So me and my longtime bf just impulsively got a tank, it was a pretty sweat deal, it came with a tank, filter, heater, some fake plants as well as some fake rocks.
We bought a big log of wood from a pet store and is currently in some water and will be added later and we bought all the other essentials as soil, rock and we are waiting on the wood to be good to add more plants, currently we have one real plant and soon will be planting more into our tank
It is currently cycling before adding fish, we had no idea about anything before all of this so we are new, the parameters are doing good so far its been about 3 days, we added the substrate today so thats why it looks linda dirty, but what are some good ideas for adding it with some betta. I used to care for pets as a kid but as an adult I want to care for them with love but would like a nice little community tank, I want a betta and my bf wants some bottom dwellers, any suggestions? Also the fake plants was included in the deal but we will be replacing them, I currently have one anubias but will get moss, the little floating ones on the top, and other varieties
Any feedback will be well received, we just want the best for our future babies, we already have 4 well loved cats and we wanted to get into this fascinating life style of fish keeping
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Posted by EffortAbject3116
3 Comments
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These are some things I bought, as well as the light and an amonia alert for the tank that was recommended that stays in the tank. Just in case someone mentions it my cats cannot reach the tank and my bf made a transparent acrylic lid for it
Best advice i can give you is to go through the sub’s wiki and learn about the fishless nitrogen cycle and how to do it. You will need a source of ammonia for it and liquid (not strips) testing kits for ammonia nitrites and nitrates. There’s a general guide to betta care as well worth reading through.
The plastic plants are unsafe for bettas, so look into replacing that with either silk or really ideally live plants.
On the topic of live plants, really make sure you read up on the specific plants you’re buying to make sure you have what it needs for it to do well, otherwise they easily become an ugly melting algae magnet. Anubias, java ferns and other epiphytes have to be attached to hardscape and will rot and die if you bury them, and stuff like amazon swords and crypts need to be buried *and* they need nutrients in the substrate to grow healthy which you can provide with root tabs. The Flourish is largely unnecessary in a tank with anubias and java ferns as they are all such slow growing plants and using it will likely just give you algae issues unless you fill up the tank with a lot of fast growing hungry plants like rotalas, pearlweed, valisneria, floaters, etc to make use of it.
First I’d like to start off by saying that it is not my intention to criticize, I was a beginner fish keeper too at one point.
It’s off to an okay start so far but you are going to want to get rid of the fake plants. A betta can get their fins caught and torn on plants like those.
Did you rinse your gravel multiple times until the water ran clear before you added it to your tank?
Plants would do better with fluval stratum capped by sand. Not to say nothing will grow in the gravel you already have, but it might limit what does well in there because it lacks nutrients.
When you say some betta, do you mean more than one?? I highly discourage trying to manage a betta sorority, it really should only be attempted by experienced fish keepers and even then it still doesn’t work or it is doing great and then suddenly everything crashes and burns and the fish are fighting each other.
I have a tank that might be similar to what you are wanting your tank to be, it’s a community tank with a female betta, celestial pearl danios, pygmy corydoras, kuhli loaches, otocinclus, a few shrimp, and a nerite snail.
Make sure that your tank is heavily planted for a community tank with a betta. It just gives plenty of places to explore and hide if needed. Bettas are very smart and have big personalities. They need enough enrichment to keep them well stimulated and happy.
Another thing to add… not every betta will do well in a community tank. Some are extremely aggressive, others get stressed by the other fish and lash out. In my tank, my betta has an issue with overeating sometimes. She gets greedy and the other fish just don’t eat everything fast enough. Betta’s stomachs are only as big as their eye, so it is really important that they don’t get too much food. It’s still something I’m working through, but I’ve also heard of community tanks where the betta doesn’t get enough food because of the other fish.
A juvenile betta might do better adapting to a community tank compared to an adult but don’t quote me on that. It really depends on the fish and their personality.
Honestly one of my favorite styles of aquariums is a blackwater aquarium, many fish do well in that type of setup and bettas love it too. -just a personal preference though
The most important thing to do in the beginning when starting a new tank is to allow it enough time to fully cycle! It is so important that you are patient and do not rush to add fish. Lots of tanks will go through “new tank syndrome” where all the water parameters are whack and unstable and it is usually caused because the nitrogen cycle isn’t established enough.
If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them and I wish you the best of luck!