Betta Tank Setup Journal

[NeonBlueLeon]

I've finally got a tank and I've set it up to get a feel for it.  It is the 6.6 gallon Petco Bookshelf Aquarium.
The first tank came with cracks and missing parts, so I had to return it and track down a new one.
 
 
Here is the placement for the tank.  It used to be my study, you can see the periodic table up there.

  The window gets only indirect sunlight.

 
 
Crack in the tank lid.  Lame, Petco, just lame.

 
 
Brandless, included filter.  Seems kind of flimsy.  I'm expecting it to break and I've got back ups.  The filter might even be overkill for a single betta and a snail or two.

 
 
Only a carbon cartridge, but I'll add some sponges.

 
 
Here's the first scape I came up with.

 
 
Lights on.  It's a T8 18" 15 watt "Red" light.

 
 
A look inside the hiding place.

 
 
I didn't like the scape too much, so I tried to redo it.  I dislike this one just the same, if not more.  I am considering live plants, frankly.  These silk ones are not pleasing to my aquarist eyes.  I also wanted some plants at the surface by the filter outflow to reduce the current reaching the right side of the tank.  I also wanted high plants on the right side so my betta can hang out up there.

Given my current decor selection, how would you scape it?  I can't think of anything that looks nice to me which is why I want to buy new stuff.  Has anyone ever used those "plant bulbs?"  The ones that you stick in the substrate and it's supposed to just sprout out?
 
 
Hello there assassin snail!  Gonna swap him for nerites probably.  The LFS here has an amazing selection of snails.  Anyone want to throw out ideas for snails that I (the pet owner) can control population and eats algae?

 
 
 
That's all I've got for now.  I'll post any changes I make.  The filter media is seeding in an established tank at the moment, and I'll be getting the betta after I return from a week long vacation.  Meanwhile, I'll have the snail in there.  Let me know any scaping suggestions and what kind of snail I should trade my assassin for.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Sounds good and looking forward to updates.
I personally love the scape though you could bunch some plants together as that may look quite nice and I'm sure the Betta would love to hang out by them. That is just my opinion and you don't have to go along with it.

 

[RCA]

Looks great for your future Betta.

Has anyone ever used those "plant bulbs?"  The ones that you stick in the substrate and it's supposed to just sprout out?

No sorry, never seen them or tried them.
 

 Anyone want to throw out ideas for snails that I (the pet owner) can control population and eats algae?

I only keep Assassins, so cannot advise on anything else snail wise.  Have you considered Amano Shrimp?  As long as the lid is tight fighting you will find them great little workers and are fast enough to get away from the Betta.
 
I would agree with Blondie... bunch the two plants on the left together, that way they do not look like they have been placed but have grown together.
 
Also, just tilt the heater slightly as they generally work better that way i.e. the heat is not going straight up to the thermostat.  Plus, you will often find the Betta likes to rest on a thermostat of a heater, especially if it is near the surface, as they just bob their heads up to breathe and stay resting - lazy as they sometimes can be
 
I would also get some IAL, and a piece of bog-wood as these assist with the tannin's that the Betta thrives in.
 
I also prefer live plants, although do use silk, but not plastic, in some tanks.  If you go for the bog-wood, some good old Java Fern or Anubias are great additions   It is easy to clean the tank as you can lift out the wood and plants together.  Bettas love floating plants too 

 
What food are you planning for him?
 

 keep them coming. 

 

[TallTree01]

It's a nice looking tank for sure. I think it needs more plants though .
I'm think maybe some dwarf hairgrass and some rush. Mossballs too if you find them.

 

[Shelster]

+1 on what talltree suggested, I think if you have an eye for real plants, nothing else quite suits the bill.

Anubias are great if you have something to attach them to, my Vader loves his to rest on the leaves

 

[RCA]

Yes, moss balls, they are a great addition - well done TT 

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
I saw mossballs at my LFS so I'm definetely going to pick them up next time I swing by.  I also saw IAL (to my surprise) at my LFS.
 
So far, I have some Aqueon betta pellets.  I don't know how good quality these are.  Here's the nutritional analysis on the bottle:
Minimum Crude Protein 38%
Minimum Crude Fat 7%
Maximum Crude Fiber 7%
As for live food, I'm thinking brine shrimp, tubifex, or blood worms.  Which one do your bettas love the most?
 
Another concern that I have is feeding once I have the tank stocked.  Be it snails, shirmp, or even pygmy cories, I'm afraid the betta will eat it all and his tankmates won't get anything.  Perhaps I'll wait until I see algae growth before I stock nerites or amano shrimp, but what if I get cories?  Won't the betta eat the shrimp pellets that I drop for the cories?

 

[TallTree01]

I don't think bettas will try and eat food at the bottom. They will probably not eat algae wafers.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Well I'll never know till I try.  Let's just see what happens and keep you guys updated.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

So I'm doing some research on amano shrimp, and I've grown quite interested.  They will be the first shrimp I own!  I've heard they are talented escape artists.  Below are some pics of the only gaps in my tank lid for the filter.  Sorry these pics aren't terribly exciting.

 
My main concern is here.

 
The other side of the gap, much tighter.

