20 gallon long betta tank

[squidneh]

I recently moved, and plans for a bigger tank in the new space ended up getting nixed due to the very intensive grad program I'm in until summer 2022. As such, I've now converted my 20 gallon long into a divided tank for my 2 male bettas.

Substrate:
Black sand by Imagitarium

Hardscape:
Malaysian driftwood

Current Plants:
Dwarf sagittaria
Alternanrhera lilacina
Hygrophila corymbosa compact

I'm happy with this first round of planting, but the driftwood arrangement still needs some work I think. I like the right side of the tank but I'd like to make the left side a little taller. I need to move the heater to the back of the tank so it is more hidden and less of an eye sore, and I plan to get some vallisneria to add to the background as well as along the divider on each side.

I ordered my plants from buceplant.com and was really happy with my purchase. Got more than I expected to and the plants were all in great shape.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Absolutely beautiful!!

I love the Bettas and the plants!

 

[OliveFish05]

Wow! It looks really nice!!!! Those bettas are so beautiful! I am sure they are love love loving all that space!!!

 

[OliveFish05]

You could consider floating plants, I know bettas very much enjoy them. It could also help give a more planted look while providing a lot of cover!

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Already looks fantastic. Like @OliveFish05 suggested, maybe floating plants would be a good choice.

 

[squidneh]

Absolutely beautiful!!

I love the Bettas and the plants!

Thanks so much!!

You could consider floating plants, I know bettas very much enjoy them. It could also help give a more planted look while providing a lot of cover!

Already looks fantastic. Like @OliveFish05 suggested, maybe floating plants would be a good choice.

Yes, thanks to both of you for the suggestion! I'm looking into getting frogbit for this tank. I just wanted to give the new plants at the bottom some time to settle in and establish with direct light before I add them in. Neither of my bettas are skittish but I do think it makes them feel more secure and is more natural for them

 

[squidneh]

We unexpectedly lost Perry, which was sad as he was a beautiful and seemingly healthy fish. Peach is doing just fine and parameters are all normal so I'm not quite sure what happened to the poor guy. I'm not going to be replacing him, so I'll be redoing this tank by taking out the divider and scaping it into one cohesive scape rather than a divided aquarium.

I've had some issues with algae that I haven't had time to deal with due to being in grad school, so I'll be taking everything out and manually removing as much algae as possible (from the wood and plants) and will try an algae dip for whatever I can't scrub off by hand. Expecting to lose some plants in the process so I've ordered some jungle val, swords, and water lettuce to hopefully make up the difference, as I still want this to be heavily planted. All plants are alive and doing okay, just being over run by algae . I plan to move all the driftwood to the left side and make a taller structure with it. I've also ordered a few natural coconut hides. As the driftwood is slowing it's release of tannins I'll also be adding some leaf litter/alder cones to keep the blackwater effect.

Debating getting a group of celestial pearl danios and some cherry shrimp to add in there as well. Saw a listing on aquabid for 20 RCS for $35 including shipping that is very tempting. Peach is not very aggressive so it may be worth trying.

Pics to come when the tear down starts in a day or two

 

[Slaphppy7]

We unexpectedly lost Perry, which was sad as he was a beautiful and seemingly healthy fish. Peach is doing just fine and parameters are all normal so I'm not quite sure what happened to the poor guy. I'm not going to be replacing him, so I'll be redoing this tank by taking out the divider and scaping it into one cohesive scape rather than a divided aquarium.

I've had some issues with algae that I haven't had time to deal with due to being in grad school, so I'll be taking everything out and manually removing as much algae as possible (from the wood and plants) and will try an algae dip for whatever I can't scrub off by hand. Expecting to lose some plants in the process so I've ordered some jungle val, swords, and water lettuce to hopefully make up the difference, as I still want this to be heavily planted. All plants are alive and doing okay, just being over run by algae . I plan to move all the driftwood to the left side and make a taller structure with it. I've also ordered a few natural coconut hides. As the driftwood is slowing it's release of tannins I'll also be adding some leaf litter/alder cones to keep the blackwater effect.

Debating getting a group of celestial pearl danios and some cherry shrimp to add in there as well. Saw a listing on aquabid for 20 RCS for $35 including shipping that is very tempting. Peach is not very aggressive so it may be worth trying.

Pics to come when the tear down starts in a day or two

Sometimes shrimp work with bettas, other times, the shrimp become a pricey snack.

 

[Back in the fold]

Excellent

 

[OliveFish05]

We unexpectedly lost Perry, which was sad as he was a beautiful and seemingly healthy fish. Peach is doing just fine and parameters are all normal so I'm not quite sure what happened to the poor guy. I'm not going to be replacing him, so I'll be redoing this tank by taking out the divider and scaping it into one cohesive scape rather than a divided aquarium.

Sorry about Perry, that’s disappointing

Debating getting a group of celestial pearl danios and some cherry shrimp to add in there as well. Saw a listing on aquabid for 20 RCS for $35 including shipping that is very tempting. Peach is not very aggressive so it may be worth trying.

I have actually been looking into that exact listing for cherry shrimp! (I would guess it’s the same listing, as it’s the only one that matches that description). If you get the shrimp, I would love to hear about how the purchase goes!

 

[squidneh]

Sorry about Perry, that’s disappointing


I have actually been looking into that exact listing for cherry shrimp! (I would guess it’s the same listing, as it’s the only one that matches that description). If you get the shrimp, I would love to hear about how the purchase goes!

Thanks! I think I might pull the trigger on it lol. I've slept on it a few nights now and still thinking about it if I do I'll be sure to update about it here!

 

[squidneh]

Sometimes shrimp work with bettas, other times, the shrimp become a pricey snack.

Yeah, that is definitely a risk since I've never housed him with shrimps before. He's generally very sluggish about going after food (it's actually a pain in the butt to get him to eat, I think he may be blind or at least doesn't see well at all as he only grabs pellets if they're right in front of his face - never from the surface or off the bottom, and he won't give much of a chase after one floating by ). Since RCS cost about $5/shrimp here, kinda feels worth it to try for that price. Worse comes to worse he'll be well fed for a while lol. And it's heavily planted so maybe they'd stand a chance.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Never know until you try

Just observe closely when you add those RCS, his "blindness" may be a ruse, lol

 

[squidneh]

Sorry about Perry, that’s disappointing


I have actually been looking into that exact listing for cherry shrimp! (I would guess it’s the same listing, as it’s the only one that matches that description). If you get the shrimp, I would love to hear about how the purchase goes!

I just bought them so I'll let you know how it goes. A little concerned about the weather but fingers crossed.

 

[OliveFish05]

I just bought them so I'll let you know how it goes. A little concerned about the weather but fingers crossed.

Hope it goes well for you!