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  1. #1
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    fish on the brain

    I got into goldfish several years ago because I was interested in aquaponics - growing veggies in clay ball/gravel beds using recirculating fish water. Finally decided the plumbing and electricity was going to be a hassle out in the back yard, and we don't live anywhere near a hardware store, so getting any fittings turns into an all day project. I also didn't like how the fish were treated in many of these set-ups in YouTube videos. It was sad. So, I kept the fish, but didn't bother with the grow beds. I still have those fish in a 300 gallon outdoor tub.

    Then, I got interested in smaller guppy types simply because I've wanted garters for years, but needed a way to feed them. That led to binge watching strings of fish room videos while I knitted (a skill somewhat obsessively pursued). That led to a temporary infatuation with oscars (I am NOT getting into fish that require a 100gal tank heated into the mid 80'sF.), but the North American native Sunfish group looked promising, and ...no heat! Still, big tanks. Then, found Select Aquatics with small fish again, mostly from Mexico - mostly I like this guy's scientific approach and how he does things...but then ran into a Fluval video on bettas, and while I've never been that into the flashy flowey finned bettas, but they showed some wild bettas. These are, to my eye...amazing. Don't know why, but they are.

    Yeah, bettas need heat, but the tank sizes are more manageable (and based on preliminary research, the 25 and 50W Jager brand heaters are less likely to "blow up." - heater disasters are another reason I'm reluctant to raise anything requiring one). These wild fish are reasonably priced on e-bay, even inc. shipping. The scientific names are hard to remember, not all are Betta splendens (spell?), three species of them were quite striking. Maybe I *need* a collection of 10 gallon tanks featuring wild bettas?

    We'll see. Long term project.
    I e-mailed a guy who had listed some lovely stock (and an excellent customer rating), and he said he expects he'll have more in the future.

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    Bogertophis (12-11-2018),MR Snakes (12-11-2018)

  3. #2
    BPnet Senior Member MR Snakes's Avatar
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    Wow, this site has everything!

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    BPnet Senior Member Lord Sorril's Avatar
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    Re: fish on the brain

    Growing up: My parents bred bettas for many years. We had to keep them in the basement because the floors could not withstand the weight of hundreds of 5 gallon tanks filled with water. We didn't bother with individual heaters for every sub-adult fish either: we had standing racks full of heated sand with mason jars stuck in them. Eventually my family stopped breeding them because cheap imports flooded the pet trade and without the internet (ancient times) there was little demand for 'show quality' bettas.

    In those days we also started suction for gravel washing with our mouth on the end of a hose. Now I mentally cringe every time I drink something through a straw.
    *.* TNTC

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    Bogertophis (12-11-2018),distaff (12-11-2018),RickyNY (12-11-2018)

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    Re: fish on the brain

    Maybe consider possibly the most beautiful of all fresh water fish and it's very handy and will thrive in remarkably lowish temps .

    Paradise Fish are very adaptable and live in a wide range of water temperatures in the wild, including sub-tropical conditions in many locations, they tend to show their best colours in the home aquarium when maintained at a steady temperature between 22-24 deg C (72-75 deg F).




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    I love to watch fish, & we had an aquarium when I was a kid, but I've never tried to have one myself.

    distaff, you've really put a lot of thought & research into it, & I suspect you'll be successful once you settle on what you want to do...& please do share it here.
    One thing I'd have to research further before ordering is the serious depletion of wild species...I'm not up on which kinds are most affected though.

    Lord Sorril, interesting glimpse at how one 'made do'. I think it was an episode of Tanked (?) that I happened to watch one day where the homeowner did exactly
    as you described to siphon out water (prior to the make-over), & it was so that I thought they made that up for the show? I guess not, lol...

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  10. #6
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    Re: fish on the brain

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    I love to watch fish, & we had an aquarium when I was a kid, but I've never tried to have one myself.

    distaff, you've really put a lot of thought & research into it, & I suspect you'll be successful once you settle on what you want to do...& please do share it here.
    One thing I'd have to research further before ordering is the serious depletion of wild species...I'm not up on which kinds are most affected though.

    Lord Sorril, interesting glimpse at how one 'made do'. I think it was an episode of Tanked (?) that I happened to watch one day where the homeowner did exactly
    as you described to siphon out water (prior to the make-over), & it was so that I thought they made that up for the show? I guess not, lol...
    There are some species that have survived only because of captive breeding. Select aquatics has some good info. on that. Other fish are endangered in the wild (ex., white cloud mountain minnows), but popular in the hobby. The fish DO change over generations in captivity - they adapt to our food offerings, tap water, our aesthetic preferences for color and fins, etc, but at least, we still have the stock in existence. The salt water fish market might be quite different (I don't know), and I'm sure there might be individual exceptions, but the fresh water fish that are at risk, are more threatened by wholesale habitat loss than live collection for the pet trade. Once keepers figure out the required parameters for breeding healthy offspring, that species gets another level of protection.

    Not sure about the conservation status of *wild* bettas. They are captive bred, so would be better described on a reptile forum as "wild-type."

    ....and yup, sucking on the end of that tube is a time-honored way of starting the flow for a water change. A little suction bulb is nice to have instead. Alternatively, I use a short and flexible length of hose, and put the whole hose in the tank coiled up. Raise both ends, and the air bubbles will escape. Then, just put your thumb on one end of the tube and lower it to drain into the bucket below (obviously may not be feasible in a tiny one-gallon jar). Takes practice, but no sucking required. Given that every year I hear of one person dead of brain-eating amoeba from swimming in warm water, or netti pots, I REALLY don't want to suck gross fish water!
    Last edited by distaff; 12-11-2018 at 02:02 PM.

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