# Adventures of Soon To Be Betta Owner



## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

First off, Hiiiiiiiiiii.:mrgreen:

This is the first time I'll have a fish in... well.... since that stage as a young child where I had a tank of ill fated goldfish (you know that stage).

So now that I'm older, wiser, all that jazz, I've been doing research so that this time around I'll have a happy, healthy fish. Annnd obsessively googling led me to this forum.

Getting down to business, I live in an apartment building that has an no pets policy. However I was able to sweet talk my way into being allowed to keep a betta fish, provided I and Roommate take good care of our gilled friend. 

Originally I bought a pretty decorative bowl, because like everyone else who browses the fish section on the way to pick up kibble I assumed betta' were fine in a small container. Have I mentioned I did the research thing? It quickly made me see the error of my ways and a few days ago I purchased a basic Top Fin 2.5 gal (as much as I would like to go up to 5, apartment manager guy was leery of the bowl, a 5 gal tank wouldn't go over well, also we're short on space in our studio). Also during my shopping spree I picked up a Tetra Whisper 3i Filter, small inexpensive thermometer, Hydor Mini Heater (2-5gal), Top Fin River Rock pebbles and a little resin driftwood decoration thingy. I also have on a previous trip stocked up on betta food (pellets and freeze dried bloodworms), a water conditioner and a net. I definitely plan on getting a check valve for the filter, gravel vacuum, water test strips and a light source (old desk lamp seems to need a purpose). 

During a couple of extensive googling sessions I fell in love with the DIY styrofoam 3d backgrounds all the serious fish enthusiests seem to be creating. So today I actually made one out of a thin 1/2in sheet of styrofoam and some Great Stuff expanding foam. I know that sounds like it'll eat up a ton of space in an already small tank, but I let it cure and trimmed down the back significantly, so it's a little less than an inch in thickness. Should I still be concerned about the amount of space it's taking up? Tomorrow I want give it a few coats of some quick drying cement (with a little buff coloring since I like the natural aquascape thing) and let it cure before sealing it to the back. The way the foam set it should look like a really nice little background.

My main question is plants though. During that whole glass bowl phase I picked up some cheap plastic aquarium plants at Wal-Mart, but obsessive googling has told me that those can tear up betta fins. I can definitely tell out of one of the ones I bought there's a 'softer' plant, which I think I can use to hide the filter. As for the others, I'm definitely replacing them, but I'm stuck between getting little silk plants or live ones. I would really love to do live plants as I know it would speed up the cycling process and I hear the bettas are happier with live plants. The problem is I'm as N00b as N00bs can be to this whole thing, and don't know a thing about plants. 

Soooo, thoughts? Ideas? :dunno:


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## noenyu (Jul 31, 2010)

TharBePirates said:


> First off, Hiiiiiiiiiii.:mrgreen:
> 
> This is the first time I'll have a fish in... well.... since that stage as a young child where I had a tank of ill fated goldfish (you know that stage).
> 
> ...


Hi! 

From what I learned from the short period of time I've been on this forum, silk plants should be used instead of plastic. Plastic can tear the fins of a betta. But I love the look of live plants/natural planted aquariums. I got my first betta (Taco) kind of on a rescue mission lol. My sister stopped caring for him so I took over. I too got google crazy looking up how to properly care for a betta. Then I kind of got obsessed with planted tanks and wanted to jump right in. 

The good thing about natural planted tanks is that the plants can help the fish a lot. They use up ammonium, nitrites, nitrates, and fish waste plus oxygenate the water. At least that's what I got from my research. They other thing is planted tanks look so beautiful lol.

Here is some more information on natural planted tanks:

Byron's "A Basic Approach to Natural Planted Aquariums"

Part 1 http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/a...um-part-34861/

Part 2 http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/a...um-part-34859/

Part 3 http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/a...um-part-34858/

Part 4 http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/a...um-part-34862/

I also asked for advice on starting and keeping a successful aquarium. 
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/a...y-start-49136/

Plant and Fish profile http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/

Tropical Fish Keeping is Bettafish.com's sister site I believe. 

Hope that helps!


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

Thanks for those links! Just what I needed to hear about plants.

So I went to Petco today because I've never been there. There's a Petsmart about 5 miles closer so I've never had the need. However I thought since I had some time on my hands I'd go and check out their gravel as I changed my decor plans a tad to get some more wiggle room with my budget. They had a cool, 6 gal slim bookcase tank that I nearly got, however I exercised some control and told myself Apt Manager guy would freak at the size.

