Share Your Scaped 5.5 & 10 Gallons!

Hello all! As some of you may know, I rescue, rehabilitate, foster, and find homes for bettas in need. I've rescued and used my own money for supplies since I was 11yo. Here's the deal - for 8 years the rescue has been alike. I use supplies I get for free or on big deals. The foster tanks that I've always dreamed of have never been a reality. Well friends, I think this year might be the year to finally set up nice foster enclosures! From now on, I plan to set up a rimless 5 gal, 5.5 gals, and 10 gallon aquariums for the foster fish.

"Why has it been so long since setting them up?" Due to 2 debilitating auto-immune issues, I can't work for long hours at a time, like at stores. So I need to find unconventional ways to earn money. Unfortunately, what little funds I earn go fast. All funds earned from pets goes back to them, but when you have as many as 50 at a time, it's hard. I still only earn about $10-$50 per month, but at least I know how to save. So why haven't I set up a GoFundMe? When folks help me with even $5 I feel selfish, guilty, like I didn't earn it. I appreciate donations for my small, family-owned rescue but have a hard time taking it knowing someone can use it for themselves.

Here's the deal...out of 10 years in the hobby, I've only created 2 or 3 scaped tanks. I want to do a lot more of them. Not only do they look nice, but plants make my cleaning job easier, they provide hiding and sleeping areas, and are overall better experiences for potentially skittish rescues. So I come to y'all again, my fellow Fishlorians. Please share pictures of your planted, scaped 5.5 & 10G tanks! My scaped tanks are also Walstads - I can grow anubias, buce, crypts, sußwassertang, java moss, and can even have root feeding stem and sword plants! Most ideas are allowed. Just keep in mind that the rescue has me low on funds, so no scapes using expensive materials like stones, driftwood, and definitely no high-tech. Thanks all

 

I love what you do! Honestly makes me happy knowing someone is helping the little bettas that can't help themselves :3 I wish you luck

 

Here's a betta tank I'm working on right now... it's got a small piece of spiderwood in it but I'm sure you could get a similar effect without. Still slowly moving things around/adding things to get them just how I want it

 

here is one of my 10g scapes that won a contest.

 

sticks0 Zer0 I love both of your setups! How much did it cost and where did y'all get the materials?

B. monnieri and H. difformis have never done well in my soft, acidic water. L nummularia, pennywort, and most hygrophila do well in my tanks though! I can probably replace those choices with mine

 

sticks0 Zer0 I love both of your setups! How much did it cost and where did y'all get the materials?

B. monnieri and H. difformis have never done well in my soft, acidic water. L nummularia, pennywort, and most hygrophila do well in my tanks though! I can probably replace those choices with mine

Pearl weed was 8 bucks, and water sprite was 10 bucks.
Rock was roughly 25. The sand was 5 bucks for 50lbs. Definitely not 50lbs in there.

 

Here’s my 10 gallon, nothing special at all but doing good. Mystery Snail and community fish.

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sticks0 Zer0 I love both of your setups! How much did it cost and where did y'all get the materials?

B. monnieri and H. difformis have never done well in my soft, acidic water. L nummularia, pennywort, and most hygrophila do well in my tanks though! I can probably replace those choices with mine

thank you! I can't quite remember how much I spent on the plants, but I believe the moneywort was around 6 or 7 dollars. the anubias and java fern were just from those emersed tubes, all from petco. the other plants came from my main tank. The spiderwood was maybe 10$, also from petco. everything else was stuff that was gifted to me or stuff that I had laying around. As Zer0 mentioned, sand's cheap. I bought a large bag for 3$ from the hardware store and haven't had to buy any since.

I definitely understand fishkeeping on the cheap, I try and be frugal as well. If you've got a lake nearby you should look into gathering driftwood. I did that for my 40gal and it's holding up nicely, plus it was free

I wish you luck in your betta endeavor!

 

Pearl weed was 8 bucks, and water sprite was 10 bucks.
Rock was roughly 25. The sand was 5 bucks for 50lbs. Definitely not 50lbs in there.

Hmm, okay. That's very expensive for what I'm going for. The rescue takes a lot of funds so...

The spiderwood was maybe 10$, also from petco. everything else was stuff that was gifted to me or stuff that I had laying around. As Zer0 mentioned, sand's cheap. I bought a large bag for 3$ from the hardware store and haven't had to buy any since.

