Shelley

what is your gut reaction from looking at the pics? Plenty of bubbles there now. The first time she built them was when she was in a mesh breeder thing with a handsome male fighter in the tank....he was not interested and I thought she was trying to give him the hint!. I have started calling her Richard now..... I will get a female when i can and put her in the next tank.....and introduce them when I fell they are both looking good....and see what/if anything happens.

Thanks Alan. I think I paid $10 for it through trademe...with about a teaspoon used....just a small glass vial about 3 inches long and maybe 6/8 inch across....that size retails at about $14. I just wanted to try it to see if I could do it successfully before investing in a larger quantity. I do like giving brineshrimp to my fish I will carry on with your advice and give it another go..... hopefully we will be a little more financial within the next few weeks/months so I can get some white worm culture and give that a go to.

lol....whaddaya mean a crappy tail! she (he) is beautiful :lol: I will have to start calling her Richard then.... that will take some getting used to

After the first week of life, huh? This stuff is small....I didn't realise it MADE it to the first week of life? do you leave the hose/air stone on? The closest I have had to success was a small cokebottle with the hole in the lid for the airtube and I floated it in a heated tank (and left the light on it because I had heard that helped the eggs hatch....once hatched i had a hell of a job getting them out! lol....I used a length of soft hose to siphon them out into a paper towel but of course they were smaller than specks of sand....so if i left them in the bottle....with the air on...they should continue to live/grow? at what stage should i feed the baby brine shrimp something to keep them going...and i can see the changing of the water could be a tricky task. I would REALLY like to get this working for my fishies...have yet to do it successfully. The frozen brine shrimp is ok....but I don't have a spare $7 at the moment...and it doesn't last long...have only about 1/2 a lil tube of eggs left to practice with and if i haven't got it sussed by the time the tube is emty i will not buy more to try again.

I just tried this method (unsuccessfully...although i thought the drilled hole was tight it still leaked) but worth another go...i may silicone the hole http://aquariumhobbyist.com/endlerslivebearer/page4.htm

excellent.......i didn't know there were so many types...or maybe i did and just wasnt sure what types there were. spade tail sounds like my girl (boy?) as p[er 'girl or boy' link..... can boys have tails like that?

Here is my lovely Raquel...given to me by my mother.......as a gift for my male bettas.... She was sold as a female betta, and was a beautiful pale mauvey blue when we got her with a brown stripe running through the length of her body...however I am wondering if there is any chance she is a boy? (The brilliant colour came with feeding brine shrimp...the photos don't do the colour justice). The tail, to me makes her definitely a girl....but she chews the boys up and spits them out for breakfast...and busily builds bubblenests in her spare time, can anyone here help me? I am contemplating getting another girl at some time to see what sort of reaction THAT gets.... what do you think? I am left with no males, although they did not die in confrontation, they definitely found her (him?) menacing....and kicked the bucket 2 or 3 weeks after sulking when in near proximity with her. She (he?) is a beautiful girl (boy?) and generally a peaceful fish. Currently she is in a 2 foot tank with only neons and corys for company. here's the link. Thanks. http://photobucket.com/albums/y128/smee2004/

Black widow tetras ARE nippers. I have had mine separate with a sherpae tetra for a while because the sherpae was a major problem (down to just one of them now) and the widows were an occasional problem. I actually considered a tank with just the sherpae tetras AND black widows as they are beautiful fish, but certainly not good with long finned others. Today I added 2 blue threespot gouramis to the 'fin nipper' tank...and am keeping a close eye...so far it is peaceful, but they dont have those beautiful teasing flowing fins to attract the nippers .....

and a welcome from me too. What a luxury set up. I love our largest tank but access is a right pain in the butt and definitely would make me think if I was setting up another one. I am really thick about filtration and sumps and such, so am always interested to hear how others get on. As for lighting I have replaced some tubes with 'normal' ones of the same strength but the light is more white/yellow than white/blue....and I find the plants don't like it much (or perhaps it is the brown algae type stuff that likes it and smothers the plants....it is almost like a coating of rubber on the plants. I did buy a 'proper' light for one of the smaller tanks, and although it is rather gloomy in that tank, it does seem much more user friendly for both the plants and the fish.

