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Bettas are fine beginner fish, and a single betta usually does well in a nice small tank with plants. Getting it set up first with just plants is a good step anyway though.
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Jul 16, 2013 09:17
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Can you feed the other fish before, or will they still go after the wafer? Got any rocks or driftwood you can hide it under where he'll usually go? You could also try boiled veg like zucchini and peas that wont attract the other fish.
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Jul 17, 2013 05:36
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Red Red Red posted:I've had my tank for 4 months and its been perfectly stable, I started getting some green algae about a month and a half ago and added an algae eater to it, no algae since. Well 2 days ago the water started going from perfectly clear to really yellow and cloudy today. The fish were at the very top looking like they were gasping for air. You could confirm if its a nitrate spike by testing the water. One of the other things that can cause sudden cloudiness is a bacterial bloom. Aside from what you're doing, add some non iodized salt to your water. A heaped teaspoon should do for your tank size. Also when you said you changed the filter, did you replace it with a new uncycled one?
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Jul 21, 2013 02:02
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Yeah, that's a fair bit of light, judging from the reflection. What time was that photo taken? I'd ask how long the artificial lights are on, but the position of the algae pretty much suggests that its the sunlight doing all of it, unless your artificial lights are somehow in front of the tank. Try find ways to cut down on the sunlight, even partially and see if that doesnt help. More plants can help slow it down, but the light seems like it'll still cause a lot of your algae.
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Jul 22, 2013 06:26
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http://www.hydroponics-simplified.com/leca.html Thats what they look like to me. Never seen them used as substrate though!
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Jul 23, 2013 05:23
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As long as you have a pre-filter for it, you should do fine. As an extra precaution on my own HOB filter, I've got a chunk of foam that fits around the intake to keep shrimp and snails out. Doesnt stop them from grazing on it though, they just love the filter doing most of the work for them. Otherwise an air driven sponge filter if you want something that'll guarantee no casualties.
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Jul 24, 2013 00:44
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Tried liberally applying vaseline or teflon tape? Its not a permanent solution, but should hold for awhile.
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Jul 25, 2013 23:59
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dirtycajun posted:So two questions, how long am I going to be soaking this previously dry driftwood before it sinks (I only ever used rocks before, this poo poo is super buoyant!) and how long do I cycle a tank before thinking of adding the plant life? Depends on the size and type of driftwood, but anywhere up to a week. What kind is it? Also chuck those plants right in there. They're probably carrying bacteria and stuff that'll help the cycle get started, as Zaffy mentioned.
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Jul 29, 2013 00:11
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I used to add Flourish and Flourish Excel, but havent in awhile while I ran a DIY co2 setup. The co2 was kind of nuts and gave me crazy growth, but I'll leave it off for awhile now. I may start up on excel again since the algae is getting out of control without it. I have a layer of soil and fertilizer under gravel for root feeders.
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Jul 29, 2013 09:23
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Hmmm, it's not this stuff is it?  That's Fluval Shrimp Stratum.
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Jul 29, 2013 10:49
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Chido posted:I had soaked the wood for a few days in hot water according to its instructions to get as much tannin(?) out of it. It's been in my tank for a few days now and the water is slowly changing colors. Should I be concerned or will a change of filter help fix that? Looks like anubias and some java ferns from the photo, good choices! Dont worry about the driftwood, it'll continue to leech tannins out like an old teabag til it's depleted. Just keep up with the weekly water changes.
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Aug 2, 2013 10:32
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Congrats on your bundles of baby bass!  Shakenbaker, gotta concur, that does seem like a lot of MTS. I had a giant explosion when I first introduced them after having a snail-less tank for a year, and they went through all the uneaten debris in the substrate. They're back down to more reasonable levels now, thankfully.
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Aug 7, 2013 04:02
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Shakenbaker posted:Thread title hitting a little close to home... There's a reason it's there. I think everyone goes through it whenever they choose or have snails forced on them.  My chain loaches arent complaining though. They love digging up and eating those guys.
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Aug 8, 2013 01:17
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Impulse purchases are always a bad idea. Take note of that thing that caught your eye, go do research before buying it so you dont end up with a footlong monster in your betta cup.
