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Stoca Zola posted:I’ve never kept a betta so ignore most of my posts - aside from the standard beginner advice about cycling and easy plants, for a betta I’d definitely recommend you get a tank with the best possible sealing lid. If you get a jumpy one they can go out the narrowest gaps (and the same is true for many jumpy fish). If the lid has gaps buy some foam or similar to pack the holes so they can’t get out. Once I finish moving my dwarf cray fish from my fluval spec V I’ve considered putting a betta in that tank, but I think I’d have to cover it with cling film to make it jump proof! I was looking at that tank. It came up recommended a lot looking at reviews for tank kits. Aside from the need to jump-proof it, how do you recommend it? I'll keep lids in mind. My old tank didn't seal up tight but was mostly covered. Maybe he just wasn't a jumper? As for size, I had a 5 gallon before. I've been considering doing a small community tank this time but I really don't know how big I want to go, 10 or 20 gallon? Something in between? I'll probably think about it forever then go with a 5 gallon for just a betta and maybe a snail or two.
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Sep 1, 2018 14:14
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GoodBee posted:I'm very early in the planning stage for a tank. All I know I want for sure is a betta and some plants. YouTube is a really good resource. Look up aquarium coop. You'll want a basic heater, some filtration, and that's basically the minimum. Bettas have very long fins and hate a life of flow so depending on your filtration you may need to diffuse it. Keep in mind the bigger the tank the less your going to have to worry about making some small change and accidentally loving everything up. I have a Betta in a 3 gallon and a 8 gallons it's a huge difference. I would recommend grabbing something around 8-10. Also keep in mind Bettas don't generally play well with friends, but again, just YouTube the specifics
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Sep 1, 2018 14:48
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w00tmonger posted:YouTube is a really good resource. Look up aquarium coop. You'll want a basic heater, some filtration, and that's basically the minimum. Bettas have very long fins and hate a life of flow so depending on your filtration you may need to diffuse it. I didn't even think of YouTube. Thanks! I've found a couple of recommended beginner betta friends but some of them are schooling and that adds up space needed pretty quickly.
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Sep 1, 2018 15:12
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Is anyone using Marinepure blocks/balls/etc? Planning to redo the sump on my 180 this fall, and thinking about picking up 4-6 of those blocks.
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Sep 1, 2018 16:49
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GoodBee posted:I didn't even think of YouTube. Thanks! Yeah just go with the one Betta if your going with that fish. Even basic stuff like Neritw snails won't work depending on the demeanor of the fish. E: the reason schooling fish is mentioned is because then the Betta has a hard time focusing on one fish to beat up. My recommendation would be a single nerite snail if anything, in about a 10 gallon w00tmonger fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Sep 1, 2018 |
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Sep 1, 2018 19:43
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GoodBee posted:I was looking at that tank. It came up recommended a lot looking at reviews for tank kits. Aside from the need to jump-proof it, how do you recommend it? I have the old version which isn't too different apart from the old-style light which is really bad, and there's etched frosting on the filter part not printed dot shading like the new version. Perhaps the new lid fits tighter too? I like the capacity of the inbuilt filter zone, and there's room at the bottom for a bag of ceramic media or purigen sachet, whatever floats your boat. The chamber where the pump is, is VERY small, you can't get your hand in there, it's a pain in the arse to get the pump out for maintenance or if you drop something down there. It's too narrow/deep to easily get your hand in. The tank itself is long but very narrow. I've kept the original sponge, replaced the carbon with a second bag of ceramic media, and at times have used purigen. I have swapped the light for a much better one after modding the original so that the blue LEDs come on at the same time as the white ones (this probably isnt necessary on the new version), I blocked the bottom filter inlet hole to shrimp proof it, and I did a number of modifications to the original pump outlet tube to reduce flow (cut holes until the return flow was much lower). At the moment I am not running the pump at all as it was leaking 240v and the