I definitely understand fishkeeping on the cheap, I try and be frugal as well. If you've got a lake nearby you should look into gathering driftwood. I did that for my 40gal and it's holding up nicely, plus it was free

Thanks! Yeah, I've gathered driftwood from my local water bodies, and although we have a lot, it's only the tiny bits that are easy to grab. $10 for a thing of spiderwood from Petco isn't bad though. My favorite Petco that I've gone to for 8 years is only 6 minutes away from my house

I've done it cheap for 8 years since I committed to paying for my own supplies when I was 11. I never had my parents pay for a thing, besides gift cards.

I either use black diamond sand ($6.50/50lbs), play sand ($3/50lbs), miracle gro ($7/20lbs), java fern windelov and anubias barteri var. nana (free from parent plants), L. nummularia ($2.50/Home Depot), parrot's feather and leaf litter (free locally), egeria ($3/Petco) and sale/cheap sponge filters, heaters, or air pumps. I cut costs but it all adds up

 

Hmm, okay. That's very expensive for what I'm going for. The rescue takes a lot of funds so...

The cost of the plants is 1 time.
Once they get growing you will have enough to put in other tanks. I have so much that I have to sell it.

 

The cost of the plants is 1 time.
Once they get growing you will have enough to put in other tanks. I have so much that I have to sell it.

Me too, but it's the "1 time" that's expensive. I sell my salvinia, java fern, and anubias, but they're so much more expensive nowadays that I can hardly afford buying new plants. Plus I feel selfish if I sell things very high, so it's a sandwich bag of salvinia for $5. My windelov java fern is huge and almost 5 years old but it was only $2.50 on sale at the time when I bought it, now they're $7 at Petco in-store. I usually can't afford shipping either, that's why my tanks often have paludarium plants since I have a lot of them and they're only $4 each, but hardly any aquatic plants for the cost.

 

I've got a 5 gal betta tank that's grown and changed over the year as I've had a betta pass away and changed things. The most expensive thing in there is the rocks but I got a large pack of them for a bigger aquarium and only used 2-3 of them in the most recent scape. Plants were all either from PetSmart or etsy or cuttings from other tanks. All are low-tech java ferns, moss, and dwarf sag with the priciest being the buce, ludwigia, and dwarf water lettuce (but you can easily replace them with cheaper things like anubias, pearlweed, and hornwort).

 

I've got a 5 gal betta tank that's grown and changed over the year as I've had a betta pass away and changed things. The most expensive thing in there is the rocks but I got a large pack of them for a bigger aquarium and only used 2-3 of them in the most recent scape. Plants were all either from PetSmart or etsy or cuttings from other tanks. All are low-tech java ferns, moss, and dwarf sag with the priciest being the buce, ludwigia, and dwarf water lettuce (but you can easily replace them with cheaper things like anubias, pearlweed, and hornwort).

Ah I have the same tank, but got it for free 6 years ago and the filter compartment was removed (I'm actually glad it was.) I'm also trying to scape this for a full-time special needs betta. It's 9×14×8" if I remember correctly.

I have dwarf sag and dwarf water onion in a 4yo, 5 gallon ecosphere tank, but it's got algae and such.

 

Me too, but it's the "1 time" that's expensive. I sell my salvinia, java fern, and anubias, but they're so much more expensive nowadays that I can hardly afford buying new plants. Plus I feel selfish if I sell things very high, so it's a sandwich bag of salvinia for $5. My windelov java fern is huge and almost 5 years old but it was only $2.50 on sale at the time when I bought it, now they're $7 at Petco in-store. I usually can't afford shipping either, that's why my tanks often have paludarium plants since I have a lot of them and they're only $4 each, but hardly any aquatic plants for the cost.

you shouldn't feel selfish selling at the going rate. Business is business.

 

you shouldn't feel selfish selling at the going rate. Business is business.

Of course, but I can't help it. When I eat I feel like I'm taking food from people who need it more, or I should feed the pets instead of me. When I sell, I feel like I don't deserve it. I feel like the money I just took should go to someone else. I donate at least $2 every time I'm at pet stores, even if I can hardly afford it. I can afford caring for foster fish because that's who I spend most of money on. I can take donations, but I feel like I'm stealing. I can't help it.