Wild Species Bettas

[ChoclateBetta]

Do you think your Bettas would like a wardian box over there tank? Which would allow them to jump safely?

[LittleBettaFish]

I just put glad wrap over my tank and when they hit that they bounce back off it and into the water.

Blackworms aren't that big. Sort of like a narrower bloodworm. They also break apart fairly easy (this is how they propagate) so older fry and juveniles can swallow them. I usually start mine on blackworms once they are about an inch long.

Just make sure you rinse them and store them correctly as otherwise they can go bad and they stink when that happens.

[babystarz]

Originally Posted by ChoclateBetta

Do you think your Bettas would like a wardian box over there tank? Which would allow them to jump safely?

Interesting idea. I could see some cool semi-aquatic plants working with this type of setup. It's not practical to make it standard for the jumpers, but a couple of tanks like this would be neat! Something like this would be lovely:



LBF, are you familiar with tubifex worms? If so, how do the blackworms compare in size? I'm just trying to avoid too much nutritional redundancy :P

[LittleBettaFish]

I don't use tubifex, I heard they can be quite a dirty food source and I don't think you can get them here. Are you familiar with white worms? They sort of similar in size to those but a little thinner and easier for smaller fish to get down.

[ChoclateBetta]

I think having the jumping room will be benefical. With a little ventalation open topped tank plants can be grown.

[babystarz]

Originally Posted by LittleBettaFish

I don't use tubifex, I heard they can be quite a dirty food source and I don't think you can get them here. Are you familiar with white worms? They sort of similar in size to those but a little thinner and easier for smaller fish to get down.

Yes I've had white worms before, they're also known as grindal worms yes? I didn't have any fry for months and months and I forgot to feed them >. < A new culture will be $25± including shipping if I can find one so I haven't replaced them yet.

I have access to frozen tubifex and they're supposed to be guaranteed sterile and parasite-free. The guppies love them so far. I'll stay away from the live ones.

[babystarz]

Originally Posted by ChoclateBetta

I think having the jumping room will be benefical. With a little ventalation open topped tank plants can be grown.

It's too bad I don't know anyone who could make something suitable. I wonder if I could modify an existing glass or acrylic container.

[LittleBettaFish]

Nah white worms and grindals are two separate things. Grindals are much smaller than white worms. I keep my white worms in moist peat moss mixed with some shell grit and they get fed bits of cat food every couple of days.

http://www.worm-cultures.com/whiteworminformation.htm

Here's some info about white worms. I use them on my older juveniles as they appear to be quite tough for the smaller fish to break up and swallow. Really easy to culture and a nice source of fat in a varied diet.

Grindals are great too. I definitely notice a difference in the rate of growth once my fry are big enough to get switched over predominately onto grindals and blackworms. My grindals are soil-less (I culture them on scourer pads) and they are in my opinion well worth the money spent.

[LittleBettaFish]

Well I got contacted by the lady I purchase my wild bettas through and all three of my pairs (burdigala, brownorum and uberis) made it through quarantine and are waiting to be shipped to me on the 2nd of January.

So relieved. Now I just have to pray and hope they get through shipping okay and my wild betta collection will be complete. At least until I have money and can source some coccina, tussyae and livida again. The brownorum are wild-caught so I am going to try and drop the pH in their tank as low as I can.

Ended up being just under $300 for the three pairs, shipping and a 500g of peat moss. Ouch. Sometimes I think an illicit drug habit would probably be cheaper haha. But like my mum was saying to the owners of the LFS. At least she knows where I am every night .... changing the water on my tanks!

[ChoclateBetta]

Originally Posted by babystarz

It's too bad I don't know anyone who could make something suitable. I wonder if I could modify an existing glass or acrylic container.

You can there either called Ripariums or Pauldriums. http://ripariumsupply.com/?page_id=4