The Aquarium Thread: Get him an account he's ready for sea spam

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > The Aquarium Thread: Get him an account he's ready for sea spam

booshi: Aug 14, 2004; ||||||||||

So my betta has been growing in the weeks since I got him from the breeder, and he's turning murderous. I was told in the last thread he would be fine with otos - well in his 5G he had 3 of them as tankmates, but only 1 is left after him attacking them (at least, I think, I caught him nibbling on a body).

So what would do well as a tankmate for this murder machine that will keep the tank clear of algae? I am eventually going to be live planting. Maybe I should just liveplant today, and get a snail?

# ¿ Jun 22, 2013 19:16

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 22:23

booshi: Aug 14, 2004; ||||||||||

demonR6 posted:

@ booshi - some bettas cannot have tank mates, of any kind.. even snails.

Yeah, I figured this murderous guy is one of those. The last oto is with my neighbor now, and my betta is all alone. I'm going to check out some local stores and see what kind of plants they have and plan how I want to plant the tank with what I have available to me. I've been reading some info about aquascaping, and while I wouldn't do something crazy, I was thinking of doing something pretty nice and simple. Some mosses, a few taller plants, and some rocks that have a good "mountain" vibe. Plus, my walls in this room are blue, which would make a good "sky" backdrop.

This is also my first betta that I have gotten when it was younger. He has been changing colors a lot and is very friendly when either myself or the cat come up to the tank (he swims up and shows his fins, but he's not full on flaring or anything).

He is him on 6/6:

Here he is today on 6/22:

I hope his red starts to show more. I love the white band around the outside of his fins. His pectoral fins are getting really big too!

# ¿ Jun 22, 2013 21:51

booshi: Aug 14, 2004; ||||||||||

So I checked out what plants are available to me, and I'm starting to plan planting my tank. I have two questions:

1. I only have my betta. Should I get temporary housing for him while I set up the tank? The tank is already established but I was wondering if I should give it a few weeks or so with the plants before putting my betta in.

2. Where is a good place to find some rock for the aquarium? Not gravel, but larger rocks with a mountainous look to them (but not too large for a 5G). I'm thinking of doing something Amano-esque.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2013 18:47

booshi: Aug 14, 2004; ||||||||||

demonR6 posted:

So long as you are not tearing down the tank completely you should be fine planting and not having to rehome the betta. I would at least move him out while you are planting though. If you can avoid netting him, I use one of those hang on back breeder boxes and lure him to the top with food and scoop him before he realizes what is up. Cover the top so he does not jump out and you are all good.

There are a few varieties of Japanese aquascaping stone available some more expensive than others. Don't just throw any stone in there because some are harmful for fish.

Yeah I was going to move him to a ~1 gallon small tank I can borrow from a neighbor while I work on the tank. He'll be easy to get without a net, as he's very quickly learned my hand = food.

# ¿ Jun 23, 2013 21:10

booshi: Aug 14, 2004; ||||||||||

cheese posted:

So my little container pond has been up and running for a few days now.

(sorry about the lovely cell phone picture)

24" wide walmart plastic container (~18 inches deep)
About 2 inches of Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil on the bottom with about an inch of play sand to cap it. An 8x8" cinder block with a pair of bricks on top, supporting a 12" square cinder block tile to achieve the right height for the immersed plants. The three immersed plants in the back are water mint, parrots feather and variegated golden candles. 2x water hyicanths on either side, with some duckweed and a couple of amazon frogbit. I've got 2x bunches of anarchis, one floating and the other planted at the bottom along side some wisteria and an amazon sword. pH is high at ~7.7 but I swear the duckweed has already doubled and both frogbit's have sent out a new runner with a leaf at the end, so the water can't be that bad.

4 platies (male and 3 females) round it out and just now, contrasted against he light grey tile, I think I see a baby platy swimming around. Adding a tiny bit of fish food each afternoon and so far so good. I may or may not add a few white cloud mountain minnows, as the platies are rarely seen so far and appear to be enjoying the cinder block cave too much. Thanks for all the help and we will see how this develops over the summer.

Yay I can chime in with a few things because all of my experience comes from ponds (my teenage years were spent working in the water gardening department of a nursery).

Looks like a good spot for it against that fence so that it's not getting sun all day. The parrot's feather and water mint are both creepers, and can tend to grow out sideways and out of the pond (just so you know). If your levels are good and maintained in the pond, your hyacinth may start multiplying like crazy. If so, make a "pond friend" by giving another pond owner your extras. If the plants and fish are doing well and the pH is staying around the same place, keep it as is. It's much better to just have a constant pH rather than a constantly fluctuating one.

I love that you put some of the anacharis so that it floats, as most people don't do that in ponds, then miss out on it flowering (little white flowers sprout up all along parts of it, usually those on/above the surface). Where do you live, unless I missed it? Just wondering as if you're in an area where it gets cold enough that will freeze all of those plants and fish probably won't survive the Winter in a small, shallow pond like that.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2013 14:16

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