Betta's 2.5 Gallon Tank

Have you received your root tabs yet? Add those then it will take some time for them to perk up. I added my tabs today for the same reason! My swords are a little worse off than yours.

Edit: I also dose seachem flourish ~weekly for my plants too. I really don't know how well they are doing yet.

 

Yeah, I added a root tab yesterday. I don't does flourish or anything, but I might in the future.

 

Whoo!!! Nitrates!

Seachem isn't kidding around with this Stability stuff. My ammonia has gone down by .6 in the past 48 hours (note that I did a 25% water change, but that's not really enough to get rid of that much ammonia), my Nitrite has gone up to 0.3 ppm, and my Nitrate is now testing at 15 ppm. Fish and snails are doing great, even if the plants are struggling. I have a new leaf starting to come in on my banana plant (or my nanners, if you're from Kentucky) and have spotted a new shoot on my Anubias. My Sword is struggling the most, but I'm hoping it's just struggling to adjust to a lower light-nutrience tank. My Anubias has actually anchored itself to the rock pretty tightly, and my clean-up crew made up of MTS have taken to eating the dead bits of Anacharis that were left behind after all of it got moved to my Walstad Jar. Oscar's blue scales have begun turning to a light purple/dark blue combo when in the right light, so it's amazing to watch him when he's riled up or eating. He's a beautiful fish, and I'm oh so glad that tank broke at the LFS.

Thanks to all that have helped me not murder my fish!

 

I think it looks great. Well done.

 

Thanks! This is kinda my first go around at anything remotely planted, so if you have any reccomendations, let me know!

 

Just got home and tested water parameters, and apparently I've had a huge spike of ammonia. I don't know if a snail died or maybe something hitchhiked in on a plant and died, but Ammonia tested around 0.5, Nitrite tested 0.5, and Nitrate tested 20. I did a huge WC (7 litres out of a 10 litre tank) and double dosed prime. So far all the fish and visible snails are fine, so I think I'm good. I'll try and post pics either later tonight or in the morning when the water has settled.

I'm seeing plant growth too! 2 new Anacharis leaves have started to unfurl, and my banana plant has also given off a new leaf. My Sword is still looking rough, but I'm hoping it'll perk up soon. We'll see!

 

NO AMMONIA???

Just got home, tested the water in Oscars tank and rescaped a bit... no ammonia, but I've had a huge spike of Nitrite (I dosed Prime... sooooo much Prime), and a pretty large Nitrate spike. I'm hoping this means the cycle is nearly over, but I'm not sure. I've made it through this far with 0 deaths, as all plants are still alive as well as all snails and fish. I'll post pics of the new "scape" when the water settles (hint: there isn't any scape, as I wanted more room for plants and for Oscar to swim around in)

I've also been having issues with hair algae, which I'm hoping is just the result of high nutrience during the cycle.

 

Pics! Decided to use Imgur this time because I'm tired of resizing pics.







So, I removed the rock from the tank, as my PH had started rising, and I believe it was due to the rock. I also wanted to give more room for plants, as the rock took up over half of the sand space. I've got algae growing on the glass, and the MTS won't get on the glass because Oscar attacks them. So me and my toothbrush have been cleaning the front wall of the tank everyday. You can see that in the pics, while I do have new leaves coming in, the plants are covered in what I assume is hair algae. Can anyone confirm?

 

I miss the rock, it was pretty! Lol. It still looks great though!

If it's like a brown "dust" it's probably diatoms, harmless, common in new tanks, (also why some are deterred from white substrate) and eventually goes away on its own.

 

Yeah, if I ever upgrade him to a 5.5 gallon the rock will definitely be in the tank. It was just taking up too much room. And no, this isn't diatoms. I do have some diatoms, but I also have the hairy stuff on the plants and a lot of green algae of the glass.

 

In that case I've read to turn your light off for a couple hours in the middle of the day. I had some on the anacharis that looked like long strands of hair, but the plant was dying so I just threw the whole thing away. But something about how breaking up the photo period doesn't bother the plants but the algae doesn't like it.

