maddzvk

Haha im cheating no pics just yet

cause I'm on the train to work super bored

But when I get home ill take some special

This sorta fits in aquascape but ill take some pretty pics of the killis in the tank to make up for it

We bought a fluval flora not long ago initially we were gonna use shrimp as we were told killis like water similar to bettas (tannins and driftwood) but then Adrian at aquatic showed us his clown killis which are in almost neutral water no tannins so the killis were allowed to go in the flora

The run down

Fluval substrate

Sponge filter

Heaters

Several rocks (5) one is quite pretty with two quartz stripes through it (pinched it from my dad a while ago)

various mosses ATM each one has a different moss:

Phoenix moss

Fisidans

Rose moss

Flame moss

As well as a small rock with palm moss

And a carpet of Belem hair grass

We wanted hc but Even though the tank has CO2 it doesn't reach saturation for long enough the hc would thrive ...

Anyway tanks been set up and cycling with the ugliest tetras we have (3 neons: 2 who lost an eye each to our old ghost knife and 1 runty boy whose severely beat up)

They seem to love it though as we've never noticed neon tetra eggs before we put them in the tank

Anyway clown killis were introduced last night they've been living in a pretty plain tank with just spawn mops till now (and a single gardneri girl) unfortunately we've lost a few but didnt realize till it was time to catch them

But we have 5 in the flora tank now

3 boys and 2 girls would like it if they would have some babies for us but am quite dubious they will.

Oh well photos later tonight once I get home!

She's alive and hasn't had any side effects we can see so I think she's in the clear

the oldest one drank from our net bucket tonight (its heavily dosed with meth blue.)

she got a blue tongue and a very upset james frantically searching how poisoness meth blue is to dogs

but yeah no toilet bowls at least :P

yeah facebook hes on the IBC SMP page a bit....

Haha im not the only one with tank licking dogs but yeah that's my tank licking idiot alright haha

will be in sydney next weekend actually haha :)

haha i think the spirit level was from putting the perspex in since it didnt go straight to the ground,

as for the bottle that's my DIY cider

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a558/LodoBetta/betta%20barracks/P4170079_zps4f096780.jpg

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a558/LodoBetta/betta%20barracks/P4170084_zps4a9e285e.jpg

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a558/LodoBetta/betta%20barracks/P4170091_zpse90be94f.jpg

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a558/LodoBetta/betta%20barracks/P4240848_zpsaaac2894.jpg

tank got the perdi lick of approval

our wilds love it they are so much more active in tannined water than in clear water especially our krats

plus the dark water really makes any irrdescence pop!

yeah we use peat and IAL tea and leaves to drop our pH for the wilds weve got the pH down to 4.5 just using them

have never tested KH or GH though,

all our wilds love the tanks though and have been spawning regularly so i assume the parameters are pretty nice haha

heres one of our betta krataios(medium mouthbrooder).

thier tank is pretty dark water with IAL even though the have quite bright lights on them

this is the other barracks we did (i like this one better)

got a 3.5 ft by 1 tank of gumtree for super cheap with a light and eheim canister included.

had A4 sized perspex as well

pretty much we put the perspex in and siliconed it

filled with gravel

canister goes in one end comes out the other.

heat is transferred real well from end to end (heater is in the middle)

but the whole thing stays pretty much the same temp.

James hard at work on it

Just the tank half done

this is from before it had water. when we attached the mesh to the perspex

there's no dose rate. just keep in mind the more you use the darker your water and the lower your pH

the wild bettas like the water pretty dark and a much lower pH (ours are usually low 5)

the splendens are fine with almost clear water and usually have pH closer to 7.

so we use more for wilds less for splendens. but its personal choice

we also tend to add extra to the tanks around breeding time

(pH drops can stimulate breeding plus it has all the other benefits)

not sure how long it will stay good for

we generally use dry leaves or make tea cool it and add it straight in

the unimaculata complex wild bettas are escape artists.

your sparkling fry sound ie our wilds they arent the prettiest tanks but the wilds have been breeding round the clock since we put them in pretty much so they must thing there alright ;)

I keep saying id make a thread but ive been pretty slack admittedly.

this was one of our first attempts at a barracks for the splendans.

we got a 3.5 ft tank second hand

three sides spray painted so just needs to look good front on

bought A4 sized clear perspex to use as divders (plastic folder dividers can be used to card boys from each other)

and mesh to seperate the front barracks from the back section.

