Posted on 30-04-2008
Filed Under (Pets) by admin

So you’ve some experiences keeping betta fish and breeding hundreds of them,
are you ready to go for the trophy in betta fish rearing?

Halfmoon betta, one of the most sought after betta strains in the market
anywhere, is perhaps the most fascinating and gorgeous breed you can ever spawn.
One reason is because this strain of betta has many challenges for the breeders
and keepers alike. Listed below are just some of them:

  1. About halfmoon betta fish finnage - what is considered a true
    halfmoon?

    Most layman will consider any betta fish with tail shaped in the form of a
    half-circle to be of halfmoon strain. While this can be used as the basis to
    determine if you’ve got a halfmoon betta, the experts will tell you that
    there is more than meets the eye. A more critical definition of a true
    halfmoon betta is one which forms an almost complete full circle where the
    dorsal fin (top), anal fin (bottom) and caudal fin (tail) overlap each other
    and forms a complete circle. Some may even classify this as a “fullmoon”
    betta.

    The halfmoon betta’s caudal fin should spread more than 180 degress when
    flaring and the best halfmoon bettas are those with both edge of caudal fin
    as straight as possible. The last condition is perhaps the most difficult to
    fulfill by most breeders since majority of the so-called halfmoon bettas
    have “rounded” edges and corners at the caudal fin.

  2. What about color of halfmoon betta?Technically, finnage itself
    defines what’s a halfmoon betta, but most savvy breeders will shoot for
    exotic or even colors too. Frankly, to get a desirable finnage pattern
    together with scarce color combination in a halfmoon is difficult. Most
    breeders could only have success in either one of the other, but seldom
    both. Indeed, there are real secrets in getting both traits at the same
    time.

    These could be trade secrets that allow some well-known betta breeders in
    the world to price their stocks at a premium. Just imagine viewing an active
    halfmoon betta with flaring in full finnage in one of the purest single tone
    color without any other color spots? These strain of halfmoon bettas
    routinely fetch sale amount in the four-figure range easily. What’s more,
    wait till you ask about the price of the female halfmoon betta to mate the
    pair - that is, if the breeder ever put any on sale at all!

  3. About female halfmoon betta?

    This leads us to discuss a little on mating the halfmoon pair and associated
    genetics. Have you wonder why there is almost no sale of female betta for
    special strains like halfmoon? Look around and you’ll discover that sales of
    these betta are almost non-existence for prized strains. Reason is simply
    because that is the most critical “ingredient” to the reproduction and
    further genetic manipulation of such line of betta!

    There are however some alternative breeding techniques that will enable you
    to breed trophy fullmoon bettas without starting with an equivalent female.
    This involves some time and a lot more attention in mating pair selection.
    What are the criteria to consider when starting a line of fullmoon? How do
    you choose a female to produce the right genetic combination that caters to
    both finnage and color?

These closely guarded secrets are not found anywhere even on the internet, at
least not easily. Over the years of breeding special strains of bettas like
halfmoon bettas, I’ve seen such knowledge being disclosed sparingly and perhaps
accidentally by chance from experienced breeders all over the world.

Hans Chee and his friends started the Bubblenest
Betta Forum website back in the days when
betta fish sells for hundreds of dollars each and they went to the extend of
ordering these prized creatures from distant overseas. The website was started
initially as a repository of all information about keeping and breeding betta
fishes, later it spawn into an interactive forum and what is known today as “The
Place For Betta Splendens Lovers”. Visit
http://www.bubblenest.com and share your passion with the others!

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