 

Hello all!

This is my first post to the forum, so if I mess up too bad don't be afraid to say something!
I'm a fishkeeper of 4-5 years, and have kept a variety of freshwater and saltwater tanks until I got out of the hobby last year after a major tank crash. However, Sunday I went to my LFS to get some food for my pups and left with a male veiltale betta. His display tank had cracked and they offered him and what was in his tank to me for $5 since they didn't have a free betta-friendly tank. So I took Oscar (the betta) home to an uncycled 2.5 gallon tank since that's all that I have. Money is tight right now, so upgrading really isn't an option. I have a tetra 15W heater (piece of , but it keeps the water at around 76) and a azoo palm filter with the sponge pad an a pack of carbon. I'm also using a Finnex 12" light fixture (not sure of model) that lights the little tank up amazingly well. I pretty much had to set the tank up and throw him in, which makes me pretty uncomfortable about the whole situation. I've never kept bettas before, so I don't really know how hardy they are and how well he's gonna handle everything. I'm 3 days in and he's got a lot more vibrant color-wise, as well as more active. He's also built what I'm assuming is a tiny bubble nest, which I've read is a sign of happiness. Is there anything I should look out for in the next few days? Symptoms of sickness or stress? Anything specific bettas need? I'm considering maybe trying to plant this tank once I've got money coming in and everything gets settled down.

Thanks!


(Oscar earlier today)

Thanx for the click bait, I was like an Oscar in a 2.5 tank! Glad it aint so.

 

Haha, thought that might get me some views! Nah, I've never kept Oscars and have no interest in doing so.

 

And Angel, I might try that. I think that maybe too where I've been dosing so much prime and stability plus the ammonia buildup may have caused the issue, plus my LFS had a problem with hair algae a couple years ago that I thought they fixed. We'll see! In the meantime, watching these plants grow is great. I figured out I actually have 2 anubias, but they were tangled up and had grown as one. My banana plant is already looking greener with that extra leaf. The sword is still having a lot of issues, but I'm hopeful. When I get my wish of going a little brackish in my walstad jar I'll be taking the sword out of there and putting into this tank, so I'm thinking of a sword on each side of the tank, framing the other plants. I'd also love to get some duckweed growing, but I'm not sure if I can find any, as it's considered a pest.

 

I got some frogbit, water lettuce, and moss from cichlidman, and they looked great. He lists duckweed also. Here's his ad:
Live plants for sale! Shrimps TOO!! Some fish and supplies | Buy, Sell, Trade, Free 250972

 

Nice to know, thanks for the link!

I think I'm gonna give the tank a week or two to settle again and research plants before I buy any. But once the algae has cleared and my sword gets into better shape Imma fill this sucker up with green

 

So, I spent most of the past 24 hours trying to make myself a DIY CO2 system - I did it!

I used the yeast method, which involves taking yeast and warm sugar water and mixing it into a 2 liter bottle. The yeast grow and create CO2, which is gathered through airline tubing and eventually makes its way into the tank. It cost me about $9, and is a lot cheaper than a pressurized system.

PICS!!!
- The yeast bottle
- CO2 collection bottle
- both bottles
- Airline tubing that's connected into my HOB intake.
- The intake. I drilled a 7 mm hole into the side of the tube, which allows the bubble to rise into the motor where it's chopped up into about 90000 different pieces. It's loud, but very effective. And I won't have it on at night anyway, as my snails would suffocate.

I'm hoping to get some plants to keep the tube and the intake hidden, and suggestions on a fast grower that'd hide it? I have anacharis but I was hoping something a little different would be possible.

 

Just got home, and plants are pearling! Very excited. So far, everything seems to be going well. Thinking about maybe picking up a new plant tomorrow, maybe on that's not so common. Suggestions?

 

-Whole tank shot
-Anubias leaves pearling
-Banana plant
-Sword is also pearling

 

New additions today! I went to the lfs and bought some Ghost shrimp (2 females) and cherry shrimp. Ghosts are going with Oscar, Cherries are going into their own tiny home. My flourish also came in today, so I'm now dosing the 0.2 mls that this tank requires.

