# breeding whites



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

a reputable breeder told me that whites (pure white) are harder to breed and raise. anyone with experience or have any thoughts to add?


----------



## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

You are talking about opaque white bettas right? I've spawned white opaques twice before and didn't notice them being any different from my other spawns. The only thing you have to watch out for is you don't want your pair to have any white clouding in their eyes. The clouding is common in opaque white bettas but it isn't desirable and I'd assume it makes seeing more difficult for the them. Avoiding pairs with white clouding doesn't mean the fry will avoid it 100% but it would reduce the amount in the next generation.... You also want to avoid red wash. Otherwise, their color breeds true. All 150 or so fry from my two spawns were opaque white except two, one ended up being a marble cellophane/white opaque and the other had a black spot on its head.


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I'm assuming the same thing as DM17 - opaque white.

I'm not sure whether what I experienced was coincidence or it's actually so. 
1. IME it tends to have low mentality against dark color. So you can't exercise it for too long. If they would go all out during exercise, their fins would develop better. Maintaining mentality is important in my area. I want my males to be willing to flare for about an hour.

2. Because of this character, females stress more easier thus harder to breed. But in this case it really depends on how we treat our fish. If they seldom stress from wc or intimidation from other bettas, they should be easy to breed, specially to another light color.

3. Character is also reflected in eating habits. They are not so "piggy" as dark colors. In turn they grow slower. This IMO depends on how we keep water quality. If we provide ideal WQ, they will have no problem.

4. Sometimes whites (both opaque and platinum) when given direct sunlight changes color.... blackish blotches(?) appear. Many believe that morning sunlight is important for their health. So this phenomenon is undesired amongst our local hobbyists.

I wish to emphasize that I'm not sure if my experience is the same as others or is it just "pure luck". lol


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

can someone show me platinum vs opaque?


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

so, is Theo an opaque? he has some white clouding over his eyes, but can still kinda see. does that mean, i shouldn't use him for breeding, ever, if i ever wanted to breed him? o.o

i found two pics of a white opaque, and a white platinum. dunno what the diff is to MY eyes, but i can't see good anyways. Xd

http://bettysplendens.com/ImageResizeCache/93b868dff3e93e362dccded38cdba16c.jpg
White Opaque


http://www.greatwhitebetta.com/DSCF1108.JPG
white platinum


----------



## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

You shouldn't breed him if he has white clouding, but if you were to breed him it doesn't mean all of his fry will also have white clouding, it just means that there is a greater likelihood that he will pass on that trait.

Opaque:








Platinum:


----------



## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Opaque is just "paper white" while platinum is a shiny metallic white (sometimes shows slight traces of red/yellow/gold from certain angles). You can cross an opaque to a copper or any other metallic to get platinums. 

Sometimes pictures don't do the actual fish justice, but from what I see Luimeril"s avatar is an opaque. The first picture is an opaque. It has shiny fins because of irid effects. The second picture is a poor platinum because the body is shiny/metallic but not full.

DM17's first picture is an opaque because it's paper white. The second picture is rather dark but I'd say it's more of a gold than a platinum... but then again it could be because of the angle the picture was taken.


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

ok so yes, opaques is what i'd like to eventually breed.


----------



## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

Here's a better picture of the second betta (platinum). His body is paper white (but with some black marbling) like opaques, but as you can see, his fins are not paper white. He is technically a platinum marble.









cajunamy you can look through my spawn gallery to see by opaque spawns. As long as you keep up on the water changes and feed them a well balanced diet, they shouldn't be much different than other colors. I kept mine away from windows to prevent the sunspots indjo mentioned. Though bettas need natural sunlight to be truly healthy I'm sure most American breeders have trouble filling that need...


----------



## Dragonlady (Nov 29, 2010)

White bettas can be kept together as a group much longer than reds. Pastel and cellophane is very closely related to opaque.


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Both are beautiful.


----------



## lessandler (Jun 5, 2011)

*looking to get a pet opaque white*

I am looking to get a opaque white or platinum white or aquabid and there is one I am interested in but it does appear to have some slight clouding over one of the eyes (and it does not show the other eye). It is currently 4.5 months old. Will this fish have difficulty with his vision, and if so will it hamper his ability to feed properly and will it get worse with age? This is not in inexpensive fish by any means so I like to think that it is not handicapped.

I am not looking to breed, but posting here because you guys seem the most knowledgeable in this arena. 

Thanks!


----------



## DarkMoon17 (Apr 16, 2011)

I have found that eye clouding can get worse with age, and if it is on one eye it is probably in the other too. If it is serious, it can basically blind them. One of my opaque girls seems to have trouble seeing and has lost weight so I'll have to give her special treatment to make sure she gets enough food and etc. She was fine a few months ago, but it appears that the clouding has spread-either that or she has popeye but it is very hard to tell with them.


----------

