melbournebetta

I might go gently here, but can I suggest a bit more research into the introduction, courtship, and preparing them for breeding.

While some males will just be monsters despite your attempts - you can influence their behaviour with extended introductions.

We get greedy and just want spawns to work, but there's no point if your female dies and you don't get a spawn out of it.

Hopefully this is just a one off, loosing fish is expensive and sad.

(: Best you try to avoid it.

x

Call him Pinchy and grow him up all gooooood then you can EATS HIM

I bought mine online... and I'm in agreeance with Michael, there's plenty of kooky factors that have Roy's fish bigger than my "giant" Plakat

However if I could work out what the hell those factors were, I'd employ them.

At the same time, I'm gettin' me some Atisons to try to boost my growth rate... oh, and I'm breaking into Roy's while he's gone to rifle through his barracks to try and work it out.

Hikari, or some other generic brand I bought a huge bunch of pellets from seem to work well - if they don't like what they get fed, mine go hungry.

When they arrive from eBay, I'll be trying Attison's as the growth rate Somchai gets is ridiculous - so is the price of Atisons...

If what you're using is too big - use a mortar and pestle and crush up pellets, I do this for smaller fry when I want them to start taking dry food.

Those freeze dried black worms are really handy - I also have a miscellaneous tub of freeze dried tubifex worms (for guppies) that I feed the betta occasionally.

Only losers smoke that junk - rots ya brain.

Natural imbalance, ignorance, hyperactivity and mania are WAY more interesting - and the effects are long lasting!

grass

love the garbage back backdrop (you dag)

but looks good - did you have guppies in with female betta?

Oh, and I noticed all my red girls sorting each other out first, all the blue girls having a big barney, and all the giants kept to themselves... so this isn't the first time I've seen similar coloured girls sticking together with the barneys only within their little colour gangs.

I met a friend recently who is looking to set up a sorority, and couldn't find one clear thread about how others have set up their tanks, so I was hoping to start one.

I live in a house with 3 other women, and not unlike a betta sorority, there are tips and tricks to keeping us all happy. While a constant supply of chocolate and red wine aren't a good idea in your new female Betta tank, there are some things that will help....

These are all bits n bobs that have helped me... what tricks or tips would you give someone setting up a new sorority from scratch?

As a general rule I would suggest at the very least you would want 6 females in the tank together, and the minimum size around 40 litres - so I'm suggesting around 5-6 lt per fish, minimum 6 fish.

Let's not forget - these are fighting fish - and there's not always going to be happiness in this tank - think desperate housewives.

If the females have been jarred or housed separately they can often be very aggressive, alternatively if they have grown up together in a grow-out they already have a pecking order and are used to the sight of others, these girls are much easier to introduce to a sorority.

Plants and coverage, this is crucial - the more you can visually break up the environment, the more places girls will have to hide, steak out territories and relax in. Stressed fish aren't going to last long.

There is a time during the first week when I would suggest you spend as much time as you can watching behaviours - some gals are just unreasonable, and I'm sure I've lived with my share of those.

You may need to isolate agro ladies if they just won't settle down.

I've had girls out on the warpath their whole lives... they live in floating barracks or other solutions.

Here is a dodgy video showing some of my girls - all jarred, I think some are spawn mates, but most have come from different places, and have been jarred in between.

Fortunately there's a psychotic big black angel fish that LIKES ZEN so anyone messing with her quiet time is left without fins.

Keep in mind this is how things have worked for me, I'm inviting everyone to share their sorority experiences and opinions on this thread.

Hahahahha I'm beginning to wonder how the hell I let it live outside now - although the STUPID Eheim is very noisy... I had ear plugs in last night - missed my alarm and woke up at 11 - oops.

I may very soon find myself un-employed.

ah well

got barracks

dont care!

Thanks Bussy - yes! I will do this thing you say.... I could always alter the end for sucking up the goo at the bottom of the tanks when I do weekly maintenance. bloody good tip son.

Fortunately that's the only cell that would empty (bad luck to the little mate on the end) he'd end up with a few cms where the grill on the intake starts and the actual tube stops.

The rest of them would be saved by the grills that are about half way up the height of the cells (approx 25 cm high)

I was filling these up last night in my mania (woo) and realised what I thought was a mistake by my talented tank maker, actually saved my life - the opposite problem is OVER FLOW... if one cell has water pouring in, but has java stuck over the grill at the back, there's about 5-8 mm clearance where the barrack walls are lower than the actual tank walls - so water would over flow into the next cell and flow out the back.

CLEVER

@ Ash - Temperature is an interesting one - my bedroom gets down to 12 degrees as I do have a window ajar at all times to allow for a bit of air flow, and to reduce insane moisture.

