For context, this is my first fish ever : i've had her for 3 weeks in this heated, filterless, 5 gallon walstad cube i set up 2 months ago. After lurking in this sub for a while, and seeing her explore and being so active, it now seems like it's a bit small, and i plan on upgrading soon to a 10gallon i'm buying today (i learned latter that 5gallon was a minimum for long fined males, but that females and short fined males needed more space to swim since they dont tire as much)
So as a beginner, i have some questions :
1)Does she look healthy? I was a bit worried last week because i had to treat her for external parasites (some kind of really small white worms on her scales wich i'm not sure of what they were since they seemed so much smaller than anchor worms–so small i couldn't get them to show on photos from my phone, wich does not have a great camera), and i'm not sure if she is skinny/fine/too fat (since i have no experience yet).
In any case she seems active (exploring/hunting for small critters), always comes up to me when i enter the room/approach her tank, and eats well (5-6 mini pellets 2 times a day)
2)Is the tank ok for now, or should i hurry to get her into the 10gallon i'm planning on setting up, even if it means doing a fish in cycle, plus the fact it will be much more barren while waiting for the cuttings to grow ? (i plan on using the substrate from a 2,5 gallon walstad i set up some time ago in order to speed up the process though)
3)Could i get her some tank mates in the 10 gallon? (She doesn't mind the snails, even though she did try once, at the beginning, to eat a baby bladder snail and spat him out right away. And i never saw her flare at anything) And if i can what species of Crustacean/fish would be ok? What bioload could i afford in a filterless walstad setup like i plan on doing?
4) should i add some kind of betta bed like i've seen some people do in this sub?
5) (really important question) isn't she so pretty ? 🥺
Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for those who might answer
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1s7w5wi
Posted by Glass_Telephone9810
6 Comments
What is the grass called that you have ?
I’m not very familiar with the walstad method myself, but for your first tank, this looks great! I applaud you for embracing the natural planted tank 🙂
The upgrade will be great for your girl, but don’t worry about urgently moving her over. Your current tank is just fine for keeping her in while you properly establish and cycle the new one. Maintaining stable parameters for your fish is more important!
As for tankmates — 10 gallons is too small to be viable for a community setup. You’ll want to have at minimum a 20 gallon before considering keeping other fish along with your betta. Neocaridina shrimp would be a great addition though, and come in many colors — as long as you’re okay knowing that they may or may not turn into a snack for your betta! In such a heavily planted setup, your chances of them cohabitating peacefully will be much higher.
Beautiful betta. Good luck, and have fun! 🙂
ciao scrivo in italiano e spero che il traduttore faccia il suo lavoro lol
comunque il betta è un pesce che ama vivere nel suo piccolo angolo personale tra rovi e piccoli spazi in cui infilarsi per cui ti consiglierei acquistare dei tronchi/rami cosi lui/lei possa curiosare,
le piante galleggianti a stelo lungo sono le sue preferite e si a loro piace riposare in superficie quindi le amache per betta o semplicemente una pianta a foglia larga posizionata vicino alla superficie può aiutare molto soprattutto nelle specie a pinne lunghe, ma da quello che vedo é che hai un acquario stupendo ma abbastanza spoglio di nascondigli, detto ciò la tua piccola sembra in forma,
per il cibo viene spesso consigliato di dargli 3 pellet al giorno e dargli una dieta di cibo vivo e congelato con un giorno di digiuno a settimana,
il filtro è sempre consigliato per i meofiti proprio perché ti fa la stragrande maggioranza del lavoro una volta che il filtro è pronto, ti sto parlando di manutenzione generale, essendo un pesce che sporca pochissimo anche la tua manutenzione e molto ristretta
per prevenire malattie e rinforzare le pinne ti consiglio di comprare le foglie di mandorlo, oscurano leggermente l’acqua e questo ai betta piace molto,
sono animali molto territoriali quindi i coinquilini vanno scelti con parsimonia, ma quello consigliati sono principalmente animale di fondo o lumache (entrambi ti aiutano con la pulizia generale dell’acquario) oppure i gamberetti ma qui dipende dal carattere del pesce ( il mio maschio ha fatto una strage)
scusa il messaggio lungo e probabilmente mi sono dimenticato qualche dettaglio e se hai domande chiedi tranquillamente!!
First of all, it’s a beautiful tank, well done.
As to your question, she is fine where she is. If you set up the 10 gallon for her, then I would recommend getting a low flow filter.
I would cut down on feeding, though.
Once a day is enough, 3-4 pellets.
Overfeeding can cause bloating and constipation, which is really hard to treat.
Keep an eye on the water parameters in her current tank to make sure the plants are sufficient to keep the values in check.
For a beginner, your tank is great!! I might add a floating log for her to hide in and an indian almod leaf to introduce tannins to the water. Bettas love tannins. She’s beautiful and looks perfect. Great weight, very active. Well done. One other tip, if you can find live black worms, bettas love them and the worms bring out there natural hunting instinct. Only feed 1 to 2 worms at a time though. Have fun!
She’s a stunning little fish, amazing colouring and she looks really healthy and alert – and your tank looks great too!