# my natural homemade hammock



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

since there has been a lot of issues with the zoo med hammocks and them being very dangerous and unsafe .. and i didn't really like the idea of buying one and then having to modify it to be safer ..

i decided to make my own out of an IAL and an air tube holder suction cup thing .. i didn't use any glue or any bonding material .. so now my IAL's have 2 functions .. release tannins and super hammock ^_^


----------



## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

That's an awesome idea ^.^


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

tyvm .. i hope it catches on .. i really worry about how bad those zoo med ones are when they cause any fishies harm 

i actually got the idea from the other thread where they were discussing how to modify the zoo med hammock .. and the best thing about this one is that it costs a nothing to make .. and i can exchange the leafs when i need to


----------



## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

Yeah definitely, it's a clever fix that's for sure.


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Neat!! I love it! Where does one find Indian Almond Leaf (that's what IAL is, right?) I just modified a silk plant with non-metal hair elastics for the time being, trust me, it's very crudely done! lol But yours is so nice!!!


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

=D thank you!!

yes IAL is indian almond leaf .. and my bf found them on e-bay .. they were like $5 dollars for 100 extra large grade A ..

I think oak leaves which might be easier to find or gather from nearby trees .. are also a good source of tannins too and could make a good natural hammock 

but i'm not sure what the process is to dry them and prepare them to be tank ready .. maybe someone else here knows how to do it =D .. i'll post clearer pictures next time i change the leaf in my tank on how i clamped the leaf so that it stays =)


----------



## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

I threw some oak leaves in my 10 gallon and it didn't quite release tannins as well as the IAL...My betta and my shrimp still seems to like it though. I love the IAL hammock idea. 
Also, your betta is really pretty.


----------



## harrypotter (Aug 9, 2011)

What's wrong with the Zoo Med ones? My fish loves his, I always see him napping on it.


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

the wire in the zoo med one's apparently start rusting after a while and end up sticking out of the leaf and has been the culprit of tearing up bettas fin's and hurting them badly ..

i'm not saying this has happened to every hammock or owner.. but more then enough of people have had their bettas injured by it .. so that i just couldn't buy something with any risk of it hurting my betta 

=D i hope u got one that's made correctly and doesn't start to rust and doesn't have parts that stick ou

@littlebittyfish

^_^ tyvm .. he's very camera shy .. i was lucky to get that picture since he was so curious about what i had just added in his home he didn't notice i had the camera out hehe !!


----------



## Comet1993 (Jul 28, 2011)

That's a great idea.  It looks very nice, as does your betta. o.o He's gorgeous!


----------



## tlyons01 (Jul 5, 2011)

Yes that is one gorgeous betta!!! Kudos to the hammock idea. I too, have been riddled with what i want for my betta in a big tank and what is safe for him. I really want the floating log, and I had it in my hand at the store today. While walking around i just kept taking it out of the box and feeling how rough the sides were. I do not want to risk it, so I put it back. I am considering using silicone to adhere suction cups to a log that is made to sit on the bottom. I didn't like the ones I saw today so I am still hunting for one that will work. I am betting that idea would really work though... Can't wait to try it out


----------



## Potential4Evil (Aug 27, 2011)

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4055997
i bought that one and there wasnt a metal wire in mine just hard plastic and Chum-Fu loves it


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

@potential4evil
that is the exact zoo med product that does have a metal wire in the hard plastic leaf stem .. that was mentioned in my OP (as there have been many members that have the product and has had problems with it .. that was discussed on another thread discussing that product .. this is not that thread) .. that OVER TIME will rust .. and become exposed from the "hard plastic" that can cause harm to bettas .. i'm not saying it will happen to you .. but it .. MIGHT .. 

and MIGHT is not a chance i would ever take with my betta .. i just hope that the one u got was made correctly and doesn't end up causing complications later on .. 

ps.. this thread is not the right place to advertise that product (which is in my opinion a bad product .. which is why i made my own natural one as what this thread is about) .. so please don't .. kthx =)

@tlyons01
i have bought 3 of those floating logs and they do feel rough when you touch them .. but they have not caused any tail ripping or damage to any of my 3 bettas that have them in their tank .. 

the only thing that's weird about that log thing is that when u take it out to wash it .. bits of brown stuff comes off of it .. which i think is the paint chipping off .. though the even weirder part is that only 2 of the logs that i have do that .. 1 of them's paint never chipped .. 

also while they are sitting in the tank .. the paint doesn't chip off either .. which is also weird @[email protected] it's only when i take them out and wash them and is rubbing them clean when i see the bits ..

i hope u find the right things for ur betta .. i know it's hard to find and most time making them to be what u want is better =) .. don't forget to post some pics when u do!! i'd love to see how u mod those sinking logs to float !! cus that's what i was wanting to do when i saw them at the store .. but i wasn't sure i would be able to make them stay afloat since they were so heavy ..

