# Chronicles of Aqua Aurora's Multi Tank Syndrome



## Aqua Aurora

Greetings all and welcome to my betta journal where I'll keep track of the several different fish and planted tanks I have active. I've found betta are like potato chips, you can't have just one! Starting this journal off with 3 betta boys and their tanks, may add more later, certainly hope not to be removing any though. There are a few other non betta tanks I may toss up photos and updates for occasionally. At the time of opening this I have *has to visualizes each to to count* 6 active tanks (3 are betta inhabited), 1 quarantine tank, 1 'plant dumping' tank, 1 0.5 planted vase, and some unused small containers (most likely for plants and snails then fish). 

*XERXES*
So first lets have some introductions, this is Xerxes, he's a mustard gas plakat male bought from aquabid from a Taiwanese breeder (he's changed a lot from the auction photo). He's a very active boy that likes to swim around the tank all day, he's very food greedy and has no problem jumping up to nab food off my finger if I take too long getting it unstuck from said finger. He gets incredibly grumpy when I'm late to feed him lunch and dinner, especially when its feeding time and I have a camera/phone camera in my hands. He does not like to be photogenic or be in photos... unless she's photo-bombing. He likes to burrow down under my thick plant carpet and rest on the substrate (like a dog who dis a ditch under a porch to sleep in).
(seller photo)










(more recent photos)











His tank mates currently include: 2 otos (unnamed) and unknown #s of Malaysian trumpets, ramshorns, and pond snails (he eats the little ones usually only see medium to big mts)



Ok so you've met the gang, lets go over some details about their lil' home
*Tank: *7.1g AquaTop low iron cube 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8
*Start-up Date: * fishless cycling started mid March, fish/plants added May 15th 
*Filter: *Eheim classic 2211 canister filter WITH spray bar aimed at wall its suction cupped to
*Heater:* Eheim Jagar 50watt heater in a DIY pvc inline heater connected to canister filter outflow
*Light:* 13 watt 6500kelvin cfl bulb in clamp on work lamp hung from chain about 20" above substrate
*Substrate: *Black Diamond blasting 'sand' it's cheap and awesome stuff GET IT!
*Hardscape/Decor:* Currently none but will be adding a nice rock... eventually

Water Parameters:
*pH:* 7.5
*GH & KH:* 70s & 160s ppm (hard water)
*Temp:* 78F
*Ammonia/Nitrite:* 0 ppm
*Nitrate:*10-20 ppm

*Plant list: *(at time of this journal start up)
Salvia minimia
Hygro sp tiger
Hydro sp japan
Rotala Rotundifolia

*Tank Placement:* On my desk to right of the computer monitor near the door
*Plant Supplements:* Seachem liquid: Excel, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Flourish
*Other Things:* 1 Thermometer, 1 Indian Almond Leaf, cut foam cover over filter intake, DIY Lexan lid

And we'll end the first post with a recent frontal tank shot as I view it from my seat at the desk.. I really need to re-scape and trim plants soon!


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## Aqua Aurora

*ALASTOR*
Alastor is a Petco rescue delta male, I named him after the Greek spirit of blood feuds and revenge (mostly because of the blood red markings in his fins) but he's actually the most timid/non aggressive of my currently 3 bettas. I have a hard time capturing it with the camera, but his actually a white dragon scale with a bit of peach on his face (a blaze going up his forehead), his fins are very iridescent/prism like, with a bit of cellophane action at the tips, he's also got a little splash of red in his fins nearer to the body. Unfortunately most photos make him look too glow-y/light glare heavy or pink ._. he's not pink!
Anyways I rescued him along with another male betta, Magnus, and had them setup in a 10g quarantine tank with dividers used to make a “T”.. until the mustard decided to get wrecked getting over the barrier and trying to pick a fight with Alastor (and loosing from the look of it when I found them). Once the mustard was moved to a separate tank Alastor had the look of “Wasn't my fault, he came over and started it.” He had the feel of a fish that could kick serious ass but wasn't interested in fighting.. he was forced into that one since there was no escape. Alastor had the 10g to him self until his final tank was ready after re-scaping it. He moved in over a week ago and seems fairly content. He's still a bit finger shy, or shy of any object that gets put right against the glass really, but on a curved jar I guess it would look all big and distorted from his perspective.. hopefully he gets use to it ^^











