Recent content by dsch132

A friend of mine just moved and her new landlord won't let her have an aquarium. As such, I've now inherited a five-gallon tank. Supposedly, it's been running for almost two years with no fish but lots of plants and various waves of pest infestations. I think the pests are gone now, but I'll...

It's moss and is actually very beautiful—fantastic for aquascaping. She actually got it from one of my planted tanks! Unfortunately, she has a small setup with strong lights, and it's spiraling out of control. It doesn't help that her tank is pretty vertical and has this (absolutely gorgeous)...

One of my friends bought some plants online, didn't sufficiently clean them, and introduced bladder snails to her betta tank. Soon enough, the snails basically formed their own nation. She was constantly vacuuming baby snails, but they just kept coming back. Finally, the snails are gone, but her...

Nice! I can't wait for the planted pictures.

I have and am almost finished soaking a nice piece of manzanita driftwood that I'm going to invert in the tank like tree roots. I'm very pleased because this one doesn't have any nasty points that could harm flowing betta fins. The branch angles are also highly reminiscent of a nageire ikebana...

This is my little cousin next to my betta tank...the large community is too high for him to reach (thank god). The angelfish don't need that kind of drama.

I love your angels! They look enormous, but it could be perspective. I keep some in my large community and they have so much personality as a species (they can also be jerks).

Your fish won't mind the messy look at all- plenty of cover. In the end, the best fish tank is not about aesthetics but what's best for the inhabitants.

What has he torn his fin on? If you have sharp plastic plants I would take them out and replace them with silk plants (or, eventually, live ones).

From my experience you can overshoot with filters but don't overshoot with heaters. I've never heard of an overfiltered aquarium but an overheated one is easy to achieve with a powerful piece of equipment.

Dmitri used to belong to a university lab and was used by a BIO150 class for animal behavior experiments. They were going to dispose of him but offered him up to anyone who would take him first. I wonder if that's why he's so aggressive- his early life was probably full of constant stress. I...

Additionally, I have experience with angels and their attitudes. Your tank is not very wide and, therefore, doesn't have much room for an angelfish to escape from a confrontation. The real function of space and cover when you're dealing with semi aggressive fish is to give them an escape route...

I wouldn't add the lobsters. Angelfish have very long delicate fins that often get torn up by fin nippers (and occasionally each other). I don't like the look of those pincers...

I don't think I'd select another betta (that would make three) when the opportunity for something new presented itself. I know a bit about dwarf cichlids and I might do some research on paradise fish. How about sparkling gourami? Would they still work in a similar setup?

Best of luck! Betta are wonderful fish (I have one of my own and am preparing for another). However, they are all too often fragile due to their treatment at and in transit to pet stores (both chain and independent). I prefer my LFS but petsmart is closer so I'll sometimes go there for the...