aim was to share maximim water to prevent complicated heat transfer/cleaning/filtering etc.

yes i know but dieseases and health isssues. contagious.

we are usually pretty vigilant and proper quarantine and tank maintenance minimises risk.

plus extensive fish meds on hand haha

anyway so tank.

silicons not the neatest but we can always neaten it up with a razor blade.

later on.

perspex was siliconed to front glass firstly.

round cardboard tube was used to support perspex from ground and allow even spacing.

tank was allowed to cure.

tanks flipped onto front glass.

mesh siliconed to the back side of all perspex pieces

as well as to the sides of tank and floor.

pretty messy job but sides are spraypainted anyway so meh.

and pictures:

setting it up

Haha there do seem to be a lot of wa located people lately its great though since as you know wa has some funny quarantine so you should get real good local advice

Patoti are lovely

There's a whole wild bEtta thread so its a great place to have alook at what others keep and how they do things

Hope you enjoy bettas we do have some sections on other fish too

maybe betta razzi will make a cichlid one since you and Brenton both have some

Anyway hope you enjoy the forum :)

Some fish shops will buy them as well

We're quite lucky out largest spawn has only been 30

most have been in the teens

Vey rarely have we culled and when we have its been for deformity or severe stunting (irreversible)

I know you read about spawns being in the 100s and in Thailand and even sometimes here but very rarely do they stay that large. Most Aussie breeder don't have the time to do the water changes and feeding schedule which would result in low death rates in such a large spawn so often the spawns are much more manageable to get rid off

(We will post a DIY on our tank barracks but we are waiting till we have internet installed again)

Also for housing multiple fish (and growing out bubs) jars in a rated room with regular water changes or in a Bain Marie are both fairly common and cheap

-->compared to a 600 space filtered heated barrack system ;)

Haha having a partner whose Ito fish is awesome

James is mine an we have something like 20 tanks setup

Haha

Anyway daphnia can be kept in its own tank it doesn't need a heater or anything

What people usually do though is split it up Into empty soft drink bottle with the ld off (so somewhere it won't get lost)

That way you aren't at risk to kill all you culture by over feeding it with yeast (happens a lot) and its very easy to see how your cultures are going

I meant knocked over no lost... Ours are in the garage on the window ledge out of reach of our crazy dogs...

Les is over Your side too

and irascae (who has some gorgeous wild bettas)

and bettabreedersperth

and a few other members haha

Fish chick can send to wa I know they have pretty strict livestock rules but she can

Killis are gorgeous as are of course bettas

There's a lot of info on here so plenty at resources are available and everyone is lovely

Plus a fair few members are from your side of Australia so you have company... Some if them with bEtta's I'm envious of even

Enjoy the forum

Well its pretty cloudy

and is mostly a rock and substrate so far with water!

(Mind blown yet?)

We will post photos later in the week most likely

:)

nice tank they seem to have done a nice mini interview there. good luck feeding all your little mouths :)

welcome to bettas there are some stunning ones out there a and plenty of nice people on here .

since your in WA they have super strict laws regarding live stock so besides fish chick you'd probably be looking for a local breeder in WA.

id suggest getting in contact with les on here as hes over your side of aus and he has some nice fish usually

if your interested in breeding the spawn logs on here and videos are a good start

also shadoh (jarrod) posted in general discussion how he sets up and conditions his bettas to breed recently so head over there for a peruse.

best of luck with the bettas :)

I think you should still cycle your tank for a bit but just to make sure your parameters are stable

You should have bacteria in your filter gravel and on your plants so I wouldn't worry about bacteria too much

As for tank water I've never given it much thought I spose if you want to be cautious bring your fish in bags with old water and add new water for a bit before you release them in a tank of new water to help acclimatize them. Fighters atleast are pretty hardy though

As long as pH etc are similar it shouldn't cause them too much shock.

Hope that helps a little bit but hopefully someone else will reply too

I've only ever been on town water

Agree with yan them classes are all well defined

2-3 definitely to allow cover to fill in etc

This is exciting news we were just thinking how to redo our shrimp scape (they are being relocated to a larger tank)

And a new clown killi scape so perfect timing

Size categories: small mid and large? Nano if you feel so inspired

novelty could be a laugh

Vic davo

Will message tonight Dan