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I like wet web media, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/betta_splendens.htm and they answer emails asking for advice if you can't find the info you want on their pages somewhere.
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Nov 3, 2015 00:49
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Stoca Zola posted:I like wet web media, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/betta_splendens.htm and they answer emails asking for advice if you can't find the info you want on their pages somewhere. They also have extensive archives of emails asking for advice if you want to lose a few hours. Bettas aren't particularly tricky if you do basic care stuff like you would with other fish. You'll want to avoid dragonscale bettas since their crossbreeding and inbreeding makes it so that their thick "dragon" scales can grow over their eyes, leaving them blind. Make sure there isn't too much current, especially for the longer finned varieties.
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Nov 3, 2015 01:33
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Dogwood Fleet posted:They also have extensive archives of emails asking for advice if you want to lose a few hours. Yeah, my basic plan for a workdesk tank is a Fluval V, make sure the filter flow is lowered via a sponge or something similar, an attractive substrate, silk plants good for bettas, some silly accessories like a floating log and a hammock leaf, and a high quality 25w heater. The only thing I'm mildly worried about is getting the tank filter cycled correctly. I don't think I can seed it from my established tank at all with how the filter is built in... Edit: 2 ideas I have for seeding the new tank are: 1) cut out a section of the AquaClear sponge in my 110 and replace that section with the fluval v sponge and run it for a few weeks. 2) Put my small sponge filter that has been running in the main tank into the betta tank and run it along with the fluvals filter for a few weeks and hope the bacteria disseminate into the Fluval tank. ShaneB fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Nov 3, 2015 |
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Nov 3, 2015 01:39
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Squeeze out your established tank's filter. Pour that filthy water into your new tank. There, you're seeded.
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Nov 3, 2015 02:04
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The fluval specs filter sponge has two windows in it which hold little bags of media, you could pop those bags in your existing tank/filter to seed them, or put media from somewhere else in those holes to seed the sponge (or why not both!). It's not a huge deal, as long as you provide an ammonia source that bacteria is in the air and everywhere and it will get where it needs to be one way or another, and the tank will cycle. Getting the filter flow rate down is a bit more of a challenge, the little pump is still quite forceful and I couldn't get much joy from a sponge over the outlet, ended up cutting little holes in the hose to get circulation going in the pump chamber. Maybe doing both would work? For a betta I'd still want to cover the holes of the comb on the filter inlet with something soft in case he gets sucked against it while he's asleep, I've heard they can damage fins and tail otherwise.
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Nov 3, 2015 02:05
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ShaneB posted:Any suggestions on a book or website about keeping bettas? I'm going to set up a desktop planted aquarium at work after the holidays and I want to be prepared. I can tell you what I've learned in the month or so since I kept a betta in a fluval spec V. Bettas are terrible swimmers and need almost completely still water. I have a foam filter on the filter outlet, as well as foam over the inlet, and the flow set to low. The top water develops a film due to this, but with plants my parameters are perfect. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all at zero. He also likes to have a place to lay down. He will either get himself under my crypt and sort of float himself into the leaves, or lay on his side (seriously) on top of an anubias near the surface. I have seen a suction cup betta leaf for this purpose. Other than that, doesnt seem much different than keeping other freshwater fish.
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Nov 3, 2015 03:08
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 one panda corydoras missing today. I saw him yesterday afternoon, up the back hiding in the plants, but he didn't come out for food and no sign of him this morning. No suspicious pile of snails either so he could still be wedged back there somewhere. My last glimmer of hope is that I'll spot him when I take the filter out tonight when I clean the tank, the filter box blocks the view down the back from above. Corydoras don't seem to float when they die so he's going to be hard to find if he's died back there.
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Nov 3, 2015 03:15
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astrollinthepork posted:I can tell you what I've learned in the month or so since I kept a betta in a fluval spec V. Bettas are terrible swimmers and need almost completely still water. I have a foam filter on the filter outlet, as well as foam over the inlet, and the flow set to low. The top water develops a film due to this, but with plants my parameters are perfect. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all at zero. He also likes to have a place to lay down. He will either get himself under my crypt and sort of float himself into the leaves, or lay on his side (seriously) on top of an anubias near the surface. I have seen a suction cup betta leaf for this purpose. Other than that, doesnt seem much different than keeping other freshwater fish. Sounds like a sponge filter might be a better idea?