I was thisclose to getting a betta though. They had a mix bag of bettas, some were floating at the top, others were listless on the bottom with clamp fin, and then there were some that were bright eyed and curious. There was a gorgeous double veil royal blue butterfly who had a great personality, but gods I had to stop myself! I don't even have this tank set up yet and I not only want a fish, I already want a larger tank.:roll:

Also managed to chat with someone about plants. The fish guy was busy, but I struck up the conversation of another employee who had been raising fish for a long time along with some plants. She was pretty stunned someone was researching tank setup/plants/cycling for a little betta. She recommended some coconut that had been hollowed out into little caves and topped with java moss. Apparently she has one that's pretty much carpeted her tank, and she's seen betta adore the coconut cave. I'm thinking about returning my little faux driftwood and getting one of those once the tank's up in SF and ready for water and cycling.

I'm off to pick up some supplies for my background, as well as return the other gravel. I need to take pictures of my tiny tank project:tongue:

I have a question for anyone out in San Francisco. I live pretty close to Chinatown's Pet Central, does anyone have experience with their plants and bettas? I know there are other places, but they're a short walk from where I live, and they have a huge fish section. Their bettas though look a little sad in their dirty little cups, but I haven't really looked at them for health problems and ect, I do know they're cheaper than Petco and Petsmart though.


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## Sarada (May 11, 2010)

Are you not worried about chemicals from your styrofoam project getting into the water?


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

Sarada said:


> Are you not worried about chemicals from your styrofoam project getting into the water?


I was leery originally, but from the various plans I've read, I'm coating the stryofoam in a few coats of cement, which will seal the front and sides up. After that I'm going to let it cure till Thursday or so, before I submerge it into a bucket of water to see if anything flakes off (and if it does, that's where this project ends). If there's no flake, I'll attach it to the back with the GE Silicon 1 sealant I just bought (which a lot of Aquarists swear by as tank safe). When I do so I will also run a bead of silicon across the bottom, sides and top, effectively sealing the back up so the exposed stryo doesn't get wet. After that I fill it up and let the cement soak just to be extra careful I get rid of any impurities. 

Pictures of the project!

The new gravel for the new plans. It has less red and more grey in it. I know that shouldn't be a big deal but anal art student is anal when it comes to design.









The foam. I used Great Stuff expanding foam on a 1/2" sheet of stryo I found lying around. After the GS wasn't tacky, yet still soft, I punctured it in several places and laid books on top for a few hours. Because GS gets so expandy because of it reacting with air, this squeezed the air out of the pockets and made the foam flatter. 









Which means it takes up less tank space but still has the ridges and definition. Also last night I took a bread knife and trimmed most of the styro sheet off, making it even thinner.









How is will roughly look with the background, minus some decor. The little plastic plant passed the Pantyhose Test (safe for betta) and will be used to hide the filter for a little while.









Rapid set cement and other goodies I needed.









I learned lurking on some DIY forums it's important to use GE Silicon I, and not II. II has a chemical that fights mildew that will leech into the water and harm your fishies, I is safe.









The background after it's first coat of cement. It's hot here, so it dried quick. I'm still going to let it set for a few hours before another coat, and then tomorrow morning I'll put on a third coat before giving it till Friday to cure. I know I talked about adding pigment to make it a different color, but I to like the look of plain old wet concrete, and figured I could save $5 if I just left it as is and got a gravel that complimented it more. I've heard murmurings that because of the added grit from the concrete the background also doubles as a place for beneficial bacteria to grow.









:greenyay:


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## Laurenie (Aug 5, 2010)

Looks really great! I keep various herps and frequent a vivarium forum and am in the process of planting my first viv. My dream is to have a paludarium. As long as you follow all the directions and seal it well the background should definitely be safe in the water once it is submerged. Good job!


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## Kokonoko (Jul 28, 2010)

awe-mazing

So you said you're doing mine next week, right? ;P


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## ForbiddenSecrets (Aug 15, 2010)

Can't wait to see your tank completed =D [And what kind of darling fish you eventually get]


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

Laurenie said:


> Looks really great! I keep various herps and frequent a vivarium forum and am in the process of planting my first viv. My dream is to have a paludarium. As long as you follow all the directions and seal it well the background should definitely be safe in the water once it is submerged. Good job!


That's awesome! Roommate and I originally wanted to do a small paludarium for a few fire belly newts, but the betta was allowed.

