# My fish in the sun!



## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Ok ok ok so loha told me the fish would get some color change from being in the sun. Kinda shrugged it off, but here is a updated picture of my previously all SILVER feeder 0.17$ goldfish. He has been In a indoor tank for 5 months. One month outside he is completely gold! And my betta who is in there with him has turned the deepest blue you can immagen! Sunlight+outdoor tank+ all bugs diet = best colors iv seen on these two fish! 

Bad top view pic but I wanted to get them both in.










Please take note of my awesome double stack pill bottle sponge filter, lol it works great though!


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## Mystery snail (Mar 26, 2010)

That betta is Blue Blue! Yea , Loha knows his stuff , no doubt about it. When he posts, I read. (I read a lot of posts, but if I see his name, it's first.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Yea it's crazy he has not been out there for to long but now he is already showing a color change.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

I'd love a tank outside...but...its like 90-100 here. Wish it would freaking cool off. I go out for 5 mins and I'm sweating! lol. Anyway, gorgeous colors on them!


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Maybe I'll try that with one of my fry when I get some that make it to adulthood.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you should see what happens to congo tetras and german blue rams when they have been outside...not t mention a large number of other colorful fish.....get some dark glasses...


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Dark glasses? And John your a genius!! I went out today and got some other fish for outside. Nothing fancy but I can't wait to get my big tank going... Only a few days before I can start putting it together out there.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Downside to outside tanks is rain, I dot want the tanks to over flow so I have to tarp them off. U got a better way John? Or do u have them under a cover?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

make a frame out of wood strips or PVC pipe that fit around the outside of the rim...staple some bird cloth from the garden center to it...lets bugs in and helps to keep fish in....or try some 1/4" or 3/8" fish netting..something like minnow seines.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

It gets to 100+ degrees here in the sac area and I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to try it with my prize possession, but I think I'll try it with my other male. Any tips for keeping the water temp cool? It gets so warm here, that a 5 gallon bucket will get to 90+ degrees in about 8 hours. Should I just use a ten gal instead?


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

I'm using a few ten gallons outside right now, they only get the high sunlight in the afternoon. I didn't want to bake them lol. But last night we got heavy rain and some hail. You guys should have seen me run out there with a plastic tarp and a staple gun. I was freekjng out thinking all the fish would get hurt while being pelted with heavy hail. I put about 20ish staples into the siding on my house  but it saved the fish... Now I need to figure out how to save the siding lol. I pulled the staples out this am. It's not to bad but I deff can't do that again. So I'm thinking of a small frame with a angled plastic or rubber tarp to keep it from being hit so hard with rain and hail like that.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I put my male out in full sun for 5-10 minutes because he was in such a small container. I'm going slowly increase the time he's in the sun.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Just let him sit in the shade in a small tank with no top. Don't feed him let him eat the bugs. It's amazing watching my betta tear apart a moth lol.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

He's not the best betta his fins are not the best but, he was a rescue from Walmart he was the one out of 10 that was still alive. Funny thing is is when I started my hobby of fish keeping this was the vary first fish I got.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

It gets down to 70 degrees here at night. I am thinking of putting him in my 35-40 gallon pond outdoors.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

I don't know why the picture didn't post but here he is along side with his goldfish friend. They don't fight and the goldfish can swim right up to him.










Also that's not a bad idea. People in Florida have Bettas outside in the sun in ponds. It's really not bad te water would be around 70-80ish with a 10g or bigger and Bettas like the warm temp and they like to eat the bugs. I have mine under the light outside that atracts more bugs = free fish food.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Gorgeous colors.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ok...here's what i do...i use the biggest container i can for outside..never mind the "it gets hot here" business...that's a lousy excuse..keep the container in a shaded or semi shaded area..people all over this country keep fish outside...
i set up my tubs and add some plants and let them set for a week or 2...then i add fish...
i never cover with tarps or anything that keeps the rain out....the fish love the rain and what it does to the water..i feed them once a day for a week or so until i start seeing mosquito larvae..then i stop..
betta man...set up a 5 or 10 and let it run for a week with some hornwort in it...make sure it is a bit shaded...then set your betta out..


