# Marko's 5 gallon Betta Barracks -- update (12/14/13)



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

specs
tank: all glass 5.5 gallon
filter: azoo mignon filter x3
DIY acrylic dividers
substrate: flourite
flora: v. montagnei, a. nana petite, m. pteporus trident, c. parva, c. pontederiifolia, l. sessiliflora, h. tiger, n. aquatica
fauna: 2 black orchid CT b. spendens (1 male, 1 female)

pics

































































the fourth compartment is not yet finished. and i may move the smaller gardn planter from the second one into it, not sure yet. 

the female unfortunately has velvet, i just got her shipped to me a few days ago, and she caught in during travel. most annoyingly, i didnt notice until she was already i the tank sharing water with the male.
she is doing ok though. is active and eating nicely.
am treating with salt, higher temps, Cu, and malachite green.


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

pretty setup, though i certainly don't agree with keeping bettas in this small of containers... 5.5 gallons is big enough for ONE betta IMHO. 
are you going to attempt breeding?

EDIT: i'd also be worried that the flow would hurt the bettas' fins. that looks like a pretty hard stream of water if you don't have it baffled somehow...


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

bettas dont spend too much time swimming once mature, IME. and each betta has over a gallon of swimming space. 5 gallons is the min for many fish, because it is hard to keep tanks smaller than that at stable temps, but this setup allows me to keep the bettas in a stable environment. and the water is chemically stable as well, with 3 filters, gravel, plants, and weekly 50% WC, the tank has very healthy parameters.

yes the two are being conditioned for breeding at the moment. i intend to attempt breeding 1-2 weeks after the females velvet passes.


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

@[email protected] said:


> bettas dont spend too much time swimming once mature, IME. and each betta has over a gallon of swimming space. 5 gallons is the min for many fish, because it is hard to keep tanks smaller than that at stable temps, but this setup allows me to keep the bettas in a stable environment. and the water is chemically stable as well, with 3 filters, gravel, plants, and weekly 50% WC, the tank has very healthy parameters.
> 
> yes the two are being conditioned for breeding at the moment. i intend to attempt breeding 1-2 weeks after the females velvet passes.


fair enough, i used to keep bettas in half-gallon bowls and they didn't swim that much. but now i have a betta in a 5.5 gallon, and he really utilizes the swimming space. depends on the fish, i guess.

cool. good luck!


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

I definetely agree. I have fish that will always swim til they pass away or just sit in a corner all their lives. Guess some fish are more adventurous than others!


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## atom (Sep 28, 2011)

If you divide it into 3 sections instead of 4 it would give you more room to aquascape and the bettas would benefit from the extra bit of horizontal swimming space. I'm partial to odd numbers . Aesthetically I think 3 compartments would look better, but that's just my preference.

Great idea though. Looks good so far. Cheers.


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## atom (Sep 28, 2011)

If you divide it into 3 sections instead of 4 it would give you more room to aquascape and the bettas would benefit from the extra bit of horizontal swimming space. I'm partial to odd numbers . Aesthetically I think 3 compartments would look better, but that's just my preference.

Great idea though. Looks good so far. Cheers.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

one month update:

















































































NOTE: the damage to the males fins is from breeding 2 weeks ago.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Wow, the black CT is fantastic!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Wow, the black CT is fantastic!


thanks
they are all black orchids, but the leftmost male has the least blue iridescence. he has the best coloration, while the female and her brother (which are unrelated to the leftmost male) are from a line with inferior coloration, but superior finnage and topline (spinal form). im hoping to get the best of both worlds in some of the offspring, and use them to further the lineage.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

I like it............


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

I always like the more innovative designs and the pseudo UGF/HOB is a pretty cool design... nce job


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## gabysapha (Oct 26, 2011)

I'm always hunting Petsmart for a black orchid..... it will happen one day 
Unique set up!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

picotank said:


> I like it............


thanks



Ozydego said:


> I always like the more innovative designs and the pseudo UGF/HOB is a pretty cool design... nce job


thanks.
there is no UGF, though. what your probably thinking is a HOB is the moss carpet. the moss just hasnt grown enough to cover the mesh.



gabysapha said:


> I'm always hunting Petsmart for a black orchid..... it will happen one day
> Unique set up!


it might, but even if it does, it will be a genetic mutt that looks like a black orchid, not an actual black orchid. buying from a breeder is the best option. normally id tell you to buy from me, but my black orchid spawn i under 3 weeks old, so itll be a while til they can be sold.