So I let the first coat of cement cure all night before putting another on this morning. I set it out in the sun and around 11 I came back to do a second coat. When I (carefully) picked it up, I heard a crackling sound, and upon further inspection there were dozens of hairline cracks and the beginnings of flaking :-(. I'm thinking that it didn't work because instead of carving out forms on blocks or sheets of stryo, which have pores that the cement can latch onto, I used the Great Stuff, which has a very smooth surface. *sighs*

I don't think I have the time and cash for some stryofoam carving (though I will try again with a future tank, but I do have a can of flat black paint. So, I think I'll spray paint the back of the tank black, so it look nice and has some depth that you get with the black. Thankfully this little side project didn't cost too much, I have someone who will find a purpose for the cement and I am going to use the silicon to make a nice weight for the little plastic plant.
I'm getting antsy because I don't get to go to my apt till Monday, which makes me asks you guys if you can start cycling a tank, then move it? I could start my process as I have everything and am no longer waiting on the background, but I'd have to take it on a 3-4 hour road trip before setting it up again. I doubt it would work, but I figure there is no harm in asking.



ForbiddenSecrets said:


> [And what kind of darling fish you eventually get]


I swear I _just_ came back from a locally owned petstore and nearly walked out with half a dozen bettas. I think he knows a breeder who sells him stock that's undesirable, because he had DRAGONS. Dragons for about $13, including the light blue body and blood red fins (which are my absolute favorite). He has tons of types, colors and patterns, but you can tell they aren't quite show quality due to something like fin growth, color vibrancy, size, ect. They all ranged from about $6-$13 and there wasn't a homely one amongst any of them.

I had to tell myself I can't yet, as I have no ready tank... *sighs*


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## StarWalkZ (Jul 21, 2009)

good luck! I only wish that I was this ready for my first betta. but after, experience with other fish and obv, bettas; I'm now on 5th betta.


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## kuklachica (Dec 23, 2009)

Java moss is definitely the way to go, great stuff and nearly impossible to kill and very low-light. Also consider Java Fern and/or Hornwort. Apparently hornwort really helps clean the water very well, and it's also a floating plants which provides lots of shelter and gives the betta a place to anchor its bubblenest. 

I buy mine on aquabid.com .


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

kuklachica said:


> Java moss is definitely the way to go, great stuff and nearly impossible to kill and very low-light. Also consider Java Fern and/or Hornwort. Apparently hornwort really helps clean the water very well, and it's also a floating plants which provides lots of shelter and gives the betta a place to anchor its bubblenest.
> 
> I buy mine on aquabid.com .


Awesome. I was figuring on investing in the Java Fern with the Java Moss and a Moss Ball, but I'll definitely now look into Hornwort. I do want some floating plants, but I was kinda leaning towards Duckweed, though I don't know much about it's hardiness and light needs. I'm lucky to live in a big city with a lot of pet love, so there are quite a few places I can look at for plants, though I'm not above hitting aquabid and ebay if it's cheaper.

Painted the back of my tank today. I just cleaned the surface with a little rubbing alcohol, covered what didn't need to be painted with some painter's tape and a trash bag, and used some spray paint that was around the house (parents are home project fiends, so I'm lucky to have a lot of supplies on hand while I'm here).














































Excuse the water spots, I filled my tank a few days ago to make sure there weren't any leaks, and neglected to wipe down the insides when I watered the plants the next morning. However I think it does look pretty sweet.

Tomorrow I'm taking a trip to an aquatic pets store. Yay!:greenyay:


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

So it's been awhile...

Quite a bit has happened. I finally moved into my apartment about 3 weeks ago! During this time I have found an AMAZING freshwater store about 15 mins from my place. The man who runs the store knows and LOVES his fish, and will only sell you fish if you bring in a sample of your water. He's also a big believer in planted tanks, and probably has about 100+ tanks of various sizes all planted in his store with very happy, healthy fish.

I talked to him and he walked me through cycling my tank properly. I bought some sand (prewashed and quite cheap), conditioner/ammonia remover/declorinator and live bacteria from him. At 2 wks into cycling (next week!) I add plants, and then 2 weeks after that I come in with my little cup of water and get my big healthy dragon betta. 

I also must confess that as of today we DO have a betta. The amount of care and money I've put into preparing a tank for a fish everyone seems to just drop in a small bowl has sparked some chatter amongst our friends. It's also made my roommate, who's less of a believer in giving a betta a full filter setup, desiring a betta and talking about setting up a bowl. She's gone for the weekend and her birthday is coming up, so after a talk with some of my friends I set up a bowl for her. Roommate gets her Betta she's been wanting, and the curious friends are eager to see who's fish does the best.

