harpua2002

Here's a pic of our betta tank. It's a 5.5 gallon heavily planted tank with a mix of Eco Complete and natural colored gravel. Lighting is 2x 10W screw-in PC bulbs, no CO2, no ferts. The ghost shrimp have done well for keeping algae at bay, although I need to scrape the glass, lol. The star of the show is Cowboy, our halfmoon betta. Not a great pic of him, but at least you can see how pretty his fins are!

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Martinismommy

Giddie up Cowboy! You are one handsome boy!

callichma

Very dashing boy. He looks like he's saying something in the second picture. Wonder what it is.

bolivianbaby

Beautiful betta! Welcome to Fishlore, Cowboy!

harpua2002

Thanks guys!

The pic doesn't do him any justice at all.
He's the most mellow boy out of any that I've kept in the past, though at the same time, very active. I've had him for about a month and have yet to see him flare. He's still small, just over an inch minus tail, so it's nice to be able to grow him out.

MissMTS

Hi Harpua

Cowboy is darling! I love his name. The tank looks great

iloveengl

The plants are fantastic - I can't keep anything but moss balls alive LOL. Your betta boy is an absolute stunner. I've never seen that combo of colors, but I love it! Thanks for the pictures

harpua2002

Thanks! So far so good, I'm just looking forward to when the plants actually grow out more. I'm a huge fan of Eco Complete and have always had great success with it in planted tanks.

Nate McFin

Beautiful fish and very healthy plants!

aquarist48

Hello harpua. He's beautiful! Thanks for sharing Cowboy with us. I know he's going to love his beautiful home.
Ken

peacemaker92

Hi harpua. He looks cute! Great name too Congrats!

shellbell4ever

Very nice tank and setup and Cowboy is a very Handsome Guy,I love his coloring as well!!!

beyzagorkemli

I love your boy , and your tank seems very nice, congrats

Lucy

He's a gorgeous boy! Congratulations

fishtroy

What a lovely halfmoon, they are always breathtaking! What colours would you say he is? He looks to have some yellowy green on his tail or is it just a trick of the light? If not then what unique colours.

harpua2002

Thanks! His body color is a metallic steel blue, and when the light hits his fins the right way you can see yellow in them with shiny blue around the edges. He's a beautiful boy, and I am loving his laid back attitude.

hooxeii

Beautiful plants! If I hadn't spent so much money on plastic decor, I'd just re-do my tanks with live plants.

Gorgeous betta!

harpua2002

Thanks!

I have several planted tanks and since I started with them, I won't ever be able to go back to fake plants.

fishtroy

What a rare colour combo, love it!

uprightandlocked

Where do you get your plants from? Are they snail free?

harpua2002

I got the crypts, anubias, and marimo ball from Petco, and the rest of the plants are from other tanks that my husband and I already had set up. From our other tanks I added needle leaf java fern and corkscrew val. I doubt if the plants are snail free. I never have problems with snail overpopulation because I've found that a snail population will only grow to the point that a food source can support it. Regular tank maintenance (weekly 50% water changes) helps, and I'm careful not to overfeed. I have plenty of snails in several of the tanks, but never to the point where they become a problem.

The seller we met tonight for our African cichlids actually gave us some more plants, so I'll be adding frogbit and maybe some floating riccia to Cowboy's tank in a bit.

fishtroy

What kind of snails are we talking about? Regular Sea Snails that just reproduce and take over, or poisonous pest snails?

harpua2002

Poisonous? That's new to me...

I have pond (pest) snails and MTS in all my planted tanks, to some degree. IME neither will reach plague proportions with a good maintenance schedule and without overfeeding.

fishtroy

Interesting, I had some teeny tiny pest snails in a tank once, my goldfish that was in the tank got the idea in his head to swallow one and it poisoned him. Maybe it was a particular breed of snail that caused this, different to the ones you know.

harpua2002

Did it poison him or cause some sort of blockage/injury?

fishtroy

It appeared to be a poison as it affected the other fish in the tank. She did not eat any but (more slowly than the one that ate it) started to go downhill, exhibiting the same symptoms as the other but less severe. I called a reputable aquarium and inquired as to the cause, trying to save my fish, I described the symptoms & the snail, I was told that they are indeed poisonous and that there was nothing I could do to save the second goldfish once the poison was in their system, he said that the little pest snail was toxic and that the plants should never be sold if they were suspected to have this variety of pest snail on them.

uprightandlocked

I once had a mollie tank that I put java moss in and before I knew it I must have had a thousand pest snails in there. This is why I have never gone for live plants in my tanks (until I saw the packaged Petco ones) because I do not want any snails whatsoever in my tank. It took all the joy out of keeping fish for me and I was very happy to see the day when I could take that tank apart and be done with it.

harpua2002

I've had a tank or two with snail infestations, and I've even treated with Had a Snail (would NOT recommend). I clean more and feed less than I used to and I haven't had a problem since.

fishtroy

Interesting. . .
I must say my experience left me with a similar outlook to uprightandlocked, I have avoided using live plants ever since. I am thinking of giving them another try though, DEFINITELY from a different place. I just get worried as I do not want to risk my bettas health for anything. If I were to buy a plant, what is the best snail free kind for bettas?

harpua2002

Bettas don't really care what plants you put in with them. They like to rest in leaves and explore their surroundings- they really seem to enjoy decor. Your betta won't care if the plants are real or fake, but for me there is no choice, lol.

Easy low light plants include anubias, java fern, java moss, and crypts, for starters. The Marimo ball in my tank is quite easy to keep as well.

It's important to research the plants you want before you buy them. Many of the plants in the tubes at Petco/Petsmart are not true aquatics and will die in your tank and pollute the water.