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## Taari (Jul 31, 2010)

What do you charge for one of those black orchids?

Tank looks great too, btw. I like how each section has it's own little scape going on, very hard to make that small a space look so nice I bet.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Very cool setup!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

Taari said:


> What do you charge for one of those black orchids?
> 
> Tank looks great too, btw. I like how each section has it's own little scape going on, very hard to make that small a space look so nice I bet.


depends on how they turn out. the sire cost $15, the dam cost $8; so the cost of the offspring would likely be somewhere between those 2 figures. unless some of them end up with quad crowning or crossrays, those i would charge more for. the females line had some quad crowntails, and her brother is almost a crossray, but his rays dont curl out strongly enough; so im hoping for a handful of those in the spawn.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

NWA-Planted said:


> Very cool setup!
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


thanks


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

My mistake, it just looks as though the initial pick up is at the far left section and the last output is in the right partition, so to get back to the start the flow would need to go through the gravel... Or is water able to get around the partitions?? I wouldnt call it a true UGF, but some mechanical filtration if it goes through the gravel at the bottom...


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

Ozydego said:


> My mistake, it just looks as though the initial pick up is at the far left section and the last output is in the right partition, so to get back to the start the flow would need to go through the gravel... Or is water able to get around the partitions?? I wouldnt call it a true UGF, but some mechanical filtration if it goes through the gravel at the bottom...


the filters pull the water from one section into the one to its right. the water then returns through 9 holes drilled in the dividers, as well as through 5 slits drilled at their top (for surface flow). the dividers are glued to the bottom of the tank, so there is no flow through the gravel.


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

Ok, thats what I missed. I like the design, keeps 4 tanks fresh without individual parameters.


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## Taari (Jul 31, 2010)

@[email protected] said:


> depends on how they turn out. the sire cost $15, the dam cost $8; so the cost of the offspring would likely be somewhere between those 2 figures. unless some of them end up with quad crowning or crossrays, those i would charge more for. the females line had some quad crowntails, and her brother is almost a crossray, but his rays dont curl out strongly enough; so im hoping for a handful of those in the spawn.


 
That's not a bad price. I might hit you up for one or two eventually. I actually really like the ones that are black with some of the blue irridescence between the rays, like the one in your avatar.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

update pics:

fts









h. tiger; i love the pattern it develops with good micros









the nerite who likes to occasionally eat the "leaves" off my moss









nice large c. pondeterifolia


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

I love how you arranged the filters. That looks like a very effective, innovative solution for the poor circulation in a divided tank!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

well the java fern trident melted, as did the crypts. but both are now recovering. im suspecting my large doses of excel built up in the tank during the time i went an extra week without water changes, and triggered the melt. 
update pics:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

this tank has been moved to my college apartment, and the new inhabitants put in.
will post pics tomorrow.


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

Great looking bettas! I might have to buy from you some day....


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thank you. here are 4 new inhabitants


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

intro to sociology was canceled today, so i got some nice pics of the fish instead (while i shouldve been studying orgo).

Erebus:









































Phantosos:

























Icelus:

























the fourth one, Phobetor, decided to play in the pelia instead of pose for the camera, so no pics of him.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

that black devil look nice!!


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

Really lovely fish!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

orchidman said:


> that black devil look nice!!


thanks. im particularly proud of his webbing reductions. he has a pretty perfect 50% first tier, 25% second tier reduction, which many consider to be the optimal webbing reduction in DR CTs.

but im still partial to the balog CTs, namely Phantosos. im so relieved i managed to get him through a flexibacter (columnaris) infection, and a simultaneous opportunistic case of velvet. hes the guy i plan on using to sire my F2s.