He currently has a zebra nephrite snail living with him, but I hardly ever see the darn thing (It loves to hang out on the 'dark side' of the wood). There is probably some other tiny snails in there somehow too.. There are also tiny white micro crustaceans in there -I think they're called Copepods- and just look like little specks moving on the glass or in the water. A good flow/current gets rid of them but bettas don’t like that so they stay.. actually some fish will eat them including bettas, though I've not seen him suck any of them down yet.
Magnus' nerite on the left, Alastor's is on the right (they look better under the tank light, no so dark)













Tank details:
*Tank:* 2g Anchor Glass Cookie Jar
*Start-up Date: *Mid April, converted to betta tank mid September
*Heater:* Cobolt Mini 10 watt w/ Azoo micro temp controller
*Filter:* Jardin mini cylinder sponge filter w/ tetra whisper 10 air pump
*Substrate: *Black Diamond 'sand'
*Hardscape: *Driftwood 2 pieces (dunno type) + 3 small smooth black stones
*Plant Supplements: *Seachem Excel


*Plats List:* (at time of journal write up)
Christmas moss
Singapore moss
Salvia minima


Water Parameters:
*pH:* 7.5
*GH & KH:* 70s & 160s ppm (hard water)
*Temp:* roughly 77-78F
*Ammonia/Nitrite:* 0 ppm
*Nitrate:*10-20 ppm


*Tank Placement:* Circular bookshelf below a windowsill by the front door in living room with a view to the kitchen table*
Other Things: *1 Indian Almond Leaf, 1 Thermometer, DIY Lexan lid


Tank photos:


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## Aqua Aurora

*MAGNUS*
Magnus Is a mustard gas delta (mis-sold as a double tail) rescue from Petco, bought with Alastor. Magnus is an interesting fello.. he seems to have a slight quirk where his pelvic fins are always to his left of the anal fin, he can move them, but they just seem to slant to that side most of the time. Magnus shared the quarantine tank with Alastor, with dividers used o keep them separate, and unseen.. but he spotted his white nemesis through the screen one day and decided to raid the other side of the tank! After shredding his fins getting to the opposite side of the divide, he proceeded to have a (short) intense battle with Alastor until I busted the two and removed him. Magnus was clearly loosing from the greater fin damage and was kept in a small 3g quarantine tank (serape and at the other end of the room) to heal. He was clearly pouty from the failed fight and seemed like a viking who would have rather died in battle then be rescued/retreated. Once Alastor moved to his final tank, Magnus got an upgrade to the 10g quarantine. He's been doing well and though I can't give him much to entertain him IN the tank (not a lot of betta fin and aquarium safe things around) I try to hang around him when I can and put things outside his tank and move those around to stimulate him so he's not too bored. The quarantine tank is next to my plant dumping tank so he can see the plans over there, he can also see my active 20g long community tank and the 55g that the community tank plants and fish will be moved into over the next week hopefully.
I'll post more photos of Magnus once he's all healed up.



Soon he will share his (permanent) tank with a nerite snail I rescued from Pestmart.. which apparently has very soft water which caused it shell damage (its healing slowly in my calcium rich water) I thought it would be fitting to have the 2 damaged fellos housed together.
The damaged nerites 'good side' (cant see the chip and cracks) really love how this photo turned out!



Tank details:
*Tank: *2-3g glass bubble bowl
*Start-up Date: *Mid April, converted to betta tank mid September
*Filter: *Jardin mini cylinder sponge filter w/ tetra whisper 10 air pump
*Heater:* Cobolt Mini 10 watt w/ Azoo micro temp controller
*Substrate:* MGOPM capped w/ Black Diamond 'sand'
*Plant Supplements:* Seachem Excel

*
Plant list:* (at start of this thread)
Dwarf baby tears aka HC
Pygmy chain sword
Micro sword narrow leaf
Blyxa japonica 
Salvia minima

Water Parameters:
*pH:* 7.5
*GH & KH:* 70s & 160s ppm (hard water)
*Temp:* 78F
*Ammonia/Nitrite:* 0 ppm
*Nitrate:___*

*Tank Placement:*Circular bookshelf below a windowsill by the front door in living room with a view to the kitchen table*
Other Things: *1 Indian Almond Leaf, 1 Thermometer, DIY Lexan lid 

Hoping blyxa grows back in quickly to hide equipment again like it did before the rescape.


