Nano tank betta gift - help!

[FishAuntie]

Yeah I guess my brain went: regular plants need dirt for nutrients & I assumed I’d have to make big changes for live plants. It’s really nice to know they’re not as care intensive as I expected! I’m going to be a busy bee at the store today.

Yes, my next question is hugs, can I have one? Thank you so much again, I know I’ve required some hand holding and you’ve been great about guiding me!

 

[FishAuntie]

Here’s my shopping list for today based off reading & replies on here:

Safe Start (tetra)

Beneficial bacteria

Heater, 50watt

Anacharis plant & marimo ball

Holding/emergency mini tank

Test strips

Decor (cave)

Properly heighten silk plants

The last one being due to getting one too tall before! I figured oh well, I’m already starting my own tank so I’ll pop it in there instead someday

 

[Colin_T]

why do you want a holding/ emergency mini tank for?

 

[FishAuntie]

To quarantine the plants for a bit before they go into the tank. They will be from a chain store so I was thinking I should wait to see if there was anything nasty on them since I won’t risk the tank itself as I’m on a Countdown to Birthday.

Plus I might need it down the road so I figured why not be prepared.

 

[Colin_T]

you can use a bucket for plants or a plastic storage container. Plastic can be bleached repeatedly to clean it but silicon breaks down if bleached regularly.

 

[FishAuntie]

Thank you

 

[PheonixKingZ]

So have you decided not to get Anubis?

 

[FishAuntie]

I picked up an Anubias in fact Didn’t see the other kind in stores.

I found silk plants I liked but no cave really jumped out at me. Is there anything particular I should look for when selecting a cave for a betta?

The plant is still in its little quarantine but so far so good. No little buggies or anything on it so I’ll give it a couple more days (it’s getting good sunlight where it’s at) before adding it to the tank.

I took a water reading a couple days after adding the beneficial bacteria (used microbe-lift) and everything came out at the lowest or second lowest level (some of the colors looked similar) so I think we are moving in the right direction!

 

[FishAuntie]

Also I looked for driftwood. The only kind I found in the aquarium department was grapevine, and I think I remember reading some not so great stuff about that. There were a couple of other kinds in the reptile department. I can’t use those, can I?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You can, but it is not really ideal, because in my opinion it doesn’t look as good as say spider wood!

Not really, just pick the cave you think looks best! And also, make shure that it doesn’t have any sharp edges on it, and it won’t hog up the tank!! God job so far!

(I would love to see a pic. Of the tank! )

 

[FishAuntie]

It’s still under construction but making decent headway!

 

[FishAuntie]

Can I have a second opinion on whether this care sheet has everything it needs??



Food time!
- Stomach = Smaller than the size of their eyeball!
- Add one tiny pinch of food & only add more if there is nothing left after one minute. Extra food dirties the water & can make the fish sick. [[I need to double check the food instructions & will include those as well]]

Weekly
- Test tank water before change (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0-20 nitrates)
- Water change (prepare & treat water overnight, remove 25% & replace with new)
- Gently squeeze moss ball over sink
- 1 day fast: Do not feed your fish for a single day per week.

Monthly
- Filter change
- Gravel cleaning

Needs:
- Surface access: they breath from air & water!
- Tank lid closed: Bettas are jumpers!
- Do not leave lights on for more than 8 hours a day. No colored lights for more than 5 at a time.
- Silk plants (no plastic!) & aquarium specific items ONLY!
- No additional tank buddies; fighting fish (except the snail I’ll get you next month!)

Water
- 75-82’ (tropical fishy)
- Must be treated with ‘betta safe’ & left overnight before being added to the tank (clean, no chlorine, no heavy metal, no bad PH)
- Neutral PH (7.0)
- If worried about water use 1 test strip to check quality (call me)


How’s it looking thus far?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

That is almost perfect!! Good job!!

The only thing that I noticed is that you said “change the filter” by saying that, did you mean change the filter cartridge? You don’t need to change it every week, or even every month, only change it when it starts to fall apart. . It contains beneficial bacteria.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I do think you need a cave thou, it looks kind of empty.

 

[FishAuntie]

Ooo got it! I didn’t think about the fact that it’s a new tank & probably needs to let that really build. I’ll make sure she knows to leave it alone for a long while.

I definitely want a cave of some sort, I just didn’t like the selection when I went out to get the plants & stuff. Tomorrow is another shopping trip though!! I’ll get the net, thermometer, and maybe I will find a cave I like.

I also ordered those little circular chart versions of pH and ammonia measurers by SeaChem. I’m not going to discount the strips, rather I think it would be an additional help. Given that she is a kid I think it would be a great way to keep her paying attention to those levels. I have to wait for those to ship in though. Ordered one for my own future tank too


Hilarious note: I initially thought this would be a small, little project... I have already spent three times my original budget & done 16 hours research in order to do this properly - she betta love this fish, lol!