melbournebetta

Hmmm - size is a concern, but I do like that idea of the sorority working in conjunction with the sump (nice graphic there Adam!) I'm comfortable using glass 4-5mm thick for the individual tanks - I want this so I can slide them out and clean up individually if need be (very handy with my current setup) But I've just discovered $5 small sponge filters, so begining to think I could sponge filter everything and do water changes - weekly? (if it was a 9 litre container) ...thoughts? ....the LFS has just changed into a PET STOCK or something... and has a barracks all set up - a little green, but ready to go..... gah - I don't know if I could cope with 800ml per fish.... I need that happy balance between letting the fish be fish - and jamming as many of them together as I can (ha) as space is an issue for any breeder. yikes. -Ness

Hey Danny, Just to answer the question you posed on my profile - you need to set up a photobucket account (free) it's pretty straight forward. Then when you upload a shot or two, save and continue to your album - you'll notice when you hover over each pic - it gives you the Direct Link You want to click on that Then come here- type in your message and look for the Insert Image box - it's a little green square to the right of the smiley/emoticon icon / link icon click on it and paste the direct link you got from photobucket. Too easy! Otherwise search the fishy showroom threads for info on how to use photobucket! Good luck! -Ness

Hahahah I think I knew that about the shopping question! heheheh Suprising tho, it's VERY hard to concentrate in that intense heat, be polite, try to understand accents and Thai language, look at form through dimly lit tanks, and wrestle with narrowing it down when there are literally HUNDREDS of fish in front of you. I went against all the rules I's set about buying. Oops.

Hmmm - that's a good idea, and helps with the 2-for-1 sump/sorority - but I'm still sufficiently intimidated by pumps, hoses engineering and the rest. Do you think I could fly Kermadum over and have him design one for me x Slowly piecing it all together.

Thanks Wayne.... Sounds like an open sump is an inevitability.... overflows and such.. gah - all the engineering i didn't want to play with... Cheers!

Sarah, If you're talking about SHOPPING-shopping I didn't buy too much - I made a point of having first and second lunch, and first and second dinner..... ! Although the entire country is geared to market selling and tourism, there wasn't much for me. However I did buy some kooky contemporary jewellery - and spent a little bit too much on some traditional hilltribe silver (like - MASSIVE necklaces - i can't walk with them on) But if you're talking about fishy purchases - welllllllllllllllllllllll you'll have to wait! I bought a few bits n bobs. I'm being a good girl and writing up all my experiences into a whopping article with pics and stuff.... also showing through all the betta farms - sooooo many photos and so much info to remember, but I learnt a lot and want to share it with y'all. So hopefully in the next day or two it'l be finished and I can post! xx Ness

Danny, I can't suggest strongly enough that you start a little meeting group - sharing the knowledge is sooooooooooo handy! Perhaps you could start a small thread of a spawn log - ignore all the requests for photos - and ask as many on topic questions as you like! (I would make sure you're feeding them LOTS of brine shrimp and micro worms - live food is the key to growth) -Ness

So..... I've been making noise elsewhere and hijacking perfectly good threads asking my questions, so here's a place for me to think aloud and invite y'all to help. I keep making more fish, and buying more fish, and ... aquiring more fish... so in essence, I have more fish and need to work out a clever way to keep them. Currently my setup is not very effective, my breeders all in individual glass tanks with a reptile heat pad that isn't very stable nor effective transferring heat. I have a functional sorority and spawn tank, along with some 2 footer grow outs... they're fine, until I have to jar, then they are not fine. As a grow out at the moment I have a large shallow plastic container that has a heater sitting in the bottom, heating the submerged solid containers, I guess this is working alright, but I can't really see the kids.... they're warm & healthy, but I can't keep an eye on them for health and growth monitoring. I have a large industrial shelving unit that I want to keep ALL my tanks on.... in one SANE corner of my room. Concentrated MTS. While I'll have the sorority and spawn tank on the top shelf (within reach) the second and third shelf I would like to design a SORT OF barracks system. Pictured below: I plan on custom making 14 tanks (insane, yes, but I am silicone queen do not forget) They are just wide enough for the fish to comfortably turn around, the width of a beanie box... and recess back to nearly the full length of the shelf so they can swim up and down flairing their little faces off when they are un-carded. (Remember my philosophy with the "runs" to help develop finnage during my copper spawn?" About 20 cm high, bit shorter than a beanie, but allows for good access for feeding, cleaning and general fluffing. The acrylic back could be drilled top and bottom for in and out Note that this system isn't proposed to be a siphoning based system, so bare with me... Would this be a "Sumpless system" ? With the Eheim Cannister acting as the sump? I'm just wondering what the logistics of something like this would be.... (and the practicality) I'm seeing the overall biomass as a benefit for parameters & fluctuations. Also.... to do water changes, can I directly work out of one - or all of the individual tanks? would it eventually equalize? I'm thinking each one has equal imput to out-take... so... not sure about this Would have to put taps on each inlet and outlet, to get the balance right... do you think? Also - would it be wise to heat say #14 (no fish) so that the water going through the filter is warm, and comes out warm? Also - UV Sterilizers, who's had one, how big are they? good idea? I'm being lazy and smart (??) cos I don't really want to engineer a whole plumbing system with a sump and bells and whistles... tooooo many variables. I just want a way to filter and heat my grow outs effectively - noting that I want to have the fish separate so I can isolate for disease. Thoughts? designs? eh?

