# I need YOUR help.



## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Ok so I want to start a new breeding operation. I want any ideas, tank designs, WHATEVER you've got for me. What kind of fish should I start with now? I'm actually jumping up and down as I right this  .


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

I don't know anything about breeding or what they need, but good luck!! I would love to breed dragon bettas, but I don't have the time or money to put into it.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

You could build a betta barracks to make it easier to house all the fry! it would make things alot easier however it is qite expensive to make one


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## k stiles (Aug 29, 2009)

lethbridge has breed already, so he could share what he has to offer with you


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Ok so I have the plans for 2010 up. 

January: Setup a planted 30 gallon for females with built in betta bungalows for the males.

February: Install new shelving in my closet. My mom bought these shelves and put them in her closet that has a bar for clothes underneath. My clothese will hang underneath while the jars wait on top  .

March: Put in new shelving for 3 five gallon spawning tubs and 5 or 6 growout tubs. 

April: Buy new stock (most likely VTs from the LPS) and start conditioning them. Hopefully I'll spawn them in the middle of the month. 

June: If all goes well with the VTs I'll move onto CTs.

July: Hopefully by this point I can start ordering in fish from other breeders.

Ok so I'm also making adjustments to my water. Just using Stress Coat and Atison Betta Spa (for disease prevention, pH control, and spawning inducers). I also want to house conditioning pairs in divided tanks (so I'll get three of those when I go shopping to) and I want to get an extra 20 gallon tub with a filter to hold water between changes. 

Yikes I got ALOT of work to do!!

For those fo you who have no idea what a betta bungalow is it looks like this:


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I might change my breeding methods to, more on that later.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Actually I'm jumping up and down AGAIN right now lol.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Sounds like a great plan!!


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## k stiles (Aug 29, 2009)

sounds good!


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## BettaxFishxCrazy (Sep 5, 2009)

Lol! That sounds great! Good luck.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

so you dont plan on breeding till later in the year then? I can post some pics of my setup! i have made my spare bed room in my apartment a fish room with several tanks and soon to be a betta barracks


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> so you dont plan on breeding till later in the year then? I can post some pics of my setup! i have made my spare bed room in my apartment a fish room with several tanks and soon to be a betta barracks


That would be great!! Thanks


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## puppyrjjkm (Aug 2, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> For those fo you who have no idea what a betta bungalow is it looks like this:


Haha that would be me!  I feel stupid asking this question but: I see the picture, but what is it? Thanks


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

puppyrjjkm said:


> Haha that would be me!  I feel stupid asking this question but: I see the picture, but what is it? Thanks


It's plastic canvas, I'm not sure exactly how to make them (so if you guys do that would be great ). For more inf on the bungalows go here: 

http://bettatalk.com/the_fishroom.htm .


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

i cant see the picture right now on my work pc, but when you say betta bungalow do you mean like a betta barracks? i will post my setup when i get home as i have to drip to pipck up my girlfriend from the airport, so i wont be home till later but i will make time to post them.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> i cant see the picture right now on my work pc, but when you say betta bungalow do you mean like a betta barracks? i will post my setup when i get home as i have to drip to pipck up my girlfriend from the airport, so i wont be home till later but i will make time to post them.


No not like barracks. Thy're basicly a cube of plastic canvas with several compartments and you hang it in your tank. Each male will have his own compartment. I am gonna make these and I might make a small drip system (since I have a little metal shelf so I can probably put about 20 jars for my drip system).


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

okay i get it! so how it works waste falls below and get sucked up usually through a canaster filter and they canvas allows water movement so all the bettas get fresh water


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> okay i get it! so how it works waste falls below and get sucked up usually through a canaster filter and they canvas allows water movement so all the bettas get fresh water


Exactly. Plus I'll have the females swimming freely so they can go up and flirt with the males through the canvas.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

how big is your tank. The females from the same family or different?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> how big is your tank. The females from the same family or different?


30 gallon but I'm gonna put them in other grow out tanks. The females will be sisters. I'm buying 6 grow outs so I'll have some wiggle room plus a 20 gallon tub with a filter for holding water for water changes.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

so are all these 30 gallon tubs be plastic ones?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> so are all these 30 gallon tubs be plastic ones?