Just to be clear before everyone gets disgruntled (bowl, present, sad Petco fish rescue), I set up this bowl so that it's quite a nice setup. It's actually a plastic, large cube shaped tub that originally housed some animal cookies we bought at Costco. The tub is roughly 1 1/2 to 2 gallons in volume, and I drilled a hole in the lid so that there is an airhole/feeding hole. I used spare gravel as well as gravel, rocks and a plastic plant that has been in my cycling tank. I also took a spare coffee cup and put it in as a cave. Last night I de-clorinated as well as fixed the ammonia and ph levels of the water, added my live bacteria and dropped a few aquarium salt crystals in with the gravel. So this little Petco guy is pretty happy right now, and will be with the constant water changes and monitoring I'll make sure happen. 

I'd love to post some pics of everything, but I'm still looking for my memory card to my camera. I will find it soon though! I do have some pics of how I made cookie jar fish's plant....

So, I still had the GE Silicon I sealant from my faux rock wall project that went bad, as well as one of those little plastic plants with the wimpy plastic tray bottom. I took them with my gravel and a sheet of wax paper,










I took a small amount of gravel and rinsed it.










Then (no pics, sorry) I caulked a mound of silicon onto the wax paper and packed the gravel into it. Then, I took the plant out of the tray and stuck it in the middle.










Then propped the plant up on a bowl so it cured upright.









It should be noted that I let it dry for a few days, then soaked it in a jar to be extra careful about chemicals leeching (don't worry, I'm just paranoid). It looks really nice, and cookie jar fish really likes his plant (it was going to be in my tank, but since I'm doing all live plants, CJF gets the plant and some extra sections of the plant that float on top).

So yeah, actually fishy pics soon!


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

Found my memory card, so it's time for a picture dump/ project update.

So I had someone do me a favor and cut the glass top of my tank slightly giving it a small space for the heater cords and the top of the filter (although a week later I bought a new, smaller filter to accomodate the amount of sand I was told to put in the tank to aid in bacteria growth *sighs*)









The gap is a little wider than an inch, and with some plants that are going in to mask the filter and heater, there won't be any danger of a betta leaping out.

We have a large mound of river rock outside our backyard, as the previous owners were a little river rock crazy. So I picked some out and checked the ammonia levels by drizzling them with vinegar. None of them fizzled, so they were safe to stick in the pot....









And boil! I boiled them several times to make sure any impurities were removed.









Annnd, here is the tank right now. Notice the added sand, and the new, Penn Plax Small World filter. The filter produces some small bubbles that don't disturb the water too much, and uses a combination of sponge and carbon.









I just tested the water for the tank too...








So low ammonia (and I have been feeding my bacteria fish food), a little confused on the nitrates, but between a 25 and 75 on the total hardness, between a 120 and 180 on alkalinity and between a 7.0 and 7.5 in pH. :mrgreen:

Plants tomorrow!

Now for my roommate's new betta that I was talking about. He now has a name! Jeffery! This is what his bowl was before...









And after...









The cookie jar/bowl is a little over 2 gal, and he seems to enjoy his space. It was entirely furnished from leftovers from my tank project! Spare gravel, two of the rocks boiled, the plastic plant I anchored with sealant and gravel and a section of the same plant left floating in the water he likes to rest on (also his coffee cup ;-)). Right now he's getting 50% water changes every day, with a 100% change every three days or so. Also, he's getting melafix because I suspect some fin damage from living in his Petco cup. Are there any other meds that are better? The selection was kinda sad at the time, but he seems to feel better after getting his few drops in the morning after his water change.


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## KewtyPatootie (Aug 20, 2010)

I absolutely applaud you for doing this/ keeping everyone up to date with all the photos and descriptions!!    You are one responsible fish keeper!


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## UrsMyrick (Aug 12, 2010)

Jeffery's tank looks awesome for what it was in its previous life! I thought for sure you guys were going to name him cookie monster since he's blue and lives in a cookie jar! I look forward to seeing pics of your tank once its all planted.!


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

KewtyPatootie said:


> I absolutely applaud you for doing this/ keeping everyone up to date with all the photos and descriptions!!    You are one responsible fish keeper!


Thank you! I'd like to think that if someone thinking about getting a betta they can read my journey and see how much work and $$$ it actually is.



