fishclubgirl

So in all this snow and cold, there's some good news. My giant PK bettas have babies. I came home last night and she had her own bubblenest and was taking care of some of the fry too. I'm glad they're giants as the fry are easier to see and hopefully hardier. So congrats to them!!!

Well, she must have been impressed as I've got babies. She built her own nest and was taking care of a couple of the fry herself. These fish never seize to amaze me. They sure don't read any of my betta books. Now to grow out the little guys to be as big as Mom and Dad. They are both giants PKs, 3-4" long . Congrats to Mom and Dad!!

Plakat bettas tend to be more peaceful and can be kept together with less aggression than standard bettas. I have some wilds who live together and they do love their bugs!!!

You can also try getting in touch with Black Mumba. She's near Edmonton and has some gorgeous bettas!!

Why don't make a road trip to Calgary? I have about 10 "fancy" girls for sale. Petsmart, Riverfront and Pisces have them too. If you want PK males, they can be found at Petsmart disguised as females!!

I do. I have 8-10 tanks with the largest being 29 gallons. I enjoy setting up 10 - 20 gallons and getting them " balanced" with fish and plants. Just set up a 10 gallon and am watching the plants get going. My xmas present to me may be a 2 gallon with shrimp. Having many smaller tanks gives me more options when my fish aren't getting along or getting along too well(breeding). However, I don't keep many cichlids, lol!! We all have our different ways of keeping fish.

Okay, I'm not completely algae free but do not have to clean algae. I try to keep everything fairly natural and use fish to help keep the algae down. Mollies seem to like algae as well as BN and regular plecos. If I do get some algae covered plants I trim them and throw the cuttings into my fry tanks. I only went to natural plants a couple of years ago but have been very pleased with the results. Also think that some floating plants will take away the nutrients that algae needs to survive. Not sure if this helps but it sure is nice not to clean algae.

Though my BN for PM campaign is still in full effect, I do have another thought. After observation of my tanks, I realised that full grown BNs are too heavy to clean some plant leaves. My little guys(1/4" long) are light enough to do it. Kept otocinclus when I was a kid and could never keep them alive too. Have about 15 little BNs who do a great job in my one tank. So little BN rock in my opinion!!

Hi all, Just had to show you the bubblenest that my giant Pk built. This is from a day or so ago as he now has it up to the top of the styrofoam cup. Now if only him and his gf would start getting busy!!!

Another thought for you to keep costs down; see if you can find anyone else who wants fish from the same supplier. Helps with the shipping cost and you have a new contact.

Have imported fish from the states several times. If you're buying from a dealer, they will be able to supply all the paperwork you need. Having said that, I doubt I would ever get my fish shipped into Canada again. I lost a box of bettas owing to delays in delivery, customs etc. and I was pretty upset. If you can get to the US and get them shipped to your hotel, it seems to work well for me(so far). I had some BN that were shipped to me in the US, 2 days delivery and 16 dollars shipping. It would be 100 dollars to ship them here and I doubt it would be 2 days and my losses would've been more. My bettas took 9 days to get here and a week to make it into Canada. (No wonder they died!!) Have flown and driven across the border with fish and had no problems except that Air Canada doesn't take fish(United does, found that out the hard way). I bring a pump and supplies for re-bagging at the hotel to help out my little finned buddies. Hope this helps you out!!!

Bristlenose are great. Mine don't eat plants, keep the algae down and don't get too big. I never have to clean off any algae. Also like corys as bottom feeders but always have a group of four or more. This ad is paid for by the "Bristlenose for PM" campaign.(Everyone else wants to be so why not a fish?)

Hey guys, Was at the westbrook walmart and they had aponogeton and dwarf lily bulbs for 4 dollars. I got these a couple of years ago and they did well. Not sure if they're at other walmarts as this one still has aquariums. Was fun to seem them sprout and grow!!

I did water changes on some of the fish that were sent to my hotel as they had been in transit for a couple of days and also had airstones in the bag as well as bag buddies. Some of them were bettas who are easier to transport so I left them alone. I got swordtails the night before and they were fine in the bag. I lost some bristlenoses but they were very small so it wasn't unexpected. I had a fish box that was very full and United sent it as fragile. Considering I had fish from 3 different sources across the US, it went really well and I would do it again!!!

Funny story, I have one frisky female paleatus cory(Anna Nicole is her name) who's in with 3 males in a wild betta tank. She's spawned several times but I can't beat the bettas to the eggs. Managed to get a couple of eggs a couple of weeks ago and chucked them into a trap. Went on vacation and forgot about them. Came home to a fry(Dannielynn) who's doing well. If only all fish were so easy to breed!!!

I have dwarf hairgrass that I just got. Also have some interesting mosses on the way but have to see how they survive shipping. I do really well with java moss so I should be able to get more exotics going. I get some of my plants off Aquabid, trade or auctions for others and travel for others. Please pm me if you're near Calgary. Next "fish" trip is mid December.

\ Damn.. im using Delta. So as long as a lfs packs the box im good to go? and dont have live fish stamped on it? I'd check with Delta. Better safe than sorry!!!

My fish were off the plane quicker than I was!! The staff were excellent at the counter, asking for instructions, etc. Would highly recommend using United for this. I didn't even have to cry!!!

Having just flown into Canada with too many fish, I definitely can help you out. Air Canada will not take anything labelled "live fish" as luggage. I found this out a little too late. However United will take fish as long as it's packed by the pet store(so I lied). Kind of funny, considering United and Air Canada are partners. I flew into Calgary from California with a full box(on United) and was quite happy with the service. Also had no problems with customs too. Hope this helps!!!

Lately, I've been really happy with a substrate mix of 1/3 laterite, 1/3 small grade gravel and sand. I don't use Co2 as I'm really low tech and fertilise when I remember(not often). Also my tanks wear dresses!!

I have a clown loach that wants to get it on with a red tailed black shark and a tetra that's interested in any fish!! Does that count?? LOL

Hi guys, Am going to Vancouver next month and was wondering what the good lfs are? Please let me know!!