New betta tank by Addie

[Fishfur]

Some scud action in the background but I was shooting the wee springtail & tiny worm on the glass - hadn’t seen either one before.

Helps if you blow it up viewing on a phone - RA just one white springtail meandering on the glass. It passes by but ignores a tiny worm and they go their separate ways.

Never ceases to amaze me how an air breathing springtail can stay underwater so long.

Apologies for the less than crystal clear glass - I do need to get some glass cleaning done.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Has anybody tried alder cones?? I ordered some online a little nervous about the discolouration mentioned in the reviews

Edit-
I added 3 cones after rinsing them I guess ill keep yall updated on the discolouration LOL - hopefully i dont regret this

 

[StarGirl]

Alder cones color more than Catappa leaves do. You will see color with 3 in a 9g.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Alder cones color more than Catappa leaves do. You will see color with 3 in a 9g.

3 hours later no colour yet- curious if itll do much - I might have charcoal in my filter media

Shrimp and babies and I see a mama berried again aaaa

 

[addieandleothecat]

3 things :

1. i did an aquarium rescape- kind of a pile style but not mad at it-
2. i gave a bunch of my ramshorn snails to my lfs’s pea puffers
3. i got a new kitty his name is Wally- he’s apparently approx 2yo

 

[Fishfur]

Looks pretty good but I like to use rock & wood to at least attempt to suggest some sort of movement (or direction if you prefer).

I just pretend the water flow all comes from one direction only, as in a river or stream and tilt rocks & wood as O imagine they would be tilted by current constantly moving along.

I’d consider leaning the left piece of wood to the right - maybe add another rock on the right or reposition the leftmost rock so it goes with the flow, so to speak.

Just a suggestion - everybody has their own preferences about this kind of thing.

Love the kitty - is he black or chocolate? Wriggle says ‘Hi!’ - she’s my chocolate princess. So do Squirm & Omra, my boys - a white with black shorthair with an attitude & a large fluffy ginger.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Looks pretty good but I like to use rock & wood to at least attempt to suggest some sort of movement (or direction if you prefer).

I just pretend the water flow all comes from one direction only, as in a river or stream and tilt rocks & wood as O imagine they would be tilted by current constantly moving along.

I’d consider leaning the left piece of wood to the right - maybe add another rock on the right or reposition the leftmost rock so it goes with the flow, so to speak.

Just a suggestion - everybody has their own preferences about this kind of thing.

Love the kitty - is he black or chocolate? Wriggle says ‘Hi!’ - she’s my chocolate princess. So do Squirm & Omra, my boys - a white with black shorthair with an attitude & a large fluffy ginger.

Love your kitties!!! That makes sense- I wasnt really thinking like that but now I can’t unsee it re: water direction - I took ur advice (see pic) thanks!

He is a black kitty! He’s so sweet and friendly but I keep having to remind myself he’s not a ragdoll and he’s still getting used to me - my ragdoll kitty, Leo, is practically my shadow and also a teddy bear - pick him up, brush his belly etc etc

Wally (black kitty) is really personable and we’re adjusting well but I probably won’t be using him as a pillow anytime soon. On the positive side- he is really playful and actually uses the toys that my older cat ignores

Also- squirm looks like he’s wearing a hat he’s so cute

 

[Fishfur]

Love your kitties!!! That makes sense- I wasnt really thinking like that but now I can’t unsee it re: water direction - I took ur advice (see pic) thanks!

He is a black kitty! He’s so sweet and friendly but I keep having to remind myself he’s not a ragdoll and he’s still getting used to me - my ragdoll kitty, Leo, is practically my shadow and also a teddy bear - pick him up, brush his belly etc etc

Wally (black kitty) is really personable and we’re adjusting well but I probably won’t be using him as a pillow anytime soon. On the positive side- he is really playful and actually uses the toys that my older cat ignores

Also- squirm looks like he’s wearing a hat he’s so cute

Glad you liked the idea, I think it looks great!

His full name is the Deadly Spotted Squirm - (as opposed to the non spotted and non deadly squirms) with his sister Wriggle, Mistress of the Dark Shadows Clan & their big brother, the inimitable Admiral
Omra Droolius McGrumblybritches.