No I have a 30 gallon tank(not tub,my main growout) but then the rest of the grow outs will be 20 gallons.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

okay, i think i have the jist of what you are doing


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> okay, i think i have the jist of what you are doing


Ya sometimes I don't make much sense


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## cindylou (May 11, 2009)

*I DON'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE TIME AND ENERGY EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT IN BREEDING BETTAS? I HAVE BRED THREE DIFFRENT TYPES AND PUT THEM ALL IN 1- 30 GALLON TANK AFTER FREE SWIMMING. I HAVE LOTS OF FOILAGE PLANTS AND JAVA MOSS, SPONGE FILTER, AND 2 HEATERS AND OF COURSE BABY BRINE SHRIMP EGGS AND THEY ARE GROWING SO FAST I'M NOW HAVING TO JAR THEM. LOL I GUESS IT COULD BE DIFFICULT IF YOU GO THROUGH ALL THAT IT SAYS TO DO BUT I GUESS EVERYONE HAS THERE WAY OF EXPLAINING AND DOING IT. WHAT YOU ARE DOING THOUGH SOUNDS VERY NICE AND IT WILL BE A PERFECT SETUP. GOOD LUCK AN KEEP US INFORMED:shock:*


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

We talk about it because we enjoy it and we know what we are doing, we want to keep are bettas seperated so they dont get harmed but also so they can be sold or later bred.


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## cindylou (May 11, 2009)

*I keep my fry seperated when they get big enough. My breeding is just a hobby though. If your looking to sell them good luck! I was not meaning to be arguementative I was just asking a question. I've been breeding bettas for about 10 years and use to sell them but now its just a hobby. Then I said nice setup and good luck. Pardon me if I sounded offensive, but it wasn't wrote to be. As far as keeping my bettas seperate, I do. I have all my males in seperate tanks and my females in one. I don't just throw them to the dogs. How cruel that would be!!! I was just wondering why all the prep needed to breed when it is so easy. I haven't lost not one fry since I've been breeding. Anyway, sorry again about all the confusion.:roll:*


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

no neither did i i was just trying to explain why we do it, i dont want to start something just like what has happened on countless other threads iin this forum


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

OK!!! Let's just get back to the post. I would like to see where you guys jars and whatever drip systems you have  .

I couldn't help it: I bight a pk male today at the lfs  .


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I agree MrV. Lets just get back to the subject.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

OOPS I meant I bought a male pk yesterday


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Are you going to breed him?


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

What colour?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

MrVampire, don't just tell us you got a new betta! You're supposed to give us all the details!! lol jk.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Ok sorry, he's a fighter (I think) and I'm gonna get a female for him this week (my walmart has female PKs) he's a blue with green and red in him. I've been feeding him frozen bloodworms and he's in a quarentine jar with methylene blue, ampicillin, and aquarium salt.

I have a temporary breeding setup in my bathroom (I have a video I'll post in a minuet though the quality isn't very good, I took on my ipod) so you can see what I'm talkin about  .


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

tanks in your bedroom and bathroom, i wonder where else you have tanks


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Sounds GREAt!!! Glad to see your back!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> tanks in your bedroom and bathroom, i wonder where else you have tanks


Basement


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

Thats alot of places for your tanks, why are they not all kept in one area, if i may ask?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

He puts them any place he can fit them. lol


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

dramaqueen said:


> He puts them any place he can fit them. lol


 YOP lol


Lethbridge said:


> Thats alot of places for your tanks, why are they not all kept in one area, if i may ask?


 That's why I need your help for setting up a fish room. I really want to put a drip system in now in addition to the bungalows. Hmmmm now that I think about it maybe I want a few more spawning and growout tubs.......


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

okay so explain what exactly you already have. like how many tank, tubs, bungalows etc


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> okay so explain what exactly you already have. like how many tank, tubs, bungalows etc


Ok: One 5 gallon, one ten gallon, one 2 gallon, one 2.5 gallon, one 20 gallon, one 30 gallon and a bunch of jars.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> Ok: One 5 gallon, one ten gallon, one 2 gallon, one 2.5 gallon, one 20 gallon, one 30 gallon and a bunch of jars.


okay so are they all occupied? and when you start to breed what are you planning on using as the breeding tank? 10g,20g,30g? What kind of setup are you looking for when you breed bettas like you said you dont want a betta barracks (drip system) so what are you looking for?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Oh no I meant that the bungalow wasn't a barrack but I still want a drip system. Now they're not all occupied, see I had a HUGE dieout. Now the 20 gallon, 2 gallon, 2.5 gallon, 30 gallon and most of my jars are empty.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> Oh no I meant that the bungalow wasn't a barrack but I still want a drip system. Now they're not all occupied, see I had a HUGE dieout. Now the 20 gallon, 2 gallon, 2.5 gallon, 30 gallon and most of my jars are empty.


