New betta tank

[sharkweek178]

So I'm starting a betta tank. 10 gallons.
Here's what I'm thinking. I want to make a carpet of java moss. I'll cut some plastic canvas mesh to the size of the bottom of the tank and super glue the moss to it. That will sit on top of about an inch of black sand. The mesh will also be black so hopefully they'll blend in with each other. On top of that I'll have 3 or 4 pieces of river rock with Anubias barteri coffeifolia attached. The back wall will have a background of bacopa monnieri and Manzanita twigs. I'll have hornwort floating. And I'll see if some salvinia minima can coexist with the hornwort.
I also want either a piece of black pvc piping with Anubias nana petite attached or a piece of driftwood the betta can hide behind. I haven't decided. I'm leaning towards the driftwood.
I have a hospital/quarantine tank that's not currently in use. I'm cycling a sponge filter in there and will add it just before the fish. Between that and the hornwort, I think the cycle will be pretty well covered.
Livestock will just be one betta. I prefer plakats. I'll add some ramshorn snails and see how well the betta tolerates them. But otherwise, nothing else.

So what do you think of the carpeting idea? And between the pvc pipe and driftwood, which would be better?

 

[connorlindeman]

Moss carpets are debris magnets.

 

[Back in the fold]

Sounds good to me . Bettas seem to like little aquatic jungles . They like to explore and are inquisitive . In a single specimen fish set up like you’re doing it comes down to what pleases your eye and what the fish looks good in .

 

[sharkweek178]

Moss carpets are debris magnets.

I actually did this before. And this is true. I'll give it a good vacuuming when I do water changes.
I lost my patience with the last one because there was a patch of brown moss. This time I'd just replace that patch. If it gets to be too much, I can just pull the whole thing out and go with the sand substrate that will be underneath it.

 

[sharkweek178]

Sounds good to me . Bettas seem to like little aquatic jungles . They like to explore and are inquisitive . In a single specimen fish set up like you’re doing it comes down to what pleases your eye and what the fish looks good in .

That's why I'm thinking of the pvs piping. Give it a little cave. But a piece of driftwood would also give it a place to hide and would probably fit in better with the jungle look.

 

[Jamie D.]

I put a square of moss in my betta tank last year. Man, that was impossible to clean or keep clean. I don't think I'd do it again, personally. I removed it, but some of the moss lives on attached to some wood I have in there, and it's much more manageable there, for some reason. I have some dwarf hairgrass hanging in there that mine likes to nap on, but I find him in the crypt or perched in bacopa most often. Lots of plants is always good.

I have a little ceramic petstore "tunnel" that my betta likes to hide in, as well as a floating betta log, and he likes that too. Whatever he can swim through, hide under, or squeeze between is a-okay with him! I'm sure yours will be fine with whatever you like the look of best.

 

[sharkweek178]

I put a square of moss in my betta tank last year. Man, that was impossible to clean or keep clean. I don't think I'd do it again, personally. I removed it, but some of the moss lives on attached to some wood I have in there, and it's much more manageable there, for some reason. I have some dwarf hairgrass hanging in there that mine likes to nap on, but I find him in the crypt or perched in bacopa most often. Lots of plants is always good.

I have a little ceramic petstore "tunnel" that my betta likes to hide in, as well as a floating betta log, and he likes that too. Whatever he can swim through, hide under, or squeeze between is a-okay with him! I'm sure yours will be fine with whatever you like the look of best.

Maybe I'll get a smaller piece of pvc and have both that and the wood

 

[sharkweek178]

Something has been vexing me and I think I figured it out. This tank is in the living room. And sometimes people in the house stay up late. So I've been trying to think of a way to cover the tank at night to there's a period of darkness for the fish to rest. Throwing a towel or blanket over the whole thing doesn't seem like a good idea. I was actually pondering something like cutting out part of a refridgerator box to place over the tank and stand at night. Or making a similarly sized foldable hood for that purpose.
Then a much simpler solution hit me. I put black posterboard on as a black background. I could do the same for the sides. And then I could attach some mini clothespin like clips to the top of the tank and use them to clip a piece of blackout curtain over most of the top and front.

 

[MaloK]

My betta stays up late...

He lies on a leaf and watches TV with me, he seems to love sports and action movies too. He also pokes off the glass every snails that are blocking his view.

 

[sharkweek178]

My betta stays up late...

He lies on a leaf and watches TV with me, he seems to love sports and action movies too. He also pokes off the glass every snails that are blocking his view.

I keep my fish up too. But they always get a long dark period and it's fairly consistent. This fish will be in a different room and I want to afford him the same.

 

[sharkweek178]

I've been slowly advancing on this. Yesterday, I go to add the sand. I wanted black sand. The moss mat will cover the substrate and I thought black would just blend in better with that. It's only a 10 so I didn't want a 50 pound bag of blasting sand. So I bought some 5 pound bags black Imaginarium sand from Petco. I start cleaning the sand yesterday. When I poured water onto this black sand a oily film rose to the top. It was disgusting. Like someone put oil in there. There's no way I'm going to put a fish into that. I didn't feel confident in being able to clean it sufficiently. I threw that out and I'm going to return the bags I have left.
So back to play sand. It won't be quite the look I wanted. But the safety of the fish is obviously more important. And I know play sand is safe. I used up my play sand and have to get another bag to finish it up. It will be fine.

 

[sharkweek178]

Look at this.



Disgusting.

 

[MaloK]

Looks like tar

 

[connorlindeman]

I've been slowly advancing on this. Yesterday, I go to add the sand. I wanted black sand. The moss mat will cover the substrate and I thought black would just blend in better with that. It's only a 10 so I didn't want a 50 pound bag of blasting sand. So I bought some 5 pound bags black Imaginarium sand from Petco. I start cleaning the sand yesterday. When I poured water onto this black sand a oily film rose to the top. It was disgusting. Like someone put oil in there. There's no way I'm going to put a fish into that. I didn't feel confident in being able to clean it sufficiently. I threw that out and I'm going to return the bags I have left.
So back to play sand. It won't be quite the look I wanted. But the safety of the fish is obviously more important. And I know play sand is safe. I used up my play sand and have to get another bag to finish it up. It will be fine.

Try to get a refund for all the sand. Tell them what happened.

 

[sharkweek178]

Try to get a refund for all the sand. Tell them what happened.

I still have the receipt so I'm going to return the bags I didn't open. I'll show them the picture to see if I can get a store credit for the one I did.