fluval replacement parts are ridiculously expensive here. I've instead got an airlift tube attached to a makeshift outlet where the original filter outlet went, which provides ample flow. I've got a small heater in that chamber now too. Overall it's too small to house pretty much anything except inverts and a single betta, or for fry grow out (but the filter overflow isn't fry safe or shrimplet safe either without modifications). It's hard to weigh all its shortcomings against its excellent large capacity filter. Would definitely not recommend for anyone with big man hands or if you want to aquascape it, the scale and narrowness makes it a challenge for a beginner. I think it's too pricey for what it is, although your mileage may vary as I definitely paid inflated Australia prices. A betta with a large flowing tail will be overly buffeted about by the default filter flow and may find himself sucked against the filter inlet weir while he's sleeping. I think if you're going to get a tank as long as a Fluval Spec V you might as well get one that is wider too, unless you are extremely space limited and only have a narrow shelf or piece of desk to use. I think there are better betta tanks (not just tiny plastic gimmicky ones) available now, the Aquael Leddy looks nice (European company so might not be available), and Fluval themselves have that bigger Evo that has a better lid http://www.fluvalaquatics.com/us/saltwater/aquariums/series/evo/ Actually that looks like its only for saltwater? I could have sworn they had a freshwater version available at some point. Similar rear filter compartments and it looks like they're even reusing the Spec sponges.
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Sep 1, 2018 19:47
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drat I wish I could find more panda garras. My big one swoops in and grabs onto my hands and starts munching on the dead skin. Now. I have seen some metal stands from Home Depot people use for 10 or 20 gallon wall setups? Anyone here have experience with that?
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Sep 1, 2018 20:07
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Yesterday i got 4 "GloFish" tetras and 1 Betta for my 5G planted tank. The betta is a Twin Tall Halfmoon and its loving gorgeous. I'm in love. But he's been very timid and hiding behind the rocks a lot. My research says that might be common and he might just need time to adjust. I also think the tetras might just be too active and big to make him comfortable in the smaller tank. I'm debating getting a new 5G tank more conditioned to showing off his beauty and putting him in it. I really love him and he completely disappears next to the dark colored rocks in the tank. I guess I could just buy lighter decor. But I'm giving it a couple of days and seeing how it goes. Also my plants in that tank look eaten on and looked like that before the fish arrived. I dug around looking for a snail or something that might have stowed away on a plant but I can't find anything. I'm keeping an eye out about that. How hard should it be to spot a stow away pest? Like if more gets eaten I'm contemplating moving the fish to the 10 G and draining the tank and really digging through the gravel and poo poo.
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Sep 1, 2018 20:13
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I have a fluval spec 3 at work and love it but it's a bit small. I've heard things about the v and it looks solid. My Betta at home is in an 8 gallon fluval flex which is dope as hell STAC Goat posted:Yesterday i got 4 "GloFish" tetras and 1 Betta for my 5G planted tank. The betta is a Twin Tall Halfmoon and its loving gorgeous. I'm in love. But he's been very timid and hiding behind the rocks a lot. My research says that might be common and he might just need time to adjust. I also think the tetras might just be too active and big to make him comfortable in the smaller tank. I'm debating getting a new 5G tank more conditioned to showing off his beauty and putting him in it. I really love him and he completely disappears next to the dark colored rocks in the tank. I guess I could just buy lighter decor. But I'm giving it a couple of days and seeing how it goes. Don't be surprised if you get some fish death here. 5g is good for a Betta on its own, but crowded for it and the tetras. Bettas are pretty Territorial w00tmonger fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Sep 1, 2018 |
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Sep 1, 2018 20:34
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Yeah, I have a spare 10 G tank with dirty, gravel, and a filter and I'm already debating moving the tetras to it and giving the betta the 5G to himself. I'm just watching closely right now but it might happen by the end of weekend. And I'd have to buy a hood, light, heater, and plants but that's doable. I just keep screwing up all my attempts for a community tank on space/money reserves.
