Scored a 107 on the RADS-R if that helps inform y’all on my level of hyper-fixation…
So I’ve had my betta, Jerry (named after Morty’s dad), for about a year now and he’s a pretty chill dude BUT I know he needs more space.
For context, my partners got me a 3.5 gal tank to start him off with. YES I KNOW HE NEEDED AT LEAST 5 GALLONS, BUT I WASN’T ABOUT TO TELL MY PARTNERS “hey you got a sh*t tank and Jerry will live a life of squalor” so… Initially, I got 2 mystery snails shortly after (for cleaning) and he never paid them ANY attention. I have since acquired a 30 gal tank (24”long, 12”wide/deep, 24”tall; tall square tank), and set-up/cycled it to turn into a planted-community tank for him.
The new 30 gal has already been cycled+planted with amazon swords, an anubia, and some mini-water lettuce, and we have since-introduced a mixed-school of 8 tetras (4 cardinal, 4 “columbian red/blue” neons; near-impossible to tell apart and already schooling together), a single otocinclus (bought 2, one passed the day after I cycled them into the 30gal), and 3 mystery snails (can only ever find 2 of them, and those 2 may have already had ‘snex’ so idk)…
Sorry for the long explanation, I just want to write all of the relevant context. To reiterate, Jerry has had mystery snails in his 3.5 gal before, and had zero interest in them… So, I guess my question(s) is/are, what are the best ‘additions’ I can still add to the community tank, before I (finally) introduce Jerry, to make his transition as easy as possible.
(Secondarily, one of my partners is allergic to Crustacea/Mollusca, so if y’all have ANY FOOD recommendations w/o Crustacea, that would be AMAZING!)
Idk I’m also INCREDIBLY stoned while I write this, so I just need to know if y’all think I’m f*cking up this entire thing.
Thanks!!!
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1rymbh6
Posted by lil-laube
2 Comments
Sounds awesome. I was in similar situation with a undersized tank and moved to 13 gallon. In the 13 I upgraded to some plants similar to yours and added a mystery snail and a nerite. I also got 3 amano shrimp (on the larger size so they could defend if needed) first 2 weeks everything was fine but betta (ding ding) was kinda intimidated or at least stuck to one side of tank. Now he is going everywhere. Congrats on upgrade. God I can’t believe how much I care about this fish. Ended up getting 2 sponge filters to be able to always have 1 that is full of bacteria in between cleanings and changes. And just got an inkbird temp control in case heater fails in on position and cooks the fish now I have little to worry about.
I actually now have a small brine shrimp hatchery and hatch a months worth of brine shrimp and freeze.
I’m sure your fish will be in a similar situation. Sounds like you want the best. Wish I had some actual advice other than the sponge filters and temp control but I’m sure some others will pipe in!!!!!
Thinking about getting some other friendly fish but gonna wait a couple weeks to see how things go.
You should upload a full pic of new aquarium. Would love to see the layout