# My best Birthday present today! Check this out.



## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

I was just looking in my breeder box today to see how the new Taiwan bee babies were doing and to my great surprise I got a fabulous Birthday present...one I wasn't expecting. 

Perched in the filter floss were 2 BKKs...these are NOT the babies but 2 week olds. I thought I only had the one as I never saw any others until today. They must have been hiding all along in the gravel or under the leaf and when I put the extra floss in they are now all over it eating and growing good.

Here they are. One is a 1 bar BKK and the other a 2 bar BKK.



















What a fantastic Bday present!


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

Happy bday!


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Yeah, nice present, Happy Birthday !


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Fantastic.. I'd love a BD prezzie like that. Now nice for you.. hope they grow well !


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## Scotmando (Jul 10, 2011)

Happy Birthday Day Anna! Nice surprise.


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## razoredge (Dec 31, 2011)

Happy Birthday Anna!!


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Thanks guys/gals you lot are the Best!!!


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## Egonsgirl (Feb 28, 2012)

I already PM'd your Bday greeting, but would not want to look like a snob, so I must do it here too!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA -back post 1 day lol you are (^)


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

So thought Id post an update on the new babies...all growing good and loving that filter floss...my new best friend 

These 2 pics can you count the babies? 
















Sorry about the water spots I just grabbed the camera before it took off again. Cool Panda blue baby on the glass









My Favourite one so far....another Blue Panda...YEAH!!!!









also hiding somewhere underneath is a Wine Red Panda too.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

Love the baby pics!!! 

Can i ask: what is filter floss and where do you get them? (yes, total noob, i apologize )


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Its just the white cottony filter media you put in the HOB filters.(Whisper/Aquaclear etc) the stuff that turns dark brown and stinks  

You can buy a big bag of it at Walmart or Michaels (cheaper there than the LFS and bigger bags) its also used for stuffing pillows. I get the more cottony one rather than the acrylic stuff.

I was rinsing my HOB filter floss out from the big Planted tank where I keep the Taiwans Bees (aka BKK, WR, Blue Bolt etc)

So I thought why waste this yucky floss its loaded with biofilm etc which is what baby shrimps need to eat as newborns. I didn't have any algae in this tank, so couldn't give them anything with algae on it (also what they need to survive) but I could give them a piece of this floss....so I did.

They have been crawling all over it since and are growing real good eating all the stuff that's in the floss. Maybe its not the perfect solution to keeping babies alive and growing, but as long as they are surviving, its works for me.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

Oooh thanks for the explanation!!  

I was looking at your baby pics and the floss, and it suddenly occured to me that maybe I should put some floss in my tank too for more surface area for stuff to hang on to and provide food for them to eat and also a place for them to hide. Just spotted my first RCS babies (not as exotic but pretty exciting for a noob like me lol!) this week, and want them to grow up ok. I can't seem to grow (noticeable) algae in my tank for whatever reason. 

What do they call the filter floss-like product at Michael's/Walmart? Also, do you need to do anything to it before putting it in the tank? (eg. rinse? treat?)


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

You basically need to have it inside of a filter, so it traps all the gungy stuff that gets filtered thru your water. It will grow bacteria inside the floss which is what cycles your tank. 

If you have an HOB filter you need to periodically rinse out this floss with some of your tank water, and then you can add it back or put some new shiny white stuff in with it, which will turn black/brown over time, then most people throw away the oldest stuff.

I keep my old floss in a net bag in my fish tank so that I always have some to quick cycle a filter on a new setup tank, same with my old sponges from emptied tanks .

IF you just put it in without having it turn brown first, there won't be any biofilm/bacteria in it, and it may take a longer time to accumulate any.

If you have any friends close by who run Hang on the Back filters like Whisper/Aquaclear, just ask them to give you piece of their old floss. Just noticed you are in the Durham region...post an ad on your forum out there, its a big club, so got to be someone close by has some they can give you.

Any baby shrimp is a cause for Celebration  Congrats, you probably have more than you think in your tank...baby shrimps hide for about 2 - 4 weeks before venturing around, some are more adventurous. You usually see them on the glass sides first.

Pillow Stuffing or Batting is what it is at Walmart/Michaels.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

Thanks so much for the tips and advice!  Looks like i'm goinng about it the wrong way lol ... so much to learn!!

So right now I have an HOB filter with a filter bag plus a black sponge in it. I could replace the black sponge part with the filter-floss? 

Last time i posted on the DRAS forum someone was generous enough to give me some moss  It's growing very slowly though and getting really crowded lol. It's not a very active online forum and I hate to keep bothering the same people. I can't make their meeting this month but am aiming to attend the February one and meet some of the members!


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