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Sep 1, 2018 20:54
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Thanks! Good stuff. I'm thinking the way to go might be an 8-10 gal planted tank for one betta. That will help me search for better, more specific info. Still kind of want a snail but I'm not going to push it. As far as space goes, my room with the most free space at the moment probably gets too much sun. I've plenty of space for a 10 gallon tank in other places that don't get direct sunlight. Any other advice for tank placement I should consider? I was mainly looking at tank kits to start. The Fluval Spec V showed up on a couple of lists with an added sponge to lower the flow and an added heater. There may be some newer or larger kits to look at too. I'm not opposed to putting together a set up from not a kit either. I'm not really concerned about price, since the cost is all up front and I can save up for whatever or wait for a sale/coupon or something. Edit: I'm in the US.
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Sep 1, 2018 21:39
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I like the spec 5 so much I got a spec 3 to go with it. I really like both tanks. I have the heater and co2 diffuser in the pump chamber, ceramic in the sponge filter and a bag of purigen under it. I added plastic sheets to the filter chamber walls to block the lower slots and increase the height for the surface skimmer. If you look at the pump chamber on the 5 you can see the water level is just below the tape. That increases the effectiveness of the surface skimmer, better gas exchange with a clean water surface. The new lights are really good, I had the old light and couldn't grow anything. As for spare parts I just got a new return pump tube cause I had cut a hole in the old one to reduce flow. I contacted fluval/hagen and they sent me a replacement for free. Its also black instead of the old white which looks better. I had to switch from using equilibrium with RO water to mixing tap and RO. With eq I was trying get 4gh and 0kh and ended up with 190ppm TDS and the plants were not doing well. Changing to a 4:1 ratio of RO to tap gets me 5gh and 3kh at 100ppm TDS. https://usa.hagen.com/Aquatic/Replacement-Parts https://usa.hagen.com/contactus 
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Sep 1, 2018 22:28
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8-10 is on point, once you have the Betta in you can go for a nerite, just have a backup plan if it doesn't pan out. Even if it's just a buddy that wants a snail
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Sep 2, 2018 02:16
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STAC Goat posted:Yesterday i got 4 "GloFish" tetras and 1 Betta for my 5G planted tank. The betta is a Twin Tall Halfmoon and its loving gorgeous. I'm in love. But he's been very timid and hiding behind the rocks a lot. My research says that might be common and he might just need time to adjust. Well yeah, you just kinda blew his mind from his world being a puddle to now being this huge evironment
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Sep 2, 2018 10:22
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Oto nom nom
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Sep 2, 2018 15:42
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 I feel so bad for my otos, I hardly see them, I don't know if they're eating well or if they're happy. Part of the trouble is the tank is too low on the rack and isn't easy to get a good view. I've tried catching them to move to my main display tank but they're too fast!
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Sep 3, 2018 14:41
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Ugh one of the ghost shrimp I bought has really long arms and is annoying my betta. Pretty sure its a macrobrachium.
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Sep 3, 2018 23:25
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Stoca Zola posted:
I only see my otos when I feed zucchini to the tank. The tanks is so full of plants these days that I hardly see them and I presume they’ve gone fully nocturnal cause they don’t tend to come out when the lights are on. I managed to have two of them go without me noticing and I think the cories did the clean up on them cause I didn’t find the bodies either.
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Sep 4, 2018 01:26
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Hi thread. I have a betta fish that was in a lovely 0.8g plastic tank with no filtration so today I spent $300 on my $5 fish, got a 5.3g tank kit with filter and light, dechlorinating agent, a couple cool pieces of Mopani wood and 4-5 live plants that were recommended as good for basic bitch first-time aquarium owners (not their exact words). Also got some pre-bacteria'd gravel, and have some Marimo balls and an adjustable 50w heater coming from Amazon tomorrow (it's around 22C, 71F in my apartment which is probably good enough but I'd like it to be perfect). Got home and brought the wood to near boiling and let a lot of the tannins out, changed the water doing this 3-4 times and then threw the wood in a full cooler of hot water while I work this night shift. I know I'll still have some yellowness to the water but seems worth it to knock it down a bit initially since it's easy to do. I put the gravel in the tank, it came wet from the store who seem to know what they're doing so I added some water without dechlorinating agent just to get a good inch or so of water coverage over the gravel so it doesn't dry out. I don't know if there's any point to this but hey it's also sorta testing for leaks. My plan is to get the wood and plants in there tomorrow morning, get the filter running and the light set up (and heater if it arrives), add the water and dechlorinating agent and then maybe add the betta that afternoon. I have a couple questions:
I'll take some pictures tomorrow!