None of them like to be held or carried but they’re all very affectionate, especially Squirm.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Merry christmas!!!

 

[Fishfur]

Merry christmas!!!

Merry Christmas. Too bad the hat isn’t real - I’d love to see someone try to dress up a fish! Or a shrimp!

 

[addieandleothecat]

Shrimp city

A rare nerite sighting - this dude has been here since day 11 of tank

 

[addieandleothecat]

Hello from Laszlo and a bunch of snails + shrimp-

 

[addieandleothecat]

peep the baby shrimpies

 

[addieandleothecat]

day #174

 

[addieandleothecat]

I got a couple assassin snails a while back… looks like I have a couple babies now

 

[3Fishnight]

I got a couple assassin snails a while back… looks like I have a couple babies now

Assasin snails love blood worms.

 

[IzzBizz]

I loved reading through this! It was so fun!
Question: Does the duckweed smell? I've heard some mixed review.
Btw, what a gorgeous tank! I love it!

 

[Fishfur]

I have a thick blanket of duckweed in at least one tank and it has no particular odour.

 

[IzzBizz]

I have a thick blanket of duckweed in at least one tank and it has no particular odour.

Thanks Fishfur! I'm really glad to hear it. I heard it grows like crazy, but I wouldn't mind that, that seems good for the tank right? Is there any particular woes with it?

 

[Fishfur]

Thanks Fishfur! I'm really glad to hear it. I heard it grows like crazy, but I wouldn't mind that, that seems good for the tank right? Is there any particular woes with it?I

Let me put it this way.

Avoid small duckweeds like the plague - they cause fish keepers to lose their sanity I think . Just soooooooo annoying - stick to everything & if you want to be rid of them it can take weeks or months to eliminate them all - sneaky little so & so’s.

Giant duckweed isn’t too bad. Spirodela polyrhiza is the species name. Grows just about as fast but is much easier to control than the tiny duckweeds are.

 

[IzzBizz]

Let me put it this way.

Avoid small duckweeds like the plague - they cause fish keepers to lose their sanity I think . Just soooooooo annoying - stick to everything & if you want to be rid of them it can take weeks or months to eliminate them all - sneaky little so & so’s.

Giant duckweed isn’t too bad. Spirodela polyrhiza is the species name. Grows just about as fast but is much easier to control than the tiny duckweeds are.

Oooo, thank you for this! I will definitely consider them then! In my betta's tank everything grows like crazy (except one type of stems plants *shrug*) But nothing really grows in my community tank except java fern lol! I'll have to try to figure something out.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Let me put it this way.

Avoid small duckweeds like the plague - they cause fish keepers to lose their sanity I think . Just soooooooo annoying - stick to everything & if you want to be rid of them it can take weeks or months to eliminate them all - sneaky little so & so’s.

Giant duckweed isn’t too bad. Spirodela polyrhiza is the species name. Grows just about as fast but is much easier to control than the tiny duckweeds are.

Yeah I do regret getting duckweed to be honest it is SO annoying - blocks out the light and regrows daily

Did a bit of a remodel - I removed the amazon sword which was kind of sad but it was getting just too big for the tank-
Laszlo is happier now with more room to swim (I think he’s happier he can’t say for sure)

Looks SO barren but everything should grow back pretty quickly- I couldnt see anything but green beforehand

 

[addieandleothecat]

Dust has settled a bit

 

[Fishfur]

Looks very nice.

 

[fishywoo]

Dust has settled a bit

Beautiful tank!

 

[addieandleothecat]

Everything is still good!
Learned how to take apart my filter and clean it
How is everybody else? 9 months of this tank is crazy

 

[Fishfur]

Everything is still good!
Learned how to take apart my filter and clean it
How is everybody else? 9 months of this tank is crazy

Looking pretty good.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Looking pretty good.

Thanks! Is it ok to cut jungle vals? Kind of annoys me when they coil around the top- i feel like its like mowing the lawn so should be fine?

 

[Fishfur]

Thanks! Is it ok to cut jungle vals? Kind of annoys me when they coil around the top- i feel like its like mowing the lawn so should be fine?

