# hestersu and Tai - A Journal



## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

I've just recently moved back into fish keeping. I used to raise guppies back in the 70's using Metaframe tanks and corner filters with floss and charcoal. Heaters? What were those? Water tests? Never heard of them. You get the picture. Now we are in a new century with new and better methods. I have a community tank that I will post about another time but this journal is about my latest project. A betta project. And Aquabid. I should never have looked at that website. Never. {sigh}

I was checking out Aquabid just to see what it was about. Lots of great fish and related items. Hey, let's check out the Betta section - specifically the Halfmoon guys. It won't hurt.... And there I found him. A beautiful copper guy. I was smitten. 

So began the journey of Tai (meaning one from Thailand) from Bangkok to Denver to Canyon Tx. I was lucky enough to get Tai bought a day before the breeder shipped to a transhipper in Denver. My fish made the shipment and has made it to Denver. He is currently in route to Canyon TX.

Crunch time! I need a Betta habitat! Amazon is great. UPS - not so much. 

Time to get a home for my new guy!


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*We need a tank and stuff!*

9/28/14

My to do list is massive. I want to achieve a Zen Secret Garden look.

Aquarium stand 
5 gallon tank
LED lighting for a 5 gallon tank
sand
API Laterite
Plants - lots of plants
Statue
Filter
Heater
Air pump/air stone/tubing/check valve
Betta emergency kit of stuff I can't get locally

Off to Petco to see what I can get. 

Aquarium - 5 gallon plus a Versa Top
Whisper air pump, check valve, tubing, air stone (these are actually for the plants)
A bunch of plants - Anubias, Water Wisteria, Melon Sword
Heater - Aqueon 50 watt
Black sand - 10 pounds
Some pretty blue rocks that may or may not be used

Petsmart is next up:

Aquarium stand with 2 cubbies and 2 cubbies with doors
API Laterite
White Buddha
Zoomed Ceramic Betta log (sunken variety)

Bed, Bath and Beyond

Vinyl Wood look placemat for background

Amazon (I love Amazon)

Azoo Mignon Filter (adjustable flow with max flow of 16 GPH - nice and slow)
1 box Aquaclear 20 sponges (3 pack box)
1 box Aquaclear 20 BioMax media in mesh bag
1 Manzanita log (small)
1 Finnex Planted Plus light 16 inches (perfect for a 5 gallon tank)

Delivery is supposed to be Tuesday, 9/30 by 4 pm.

I built the stand, washed the sand and laterite. Sleep. Need sleep.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*Putting it all together - creating a Zen Secret Garden*

9/29/14

I put the laterite in the tank along with some root tabs. The sand went on top next. I washed the Buddha and placed it. I filled the tank with water and placed the Anubias, water wisteria and some Anachris from my other tank. I have a small internal filter and heater so I put those in to start cycling with Prime and Stability. Can't do much else until 9/30. Here is a picture prior to placing the Buddha.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*UPS can really make or break your day...*

9/30/14

Nothing I can do until UPS comes. 4pm comes and goes and no UPS. It's 9:30pm and I figure it will be tomorrow before the delivery comes. The doorbell rings and its my delivery guy! I could hug him. Grab the box and its like Christmas. Filter and parts, light! The whole order.

I quickly put the filter together and remove the other filter and heater. I start up the new filter and its perfect! The Aqueon filter is too long so it goes in sideways. Set the air pump and stuff and get it going. 

Time to sleep.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*Finishing touches - Zen Secret Garden*

10/1 and 10/2

Wednesday, 10/1, was a mad dash to the LFS that has plants. I picked up some Jungle val and a banana plant. Also picked up a hitchhiker - an Olive Nerite snail. Made a swing by Petco and found another banana plant. Home for cleaning up the plants and placing them. I also tried to do a quick start using Tetra Safe Start Plus. All I will say about this product is I won't use it again. The tank became all yucky with a milky white film on everything. Completely drained the tank and cleaned everything including the filter. New water, Prime and Stability.

Thursday, 10/2, was a more relaxed day. I have an email from the transhipper. It looks like Tai will be delivered on 10/3 or 10/4. Great! Got a call from Petco (its a great idea to make friends with the most knowledgeable person in the fish department and give him/her your number if they get something good). Petco gets all of their plants every Thursday. It's a good idea to pick up plants on that day so they don't have a chance to get nasty. Picked up some Bacopa, 2 pots of Micro Swords (3 plants in each pot), a really nice water wisteria that I may split and a really nice piece of wood (the other one was too big).

The plants are all placed and look good. Part of the Bacopa went to the community tank along with the water wisteria. The wood is perfect for the small tank. I think I have achieved the Zen Secret Garden. I have some Dr Tim's One and Only bacteria coming. It should be here tomorrow. I will add it when Tai is here. I will start adding API CO2 Booster and Leaf Zone in a week or so. I have New Life Spectrum Betta food ready to go. Just need Tai.

Here's the final Zen Secret Garden. I need a floating log to create a hide. I have the ceramic log but honestly there is no place for it. I may place it temporarily until I find a suitable replacement. I have some moss that I can tie onto something. 