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Aug 11, 2013 03:09
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It can help if the cause of your ph crash is the carbonate hardness being eaten up. Test your water at the source and in tank. If the ph drop is only in the tank, and you can test kh and that is zero, that may be the issue. In that case, adding a carbonate source like shells or coral is your solution.
Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 11:16 on Aug 11, 2013 |
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Aug 11, 2013 11:11
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My cories filthied up the tank glass again! Eggs! Eggs everywhere! 
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Aug 13, 2013 11:15
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Once java ferns acclimatize, you wont know what the hell to do with all the new buds and sprouts. I've got one that's been living in my tank for ages now and I swear its reproducing almost as fast as the duckweed. Every time I clean the prefilter its covered in baby java fern plants. Good thing its one of the pretty varieties (pictured below, not my tank) but I'm going to have to start selling or throwing them out. It's getting ridiculous.
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Aug 14, 2013 01:13
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Its crazy. Every leaf has about a dozen spore spots on the underside. When the leaf dies, each one turns into a new plant. Baby ferns all over the place.
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Aug 14, 2013 02:07
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I know, right? I must be doing something right, because I'm getting all sorts of stuff growing by just floating there. Java ferns, water sprite, mosses. Even Java moss has made a reappearance after I ditched it a year ago, but a leaf must have hung around somewhere.
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Aug 14, 2013 22:00
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My betta will lurk in the back and in the plants to avoid the current when he can. Cant turn it down because the cories and loaches love it. He will charge headlong into the filter outflow when I'm dropping food into it though.
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Aug 19, 2013 00:43
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Zandorv posted:I'm having issues with my Betta and feeding. Over the past couple of weeks I found that whenever I feed him, he begins to bloat and pinecone. At first I thought it was dropsy, but when I fasted him, he went back down and acted like his old happy self again. When I started feeding him again, he started bloating and pineconing again and seemed to have some swim bladder issues. I fasted him again and now he's gone back down and is acting just fine. I have no idea what this could be. Are these normal signs of some kind of chronic constipation issue or something? Should I just change his food, or is there something more serious going on? Does he go back down on his own or do you have to fast him before he returns to normal? Its pretty unlikely to be dropsy given that it's been weeks. What're you feeding him normally? Try feeding him a shelled pea, see if that helps his digestive issues. Slugworth: 4's still a pretty small number and they're probably nervous as hell without company. Cant really be helped, small fish need a lot of backup before they're bold enough to wander around midtank.
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Aug 20, 2013 02:13
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Checking up a bit more and it does seem like swim bladder disorder caused by overeating, except for the pineconing all over the body, which is the only symptom that does not match. Have you tried feeding different amounts to him? The pea suggestion still sticks, if nothing else, it'll give his guts a good scrub, then try feeding less for awhile.
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Aug 20, 2013 04:54
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Are those all individual fish? That's a pretty drat good rate for a tank that got shut down!
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Aug 22, 2013 05:31
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If it's a carpeted tank, there wont be vacuuming. If its areas of plants in bare gravel, then work your way carefully around the plants. I generally dont vacuum. Between shrimp, cories and MTS snails the gravel is kept pretty clean for the top layer and the rest is worked down into the soil layer which is where the mess can break down and be reused by the plants.
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Aug 23, 2013 01:53
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How could you do it Lingcod?! They trusted you!
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Aug 23, 2013 02:43
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Oh well, if its any consolation, you'll be prepared when they're tired of 'BABIES!'  mode and go into 'WHERE'D ALL THIS FREE FOOD COME FROM?!' mode.
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Aug 23, 2013 04:00
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The good LFS posted a pic of one of their bigger fish: A gold spot gibbicep. 
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Aug 23, 2013 09:47
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Ugh, I swear something's wrong with my 4 gallon shrimp tank. The water's fine but my shrimp keep dropping their eggs! Otherwise they're fine and healthy, there's no predation, they're having shrimp sex and getting berried, but the ladies will all drop their egg clusters in a week.