@everyone else
thank you for your compliments on yuki =) .. he's really pretty .. but a big pain in my butt sometimes hehe =P


----------



## Hisaki Yuki001 (Jul 5, 2011)

That's cool. Speaking of the zoo med hammock... I just noticed tonight when the suction cup fell off the side of the tank that the wire started to stick out once I picked it up. I pulled the wire out of mine and placed what was left of the modified thing in my SBD Betta's tank. I would suggst that if anyone buys one of the zoo med leaves to remove those freaking wires. I'm just glade my little guy didn't get hurt before I realized it. One wrong rub up against it and things could've turned out really bad.


----------



## Potential4Evil (Aug 27, 2011)

Mistress said:


> @potential4evil
> that is the exact zoo med product that does have a metal wire in the hard plastic leaf stem .. that was mentioned in my OP (as there have been many members that have the product and has had problems with it .. that was discussed on another thread discussing that product .. this is not that thread) .. that OVER TIME will rust .. and become exposed from the "hard plastic" that can cause harm to bettas .. i'm not saying it will happen to you .. but it .. MIGHT ..
> 
> and MIGHT is not a chance i would ever take with my betta .. i just hope that the one u got was made correctly and doesn't end up causing complications later on ..
> ...


im sorry if it seemed like i was advertising, I just meant it as a way of trying to see if it was the one u were talking about. And since you have confirmed it is the bad one ive since removed the wire and sanded down rough edges to make it safer for him.


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Zoomed's aquatic products are an iffy thing to me. I bought and had to replace a pile of their floating turtle platforms for my turtles. Same problem with brown flakie stuff and they were hard to clean, grew all kinds of algae :/ I know this isn't the place to say it!! I'm sorry!!


----------



## betta dude (May 22, 2011)

i like your betta


----------



## jman828 (Aug 15, 2011)

Nice! Great idea, I have a zoo med one and it has a little rust but no real harm to fish.


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

@potential4evil
no worries!! i'm just glad you took time to modify it and make it safer for your betta .. =D !! 

@Hisaki Yuki001
i'm glad you noticed that before ur betta got hurt !!

@laki
i totally feel the same way as you .. i think zoomed's items are very inconsistent .. some items are great .. and some are just awful .. even if it's the same item .. one can vary greatly from the next

@betta dude
^_^ thx

@jman828
 you can see the rust on it ?


----------



## Banicks (Aug 20, 2011)

Oooh, I has two pronged question!

#1: What hammock do for fishy? Just lazy about and rest close to surface?

#2: What does IAL do for fishy?


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

=D hi banicks .. likes the hat in ur avvie

#1 .. i think it's just for bettas to lounge around and rest/hangout/sleep near the surface .. yuki didn't start building a bubble nest till i put one in his tank .. so he builds his bubble nest there and sleeps on it

#2 .. IAL's are found in betta's natural habitat and release something called tannins .. which are good for betta =) .. but it makes ur water look like tea ..


----------



## Banicks (Aug 20, 2011)

Hehe thanks ^^ everyone seems to like it here!

I just hope no one tries to catch me and place me in an artificial habitat, I am colourful like bettas after all ^^

Then again, free food, bath changes. Why not! I'm open season people!

Ahh, my fish guy has some hanging above the Betta section. For a pack of 10 it's $25. Not cheap it seems!


----------



## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

woah @[email protected] that is expensive .. my bf got them off e-bay 100 extra large grade A quality .. for like 5 dollars .. and considering that the dollar is weak now in comparison to the aussie dollar i'm sure that's not too expensive =D .. i think @[email protected] .. i'm not good with exchange rates


----------



## Banicks (Aug 20, 2011)

Yea that's a good price, probably like $4.50 AU

But look at iTunes. Australian iTune users are still being charge 25-50% more than American iTune users. We're used to being ripped off!

Even our local made Holden Commodore is $10,000 cheaper over there. (Re-badged as a Buick) 

I will certainly be shopping around though!


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

ebay will be my new haven once I gets my credit down a bit!!  Cannot wait to get nano moss balls and IALs!!!


----------

