# Aquabid Acclimation and other questions with photos.



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Hey guys, so I am receiving some girls through Jennifer in about a week and a half. I have searched the board and not found a sticky or any helpful information on these topics. I know the threads are out there though so if you know them feel free to post them here. Also I hope I'm not offending anyone but please only reply to my questions if you are sure of your answers and/or had personal experiences with them! Lately I've seen a lot of people giving advice on everything from breeding to snails and when corrected say "Oh yeah I don't really know anything about this." It's like OK...why did you comment with advice then?! It can be dangerous. If you don't have any applicable info, there's still a question for you at the bottom 



My first set of questions is on water - If the water in their bags is the Thai water, how long should I acclimate them for? I've heard fifteen minutes of temperature acclimation, and then adding small amounts of new water for the next 12 hours or so. Is that right? Do they need to be in a dark room for a few hours since they've been in the box? Does anyone know if Jennifer changes their bag water? I emailed her asking but no response yet. If she does, how long should I acclimate from her water? It's many many states from me.

My second set of questions is on my sorority tank - I have set up a 20 gal long tank with real and fake plants. I will be adding more things before they are introduced, hiding spots and such. It is cycled, heated, and filtered. All of these girls are coming from the same breeder. Should I acclimate them in their bags in this tank so that they can see each other and get used to one another? Or should I acclimate them separately before introducing them to reduce stress? Once they've been properly acclimated, how long should I float them in their new tank, getting used to one another for? I have heard two days. This sorority will have cost me about 200 hundred after all is said and done, and I want to do this right!

And lasty, breeding in regards to the girls - I got these girls hopefully to use as breeding stock with my two dragon hmpks and my giant hmpks. Is it ok to condition them all with the food for a few weeks? Will they become aggressive with one another? Would it be best to pull a few girls from the sorority and condition them separately? I want to disturb the order of the sorority as little as possible to keep the peace.

And here are photos of my hmpk girls! One or two more may be added as well :

















































Anyone have any tank theme ideas? I'm not into the whole princess theme so much, and have basically ran out of the natural planted tank ideas on my boys tanks.


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

_My first set of questions is on water - _
I always open my package in a room with a little light - if it's daytime no lights on other than the light coming in the windows. I'll look at them then put them back in the box for maybe 10-15 minutes. I've left them in their bags up to a day already with no ill effects, HOWEVER I wouldn't advise doing that! I only did it due to extenuating circumstances. As for acclimation, I acclimate them like any other fish I buy - over an hour or so, adding water every 10ish minutes. When they come to the US the transhippers change their bags - at least I believe.
_
My second set of questions is on my sorority tank -_
I've never acclimated my girls to each other or to the tank b/c they were always coming from my water into the 55. When I add new girls I honestly just put them in.

_And lasty, breeding in regards to the girls -_ I can't really answer these questions, as I'm contemplating how to condition as well. Chard has told me he feeds all his fish the same, so they are always conditioned, and when he wants to spawn he just pulls them and spawns them. I think that is what I'm going to do. I can tell you if you want you can spawn them practically right away, my HMPK salamander pair, I had for 3 days and I put them to spawn and they did. They were already conditioned, coming from Thailand. I just gave them those 3 days to feed a bit, since I'm sure they hadn't been in a good 2 weeks.


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Thanks for your input Cajun! Do you have any horror stories with shipping or illnesses? How long did/has your sorority lasted? I know a lot of people on here have them successfully for years but I keep seeing posts of people whose don't work out. Is that just their lack of research and preparation or is there a good chance it won't work? I have many extra tanks just in case, but I'd really love it to work!


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

did Jennifer ever get back to you on the water thing? I'll be getting a few transhipped through her next week as well


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Yes she did Tisia! She DOES change the water for us, so that's neat. Also if you're a member of Ultimate Bettas tell her, there's no $5 box fee if you are


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

An easy way to acclimatise imported fish is to fill up a large bucket with the water you want to acclimatise them to. I usually stick a heater in there so that it stays warm, as most times I don't know the exact time they are arriving. 