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

I only cover it up during heavy rainfall. Or the tanks will over fill. If its light rain I'll remove a gallon out of each tank and then they are fine.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

loha, could I do a tank outside, and it work? It gets pretty hot. This week will be cooler, but it gets in the low hundreds sometimes.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

sure you can zd.....just make sure you keep them in the shade for most of the day..


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Agree with John, though it's a smaller body of water but in the wild they can't controle the temps. It gets in the low 100s here as well and I have no problems at all. My tanks are half shade for the afternoon but around 4-5pm its full sun. They do just fine. I get algae but it's fine for me. I can care less about it. Plus I keep it under a outside light I turn that on at night and bugs flock around it so a crap load of them fall in the tank. My betta seems to love moths. It's pretty funny right before he goes for them he will puff up and strike them hard ripping the wings first then the body. Smaller bugs he will also strike hard as well.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

I might try a tank with a betta than.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I worry about it getting too cold. How cold does it get where you are cory?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

at night the temps can go below 70 here...normally i keep the fish outside until october....but some i bring in earlier..
betta man...i am farther north than you are and cory is even farther north than i am....
your fish should be fine outside..


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

It's 60s here at night and I honistly have not seen the fish any healthier then they are now... That betta barley moved in his tank and refused to eat food. It would sit in his tank for two days before he would eat te pellets. Now outside I see him getting fat and if I drop in a pellet he attacks it. I think the "nature" type thing where he's eating bugs and swimming threw the thick plants and picking bugs out of that. He's in a much better environment. Every night around 9-10 I turn on the outside light and atract bugs for free fish food for them.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Alright, I'd like to try this out. Going to LFS tuesday for two for tuesday (buy one get one free every tuesday! on a lot of fish) to pick up some more plants for my aquarium. So I'm going to grab a betta, maybe another fish of somesort and see what happens. I'm going to try and pick a duller one.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

zd....if you have some young apistos ; put them out in a tub with a bunck of plants in it...feed them for a week or 2 or until you see mosquito larvae....put the tub in a semi shaded area.....see what they look like come late september or early october..but that depends on where you live...the farther south , the longer you can keep them outside..


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

lohachata said:


> zd....if you have some young apistos ; put them out in a tub with a bunck of plants in it...feed them for a week or 2 or until you see mosquito larvae....put the tub in a semi shaded area.....see what they look like come late september or early october..but that depends on where you live...the farther south , the longer you can keep them outside..


I have two young apistos. Both female. I'm expecting ram fry pretty soon. So I might try that. I'm in SC and it stays warm here for a long time. We had the warmest winter last/this year. Never snowed or froze puddles. I can only remember a few cold days. I will try this, I want the best looking rams, ever and I want some to pair up before I sell them. So I can sell them as proven pairs and such. (when it comes to time of selling I'll need to learn how to ship though ;D)


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Keeping them outside Was the best thing iv done for these fish, they look so nice iv got a lot of plants in there and a sponge filter that keeps the water semi clean. I keep the tanks under a light since I don't get the larva that John is talking about. Only because they breed in the pond and have no interests in my tanks. So there main diet is moths and some other tiny flying bug that iv never seen before this summer. At first I only fed them every other day for a couple weeks then conpletly stopped. And when I did feed them it was 1/2 of the normal amount.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

cory...take the filter out..mosquitos like still water that is somewhat shaded...with plants in the tank and little surface movement you will have larvae in no time..

z d......by the time you are ready to sell your fry you will be great at shipping..


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

The filter I made lifts the water to the corner of the tank. Vary vary little water movement in there. Now I think that the hair algae took over and I can hardly see the fish now. Any idea how to get rid of it without killing all of the plants John?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i use algae fix...works pretty good for hair algae...unless you can find some american flag fish...


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

lohachata said:


> i use algae fix...works pretty good for hair algae...unless you can find some american flag fish...


I love those fish. Good for an outdoor tank?


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

John, should I put all my plants in a holding tank first? I have that option. Iv been doing 20% and 50% water changes everyday and I am not getting anywhere with it


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

nope. just treat according to directions..safe for fish and plants...but not inverts...


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