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Nov 3, 2015 03:30
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A sponge filter would be much more controllable than any other filter, you can put an air control valve between the filter and the air pump and have complete control over the output, all the way from full blast to nothing at all. It would be easier to customize it perfectly for a betta.
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Nov 3, 2015 04:08
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ShaneB posted:Sounds like a sponge filter might be a better idea? Probably lol. Also, for food, I like to give 5 hikari betta pellets and 1 freeze dried blood worm per day. He seems to love it too. I would also add that 5 gallons would be the best size for it. With the way he roams I can't imagine him in anything other smaller or bigger.
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Nov 3, 2015 04:11
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republicant posted:A sponge filter would be much more controllable than any other filter, you can put an air control valve between the filter and the air pump and have complete control over the output, all the way from full blast to nothing at all. It would be easier to customize it perfectly for a betta. Cool. I have a sponge filter that's been running in my DT for a bit now. Should be good to go come January for sure. That will give me more options for 5 gallon tanks that don't have built in filters, as well.
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Nov 3, 2015 04:35
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Does anyone here have an AC110 they could measure for me? I need to know the distance from where it hooks on the tank to where the back of the filter is. I'm thinking about adding one to my 75 but I'm not sure if I have enough clearance between the tank and the wall.
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Nov 3, 2015 07:51
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A crayfish should be good with tetras, a pleco, and some shrimp in a 29 gallon right? I am 99% sure the 110 is the same depth as a 70, and my 70 is 4 1/8 inches deep from the back of the aquarium. astrollinthepork fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Nov 3, 2015 |
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Nov 3, 2015 14:56
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astrollinthepork posted:A crayfish should be good with tetras, a pleco, and some shrimp in a 29 gallon right? Sure. The crayfish would really love all those tasty snacks.
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Nov 3, 2015 14:58
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Rallos posted:Sure. The crayfish would really love all those tasty snacks. They wouldnt be too fast for it?
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Nov 3, 2015 15:25
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Is it possible to find an attractive 5ish gallon tank without built in filters and such? A light is fine.
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Nov 3, 2015 15:27
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astrollinthepork posted:They wouldnt be too fast for it? Depends. I'd say that they would mostly be fine. But fish do sleep and thats when they usually attack. So you might lose one here or there to the cray.
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Nov 3, 2015 16:06
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The only other option are rimless ones as offered by ADA, Mr Aqua, and Green Leaf Aquariums. They don't have lights or even lids on their own. I think lids are available for some, but not sure. Congratulations on your Multiple Aquarium Disease.
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Nov 3, 2015 16:11
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JuffoWup posted:The only other option are rimless ones as offered by ADA, Mr Aqua, and Green Leaf Aquariums. They don't have lights or even lids on their own. I think lids are available for some, but not sure. Congratulations on your Multiple Aquarium Disease. MTS in full effect. It's like I need an aquarium near my desk every waking hour. NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS.
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Nov 3, 2015 17:03
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FYI bettas are jumpers so you will need to fashion a lid of some sort. Preferrably with some amount of ventilation.
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Nov 3, 2015 17:07
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This is a pretty nice looking 5 gal rimless Deep Blue Professionalastrollinthepork posted:FYI bettas are jumpers so you will need to fashion a lid of some sort. Preferrably with some amount of ventilation. You can make a screen lid for cheap from window screen material at Lowe's / Home Depot or similar. That's what I did for my sw tank, and it looks great.
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Nov 3, 2015 17:09
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astrollinthepork posted:FYI bettas are jumpers so you will need to fashion a lid of some sort. Preferrably with some amount of ventilation. Yeah, I'm on that. I have a pretty good idea of the setup I need, it's just finding the right tank. I'd rather avoid a built-in filter for the ease of use and low water churn of a sponge filter. And I can get whatever light I want! I think I'm going to go fake plants just to not have to worry about high-powered LED, however, which will just keep costs down as well.