When my bettas arrive, I open up their bags and pour them into another bucket or large jug. I add a couple of drops of Prime to the shipping water to detoxify any ammonia/nitrite build-up.

Then using a piece of airline tubing and my gang valve (in the case of acclimatising multiple fish) I slowly siphon water out of the main bucket and into the bucket containing the bettas. I adjust my valve so that the water comes out at a few drips a second, and then I just let that run for an hour or two. 

Once the main bucket is empty, I carefully cup my bettas out and place them into their tank. 

However in the past, I have just put bettas straight from their shipping bags into their new tank without any losses. Even my more delicate wilds have had no issues with this method - though I wouldn't recommend it. 

I'd probably quarantine each female separately first until you know everyone is eating and healthy. Then just do like a normal sorority and introduce them into the tank at the same time.

If they're young, related and there's plenty of cover, they should be fine.


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

great, that makes things easier, and I won't have to stress about them being okay while acclimating as much. I have an account on there but never really post


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

GreenTea said:


> Thanks for your input Cajun! Do you have any horror stories with shipping or illnesses? How long did/has your sorority lasted? I know a lot of people on here have them successfully for years but I keep seeing posts of people whose don't work out. Is that just their lack of research and preparation or is there a good chance it won't work? I have many extra tanks just in case, but I'd really love it to work!


Well, first I had 6 girls in a 15 gallon, for about ... 4 months? Now they've been in the 55 for maybe another 2.

You have to research it and do it right, but even then it sometimes can not work out. I have a ton of jars for back ups just in case, and a couple tanks. One thing to know about a sorority is that they WILL be nippy. I have found when they are fed, well, too much, they are less nippy. Fat and happy lol. Not overly obese, just very very plump. Seems to keep things in better order.

Plenty of room, at least 5 would be my recommendation, and a TON of hiding spots.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

For a more unnatural tank- you could maybe do a toy/playground theme - with like marbles, dominos, anything that you could make tank safe. I think that would look really cute in the end  or maybe a tropical resort theme theme- you could make little coconut resort rooms and like, a pool area using clear stones, a few lives plants, sand 
Just my two ideas xD


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

I like the toy/playground theme idea. They're going to be here in a week now! I'm so nervous/excited! I got these two girls as well, to round out the sorority number..I'm done buying them unless he posts another stunning girl or two. They're all pretty but I must be obsessed to spend anymore!

Cajun, they're going to be in a 20 gal long tank which is now pretty well stocked with plants and such. Going to buy some decor from craigslist in a minute here  So excited! I've done lots of research I'm just a worry wart..


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

I have an additional question now...Today I got two 10 gallon tanks off craigslist for 15 bucks and 15 lbs of new gravel for 3 dollars! Is it acceptable to (after spawning in the 10 gal) just allow for some grow out in the 10 gal and then split the spawn to the other 10 gal when they get a bit bigger? The tanks will have identical heaters/filters/etc and I was thinking if I started the water and cycle at the same time....Has anyone done this? As long as temp and water perameters were the same do you think the fry would survive? I also already have jars and some small bowls and tanks for any really big ones or aggressive fish.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

You always want to acclimate to water chemistry-regardless of where the Bettas came from....when from overseas you want to acclimate longer than from local waters....and using IAL or Oak leaf tannins will help too if you get one that seems to be really stressed...

As long as the females are in good shape, healthy, active, eating-I would pull them a couple of days before you plan to spawn-place in a small container and mass feed live food and intro to the male 5-10min a couple of times a day to let her flare at him and he at her.....well cared for Bettas don't need a lot of pre-conditioning-you are already doing that in a sense....but a little confinement and live food can perk them up pretty fast and with some females you may not even need to do that......

Since I spawn using a more natural method-I usually place my breeders in the 10gal Natural planted full to the top with water tank-together and start feeding live foods....I will have spawn within an hour to a day or so.....if it stalls-I add another female to the tank or a male in a cup and get everybody excited and the spawn is on.....lol.....