UrsMyrick said:


> Jeffery's tank looks awesome for what it was in its previous life! I thought for sure you guys were going to name him cookie monster since he's blue and lives in a cookie jar! I look forward to seeing pics of your tank once its all planted.!


Thanks! After your comment Jeffery's name has officially changed to 'Jeffery the Cookie Monster'. It suits him though, he's kind of a cantankerous fish lol.

So I ended up taking two trips to the aquarium today. The first one I got overwhelmed at the selection and forgot half of the plants I wanted, so when I got home I realized how few plants I have lol. Thankfully, my aquarium guy I go to is about 10 mins away walking distance.

So this was the first trip, amongst the plants I picked up some plant food and a very awesomely shaped piece of driftwood. There are no sharp points, but it's twisted and has some nice arches for hiding spots and it was $6! So that came home too.









First trip plants were duckweed, java moss annnd... it escapes me. Something with mermaid in the name?

Boiling the wood to remove the tannins...









I also had to move my aquarium due to lighting. I don't have a light hood, and for whatever reason even the smallest light bars/hoods are $40+. So, my own hardware store lamp is fitted with a 60-70ish watt incandescent
bulb right now (please tell me if I need something specific). So instead of on the bookshelf, it's on a small table. 








With the first plants, though the light does produce a more uniform ray across the whole tank than what's shown.

Sooo... I planted my stuff and thought "@#%$ I totally forgot half od the stuff I wanted!" and proceded to run back to the store. At the second trip I picked up a anubias nana, a few java ferns and they gave me a ridiculous amount of anacharis. 









top view... Mmmm duckweed....









I'll need to take some water out, but I'm EXCITED for my driftwood. The tank will look much more out together when I have it in and plant some of the plants around and on it.


Jeffery benefited from plant day too. I had an excess of java moss, anacharis and duckweed, so I removed his plastic plant and he's gone organic. Plus, he got the hydori heater today since the lamp keeps the tank at a balmly 78. So in all he's very happy, and has finally become playful. He's taken to 'hunting' in the anacharis, as well as using the stems up at the top to doze near the surface. He also plays with his duckweed lol.










He tends to lounge by his heater lol.









The cookie monster himself in his cup while I did a quick water change early this morning.


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## UrsMyrick (Aug 12, 2010)

You've totally inspired me to make my own tank TharBePirates! Now I just need to go hunt down a big cookie jar!


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

If you can fit the light with a daylight compact florescent bulb the plants will do much better and you'll save on your energy bill.  6500k will be good if you can find it.


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## StacyK (Aug 23, 2010)

TharBePirates said:


> Thank you! I'd like to think that if someone thinking about getting a betta they can read my journey and see how much work and $$$ it actually is.
> 
> First trip plants were duckweed, java moss annnd... it escapes me. Something with mermaid in the name?
> 
> Boiling the wood to remove the tannins...


How many times have you boiled your wood. I've boiled mine twice for ( about 1 hour first time and about 3 hours the second time) and still it's leaching like mad.


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

UrsMyrick said:


> You've totally inspired me to make my own tank TharBePirates! Now I just need to go hunt down a big cookie jar!


Awesome! The big cookie jar is a great 'small' size. I know Jeffery loves his very much, he gets *furious* when we take him out to change water and clean. lol. He's the happiest fish in the world though when he gets put back in.



vaygirl said:


> If you can fit the light with a daylight compact florescent bulb the plants will do much better and you'll save on your energy bill.  6500k will be good if you can find it.


Thanks for the info. I was home this weekend and went to my petsmart (which I feel I know very well, compared to the SF pet stores) there while I grabbed a few things I picked up a small AquaGlo bulb, which states that while increasing color vibrancy in the fish, also is good for tank plants. HOwever, as I just tried to put it in a regular sized bulb socket, I know realize that the size is thismuch too small, and I'm going to have to return the %&[email protected] thing and hunt down the bulb you're mentioning.



StacyK said:


> How many times have you boiled your wood. I've boiled mine twice for ( about 1 hour first time and about 3 hours the second time) and still it's leaching like mad.


Over a five hour period I lost track of how many times I boiled it. I did a 1 hour boil, and then I boiled it in short intrevals (maybe 30 mins at a time) only pulling the put off the burner when the water became dark enough to feel it warranted a water change. The next few days there were no discolorations, but I've been gone since friday so we'll see how it looks when I go home tomorrow.