I floated the bag in the tank for about 2 hours until Oscar stopped ramming the bag. Once he lost all interest, I loosed them into the tank. There was one conflict, where Oscar cornered both of the ghosts. But, then one of them pinched his snout (no serious damage, I checked) and now he avoids them at all cost... It was kinda funny to see a 2 inch fish dart away from a 0.5 inch shrimp.

I also rescaped! The rock is back! Half of it anyway. PICS BELOW!!!!

- whole tank
- Ghost shrimp seconds after defeating a predator 4 times its size

 

Yay the rock's back!! love it! Wouldn't it have been great if you'd have gotten the showdown on video! One tough shrimp!

 

Yeah, I wish I could've gotten the video!!! He still darts after them if they come up to the surface, but he's too slow to catch them. I think they've kinda already learned to avoid him. They stick to climbing on the swords, cleaning the pores on the rock, and sifting through the sand. One of them is berried, which is cool. I'm not gonna plug my filter intake or try to save the shrimplets, but if a few survive I'd be pretty happy. My RCS are also berried too, so I'm hoping to get a decent colony and maybe even sell some eventually. They're rare around here (we have a hard time getting them into the LFS, as the company they order from don't deal with many inverts) and no one really breeds them. Anyone got any reccomendations on what to feed both species? The RCS are for sure gonna need some supplemental feeding (I was thinking boiled greens) and I may throw in a bit for the ghosties every now and then before a WC. They have plenty to eat, but a treat is nice now and then. Just for anyone wondering, this CO2 system is great. I've seen huge amounts of algae die off, and new leaves everywhere since I set it up. Could just be a coincidence, but I doubt it. Having a bit of a bio film issue though, but I think I may have solved it by turning up my filter a bit (Oscar wasn't happy, but he got over it pretty quickly). I'd reccomend it, $10 for a system that if you like, takes 5 minutes a week to renew. If you don't like it, $10 wasted. Big deal.

 

I know nothing about shrimp but the CO2 you made is great! And it's good you're getting results too!

 

Thanks! I also dosed my first bit of flourish today too. Hoping to see some decent growth out of the swords and maybe get a lilypad from the banana plant. I'd LOVE to try DHG but I just don't think my tank would support it. Also considered a java moss carpet as well, but I love the look of DHG. Maybe in a month or two lol

 

So the Shrimp did not make it (I had a HUGE spike of Nitrite, over 1.5 ppm), and I found the culprit - I dead snail that had gotten squished while I was scaping. Whoops.

I did a 100% WC, and set the tank back up. My tank was pretty well cycled (I haven't seen Nitrite in 2-3 days now) and I figured it'd be okay. Do you think maybe injecting the CO2 into the HoB could be killing my BB? I mean the snails that didn't get turned into mush are doing fine with 02 levels, so I'd guess that my BB would be fine. I don't think snails are more hardy than my BB. Thoughts?

 

Sorry about your shrimp . I don't know about the CO2 and BB, but I'd just say watch you parameters and you'll know!

 

Thanks. I was honestly prepared for the ghosts to become Oscar food, so it's not too bad. Still sucks.

I added the mega dose of stability that I was doing last week, and am hoping I've just hit a slow point in the cycle. Also dosed prime just to be safe. All the plants are going INSANE in this tank. My banana plant had 2-3 new leaves+roots growing (it now resides in my shrimp jar, cause I wasn't loving how it looked). The anubias also has a couple of leaves developing. The sword I got from my LFS has grown at least an inch or so since I got it, and all the emersed leaves have died. The Sword I got from the tube at petsmart is sprouting 3-4 submersed leaves as well, and I'm hoping to get one of these swords to put out runners as I'd love a single large sword in my shrimp jar. Anyway, it seems all life in the tank is doing pretty well. I've spotted 2 MTS babies, which I'm pretty glad about. Algae is quickly becoming an issue. The lone ramshorn is still doing well, I see it crawling around all the time. I'm still watching and waiting for the day that my tank will be getting some Hairgrass... can't wait for it!