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Sep 4, 2018 06:32
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Seems to be okay. You may have to keep an eye on the ammonia levels since it's not a cycled tank, but with just 1 betta and plants, it shouldnt be a problem.
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Sep 4, 2018 06:40
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Synthbuttrange posted:Seems to be okay. You may have to keep an eye on the ammonia levels since it's not a cycled tank, but with just 1 betta and plants, it shouldnt be a problem. Thanks for looking at it. I feel like the ammonia must be better than what it's currently in since the current tank is unfiltered with 0 live plants. The more I think about this the more tempted I am to just put him over in the morning once the tank has been planted and full for an hour or so. 80gph filter in a 5g tank should be pretty effective. I forgot to ask - my betta doesn't seem to like pellets at all, even if they're ground up a bit first. He takes one into his mouth then spits it out a short while later. Is this a bad sign or just a preference? He still has a good appetite for flakes. e: He's also basically never flaring which I don't know if that means he doesn't feel threatened or if the tank is too cramped. I just want the guy to be okay! I did take a mirror today to the side of the current tank to see if he would behave as I'd expect (flare) and he kinda just looked at it then swam off unimpressed. He's relatively active and if someone walks in front of the tank he'll come right out and watch, and he doesn't seem tachypneic if such a thing could be said about a fish. VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 06:59 on Sep 4, 2018 |
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Sep 4, 2018 06:51
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Have you tried a bunch of different pellets? As long as he's eating something though it should be fine.
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Sep 4, 2018 07:02
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Synthbuttrange posted:Have you tried a bunch of different pellets? As long as he's eating something though it should be fine. I haven't, just the recommended ones from a franchised pet store nearby (not where I got the new aquarium stuff). Will have to try different ones because I'm going away this weekend and have an auto-feeder on the way (fish mate 14) that doesn't do great with flakes.
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Sep 4, 2018 07:14
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For just a weekend away I wouldn't worry about feeding, the betta will be fine for a couple of days but a feeder is definitely useful if you are going away longer and you're able to test it and calibrate it nicely before you go. All these betta posts are giving me betta envy! I've got a 15g aquastart that I was planning to empty out, clean up and start over and now I'm tempted to plant it up with a betta in mind. Or the 5g that I have planted hoping my rasboras would breed in (they didn't), it wouldn't take much to shuffle the plants around a bit and make it a bit roomier for a betta to swim in. Might set up both and see if I can get the betta to tolerate some tank mates and then there's an alternative to shift him to if it doesn't work out. I was thinking kuhli loaches would be possible to start with and if the betta doesn't like them I could keep some sparkling gouramis in the tank after the betta is moved to his own tank.
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Sep 4, 2018 08:25
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If you’re worried about that you can always get some cheap shrimp to keep him well fed :v
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Sep 4, 2018 08:36
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I know intellectually that the betta can fast for 2 days but I would be too distraught thinking about him being hungry, even if he's not wired to get hungry like that and feeding is just a response to visual food stimulus etc. I'm dumb.
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Sep 4, 2018 09:00
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It's more about, you're not there to save him if something goes wrong and all the food gets dumped in by mistake. In two days it could get rotten enough to foul his water to make him sick or outright kill him. But like I always say, there's more than one right way to keep fish, just as long as you're doing your best for your fish's health and wellbeing that's the main thing. Maybe only put one serve of food in the feeder, that way it can't drop too much? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPUUC9GjGEw Oh I see what you mean - surely you could smush the flakes a bit smaller so that they don't jam and not fall? It's not like the feeders that rotate the on the other axis and get a "scoop" of food. I'd trust one of those on a community tank but not for feeding a single fish. Anyway I hope you have time to get some testing done before you're using the feeder for real.