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Nov 3, 2015 17:12
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If it was me I'd want a tank with a hood for the office, since you don't control the environment 100% of the time, you never know when a cleaner is going to come past and spray Mr Sheen on your desk or whatever. I'd rather try and shut the fish in and protect them as much as possible even though little tanks with hoods look a bit dorky. I really love the long Mr Aqua bookshelf tanks though, in an ideal world with no cats and no cleaners and no chemicals and no evaporation I would love something like that full of different zones for different critters to live in. I had some success finding the skinny corydoras alive today, he hadn't died and gone rotten up the back in the plants at all. Sadly it doesn't look like he will make it, I think some snails might have chewed on him, he looks like a bit of a zombie. I got him in the hospital tank and soaked some tubifex in medication but I'm not sure if he was able to eat any. Up close, he looks amazingly emaciated and his colour is so bad that he is transparent, so it's hard to tell which parts of him are still intact. I'm going to give him a night in isolation to see if he improves but I'll be very surprised if he's still alive by morning. He did a massive poop, so I guess he must have been eating something, I thought at first it might have been a giant tapeworm but under the scope it looked like a well digested fish turd. After he'd done it he somehow looked even skinnier. The other cories look fat and healthy so fingers crossed I can manage a 50% survival rate. Four cories is too few but I'm not sure that I want to persist with sickly pandas from one store, or super expensive ones from the other store. As it stands I have three females and one male left now so maybe they'll breed? My best healthiest fish have been the ones born in my tanks, I guess because they don't have to get used to the conditions.
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Nov 3, 2015 17:24
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I have, I think, 2 swordtail fry that seem to be surviving in the upper region of the tank. They might be big and fast enough to avoid being eaten at this point, as long as they don't go near the bigger rams. I think it takes a decent amount of time for swordies to get big at all, though, right?
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Nov 3, 2015 17:34
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ShaneB posted:Yeah, I'm on that. I have a pretty good idea of the setup I need, it's just finding the right tank. I'd rather avoid a built-in filter for the ease of use and low water churn of a sponge filter. And I can get whatever light I want! I think I'm going to go fake plants just to not have to worry about high-powered LED, however, which will just keep costs down as well. This is basically what I ended up doing. Bought a cheap 5 gallon kit from Petsmart. Swapped the filter for a really old AC mini that has extremely low flow and is far less noisy (and now have a backup should that one fail). The lid for it is very obnoxious to open as it is just a chunk of plastic but it has a hole for feeding, and the light it comes with is tiny and poo poo, but it does the job with fake plants. You could probably do even better just getting a basic 5 gallon with the lid idea above, and a nice light to show off the betta's colours. Make sure with the fake plants that they are soft enough, I know sometimes they can have sharp edges and since bettas will rest on them sometimes (mine does), you want to ensure they don't get hurt by them. I have 5 neons in there with Louie (my betta, the only named fish), and a couple of shrimp, and while I have heard this could be huge problems, after watching the tank like a hawk for the first few days after introduction, the closest I've seen to aggression displayed is Louie occasionally getting annoyed that the neons are trying to school with him and turning around to shoo them away. Otherwise most of the time he's either relaxing or when I'm paying attention, swimming back and forth in the front of the tank.
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Nov 3, 2015 18:26
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Coolwhoami posted:This is basically what I ended up doing. Bought a cheap 5 gallon kit from Petsmart. Swapped the filter for a really old AC mini that has extremely low flow and is far less noisy (and now have a backup should that one fail). The lid for it is very obnoxious to open as it is just a chunk of plastic but it has a hole for feeding, and the light it comes with is tiny and poo poo, but it does the job with fake plants. You could probably do even better just getting a basic 5 gallon with the lid idea above, and a nice light to show off the betta's colours. Make sure with the fake plants that they are soft enough, I know sometimes they can have sharp edges and since bettas will rest on them sometimes (mine does), you want to ensure they don't get hurt by them. Sounds chill. Yeah I'm reading silk plant reviews fairly obsessively to see if betta people like them or not. Seems highly variable.
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Nov 3, 2015 18:48
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Our hot water heater went out yesterday, so today we are getting it replaced. The utility room is next to the room with most of my fish tanks, and one of the plumbers made a bee-line straight for the new 180g frontosa tank. He literally squealed when he saw one of the baby frontosas, it was pretty hilarious. Also yesterday I got my big plant order in from ebay, so I got everything transferred to the 90 bowfront in the living room and planted. It actually turned out better than I'd hoped, but it's really hard to get a decent picture in that room.  
Enos Cabell fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Nov 3, 2015 |
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Nov 3, 2015 19:09
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Coolwhoami posted:You're probably just fine then. Aqadvisor is generally pretty conservative on filtration, and you're clearly watching things enough that it won't get out of control before you spot it. It wouldn't be bad to run the second filter though, if only so that if one of the two fails you have one with an existing culture of bacteria in it to keep things in good shape while you deal with that. Thanks for the replies. I've realized that I've probably been feeding them too much and have cut back recently which seems to be helping, too. I'll usually do a 25-30% water change once a week to every two weeks. My plants are getting crazy   
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Nov 3, 2015 19:37
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Just a head's up but be aware that your red tiger lotus will spread bulbs under the ground. I dug out like fifteen of those things from my 55 the other week. I only planted two 
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Nov 3, 2015 23:47
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Shakenbaker posted:Just a head's up but be aware that your red tiger lotus will spread bulbs under the ground. I dug out like fifteen of those things from my 55 the other week. I only planted two Oh dear... Good to know. 