I have a 100watt Aqua one heater in the back, set at 28, as I know there is often a bit of loss in temperature with canisters as the water cools down when it goes through the Eheim.

I have two thermostats on at the moment, one in the cell nearest the heater, and one at the end heater - thusfar they've been checked in the day and have been the same (26c) but thanks Ash, I might check it again later at night and early in the morning to see that it's stable.

To be honest I wouldn't have a problem keeping my fish at 24, just so long as it was stable.... I found putting a lid on tanks that have irratic heating can sometimes help contain the heat somewhat... from what I recall you had a top end heater in there... but your environmental factors are more extreme.

you know how you can put a solid piece of plastic at the back of a tank, or paint the back (usually so you can't see cords etc) Would you consider using a sheet of poly foam across the back, it would act as a white backdrop, but woud also be a whole wall of insulation and one less wall that the tank is loosing heat from. (just a thought)

Also Yes, I will be carding half the barracks, I had always thought I would card the whole wall except the front 10 cms so they can flare at the front and wag their tails for me... but now that I'm using them as introduction tanks and acutally spawning tanks occasionally - I will card the front sides about an A4 sheet so they have privacy and an IAL to make a nest and meet and greed their ladies.

It's a bit cheeky, but I do long introductions and only let the girls out when I'm watching - they also have large fake plants up the back to hide in.... this is when I turn the taps down to a low flow

If there's a successful wrap, I then transfer dad and nest and tails into their own tank... totally disturbing, but it's worked.

Battery Hens Betta

@ Razzi - I was inspired, I went to Subscape, bought an Eheim, had my car Towed, cost me $350 to get out of the pound, then found a $150 bill on my windscreen and thought: You know what? All that has done is take an hour out of my plan to get to bunnings before it closes and buy irrigation parts. Here Victoria Government, please take away the equivalent of a month's rent from me and then get out of my way. I need plastic taps for my BARRACKS. (yo)

@ Les - go to Riot art (can be bought online), or Lincraft sell the same product for heaps more $$ Anyway my sheets were $2 each and the poster edges can be bought for around $8 for 2 x 1 meter strips - also available at Kmart.

The mesh is an idea Razzi showed me during a skype chat, firm enough, and I noticed the fish aren't really interested in flaring through it.... needs to be secured tho.. Bit flimsy

@Shadoh - THANKYOU! I haven't made it beautiful by any means, but this is my way of making my fishy setup more enjoyable to just observe... instead of feeling the spooky pressure of breeding allatime. (toats self inflicted)

So I need to read up again on how to prime a new filter, there is a really small bio load on this 80lt tank, each fish has 10cm wide bay, 6.5 litres (okay say 6 cos I don't fill it to the top)

Otherwise they get 3 lt each for the old retired boys, in a high quality water system, plants n stuff.... I think that's orright.

Will do checks on water chem to ensure it's all going well.... the IAL should have the tank looking dark soon enough.

I thought I could even put my guppy fry in the back section to grow out? - as it's nolonger used as a sump and they won't be big enough to get through the grill holes... hmmm... something to think about down the track WHEN I get guppy babiez

YEE HAW (diy)

The mongrels won't pose for you - be sure of that... but some good tips on shooting fish are around on the forum.

if they're in beanies I like to put one behind, your model in front - pop the macro setting on and shoot away (placing the lense right up against the beanie box to avoid reflection)

Best if you can avoid flash - it bounces off the back of the beanies/tanks... I suggest outdoors for natural lighting.

hot tips 101 - there's more around.

x

Spraybar bastardized:

Had an extra hole in the spray bar so I put a pipe down into the sump... keep things moving along.

I've also been meaning to make a stiff divider with embroidery mesh and those poster edges (like my failed DIY thread earlier trying to split a tank with mesh)

They just sit pressure-fit between the silicone, held straight by the poster edge, and rest with the T shape from the edge of the glass

Fish in those divided tanks would be older retired males that still want to be part of the action, but aren't moving very quickly these days... they get about 8cm each in width.

In position:

And here's the full shot after a bloody hour trying to get the frigging eheim started without that NOISE it makes.... and cycling it for a little while (like 40 seconds)

I've set the tank up with prime / cycle / Ial / conditioning salt / dechlorinator / and some other stuff in bottles i've forgotten

Heater in the sump, plants in, bla bla.

I'm a bit excited because I can use that long intake bit (on the right) and move it every few days into different cells to actually clean out the gunk that was the bane of my maria.

Here is a cheeky video of the fish plonked in

http://s1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/nessbay/?action=view¤t=633e3b71.mp4

Aiight so this barracks has been great - had the Aqua one kind of pushing muck around in the tank, but I really wanted a cannister on mine.

This isn't the solution for commercial sale, but I think it's the solution for Ness.