The 2-10gal tanks...nice find by the way....use one to spawn in and as the fry grow start moving the biggest ones to the other 10gal......that is usually how I do mine......I don't have just one grow-out tank......I separate by size and move them to bigger tanks as they grow.

I would get a couple of sponge filters for the 10gal tanks and keep them running in one of the established tanks so that they have lots of beneficial bacteria growing on them and when you need the 10gal tanks-set them up-get them to temp and add the sponge filter for an instant cycle and the sponge will be full of microorganism too...plus you will be doing daily water changes on them anyway....personally I don't use any filtration on my smaller tanks (10gal and under) especially for fry-I keep my NPT going all the time full of life-but if I did use filters it would be sponge filters...my filters are the plants...lol....

When you transfer fry-cup them and add small amount of water from the tank they are going to-over 15-30min and then add....


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

Most of the answers are similar to mine but I will still try to give you imput....
_My first set of questions is on water..._ Mine ranges for about a couple hours or so if the fish is not from my local area. I do use the drip system and just drip new water into their containers over a period of time. The new water I am adding usually has tannins that OFL is talking about. But the tank does as well. I dont do mine in a dark room I do it at sunset so then when I am ready to go to bed the fish are acclimated and I can add them to the new tank and turn the lights off. 
_My second set of questions is on my sorority tank..._ I acclimate all new fish at the same time that way not just one will be picked on. However you want to watch after light out to make sure everyone is still okay. And I do let the females see each other. But thats just me. 

_And lasty, breeding in regards to the girls - _I condition all my females together at once it helps if a breeding goes bad and I have never had a female go aggressive on another due to conditioning. You can pull them out but sometimes they will be harder to reintroduce. Hope this helps all those new girls are gorgeous


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Thank you for all the information! I'm assembling some documents so that when I start and/or panic at every step my first time I have lots of references to pull from. I'm planning on keeping a log on my sorority and breeding. What do you think of my breeding pairs? My goals for breeding are marble dragon hmpks and purple dragon hmpks (to get some purple consistently, it's so elusive!)

I know many (myself included) lust for purples and dragons so I hope to spawn these too first. The male is very small, maybe 1.25 inches, probably about two months old, so I've been feeding him some live and frozen foods in addition to pellets in hopes of fattening him up a bit..

If he's not too small to wrap her this is the first pair I plan on spawning - 



















Followed by:










with 










and/or












Thoughts?


----------



## alysalouise (Mar 15, 2011)

with 









Him with her first before you do him with the other female


----------



## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

The blue female I think would complement the blue marble males fins more, this is of course if you are going for good finnage and not color. Otherwise the 2 marbles would do great then.


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Didn't read all the responses cuz I'm on my phone but here's a quick and dirty reply and if you have more questions I can get back to you when I get some computer time.

Acclimating; drip is the safest way. What I would do is get all your girls in cups, personally I like to drip using 32oz deli containers that are taller than long. I'll go into more detail when I can get home.

Sororities: once acclimated I'd just throw them all together right away.. Unless they seem overly aggressive. Honestly IMO they're gonna nip anyways so not much point in floating them if they've already been together before. Just play it by ear.

Breeding: keep your girls well fed and when you wanr to spawn pull a girl feed her for a few days and she should be good to go. I've taken girls straight from sorority to spawn with no problems.

More later....


----------



## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Ok.. now that I have a real computer I can really answer.

Are these fish actually related? If not I would definitely introduce them slowly, by floating,etc.

To acclimate I would get a bucket full of water and gang valves ( you might need a couple). Put the bucket on a higher shelf and the girls in cups on a lower shelf. Arrange the gangvalves so the water drips in slowly (like 1 drop per second) and let it run until their cups are full (that is why I prefer the tall vs long cup).

For grow out I see no reason you cant use both ten gallons. I'd go with OFLs advice and remove the larger fry to one tank.

As for the fish you listed. I would breed the Blue marble with the solid dragon female. She is nicer than the other female. The male also has very rounded caudal edges which will need to be addressed and I think that female would give you better fins.

