PintoHawk

How to Make Your Own Breeding Trap You will need: 1 "delicates" garment wash bag, from the dollar store 1 round plastic lid (I used a margerine lid) 1 utility knife fishing line aquarium-safe silicone 1 small, pointed punch 2 furry helpers (optional) NOTE: My garment bag came with a zipper that went all the way around; I had to cut through the zipper on one side to make two halves out of the garment bag. I only used one half to make this breeding trap, and I have the other half leftover if I wish to make another. STEP 1 >> Please remember the furry helpers ARE optional, and they technically don't assist with anything anyways. STEP 2 >> Using the utility knife, carefully cut out a circle from the inside of the lid. I left about an inch all around. STEP 3 >> You will have a nice plastic ring when you finish that part. STEP 4 >> Using the small pointed punch, make holes around the lip of the lid, as shown. STEP 5 >> Use the fishing line to "sew" the lid to the little garment bag all the way around. If you pull your knots too tightly, the line will cut right through the plastic, so be careful. STEP 6 >> Use a little bit of aquarium-safe silicone, dab on the sewn areas to secure. This step can be skipped if you sew better than I do and yours doesn't have any gaps or saggy spots. Make sure you let the silicone dry 24 hours before submerging, or it can be toxic. VOILA! I need to let mine dry before I can rinse it off and float it in the tank, but it should float because the garment bag is very light and the plastic ring floated no problem before I attached the bag to it. If it is too heavy, I will probably just secure it to the side of my tank using a coated twist-tie. Cute, right? I am such a dork. I love doing little projects like this, and taking the pictures to show you guys was alot of fun too. LOL

Ohhh how adorable! I am smitten!

I was really hoping to make some livebearer pals on these fish forums. People to trade ideas/fish/plants/suggestions/advice with. Glad to meet you all.

Thank you, thank you!

My name is Anna, and I live in Taber, Alberta. I am 26, engaged to be married this June to an awesome guy. We have 3 (horrible/adorable) cats. I received a 20 gallon setup just over a month ago from my soon-to-sister-in-law, all for free (bonus), so I decided to jump into fishkeeping again, which I haven't done for years. I used to keep a community tank with a bit of everything peaceful (high school days), and at another time, I was breeding Convicts. Not that I had much to do with it, they were pretty good at it without my help. Haha. After I got the 20 gallon, I did some refresher-research on livebearers and breeding, and opted for a nice little 10 gallon, which I am still fighting with, to use as my growing-out tank. I have a feeling the original 20 gallon will become the growing-out tank, because a couple weeks ago my boss gave me (free again, yay) another 20 gallon, it is long, very nice, but has no lid. Currently attempting to make our own lighted canopy for it, if you have been snooping through the DIY board, you will see my babble/updates about that. We think we might have a solution now with a marine paint/epoxy coating combo, on to the next attempt I guess. I am focusing on livebearers: black & white Mollies (most Dalmatians, a few darker Marble), and eventually some nice Guppies. I have a few Mollies right now, nice ones, but am looking for some more good stock. Got a new VERY spotty female yesterday, she is beautiful. Still looking for that perfect Dalmatian male, although my current male, a very dark Marble dude, is pretty darn nice. I have been playing with rocks and silicone alot lately, making some beautiful ornaments for my tanks, will have to pst some photos of that later. Also tried to make my own tank plants, but they ended up looking mental, to be honest. LOL So, yeah, that's the basics I suppose. Nice to meet you all, hoping to make some fishy friends on here for trades and advice and whatnot.

LMAO... nice, nice. Yes, it does look very expensive to ship a bunch of rocks, even just to Calgary was about $15. Hmmmm.... Ooooh! Excellent suggestion, thank you! Now to discover such companies in my region.

Thanks Degrassi, I will have to watch for announcements about Calgary's auctions, that's the closer city to where I live. Firestorm - I actually thought the same thing just this weekend, to check out the fish stores in my area and price out some similar pieces. The plan is to head to Lethbridge this afternoon and seek stores. Love browsing the fish stores, love it. I do have a business account on eBay so I might as well try that. And yes I have noticed Texas selling holey rock, and was almost wishing I could visit Texas someday and stock up on some of that wicked-looking stuff. LOL By the way, I am a woman, not a "he". I know my name doesn't hint at a gender at all... sorry about that.

Thanks Degrassi, so I can find local auctions through an Aquarium group or club, maybe? Or just watch for announcements in the newspaper? I think the closest clubs might be as far away as Calgary (3 hours)...

Ah yes, the yellow light issue is actually a big peeve of mine... I want my plants & fish to have the light they need/enjoy, or at least is not going to bother them, but I also want to see everything clearly and at its best.

I searched eBay, I googled for pet stores across Canada that would carry such an item, and found only TWO items that looked like the product I am hoping to make/trade/sell. I was a little stuck on how to price them, so I thought I would ask other aquarium enthusiasts about their opinion on costs, or how much they'd be willing to spend considering the shipping. It made sense to me, but I don't want to get in trouble. If I am going to spend time building them and advertising them, and packaging them properly for shipping, and then find out I have been selling them for $5 when I could have easily sold them for $10, I'd like to know. If they go for $10-$20 in a store, and shipping will cost the buyer $15, it's probably not worth it for me or the buyer. If it's not worth it to SELL these items, maybe I can still use them to TRADE for items I need; that way, the other person pays the shipping only. Might be a better option. I certainly didn't mean to post innapropriately or offend anyone on this forum, and I apologize. Where is the appropriate board for such a discussion on costs and pricing or hand-made/DIY items?