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Sep 4, 2018 13:48
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VelociBacon posted:I know intellectually that the betta can fast for 2 days but I would be too distraught thinking about him being hungry, even if he's not wired to get hungry like that and feeding is just a response to visual food stimulus etc. I'm dumb. My office Betta is good even over long weekends. In the wild they aren't eating every day anyways
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Sep 4, 2018 13:59
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Stoca Zola posted:It's more about, you're not there to save him if something goes wrong and all the food gets dumped in by mistake. In two days it could get rotten enough to foul his water to make him sick or outright kill him. But like I always say, there's more than one right way to keep fish, just as long as you're doing your best for your fish's health and wellbeing that's the main thing. Maybe only put one serve of food in the feeder, that way it can't drop too much? Yeah I have 3 days of testing hopefully before I go (depending on when amazon gets the thing to me). w00tmonger posted:My office Betta is good even over long weekends. In the wild they aren't eating every day anyways Yeah I know I just couldn't think about it and be happy when I'm away. Any really good gravel vacuums on Amazon that are goon approved? for an ~8" water level.
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Sep 4, 2018 14:49
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I really love my fluval gravel vac, I have the larger version of this one and my sister uses this smaller one on her tank. The thumb flow control is extremely useful to get the flow right that you're only sucking up filth, and if you suck up something you don't want, you can shut it off completely. The squeezy pump siphon starter is really good. I've used a number of different siphons and this one has worked the best for me. If I just want to do a water change and not suck anything up, I jam a bit of sponge up the end of the tube and I can still start the siphon and get a good amount of flow. Probably the most expensive non-powered non-python siphon out there but I think it's been worth it for me.
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Sep 4, 2018 15:07
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Came home from night shift and did my planted tank. I separated the bushels of plants a little more than I think I should have/needed to. I get the feeling that I overplanted the tank but then I also get the feeling I did a bad enough job on some of the planting that it won't matter (I was using a pair of normal tweezers and holy poo poo what a nightmare to get the roots deep into the gravel and have them stay there).  I got lucky and had a great hiding spot for the filter (you can just see the outlet at the top) behind the tall piece of wood. I also have room there for the heater in the corner which should be good but I'm now wondering if it'll be too large for the tank, guess I gotta look up the dimensions. Stoca Zola posted:I really love my fluval gravel vac, I have the larger version of this one and my sister uses this smaller one on her tank. The thumb flow control is extremely useful to get the flow right that you're only sucking up filth, and if you suck up something you don't want, you can shut it off completely. The squeezy pump siphon starter is really good. I've used a number of different siphons and this one has worked the best for me. If I just want to do a water change and not suck anything up, I jam a bit of sponge up the end of the tube and I can still start the siphon and get a good amount of flow. Probably the most expensive non-powered non-python siphon out there but I think it's been worth it for me. Thanks, I'll try to pick this up if I can find it in Amazon.ca.
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Sep 4, 2018 17:58
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Going to just do a day-later double post because I got some photos of the betta now. I'm no longer really thinking that it has ich but I think it was just stressed and bummed and maybe exposed to too much ammonia or nitrite or whatnot in the previous tank? It's been about 16 hours since he's been in the new tank and he seems much more vigorous, exploring around, intermittently swimming up to the filter flow and then darting back down, etc. He also wasn't very keen on eating this morning but I probably have been overfeeding by giving twice a day anyhow. If anyone has any input about the condition of this betta please let me know!    In the last pic it shows the worse of the two fins - however the areas of fin aren't missing and are just clear which I've read is actually the fin growing back. Apparently it was like this at the store as well. I'm taking the fact that he's way less lethargic to be a good sign and today I'm starting to slowwwly increment the heater to bring the tank from around 73-74 to 78. VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Sep 5, 2018 |
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Sep 5, 2018 18:27
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I am far, far from an expert but I don't see ick there either.
