My bettas

[Afleetalex]

Just thought I'd show you some of my bettas! I name all my bettas after racehorses.

First is my rescue Blue Larkspur aka Blue. I got him off of craigslist as a skinny little pale lifeless thing. Now he's a very happy betta. He's my oldest betta at about 2 years of age.




Next is Misty Morn aka Misty. She'll be a year old in June. She's my breeding female and has been bred once. She comes from show winning Halfmoon lines from a breeder in California.





This is Stately Victor aka Vixen. This guy is my pride and joy. I thought he was a female when I first got him as he was marked as a female and had an ovipositor. Turns out he was a male! I bred him with Misty last September.




He's a tailbiter sadly.




Older photo of him.

Now for Vixen and Misty's babies! I guess I can't call them babies anymore as they are quite full grown. LOL. First is Monarchos aka Mo.






He looks the most like his father.



Next is Babe the Big Blue Ox aka Babe. He started out life completely blue but marbled out to a cellophane white. I can't call him the big blue ox anymore! He was the largest fry from the beginning.









Last but not least is Tiramisu aka Terra. She started out as a marble but now is completely blue.


Looks a lot like her mother.


Showing off an eggy stomach and breeding bars.


Older picture from when she was marbled.

Enjoy!

 

[GlassOnion]

Beautiful guys you have!!! I love bettas, and it always hurts when I see them in tiny unheated cups at petstores.

 

[rockoko]

Very pretty!!!!

 

[waterfaller1]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing them!

 

[expressmailtome]

Your bettas are beautiful!

Matt

 

[Anne & Gang]

wow they are beautiful.

 

[Afleetalex]

Thanks guys!

Beautiful guys you have!!! I love bettas, and it always hurts when I see them in tiny unheated cups at petstores.

I know what you mean. I believe a betta shouldn't be in a tank smaller than 2.5 gallons though 5 gallons is optimal. I have three of mine in 2.5 gallon Marinelands, Terra is in a four gallon clear container, and the other boys (Mo and Babe) are in a divided ten gallon so each have 5 gallons. It was divided three ways for Terra as well but Terra somehow jumped even with a lid on into Mo's side of the tank so the little jumper now has her own tank.

 

[GlassOnion]

Thanks guys!



I know what you mean. I believe a betta shouldn't be in a tank smaller than 2.5 gallons though 5 gallons is optimal. I have three of mine in 2.5 gallon Marinelands, Terra is in a four gallon clear container, and the other boys (Mo and Babe) are in a divided ten gallon so each have 5 gallons. It was divided three ways for Terra as well but Terra somehow jumped even with a lid on into Mo's side of the tank so the little jumper now has her own tank.

2 of mine are in their own 10gs and 1 is in a 5g. Both filtered and heated.

 

[TypingParrot]

I had one that looked like Babe. I actually did not have him as long as I would have hoped. He was the only reason my son slept at night in the year and few months we had him. He was all white with clear fins and my son named him Bubbles. We stuck with the name and my son is the one who found him when we lost him. He said "Mommy, Bubbles is sleepin'." I told him that yes he was and my mom had to remove him from the tank when I took Kaleb for a walk.

 

[Quest]

They are just lovely. I wish I knew enough
about them to have some but I don't.
Yours are beautiful.

 

[waterfaller1]

I had one that looked like Babe. I actually did not have him as long as I would have hoped. He was the only reason my son slept at night in the year and few months we had him. He was all white with clear fins and my son named him Bubbles. We stuck with the name and my son is the one who found him when we lost him. He said "Mommy, Bubbles is sleepin'." I told him that yes he was and my mom had to remove him from the tank when I took Kaleb for a walk.

They are just lovely. I wish I knew enough
about them to have some but I don't.
Yours are beautiful.

It's not too hard really.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Oh wow, they are gorgeous! Bettas are a complete mystery to me. I really am enjoying seeing your pics.

 

[brianimal]

I love babe! He is gorgeous, all of them are. Do you know how the genetics work? How did he end up white with his parents all colorful?

 

[Afleetalex]

I love babe! He is gorgeous, all of them are. Do you know how the genetics work? How did he end up white with his parents all colorful?

Yep I do know betta genetics! Both parents carried the marble gene, which is a jumping gene. It "jumps" and inserts itself into different areas of the fish making it constantly change color. Marbles are almost always changing until they get to about a year old. After that their marbling is pretty much set, but not always! So in Babe's case he started out completely blue like his mother. Then the jumping gene began to rob him of his blue layer, then his red layer until it got to his color today. Even right now he is starting to gain some black spots! Here is some pictures of his miraculous change and some articles on marbling in bettas.

The 'Jumping Gene'

One of the most recent fundamental discoveries in the science of genetics is the existence of 'transposable elements' also known as 'jumping genes'. Apparently there are certain genes which are capable of moving from one location to another on an organism's chromosomes. Sometimes they will insert in places where they interfere with gene expression. This results in a cell's (and its daughter cells') inability to perform certain tasks associated with that gene. Because the 'jumping gene's' residence at a particular place in the chromosome is only temporary, the inability of the gene interfering to express itself is only temporary.

If a jumping gene is present and it inserts itself into a gene responsible for producing a black (melano) pigment, it stops the production of black (melano), and all the progeny cells (a clone of cells) will be unable to produce black (melano). This results in a non-black patch appearing; looking like a white or cellophane patch. The reverse can happen too! If the cells are unable to produce black (melano) because the transposable genetic element is present, and the element leaves then the progeny of this cell (a clone of cells) will be able to produce black (melano) again (reverts) and a black (melano) patch will appear.

Sometimes a dark blotch on a light colored marble betta will develop a light spot in the centre. (A sot of bulls-eye effect.) This can easily be explained if you think of a clone of growing cells which first cannot produce black (melano) because of the inserted jumping gene (the light background of the fish), the jumping gene later leaves the affected melanin producing gene in the growing betta allowing black (melano production (the dark blotch) and in later growth a re-insertion of the jumping gene affecting the melanin
production in a smaller group of cells within resulting in a inner light spot in the dark blotch.


The 'jumping gene' theory can also explain why some marbles never marble. If the jumping gene does not insert (in the case of a dark bodied fish) or leave (in the case of a light bodied fish) in any of the cells during the life or growth period of the fish then marbling will not take place.Now this also could work with other pigments....the ability to produce green, blue, steel blue and red pigments. The jumping genes would just insert themselves into genes that produce these pigments turning on of off the pigment producing ability of multiplying cells in the growing fish.

There is much evidence that jumping genes or transposable genetic elements may be responsible for the characteristic known as marble in bettas. The inheritance of the marble characteristic can be explained by this theory. But proving this theory could be difficult. There is one thing for certain. Whether or not you're interested in the genetics of marble bettas, and whatever the mechanism of inheritance may be, marble bettas are beautiful. And we can all enjoy that!

Betta Splendens - Half Moon, Double Tail, Crown Tail Bettas - Breeding Marbles

This is a great article to explain it.
Betta Splendens - Half Moon, Double Tail, Crown Tail Bettas - The Ever-Changing Marble

Here's Babe when he was a young betta and still blue.



Here he is starting to change.


Here even more.


More.


Almost.....


There!


And this was all over the course of a couple weeks. It can happen pretty quickly, even overnight! The marble gene in bettas is quite unpredictable.

 

[brianimal]

Wow That is amazing! Thanks for th links and pictures. It's amazing how complex they are. i tried to breed my Bettas a couple of years back, but my female was a nervous wreck and i waasnt willing to risk her, She was beautiful, dark emerald green I miss her, it's funny, all the females i've had seem to have so much more personality than the males..