Yes, certainly, it is: General Electric Company 34 watts, 25" long bulb (they didn't have any other lengths at all) Part# I am not sure but there is a number on the top of the pgk: 98002 Also; PC#12263 and Desc: FBS25/GS/PP I paid about $24 for the kit, it comes with one bulb and a life of 7500 hours. Pictures: http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u302/ka.../fish/light.jpg http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u302/ka...fish/light2.jpg Wal-Mart had a very similar kit - it was a "soft light" deal (alot cheaper) - but NOT suitable for aquariums. I live in Taber, Southern Alberta, and we got it at Home Hardware here in town; they had a few stocked in the store, no need to order it, thank gawd. Hopefully you can find one near you. If not, let me know, I will buy the one or two that are left at my local store and mail them to you, LOL

Thanks, Byte, that looks VERY similar to what we actually purchased... We found the perfect equipment at Home Hardware this morning. It's an aquarium-safe lighting kit (flourescent) with the end caps you are talking about, easy installation type deal, and work perfectly with our canopy design. He is outside working on it right now. I am so excited. Appreciate the link.

Thanks for the link, Werner, but those kits are shipped from the states, it looks like $50 for the kit I would need plus $25 shipping. Should arrive in a month, which is a long time. I will keep looking in Alberta/Canada for an available kit. Good link, though, at least I know this type of product IS out there somewhere.

After alot of researching, I think we have come up with a good design for my 20gallon canopy. I tried calling around for a price quote to order one, but the costs were unbelievable for the canopy alone, so we decided to try and make our own instead. It will end up being a short box placed on top the tank, with a hinged hatch along the front. Simple design, nothing to brag about, but effective. Only problem we face is finding a good kit to install the flourescent light up inside. The guys at Home Hardware said their kits wouldn't be tank-safe because of condensation. What do you guys know about this? Will we need a tank-safe kit? Tank-safe bulbs and wiring and everything? From what I can see, looking at my other (store-bought) canopy, the light is encased in a box and protected by a plastic window, so the water can't collect in the light casing at all. So.... do we buy & install ANY flourescent kit we want, and just make sure it is protected from the water, using a box-type design and sealing it with silicone so water doesn't seep up inside? Suggestions? Tutorials you have found online? Anything at all will be helpful at this point, we are worried about electrocuting the fish... LOL Thanks!

I am using interior/exterior silicone that I purchased at Home Hardware for $3.99/tube, or $9.99/3 tubs in a pack. It says right on the package in big letters "safe for aquariums". It comes in clear and white. Same as this: http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=15556

Currently Breeding: Marble Sailfin Molly Marble Molly Dalmatian Molly Silver Molly Black Molly Currently Keeping: 1 Blue/Black/Red Crowntail Betta male 1 Red Crowntail Betta male

Thanks Firestorm. I agree completely. I picked up some REALLY nice blackish-grey slate-type rocks today, really good pieces, very classy looking, and the archways and caves I make with them should look VERY similar to the example picture I posted in my main post. I will know by tomorrow night if they will hold the silicone and if they can handle being boiled (easy to do, once you have received my creations - to sterilize them before adding to your own aquascape). If that's the case, I will be offering the good ones for sale this weekend, for alot cheaper than you could find anywhere else. What do these type of things sell for anyways?

I am very craft-inclined and a DIY-er deep down. I decided to try creating my own rock archways and decoratons for my tanks, and I am getting a little carried away, LOL This sort of idea (not my design): http://www.e-aquarium.com.au/images/Granite_Archway_1.jpg I have been putting them together this past couple nights, using colored natural stones from my area, and they look REALLY nice. Some are smaller and more delicate, some are larger and more bold looking. I am going to try doing some caves today, I think. I am using aquarium-safe silicone to glue the pieces together. They look awesome, did I mention that yet? I will try and get some photos up tonight, and if anyone is interested, maybe I can start selling them. They are really cheap to make, so the prices will be very low. Low price is good. Very good. I will update this thread again later. If there is any potential interest, please post below.

LOL@ darkangel, thanks for your response. Stacey - thanks for the info, all very good answers.

OMG they are GORGEOUS!

Thanks Qattarra, your answer was very thorough and direct and helpful, I appreciate it. Werner, that link was very informative and helpful, I have saved it in my favorites. Bottomdweller: Another excellent link, thank you. I will be using media and gravel from my first tank, which has cycled. Thanks everyone.

Blue Coral Platys - lots of fry available

Questions. . . . please, I hope nobody slaps me for any of these questions or my lack of knowledge. I am trying to learn and do the right thing. 1. Bacteria I have read a few mentions now of keeping the good bacteria from old filter media, not to rinse out your media in tap water, but instead use treated water, and don't scrub your filter, rocks, all. etc. Ok, so how do I clean the filter and still keep the good stuff in the tank? Bucket of tap water, treated (how do I treat it?) and rinse it in there and put it directly back in? Won't that rinse off the bacteria goodies we want to save? 2. Fishless Cycle How exactly do I do a "fishless cycle"? This is still confusing to me. I have recently acquired a large tank (free yay), possibly 45 gallon (huge yay) that is long and low shaped (I hear this is good, surface area and all), and I want to do everything right. 3. Bio-Spira Have any of you used it? Is it worth it? Where do I get it? How does it work? 4. Test Kits I have the ammonia test kit, but that's it. What else do I absolutely need? 5. Java Moss I hear it is an excellent live plant for raising fry, and easy to care for, grows in almost any condition, etc. True? Other plants you recommend with these same traits? I have ordered a bag of Java moss, should arrive in a week. Any tips for keeping successfully? 6. Local Breeders Anyone aware of any LFS in southern Alberta that will buy from local breeders? Anyone else in southern Alberta breeding livebearers? Trading? (Lethbridge, Taber, Medicine Hat areas) Thank you!