Fishtery's shallow pond tank ft. (ANOTHER ebay betta)

Finally got around to posting some pictures of my 5 gallon shallow pond-style build I made a previous thread about. It's my first time trying emersed plants and I have to say, other than a few hiccups and learning lessons from trial and error, it's really starting to take off. The first pictures are right after setup and the other set were taken 11 days after initial planting and flooding. Tonight I pulled some tall plants that weren't doing well and added some more hydrocotyle vertallica and marselia hirsuta. I'm still somehow getting an initial bout of cyano and algae but ordered a light timer and have been dosing blue green slime remover to hopefully get it nipped in the bud.

Tank: UNS 45s
Light: Lomine Asta 20
Filter: UNS delta 60 with double tap valves
Amazon heater and jardli nano lily pipe set (the poppy outflow was too big so I got a regular jet instead)

Wayfair stand
Spiderwood and river rocks found locally, caribsea super naturals sand in gold, UNS contrasoil for emersed plants
I also have an Amazon fogger (for pictures) and a surface skimmer I put in here and there to help with film

Plants and stock:
1 male betta, 5 pygmy cories
Submerged: Tiger lily, Monte Carlo, micro sword
Emersed: UG, hydrocotyle tripartita, hydrocotyle sibthorpioides, micro sword, marselia hirsuta, rotala bonsai sp., rotala super red, barcopa monnieri, hydrocotyle vertallica, merdannia keisak, and terrestrial fern moss on the driftwood using DOOA terra tape (the aquatic Christmas moss dried out in low humidity so im trying terrestrial moss)








Lastly as an unexpected bonus because I have a problem and I'm surprised my boyfriend doesn't disown me.....I bought another ebay betta. I saw this guy and couldn't resist and won the auction in the last 30 seconds. At this point I might as well set up a betta rack to appease my bloodlust LOL... the betta in the pond currently overcame dropsy as some members might know from following my other thread, which has left him relatively healthy but he now has issues swimming and gets fatigued very easily so my plan is to set up the old 3.5 gal barebottom with a sponge filter, piece of wood, and large anubias to lay on and put the new betta in there for 2 weeks to QT/settle in then switch him out with my current betta. This will give my little guy calmer waters and a very low matinence tank so I won't stress him out messing around with plants and such during WCs. The picture isn't mine it was taken by the breeder so I won't be getting my new betta until mid next week.



Thanks for checking out my new stuff!

 

That's a beautiful tiger lilly and betta. And a great scape!

 

That's a beautiful tiger lilly and betta. And a great scape!

Thank you! I grew it out from nothing but a bulb in my 3 year old 12 gal long tank. It literally sprouted at least 11 leaves in under a month in that tank...it grows like a weed if you give it some nitrates to work with.

 

congratulations on your new betta! I hope he arrives safe. and wow he is pretty!

 

congratulations on your new betta! I hope he arrives safe. and wow he is pretty!

Thank you!!! Kyo is still doing okay but I've noticed that unless I walk up to the tank he pretty much just lays in the lotus leaves and has a hard time swimming with water movement. He still jumps for food and whatnot so I presume he's healthy but has some sort of permanent issue leftover from the dropsy so I think moving him to a simpler tank with a sponge is the best thing for him. I can't shut the valves in the canister any more than I have them without sacrificing adequate filtration and circulation for my plants so hopefully this new betta arrives healthy and more active and will enjoy the tank more than kyo can.

 

Some more fun pictures of the tank and also my bonus mason jar setup I made with leftover UG and marselia I also have leftover tissue culture cups growing well emersed on my windowsill they both just get about 1/4 inch of water keeping the roots wet and misted a few times a day