So as previously mentioned up post, this weekend I left the bay area and returned home to preform some familial related tasks. Today, however, I did something quite big.

I got a fish for my tank!!!!!

This has been the subject of much deliberation for me this past week. I knew of a good petstore in town that sells some very gorgeous bettas, and I've been monitoring the tank carefully. It's reading pretty close to perfect right now, and I feel it (and me) are ready for the fish to go in. So today I made a petsmart run, then I hopped over to the LPS where Brother and I choose the male betta.

So, this guy's name is Gyrados.









He is (from what I can tell) a red and light blue dragon half moon (with some bits of aqua in his tail that the camera unfortunately doesn't pick up)









But if I'm wrong about what he is, please correct me, as I'm new to this and all.









He's also very friendly









Since tomorrow is a 3 hour car ride back to the apartment where Gyrados' planted tank awaits, I've taken the precautions for his journey home. He seems to do alright on trips (as home is a 45 minute drive from LFS) but I still felt bad about his TINY cup and got him a carrier.








I kid you not, the cup is not only smaller than the petco/petsmart cups, it's the SAME LENGTH as the little guy.

I know it's not very big; but it's all I could afford at the time, it's a huge step up from the very small, very shallowly filled cup he had been in and it's only temporary till he gets to chill in his filtered tank. In addition to the carrier, I also picked up a bottle of that betta water. I know it's rediculous, but instead of having to prep water I just washed the carrier out and poured 3/4s of the betta water in and introduced Gyrados to the carrier (The rest of which I will put in the carrier tomorrow morning during a water change before we leave). Plus it touts it reduces fish stress, which I figured is a good thing for his long journey home.

So yes, I'm almost to the finish line! Right now he's pretty happy, much more than when he was in his cup since he has some space. Since I picked up some blood worms to add to the dietary variety of he and Jeffery (as they already have pellets and brine shrimp) he's had two servings of those that he absolutely attacked lol.


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## UrsMyrick (Aug 12, 2010)

Congrats! That its so awesome! I'm sure that he will be SO happy in his new tank! He's a really pretty fish as well!


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

So it happened!

We arrived back at the apartment and sure enough, the driftwood had leeched and made the tank look like someone was trying to make Earl Grey in the water. So, I did a water change and as well as washed off some of the decor, rinsed the filter, tossed out some plants that didn't quite survive the weekend, and rearranged a few things. I also removed a TON of duckweed, as the stuff had multiplied like bunnies lol. 

This weekend I had picked up some pretty nice ammonia and PH test kits (my reasoning for this being I paid as much for a 4 test kit compared to these 2 tests, which will be good for 100+ tests, which, is kinda economical when you have 2 setups). So, I decided to try them out on both Gyarados' and Jeffery's tanks. Both of them had good Ph, however Gyarados' tank had a 0.25 on the ammonia levels (while Jeffery was shockingly fine, even though his water hasn't been changed in 4 days). I'm suspecting the heat from the bulb and the addition of the plants had something to do with it, since it was at a 0 until I added them. So, I gave the tank a small dose of Neutral Regulator and let it filter for awhile. I also did another, more hotter rinse, of the driftwood and rocks while everything was cycling.

After that, another check confirmed the ammonia was down, so I caught Gyarados in his little cup and let him float for an hour, while I made a hardware store trip. There I found the Daylight CFL vaygirl recommended (yay!) as well as some distilled white vinegar. When I got back I switched out the bulbs and released Gyarados, and watched him immediately investigate his filter (and subsequently, snap at the bubbles). While he investigated, I cleaned the tank exterior as well as the top glass panel, with a mixture of vinegar and water. It cleans glass beautifully, and you don't have to worry about chemicals.

So I'm finally done! Here is the final product..




























Some closeups of the big guy...









I'm really loving how vibrant his coloring is. The iridescence in his light blue is very stunning up against all that crimson.









And a shot of Jeffery, because we love cookie jar fish too lol.









So here we are, at the end. Looking back, with all the trial and error I had I figure I spent anywhere from $150 to $200 on this project. However, I set up two planted tanks during this time, and acquired two fish instead of the one. Also I have enough food (betta pellets, shrimp and blood worms) as well as Seachem, and API products to last me a good *long* while. My brother's asked about setting up a tank, as he is allowed a 5 gallon in his dorm room. So, I'll probably be using some leftover stuff to cycle him a betta tank sometime this winter.

So yeah, not cheap. But we're done for now!

I'd like to thank everyone who's been following me and giving me advice. It's all helped immensely.


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