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## Aqua Aurora

Xerxes tank: Old photos of initial start up of the tank and older scapes (photo spam alert)






Here he is drip acclimating in the dark on day 1







*[6/16/14]*

*[6/26/14]*

*[7/28/14]*











Xerxes actually arrived a day early in the mail so instead of taking that day to slowly plant the tank and play with scaping ideas then except him the following morning, I had to rush planting do a quick water change for loose sediment then drip him in. I ultimately re-scaped the tank a few times after that first day.. and am due for another (still not quite happy with it). When he arrived he had no damage but was beautifully pale he looked almost silver, with a faint blue tinting to his body, and very mild yellow/white tail. Was happy to see him eat that evening and be pretty much completely colored back up the following day.. I loved having the dwarf lily in his tank (so did he) but it became not-so-dwarf and hogged most of the light so it was moved to another tank. A while after that I moved a lot of the other stem plants out to simplify the scape.


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## DaytonBetta

What a nice, well-organized journal! I look forward to hearing more about your pets.


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## Aqua Aurora

DaytonBetta said:


> What a nice, well-organized journal! I look forward to hearing more about your pets.


Thank you ^^


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## Islandgaliam

Totally enjoying your journal


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## Tress

subscribing


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## Aqua Aurora

So it turns out the nertie snail that lives with Alastor currently.. is a girl! Nerite snail females lay small white eggs frequently (more like 'constantly' according to some owners), even without a male to fertilize them, however they will not hatch in fresh water (even if the boy is around). I believe they need strong brackish or even sea water quality salinity to be born.. I'm not aware of anyone (regular hobbiest) successfully hatching nerite snails in a home aquarium. Wonder if Alastor will eat the free snail-caviar as a snack.. many of them are hidden in odd spots I didn't think the big snail could wedge itself in between the driftwood and glass, and a few are under the moss on the wood. I'll try to get some photos of them tomorrow but they're rather small and hard to get a good focus on.





Islandgaliam said:


> Totally enjoying your journal


Glad to hear ^^



Tress said:


> subscribing


 Awesome^^


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## BlueInkFish

So beautiful....!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Just a quick-y!*

Nerite snail eggs are the small white dots, with bonus blurry Alastor!


Magnus' lop sides pelvic fins he still has a lot of fin regrowing to do(have a curtain over his quarantine tank to reduce glare as tank next to it have a bright plant light).



In other news I rescaped Xerxes tank today, will post progress photos tomorrow.



litelboyblu said:


> So beautiful....!


Thank you ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

*More blasts from the past: the small tanks*

*Alastor's and Magnus' Tank History:*

Bubble bowl:So I let this grow wild for a few months as a shrimp tank with no added ferts, it did great until my mother visited and wanted the tank light left on to use as a room light while she socialized.. BAD IDEA I fought hair algae for months and was loosing the war, so I tore the whole tank down, peroxide dipped all the plants (ooo the blyxa did not like that!), and put in a new substrate (old soil and sand cap got mixed together into a big mess when removing plants as roots had gotten veeery long). Filter stayed cycled but the new soil is leeching ammonia (which is immediately consumed so I get no readings for it) so high nitrates for a bit.. but that's fine since Magnus was still healing his fins in the quarantine tank. I ended up replanting with about ½ the original batch of plants, giving the rest to my husbands tank (I’m thinking of grabbing some back >.> shhh don't tell him).

Cookie Jar:This was also set up as a shrimp tank originally but I've had not luck with the cherry shrimp breeding (in either tank) so they were moved to my husband's dwarf puffer tank as food (and still haven't been eaten =,=) and the tank redone. I rinsed out the jar, washed the substrate, removed all the moss from its old wood (manzantia branches) and peroxide dipped it to kill off hair algae, then reattached it to some old thicker pieces of wood my (now re-homed) Leopard sailfin pleco use to hide under waaaay back when he was about as small as a betta (he left me at nearly 14” long though and still had some growing to do!). 