Ah okay - it's not rocket surgery is it? Thanks!

Yep the stripey shrimp was definitely marine - he was COOL The ones in the monster food court tank looked like freshwater, but again, didn't see 'em proper. The Aneno.. thingy fish was a TOMATO one... or black - or whatever.

First in best dressed I say! Miss Del - tell us what the Not Nemo fishy is!! Matt - the fish in the big food court were tiny - around 50c piece and red n white... I couldn't get in close because people were too busy eating their prawn dishes (ohhhh snap) The shrimps didn't seem to mind.... looked freshwater? xx

Oooohhh I likey... thanks Miss Del. Very clever, and looks super smart.... toying with barracks ideas ....wah, why can't Bettarazzi just come to my place and build me one? Mwahahah xx

Harry - can't wait to see and hear more ... Sounds like you guys have your own Cairns Aquarium club going! -Ness

Hey Roc, Not only is that a VERY handsome setup, I love the fact I can just about identify the breeders of each of those fish??!! Maybe?? Are they Adam's L'Orange Spawn and Bussi's Crowntails? It's like the Australian Breeder showcase! - Brilliant (love the little one in the Anubias) Great job! Can you describe how you're heating and filtering the lot? -Ness

I can't tell you how RELIEVED i was to discover this place ! ......After 9 days with constant contact with my travel partner I remembered (ON THE LAST DAY) that while I love people and what you can learn from them, I also LOOOOOOVE solitude! (and quiet time with my animals) So on my first solo-mission, just to get away - and accidently shopping in a joint that has an aquarium in it's basement was a welcome discovery! Aquariums are funny places, I wondered how the fish felt about being photographed with a flash every thirty seconds, and then realized they were probably doing better than the poor blighters in the food court - there were signs asking you not to tap on the glass, but ...well... kids were everywhere - and the NOISE! (Not to mention that I doubted the lights were ever off - this place closes at 11pm and opens at 5am, so unless they covered the tanks, they'd have very little dark time.) However they all looked in decent condition, and had plenty of places to hide... there was even a huge planted tank with just huge shrimp... I wanted to photograph for Matt, but that was also the most popular tank and I couldn't find a spot to squeeze in and shoot. Much like any aquarium, the lighting is kind of engineered to make you look like a good photographer! (but I'll take the credit, sure) I think Melbourne aquarium has a no flash policy....... ? My little Cannon G9 is about to be upgraded to the G12, it's an un-imposing chunky hand-held number, that has more zoom than anyone could ask for, and is SUPERB for shooting fishes! (I treat mine like a toy, its been to the dessert, dropped, thrown, dripped on during fush shoots, you name it) - still works! Anyhoo, was thinking of you'se all when I shot each one. Sarah - yep ! Le Tigre Salamander! The Axi in the next tank was giving me the foulest look, so I left him be. That Natiulis was surprisingly quick for a big heavy solid thing with no apparent eyeballs! x Ness

