19beefy80 Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm male, 30 yrs old and I have recently moved to Brisbane. My partner bought a small tank last weekend with 4 partitions in it and I decided that I would go and buy 2 bettas for her. While I have always had an interest in fish it has never been something I have explored until this weekend. WOW, what can I say! I love Bettas! I went in to get 2 bettas (picked out a nice red with gold sheen female (still haven't named her), looks like a round tail. The male looks like a crown tail and is a red with steel over it. Not the prettiest of colors but he flares ALL the time so I love him and he is VERY interactive! I called him Angry ) After I picked them out, I ended up buying a heap of things for them like heater, food, water purifier powder and drops for their tank. When I got home and showed my partner she loved them and said we needed to go back and get another 2 because there is 4 partitions to fill in the tank so we went back and bought another 2 males which she picked out, 1 is another crown tail who is blue with a little black and gold and turquoise over top (called him Blue boy) and the other is a veil tail who is red with a iridescent blue or violet over the top and looks great under any light (called him Gorgeous) but he is very inactive unless he is interacting with the female in the next partition. This is the first I've ever taken an interest in any fish and have no idea about aquariums in general but I have fallen for them hard. I've got the little tank set up in reasonably good condition for them I hope. I keep it at 24-25 deg for them and run a little aeration pump in a back partition away from then so that it is not creating to much current for them (have read they don't like currents that much) I don't run the pump all day. Just a little when I get up and a bit before bed. I have some plastic plants but really would like to switch to real plants soon. The tank has a black foam filter in it which was cleaned along with the tank with same set up water as fish get. In 2 days I have spent so much time looking at them and researching them on line. They are beautiful! I would really like to get a much bigger tank now and use a betta as a center piece in it. I am finding it hard though to find other good fish to have in the tank with it that will not damage it but still provide plenty of color and life around it. The other thing is I would really like to give all the fish some wood and lots of real plant life of differing sizes to move through. I'm looking at a 4 foot tank and stand at the moment. Is there anywhere that lists other good fish to have with Bettas and also what plants can or should be used in there environment. I am willing to spend some money on getting them set up right if need be but first I want them to be happy then for it to look good. Thanks for any help and I'm looking forward to finding out a lot more about these beautiful little fish and all the others as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Now, listen up people. This is what we mean when we ask for an Intro. Thanks for that great intro beefy and welcome to the forum. It sounds like the tank you have is the kind that has filter media in the back. I would suggest that you leave the pump running 24/7. The tank will eventually cycle and the filter will help to deal with the waste. Air driven filters generally don't produce a flow that's strong enough to bother a betta. And the benefits of having a working filter far outweigh a bit of water movement. Welcome again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gulp Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Welcome Sounds like your bettas have a good home. You will find plenty of info here. Enjoy the forum and ask plenty of questions, everyone is here to help :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 You sound so like me it's scarey. I bought 2 female bettas at the markets then bought bowl etc. etc. etc. Next it was a 1m tank about .6m high; then I had to fill it so bought more; then my husband got involved & we bought a couple of 3 section tanks & got males; then a breeding tank. Now we have 5 tanks 1 of which is the same as yours. Next it was trying to breed & the males all fled from the girls & after much internet searching I was worried the agression would be too hard to watch. The girls couldn't find the boys despite while in their own tanks they blew bubble nests & paraded like real studs for them. When we put the girls in their tank they either swam at the top of the tank or around the bottom so we looked for something that would swim in the middle so bought neon tetras which get along famously with the bettas & do fill the gap in the middle. What I found was that the tank we bought for breeding was only 30cm high & due to disease in my girls tank I have now put them into this tank & you don't have the great gap in the middle & they swim all over the place so if you're getting a bigger tank bettas seem better in lower tanks. I also have bristle noses in with my girls & they get on well together & keep the tank clean too. I did have a couple of guppies in the big divided tank I have but they were small enough to get through the space left for water circulation & the males ate one so I have them in a separate tank now & have ended up with 45 babies in the last 5 weeks from 2 separate drops. I know the addiction well because I only started in January but everyone in this club is so helpful & I've had some marvelous information for my sick fish. Welcome & I hope you both have a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrose217 Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Good morning Des Nice to meet you I am new too,..Its true to say that they are very lovable fish especially with the variety of colours and types to chose from. I made the mistake of putting plants and wood in only to find my fish were dying even after having the wood checked and cleaned,..Just make sure you clean stone and wood under tap water and also "cook" your wood and stones-(in a clean stainless steel pot with clean water)a few hours and let cool down before you actually put them in so to kill any baddies. Some woods are poisonous so just take care there. Grapevine roots are supposed to be good. I don't know too much but I know this is a good thing to do.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Hi Sunrose, thanks for the info about the rocks & logs. I've removed my bettas & have to clean their old tank out completely but can't do it until my snails are big enough to pick out so I don't lose them; caught my neon tetras - what a job - & my bristlenoses. I'm not looking forward to that. They're a lot younger & faster than I am even at feeding time they're hard to catch. when I do clean the tank I'll do that after giving them a good soak in pp. Have a good day, Des. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) Hi Des, Welcome to AusAqua. It is funny how bettas have a habit of hooking people in, I've read it many times now, and am also a recent betta addict. They have such personality B) I am in the process of setting up a six foot betta display tank with other fish in it as well. It will hold 11 males and a harem of females, as well as neons, angels and dwarf gourami. The setup is complicated and I will do a post with photos when I put it together as I don't think I could describe it well. What ever you do, dont go looking at aqua bid, it is very addictive! Cheers, Bec Edited July 28, 2010 by Bec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gulp Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Umm, I think the persons name posting this introduction is 19beefy80, not Des, lol Welcome again 19beefy80 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 (edited) :blush: OPPPS.. Welcome Sunrose, not Des! EDIT - EDIT - EDIT Double OPPPS ... having a senior moment :alright: Welcome 19beefy80 Edited July 28, 2010 by Bec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrose217 Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 G'day to everyone, It can be quite confusing we have two Des's,..Thanks Gulp and Bec thats okay I understood,..Des your fish sound like mine girls acting like guys I was sold two females from the pet shop-until I spotted a bubblenest in their aquarium-boy was I confused looking up on Betta behaviour on the net wondering why I had a bubblenest when these were supposed to be females so I took the one being chased out of the tank(only had two in there!(2ftx2ftx1ft)next thing I looked harder at the nest-looked very white-not grey or clear then I was even more confused as the female thing stuck in my brain-that if these were truly female then the eggs would not be fertilised,...there was only one thing to do and we had a family vote and waited a day,..turned out the eggs hatched-unless these fish are like the Barra(change sex-is that possible?..) I know how time consuming this hobby can be but isn't it fun? I give myself pats on the shoulder now and again - you have to-'cos nobody seems to understand this "obsession" (they call it.) I can get very tired staying up sometimes to 1am( and awake to do a days work at the office(well start out with seeing to the fish first thing,..)I guess it can take over but that's the commitment-keeping the tank superclean yet "alive"-not overdoing it then daily changes of water-but no abrupt changes in temp and ph,... I like all my fish to be of one breed in one aquarium. I am slowly introducing the snail thing-golden snails ?-haven't had the courage to put them with my bettas yet as I don't know enough about them,.. or if they can take the same temp as the Bettas during the warmer months up this way-30C? I think there are many types of golden snails(not talking about colours but scientific names-after google searching one day a few months ago,)I also read some snails multiply like mad..So I dug into some old material-one of Dr Herbert Axelrod's mentions a fine snail for aquariums-a large type-I can't fully remember the scientific name but it grows to be a good size,..I don't know if there are any down under-haven't really searched,.. I am only new and learning,.. It can be quite an expensive hobby fishkeeping but fun,.. I have never been on Aquabid-this is new to me Bec are there only Bettas or do they sell Cichlids as well? I wish you all a lovely day, your friend Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19beefy80 Posted July 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Thanks for the welcome everyone, Love the site and am learning heaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 I have never been on Aquabid-this is new to me Bec are there only Bettas or do they sell Cichlids as well? I wish you all a lovely day, your friend Anne I think there are all sorts of fish on there, but not sure if all can be shipped to Aus ... you would need to ask someone about that one, Bec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 LOL!!! This is a very confusing thread! 19Beefy80 is new - so hello 19Beefy80!!! I think we only have 1 Des....?? You guys are getting the hang of using the forum though, which is good! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrose217 Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Sounds good to me Bec - we're pretty limited up this way in the way of choice-shops are bare and people fight over the fresh fish who have just arrived,..the excuse is "there is not much demand,.." but then there is no choice either or anyone who could give you advice to give you inspiration to get into it in the first place,..its a real all round poor situation,.. AnneHi Lilli Just got home but will have an early night tonight so will catch up tomorrow,.. good evening to all,..Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Sounds like you should do some breeding ... Bec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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