Livida seri iskandar

Out of a few hundred offspring of wild caught pair from seri iskandar wetland, only a few appears with small spot on their sides....., the rest are mostly clean single toned.

Livida seri iskandar, offspring with small spot.

wblm

Betta livida : … excessive reproduction.

The pair broke the norms of 20-70 eggs per spawn. They went through a frenzy of non-stop reproduction dec20 – jan21. I kept taking the pair out to another breeding tank once the fry able to swim freely and put a halt after the 5th spawn.

While doing 100% water change recently, I scoped out one by one and did exact counting.

23.12.20 spawn 1 – 94

28.12.20 spawn 2 – 90

03.01.21 spawn 3 - 171

09.01.21 spawn 4 - 115

15.01.21 spawn 5 – 91

TOTAL: 561 babies

THE PAIR: LM2si x LF5tm

Spawn 3 with 171 babies could be due to consecutive spawning over 2 days. I did notice how Dad raced all over the tank picking free swimming babies back to the nest. There could be another set that wasn’t ready to swim yet. I think Dad like to let go both sets to roam the tank simultaneously.

I asked fellow breeders about this. Most agree that the pair must be very healthy, Mom with belly full of eggs, Dad energetic and attractive. Cool rainy season of Dec-Jan months could also spur this excessive breeding mood.

Pic 1 : handsome Dad, I call him LM2si)

- Seri Iskandar PERAK, Malaysia

betta livida juvenile: putting them in bottles.

These betta livida juvenile were once in small polystyrene box, then a month later into bigger grow out tank, and now into 4 inches diameter bottles. The juvenile just turn 2 and a half month old, but some males had shown aggressiveness. Therefore they have to be separated, or jarring, the term betta breeders worldwide love to use.

betta livida juvenile: jarring the first 19

Life would be very lonely in separate bottles I suppose. A bit of  ketapang leaf and floating plants is an attempt to create habitat close to nature, that make them feel safe.  But each juvenile will get equal share of food, even for for the timid ones, and they don't have to fight for it. For that, I hope they grow well.

Some of them had greenish tip pelvic fins already, a trademark for betta livida. Early maturity I guess. So they say juvenile reach maturity at 3 month, but mine is 2 weeks short. I am expecting the young males to display nest making skill soon and for the females, a glimpse of egg tube at the lower part of their bodies.

Going for sale, return to habitat, giveaways are choices I will soon have. Two pairs to be returned to the original habitat, 3 pairs as giveaways, 3 pairs for future breedings. That would make 8 pairs. At least 10 pairs is up for sale. That's so much about planning, but god knows what's the sex ratio of these juvenile. A wild betta livida breeding should end with some understanding of sex ratio of their offspring. I suppose it should tie with the fertility of the pairs, the weather, water parameters and food they take. As more breeding projects are done, a reasonable estimate of sex ratio of offspring can be obtained.

Betta Livida breeding project 17/10/2020
Pair 1      : LM1s.i. vs LF2t.m.  - 38 offspring
Pair 2      : LM3t.m. vs LF1s.i.  - 19 offspring

Age: 2 and a half months

bangchik
wild betta breeding, seri iskandar PERAK

 

betta livida breeding project 11/11/2020 - 2 week old fries.

Male: LM1si  Female: LF1si

Breeding date: 11/11/2020

Offspring: 20

Get a pair, put in a tank, fill up water to 3 inches depth, put ketapang and mahang leaves, and place daun pegaga (asiatic pennywort) for nesting. That sums up basic breeding requirements, at least the way I do. Breeding can be much deeper if we wish to challenge ourselves.  Inbreeding, outcross, backcross; these are new terms I have to get involve with as I venture further with betta livida breeding. 

I believe my 29/8/2020 wild caught betta livida are related, because they were caught within a square meter in their wild habitat. Of the 2 males and a female, they might just be brother, sister, daughter, son, mother or cousins. Of the two males, one is bigger than the other, I just guess they are son and father,  and the female could be sister to the young male. 

