He looked so sad in the container at Petco, so we bought a tank and got everything set up.
After doing some research and adding 2 mini catappa leaves, I feel like I should change the gravel, and add live plants?
I have some propagated pathos, and basil starting on the top right, but the plants on the bottom and next to the rock are fake.
I feel he is unhappy.
Suggestions for transition?
https://i.redd.it/i4066oi4dtxg1.jpeg
Posted by Jayhoactually
7 Comments
Hello, what are the water parameters for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph? It could be an imbalance of a new aquarium. Do you know what cycling an aquarium means?
Definitely get new gravel I recommend fluval stratum as it’s really good for growing plants and it looks nice! Because the gravel you have now can slowly release toxins because of the paint! But yeah I’m wondering if you got a chance to test water parameters and cycle the tank! But bettas can be stressed for the first couple weeks in a new tank as it’s very new to them. I’m glad you saved him it’s awful how petco treats bettas:(
Btw I reccomend API freshwater testing kit for water parameters as it’s super accurate and the kit lasts you for agees
Rimed tanks need to be support under the entire rim. On the left side it is hanging off a few inches.
hey! just so you know, pothos will rot if it’s submerged.
https://preview.redd.it/hi890mpxftxg1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dada8ca8c8e96f1468eec972f8e78e2d2089a338
i’ve got mine like this so that the leaves aren’t in the water and my blind betta frosty can use it as a bed.
For starters, your aquarium isn’t completely on the table. Basically that’s an accident waiting to happen that most people wouldn’t be prepared for. It needs to be flush on a table that can support 100-120 lbs.
You’ll need to add a dark background against the glass to help absorb the light and reflections, otherwise your betta will be stressed 24/7.
Replace all the fake plants with a bunch of live plants. The more plants, the betta! Live plants will help clean the water and give your fish options to rest because they actually do like to lay down. Maybe you have a houseplant with roots that can thrive in the water while the leaves stay above the water? My betta loves the roots of my house plants. The houseplants love the aquarium water. Add a catappa leaf or two to help feed tannins to the water. Don’t forget to boil the catappa leaves for at least 3 minutes before adding them.
Always make sure to thoroughly clean everything with dechlorinated water before adding it to your aquarium!
There’s always room for improvement. Here’s my setup. Only a month old. Still working on it. I have ideas for when I do my next water change.
https://preview.redd.it/yvsermblotxg1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06f8379fe29c0b2d0fba742cc2f8216b6a95f8e2
I definitely recommend going natural, you can change the gravel to sand and add root tabs or use aqua soil (aqua soil will leech ammonia at first so make sure you keep tabs on the ammonia levels) and don’t forget a fertilizer and grow lights (the lights that come with the aquarium generally don’t have the spectrum to support plant growth) other wise all the effort poured into plants will most likely go to waste, I unfortunately learned that the hard way. Drift wood can be a wonderful addition to a tank adding tannins (the tea tint some aquariums have, it lowers pH and has antibacterial properties) and even some river stones (smooth) can help. The nitrogen cycle can take up to a month to establish so just make sure you’re doing regular water changes until then after it’s fairly easy to maintain an aquarium. Just some weekly maintenance
I put my betta in a larger tank when I first got him, he did not do well at all. I put him in a 20 gallon with those little leave that stick with suctions and he perked right up and has been happy ever since. He loves to rest on those leaves all day