Because NZ is only a little country the cars don't have to travel so far Gee....I can't remember which cat was so sick I wasn't sure if it would live Bella and Tess I got from the SPCA about 3 or 4 years back as kittens.....had to pay for their de-sexing straight up which probably wasnt a bad idea. Bella had her accident with the car about 2 weeks after her op....and I thought she was a goner....Sadly Tess WAS a goner after taking on a milk tanker.....gawd....that was a mess and a half to clean up....I was so hoping it wasn't her and might have been one of the wild cats, but it just about broke my heart to find her little collar a few more metres down the road..... a Year later and I thought Bella was lonely so went to my daughters friends house who had kittens to give away...I thought Bella would be all motherly to a new kitten!.......she is more like a bossy aunty! I couldn't chose which kitten to take and ended up taking two of them! Phoebe was/is the most beautiful kitten ever but my god she was so bloody annoying!!!!!! I ended up giving her to a couplpe of elderly spinsters who LOVE cats....and had just had to have a couple put down due to very old age and various complications....They think it is funny when Phoebe (now called Missy) jumps in the flour bin as they are baking! So Bella is the stroppy old aunty....and Muffin is the scaredy cat. R.I.P. Tess. Prior to them we had a cat called Trevor. Got him from the cats protection league....'they' told me he was about 5 years old.....the vet laughed and said 15 would be closer! Trev sort of developed dementia and would go walk about and get lost. He never really recovered from his last little wander and I found him dead on the lawn one day. We have quite a burial ground in our garden

LOL....well I bet the kids just LOVE the tank the way it is :lol: .... Cool fish names too

Flaming heck..... as much as I loved Harry (my unknown lettered/numbered pleco) I am glad hge snuffed it if he was likely to grow to THAT size! lol.....STILL waiting to see my first real bristlenose. My corydoras are the cutest wee things....but my mothers corydoras are HUGE (at least 5 times the size of mine)

R.I.P. little fishie.....I just hate it when that happens . Hoe whatever it was wasn't contagious. Possibly a good argument for a quarantine tank. Can't think what can have been wrong with it, how is the other Mollie you got at the same time?

Hi Tanksman and welcome...You certainly have the bug with that many tanks. Maybe you could devote a couple of tanks to just plants to grow your own and keep your fish-populated tanks plentiful in plants. I never get sick of hearing what other people are doing with their tanks . I am sure you will find lots of useful information here and the best part is we all get to contribute ....have fun.

Name: Shelley Age: 39 Sex: if and when at all possible Married with 3 kids (Sarah, 17, Maree (the fish lover) 15, and Ben, 12 who is handicapped and a little darling but has sooooooo much energy!) Live on a farm, but this is about to change....we will be moving any time from immediately to just prior to Christmas, not sure when, not sure where. Job..... isn't being a mum enough? Car. Holden Commodore Stationwagon (for all the kids crap and loads of groceries) Hobbies. FISH Favourite food...NOT fish! (unless it is battered, deep fried and wrapped in newspaper).....probably favourite food would be roast pork with roast spuds and pumpkin and gravy and crackling and and and and *drools* pavlova is pretty good too. Pets: Bella (snooty cat with a dodgy bladder (after playing dodgeems with cars and coming off second best) she is grey and white and a fantastic hunter, but only has partial feeling in her tail after her brush with death...and her tail always lies straight up her back which looks very rude! Muffin (ridiculously timid but beautiful fluffy tabby cat) and.....quite a few fish we used to have pigs too (but...I like pork...and...well...you know...one thing lead to another....) actually pigs are the coolest animals on earth, you can have a really meaningful conversation with a pig...and when they get past the cute stage you can put them in the freezer! Favourite book....uuuummmm....someone here said they liked Bryce Courtenay's "The power of one" someone else said they like Derek Hansens books...Courtenays The power of one is undoubtedly his best work. I like hansens other work better than the 'lunch' series (as they are so incredibly intricate....my favourite of his was called Sole Survivor and I also enjoyed Blockade.... Love gardening and fishie books...this does not mean I am a good gardener...in fact I am a lousy gardener, but I keep hoping my garden and the books will inspire me! Favourite fishies...Corydoras!!!! They are so cute!!! especially the peppered ones. Also love my gouramis and bettas.