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Aug 27, 2013 09:28
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In an adult, those markings would be stress lines, but I dont know a thing about baby bettas. edit: Tore out a whole bunch of plants that werent working, shoved stuff around, planted more vals. Fish are all sulky and the filter's still working at clearing out the crap. 
Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 12:07 on Sep 1, 2013 |
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Sep 1, 2013 11:33
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I tore out my water sprite because it looks gross after the leaves age a bit and my bronze crypts since they decided to turn from 12-leafed, 2 inch tall plants into 3 leafed, 4 inch tall gangly weirdos. Tank got too murky to see what the hell I was doing, so I'm letting it settle before doing some final pushing around. edit: Got home after work and yup, still cloudy. 
Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Sep 2, 2013 |
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Sep 2, 2013 05:24
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Can I pick a thread title or what? And cripes, the only time I saw my frogbit with roots that crazy was when they first came in from an outdoor pond in full sunlight.
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Sep 2, 2013 14:26
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Yeah, my frogbits' roots are nowhere near as large now, only about an inch long. They've also shrunk since I got them from the seller who raised them in an outdoor pond. Rather than the inch diameter the leaves were before, they're now only the size of my thumbnail. They're cute that way and dont get in the way. When they were at full size they just took up so much space! Since your lighting is so great though, you might want to look at azolla if you're sick of fighting frogbit roots. I couldnt get it going because it demanded better lighting, but you might have better luck given how your floaters like it.
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Sep 3, 2013 00:20
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You're only human, demonR6. Everyone's had their share of mistakes in this hobby.
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Sep 6, 2013 09:05
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Water fleas or the like I'd guess. Is your betta gorging himself on them or leaving them alone?
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Sep 9, 2013 02:21
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Them turning up after a water change is pretty weird given that you dont look like you have new plants or creatures which are the major source of accidental hitchhikers, but them being free swimming dots does help narrow it down to fleas, copepods, seed shrimp, etc which are pretty harmless and just provide extra snacks for your betta. How old is this tank? Given that they're unlikely to have spontaneously generated, they probably existed in your tank in very low numbers and conditions have changed recently (your snail dying and leaving uneaten food sources, for example?) that permitted them to go into a population boom. I wouldnt worry about them unless they're really going nuts and filling the tank with themselves, then you might take a look at invertebrate control medication. Just be aware that inverts are very sensitive, so you'll want to avoid this if you intend to put snails or shrimp in the tank again in the future.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:34
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It's really hard to say. I was thinking more that with the snail gone, they've got more algae to eat and there's your population boom, but that's just a hunch. Otherwise try feeding only what your fish will eat and keep an eye on their population. And yeah, while your betta's healing up, it's best to leave other medication out of it. They're harmless otherwise and are a source of free snacks for your betta.
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Sep 9, 2013 03:38
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Aw yeah more babies for eatin.   And I think my moss still needs a trim or to be tied down again. Its getting a little unruly. Pretty pleased with its growth though!
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Sep 9, 2013 11:32
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Hahah that's amazing. Guess they really like the led lights. Having ridiculous growth is good though. It means less free floating nutrients, and removing extra floaters is a much easier task than with other plants.
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Sep 15, 2013 12:10
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You could try tying them to weights, so they dont float up even if they get dug up.
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Sep 17, 2013 01:06
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| # ¿ May 12, 2024 21:04 |
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Cute fish there, both look pretty much like bettas to me. I'm also boggling at the mental image of a dog on a 10g tank. As for lighting setups, there's a ton of variety available, from tube fluorescents, to led strips to halogen thingys. I can only comment on my own setups though:  I currently light my tanks with the window, which provides indirect daylight, and a 16 watt Daylight 4400K compact bulb in an Ikea light stand. I dont use the LED light anymore. It's on for 6 hours a day and I dont have too bad of an algae problem except on parts of the tank really close to the light. The LEDs came with the tank, but didnt do much for the plants other than keep them barely alive. Since adding the cfl, I've had tons of plant growth. Lots of algae too, but tons of plant growth. Guess it all depends on your lights though. If you look at Kharnifex's post above, you can see his plants absolutely love his LEDs. Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Sep 17, 2013 |
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Sep 17, 2013 07:14
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