Welcome to Gabriel

I got another new boy the other day, which was named Gabriel.


He is a lovely boy, and is very curious. I was setting up his divided 6 gallon today and he was watching everything I was doing. He is currently being stored in a heated 1.8gal tank at the moment.

Hopefully going to be getting a half moon breeding pair soon. Someone on a forum I visit is selling all his fry, and other bettas, so hopefully I can pick up a nice pair! I just need to pick up another 6gal tank (from Cheap as Chips) and divide that. I'm thinking I'll put the two boys in one 6gal (divided of course) and the two girls in the other... I'm still after a CT male, so I might have to divide my other tank.

Castiel has been moved up to the big 3 foot tank with Dean, and Sammy is in Castiel's old tank. Sammy is having some fin issues, so we are hoping to clear them up by putting him in a tank by himself, but we shall see.

Happy New Year guys :)

Useless Adelaide and Bubble Nests

So it is official. Adelaide is useless for fish supplies. I decided that I'd like to get one big tank and divide it for Dean & Sammy. I found a tank I like for $500 with a stand, however, no one has actual tank dividers, and when I asked about them, was shown those little floating cubes for them. So I soon gave up that idea, and went searching for some female bettas. No luck either. There are three more shops I want to visit, and might make the trip to one of them tomorrow, but I'll probably end up with a male crown tail if I go there, cos they had some beauties. Which means setting up another tank! This hobby is going to get expensive! So while it was a fail on the tank and fish side, I did get a lovely lamp for Sammy!

Sammy is building a lovely little bubble nest at the moment, so I decided to look more into bubble nests and their function.

Top Views of Sammy's Bubble Nest

Side Views of Sammy's Bubble Nest

What are bubble nests?

Bubble nests can be an idicator of a betta's contentment with his tank, or his readiness to breed. It is essentially where the male will place the eggs after spawning with a female, and will remain their home until they have developed their gills. Bubble nests can occur in various sizes and thickness at the surface of the water. Some bettas are more prone to producing bubble nests than others. This does not mean you're betta is unhappy, but why not use it as an excuse to move the tank around, or give him some new toys! If you are wishing to breed, your male will create his nest at the sight of a female.

What are bubble nests made from?

As the name suggests, bubble nests are made from bubbles blown with an oral secretion, saliva bubbles.

Clearly this is just a really quick overview of bubble nests; so here are some links to some fantastic sites with some excellent information.

Bubble Nest Articles

A Look Inside The Bubble Nest

Bubble Nests & Bettas

Seaview Aquarium Siamese Fighting Fish (PDF)

Bubble Nests

I'd like to have a monthly entry where I can put pictures of viewers fish, and questions and answers. So please feel free and email me at sammy and dean@live.com (please remove the spaces, I did this as to not get spammers) with pictures and questions for that monthly entry. I know we all love showing off our fish!!

I look forward to seeing everyones pictures!