Enjoy! 

To be continued....


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

Very peaceful! And a nice contrast to the work and hurry of setting it up. I can't wait to see your betta!


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

Thank you!


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*Waiting is the hardest part*

10/3/2014

Waiting just bites. I hate waiting. I inspected the tank this morning and realized the finish on the Buddha statue is lifting off. Not cool. It's now out of the tank. I'm headed to Petco for a replacement for that spot. Still no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. The Nerite snail continues to scoot around the tank cleaning stuff up. If you have an algae problem, get one. 

I did get confirmation that Tai will be delivered tomorrow by 4pm. Yea!

To be continued...


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Nice setup. But then you've done this before.

Float some of that Wisteria or, especially, some Anubias for shade, to hide in and to sleep in near the surface.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

Thank you! This actually my 2nd tank. I've learned a lot from the first tank and studying others tanks. I removed the white statue yesterday. The finish is bubbling up and starting to peel. It's gone. I have a different Thai Buddha head in there now and I like it better. It's actually more calming because it's not so bright. I have some Bacopa in another tank floating. I will bring a few pieces in for additional shade. That's a good idea. The Anubias has multiple large leaves that providing good shade. I did put the ceramic log back in for a better hide. I rearranged a few plants to make room for it. I'm thinking about a betta tube from a member on here as a floating hide/rest spot. 

Any suggestions a re appreciated.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*Tai comes home!*

My USPS driver arrived at 9:30a with a box from Denver. He's here! After all of the jostling and travel, I decided to just open the box and let it sit while I did some work around the house. At around 10:30a, I removed the bag from the box to see my guy. He's beautiful! Since he didn't come with a cup, I made one out of a Ziploc plastic storage cup. I put Tai in it and added 10ml of water from my tank and floated the cup in the tank. Over the next few hours, I removed 10ml and added 10ml every 5 to 10 min. Tai just calmly accepted the presence of the syringe. At around 12:30p, I poured off most of the water in the cup and gently poured Tai into his new home. He immediately began exploring. I believe he likes it. I watched him for an hour. He calmly checked everything out and flared at a few things. I offered him a single pellet but he ignored it. I removed it from the tank. He seems tired and just wants to rest. He lays on the leaves or in the sunken ceramic log and comes up for air every so often. I have turned all of the lights off to allow him to rest. The house is quiet right now. I will offer him some brine shrimp in a few hours to see if he is ready to eat a little. He's ignoring the olive nerite snail. Here's a picture of the tank now with the new Buddha and a picture of Tai.


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

He is gorgeous! Congrats on your new boy


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

Thank you!


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

I like copper/metallics that color. Congratulations. 

It will be interesting to see what color he adopts as he colors-up.

I agree; that Buddha is much nicer.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Your new boy is gorgeous! I'll definitely be subscribing to see more of Tai and his beautiful home. So tranquil.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

Tai's tank is filling in nicely with the plants. The Jungle Vals are filling in a lot. May need to snip a few out and transfer to the community tank. The micro swords are spreading. I still like my piece of wood, but I may move it out so I move the betta log out of the foreground. I have another Buddha (Buddha warrior) that I would like to put in as well. Tai swims all over the tank including through the bubbles on the air stone and the waterfall of the Azoo filter. He seems happy and inquisitive. He eats very well and flares. I've seen no bubble nests but that's OK. Here is a current picture of his tank as of today.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Tai has really colored up. Wow! Your tank is lovely. :] And that Buddha suits it much better IMO; almost like civilization abandoned this zen garden, and now it is truly at peace -- slightly overgrown with Mother Nature taking her course.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

Thank you Schmoo! It may be a little overgrown! I may need to trim just a little of the val out. I decided to do just a little redecorating. I don't see Tai using his betta log much but I decided to keep it just in case. He used it a lot his first week home. Since then, I rarely see him go in there. 

See the next picture and tell me what you think.


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

*A little redecorating...*

Added the Buddha Warrior in the back. Took out the wood. Moved the betta log to in front of the warrior.


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Oh, I didn't mean overgrown as in actually overgrown! >w< But like...it gives the impression of tall, free-growing foliage (especially with the addition of the warrior). 

I don't dislike where you put the log, but I think it looked better where it was. It looks good where you moved it to, too! I'm just an anal perfectionist, so I see open space and go, "Well, what could go there..." Seriously, though, I love your layout. <3


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## hestersu (Sep 28, 2014)

I had to remove the Buddha warrior. It had a rough spot that ripped his fin. I fixed the spot but I'm going out of town for a week. I'll put it back in when I'm back and able to watch for damage. 

I hear you on open spots. I may move the log back. And the Jungle Val is growing like mad! I'm thinking about getting a tank for just growing out plants. (We'll see how long that lasts!) I want a bigger tank. 

I need to figure out how to propagate the Banana plants. 

I'm leaving the tanks in the care of my husband. He will feed them but nothing else. I hope everyone survives!


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Have a safe trip! 

That's too bad about the Buddha warrior. Hopefully Tai's fin heals quickly!

Once the betta bug has bitten, it's a slippery slope to MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome), lol. xD


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