2NR Portal 2009

For these coming holidays some students will be selected to look after the Betta Splendens (fighting fish) and the Stick Insects at home. To be selected you must have permission from your parents before you can take the fish or stick insects home. The other fish will be remaining at school on automatic feeders.

For the Stick Insects I will provide the small glass terrarium, container for the leaves and water and a spray bottle. Euycalyptus leaves will need to be replaced every 3 days so you will need to have a local supply. Your mum or dad will need to come and help take the small terrarium home.

The Betta Kit to take home contains:

- A container to house the betta
- Betta food (Hikari: Betta Bio-Gold)
- Water ager (removes chlorine and chloramine from tap water)
- Indian Almond leaf (Helps to keep them healthy)
- Straw (for cleaning tank)
- A betta fish

Instructions for looking after your Betta Splendens for the holidays

First Day

• Once you have the fish at home you need to quickly prepare some water in the provided container with some of the water ager and add the tea bag.
• Float the small container with the fish in the container with the new water.
• Every now and then for the next 20 minutes add a little of the new water to the container with the fish.
• After about 20 minutes you should be able to release the betta into it’s larger container.

The Indian Almond leaf will need to remain in the water until you bring it back to school. The leaf will colour the water and help strengthen the betta’s immune system so it won’t get sick.

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Feeding

Using the provided Hikari food you need to feed your betta twice per day, once in the morning and once in the early evening or late afternoon. The Hikari pellets are quite big so you only need 2 or 3 pellets per feeding. If you see lots of food at the bottom then you are feeding too much.

Cleaning (Using a straw)

Removing waste and excess food is very important and needs to be done every 2 or 3 days. This can be easily achieved by using a straw, no you don’t need to suck on it :).
Step 1.
Before placing the straw in the tank you need to cover the other end with your finger.
Step 2.
Keep your finger on the end and place the straw near the food and waste.
Step 3.
Remove your finger and the food should fly up into the straw.
Step 4.
Quickly place your finger over the top end of the straw again and remove the straw from the tank.

Repeat this process until the tank is clean.

Changing the water

If you keep the tank clean using the straw method then you should only need to change half the water once or twice during these holidays.

Before you change the water you will need to prepare some more water.
Step 1.
Prepare a 1/2 Litre of water in another container the day before you plan to change the water, don’t forget to add the water ager (read the bottle for directions). If the container has been cleaned with any type of soap then you will need to wash it clean with salt water and then rinse with plain water.
Step 2.
The following day, when both containers are around the same temperature, pour out half the betta’s water and then slowly replace it with the prepared water.

Bringing it back to school (any day in the first week)

In the morning scoop the betta up into the small container you first had him in. Put enough water in so that you can put the lid on tightly and still see the top of the water. Bring it straight into class and I will then do the transfer back into it’s home.

Yesterday I went into school to clean and change the water of the aquariums when I spotted some of our baby Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS). I had my macro lens so I took a few photos and and a video, although the water is a little cloudy as I was half way into cleaning the tank.

REMINDER: If you have taken home a Betta Splendens (Fighting Fish) you should be changing the water this weekend. Follow these instructions from a previous post.

The following video has 3 or 4 CRS babies. If you want to see more photos you can have a look in the Gallery.

For these coming holidays some students will be selected to look after the Betta Splendens (fighting fish) and the Stick Insects at home. To be selected you must have permission from your parents before you can take the fish or stick insects home. The other fish will be remaining at school on automatic feeders.

For the Stick Insects I will provide the small glass terrarium, container for the leaves and water and a spray bottle. Euycalyptus leaves will need to be replaced every 3 days so you will need to have a local supply. Your mum or dad will need to come and help take the small terrarium home.

The Betta Kit to take home contains:

- A container to house the betta
- Betta food (Hikari: Betta Bio-Gold)
- Water ager (removes chlorine and chloramine from tap water)
- Tea Bag of Indian Almond leaves (Helps to keep them healthy)
- Straw (for cleaning tank)
- A betta fish

Instructions for looking after your Betta Splendens for the holidays

First Day

• Once you have the fish at home you need to quickly prepare some water in the provided container with some of the water ager and add the tea bag.
• Float the small container with the fish in the container with the new water.
• Every now and then for the next 20 minutes add a little of the new water to the container with the fish.
• After about 20 minutes you should be able to release the betta into it’s larger container.

The Tea bag will need to remain in the water until you bring it back to school. The tea will colour the water and help strengthen the betta’s immune system so it won’t get sick. [The tea bag contains Indian Almond leaves and not drinking tea.]

____________________________________________

Feeding

Using the provided Hikari food you need to feed your betta twice per day, once in the morning and once in the early evening or late afternoon. The Hikari pellets are quite big so you only need 2 or 3 pellets per feeding. If you see lots of food at the bottom then you are feeding too much.

Cleaning (Using a straw)

Removing waste and excess food is very important and needs to be done every 2 or 3 days. This can be easily achieved by using a straw, no you don’t need to suck on it :).
Step 1.
Before placing the straw in the tank you need to cover the other end with your finger.
Step 2.
Keep your finger on the end and place the straw near the food and waste.
Step 3.
Remove your finger and the food should fly up into the straw.
Step 4.
Quickly place your finger over the top end of the straw again and remove the straw from the tank.

Repeat this process until the tank is clean.

Changing the water

If you keep the tank clean using the straw method then you should only need to change half the water once or twice during these holidays.

Before you change the water you will need to prepare some more water.
Step 1.
Prepare a 1/2 Litre of water in another container the day before you plan to change the water, don’t forget to add the water ager (read the bottle for directions). If the container has been cleaned with any type of soap then you will need to wash it clean with salt water and then rinse with plain water.
Step 2.
The following day, when both containers are around the same temperature, pour out half the betta’s water and then slowly replace it with the prepared water.

Bringing it back to school (any day in the first week)

In the morning scoop the betta up into the small container you first had him in. Put enough water in so that you can put the lid on tightly and still see the top of the water. Bring it straight into class and I will then do the transfer back into it’s home.

Our CRS (Crystal Red Shrimp) aquarium has now been going for nine weeks and we can see babies along with a few pregnant mothers. The picture on the right shows a pregnant mum holding the eggs until they hatch.

The babies are very hard to spot as they like to hide and may only come out when feeding. The babies from a very young age will have red and white stripes like their parents.

Have you spotted the the pregnant mums or the babies yet?

I will replace these pictures with ones from our tank as soon as I can get a good photo. I need a macro lens.

2NR have some wonderful fish called Betta Splendens (Betta) or Siamese Fighting Fish. These fish are originally from South East Asia. They can be found in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. They are usually found in slow flowing streams, rice fields, large puddles or in mud holes.

The wild bettas look very different and are not like the ones in our classroom. They are very plain with only a little colour. After many years of breeding by Thailand farmers and other international breeders they now have some wonderful colours.

For more information about Betta Splendens click here.

During the school holidays we will need to have some students take home the fighting fish to look after. It is a big responsibility and a great deal of fun.  If you would like to take a fish home you will need to have permission from your parents.