Greetings From Montreal!

[l_l_l]

Hi there!
I have recently (in june) found a 20gal aquarium for 5$ at a thrift store..
I was pretty amazed to see that it was not leeking at all and decided to give Fishkeeping a go.
 
At first, I bought a few red fish, because, you know, they are cheap and tough. Everything went well, I didn't even know about cycling and surprisingly my 3 red fish and 2 kois all survived.
 
A few months later, last saturday, I grew tired of having dirty fish, and my kois were starting to look sadder and sadder, having barely no place to move. Heck, I have learned so much during these few months I now realize them being in this small tank was kind of a torture for them.
 
It was time to do something about this, I gave my fish to a friend who has a pound and now they are happy.
Last weekend I did even more research and ended up deciding I'd go for a Betta community tank.
 
My tank will include 1 Betta, a few neon Tetras (about 6-10), a few Kuhli Loaches and some Cherry red Shrimp. Probably will add some snails, not sure which one tho because I do not want my tank to become over populated with them.
 
I already have planted a few plants in there, some dwarf anubias (3 of them, some Amazon Swords (2 of them), some Java moss a cute little Marimo, and I'm not sure about the other plant (maybe you can help me identify it?!)
 
It is my first planted tank ever, and my first try at aquascaping. I really, really love the hobby. It relaxes me. I don't have a TV and when I have nothing to do I just sit in front of the aquarium and look at it:icon_redf.
 
Anyways, here is my aquarium:

 
I am going to buy a Current-USA Sattelite LED+ tomorrow at my local aquarium shop, I don't think my tank has enough light right now, and I heard great things about this fixture.
 
I might also come back from the store with some Lilaeopsis to provide some hiding places for my loaches, shrimp and neons for when the Betta comes in the picture.
 
Only thing I'll be missing after this is a good water heater for this 20 gal. I don't think this heater I have is doing the job, I woke up this morning and found the tank at 21C, and to house my Betta it would need to be at 25 min.
 
Anyways, I hope I'll be able to learn a lot from you guys! (If you have suggestions, shoot them at me!)
 
Cheers!
 
l_l_l

 

[Meeresstille]

Hello and welcome fellow Quebecois! That was a pretty nifty deal on your tank there!
 
So you want to create a Betta community tank. There are two points of caution that I can think of. Not all Bettas are community material, so you may want to look for a small tank (a 5 gallon would be fine) into which you could move the Betta into, should problems arise. They are great hunters, and if he wants to eat your shrimp or kill your fish, he will!!!!
The other issue is that Bettas are gluttens and in a community tank they easily over-eat which can cause digestion problems, bloating and death! (It's what happened to my second Betta sadly, now I will never keep Bettas in a community tank again!)
 
Have you had a look at this area ( http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/forum/26-new-to-the-hobby-questions-and-answers/  ) of this Forum yet? It has a lot of info you may find interesting, especially the Betta Splendens care sheet.  

 

[l_l_l]

Hi! Thank you for the advise! I have already researched a lot about Betta fish but am always opened to learning more from experienced people!
 
I know that keeping a Betta in my fish tank will be a good challenge, and I love challenges. It is a good idea to have an extra 5 gallon, especially since I could always use it as a hospital tank if things go well.
 
I have a few updates! Yesterday I went to the store, bought a Sat+, a Marimo, cause they are cute, two nerite snails, a good heater, and a master test kit, which I never had (oh boy I was scared of seeing the results of the tests!!)
 
Came back home, installed the fixture, looked at it, put the marimo ball in the tank, looked at it, acclimated my snails to the new water, looked at them, installed the heater, and went on with the tests.
 
At my surprise, my tests were not that bad, 0ppm nitrites, 0 ammonia, 7.5ph... But the nitrates... I have about 100-110 PPM. NOooooooo!! I instantly looked at my fish and told them I was sorry. I then filled two buckets with water, and put some tap water treatment in them, waiting 24 hours before changing water. (will happen tonight) And will do a couple of small water changes every day until my levels are under 40..
 
Other updates/plans, I finally won't be adding kuhli loaches in there, as they will most likely become too large for the tank, I will instead opt for either dwarf corydoras or dwarf loaches. I really want bottom dwellers with my shrimp to make the tank really lively..
 
Maybe this weekend I'll get some shrimp, if I manage my nitrates.
 
Anyways, here is a picture with the new light in!
 

Makes the tank look so much better!
Oh, and I woke up this morning with a tank at 25c

 

[Meeresstille]

Very nice indeed!

 

[lilo]

if you want something a bit different, african dwarf frogs go well with bettas. Amano shrips are great at keeping the tank crystal clear of algae. with bettas you just don't want to have anything too nippy, or anything else with long flowing fins, or the betta will think its another betta. 
the plants  will help your nitrate levels too.

 

[Ch4rlie]

 
That lighting is a vast improvement from your first pic! 

 
I like your set up, nice and natural looking.
 
Looks like you're doing things correctly along the way, rehoming the koi was absolutely the right move, upgraded the lighting, heater added, researching your tank stocking etc, good on you.
 
IMO I think Red Cherry Shrimps and a few snails is good enough for the bottom of your tank, the substrate you have is not great for things like cories and loach truth be told, certainly could be wrong about that though.
 