 

Update!

I made myself a siphon out of airline tubing and cleaned up my sand, as well has moved the banana plant to my shrimp jar. I think I may have dosed too much flourish, as I've seen a ton of diatoms (I know it's normal to have some, but I can clean off my glass and it's covered again in 12 hours) so the tank isn't pretty. Anyway, picture time!

https://imgur.com/DCLKGaT

Not much has changed. Between the betta's bubble nest and the fresh bottle of co2, the surface is full of bubbles. But I like the look of it if I'm being honest!

 

I can't see your video but it sounds great! I'm fighting diatoms in one of mine too. Well actually in both but one has black sand so I can only see it on a couple leaves but the white sand it's obvious! I'm waiting till my tanks cycle to get some snails! Lol

 

I can't see your video but it sounds great! I'm fighting diatoms in one of mine too. Well actually in both but one has black sand so I can only see it on a couple leaves but the white sand it's obvious! I'm waiting till my tanks cycle to get some snails! Lol

It isn't a video, its a picture from Imgur. Is it showing as a vid?

 

Ummm...

We have a problem.

I just did my daily water test. Yesterday I had 0/0.25/1-2. Today, I have 0/0/0. How?

I don't have enough plants in my tank to eat up all of that, do I? Unless maybe it was algae? I'm very confused and any advice would be great.

 

Params are still 0/0/0. I'm a bit confused on that, but I think I may have found part of the issue.

I've had a pretty large algae bloom (diatoms, "green spot algae", hair algae (I hate it. Issue in every tank I've ever kept.) and blue-green algae). I think part of this is me dosing a bit too much flourish (I read the syringe wrong... ugh) and also keeping the lights on by accident for about 20 hours. I fell asleep and the tank just ran all night. I think that maybe all this algae is using up any Nitrate that I'd be seeing. I'm seeing pretty signifigant growth out of my plants as well, so I'm pleased with that. I've spotted some new snails, both ramshorns and MTS. I'm happy with that, as they'll help with some of the algae. I'm not sure how to treat the Blue green algae and hair algae, as I've heard that snails won't even touch them unless they're starving. Can anyone offer any insight?

 

Parameters have been 0/0/0 for near a week now. Maybe my cycle has just gone silent?

I don't know. Either way, the algae problem is getting a bit out of hand. Specifically the cyanobacteria. it's spread pretty fast, I'm not sure what to do. The other algae seems to be somewhat receeding, however, it's still present. I added in 3 stems of anacharis to try to suck some of the excess nutrients out of the water, and they've been growing about 2" day. I think maybe I just ended up not having enough plantage to use up all of the stuff I had in the tank. On the bright side, the swords are now thriving. Green as can be, and 2-3 new leaves on both plants. The anubias is being attacked by algae, despite being right under the filter outlet. However, it's still growing. Just spotted a new plantlet today, so maybe it's fine.

 

Just cleaned up the tank quite a bit, although there's still algae everywhere. Input on anything is appreciated!

https://imgur.com/GKyj0E5

 

Moved stuff around in the tank to try to get better flow.

Heater is now on the left side of the tank, with the hob filter on the right pane of glass. I trimmed back the swords and propogated my Anacharis. I also trimmed the root system on the swords and Anubias, as my substrate isn't deep enough to accomodate the roots of the swords and it was getting unsightly. The Anubias roots were just becoming a home for algae, and the MTS are too heavy to get out on the roots.

The Ramshorns and MTS have been destroying the Diatoms (although the grow back in a few hours anyway), but I've noticed them just kinda ignoring the Green Spot Algae. Will they eat that as easier food resources run out? Or do they always just ignore it? All of mine are still pretty small, so I'm hoping that they'll start eat a bit more soon. So far I haven't seen ANY Ramshorn babies, just the one that's gotten marble sized. I've seen 4-5 MTS babies that could be held on a pinpoint. Pretty sure most of them are going for impeller rides.

