Batman

Here, here Wayne. Rock salt from supermarket saves you huge $$$$$$

My fish breeding has been pretty limited. However, my pair of Paradise fish have bred 3 times in about eight weeks. I've only been keeping fish for about three months or so now, but it all started when I bought a couple of banana lillies. The male started building his bubble nest as soon as I got them. Then my Siamese Fighter was charging around and dislodged some hygrophilias which floated to the surface. That was on about Tuesday six weeks ago and I decided I'd leave it that way 'til the weekend and straigten everything out (busy with work, food to cook, blah, blah.) Anyway, I got home on the following Thursday night and went to feed my fish and all my rasboras and danios (16 fish all up) along with my Siamese Fighter were all swimming around at the opposite end of the tank to where the floating plants are. I thought it was a bit weird, but didn't really think anything much of it. However, next morning they were all still the same and anytime one came a bit close the male would charge out of the plants and chase it away. Sure enough, I looked closer and the bubble nest had tons of little tails hanging down. I wasn't really sure how they were going to survive, but I left all the plants floating and I still have some of the little dudes swimming around - the biggest are about (8mm or so.) So all in all, I'm going to be a fish-daddy and my Paradise Fish have gotten more in the last six weeks than I have! :evil:

I've read that styrofoam is fine to use as long as you seal it with something like Pond Seal, rather than Silicone. I've actually been toying with this lately as work throws out tons of styrofoam from the stuff we get delivered.

Microsorum pteropus

I actually decided to use a 20cm net hungover the side to seperate them in the end. For a while, whenever they swam under him he'd flare, but he's settled down now. Also, I feel much more ease leaving home for work. I'd prefer him to hav free range though. Another question, is he likely to repeat this performance when he ends up sharing my soon to be deliverd 330L tank with about 30 other residents?

Bloody Betta. Okay, here's the story. I bought 6 brand spankin' new Clown Loaches (about 3.5 - 4cm long) and a ton of plants, all in preparation for the delivery of my 330L (90G) tank the weekend just gone. Then I'm then notified by the aquarium place is still having there are still having "supplier problems" from the business that is staining my cabinet for them, and it now won't be delivered until next weekend. I put the Clowns in the 20L temp tank I have that I had my Betta in - as originally planned, but since the new tank wasn't going to arrive, I had to leave him in with them. To the setup I added a really big and a smaller piece of driftwood and all the plants. I had read that this should not be a problem, since the clowns look nothing like a betta. Seems he has other ideas, in his little mind, he feels that they look exactly[/b like other male bettas. Anyway, as soon as I added all the plants (it had been bare except for the heater, sponge filter and a couple of big rocks I took out to put the driftwood in) Chocolate Factory started increasing his bubble nest from about the size of a five-cent piece, to like the size of a couple of golf balls - which is good I suppose. All along though he keeps incessantly chasing the clowns all over the place. I can't see much of it, appart from the occasional flash of orange and black followed closely by the purple marauder. Then he reappears to add a few more bubbles to his nest then goes on the warpath again. He also hasn't eaten anything since this whole thing started. What I have to ask is this - as long as the tank does arrive this weekend (five or six more days,) is this going to be a problem? The tank is currently heated to 27 degrees, so I'd prefer not to move him own bowl as it is winter now in Brisbane and the temps are getting down to 10 - 15 degrees Celsius overnight - and just mid twenties during the day (I wouldn't have a heater small enough to fit bowls.) The loaches don't really seem to mind overly much - a couple of them even come to just under the nest until he shoots after them again. He's not quite quick enough to catch them - until they swim into a dead-end that is. But even when they do, he has to pull up anyway, so they still have time to swim off. Besides, they eat all that I've put in the tank for them - and I know it's them, 'cause he won't touch the stuff I've left for them to come and get. Also, when he's off pestering one of the others, they seem fairly content swimming around "vacuuming." The thing I'm worried about is that I have been at home most of the time and the once or twice that he has gotten on top of one, I've been able to break it up, but from tomorrow 'til Friday will be work day (today's a Public Holiday in God's own country.) Also, to stop any screams about the size of the container - water chemistry hasn't changed since this started. Can anyone suggest anything other than moving him, or should all be well?

biziboy Having recently purchased my first, I had a poke around the net the other day and came across this site: http://www.bettacave.com/ You'll note he has a section detailing "Genetics" as well and it shows in a tabular format the sorts of results to expect. This guy's been doing it for years, so he should be respected to some degree for his info.

