maia

Hi everyone. I posted in the beginners section a few weeks ago while cycling my tank and again last week trying to figure out what fish to put in. Weeeeelll, the long wait is over at last and now I get to enjoy the hard work of...waiting for bacteria to grow, ugh.

I have dwarf cories, kuhli loaches and one bright red betta. Everyone seems to be doing well. The loaches are like a bunch of cats, curling up with each other. There is one that is abnormally social. He's always out and about. I haven't really seen them eat a full meal (I've seen them scrounge) so I'm a little worried that the cories are stealing all their food. Originally I had two cories, now there are four. They look happier with company. I heard it's bad luck to name fish, but I think I will name the betta. I need to figure out what his personality's like first though. So far he seems to be quite a picky eater (oh no...) and very nosy. He keeps sneaking into the loaches rock cave to see what's going on. Trouble maker.

Attached Images

	fishies 007.jpg (145.2 KB, 165 views)
	fishies 010.jpg (155.6 KB, 152 views)

chris02_84

very beautiful!!!

Butterfly

Very nice!! I love the cave. The kuhli as well as the Corys will enjoy shrimp pellets. In order for all your bottom dwellers to get food you may have to drop pellets in several different places.
Carol

newbie101

oh wow what a pretty betta!!!! In the second picture he just looks so colorful and, well, betta-ish! That is an excellent example of what a betta is really supposed to look like, not lying on the bottom of a tiny bowl with clamped fins.

beckers4oranges

i love ur betta...i have 5 of them...

fish_r_friend

RoboDude

I love it!!!!

Isabella

Lovely fish and lovely tank setup

chickadee

That is one gorgeous betta! (and I don't believe in the superstition about naming your fish - all of mine have names even before I get them.) He is so pretty and I can see he knows it. You can see the personality simply shining out of him. Like Emma says, he is "betta-ish", they are supposed to be full of themselves. Beautiful set-up in your tank. Very original and clean looking not overcrowded.

Rose

Parvath

Excellent setup for a first tank

maia

Thanks for all the kind comments! I was pretty nervous about setting up my first tank and having disaster strike. But, it seems to be going well and any drama is a learning experience - it wouldn't be worth it if it weren't difficult.

I decided to name the betta Mr. Velvetine, because he introduced velvet into the tank and now it's currenly undergoing treatment. Besides having to explain to people that the cories are just itchy and they're not having seizures...all's well. Mr. Velvetine has a strange character. Nothing seems to bother him. I catch him just sitting on top of his tank mates sometimes. If I sit in front of the tank he stares right back. BUT as soon as he sees my hand, even if it's just a finger he gets scared. He's a picky eater so I'm still exploring foods that'll inspire him (he's pretty enthusiastic about the pellets for the cories and loaches...but he can't hog them all!!). The plants (the short ones in the foreground were clippings of the bigger plant in the back) have GROWN. The clippings are now almost to the top of the tank. Crazy, I don't know what to do with them.

newbie101

if you don't want them that tall, clip them and throw the clippings away, unless you have another tank to give them to.* Though I wouldn't give them to anybody because Mr. Velvetine (cute name BTW ) has velvet.

Jon

argh why cant my tank look like that... its so pretty

0morrokh

Nice pics! And gorgeous Betta!
Yeah I don't believe in superstitions...all my fish have names and I did not lose a single fish in my first try at tropical fishkeeping.* I'm not trying to brag or anything, just saying go ahead and name your fish, it won't make a bit of difference.* A lot of people name their fishies.

Gunnie

Pretty tank! What lucky fishies you have!