 

Just water changes. Do you have prime? It works great with stability and will detoxify ammonia and nitrite up to 1 ppm. You prolly know that though. They like live plants.

I love my bettas and I haven't had them long.

Indiana








Arizona. He just got a new tank setup today.

Oh

Just water changes. Do you have prime? It works great with stability and will detoxify ammonia and nitrite up to 1 ppm. You prolly know that though. They like live plants.

I love my bettas and I haven't had them long.

Indiana








Arizona. He just got a new tank setup today.

Oh my goodness, both Indiana and Arizona are stunning! And double wow - talk about aquascaping, their tanks are fantastic. I love the white sand in one tank, and the black sand in the other - did you choose that deliberately, based on Indiana and Arizona's different colourings? They really show up well!

 

Oh



Oh my goodness, both Indiana and Arizona are stunning! And double wow - talk about aquascaping, their tanks are fantastic. I love the white sand in one tank, and the black sand in the other - did you choose that deliberately, based on Indiana and Arizona's different colourings? They really show up well!

Thank you! Yes I did choose the colors based on the bettas. I knew I wanted one to be dark and one light, and placed the bettas in the one that would make them pop!

 

Thank you! Yes I did choose the colors based on the bettas. I knew I wanted one to be dark and one light, and placed the bettas in the one that would make them pop!

Such a great idea! (...annnnd now I wanna get a second tank so I can do something similar, lol). Man, this is addictive!

 

Yes, very addictive. MTS= multiple tank syndrome is real! I'm building a 38 gal community tank now! I already had my two guys when I started these 2 builds. So I built them around my fish. Lol. Fair warning if you ever go on vacation, after 8 days this is what I came home to last night...

Floating jungle



Massive diatoms



Cleared out the jungle last night and today is massive cleaning day!

Lorekeeper, sorry we jacked your thread for a minute!

 

Yes, very addictive. MTS= multiple tank syndrome is real! I'm building a 38 gal community tank now! I already had my two guys when I started these 2 builds. So I built them around my fish. Lol. Fair warning if you ever go on vacation, after 8 days this is what I came home to last night...

Floating jungle



Massive diatoms



Cleared out the jungle last night and today is massive cleaning day!

Lorekeeper, sorry we jacked your thread for a minute!

No problem!

Just a few observations from the past little while:

1) After decreasing my photo period to about 8-9 hours, the majority of my algae has died off. I still have some, a bit too much for my taste, but it's a lot better than it was.
2) The Sword that I bought from the tube at Petsmart has more or less exploded, and looks healthier than the one that I bought from my LFS.
3) I hate the Nat Geo sand. It's too coarse, almost being a gravel - I think that if I upgrade Oscar to a 5-10 gallon (this could be happening soon!) I'll be going back to using pool filter sand/play sand. I love the fluffy look it gives the tank!
4) I'm fully cycled! At least I think. Parameters have been a steady 0/0/0 for a long while now, so I'm thinking that I'm cycled and maybe the algae and plants are eating the nitrates up before they have a chance to show. I've got a few stems of Anacharis in there that are growing 2" a day, so I'm thinking that they're the culprit. Either way, the bit of Fin Rot and fading in Oscar's color has cleared up pretty well.
5) Finally, I'm thinking about trying to fill out the tank a bit, and I have a few ideas. The rock I had in the center of the tank with the Anubias? I was thinking of getting some java moss to tie to the rock to hide the algae that's grown on it, and to maybe draw attention away from the ugly Anubias roots. I've also thought about ordering some Micro Sword and growing myself a "carpet" with it (sounds like Micro Sword is pretty hard to carpet, however, it's a beautiful plant, and as long as I can get some to fill in around the tank, I don't mind have some sand showing through). Another thing I've considered, although I'm not sure how much I love this idea, is to just tear the tank apart, get a grid, tie some moss onto it and make myself a Java Moss carpet. However I've heard that it s difficult to get good results with this method.

If anyone has any suggestions on anything, let me know!