shadoh

*lol* I came close... Tank currently about 1/3 full of water.

Yep, standard recipe.

A mess! You'll get multi coloured combtails. You most certainly get a lot of red wash. You'll get some yellow back in the second generation... Busman and I have had no luck. None of our fish like one another. I'm about to try a blue yellow CT x HMPK cross. The blue female carries yellow, so hoping for yellow "orchid" CTPKs down the track. When doing a colour cross like that, it helps to know the background of the fish.

*lol* and I thought I was bad with my impulse buys... I'll wait for someone with a little more genetic knowledge to chime in with what you should get apart from the obvious (HM yellow female) If you were willing to put in the work, you could put your black orchid girly with that orchidy looking HMPK boy and work on creating some Black Orchid CTPKs.

Mate, you have no idea how long it has taken me to get this far... Going for the sand substrate again ;)

*lol* I got this far and ran out of motivation.

The female... Despite her rough appearance, (numerous failed spawn attempts with her yellow apache CT brother) she was a real stunner. It would be nice to get some CTPKs like her too!

Cross #2 Yellow/Blue HMPK x Blue Apache CT The Male.... The male is from the Orange Marble HMPK spawn. It is becoming obvious that this line needs some new blood. My goal is to produce some CTPKs with his colouring. He is the same colour as the male crowntail who was the sibling to the blue apache female. As with the orange male above, his finnage is not perfect, but since it is going to take generations to get perfect CTPK finnage regardless what fish I use. This is a long term project.

I have so many ideas for future possible spawns, I thought I would start a thread to keep them all in the one place and my reasons behind the pairing, because half the time I forget. Cross #1 Orange HMPK x Platinum Yellow HMPK The Male... This boy is from the orange marble HMPK spawn. I love his apricot colour. His caudal has some darker orange spots and streaks that could be developed further if the pattern turns up in the offspring. Finnage needs work, but I believe the females superior finnage should balance out his shortcomings and give better caudal spread and branching. The Female... This girls matching platinum yellow butterfly male was lost during the mystery illness outbreak that worked it's way through my fishroom. I expect her superior finnage should help improve on the males in the next generation

Hi Matt, as I posted in my other thread, they all died. I'm not going to replace them at this stage. I have too many other things to worry about right now. Nice chiller. Glad it is working for you. How come the 2nd one was so cheap?

With easter just around the corner, I was looking forward to meat sponge easter eggs for my fish! In my research on the stuff, I found people setting the food in trays and using cookie cutters...lol!

Just received my answer from Allen Repashy himself regarding his companies foods here in Australia. At this stage, there is no Australian distributor and due to our import regulations, it is next to impossible for buyers to get the product shipped over themselves. In the meantime, it will be interesting to watch the growth rates the US breeders get from using this food :D

http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/carrageenan-powder.html

They use Carrageenan Algae - apparently it is more palatable to fish than agar or some others commonly used.

Off the top of my head, I cant remember what age everyone else starts their fry on it, Basement Bettas started their 4-5 week olds on it no probs. They use an algae based binding agent.

Wouldn't it make feeding so much easier while we are all off at work!!? The good thing is that it can be moulded to any shape. Can see some of the more artistically minded people using chocolate moulds. What about a mould in the shape of a piece of driftwood.... Hmmm, might be an idea for a new business venture here... Aquarium gel food moulds :D

There has been a lot of talk about the Repashy gel foods on the IBC forums of late. It is said this is a more natural way to feed your betta fry (and other types of fish, shimp etc - depending on the formula used), as it will last in your tank up to 24-48 hours and allows your fry to graze. I was wondering whether anyone knows if there is an Australian distributor? I'd love to give this stuff a try for myself. Here is the list of ingredients for the "meat pie" formula that US breeders have been using on their betta fry: INGREDIENTS: Whole Sardine Meal, Whole Squid Meal, Whole Krill Meal, Pea Protein Isolate, Dried Brewers Yeast, Carrageenan Algae, Konjac, Carob Bean Gum, Dried Kelp, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Propionate, Dicalcium Phosphate,Taurine, Spirulina Algae, Phaffia Rhodozyma Yeast, Paprika Extract, Calendula Flower Powder, Marigold Flower Extract, Rose Hips Powder, Turmeric Root Powder, Malic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Canthaxanthin, Potassium Sorbate, Magnesium Gluconate, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract and Mixed Tocopherols (as preservatives), Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement). Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein min. 55%, Crude Fat min. 7%, Crude Fat Min 6% Max 8%, Crude Fiber max. 6%, Moisture max. 8%, Ash max. 9%, Calcium min. 1.5%, Calcium max. 2.5%, Phosphorus min. 0.75%. Basement Bettas video of fry feeding on Repashy food: Read Basement Bettas full review here General video on the use of Repashy food from tedsfishroom.com

Yeah, no problem mate. I'll be posting an announcement and meeting details tomorrow. Next meeting is Tuesday 20th at 7:30pm in the arcade Fishchicks store is in - Ace Comics meeting room...

Lol... Yeah, I have noticed Wolfgang has a running dialogue with the fish as he catches them *lol*

Hi Ness, I agree with keeping the tech stuff quiet until the end. Although not compulsory, as many photos as possible would be amazing to look at. If only from my selfish standpoint to see how my babies are doing Not only would it drum up a bit of interest in the thread and essentially, the club, it might inspire other clubs to also try something in a similar vein. In the lead up to the comp, everyone can keep an eye on how they are growing over at the spawn log. I'll keep up to date info on water changes, feeding etc so people can either replicate what I have been doing, or try something different to see if they get better growth rates... I expect everyone who enters will see an initial growth spurt due to a greater water to fish ratio.

Only think it fair to give Busman the credit for using "share the love" first. I do, however think it is a great philosophy to live by Maybe I should go back to the one I used to use on here: "follow your bliss"... As for giving fish speeches, I don't do that (unless I am ranting at my red copper boy for eating 4 batches of eggs!) I'm more into playing them music to try to get them in the mood :D

...more proof that there is something seriously wrong with that orange marble spawn *lol*

Not to worry, we'll party online for you :D