 

[Wildbetta]

I highly recommend live plants.  What is your substrate?  Looks to be gravel.  Short swords, wisteria, ludwigia, several different forms of hygrophilia are all good stem plants that will do decently in gravel and are not "needy" as far as lighting/CO2 goes.  Java ferns, anubias, and bolbitus ferns are all great plants for attaching to wood, rock, decor, or even on suction cups on the tank walls and again all are easy to work with as far as lighting(most actually do best in lower lighting).  Those bulbs -- I have never personally used them but I hear mixed reviews about them.  Some people say they worked great and others say they never sprouted and grew.  Supposedly you are able to recoup your losses though with the company.(read the stuff on the package)  I love floating plants for bettas!  I have floaters in all my tanks.  I have duckweed, salvinia, hornwort, watersprite, and asian water grass.  Frogbit and dwarf water lettuce are two other nice floating plants but I have never had luck with them in my tanks.
 
The filter should be ok and can easily be baffled to slow the flow down if needed.  I haven't really heard reviews on the filter because everyone that I know that has this particular tank uses sponge filters and didn't use the filter.  I recommend either cling film (saran wrap) or some other stuff to block that open spot even if you only keep the betta and snails because bettas can and will jump out of holes in the lid.
 
I personally keep nerite, malaysian trumpet, pond, ramshorn, assassin, and mystery snails.  I like all of them.  For algae eating -- I would go with nerites or ramshorn.  If you don't want more snails than what you start with, then you would need to go with nerite snails since they do not produce offspring in freshwater. (although they do lay eggs which won't hatch)  I like shrimp and have kept them in tanks with bettas before but they are more prone to being an expensive snack.  That even includes amano shrimp and ghost shrimp even though they are bigger and more able to "get away" from the betta.  Cohabitating with shrimp is more up to the betta as to if it will work or not.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Thanks for the reply WildBetta.  My substrate is a black gravel because I thought I was going to be using silk plants only.  Elsewise I'd have used a plant-friendlier substrate.  Today I purchased some anubias on rocks from my LFS, as I begin my scavange for healthy plants.  I'll keep your list of recommended plants handy.  Again, thanks. 

 
I also got a zebra nerite today and took out the assassin.  He had just shipped to the store today, so I only got one.  And for all intents and purposes, the tank isn't cycled yet, although the filter media is seeding in another tank.  The anubias on rocks might help a little as they have been sitting in the LFS for a while.
 
 
Here's a close of the anubias.  I'm still looking for some nice stemmed plants to reach close to the top.  I plan on using the tank light very sparringly.  Anubias feel like they have thick leaves.  Just so I'm sure, are they in fact medium to low light plants?

I do apologize for the glare on the tank.  I'll snap some photos tonight.
 
 
Here's how it looks now.  I put the cave back on the left.  As I get more live plants, I'll be taking out the silk.  I might even pull of the silk plants attached to the epoxy cave and tie live ones onto it.  Forget silk, go live or go home!

Just noticed the light looks like it's in the water.  It's actually behind the tank, so don't worry!  Also, sorry for the bad photo lighting.
 
 
Here's the nerite I picked up today.  I bought sinking algae wafers for him, and I'll try and feed him tomorrow or perhaps tonight.  He's already travelled across the entire tank already.  I place him by the cave at the other end of the tank, and about 10 mintues later I found him in this opposite corner.

How many nerites should go in this tank? It is 6.6 gallons.
 
Thanks again for all the suggestions, everyone.  I'll keep pics coming!

 

[Wildbetta]

Anubias are one of those weird plants that actually do best in lower lighting so they are some of the easiest plants.  Oh and bettas will scavage off the bottom and I have had some take an interest in algae wafers but nothing to the point of causing any issues as far as the betta eating them before the nerite.  You should be perfectly fine with around 2 nerite snails in there.  I like the new layout that you have now.    

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Thanks WildBetta, I think I'll be leaving the tank pretty much as it is, only swapping out silk for live plants.
 
Update with more pics!
 
 
Today I found one of these bad boys nice and green and healthy at PetSmart, so I snagged one.

 
 
And I picked up one of these "Balinese Lanterns," also from PetsMart.  It seemed to fit the theme of the tank that I wanted to make.  I returned this pagoda that I purchased from Petco because it was too big and the plants seemed sharp.

 
 
In case you haven't noticed already, I also got a new light.  The one that came with the tank was a T8 15 watt "Red."   I got a ZooMed TropicSun.  It might be too bright for the plants I've currently got, but I don't plan on using the light much besides for fin inspection, gravel inspection, and showing off.   I think this looks much better than the "red" light.

 
 
Say hello to the nerite!  Much more vibrant colors with this light.

 
 
I've been looking at bettas, but I'm gonna wait longer.  I did ammonia tests today and it came up at 0.25 ppm.  I did a roughly 75% water change, and there was still 0.25 ppm.  It turns out my tap water has ammonia.  Since there's nothing but a snail in at the moment, I left it as is since the snail seems okay.  I bought a bottle of Prime just in case.  Does anyone else have ammonia in there tap?  How do you deal with it?

 

[TallTree01]

That nerite puts my tetras to shame... Almost.
Seriously though, nice tank!