The other pair I don't think you'll get the purple you hope to get.. most likely coppers with varying degrees of red wash and you won't get HMPK in the first generation because that male doesn't look like he has HM spread to me


----------



## iloveengl (Sep 1, 2011)

I just wanted to pop in and drool over your bettas for a minute. o-m-g they are all absolutely gorgeous.


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

He does have the full flare, I can try to get a better photo, that was him when I first got him, he's opened up a bit more. I'm willing to spend the time with a few generations aiming for the colors I want. I love coppers and marbles so maybe I will be inspired by my fry. I agree with the solid blue girl, although I was wanting more dragon coloring. I could take one of the blue x blue better finned male fry and cross it with the marble girl as well. Thanks for your input it's helpful, I'm clearing shelves now. Got a few corner filters today  I've been collecting items as I go. I'm looking for a place to order some microworm and BBS cultures from. Has anyone here used egg yolk as first food?

EDIT: Also yes, a few of them are related, not all though no. Everyone but the purple marble girl is from the same breeder.


Thank you Eengl <3 I can't wait for them to arrive.


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Also - Do you think a few moss balls and a snail would be good for the fry tank initially? I live in an apartment in an old house with maybe 6 outlets total, and literally will shut the house down with tank lighting, so I've relied on natural light for my live plants. Unfortunately, the only ones that have thrived have been mosses, and a few swords have survived, but not thrived. Most of my plants have died despite my best efforts, so I was thinking moss balls and one of my snails might provide some goods for the fry?


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Here are some photos of my soririty set up so far, with my creative flow baffle ;]
I know I need some more plants, but do I have enough hiding spots? I giant vase, three small bowls, and the shiva head which has holes in the back. It's a 20 gal long tank. This also probably wont be the final arrangement, I just kinda threw stuff in there so y'all could see the density. I have river rocks and a medium sized green pot at my disposal as well.



















My creative baffle -



















I feel like I need some more medium height plants to break up the line of sight and some more density overall on the right side. Thoughts? Arrangement ideas?


----------



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Here is a pic of my 20 gallon long tank. There was supposed to be a small divided off section on the right but the mesh was too short. I kept finding all 7 females swimming on that side and not the other side so I removed it. 
My plants arent tall enough so I put spongebob's house on top of a stump and put some plants in a coffee pot and a amazon sword in a martini glass. I dont know why but they like to swim and dig into the gravel in the martini glass...









and when I used a 1o gallon


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

You want the tank basically so full of stuff (like you said more plants) that it's hard to find the fish sometimes. I think you're ok on caves and stuff but more tall plants will definitely be better.

Java moss is great for the fry, I have a ton in my spawn tank right now and I can never find anyone, they're always hiding! I freak out at times thinking they all died but they poke out after feeding time  A moss ball couldn't hurt either.

DEFINITELY put snails in the spawning tank. I like to feed often, like up to 6x a day, and I have 4 snails in my tank to take care of leftovers. The snail poop is supposedly better than uneaten rotting food, and so far I have found that to be true for me.


----------



## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

if you wanted to try water sprite I could give you some. it's attempting to completely take over one of my tanks right now. all mine is floating, but you can plant it as well


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

I got 4 more swords, 2 compact swords, and two fake plants and added them today, I'll post photos soon so you can tell me if you think it's dense enough. It feels so weird to have such a densely planted tank! I got a bit of duckweed as well.


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Here it is tonight, with Mo in it. I think she'll be too aggressive to go into the sorority, so I'm letting her party in there for the next few days. I may try to introduce her with the other girls, we'll see how it goes. Again, everything is just kind of shoved in there, I'll rearrange things so there's more even coverage. Here are also two gratuitous shots of my baby Mo.














































Mo was a rescue and has really finned out since we got together. Love her. She's more aggressive than several of my males <3


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

looks perfect


----------



## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

Awesome. For some reason the shipping was postponed another week -_- which means I'll have been waiting about a month. Gave me time to get all my tanks set up though, breeders included. Just working on setting up the spawn tank, I'm thinking of trying to shock method or typical half full 10 gal hobbyist method. Does anyone think one would be better for a first-timer?


----------

