I had some fish, when I was a kid and then, for many years, I had a business importing fish, and selling them to pet shops. Bettas were always one of my favorites. For the business, I used to get my Bettas in Bangkok. The air freight was expensive. Where Bettas come from, they live in places like rice paddies, etc. The water is shallow, and heats up quickly, so Bettas are used to it being warm. The water can sometimes be somewhat polluted also. Warm, polluted water holds little oxygen, so Bettas have developed the ability to take a gulp of air from the surface. Because of the expensive freight, we decided to breed some of our own. We got 100 clear plastic shoe boxes, and set them up with a rock (for the female to hide behind, if the male got too agressive) and a floating plant, to anchor the floating bubble nest. 80°F is a good temperature for breeding. 100 little test tube heaters would be impractical and, since the water is a little cooler, due to evaporation, we kept the room temperature at 85°F.
More tomorrow.
Jarred's Aquarium Forum.
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