So the 11th of November 2020 breeding project, could be a backcross between father and daughter.  It was a successful mating with  offspring of 20. At the age of two weeks, 5 of them are noticeably small, as if they are stunted. They move, but always on the floor of the tank. The other 15 exhibit normal growth as we would expect for two week old. Culling the tiny stunted five?..... Not yet I think, they could just be late bloomers.  Its too early to conclude, but the idea that stunted growth is typical of  closely related pairing is lingering in my mind. But at least I can rest assured that the wild betta livida seri iskandar has their next generation ready for future breeding adventure for whoever wish to participate.

Pic1: Offspring of livida 11/11/2020 project.
Some are somewhat very small.

bangchik

wild betta breeding, seri iskandar

BETTA LIVIDA BREEDING 11/11/2020, an observation over 8 days

Betta Livida breeding is about putting a male and a female in the same tank, and typically the male will chase and hit the female. Then the male will busy himself looking for possible site to build nest.  If the pair is happy with each other,  soon the female would come close to the nest.  

"Yes, lets get on with it"...., would probably be the words whispered by the female, to the lucky male. 

The 8 day rule

day1 - male surveying the new territory . Male will chase and hit female occasionally resulting in torn fins. 

day2 - male starts to build nest, while female is hiding.

day3 - Very early in the morning, female come close to nest and surrender, with head somewhat pointing downward. They waste no time, and go straight into mating rituals.  There is also dry runs, before the real circling and bending. Each wrap, few eggs will be released, picked by male to be placed at the nest. Many wraps will happen, lasting a few hours. When there is no more eggs to be released, male will chase female away.

"Go away, from now on I will look after the eggs and fries".  The male could have shouted that. Female will go into hiding.

day4 - male attending to the nest, picking and putting back fallen eggs

day5 - male  is working full time, really busy with falling fries

day6 - male is working full time, really busy with falling fries

day7 - male is working full time, but of lesser degree. Male manage to seek live food at the other corner. Female also come out from hiding and enjoy the live food, and she quickly dashes into hiding the moment male appears. Male notably switches place for fallen fries, he pick them up and place nearer to the tank sides.  One or two fries seems to be floating and drifting a few cm away from the nest.

day8 -  Time to say "bye, take care" to the little fries, as they begin to flex the tiny muscles. They are now at free swimming stage. Both Dad and Mom are taken out. 

Observations

That's what I had seen over the eight days since 11th of November 2020.  The most interesting part is the male is extremely busy once all eggs are deposited, running up and down to pick dislodged eggs and 24 hours later picking the fallen fries. He doesn't venture to the feeding side during 3rd to 6th day. Only on the 7th day, he manages to squeeze for a quick snack. Female also seem to be fasting  from 3rd to 6th day, just like the male. 

Water at the depth of 3 inches looks alright, but upon witnessing the non stop heavy chores of picking eggs and later fries, the depth can still be further reduced to perhaps 2.75 inches for the next breeding project.

I use water pegaga plants (centella asiatica)  as possible nesting site,  but the stems seem to restrict movements of male as he search for eggs and fries. I should assemble pegaga plants in way that would be less restrictive, for the next breeding project.

I am able to observe their behaviour throughout the 8 days, because the breeding tank is clear acrylic and placed on a rack a meter away from the dining table.  The pair had been with us for 2 months, so they don't mind our presence, and especially me for the regular non stop peeps at their activities. 

The 8 days rule may not hold, if the pair is hesitant about the whole breeding affairs, could easily be 9 days, or 10 days.

pic 1: breeding tank set up for 11/11/2020 - betta livida

pic 2: breeding tank set up  for11/11/2020- betta livida
view at night

The pair LM1si and LF1si had done quite well. The fry totaled 20  are beginning to venture and bite live food other than infusoria. 

Bangchik 
Seri Iskandar Perak