I was *finally* able to take some decent pictures of my Betta burdigala spawning. They are incredibly difficult for me not because they are shy (mine are actually quite friendly), but because they like super dark, IAL-tea water. It is wonderful to sit on the edge of my bed and watch them spawn - they are so elegant and gentle, like a waltz - but trying to get photographs of them is another matter!!
The pair tolerated me bringing over the tripod right next to their love nest, banging around their tank while hurriedly trying to clean the glass (in vain), and also be blinding them with different LED light configurations. I finally gave up and shot with flash, which sucked because I can't even see the fish while I am trying to focus, adjust shutter speed and f-stop, etc. Finally I hit upon the right settings and didn't touch the camera while I was shooting blindly at them until my camera died!
The pair tolerated me bringing over the tripod right next to their love nest, banging around their tank while hurriedly trying to clean the glass (in vain), and also be blinding them with different LED light configurations. I finally gave up and shot with flash, which sucked because I can't even see the fish while I am trying to focus, adjust shutter speed and f-stop, etc. Finally I hit upon the right settings and didn't touch the camera while I was shooting blindly at them until my camera died!
The female in this species decides when and where they will spawn. The male will sometimes build a couple of nests, and they might spawn in only one or all of them lol!
 The female leads while the male dances around her. Couldn't get any good photos of him flaring but he is amazing when he flares! |  Male looking pretty while the female takes her time |
They can spawn for hours just like domestic Betta splendens, but only a few eggs are produced each wrap, most of the time none at all.
 Eggs! They come out very small but quickly swell to very large eggs for such a tiny species. The fry are also very large. |  After all the commotion (and my camera died), the pair decided to move to their other nest in the film canister lol. Glad I at least got a few good ones! |
I hope more people breed this species! Small, beautiful, and very funny behavior. It seems like only a handful of fry survive from each spawn (or maybe my male is just a horrible parent...). I have about a dozen or so fry from these guys that have grown to maturity, and they are really special.
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