> Really lovely fish!


thank you.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

do you have any better photos so we can appreciate how great his finnage is?

i love balogs! pics of that one too


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

here is a pic of Phantosos (the balog):









i dont have a recent one of Erebus. the older ones show him at a 40%/15% webbing reduction, but now rays have grown longer and the webbing not as much (thats the normal pattern for growth in CTs). its possible that as he ages he might even attain 60% webbing reduction between rays and 30% between ray branches, but that would take a long while, as he is now full grown.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

He has very even fins. Very nice indeed! I actually like the steel blue powder color on him, mine is a more saturated royal blue but i also love the royal blue! I need to find some time get some high quality photos of mine!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i preffer royal blue and green to steel blue. but the blues are easy to control.
there are 2 alleles for iridescence in bettas (the blues), steel blue and green. the two exhibit classical incomplete dominance, a fish with one of each allele has royal blue iridescence. 
as long as i maintain a royal blue fish in the line, i have both alleles to work with. that is why im pretty pleased that my best looking female happens to be royal blue. so if she is the dame of my F2s (which i plan for her to be), i will have 50% steel blue, and 50% royal blue (same as with this spawn, where the sire was royal blue, and the dame was steel blue).


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

thats awesome! its cool you can have the gene but have the royal blue as well. do you have any fish exhibiting green? i love green bettas!

can we see pics of the dam?


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

orchidman said:


> thats awesome! its cool you can have the gene but have the royal blue as well. do you have any fish exhibiting green? i love green bettas!
> 
> can we see pics of the dam?


no green from this spawn. the sire was royal blue and the dame was steel blue. here is a punnet square (GG=green, SS=steel, GS=SG=royal):
F\M | G | S |
S | SG | SS |
S | SG | SS |
so you can see the possibility in the types of iridescence in one of the offspring is limited to royal blue (SG), or steel blue (SS), with a 50% chance of each. GG (green iridescence) i not possible from a royal blue pairing. that would require a pairing of two royal blue parents (25% chance for each offspring), a royal blue and a green (50%), or 2 green parents (100%). 
my F2s will thus also be only royal and steel blue. but if i choose to breed F3 (and i so far intend to), then i may very well choose to breed 2 royal blue fish, creating a spawn displaying all 3 phenotypes.

pics of the dame are in my sorority journal on page 2. she is the one i describe as the looking orchid female, and photographed extensively (compared to the rest) in my most recent update (on 9/9/12). 
she has excellent coloration, and decent finnage (would prefer if her caudal ray extensions were closer to 33%, than 25%).
females always have less prominent webbing reduction than males, which is why they do not show in CT classes in competitions, but rather in color classes based on their color. in general the more webbing reduction you can get on the females the better, though, as dames with more webbing reduction will produce males with greater webbing reduction than a dame with less reduction.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

cool! and you r F2 generation will be steel blue x steel blue?


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

nope, they will be steel (sire) x royal (dame).


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

gotcha. i thought the dame was steel. sounds like a good cross!


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

This thread makes me want another betta fish.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

some more pics:

FTS-









xmas moss carpet









peacock moss carpet









Phantosos's tail









Erebus's tail


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

interesting layout, I really like the dark colors


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

hey, I figured I would ask you about this...

So your fish Phantosos - is he a black copper crowntail king betta?

I like the look... example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20KH8uXX9So&feature=related

The first betta in that vid is the same type? Either way the hues on the body and the highlights in the tail are great 

I gotta figure out where the best place is to shop for these guys


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thank you.

nope. phantosos is a black orchid crowntail.
they are similar to black copers, but the iridescence is blue not copper. in his case its steel blue (2 different genotypes for blue, steel blue and green; a heterozygote is royal blue).
and king usually means a giant. my bettas are normal-sized.

you can usually find good stuff on aquabid. you could also check out mnbettashop, but ive never bought from them personally. 

i intend to breed an F2 generation, with phantosos as the sire, but that wont be for a few more months, and then another few months for the fish to mature.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

gotcha, well thanks for the information


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## Master503 (Feb 8, 2012)

Hi Marko.

What was the size did you cut for DIY acrylic divider (per piece) in this 5g tank?


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

dont remember.
i took some tapemeasure and mesure how much room there was in between the glass sides. then sanded down a little. i put them in sideways so they fit in through the rim, and then turned them to be perpendicular to the front. if it doesnt go, dont force it, sand it down some more. i tried forcing one and it shatter the front glass pane and i had to go buy a new one (not to big a deal since its a cheap tank, but better to avoid this).


