# The Royal Tank Diary



## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

Here, I will document the construction of a new addition to his majesty Prince Kaida's castle grounds. The first wing will be new chambers for an incoming consort and her ladies-in-waiting, and the second will consist of on-site housing for His Majesty's staff, including Benvolio, the family's personal portraitist, and Tybalt, the general of the prince's army. Squires and such will be acquired as time passes to fill their roles as protectors of the royal house.
*IN PLAIN ENGLISH,* I'm setting up at least three new tanks this summer. The first will be a 10-gallon sorority for six, where the alpha female will be crowned princess. The second and third tanks will be two 2.5-gallons for two males that I've named in honor of the Romeo and Juliet unit we're currently doing in E/LA at school.
Stay tuned! Before I can get the 10-gallon, my mom and I have to get off our lazy bums and put together the big sturdy shelving unit that will hold all this weight. Benvolio and Tybalt are currently swimming comfortably in .5-gallon keepers with water changes every other day. Pictures soon.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Uhhh... I think the 10 gallon would be a Little bit overstocked.
The rule for a sorority is 2 gallons per each female. And for this tank, the maximum would be 5 females.


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## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

Another user on here told me six would be fine, but if five is the limit then I'll only put in five.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Nope, 6 is fine. You don't want more than 6, but it certainly won't cause you any problems.


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## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

USELESS UPDATE:
Tybalt got adopted by a friend. I've bought the ten gallon, and I'm currently in the process of moving my keyboard out of my room. Next weekend we'll buy the shelf, and I'll start purchasing bettas as soon as Tuesday. They won't go in until the tank is cycled, so I'll be using the spare time to get to know them and determine in what order they'll be introduced to the tank.


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## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

UPDATE:
I got two girls today at PetCo.! They both seem like alpha material, but we'll see how it turns out. When I introduced them to the boys, they (the males) went crazy! Last I saw, both were busy blowing bubblenests, lol. No names for sure, yet, but I'll be naming them after the Muses, a different name depending on their personality. My keyboard is finally out of my room and the empty space is a bit of an eyesore in my tiny little bedroom. XD Like I said yesterday, the shelving unit will be purchased and assembled this weekend. It holds 500lbs (about 227kg) per shelf, according to my mother. WHICH IS PRETTY AWESOME because the shelf is also going to be used for other tanks and more book space, which God knows I can never get enough of.
Picture quality=crap, I know.


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## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

UPDATE:
Three more females have been purchased and the tanks and shelves are all set up in my room! I bought CaribSea Tahitian Moon sand for substrate after reading good recommendations. There's anubias, ludwigia, and an amazon sword in there along with two out of five intended hidey-holes. Gravel from my established tank went in to kickstart the cycle and also to anchor the plants.  I'm going to buy an ammonia test kit and some 'professional-grade' bottled nitrifying bacteria as soon as I come across enough money.
ALSO, I lied about the Muse-names, haha. The girls all have names that fit better than what I planned to name them.


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## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

(hereafter I'll be including Prince Kaida and Bentley's whereabouts)
*Ten Gallon (cycling for sorority)*
Today I went to PetCo to buy test kits and Acrylic Tank Manufacturers nitrifying bacteria, but I only had enough to buy the bacteria. I went back home and got a bottle full of the 10-gallon's tank water and got it tested for free back at the store, and the guy said everything looked good except for nitrate (or nitrite...I forget ;-, and suggested the exact same product I was about to buy, lol. He seemed pretty knowledgeable about the subject, actually, and seemed relieved when I told him there weren't actually any fish in the tank and I was letting it cycle. I bought the bacteria and dumped the correct amount into the tank maybe twenty minutes ago, and on Thursday when I go to take care of the kitties I'll have the water tested again. Hopefully by next weekend I can get some otos to take care of the diatoms outbreak (it's all over the cheesecloth baffle, so it won't really ever be gotten rid of which is kind of a plus so the otos can have a small constant supply of the algae). I'll leave them in there to get used to their surroundings for a couple of days, then put in the girls. Hopefully by putting the otos in first the bettas will be less attack-y toward them (if at all). I'm also hoping to find some big rocks to make algae rocks out of for the otos, and also to buy a floating log or two and a centerpiece to finish it all off.

*Five Gallon (Prince Kaida's chambers)*
The prince has been bloated on and off the past few weeks, and every time I get him to poop he's constipated the very next day. I notice that when he does poop, there are more air bubbles than poo so I can probably attribute that to the way he attacks the food like it's the last he'll ever receive, likely swallowing lots of air in the process. This morning I rearranged some of his decorations so he could occupy himself by exploring, but lo and behold he was bloated again. I swear, this fish...

*One Gallon (Lord Bentley's cottage)*
I tied some cheesecloth around the filter intake and a sponge to the outflow today, and Bentley already seems much happier now that he doesn't have to drag his fins against the current. He jumped right on the leaf hammock he's got not five minutes after he realized how calm the water was. I left his light off in case he wanted to sleep. Looking at his tank right now, I feel bad that with all this money-spending for the sorority I still haven't gotten him a single thing to hide behind. I'm thinking of moving a small silk plant from the 10g to his tank.


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## CreativePotato (Nov 23, 2011)

*Ten Gallon (suitors' sorority)*
Good news, bad news. Bad news: No otos at my LPS. This weekend I might go to a specifically-for-fish store and there will most likely be some there. Good News: Well, sorta. The girls are all in the tank now, chasing each other around to their heart's content. Three (well, two now, it looks like) out of the five are flaring fervently at each other and one has suffered nipped fins already. My guess on the alpha is Lily, a red veiltail I bought after Violet, a blue and red VT, died of dropsy. She's quite the fiery little girl, which is driving me to consider changing her name to Azula. XD The blue girl, Korra, is probably going to be at the bottom of the heap. She was at first participating in the flaring and chasing, but now she's letting herself be pushed around.

*Five Gallon (Prince Kaida's chambers)*
The prince is already hard at work building a bubblenest to show off to his new neighbors. Surprisingly enough he hasn't flared at them yet. Not much else to say about him except he's having fun in his newly arranged home.

*One Gallon (Lord Bentley's cottage)*
Bentley is suffering from a case of fin rot to his anal fin, but I caught it before it got too big so it should heal up soon.


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