# Betta, Fluval Spec V, Plants Journal



## SirAlabaster (Feb 4, 2018)

Hi, I wanted to start a journal here as I love reading through others' journeys with their bettas! I don't have my fish quite yet as I am still setting up the tank and getting the plants in. I'd love to get your thoughts on it, if you think anything could be improved for his happiness, etc. I'm happy to have found this community.

So here are the details of my setup so far:

Stock Fluval Spec V tank:

with the newer bright light! It's really bright, so I'm hoping I'm creating some shade for him to keep him comfortable. It bothers me a lot and I'm sure a fish is more sensitive to these things.
added the foam to the outtake to decrease flow, but I don't like the lack of circulation even with output on high, so am going to try a couple other things
need to put a few holes in the pump's tube to get the warm water circulating better (50W heater keeps it only at 70-72 with no holes in the tube)
replaced the carbon media with another bag of the Fluval biomedia, will experiment with this but may get the Purigen I read works well

Plants:

Anacharis, anacharis elodea
Anubias nana (is that also the variety on the driftwood as well or is it a different anubias?)
Amazon compacta sword plant, Echinodorus bleheri
Narrow leaf java fern, Microsorum pteropus
gotta have a moss ball
waiting for a Rotala indica to come in the mail, I LOVE this plant, so beautiful
have dosed with Flourish once

Substrate:
Some white stuff from the LFS, hoping it works well for the plants. I'm a rock nerd and loved the mica in it. Must have the shiny.

Some quartz that won't damage fins and a Buddha for good vibes 

Am attempting cycling the tank at the moment with the Seachem Stability, testing to see how well this works (or doesn't!)

And then I plan to get a lovely opal betta, my local Petco is actually really well taken care of (as well as it can be, betta cups  ) and they have some beautiful bettas come in. With him will be a couple amano shrimp and a nerite snail once the algae blooms which I am expecting to happen relatively quickly based on what I have read of the light on this tank. I still can't get over the brightness and the blueness, my friend has the older version that was a bit dimmer and yellower in hue, more natural. I am hoping the tannins from the driftwood and the almond leaves I plan to put in will tame it down a bit as it's quite unnatural, but apparently good for plants so we shall see! The photo doesn't show the full brightness, I had to tone it down for the sake of the lighter areas in the photo not being blown out.

Is there anything I am missing? Any tips you fish folk have?

Cheers!


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## SirAlabaster (Feb 4, 2018)

Is there a special way to get the photo be not so small? I uploaded a good sized one (about 1500px wide). Testing again...


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Hi! Your plan sounds good. I love the tank. (Also, you can click on the picture to see it bigger).

A couple of things;

1. With Anubias, be sure not to bury the rhizome in the substrate or the plant will rot. It's the big thick part where the roots and leaves meet.

2. That sword in the back right is going to get HUGE with proper care (I've seen some swords 20+ inches, I just threw out a dying sword of mine that was 23+ inches in it's prime). It will need root tabs to get to that size, though.

3. You could probably DIY a mini spray bar to increase circulation a bit, but I am not a DIY person so I can't help you there.

3. That Marimo will probably need rotated every week or so to prevent the bottom side from rotting.

Excited to see the new fish! Keep us updated! Oh, and Welcome to the Forum!


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## SirAlabaster (Feb 4, 2018)

ThatFishThough said:


> Hi! Your plan sounds good. I love the tank. (Also, you can click on the picture to see it bigger).
> 
> A couple of things;
> 
> ...


Thank you for the info!

1 - Okay, I will go in and make sure the rhizomes aren't buried. 
2 - That's exciting they get so large! I am practicing with this tank's plants and plan to put together a 20L in the next few months if all goes well with this one. I'd like to transplant ones that outgrow this 5 so I could do that with the sword if it gets too large.
3 - Yes on the marimo!

Thanks


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