It won’t bother them, though for me personally, I prefer vals that are naturally shorter.

But there is no denying the lush looks of Jungle Val’s.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Everybody say happy birthday to Laszlo!!!

 

[Rose of Sharon]

Happy birthday, Laszlo, beautiful betta boy!!!

 

[addieandleothecat]

Handsome guy watches them steal food bits

 

[Jkaliszew]

I’ve never used fluval stratum before so I keep staring at the tank LOL
Theres a lot I’ve seemed to forget so I’m excited to continue on fresh

It’s been about 10 hours since I’ve put the stratum and water in- it’s partially clear but not fully- hoping that it’ll clear more overnight. Read mixed things about whether or not to rinse the substrate
Thank you!!!!

Hi, welcome back. I had a major learning curve with this soil and rinsed it; you were right not to rinse it. It’s the stratum sand by Fluval that you can rinse. Anyhow I use a plastic bag or plate to pour the water in when first filling the tank. And if you add decor or plants after first filling it clouds up all muddy! After a few days it will clear up and after some time in the tank it won’t cloud up as bad when you disturb it.

 

[addieandleothecat]

Okay guys so after this tank has been up and running for over a year-
I almost think the ammonia looks like 0.25 but not certain lol
The plants are doing amazingly - do I still really need to be doing weekly water changes? Thinking about converting to a biweekly schedule

Any thoughts from the crowd?

Hi, welcome back. I had a major learning curve with this soil and rinsed it; you were right not to rinse it. It’s the stratum sand by Fluval that you can rinse. Anyhow I use a plastic bag or plate to pour the water in when first filling the tank. And if you add decor or plants after first filling it clouds up all muddy! After a few days it will clear up and after some time in the tank it won’t cloud up as bad when you disturb it.

Thanks! This original post was about a year ago! Can confirm it cleared up after a couple of days but I do definitely wish that I used some other method to avoid disturbing the stratum
Maybe one day I can have another tank but I live in a small space so I truly believe thats saved me from multiple tank syndrome

Also off topic from my question -
i got these guys within a month of each other- I think they kind of give off a similar vibe + personality somehow both of them are a little skittish and very very considerate of their roommates- Laszlo (fishy) never bothers his shrimps and Wally (cat) never pushes boundaries too hard with his big brother kitty

 

[addieandleothecat]

I think my questions got lost in the sauce of the rest of my updates- can anybody comment on going from weekly w/c to biweekly waterchanges?

 

[StarGirl]

I think my questions got lost in the sauce of the rest of my updates- can anybody comment on going from weekly w/c to biweekly waterchanges?

I started doing that recently because of very low bio load. The only thing that seems to sneak in is Cyano for me. When I stayed on a strict weekly I never saw it ever. Now its sneaking back again. Nitrates are never high either. So it will be a trial and error project I think.

 

[addieandleothecat]

I started doing that recently because of very low bio load. The only thing that seems to sneak in is Cyano for me. When I stayed on a strict weekly I never saw it ever. Now its sneaking back again. Nitrates are never high either. So it will be a trial and error project I think.

I’m really really curious how it’ll go for me- it looked like I have zero nitrates after a week, curious if it’ll be the after 2 weeks

1. Do you do the same % of waterchange ?
2. Can I see pics of the cyano?

 

[StarGirl]

I’m really really curious how it’ll go for me- it looked like I have zero nitrates after a week, curious if it’ll be the after 2 weeks

1. Do you do the same % of waterchange ?
2. Can I see pics of the cyano?

I pretty much just change the same amount. Not sure on the percentage. I have a 9 flex also and drain to the top of my heater in back.....lol...basically 1/4 of the tank. Mine is usually to the top not just the waterline dots. Just as reference. I will see if I can find some pics.

 

[MagnifcentBett]

hi all I used to post here a lot several years ago but now I am new again and finally back at it.
I am here to document the progress of my brank new fluval tank- I just put some plant substrate in it. The tank is bran bran new and this is 1 hour in- I am hoping to have great results.
I am welcoming myself back to the hobby

Welcome back! I look forward to seeing your progress!