Ok enough chatter here are some photos:
First day after setup:



Bubble Bowl Setup:











Cookie Jar Setup:








Both after some water changes to remove cloudyness:








Several weeks later, with the sponge filters in (you ca see there's new growth)




Final photo of tanks before they were taken apart and redone for bettas. the pygmy chain sword grew like crazy in the soil based tank!
The vase in front has 2 Argentinian swords, I'll tell the story of their long journey in anotehr post someday.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Tribute to Arist'oto' (RIP)*






Arist'oto' was a blue and white delta male rescue from Petco, named as a combination of Aristotle and oto (took 2 weeks to name him). I got him +6 otos to keep a filter cycled when my powder blue dwarf gourami died of old age, was planning a tank upgrade which happened about a week later. Of the 6 otos.. 3 vanished after the tank switch over the course of 2 weeks (no lid, think they jumped and became cat food..whoops) but the 3 otos left and this betta male got along REALLY well.. They seemed to have personalities rub off on each other. The otos were fearless and would dart around and under the siphon when I did water changes.. almost sucked one up once =.= they did not make cleaning easy, they also had no fear of my hands in the tank around them... Aritst'oto' on the other hand seemed to think he was an oto.. I think they were the first other fish he'd been wish since he was a fry. He hung out with them a lot but also explored the 20g long tank on his own... The oddest quirk was he'd eat veggies with them.. no really! [I have proof (set to fast)]. Besides veggies he'd peck at the algae wafer I'd put in for the otos and snails, he'd also eat all the small ramshorn and pond snails in the tank (mm escargot), but he never seemed incredibly thrilled about feeding time. Probably because he was already full from his foraging. Sure he'd eat his betta pellets and the (thawed) frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp.. but not with much zealous and it was hard to convince him "hey its feeding time get your wiggly blue butt to the surface!". He seemed just find exploring the tank all day and not incredibly interested in what went on outside of it or if someone walked up "huh, oh someones there? Just a sec, I' checking out this anubias.. its moved I'm sure of it.. but how?" (I moved it last water change now get over here and say hello!). Sadly I lost Arist'oto' after introducing un-quarantined fish, I think one brought in columnaris as everyone died within a few days (tank was still perfectly cycled and stable). 
The otos he shared the tank with (and shown above) were moved before the outbreak, they are all still alive in my husband's dwarf puffer tank, fat and happy on diatoms and veggie slices. 

I kept the tank cycled using pure ammonia and re-scaped it (I had a decent anubias collection that I lost most of to rhizome rot disease, I gave away the survivors). When I finally added new fish after they went through quarantine, no one had issues. I set it up as a riparium and have had a lot of fun with it, I'll be moving the fish and plants from the 20g to the 55g.. but the story of the riparium and its move is something for another post.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Just a little humor*

*“I HAS A HAT!”* a proud shrimp declares from its leafy perch, as a pale confused baby ramshorn snail tries to find its way off its current post. “Shud'up and get back to cleaning.” A grouchy snail a few inches away gripes as he forages for forgotten food crumbs.

Shrimp with a baby ramshorn snail hat. Dunno if shrimp put the snail on its head or just tolerated the baby crawling all over him.
Photo is a few months old but worth sharing I think.


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## Aqua Aurora

*7g Re-scape! Xerxes is Oblivious to Change...*

Before



Starting:







After





Sadly I had not seen one of my 2 otos in this tank for a few days leading up to the scape. On the day of re-scpaing (before starting) my visible oto seemed to notice the absence of the other and was pale from nervousness of being alone (he was vigorously eating cucumber in the morning).
The oto and Xerxes were moved to a bucket of tank water and put someplace dark while I redid the tank. Went through a lot of water changes to get all the sediment out after removing plants. New rock is a local stream find (sadly could not find any others like it) it passed a pH and hardness test so in it went! Rescaping killed my hand, the tension on the tongs/planting tweezers gave me bad carpel tunnel!
I dripped Xerxes and his oto back into the tank one it was done..But not before a (failed) attempt to introduce him to one of my other bettas.. Xerxes was completely oblivious to the tank and betta inside it I was putting him next to. He just swam against the opposite wall of the small cube (aiming towards the room his tank is in “hurry up and put me back in my tank!”). The other betta, Magnus, saw Xerxes and was curious but no flaring. 
After dripping and putting the fish back in I found it amusing that Xerxes didn't even explore the tank, he was just at the front trying to mooch for more food. The oto explored the new rock for a bit then went back to its favorite tank wall to rest.. it was still pale and scared of being alone so I netted him out and dripped him into my 20g community tank which has 4 other otos. Poor little thing got stuck to the net (my bad forgot I should use a cup not net with catfish species) and had to pull him off. He swam away fine once he was loose but I've not tried to take tabs on oto count since putting the new guy in. They're impossible to find in there seeing as how I thought I only had 3 for several months and turns out the 4th was just always hanging out in the plant mass... Might get to see if all 5 are still there when I move the rest of the fish and plants over to the 55g. 
Xerxes doesn't seem to mind/notice the otos being gone and just does his thing.. I notice he tends to like to surf the wall I have the spraybar of the filter against , guess he's playing in the current (or reading what I type since that wall views my monitor so he can prove me wrong when I type “he never does __” again probably!).
Turns out one of my Staurogyne Repen stems survived being melted, I found it when replanting and thought it was a hygro tiger baby at first (they look similar though repen grows its leaves closer together). I'm still not terribly happy with the scape but I'm not in the mood to re-do it... if riccia wasn't such a pain in the [censor] to maintain tied down I'd have used it in the foreground and let the hydro be behind the rock... oh well.. always an excuse to re-scape again some day.

