alanmin4304

barthii?---I have runners all over but plants a while away.

What is the red sword thing?

It is called the "bell jar method" of growing aquatic plants emersed and is done to increase the humidity over the technique that I use which is called the "throw it in the glasshouse technique" where the humidity is the same as outside of the glasshouse. With the latter technique the conversion to emersed has to be complete or those leaves will dry up and die.

Blow in there before you put the lid on and you will increase the CO2.

It will work.

It is all relative. I used to breed a lot of livebearers and kept the females almost permanently in traps. They were in tanks 2ft x 2ft with traps only slightly smaller.

It is a bit like whitespot. Nearly always there but comes out with stress and particularly livebearers and cats. It is bacterial and furan will cure most things---I would try it.

Sounds like it would be columnaris. Treat with copper sulphate, acriflavine or antibiotics. The easiest antibiotic to obtain would be furan from your local pet shop. Caused by stress from poor conditions often. Clean tank and gravel and give water change before treating as per instructions.

I have used metal whitebait netting for a similar purpose---a lot cheaper then stainless steel. Available from your local fishing supply shop. There is some good stuff down here from China.

could be a week before mating and another week to lay eggs. Eggs hatch in 11 days so I move the eggs out once a week. Keep the bottom of the breeding setup clean or they lay in there and don't hatch. I have glass hatching containers with mixed sizes and the neonates climb the glass and can be removed to other raising places. If you can't get grass you can sprout wheat, but it is a hassle.

I use spent potting mix and you can buy it cheap from your local nursary.

I have success using growing grass and put it in a glass of water to keep it fresh. I understand the actively growing grass produces a hormane that stimulates the locusts to breed. At this time of year a lot of grass stops growing and goes to seed so you need to be choosey where you get it from. I think repto's question was reasonable and that is why I suggested you put the eggs into another place to hatch. I have a number of containers with locusts at different stages of development.

Your best bet is to remove the eggs to hatch in another location or remove the breeders to another location. If you can get to it even better to have a number of raising areas so you have groups of a simalar age. It is then easier to keep track of your replacement breeders so you have a continuous supply coming and to sort out the sizes you want for feeding out.

I used to drip feed infusoria 24/7 and add brineshrimp nuplii as often as possible. Feed them when you walk past the tank and do a water change on the way back.

We all have our own way. I feed neonate locusts (because I am a bit paranoid about crickets and like to have food there most of the time if they want to eat it)coated in calcium in the morning then uncoated for the rest of the day up to 10-12 each daily. Salad is mainly dandelion leaves and courgette cut up fine and sprayed with liquid vitamins most days. I spray them with warm water in an icecream container every morning then let them sit in the water while I make the salad. If they are regularly leaving you a mess to clean up they must be eating and if they are active and alert they should be OK.

I have never fed them in a seperate container. I feed locusts and salad because the locusts can be left in there most of the time when they are young and they eat when they want. As they get older they will eat when they feel like it and some days may not eat at all. Main thing is to keep them hydrated I think.

Now that there is a few breeders around it will go in cycles like most things. There will be people who think they can make money in a year when the demand is high so they will flood the market the next year and the price will go down again---just like spuds. As always even if the price is down the ones that will sell are the good ones from people with a good reputation from when the price was up or down.

I might have to tag along---could be the only way I get to see his setup. If Barrie is the glass merchant then N is the grass merchant. I see him every day almost but never seen his setup. He is my supplier of good grass for the locusts, not what you thought eh bro.

I think you would drive yourself nuts trying to supply decent live food to 50 baby beardies let alone any more. Too many would not push the price down as they would not sell. There would not be enough prospective owners considering that buying the lizard is the cheapest part.

Great stuff.

The ideal of course would be to breed very good colours without genetic defects but this is not very easy if that strain has a history of various genetic defects and the offspring do not live long. People will not want to pay good money for pets that are going to have a miserable life and die at an early age no matter how good looking they are. To maintain this depth of colour you would need to breed to the same colour and as you say this can be a problem. This history will of course determine what they are worth and things would only change after a few generations have remained healthy and lived a long and fruitful life. This of course would take a lot of time. That is why I did not accept the challenge but I wish you luck if you can make it work, and produce good looking and healthy beardies.

I would have to agree with that but the price was a bit high for me and it was a package deal. There were only 2 out of 5 that I was interested in but it was a very expensive complete package so not worth the risk for me considering the history. I hope a bigger gambler than me was successful and produced some healthy red offspring. I have not seen any advertised.

I have been offered very intense red bearded females but the were not breeding and offspring in the past had died at an early age. One was also getting past breeding age. They had been mated with a very yellow male but to my knowledge produced no young. Good to look at but not worth a lot to anyone who wanted to breed them.

I had heard that as well. My pair were bought as a red male and a red/yellow female but in both cases the red is more of an orange. It does intensify the yellow colouring in the head and they are good looking reps. And they are healthy and breed so that is the main thing.

I have seen them from intense yellow to very red. There is a range of colours out there.