Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
Black Orchid Bettas
- Eric (Eric Corcoran)
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I've recently bred my crowntail bettas and wanted to share the story so far.
13/06/14 : Pair placed in spawning tank (20 liter plastic tub filled to about 5 inches). Female in chimney.
14/06/14 : Large nest built. Female released.
15/06/14 : Pair spawned. Female removed and the male tending the nest.
17/06/14 : Eggs hatched and male removed.
18/06/14 : Fry became free swimming. Not many maybe 15-20. 1st time they spawned so hopefully a lot more next time.
19/06/14 : First feed of micro worms.
Female.
Male
Spawning tank
Bubble nest
Fry hanging from nest
Heres a video of the pair spawning. If you look closely you can see the eggs falling and the male putting them back in the nest
www.youtube.com/channel/UCCeUqIFzbk6AyYnoMyOzfUA
Eric
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- igmillichip (ian millichip)
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We want to see more Betta breeding blogs.
ian
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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I have a fondness for black orchids.

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- Jim (Jim Lawlor)
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- Eric (Eric Corcoran)
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Thanks for this post Eric - I haven't bred bettas since I was a kid and your post has enthused me to try it again!
It would be great to get a few more betta breeders on board.
Eric
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- Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
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Looking forward more updates, thanks for sharing

Lydia
Lowtech Shrimps nano 30l
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- Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
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Thanks for the pics. When do you have to separate them?
Lydia
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- Eric (Eric Corcoran)
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Eric
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- Eric (Eric Corcoran)
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- Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
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They look really nice Eric.
Lydia
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Location: Clogherboy Navan.
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Eric
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