Adrienne

The sort I buy you just take them out of the plastic and shake them until they are warm then put them in the box

So if you've got nippy fish or fish with sharp teeth put a clove of garlic in - right!! :-?

They seemed to be very cheap for discus $70 for 2 and then in the next tank they were a bit bigger, maybe another cm or so and they were 2 for $120, I think. They may have been bigger than what I think but I have to say I've never ever seen any so small before or the next size up

Can you just drop a bit of crushed garlic in the tank or does it have to be mixed in with something?

I was in one of the fish shops up here today - not my lfs - and they had some really nice discus in but they would have been lucky to have been more than 3.5cm in size. Whats the chance of them surviving at that sort of size?

Sorry, also don't sit your heater in the tank vertically as the heat then rises over the thermostat making the tank appear hotter than it actually is. Sit in on a slope if its not already.

I find that my heater settings rarely keep the tank thermo strip at the temperature the heater is set to. 1 1/2 watts per litre is about the right heater size so that may be why 150watt heater is not keeping up with 130 litre tank. My tanks don't seem to drop in temp at night but my room is pretty well sealed. If you have all your tanks in one room you might find it easier to run a heater on a thermostat.

Hi, I'll leave the cycling side of things to Caryl and the others. Please if you can return the shark, they like heaps of space, can stir up trouble and also if you have the lid up/off watch out as they like to fly across the tank and out onto the carpet.

I think the main thing is to make sure you get a tracking no. I know when I deliver to the depot they give me a docket with a number on it and if you want to know where the item is you just ring and quote the number. This way if something is overdue they can tell you where it is. I had some fish sent from Wellington on overnight due to be delivered to my work in the morning. At 3.45 I phoned and the driver had been driving them around Auckland all day - they were there in 10 mins.

I'm going to follow your progress on this with interest as I want to get into some electric yellows etc. Just found out though that I'll have to wait until next year to get started - hubby wants to go away for three or so weeks at Christmas time. I'll just have to get everything ready instead!

I label all mine LIVE FISH and with arrows 'this way up'. The couriers are very careful with them and I've sent as far south as Dunedin and also to Timaru which is quite a mission from here as they truck to New Plymouth, fly to ChCh and truck to Timaru.

The only thing I've wondered about on your plan is the weight the shelves can hold. You might need to reinforce them a bit. Looks good though

I use NZ Couriers, if I phone them to collect I get the response that they don't take them until I state 'yes you do'. If I deliver to their depot there are absolutely no problems and its way easier than arranging for them to be collected. Once they know you and know you realise there is no comeback if the fish die it seems its okay. Anyways I haven't had a problem with losses ever although the odd time its taken 24 hrs on overnight delivery.

Really sorry to hear about the fish losses. I was lucky, our power stayed on, only one flicker (tree down the road fell). Chaat - depending on what your female looked like I may have one that you can have to replace yours, only young though, just three months but a good size. PM me if you're interested.

I gather thats the correct way to do it. The only thing I can add is that I was advised to keep the mix warm to assist hatching but there are others that will know more about it. I certainly keep my mix at about 24 degrees celcius.

Well it looks like one popped up so don't know why the other pictures didn't.

Heres my best attempt at getting a picture on for you Just remember - this is not a show tank! but a convenient breeding facility!! IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q96/adodge_photo/tankmultiplebottles.jpg IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q96/adodge_photo/tanksinglebottle.jpg

Have decided to use my 1200 X 450 X 450 tank instead, so should be able to get a better looking set up. Will just have to wait to sell off some of my fighters first to make the tank space.

Heres what I use and so do a few others up here as well now. 1 x 4ft tank - doesn't have to be deep plenty of filter power - I run a cf1200, internal uv 800 litres p/h, and a 3000 litre p/h power head. You need plenty of power to move the water around and through the bottles. I use empty 1 1/2 litre drink bottles, cut the bottles off at the top and put drainage holes down the sides and in the bottom of each bottle. Throw a few stones in to weigh them down Each one holds a male fighter. Can get 50 in the tank I use at the moment. If you want a pic of what it looks like pm me your email details and I'll send to you

Seperating males really depends on the individual fish - today I had to split up my 8-9 week old males as they were constantly scrapping in their tanks. They are about 1.5cm long. I have managed to keep pnly one spawn pretty much together for 4 months. Some of its just the fish temperaments and the other thing that seems to unsettle them is a cold front coming through - even the females will get tetchy with each other at this time. The thing is that if you want to keep them together you can't move the fish around or change tanks, even one fish will unsettle things.

To breed: Spare tank for breeding purposes, small will do plant airline sponge filter bbs - ability to hatch your own green water liquifry (for egg layers) heater in the long term more spare tanks facilities for jarring young male fighters plenty of time have a look at this site www.bcbetta.com, its really good

I've got 5 spawns at the moment and have spent the best part of the day selecting those I want to grow on for sale or keep for myself and jarring (I use drink bottles cut 2/3rds of the way up) the best males. They do take a lot of work.

Used to have one and it pretty much kept to itself but liked plenty of space. Just watch them, they jump out easily.

Definately what Loopy says as to forward planning, I leave my spawn together until the males start scrapping. I have had to seperate a lot today with the cold front coming through as the males tend to fight more, at the moment they are about 1.5cm and are scrapping in mass. I did leave a spawn over the summer until they were 4 months old and fine together. It depends on the individual fish temperaments.

Sorry, forgot to say that I am looking at another external cannister filter as I find them great.