It was sitting outside EMPTY because it had algae and wasn't filtering proper... but now... NOW THERE HAS BEEN SOME SLAP DASH PRODUCTION

because I bought an eheim, and then parked in a clear way - it was a very expensive day.

I digress

The thing got a clean and I went to bunnings

Toats copied Wild Nut and bought some irrigation stuffs:

Wanted me some adjustable taps and some black pipes cos I wannit to look handsome

The hot tip with fitting tues on things that are hard, is hot water - to make it bendy and easier to join - or chew the end.. either way works... i'm often chewing on airline.

I used the sharp edge of my scissors to make the Eheim spraybar the right(ish) size for the taps:

Yes, they're very handy - good to know

Actually I was thinking about this thread, the success of this idea was absolute zero epic fail, after several water changes the poster edges came away from the walls and the tank was a mess for ages with bits of silicone everywhere.

Just wasn't worth the effort... but ten points for trying.

New DIY thread incoming!

Hullo

Hi Anina,

You'll sell lots more if you can take good clear shots of them and pop them on the classifides - you basically need a photobucket account.

If you can sell interstate (postages averages around $12-20 for express post) you'll sell more too.... but you need to be able to package them up well.

I'd love to see what you have.

Welcome to the forum - nothing n00b about you madam!

-Ness

Hi Shay,

Sounds like you're doing your research, good luck with the new setup - hopefully by the time you're looking I'll have some red CT's - my little man blew a huge nest last night, I must get him into the spawning tank!

Cheers,

Ness

Now these are two wild species I'd consider- they're beautiful.

Best of luck with them, thanks for sharing photos - please keep us posted with them won't you?

-Ness

i wish my ruddy bristlenose were that easy to catch! I had to dismantle a 3 foot tank just to catch the little dingos.

then i moved the tank as opportunity knocked and i found myself with an empty tank (oops)

...lots of oops at my house at the moment.

They're lil characters !

You're all mad.

I do like the fact I can have a tank that looks like a mixed bag of lollies, I bought all these dudes for my mum who briefed me on a tank, she wanted a HAPPY TANK ...I photographed it today and she loves it, so I'm off the hook. (i.e. the 8 little oops's aren't staying at my house - they're GOING AWAY)

I think I'll just have two pretty 'scaped guppy 10 lt tanks with my Red Metal Trio and my Black Russian pair... what comes out of them really isn't important to me, if people want to buy fry - go nuts... otherwise the giants are going to get guppy snacks every now and then.... I wouldn't mind a tank full of red metal lace boys... SO COOL YOU CAN KEEP BOYS TOGETHER

Time to enjoy the hobby again, not the industry (:

Thankyou GuppyooOOoops, you've reminded me that I love shiny little colourful things that make me happeh.

Might be something I could look into down the track, I don't think I'm as partial to the metal front end, a black body appeals to me!

I'll keep them alive, and have a few spawns and see what comes about (:

Thanks for the feedback!

x

Thanks guys...

I've decided the guppies will get their own tank (divided) and I may just end up with a really lovely display tank.... I bought some colourful mutts for my mum to plonk in an IQ3 Dymax tank that I have kicking around... but I would like to breed Doyle and his lady friends.

Interesting, I bought some Black Moscows also (big spread, lovely fish) I wonder what would happen crossing them to the red lace?

I find the guppy designer forum a bit scattered, and I'm an artist - I skim over the content when a heading says "genetics" but I do understand the X and Y genes are inherited with gender dependance... i got that far.

Cheers Y'all - any advice on these guys will be well-received!

HA! you think that's bad - I wonder if the judges will notice I have a few STUNNING fish that are completely hands-free... ahh well.

Up to you - he's divine!

(I'm being cheeky and tearing some kids out of the spawn tanks to show.. dammit, get your WRAP ON or get out and WIN SOMETHING you terrors)

This is why i'm never having children, can you imagine what i'd be like?

DAMMN i nearly bought that trio of guppies- sorry it didn't work out, I'll keep an ear to the ground and see if theres any spear tails around... hopefully the girls drop some babies for you?

x

JHA - you're a great welcomer!

Welcome madam rainbow fish, you have come to the right place....

We're just a straight forward helpful bunch of people who are also pretty fish-mad and will quite happily talk about fish until the proverbial cows come home (which it sounds like is more probable at your house than it is at mine)

There's lots of information on here, and no problem you have is likely to be a new one, so use the search engine function, and ask as many questions as you like.

We're gluttons for photos, so perhaps think about setting up a photobucket account and sharing images if you have some - of any or ALL of your animals.

You must have your hands full looking after all those pets!

I struggle with one dog, one ferral pigeon one horse, 3 housemates & eighty fish....

Anyway - welcome, we look forward to getting to know you.

-Ness