oppps, my misread sorry about that. Oh okay so you have alot of room for fry then, are you going to use one of the bigger tanks for a serority? Also how many bettas do you want your drip system to hold?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> oppps, my misread sorry about that. Oh okay so you have alot of room for fry then, are you going to use one of the bigger tanks for a serority? Also how many bettas do you want your drip system to hold?


 Yes I will use a couple for sororities. I was thinking my drip system could hold maybe 50-100 fish.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

Do you have an idea what your drip system will look like? The one i am in the middle of making is going to hold about 120 bettas, its 72" tall and 60" long, and only 12" wide, it will hold 30 per shelf, of the beanie containers that are 4"x4"x8", if i can get them in from the states. I have everything pretty much dont but the containers themselve and the water dispening unit, as i need the beanie boxes to complete this properly, but hopefully i will have this done soon, tomorrow is my day off so i can post pics of my fish room, and my breeding setup


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Yes I do know what it looks like. Thanks so much for postin pics


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

Well what kind of drip system are you going to use then? is it similar to someone elses?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> Well what kind of drip system are you going to use then? is it similar to someone elses?


 Um I know my brothers friend when he was breeding bettas used one so my brother is gonna help me build one.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

oh cool i would love to see it when it is complete


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> oh cool i would love to see it when it is complete


Ya it'll be cool. Though one grwout has to stay in the basement (it'll be my 30 gallon) but other than that it'll all be in my room.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

It will be nice to see when it is all done!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yeah, it sounds great. You'll definitely have to post pics when it's all done.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

dramaqueen said:


> Yeah, it sounds great. You'll definitely have to post pics when it's all done.


 Speakin of pics I got my new pk boy in full flare on my camera


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

He's very pretty!!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

dramaqueen said:


> He's very pretty!!


I haven't seen him when the water isn't blue (quarentine) so when the water is clear he'll look awesome  .


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I got my female ))


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yay!!


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

Very nice pk! Like to see pics of the female!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I'll get pics of her when I'm done quarentining her. She's a solid blue with black lace fins )) .


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

you get all these from the your lfs?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> you get all these from the your lfs?


My male yes but my female came from walmart since they're the only place who sells pk females.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

She sounds pretty!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

dramaqueen said:


> She sounds pretty!


 She IS.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

sorry about no pics being posted yet im kinda in the middle of replacing some shelving units, my plastic ones that could supposedly hold 200lb per shelf are bowing, so i bought some gorilla shelf unit that can hood 700lb per shelf and i am setting that up tonight


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> sorry about no pics being posted yet im kinda in the middle of replacing some shelving units, my plastic ones that could supposedly hold 200lb per shelf are bowing, so i bought some gorilla shelf unit that can hood 700lb per shelf and i am setting that up tonight


Oh that's cool. I'm gonna be using those big metal shelving units (some smaller and some bigger). 

Ok for anybody who uses plastic tubs Walmart has them for like 5 bucks each and these are the huge ones )) Gotta love Walmart ;P .


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> Oh that's cool. I'm gonna be using those big metal shelving units (some smaller and some bigger).
> 
> Ok for anybody who uses plastic tubs Walmart has them for like 5 bucks each and these are the huge ones )) Gotta love Walmart ;P .


Ya i cant find those metal ones anywhere, so the shelf i am using is metal with a plywood shelf. Okay do you know how many gallons those tubs are? also what kind of plastic and what is like #2,#4,#5, and the brand, because i have really high ph (8.2) and i know that bubble nest stick better with lower ph (6.7)so i am going to use like a 33 gallon tub and lower the ph and add IAL to get the ph lower.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> Ya i cant find those metal ones anywhere, so the shelf i am using is metal with a plywood shelf. Okay do you know how many gallons those tubs are? also what kind of plastic and what is like #2,#4,#5, and the brand, because i have really high ph (8.2) and i know that bubble nest stick better with lower ph (6.7)so i am going to use like a 33 gallon tub and lower the ph and add IAL to get the ph lower.