As a side note: I dislike that this forum does not let you edit posts after a short time :c


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## BlueInkFish

Wow, Xeres and his new rescape... It's beautiful!!!!!!

 I defeniatley agree with you on the limited time we have to edit or post!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Xerxes' Quick Photo Shoot*
Wanted to show how much his scales vary in color, and how he looks more green from above than through the tank glass. I still haven't gotten him to flare for me to see his beard or get a photo of it.... someday..









litelboyblu said:


> Wow, Xeres and his new rescape... It's beautiful!!!!!!
> 
> I defeniatley agree with you on the limited time we have to edit or post!


Thank you ^^
I'm sure to another forum's way where you can edit any of your posts whenever, just had to add a "reason for edit".. use to be able to delete too but they recently removed that.. Anyways the tank journals (multiple) i maintain over there I keep the first post updated with more recent photos/photo time line, would love to have that option here.


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## BlueInkFish

Agreed!

Your Xeres! He's so beautiful, he seems green like you said from the top


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## Aqua Aurora

*The Little Argentinian Sword That Could!*

This is the tale of the long journey of a very durable plant. Its moral is: don't give up!!!

Over 2 years ago I bought a plant in a tube from a local Petco to put in my 10g tank with my fish. After some research online I found out it was a Argentinian sword, a close relative of the Amazon sword but generally a bit narrower/smaller. The plant grew surprisingly well for not having roots tabs or soil (its a big root feeder species), and shot out several babies. Unfortunately it shared the tank with a ticking time bomb: a plant eating pleco that learned Sword leaves and roots are tasty! 
Within 2 months of buying the plant all that remained was the crowns (small brown/grey part that roots and leaves grow from) everything else was consumed. I removed the plant and put it in a small mason jar with some old tank water and left it under a regular house light (not proper plant lighting by any standards) in the basement where it was cold... The little plant stayed there for many many months and didn't do much of anything. 
Nearly a year later I ended up with an Evolve 4 (was on sale to get rid of inventory) and decided to try revitalizing the swords. I put root tabs and gravel in the tank then planted the swords. They grew long roots quickly, but the leaves kept starting then dieing off. I contacted the manufacturers of Evolves and found out their light is only BARELY the lowest of low light and only directly under the center. So the plant was getting its nutrients but not its light. Gave up on the evovle4 as I learned just every aspect of it was a piece of junk (loud filter, too much flow, plastic got stress fractures and bowed from daring to actually fill the tank up all the way, horrible light.. just low quality all over. For a while the swords sat in a jar again in the same place as before, but now they had roots and some leaves.
In February I grabbing a flower vase from upstairs to try one more time... Put Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix (MGOPM) in and capped it with gravel, then planted the 2 sword crowns that were doing the best from the evolve and filled it, then put it in the windowsill upstairs where it got plenty of ambient light. Though they started as pathetically small leaves, they grew and grew and grew! The soil and hitchhiking pond snails gave them plenty of nutrients and the sunlight all they needed to produce their energy. I threw In random scraps of other plants including hornwort, duckweed, salvia minimia, and even some dwarf water lettuce.
For the first few months I did weekly water changes in the vase to get out loose soil and snail poo.. but after a while I got lazy and since I was not keeping any serious fauna in the vase, stopped cleaning it. Unfortunately the combination of months of no water changes (just top offs) and a lot of sunlight from the window led to a large buildup of hair algae. It got to the point that there was no free space in the vase, I was just a solid mass of this thin green thread like algae, tangled into itself and the plants. I finally got sick of the algae vase getting so thick with the stuff I could barely see the sword anymore..I was sure the sword was suffering from the greatly reduced light it was getting in these conditions.. so I hunkered down and prepared to clean it out! Turns out it was much easier than I expected! I put my fingers in and tugged on one thread, then just slowly pulled it out.. the hair algae had grown over itself and tangled so much that the entire mass came out from just staging the one tiny piece! Once it was out it was interesting to look at, had a rather cool texture! But it was still algae so in the sealed trash it went! Along with most of the floaters that had been with it. After that I moved the vase down onto the bookshelf just below the windowsill where it would get much less sun, but was supplemented with plant lights from my bowl and jar tanks. I started doing weekly water cages again and the plant flourished.
I decided I wanted to move the sword to Magnus' bowl after it had been re-done in prep for the betta. When I removed the swords from the vase they made an absolute mess, pulling up a ton of soil with tier long roots. After planting and letting them stay overnight I decided I did not like the look of the sword leaves amongst all the grass like plants so I pulled them back out and redid the vase to put them back in. Now they sit in the vase with no other plants, and as far as I know, no snails (but I’m sure one will turn up in there). The leaves have grown so long they fold over to stay under water now. I'm trying to gently encourage the plant to grow its leaves out of the water -as swords can grow emersed- but I'm not sure how it will do in the low humidity air of the house. For not it its in its usual place in front of the jar and bowl just happily doing its thing after surviving all sorts of hardships. Who knows what the future will hold for this resilient plant, but all I can say is: if you have a sword plant: don't give up on it! Even if all you have is the crown (as long as that is not mush), give it nutrients, and light, and it will grow!!


