BACKSTORY: I've owned betta 2 other times and it's sad to say that I was a betta abuser. My mom bought me and my three siblings Bettas when I was 9, none of my siblings cared to take care so I would wash their bowls. They died REALLY fast since they were in tiny bowls with marbles at the bottom. One by one they'd jump out or flail when I scooped them up. Ouch.
Time 2 I bought a 1 gallon bowl and those neon pink rocks and put in one fake plant, the betta died after 29 days when it stopped eating and died.
TODAY:
Attempt 3 is now!! I did all my research (I hope) and haven't been hasty and impulsive. For the tank I bought the 10Gallon TopFin Aquarium starter kit. I will say that I am rushing the process a little bit by not letting the water sit 3 weeks but I think I made up for it? You can be the judge of that. It was a 2 hour process but I rinsed the substrate (super naturals: premium aquarium substrate) 5-6 times then put it into the tank. I put the two ornaments inside (One has little fale plants but ChatGPT said they were harmless since it was made by ___ brand (I forgot which one, it was a well known one in PetSmart though)). Then I filled it up with water after attaching the filter and heater. The heater was piping hot and at max heat when I plugged it in. I plugged it in outside of water too and had no idea. I smelt burning stuff so I made the stupid mistake of touching it, causing me to burn and yelp in pain (I also felt a sensation where a weird, hot liquid was being sprayed onto me). Eventually I figured it out (I think?) and set it to 78 or something around that. The thermostat shows the red line going above 80 though, does that mean the temperature is around 80? Shouldn't I lower the heater then?
I also rubber banded the plants and put an assorted moss patch onto the ornament.
To finish off, I put one ML of seachem prime and 5 mL of Tetra AquaSafePLUS. Should I put in a flake of food or no?
The betta fish I'm buying tomorrow and I'm also buying 5 ghost shrimp (I'm aware the betta will try and eat it, hit hopefully they become friends or the ghost shrimp run away and reproduce and hide?), as well as 2 snails, 5 neon tetras, and he ne black kuhli loach. Will they be able to coexist?
Feedback?? I'm mostly concerned that I messed up the plants. I just rubber banded them (the cheap ones that were bought in vietnam) to nice crevices and stuff. I know that one of them is a Java fern and I forgot the other, but it split into like 4 little ones. Also a moss patch too. Do I need food for the shrimp and tetra and snails and loach?
Apologies for the long text, any help would be appreciated!
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1o5a5vt
Posted by Coleslaw_Boy10
8 Comments
Did you cycle the tank? Sorry if I missed it in the text, it is quite big lol
From my experience you’ll be fine just keep up regular water changes, some would say no but I say go for it and do 10-20% water changes more frequently in the startup phase.
1-2 times a week, my tank is smaller than yours and I did Monday and Thursday and my Betta is pushing a year soon and still healthy, now I only do a water small water change every second week
Others have said what’s needed, but what are you feeding him?
May I respectfully ask, why dont you have real plants? Bettas love to have a lot of plants and shrimp need them to hide themselves and they eat the biofilm that is establishing there.
And you realy should check out how to proper cycle your tank or it can happen that in 3 or 4 weeks you wake up and the betta is dead.
I hope your heater still is OK, you never should run them dry.
I’m also currently waiting for my tank to cycle, the only inhabitants are some ramshorn Snails as they can be put in to help the cycling. The Betta is already picked at a local breeder and will come in November.
Don’t mind the floating wood, it still has to soak.
*
What kind of snails?
How long is your ammonia taking to process/cycle out?
Honestly the betta will most likely be fine with ghost shrimp, I’ve had much better luck keeping them with the larger shrimp breeds and the small brightly colored neos get furiously hunted by Betta that are even very good with their other fish tank mates. I’m building a dedicated 5gal neo breeder under my community tank for this reason lol.
People have said what is important about the betta and cycling, so I’m going to chime in about the Kuhli Loach. Kuhli loaches want a group of 6 at least to be comfy and happy. Also, they really want a 20 gallon at a minimum. Third, 80 is at the top of their comfortable range. They will be more likely to get sick if you keep it that temp (ideal is 70-79F). Fourth, Kuhli loaches want lots of cover and a sand substrate so they can sift and eat.
Not trying to be rude at all, just trying to educate! Kuhli loaches are my favorite and I just want people to enjoy having them the way Kuhli’s want to live.