Bettarazzi

Hi there beulz. Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you’re off to a great start. You should have a look at the Aquarium Society of Victoria and the Eastern District Aquarium Society. Both are starting to hold events again after lockdown last year.

Welcome to the forum Herman. Unless you know exactly what traits both the male and female are carrying it will be hard to predict what you will get. But the best way to understand what traits are being carried is to actually breed the fish and observe the results. Hopefully the parents will survive and you have the chance to try different crossings as well. But even if they don’t you can continue working with the offspring to build your line.

Not sure who the breeders are in Perth.

Welcome Ringga. Hope you find some good information here.

Hi Dionysus. Welcome. Which city are you in?

Welcome Alex. The Aquarium Society of Victoria have a sub-group called Victoria Betta. Unfortunately neither have held any events since covid. The ASV normally meet every 2 months in Clifton Hill. VicBetta normally run 1 or 2 events a year.

Welcome Aquamoss. Hope you find some useful information here.

Hi Angie. Welcome. This is pretty quiet these days. But please do ask away and I’ll my best to respond as quickly as possible.

Hi Scott. I’m Michael. Welcome to the forum. And welcome back to the hobby. I think it’s great that you’re involving your kids. I was introduced to the hobby when I was 12 but didn’t have a mentor with any knowledge at all. It was basically, here’s a tank and a box of old equipment, do what you like. There was a shop only a 20 minute walk away from my home. My best friend (who lived a couple of doors away) and I spent so much time and most of our pocket money there. I think we stripped that tank and redecorated it nearly every week. I doubt the filter ever made it through a cycle. It was the best time of my life. But I do laugh now when I think about how clueless I was. Shops should be able to order killies from the wholesaler but the quality might be hit and miss. The varieties will also be limited. You should join the Killifish Australia group on Facebook. Serkan Alasya is in that group. He’s been the most consistent breeder of killies in Australia for at least 30 years if not longer. He’s the absolutely best person in the country to get you going with killies. Based in Canberra. I’m not a fan of importing specifically selected bettas. But this is the way people get exactly what they want. It’s expensive and there’s no guarantee those fish will breed. The fish looking a lot different from the photos is also a common complaint. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on imported fish and have nothing to show for it except regret. It’s far better I feel to keep trying with local breeders and shops. Brisbane Betta Breeders are the most active club at the moment and most likely able to get a decent pair in your hands. I’m also looking at getting back into breeding bettas and I’ll be starting with the Brisbane folk and scouring local shops. The shops order fish from the wholesaler sight unseen which is why the quality is so variable. It’s not that the wholesaler doesn’t have good bettas. Females are still an issue though. Nano Tanks Australia in Sydney is worth having a chat with for both killies and bettas. They’re used to dealing with customers from around the country and have a particular interest in niche species. But they are a shop and there are limitations. Good luck with the search and please let us know how you get on. This forum is so quiet these days it would be nice to get it going again.

Welcome Akrosfer. Good luck with the breeding efforts.

Hi Dan. Welcome. Those tumours are common on metallic bettas. I’ve not had much luck curing them however I’ve had bettas live quite a while with similar tumours. I can’t see the rust you’re referring to. Velvet has a rusty appearance. If it is velvet then treat with half teaspoon salt per 10 litres of water, turn off the lights and cover the tank to block out light.

Welcome KB5. Sounds like you’re off to a great start.

Welcome Sass. Sounds like you’re hooked good and proper.

Go ahead and ask questions. We’re going a bit slow right now. But the only way to get things back to the way they were is for people to post.

Welcome Sig. That’s a classic and not uncommon getting started story. I think you’re going to enjoy this hobby a lot. The Eastern Districts Aquarium Society hold meetings at the Whitehorse community centre in Nunawading on the last Friday of the even numbered months. Next meeting in February. They are very closely linked to the Aquarium Society of Victoria who hold meetings in Clifton Hill on the odd numbered months. Next meeting Friday 31st January. You should try to get along to those. There’ll be a guest speaker, trading table, and supper afterwards. You don’t have to join as a member until after you’ve gone to a few meetings.

Sorry to hear that. It’s hard to know what could have caused that.

I would give him a complete water change immediately. It sounds like a bad reaction to something in his water. Save some old water and take it to an aquarium shop to get tested. They should be able to advise you further. Good luck.

Hi Betta_Addict Welcome to the forum. You should be able to find a koi or salamander pair pretty easily. There seem to be plenty around.

Welcome Kesh!

Welcome BettaGalore. Great to have a scientist in the group.

Rainbow tank would be awesome. There are a few shops that will send fish and plants to you in the mail. You want to go with the really experienced ones. Allfish2u is in Kingswood NSW. They do a lot of shipping.

Hi Jessy, Welcome. Yeah 2 litres is pretty small. A lot of breeders do use small containers but they have the experience manage water quality and detect problems early. I usually use small containers when I'm breeding but my current spawn doesn't have many males and I managed to fit them all into slightly larger 6 L containers. This allows me to have more time in between water changes. What I'm saying is that the shop assistant didn't give you the full story (they may not have known better). I suspect your female is cold. Small containers generally don't have room for a heater. So unless you're keeping it in a warm room (24-26 deg C), this is likely to be the problem. Even in summer, the overnight temperatures could be a lot lower than ideal. You should check her carefully to make sure she hasn't caught velvet. This will look like a fine yellowish-gold dust. It can be difficult to see depending on the colour of the fish. My recommendation is that you get a larger tank, say around the 20 L mark. This will have room for a heater and filter, and you can even add a couple of companion fish. But don't add any other fish until you are happy this one has settled down. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

What happened with this tank? Did you end up going for cichlids?

Hi Simon. Welcome. Yeah clown loaches are great. I haven’t kept any in a long time but I do remember the sleeping upside down thing.

Welcome Griff! How big is the tank? And what kind of fish are you generally interested in? You could do a nice planted display if it also came with lights.