Blue & Bride
Years ago I got this advice from the great Ann Rogers Clark
of the dog world, “Make them typey. Then
make them healthy. Then make the
pretty.” I never followed that
advice. You see, when I was planning my
first betta spawn, I got this advice from one of my Thai mentors, “Put the male
and the female in a large clay pot. Add
a reasonably clean leaf.” Since then I
have applied that advice to breedings in fish, snakes, cats, and dogs. Breeding should be natural. Focus on the healthy offspring.
When starting a breeding a program, I select parents that
breed readily without much human intervention. I’m
very Darwinian in that respect. If they
die easily, I don’t want them in my program.
I set my tanks up, all planted, in my home without frequent water
changes or super temperature controls. When
I have spawns, I purposefully do not baby the offspring. What survives, survives. From the survivors I will select those with
the best form (type) and then make them pretty. I have found this to be a very successful
approach with a variety of freshwater tropical fish and have successfully raised
Bettas, Angel Fish, and Jeweled Cichlids, using this approach.
Currently, I have a number of beautiful betta pairs. Which ones will I put together to spawn? Those
who survive a winter in my family room.
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