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NickAu

Fish Connoisseur
Tank of the Month 🏆
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This is my Beta His name is Microsoft, He used to share a tank with 6 guppies till they refused to pay rent and he evicted them. ( I gave them to the kid next door)
 
When I got him he was not well, I put him in the tank he went straight to the bottom and stayed there for 2 days on the 3rd day he started moving around and eating, And has not stopped since. That was 6 weeks ago now.  Microsoft seems to have a taste for snails, And at 3 bucks each thats a bit expensive so I stopped buying them.
 
He lives in a 20 lt ( 5 gallon ) Aquael cube


Aquael Shrimp Set 20 - 20l aquarium or planted tank with filter, heater n light

 
And the filter is


Aqua Aquarium Filter External Canister Fish Tank Water Sponge Pond 800LPH

with the flow set at around 60 lt per hour, I actually put a small restrictor in the hose.
 
 
This is his new home remodeled after the guppies moved out.
 
zyhusl.jpg
9hrkb9.jpg

1127dow.jpg
ogwbog.jpg

 
 
That is an adorable tank and you have it looking really nice!  Microsoft looks like he really enjoys it.
 
Very nice :)
 
Beautiful blue betta, name is kinda funny too :lol:
 
And now the questions start.
 
 I have a 10 lt container that I fill with water I put water ager in it and some API stress zyme plus then leave it for 2 to 3 days with a powerhead to circulate the water before adding it to the tank,  I find it easier to add the stuff to 10 lt water use as much as I need for water changes then i dunp the rest on my potted plants.
 
Stress zyme plus, Is it any good?
 
I was also told to add a bit of salt to my tank, We are talking about a 1/4 of a teaspoon to 10 lt water, Should I stop this now that its only Microsoft in the tank?
 
This is my first tank ever, Everything I know I learned on the net and thats not much.
 
For water changes, a fairly simple procedure for a 5 gal tank.
 
Add water that is tank temperature matched to your 10l bucket, add some dechlorinator / water conditioner such as Prime, Nutrafin Aqua Plus etc, most of these act in the same way so do make sure to add the recomended dosage to the water in bucket.
 
Add bucket of water to tank.
 
Thats about it. pretty simple. No need to leave for 2 or 3 days to degass, this is basically an old fashioned method if you did not have dechlorintor / water conditioner
 
Two examples of water dechlorinator that I have used in the past on my tanks without any issues.
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:75833] Screen Shot 2015-01-15 at 20.37.37.png
 
 
As for stress zyme, I have heard of this and some LFS do use this for transporting fish but personally I have never used this and don't think its a necessity.
 
Yup, thats the stuff I have heard of and tbh I have never used it so far
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Stress Zyme won't do anything for the live bacteria really. Live bacteria is found in your filter and all over your tank, substrate, decor and plants etc and these bacteria are fairly resilient as they have a protective skin. Nothing is needed except ammonia which comes from the fish and possibly decaying plant leaves or leftover fish food if left to rot in tank.
 
And Stress Zyme does not do anything at all in terms of keeping the tank clean. Keeping the tank clean is the fishkeeper's job by doing water changes and using gravel vac or syphon over the surface of substrate weekly  (One other reason for weekly water changes is to keep nitrate levels down)
 
Do be aware, there are a lot of products out there that are sort of marketing gimmicks and a lot of LFS are basically only interested in selling you more products
confused.gif

 
There ARE some good LFS with knowledgable staff but few and far between at the moment, things are improving though, slowly but surely
smile.png
 
1 thing I did learn from the net was how to make a gravel vac using the power head that came with the tank.
http://youtu.be/qkfYFVTOHgk
 
LyraGuppi
 
Thank you for telling me to get rid of the guppies, Microsoft seems like a new fish, He seems calmer, He no longer swims around like a maniac he just sort of floats around most of the time using his front fins. He is a different fish and I like it.
I know its nothing new to all the betta owners, But today he actually took a bit of pea from my finger, I just held it right on top of the water, also this will make it easier to feed him as I now only have to drop a few pellets in or some bloodworm or a bit of pea and the guppies wont get it before him.
 
I feed him 2 times a day, He will get 2 pellets in the morning and 3 at night? once a week I will give him some cooked pea about the same size as 2 pellets?
Twice a week he gets some blood worm about 4 bits, As they are freeze dried I pre soak them for about 10 mins in a teaspoon full of tank water. Naturally he wont get pellets when he gets bloodworm or pea.
Will this be ok
 
These are the pellets I was given.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aqua-Delight-200g-Betta-Siamese-Fighting-Fish-Food-Pellet-/321639058061?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item4ae32e8a8d
 
 
 
 
 
Beautiful tank
 
I watched a lot of youtube videos on setting up tanks, I cant wait till it all takes off. I have some of this in the tank and I think it will look great on the bottom.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FREE-EXPRESS-POST-Hemianthus-calltrichoides-Live-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Plant-/251778108290?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item3a9f250b82
 
Yes I am a noob LOL.
 
PS
I also pre soak his pellets.
 
Those pellets look good so I would continue to use them.  I personally recommend feeding frozen daphnia instead of a pea.  It is much better for the betta since they really do not need vegetative matter in their diet.  It is also not something you have to feed every week.  You can instead just have a day or so a week that you do not feed and have a fast day.  This is perfectly healthy for the fish.  I don't personally recommend feeding freeze dried products to bettas but the way you are feeding them is the way to feed them if you continue to use them.  Just watch for any bloating.  If you decide to implement a fasting day, feeding the freeze dried food the day before would be the best day to feed them since it would give him extra time to clear them through his system.  :)
 
Becareful with YouTube videos just because some of them (just like other places on the internet or other places you can get info about anything) will show really bad setups and ways to do things.
 
Thank you for that, Yes I know all  about shonky youtube videos, I spent hours looking at some of the filtration setups before buying a external canister filter and plumbing it up to my tank. The gravel vac idea was a good one as I have a small tank.
 
I have been reading the betta section and see that Indian Almond Leaves are a good for finrot, So I just ordered some, I live in a small town far from a big city, and it can take over a week before mail gets here, so I got it incase of emergency.
 
I have spoken to the pet shop where I got Microsoft and they would have to order the frozen bloodworms and daphnia, and I quote the guy behind the counter " take about 2 to 3 weeks to get it" see why I pre ordered the Almond Leaf? Is there anything else that I may need?
 
There is normally a big potted plant infront of the filter covering all the plumbing, In the next few weeks I will put the filter into the cabinet and run the plumbing up the back of the tank..
 
fcnrxc.jpg

 
Thanks again
Nick.
 
http://youtu.be/bO5dEysHPe0
 
Looks like a good set up.
 
And the little vid is good :)
 
Just did a water test on the tank.
 
PH 7.2
Ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite  0
 
Test kit used. API FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT.
 
Mods thanks for putting up with my spamming in this thread.
 

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