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Nov 4, 2015 00:17
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I have fallen in love with my panda garras. I want a tank full of them. gently caress, what I really want is a 55 for my hillstreams, a 55 for my leleupi, a 55 for my calvus, and a 55 for the loaches. But I don't have the space for 16 feet of extra tank.
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Nov 4, 2015 00:55
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I have TWO more new baby rabbit snails in my tank. Holy crap. Rabbit snails do not breed very often or have many babies so this is really awesome. I now have a total of four adults and nine babies.
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Nov 4, 2015 04:51
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Thread title pays off again.
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Nov 4, 2015 05:00
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Upon further inspection of the tank there are actually 11 babies. Sulawesi snails breed pretty rarely and only have a couple babies at a time, with the mother often dying afterwards, so this is really really cool and definitely wanted. They're gorgeous little things. Aquatic Arts seems to send out a lot of pregnant rabbit snails and they have babies in my tank. I'm thrilled. God that was so crazy though, getting really excited because I think I found a new baby but counting just to be sure, then finding ANOTHER ONE, and then ANOTHER ONE?!!!!???, and then I look up and THERE'S ANOTHER ONE ON THE GLASS?!!!??!!?? You don't get that kind of excitement from pond snails man. e: Ughh some stupid nerite laid eggs ON one of my adult rabbit snails, they're stuck onto the shell. I guess the snail is so inactive that it counts as an inanimate object to a nerite. Also today was the first time I ever saw cories pull sand in their mouths and expel it through their gills, it was really cool. Kind of makes sense now why you're not supposed to keep them in a tank with gravel. republicant fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Nov 4, 2015 |
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Nov 4, 2015 05:03
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http://www.amazon.com/Schuber-Wright-Rimless-Aquarium-4-Gallon/dp/B008CQB8AA This is a pretty attractive tank (besides the labels on the base), but I can't really find much on it. Thoughts?
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Nov 4, 2015 17:39
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ShaneB posted:http://www.amazon.com/Schuber-Wright-Rimless-Aquarium-4-Gallon/dp/B008CQB8AA Seems pretty expensive for a tank that size. Also they show that tank with stony corals and a feather duster and yet the description talk about "monthly" maintenance... 
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Nov 4, 2015 17:44
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Rallos posted:Seems pretty expensive for a tank that size. Also they show that tank with stony corals and a feather duster and yet the description talk about "monthly" maintenance... I don't disagree, but for a one-time purchase that should last years I don't mind spending more for build quality and attractiveness. The light(s?) seem pretty adequate as well? That brand is apparently sold by Finnex in the USA, so it's at least a good pedigree.
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Nov 4, 2015 17:46
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ShaneB posted:I don't disagree, but for a one-time purchase that should last years I don't mind spending more for build quality and attractiveness. The light(s?) seem pretty adequate as well? The lights should be perfect for growing plants and it seems nicely designed, if you're into that style (personally I don't like it but I'm not buying it). So if it makes you happy and price isn't an object, go for it. I wouldn't ever try saltwater in that tank without extensive modification, though. Finnex makes good lights. -e- This looks interesting if you're into a more minamilist style. Though I think the hob filter hanging on the back kind of ruins it. You might get away with one of those corner sponge air stone powered filters. Honestly, I'm kind of thinking of getting one of these for my wife's classroom with a pair of dwarf crayfish for livestock. Rallos fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Nov 4, 2015 |
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Nov 4, 2015 17:52
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If you're still wanting to go with a betta then don't get a tank without a full hood, don't even get a tank that's mostly covered but has a betta-sized hole. They love committing suicide and can be fine for months before they randomly decide to kill themselves one day.
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Nov 4, 2015 18:33
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republicant posted:If you're still wanting to go with a betta then don't get a tank without a full hood, don't even get a tank that's mostly covered but has a betta-sized hole. They love committing suicide and can be fine for months before they randomly decide to kill themselves one day. I'll mod whatever tank to have a lid. I'm just looking at attractive options with it without right now. Good looking out though.
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Nov 4, 2015 18:41
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