reply to your query

Question
Hi karen,
well her is the reply to yor wuestion. I have been having bettas right from when i was 5.
They are fascinating fish. I used to have them in bowls which have a diameter of 15
inches. Then after a break of 2 years i started having bettas again but this time in
tanks ranging from 7 to 24 gallons.
I have 4 bettas right now. 2 males and 2 females. The females share their tank with a few
mollies and platies, while the males have their own separate 7 and 18 gallon tanks
respectively.    I tried to breed them with your advise once, but unfortunately the eggs
proved to be infertile. I didn't try to breed them after that owing to lack of time.
Well i hope to be of help to you in this matter.
 Now may i ask you a question? I visited the aquarists today and saw that the juvenile reds
have some black blotches on them. Is this supposed to be wrong? I have never bought red devils
as small as these(they are about 1inch in length)

..........srinivas  

Answer
Hi Srinivas, thanks for your reply. I was just interested in your way of keeping bettas and how it worked out. There is always a hot debate about what size tank a betta should be kept in and it was very interesting to hear what you did.

Anyway, about the 'reds' as I fondly call them... I have seen juveniles with black blotches and some without. Most babies start out grayish in color. Red s aren't always red. Sometimes if they don't get enough carotine in their diet they can come as yellow. But if they are fed a good diet they will be red as red can be. :-) These cichlids are also about the most aggressive cichlid species around. I do hope you have good luck in keeping two together, because it is very difficult as they grow larger and one becomes the ruler of the aquarium. Very few fish can live with Reds and if they do manage to avoid being nipped and chased relentlessly, more often the big Red will grow larger than the weaker tankmates and the the other fish will live quite a miserable life indeed. Few spawning are even possible because Reds are often so aggressive, to the point of being life theatening to their mate. Despite this, Red s are a beautiful fish, with the mature males sporting a large hump on his head and both males and females can grow 12 inches or more.

I don't think the juveniles at your Aquarists are poor quality. More likely just young. They should change in their color, they all do with good diet and clean water.

Well, I hope this helps! Feel free to email me anytime!

Best wishes,
Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~
PS: It appears you have ally sent two copies of the same letter... You should get two replies with one being my long reply and the other saying it is a duplicate question.
                     good luck on everything!