My two male bettas have been in top form lately. Their two-gallon round tanks sit side-by-side so they can see each other if they'd like to, but they also have plenty of private space.
Here is the double-fan-tail, a gorgeous pastel fish whose hues change from lavender to green depending on the lighting:
And here is the comb-tail betta, whose tail extends to look like a comb with the teeth set far apart. He is older than the pastel betta, so he is much larger. His colors are blue, green and red in deep, jewel tones:
The bubbles you see on the top of the water shows that each male is building a nest, hoping to attract a female. That means the water conditions are just right for them.
I haven't posted a lot lately about new baby angelfish because there hasn't been any in quite awhile. The couple I depend on most for laying eggs every few weeks has been on a hiatus for months. The last time they laid eggs, Lindsay thought the fry wasn't to his liking and decided to eat them. Or maybe they were too much to his liking. Stevie caught him in the act and tore into him. I removed them both to a separate tank and hand-raised their young on my own, eventually raising 17 to take to the local pet shop.
I don't know if Stevie was still angry with Lindsay and refused to have sex with him. Or maybe she was too traumatized by the sight of Her Babies' Daddy eating them. I tried changing their food to pure brine shrimp, specially designed for breeding. No luck.
This past weekend, I decided that it was too much work to clean so many tanks every week so I drained the infant tank. I moved Lindsay and Stevie to a community tank but that turned out to be short-lived. Stevie was accepted instantly, as most females are. Lindsay, however, was perceived as a threat by the other males and promptly driven into a corner. As I observed this, I realized Lindsay's eye had become injured so out he came and back to his original tank.
I added medicine to his tank that day and followed with Bionox the following day. Late yesterday, I moved Stevie, shown in this video below, back to the honeymoon suite. I decided since angelfish mate for life, they were better off together. Lindsay looked lonely in the tank by himself. And Stevie wouldn't leave the corner of the community tank, where she stared across the room at Lindsay.
This morning, Lindsay's eye is almost completely healed. I will continue with the medicine for a week, and then reassess his condition.
Last week I mentioned that my blue marble angelfish had lost his long-time mate. He was pretty blue, hanging out in a corner and staring at his own reflection in the glass.
So I moved Emmie Lou, the platinum marble angelfish who was born to Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick right here in my own home, into his tank. (Shown below)
Because one should never introduce just one angelfish to a different tank, I also moved Alfreda AKA Alfie, a koi angelfish.
If I introduce just one angelfish to a group of angels, the newcomer will often be the target of territorial issues and bullying. By introducing two at once, especially in a tank with only three others present, it changes the dynamics and there is less likelihood of bullying.
Both Emmie Lou and Alfie are females, which is also acceptable in a tank with three males. Had I introduced another male, I would have had definite problems.
So far, Emmie Lou and Alfie have taken up with Mr. Blue, which is exactly what I wanted to happen.
The largest angels in this tank are Walter and Jack, two huge (12 inch tall) blue angels. They are named for Grumpy Old Men Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, because they are always bickering. But they're brothers and I suspect if I moved one, they'd miss each other. Besides, nobody else wants to put up with them.