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

That's a wonderful idea for breeding different species of shrimp without mixing and without multitudes of tank! I'm going to try this on my next shrimp setup.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

could be made to work, but you would need to make larger holes and then cover them with mesh. cuz an adult male RCS who hung out in this tank for almost a year had no issues going from compartment to compartment. a shrimplet would certainly have no trouble.


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## TeteRouge (Jul 26, 2009)

Beautiful tank and Bettas, wish you all the best with them! You've also inspired me to build a 4 section 10g for half-moon plakats (using dark mesh instead of acrylic). I really like your filtering system, looks elegant and is obviously effective. Don't know if 3 Mignons would work for a 10, tho...getting calculator out, lol.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thank you!
its really uplifting to hear you 'inspired' someone. 

on a 10 gallon, perhaps one of the mini canister filters would be best. you could stick the intake on one side, and outtake all the way on the other, and the water would have to pass through all the chambers. you may need to break up the current from the outtake for that one betta though.


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## TeteRouge (Jul 26, 2009)

@[email protected] said:


> on a 10 gallon, perhaps one of the mini canister filters would be best. you could stick the intake on one side, and outtake all the way on the other, and the water would have to pass through all the chambers. you may need to break up the current from the outtake for that one betta though.



Well, you have a great tank, and it works ! I've considered a mini-canister (Like a Rapids Mini) and thought about running a DIY spraybar the whole length. The spraybar itself wouldn't be hard, getting the holes calibrated would be tough. Maybe a "reverse" spraybar for the return..? I did see a setup on a 10 using 2 AC 20s. It was neatly done, I love my ACs (I run a 50 and a 20) and they work well. On the other hand, they do push a lot of current, and they look...well, functional, lol. As this tank will on display, was hoping for an elegant look(maybe 3 Mignon 150s..?) but bottom line is price and health of the fish. Anyway, subscribed! Looking forward to reading your updates from time to time


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

been quite a while, thought id give you guys an update:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

note: those pictures were taken with my phone camera, a lot of the 'dirtiness' of the water is really just grain image. ill take a pic with my canon in a few days for proof.


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## hoa101 (Aug 31, 2009)

Which heater is that Marko? I am looking for one that fits a bit better into my own 5.5g. I have the Eheim 25w. While it works very well, it is very long.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

http://www.petco.com/product/113622...o Heaters Submersible Aquarium Heaters-113622


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## aluka (Feb 2, 2013)

What are you using as the dividers? I have a bunch of fry growing up and i am planning something similar for 2 pairs i am going to keep.


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## frenchie1001 (Jun 23, 2013)

The moss carpet looks really good!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

cut the acrylic to size for dividers.

thank you. 

ill take some update pics soon when i get the chance.


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## Terminalance (Oct 31, 2013)

Fantastic, where do you sell your betta spawn? Just out of curiosity.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

here, and aquabid.

long time no update. 
only 2 fish in this now, and i dont have plans to add any more, so ill remove 2 panels when i get the time, and give them each half the tank. the plants grow very slow in here, but do pretty well - looks nice right now, except for the leftmost chamber thats overgrown with moss

FTS:









2nd chamber:









3rd chamber:









phantosos is getting old:








his webbing has grown in making him look like a VT. hes still my favorite.

rightmost chamer:









.


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## Art by Stef* (Jan 27, 2013)

I like your aging betta-he personifies the word "Halloween".

If you didn't want to break it down, maybe you could remove the dark dividers to let in more light to the surrounding chambers, and alternate non-betta critters so the males won't be next door neighbors?

But, maybe 2 chambers are easier to upkeep than 4 
I have always loved this setup.
-Stef*


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

the dividers dont block light. i have a 15w T8 florescent light tube above the tank - the bulb is about as long as the tank - so it enters all the chambers equally.
the light was being blocked when i was using a 16W spiral compact florescent a year ago. 
well them being next to each other isnt a big deal. they dividers are painted black, so they dont have a constant view of each other.
i dont do upkeep on individual chambers. if mulm and detritus collect - its no big deal. the snails will take care of it - and the biofilter will take care of the biproducts. i just do water changes. the reason i want to open it up is cuz i dont intend to get more bettas - so i may as well give these two the extra room.


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## skindy (Jan 30, 2012)

Phantosos is so pretty! Great looking bettas and chambers.


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