shrimp. To keep Mercedes happy.
I haven't had a betta in, like, 20 years!
Anyhoo, back to yours.

Laura! Lol, I just found this response of yours, how could I have missed it.

Bettas are love.

 

[lauraf]

The ADFs and shrimp are for you. The betta's for me.