As for the above post, ADF, would advise against that, ADF will possibly eat the neons and shrimps....
 
You don't say what your red fish are, is the pic with the blue and red fish near the right hand side of tank you are talking about, they look like neons or cardinal tetras.
 
And an excellent idea to have a 5 gal tank set up on standby just in case the Betta goes for the shrimps and neons. 

 

[l_l_l]

if you want something a bit different, african dwarf frogs go well with bettas. Amano shrips are great at keeping the tank crystal clear of algae. with bettas you just don't want to have anything too nippy, or anything else with long flowing fins, or the betta will think its another betta. 
the plants  will help your nitrate levels too.

It is true that african dwarf frogs are excellent candidates for a betta community, my girlfriend thinks they are gross tho

I think they are cute.
 
I have just read a bit about Amono shrimp and they seem really nice to have!
They are a bit bigger so my Betta wouldn't be able to eat them

I am wondering if my total fish is about 10 neon tetras, 1 Betta, 2 nerite snails, 6 Dwarf Corydoras (maybe, but now I'm not sure because of my substrate.. I heard they like sand.)How many Amano could I safely add to my Tank? I think with that I'd be maxed out after..
Probably would be opting for the frog if I really can't get corydoras..
 
--
Hi Ch4rlie!
 
Thank you for your critique! I like it too, can't wait to have more growth on it so I can do some more scaping, I have a good idea of what I want my final look to be
 
Those fish are Neon Tetra, I have heard they can be ok with Betta, as long as they are in a school of at least 6, they wont bother the Betta. And Betta is too slow for them!
And for corrydora, all of the research I have done has led me to believe that I should try and see for myself. Some people say I shouldn't do it, some say they had it done without problems.. Same goes with pigmy loaches..
Urgh..
And now for the dwarf frog, if it eats my shrimp, then I wont get the frog, I very much prefer having shrimp, because they look like little aliens.

 

[l_l_l]

update: I just did a water change tonight (25%) and tested the nitrate in it an hour later.. And the results are in: I am sitting at 60-70! wayyyyy better than before! I will be doing another change tomorrow night, in hopes of getting this nasty level even lower. And lower and lower. The other good news is that my tap water contains 0ppm nitrates!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Good stuff!

Plants are good at consuming nitrates so adding a few stem plants will help.

Don't worry too much about nitrates, as you say do water changes and bring the level to below 40 ppm and that's fine.
Testing for nitrates can be very inaccurate anyway as tests for nitrates are not all that reliable.

 

[l_l_l]

Update: Nitrates are at 40ppm, But I destroyed one on my test tubes lol.
I think I'll go get some cherry red shrimp today..

 

[Ch4rlie]

Am a huge fan of RCS! 

 
Started with 6, now got at least 12+, can't count them all as they hide and move around too much. 

 
Now there are another two females berried so more shrimps on the way soon 

 

[cameronpalte]

Very nice aquarium - and a great price too.
 
Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your time here!

 

[l_l_l]

I have lots of updates  
Pictures coming tomorrow!
One of the good news: Nitrates down to 30ppm...

 

[l_l_l]

Am a huge fan of RCS! 

 
Started with 6, now got at least 12+, can't count them all as they hide and move around too much. 

 
Now there are another two females berried so more shrimps on the way soon 

Yes I saw them once at my LFS, I thought they were so cute!
Congrats on the new hatchlings

Very nice aquarium - and a great price too.
 
Welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your time here!

Thank you my friend! I am very proud to be a part of this hobby and forum!
 
So here are my updates, as promised:
Started the weekend by buying a tire track nerite snail, because I thought that three snails were better than two.
 
This weekend I managed to lower my nitrate levels to 30-35 ppm, I will be doing a few small water changes until they are at 20ppm, and then, regular water changes.
Sunday I went to my LFS, and purchased a bunch of plants (some Cabomba, and not sure about the other plant, maybe you can help me? It's the bush up front on the right..)
 
Here is a picture:
 

 
I also saw a cute looking shrimp and was labeled as "rock shrimp"
Having no bottom feeder I did a bit of research and found out they are actually bamboo shrimp, so I got one and I've seen it hanging in the Cabomba forest I have setup under the output of the filter (I put the forest there especially for the shrimp I'll get as I heard they like being in current..) Sometimes I see him scavenging in the bottom, some other times walking on plants, he's an active fellow and doesn't seem afraid of my fish
 
And finally, I purchased a nice split tail Betta, it looks so beautiful, and he is really peacefull. He never has been aggressive to the tank mates, and likes to hide under the driftwood/anubias, he's really fun to watch even tho he's really shy right now! His colors are astonishing, he's a dark blue and the end of his fins are white, and has two horizontal red stripes on the top and bottom fins, making him look a bit like a neon tetra, I named him "l'espion" because of that(meaning the spy in french). I'll post pictures as soon as he settles in
 
Will get a few cherry red shrimp during the week to finish this tank and then, I make sure everything is well balanced!
 
Oh! and my Marimo moss balls started pearling yesterday!
 
Cheers!

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Welcome aboard!

Your tank on the last pic is way better than the first 2 pics. Good job!