I just don't get it

Ok so the HM male built his nest and spawned but yet again he refused to care for the nest and I lost the entire brood. I didn't have the veil tail set up so he could raise them either. I guess he's going to be a gift for someones desk this Christmas

lol. sorry to hear that. this is a problem sometimes with female cichlids as well.

Just curious because I don't have any experience with african cichlids: is this an immature fish thing that hasn't gotten the hang of it yet or is this a permanent thing. I had this happen to some newly paired discus, but they all died in a move and I was never able to see if they finally got the hang of breeding and rearing the eggs.

the last thing you want to do is move a new breeding pair of Discus. itll ruin their mating mojo and youll be hard pressed to encourage to get them back in the spirit. breeding cichlids like security and consistency

I'll have to remember that. I didn't have a choice being 17 and so if the family was moving I didn't have much say in it LOL

Sometimes if they are immature or the eggs aren't fertile they will not waste there time caring for them. Also on a virgin pair the first few spawns can go like that. Sounds to me like they weren't fertile. This does not mean he won't be a good breeder in the future. Just has to get the hang of it and get those eggs fertilized.....Was the female willing? Did he get a good wrap around her? How old are they? Is this there first spawn?

and dont forget to spoil them with good nutritious live food. that helps get em in the mood too

Well first off I switched to a female that has spawned about 10 times to give him an experinced female. From what I know he is around 5 mos old and this was his 4th time spawning. I'm at a total loss with this male Wisper. They were both well fed, healthy and ready but yet again he only seemed intrested in the sex part of it. My lil black female was the one to put the eggs in the nest while he just kept trying to "get some".

Kasshan wrote:

and dont forget to spoil them with good nutritious live food. that helps get em in the mood too

I never let them run out of tubifex and shrimp....my lil ones are WAY beyond spoiled

Trodai. You say that this is his 4th spawn. Where the others successful ones? Did you get fry from them? If not them I would have to say that he is sterile and only good as a pet. Although we do start breeding Bettas as early as 4-5 months old he may still be to young. Give him a few more months of maturing time and try again. He may just be a late bloomer...................You mention a black female. A true black female with Pheno Melano genes is sterile. They can not reproduce. The best top breeders have tried with no luck. She must have something else in her. I'd like to see a picture of her.

No he has done the same thing everytime, he just wants the female and nothing to do with the nest. As far at the female she is a very very dark steel blue (black) and red spade tail I would post a pck but sadly her tail is shreaded from a spawn and I have gotten fry from her so i know its not her fault lol. I'm thinking he will get a nice home on my grandmother's counter, I just don't feel like dealing with him anymore even tho he is very nice looking and I really wanted fry from him and my cambodion red.

Lets see a pic of your Combodian female.

not a great one but....

is she irridescent? is that the coloring term?

Nice. here is a clearer picture of a Cambodian female I had.



This is a Salamander female I had. They are often mixed up and called the wrong names.



fishface - Cambodians should not have any iridescent. Actually iridescents are usually not a good thing in Bettas.

really? just no current demand for it, or just a thing with cambodians as a pure breed? you'd think such a characteristic would be kept.

It's not just the Cambodians. Iridescents are not excepted in Bettas. As an example. Here is a Red HM male. To the untrained eye you would say "Oh isn't he beautiful." and you would be right he is beautiful but he would be over looked if being judged in a show because of the iredescents on his body also for the underlying Black under the scales. The object in Bettas is to have a totally pure coloring. Look at the three time winner which is my avatar. He has no iridescents on his body nor any underlying black of the scales.

wow, i didn't know that about show bettas. I've always thought they were a color category of their own. Isn't it funny how irridescence is bred into strains of discus, guppies, angelfish, but it's a no-no for bettas? I guess it's a good thing that the shiny bettas sell in the big box pet stores lol.

That's exactely why you find them in the chains store. They are the rejects from the Asians who are the largest exporters world wide of Bettas. The Bettas you find in the chain stores are either there rejects because they are not good coloring that they want for showing, or old, or out bred. You will never find a show quality Betta in a chain store. The chain store Bettas however are good for people that just want a pet.

right, i guess it's better than culling out the rejects into a toilet bowl. lol

you male betta sounds like a deadbeat. kids dont need a daddy with ethics like that anyway. even if he is a gorgeous ladies man.

do you have any pics of him btw?

That reddish color betta with underlying black Is so beautiful.Wow i would take him in a sec. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder