Tiger barb is quite aggressive, so prefer not to mix.

Is there any type of small hanging aquarium for bettas? one that u can hang on the inner wall of bigger aquarium. cuz by that way, we can stil use the same water filtration for big fish & the bettas.
Heheh, this way is for a lazy type guy, too malas to change water in many many small tank.. Link : http://www.novalek.com/kordon/fish_refuge/index.htm

This post has been edited by Reave: Oct 5 2009, 11:42 AM

female have bigger stomach than male... it will have a white dot at the belly
shorter ventral fins... and showing bar on body when it is ready to spawn...
there is still a lot of way for u to differentiate... experience tell it all...

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Added on October 5, 2009, 11:48 pmthe set back is one fish got diease.. whole tank gone.. that is why the pionner of betta, the thailand breeders stilll not employing this tecnique, so even better one---betta barrack system...

u wan to change water easy.. one way is to drill few hole on ur tank.. u just need to top up water... and some "older" water will flow out.. So, indirectly reduce(i never said remove all) the ammonia inside the tank... and it work best, because the fluatuation of the water parameter is minimum compare to full water change.... and it is best for the halfmoons and crowntail keepers.. because any changes of the water parameter may result in ray curl or claim tail...

This post has been edited by spirit of demon: Oct 5 2009, 11:48 PM

Barbs are fast swimming fish as opposed to bettas. Unless your tank is large, mixing them is not advisable.

and in addition to max_cjs statement, the pair itself will fight.. u will end up losing some of fish.. the dangerous one is the female betta.. once she got attack by the male and injured.. it is time for tiger barb to prey on her... think twice...

thanks guys.. ill appreciate all the comments.. its time for me to get another small tank just for my future betta..

Hi everyone, i am a new betta owner by accident and gotten 2 low grade betta last Saturday. Me and my fiance went marketing in Tesco Puchong and saw Tesco selling fishes and also betta. It caught my attention because i sympathized with the betta's condition as they were placed in small plastic cup with a sealed cap that is way too small for them to even to move a fin. I suppose those are low grade betta and left only 2 betta when i was there.

I like fishes but it never occur to me in keeping them as i have 7 cats living with me in a small apartment. But these 2 betta caught my attention and i thought to myself that no one would want them as they are plain and kinda common with fading colours.

I dont know what went wrong with me and my fiance, we decided to buy them and keep them in our office out of sympathy. I need some advice from you guys, i had the impression that betta is fine living in a small environment so i got them both an aquarium at the size of 26cm (L) x 20cm (W) x 20cm (H). Once i settled them in the office and had a bit of time, i went surfing in the net to get more info in handling them. I was shock to find out from www.bettafishforum.com that a 3 gallon tank makes a happy betta and should be in the consistent temperature of 25 degree C.

My problem is, i only have a 4ft working table which i hv limited space for such a big tank. My office is so cold in the air condition which i suppose the water temperature isn't right nor healthy for them. I went around in Subang area in asking bout tank heater unfortunately it comes in only big sizes. What should i do?

What should i do with my fishes in my office? Well though they are nothing close to what you guys are rearing, but i just want to make sure they are living happily and healthy.

Appreciate your advices and thanks in advance!

PS: I'm being poisoned already, i got another better looking betta on the following day (Sunday), 3 all together in 2 days. 2 Living in office and 1 in my apartment.

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Added on October 5, 2009, 11:48 pm

the set back is one fish got diease.. whole tank gone.. that is why the pionner of betta, the thailand breeders stilll not employing this tecnique, so even better one---betta barrack system...

Spirit,
Wat do u think of the barrack system? Suitable for owners that find it difficult to change water frequently?

CazzyCazz, ur story of how u accidentally got ur 1st two bettas were somehow, quite touching. Not many ppl have the same 'kindness' these days. all about money, all about luxury, blah2..

Personally i think the size of ur tank is more than enuf, considering how they will spend all their life in those small cups, if it wasnt U taking them to the 'refuge'.

What to expect in coming days - enjoy feeding them with various kinds of foods. Many types of pellet to choose, or even mosquito larvae (u'd be surprised how they like it!).
Every bettas has its own personality, and in many cases, they arent afraid of u that u can even feed them with ur finger. The point is - its unnecessary to own top quality bettas to enjoy keeping them. Have fun

Hiyii CityLife,

Thank you very much for your advice I am not that kind la, just being 'emotional' at that point of time. Being an animal lover, it is sad to witness how fishes are being treated 'it is just a fish', i guess my decision in bring my bettas home was based on emotional decision. But ofcoz i don't regret it as keeping bettas are definitely 10x earlier than handling my 7 cats at home

Glad to hear that my tank is ok for my fishes but yesterday night i went to some shop to buy a bigger aquarium, slightly bigger by 1 inch. Decided to change my fish to a bigger home because my fish (Bubble) hasn't been eating since the day i bought him and he sulks all the time, sinking at the bottom and hide. But guess what? Last night i bought his new home to the office and upgrade his home, today for the 1st time he is swimming happily at me and being more active than previously. But 1 thing still concern me as he still refuse his food, but he seems really happy with his new home.

My fiance's betta named 'Siew Keong' (i knw it is not a nice name for fish), though long tail but really fading colour on its body and tail (kinda ugly), but been happy since day one. He on the other hand seems strong and active, would swim up and down in his smaller tank and eat a little. Siew Keong seems to be a happier fish though living in a smaller tank.

My another betta is Twinkle, the one i rear in my apartment is doing much better, not shy another and eating well.

Btw, what about the room temperature in my office? As it gets really cold during the day and i put my finger in the water to test, it is really cold in there. Will it be ok for my fish to live in such temperature?

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Added on October 7, 2009, 12:37 pmSORRY, MY PREVIOUS MSG WAS TO REAVE!!!! KINDA BLUR

This post has been edited by CazzyCazz: Oct 7 2009, 12:37 PM

I think its the cold temperature that makes it passive (dunno true or not), cuz my bettas alwaz eat a lot & beg for more, that i fear they'll get bloated & unhealthy.

Sifus out there pls comment on this.

Reave,

Ya i thought it is the temperature too but 'Siew Keong' seems ok with it. Anyway, i did go around looking for heater but to no avail as all heaters available comes in big sizes. Oh well i guess just have to wait for Bubble to get use to its environment and me.

Thanks Reaves!

Btw, i hv the same PSP too!

Hehe, hardly hv time to play psp lately. Care to share some pics of the tank setup?

1st Picture:
This is my Bubble's new home, after he sulks for few days, i decided to upgrade his home and hopefully he will be happier. Indeed he is happier new besides not eating for 4 days already.

2nd Picture:
Bubble's home in my office.

3rd Picture:
My Bubble to sulking fish, gotten him from Tmn Megah pet shop. I dont know what is him but i think they told me he is a half moon which cost only RM15.

4th Picture:
My Bubble sulks all the time, can please advice?

5th Picture:
This is Siew Keong, the colour less which no one wants to buy in Tesco, i suppose his is some low grade which no one even eye on him for more than 3 sec. But is he a happy bubbling fish.

6th Picture:
Siew Keong the happy fish.

7th Picture:
He is always happily swimming in his smaller tank.

8th Picture:
Lastly, my silly cat


Attached thumbnail(s)

Wow, those ws quite a show. Congrats, u made superb setup, thumbs up

Yeah Bubble does seem unhappy, dunno why also. My advise :
1) Try to put a small mirror beside his tank, let him get amused by his own mirror-reflected image. Sometimes i thought male bettas just live for 3 reasons - eating, fighting & mating.
2) Try feeding him mosquito larvaes. From my experience, any betta wont refuse them.

Reave,

Haha thanks and hopefully he adapts to it asap. I did try putting mirror but he only flared for less then 30 sec and ignored it already. I even placed Siew Keong next to him and he was passive all the way. Hehehe maybe i got a really shy and tame betta.

I won't be in town from tomorrow until Saturday afternoon, so i am going to leave him as it is and hope to see improvement in him when i'm back from the event in Genting.

Gonna upgrade Siew Keong's tank as well on Sunday

Thanks Reave for your advice

PS: Yeah i hv no time for my PSP also, played Patapon 1, Patapon 2 near ending already but got stuck.

Usually 1 betta/ 3.8L should be optimal.

I got one betta in the office as well...i just using the smaller size guppy tank...fedding time is once a day from monday to friday...saturday and sunday fasting time.....so far very active and healthy...for me once betta use to it the cold temperature at office betta will be no problem already.


hrrm....should i try experiment on server room? ...just kidding..

CityLife,

Thanks for sharing, at least i know mine isn't too bad, changing the other 2 bettas' tank on Sunday

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Added on October 8, 2009, 12:00 amYewlin,

It was indeed a great decision of rearing both bettas in my office, at least i have something to look forward to going to the office now. It is also fun and relaxing just staring at my fish while stressed out. Ok so now i dont have to search for a heater for my sulking Bubble, hope he will get use to the cold temperature soon. Ya mine are going to fast during weekends too, except for Twinkle (at home) the lucky fish.

Server room? Hahaha, they r gonna freeze to death!

Thanks guys for your kindness and advice, will be back on Sat to learn more from you guys.

Take care

This post has been edited by CazzyCazz: Oct 8 2009, 12:00 AM

i bought a HM from felix...Nice 1.... Getting another HM from him again next month.