Heehee....I hope mr and mrs dutifully had rude thoughts about each other and acted on them for you....what an absolutely wonderful hobby!....The fish watching I mean! :oops: Ring around the fish shos...they might be able to order you some in. I have noticed the same problem, I asked one fish store if they ever got in females and she said "when they become available" which I think, is plain hogwash...I suspect it is just that the females are so cheap (around $6.50-$9) and the males are so much more spectacular at around $12 - $18. But what happens to all those females from those same spawnings? My female came from Redwood aquatics at Christchurch, and I am sure they would courier them north. I also saw females in one of the Critter Kingdom stores in Christchurch. Those are the only two shos I have seen them. Sometimes they become available on trademe. I would love to breed these fish at some stage and would be interested to see how hard/easy it is to find homes for the female fighters, as they are beautiful fish in their own right.

I love them! But have had a very poor run with my male bettas....in fact I now have NO male bettas :-? I have one female (Raquel) who is beautiful, when fed up on brine shrimp she becomes almost irridescent. She was a pale baby blue when we got her as a young adult, but now her shades range from rich electric blue to purple...and a touch of red in her fins when in the mood for love. She is an aggressive lover, and when I eventually replace my males I shall condition them for longer before introducing any one of them to her. I am quite keen to have a small (2ft) tank for just my female fighters, as I would like 2 or 3 more in differing colours for my boys (when I get them). I am trying to read up more on bettas as it concerns me that I have lost so many of my boys (4) after a few months of them being seemingly very happy fish they begin to sulk and lose condition and die. One ended up with a nasty hunk out of his side, yet was in a tank on his own when it happened. Very very sad. (and yes I have had all these males in separate tanks). I have just set up a tank which will be a breeding tank....no stones.....and a sponge filter....however financially I am not in a position to be buying Raquel any boyfriends, or female tank mates right now.....which is fine...gives me more time to read up on it!

Thanks for digging that post up.....Excellent easy to read information

Hi and welcome Debs...looks like you got thrown in the deep end, but this lot here are so helpful. and Hi Caper...I haven't been on here much lately ....I am really impressed with all the advice you passed on to Debs.....can see you are a quick learner Sounds like you have everything just about under control Debs.... partial (about a quater) water changes once a week should keep your fishies is clean water. I am stressing much less about the test kits now (used to test the water every day!) and just going through the motions of regular tank maintenance. (i.e. water changes). Don't clean out your filter when you change your water as this is where all the beneficial stuff grows and thrives and helps balance out your tank. I am sure you are going to have a lot of fun looking after your new friends. Polystyrene is often used for packaging. I got given some from a hardware shop...but places like Bunnings Warehouse have it for sale if you can't find any throw-away stuff.

Ive had peat in one of my tanks, and it looked great! but made one hell of a mess of the tank. I wasn't worried about it lowering my PH as my PH tends to be a bit high anyway, but the water became quite yellow and it was next to impossible to get all of the peat out when i decided to remove it. I am interested to hear this about sand as sand would look really nice. Also interested to hear about bristlenoses...I have yet to sight a bristlenose eyeball to eyeball and would love some for my tanks....still....hubby is out of work now so it will all have to wait.

I have two tanks currently looking very milky/cloudy..... I did a 25% water change on both on Friday, and by Sunday the cloudiness was pretty bad in the smaller of the two..... No sign of distressed fish yet, but the tanks look awful. I HAD cleaned both filters of both tanks (which i dont usually do)....and the filters were filthy....i just rinsed the media in a bucket of the siphoned off water...and used tank water to re-prime the pump. COULD be over-feeding...COULD be i have cleaned the filter "too much" (thought it was the dirtiness of the filter causing the problem as the tanks had started to go cloudy. I cleaned out 2 of my other populated tanks at the same time and they are both fine.(i.e. same water used)...The smaller of the 2 tanks has been running for several months, the larger has been running again for maybe a month but the filter had been running in another tank for several weeks prior to re-setting up the larger tank. (360 litre and 180 litre tanks)...the 360 litre has about half a dozen fish in it now (gouramis, corys)

Fingers and toes crossed for you Phillz....in a similar situation here too

I think they are absolutely wonderful pictures!

Hi Penejane....I have found fastways deliver also. $15.00 for a bigish polystyrene box.

why?