Rodger

Got our 5th betta the other day... Went to the pet shop for something for the dogs, but just had to get this guy lol So cute!

Interesting about the swim bladder... but he seems fine otherwise. Thanks Steph! I've put 4 smaller IAL in the tank, but the PH doesn't seem to be going down noticeably... As far as I can tell from my API test (hard to tell the subtle colour differences sometimes lol), it just sits at ~7.2, before and after the IAL. I'd like to get it down to 6.5-6.8 or so before I get a pair of apistos... Might try some DIY CO2, tho last time I tried that nothing seemed to happen (like, no bubbles)

Took some more pics today! And I also set up a betta barracks recently (there's a thread in DIY forum), and it has 2 guys in it now, and they look pretty happy with the new accommodation, both making nests! Our first betta, "Alpha" or Al: (btw, is the bulge near his peduncle normal?) showing off at the camera lol: Our 2nd betta, "Beta": And excuse the grubby tank glass, but I still liked this pic, he looks surprised lol:

Just got the driftwood and java fern today! And I actually had some file dividers spare, and they almost work, but if it's placed over some excess silicone they become unstuck... and my silicone work wasn't super tidy lol

Yeah I was planning on doing something to card them, some kinda thin black plastic... any ideas on what to use? And yeah I guess it'd be a good idea to lid them anyway. I just might not be able to use a single piece of glass, metal lip on the top of the aquarium might block it, so may need to get something flexible... Or maybe just 2 pieces of glass! lol

Hey, just thought I'd post some pics of the barracks I just made out of an old 2' tank! The tank was about 70 years old (at least), so I removed some weird old putty from the bottom and re-siliconed it, then I got some glass, 4x 300x200 dividers, and a 600x300 back wall (only cost about $35 too). I left a 4mm gap under the back wall, and pump the water in at the top via airtube, using a A1 102F internal filter. I put some filter wool in the filter as it just had sponge, and will try fit some carbon in it too... If I need more filtration I can get a 2nd 102F and connect it to the current spraybar which the airline comes out of, or add more tubes, or I could get a 103 instead... I'll see how it goes. I'm getting driftwood and java fern for each compartment too, and the back section the filter is in will probably have a java moss 'wall' on the back, and maybe some neons and a bristlenose! My cory tank on the left, a 9l betta tank in the middle which will probably be moved, and the new barracks on the right: The divider setup: Also, how high can bettas jump? the dividers go about 4cms above the water atm, but I'm wondering if I'll still need some kind of lid for them. Thanks to shadoh, Bethbot, and other's posts on here about barracks for design ideas! hehe

And here's a (bad) pic of the whole tank I did slightly break biotope the other day and put in some java moss lol, but wanted some more plant matter, and something that would stay around the top...

Yeah definitely, and I currently have about 6-6.5ph and very soft water already. Canberra tap water has almost no hardness, great for amazon type tanks! I will be getting a better test kit before any new fish as well, I have 7-in-1 strips, which aren't really that fine

I'm in exciting Canberra lol But today I visited the local fish shop, omg so many nice fish! A lot of bolivians, and a lovely pair of german blues... but they also had bonded pairs of apistos! I'm now really considering a pair of cacatuoides, they had such a nice pair of triple reds... mmmmm!

The filter is apparently 450L/h. And yeah, I wish black ghosts only got to 6-10cms... lol I'm thinking a pair of bolivian rams, or even blue rams, would be great. If I can actually get a real pair... Might be worth asking in the classifieds for an established pair?

Oh I hadn't actually, that's a cool idea. The Bolivian rams look lovely!

Hi all, I'm just wondering if my tank would be able to support many more fish or not... It's a planted 2' 50L (blue planet 'classic 50'), with 10 corys (leopards) and a bristlenose. How much load do the corys put on the system is my main question I guess. howmanyfish.com says between 56 and 34 cms of fish depending on body type... Ideally I'd love a black ghost, tho I'm sure he'd outgrow the tank eventually, and I'm not sure about keeping one with the corys... Any other suggestions? Preferably amazon type, and something that would eat the snails would be great too lol

Thanks! And everyone needs more corys!

Here's a little video of my new 50L cory tank! I managed to get all of my fish in frame at once! haha 10x Corydoras trilineatus (aka "julii"), and a BNC Plants are some compact blehiri swords and some chain swords, in fine quartz sand

Hi, thanks! I think it's "silver sand" (which I guess is just a nice fine quartz sand) from Jem Aquatics in Belco, tho we got it years ago for our last amazon tank, so I can't be sure. The corys sure do love it tho, the entire surface was 'coryified' and dimpled shortly after they were introduced lol