Hello All-capps Jesse, You're fortunate that someone Lea is (sort of) near-by, she's a fantastic starting point if you are looking to purchase Betta (fighting fish) She ships to the Mainland Australia (Sorry nanna Jo) and her fish are great quality. It'd be great to hear about what you have in mind - if you have some fish already? what goals you have in mind... and what preparation you've done - we'll all happily help offer advice and share our experience. I can recommend looking through the spawn logs (my favorite) to watch the growth rates etc.... along with some of the spawning setups. I'm about to start a thread with lots of detail on the setup of a spawn tank, along with introducing a proven difficult pair - who knows if it's going to be successful, but might help de-mystify some of the behaviors you hear about but haven't seen. All the best - and yeah, we need photos - get yourself a photo bucket account (: -Ness

Hey Sarah, Welcome to the forum, sounds like you've come to the right place; there's plenty of experienced fish keepers and breeders to help the likes of us out. Looking forward to hearing more about the trials and tribulations of working at the pet store - I'm sure you'll find all the help you need here. - Ness

What's this one Sarah? Starts with an "S" and ends with "Amanda" Beever woudja believer! At this very moment i became homesick for my dog There was the mantidory shark cave walk through thingy: And finally a cheesy Tuk Tuk at the end. I then became very angry when I had to exit through the gift shop, and there was no obvious exit. 15 mins later, red faced and grumpy I left through the emergency exit. That was the end of my sojourn in Siam Square. x Siamness

Phyre: Yes I believe it's latin for NAWTY - they were amazing, super deep fluro colours! Stony Stonefish, where is he? Dere he is! These dudes were CRAAAAAAAAAAZY, I had the poster and the name but I deleted it somewhere. Name this fish-thing challenge #4: is it a scallop? MASSIVE displays: I Know this one I know this one!!! Australian Lung fish!!!!!

With the above Red & White one - Y'all realize I dont actually KNOW their names, I just shot the poster next to the display tank each time I took a pic. Cheating? Yes. Interactive learning? Sure! D'awh - Looks like i'm on my own again (why isn't anyone ELSE up at 1am??) One for Matt and Joan: MY FAVORITE OF THEM ALL - my two passions colliding!!!! n'awwwwwwwwwwwwww I loved his little face and his little nose and his little eyes. ohhhhhhhhhh he even has glitter! awawwwww glitter sparkle pony! OH OH TRICKY: Name this fish #3 (below) Weedy Scoprion Fish (Below) (there are so many more shots - feel free to comment on how AWESOME that shot of the weedy fishy is)

Yippee!!! Rude Clam: Giant Crabstick Lunch: Moo(cow) Fish: And a trick question: Name this fish (below) Hint - it is not Nemo

You're ace Miss Del - now what's the red n white stripey one eh? I HATE YOU AUSAQUA - give me special permission to put as many photos on as I want! dammit..... wait 10 mins. BAH

"Covering an area of 10,000 square meters on the basement of the luxurious Siam Paragon shopping mall, Siam Ocean World is one of the largest aquariums in Southeast Asia. A subsidiary of the Oceanis Australia Group, the world's leading aquarium operators, Siam Ocean World is fast becoming everyone's favourite day-out city attraction, as well as a learning centre for kids." It was the last night in Bangkok, I'd been on a sweaty bus for 4 hours returning from tourist hell Hua Hin; I thought I was mad to visit Thailand and not look for ONE beach.... so I travelled far and wide just for a taste of pristine white sands and turquoise waters...... and it smelt like dog poo, the sight of burnt white skin made my own crawl & not a soul had bothered to clean up after themselves, plastic bags crashed with the waves and plastic bottles floated as far as the eye could see. As reprieve from this evening stroll on the beach's disappointment, I went to Siam Square for dinner & Air con..... Entering the enormous shopping center, the downstairs food court offers you ANY cuisine you could wish for - and they do it well.... but it was hard not to notice the enormous tanks diving up the court.. So I sat down with my Sashimi don (the irony was lost on my fishy audience - fortunately) ...and parrot fish watched me as I watched them watching me eat my dinner They are extremely stoopid looking, and I love them very much. Anyhoo - all these tanks were alluding to something, so I had a bit more of a look around - in fact the whole bloody shopping center had an aquarium theme... (funny that) I later discovered that it was a ginormous Aquarium.... guess what I was doing for the rest of my evening? Let's play: Name that fish.. cos I don't know what the one above is. Striped Frogfish

Lovely scape - do you know what the timber is?

Can u try n get a better shot? preferably in profile - and one by the front. I can usually tell by body shape from the front, the ladies are a little more /\ shaped and the boys () Along with a few other clues (ventrals are a good give away) Mine are 2-3 months and was able to sex 'em at about 2 months. -Ness