 I think the tubs are #5 but check to make sure. The tubs are from like 58 quarts to 66 quarts so 14.5 to 16.5 gallons but they have bigger ones but I didn't check how many quarts they were. I'm not sure the brand of these ones but the ones I've used are the Sterilite for my big tubs and Rubbermeaid for my jars and I've never had a problem.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

MrVampire181 said:


> I think the tubs are #5 but check to make sure. The tubs are from like 58 quarts to 66 quarts so 14.5 to 16.5 gallons but they have bigger ones but I didn't check how many quarts they were. I'm not sure the brand of these ones but the ones I've used are the Sterilite for my big tubs and Rubbermeaid for my jars and I've never had a problem.


Okay, you have used rubbermaid and not had a problem? I know people that have used rubbermaids (not for bettas but for cichlids)and they all died


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> Okay, you have used rubbermaid and not had a problem? I know people that have used rubbermaids (not for bettas but for cichlids)and they all died


I've never had a problem unless it was an infected jar (which everything is now bleached). I use the rubbermaid half gallon and gallon jars and my fish have done great.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

I dont know maybe they are different that the ones she was using! Ill have to try it


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> I dont know maybe they are different that the ones she was using! Ill have to try it


 Ya just rinse them out and you should be fine


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

Well i work at a hardware store but the big tubs we have dont have plastic numbers on them so i dont know if they are safe so i will go check walmart out


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

okay so here are some pictures of my fish room they are not quite done yet, i just setup the new shelving today but i have not yet set up everything else


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

It looks great!! The shelving looks really nice.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

id take a picture of the whole room but its a mess right now and i dont want to give away the betta barracks that i have started so far.


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## AlexXx (Aug 23, 2009)

Looks great! cant wait to see pics!


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## crestancestry (Dec 4, 2009)

it is really nice lethbridge


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

I have room for 10 breeding tanks in total so once my barracks is done i can start on those


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> I have room for 10 breeding tanks in total so once my barracks is done i can start on those


 Well a lot is happenin with my family so I won't be able to setup anything till February.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

That leaves you with lots of planning time, and you always need to plan before setting things up


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> That leaves you with lots of planning time, and you always need to plan before setting things up


Which means somethin to do in math class!! LOL.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

You mean besides math? lol


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Lethbridge!!!! I'm SOO jealous of your space!!!  LOL

Everything looks fantastic! I'm thinking of using 6 qt. tubs for housing bettas, the plan is, get a big bin and then fill it with a few inches of water and cycle and heat it, then get tubs and drill small holes so water can flow through. Kinda like a drip system, but less expensive!! I plan on breeding sometime this winter too. I have to get another heater though, and possibly another female.  Sorry for all this rambling, just excited to breed because this way I can have as many bettas as I want and won't get in trouble for buying a lot. LOL


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

I use to do that kind of stuff in math class too, its a good time to do this kind of stuff. Thanks doggyhog, as soon as i am done my barracks system i am going to start buying more tanks and make a bigger brine shrimp hatchery!! Good luck with your breeding it is so much fun but it will keep you busy!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

My brother just told me you can actually BUY drip systems. He's gonna find out the prices for them so I wont have to build them 

Ok so I'm gonna start tearing my room down next weekend and then get some shelving and tubs, then heaters (the small ones that dont require adjusting and are submersible), then get a bunch of plant packs and finally airpumps and stones. I'm already workin on my bungalows. Oh and my pk pair is gettin ready for breeding, shes so barred and fat its not even funny, well actually it is  .


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Your plans sound great. Good luck with your pk pair.


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## Lethbridge (Nov 8, 2009)

If you find out how much one will cost tell me how much where to get it, how many bettas it can hold etc. I just got my pressure regulated drip emitters in the mail today, not i am waiting for the beanies


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Lethbridge said:


> If you find out how much one will cost tell me how much where to get it, how many bettas it can hold etc. I just got my pressure regulated drip emitters in the mail today, not i am waiting for the beanies


Ya I'll do that. Ok now I got a problem...how do you hold the plastic canvas together for the bungalows? I know someone had a post on it but idk which thread it was.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

I used sewing thread for my breeder trap. Just white. Not colored. I used a needle and thread to sew it together. 

Picture:


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

doggyhog said:


> I used sewing thread for my breeder trap. Just white. Not colored. I used a needle and thread to sew it together.
> 
> Picture:


 Thanks a bunch


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