Why chocolate factory? Why not? :lol: Ok here goes: I'm on the golf course and thinking, "well I suppose I should give him a name." So I start thinking, and I think well he's violet, so how about "Violet" (originality reigns) but he's a boy, then I say maybe "Viola" - nah too French. Violet, violet, violet - hey there was a Violet in Charlie and the Chocloate Factory (one of my favourite books when I was a kid) and I think you see where I'm going here... So I decided "Charlie," a boy's name, a little bit silly... But then it really hit me - why not go the whole hog with the silliness and just call him Chocolate Factory. It appealed to my sense of the absurd and so "Chocolate Factory" it is!

Just thought I'd drop a line to say hi and tell everyone that I finally got my first fish and I have called him Chocolate Factory. It wasn't my intention on Saturday to buy a fish - as it I am still waiting for my 330L tank and cabinet to be delivered. However, in the pet store (yuck, I know, but the nearby LFS has closed until it re-opens under new management this Saturday) their were about 10 Bettas in those stupid little cups of water. They had them all together, so they were all swimming around their little cups flaring at each other madly - except for one that is - it was lying peacefully at the bottom of it's "bowl" DEAD. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I'd intended to get a betta as part of my community for my first tank. My ideal was to get a plum / violet (really purple) one - and they had three, one of which I thought was really beautiful - really, really purple. I decided I was gonna buy him - but first some supplies. I'd already purchased, online, four spare corner filters and a couple of air pumps (along with all the necessary stuff for my main tank - canister, heaters, nets, test kits, quality food etc.) I'd also already purchased some pea sized gravel and a couple of bags of sand - enough to fill the tank entirely, but that's another story. Before purchasing though, I went to Big W to get a container to put him in - an 18 litre "storage container" - they style I intend getting three or four of for hospital and spawning tanks. Nine bucks for an 18L container, vs $20 for the stupid little plastic thimble with a sprinkling of flourescent pink gravel (plus the cost of the fish.) God it is such a stupid way to sell fish. I got that from Big W, went back to the Pet Store and purchased Chocolate Factory (although I hadn't decided on his name until half-way through my round of golf), then went home and set the whole shebang up in under an hour before hitting the golf course. He wouldn't eat the expensive "quality" flakes and pellets I had purchased, so I thought, oh great he's going to be one of those Bettas that one describes as a finnicky-pain-in-the-arse. Anyway it's about 30 hours after purchase and I'm thinking "Oh great, my first fish and the stupid thing wont eat the food I provide . My $1000 setup is looking like a really bad idea now - wonder if I can cancel and get a refund?" But then I have a bright spark - "wait a minute, I remember reading on the Internet that Bettas are carnivores and like fresh food." I don't eat a lot of red meat, so there is no steak, not a piece of liver, kidney, pork, lamb or anything that might turn my carnivorous little friend Chocolate Factory on. Except for the kangaroo steaks that I'd bought about twelve months ago to try - it is really nice meat really, but as I say I'm not a meat eater really. Tuna and chicken, lots of veggies, salad, the works - no worries, but not much meat for me. Anyway I took the kangaroo out of the freezer and shaved off a bit to try him on - perhaps about the size of four or five grains of rice. I chopped it up really fine and took it back to the "tank." What a difference. Chocolate Factory changed from a lazy (and pretty boring really) swimmer into a crazed, purple piranah (albiet a pretty small one) swimming and thrashing all around the container, looping the loop, flaring at nothing in particular, just going nuts really. And he attacked the kangaroo meat like it was his first meal in six months. Well I suppose, considering the way the Pet Store had him, it could very well be. Anyway, there you go, the story of my first fish "Chocolate Factory."