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Sep 5, 2018 18:59
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I'm pretty sure that's not ich, the specks aren't big enough but I do think something is there. I think you're right about it being stress or water-quality related. If you can get your hands on an indian almond leaf to soak in the water of the betta's tank, it has medicinal properties which might help if the issue is fungal or bacterial, but keep an eye on it and if it spreads I'd suspect velvet (a skin parasite), which I've not seen myself but apparently betta can be prone to it. It has a similar lifecycle and similar treatments to ich, and is pretty survivable if you catch it early enough. Check any treatment you use in case it is harmful to plants, you can always use a plastic tub (with a lid!) as a temporary hospital tank during treatment.
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Sep 5, 2018 19:29
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Went to a great local pet store and was given some Betta Revive by the shopkeeper. I read the instructions in the store but (not being american) didn't realize that it's dosing was for quarantine tanks, not for dosing bigger aquariums (1 drop per 16fl oz and the whole container is only 2.5mL). I still have the lovely unfiltered 0.8g plastic tank that the betta came in but I'm really loathe to put him through the stress of going back to it after I just yesterday moved him to the proper 5g tank. I'm tempted to wait for now and tomorrow try to find something I can add to the entire 5g tank (and/or almond leaves). Water temp is now ~78-79F and he's finally extending his fins. I did try shining a light on him and didn't see what I think people identify as Velvet, but I could be wrong.
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Sep 5, 2018 22:33
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Don’t panic, just wait and see. It’s good to have something like that on hand just in case and it looks like it has the right ingredients. The stuff that I thought might be early velvet was the grainy bits around his eye on that last picture and the lighter patch above his gill plate on the second picture. It’s always a balancing act between treatment and avoiding stress. If he starts being covered in more of that grainy stuff, forget stress and get him in his old tank as a hospital tank as you want to stop him from becoming much sicker and covered in that stuff. As long as you’re keeping him warm and the water is the same as his display tank the move shouldn’t stress him too much but you can keep the tank covered ie put a cloth over it to help keep him calm. But it’s not an “act fast” emergency, you’ve got time to watch him closely, prepare the old tank if needed etc. Velvet untreated as far as I know takes days and days to kill a fish. You’ll feel better knowing you’re ready to act if it comes to that.
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Sep 6, 2018 03:10
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Velvet is also yellow, and killis are prone to it especially. I don't see ich or velvet myself. Also, in terms of medication, don't be like me and panic and throw in a ton of medicine like when I thought my plecos needed deworming, again. Turns out they weren't eating from all the stress of the chemical bombs I kept chucking in their tank.
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Sep 7, 2018 01:44
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Thanks guys. I was going to reply earlier but I didn't want to derail the thread too much. Yeah I'm holding off on medication, he's eating well and looking more active and isn't clamping (is it clamping or clumping?) his fins anymore. I'm still nervous about how bad his fins seem to be and I'm not sure if this is discoloration or stuff on him:   I did a ~20% water change yesterday and he seems better than before. Those marks if they're anything don't seem any worse. VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Sep 7, 2018 |
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Sep 7, 2018 02:14
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Please don’t feel bad about posting more, I somehow made over 1000 posts all in this thread. As long as you’re posting about your fish or your tanks I don’t think it’s any kind of derail. It’s a pretty good place to bounce ideas or talk about concerns. That’s a pretty good photo of your little guy so it will make it a lot easier to compare if there any future changes.
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Sep 7, 2018 04:27
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Hello everyone! Can somebody please kindly explain what my assassin snails are up to in this video? Are they mating? Fighting? Trying to eat each other? I happened to notice shortly after I recorded this video that one of them also had excreted something looking like a trail of mucous. What the hell is going on? I hope they're makin' babies  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qUSn5-xK_E
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Sep 7, 2018 16:26
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