Sadly I have no photos of it in the 10g or in the jar before replanting, here's what I do have:
Oct 2013 Evolve









Feb 2014 Vase


March 


April




Hair Algae adventures in July

1-2-PULL:






TADA:


Aug




Sept
Tried moving it to the bubble bowl... didn't like so put it back in the vase


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## Aqua Aurora

So have not posted here as much as I plan Ed, went through a large transfer moving all my plants and fish from my 20g long -to my 55g. Apparently my canister filters nitrite consume bacteria [censor]ed the bed so bad to take all the media from my 20g filter. 20g is currently looking very empty and need rescaped and replanted. Hope to update with the history of the 55g and the 20g long soon ^^


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## Schmoo

Wow, that is quite a difference in Xerxes!  I think I prefer it, though. Very pretty. :]


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## Aqua Aurora

Ugh I hate that the forum won't allow editing after 20mins, I hit "post" before I was done typing, tried editing and wrote everything up... Then can't save edit because it's past the 20minute mark =.= let's try this again..short version:
Magnus' fin damage has been healing very nicely! The rips that went all the way to the base/body are about 2/3 grown back ^^. He's also gotten very comfortable with me and will peck my finger to get pellets (not that I'm trying to train him to, they just get stuck sometimes). He will also peck a finger if put under water without food, but not if 2 or more are below water. Magnus will even let me gently cares his fine if done slowly. Been giving him frequent water changes to kee nitrates down so the fine heal quickly. 
Alastor is still shy about fingers or objects against the curved glass but doesn't mind my hand in the tank doing water changes. The nerite snails have been moved to the 55g but there is still a lot of poo left from it in Alastor's tank so doing extra water changes to get it out, still feels like I've not made a dent in the poo pile yet. Nitrates are still acceptable though ^^
I've noticed Xerxes actually has scales on his eyes, he can still see me out of both eyes but it's like having perminant blinders on at odd spots. I hope they do not expand/grow more scales over the eyes and lead to blind need. If that does happen I thing if have to move Xerxes in a curved tank without corners to run into and no hard decor (rock would have to go).



Schmoo said:


> Wow, that is quite a difference in Xerxes!  I think I prefer it, though. Very pretty. :]


I wouldn't mind if he stayed the same or changed, still love him. I just hope he keeps his yellow and the fins don't turn completely blue.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Gernal Update*

Just a general update, Xerxes is doing well, his plants are growing in ok, already need to trim the rotala (thin stem in back) and thin out the salvia minimia (floaters) again. He's be amusingly beg-y lately, he will go to his feeding spot (top front right corner of the tank) and hang out there pouting for more food. If i put my finger by the glass he doesn't follow it but instead leads it to the feeding spot (my husband said Xerxes did the same to him haha). Everyone got thawed frozen blood worms for dinner last night and they were all absolute pigs about it! I actually think its the first time I fed blood worms to Magnus and Alastor, their meat meals had been brine shrimp and black worms before.




The picos upstairs (3g bubble bowl, 2g cookie jar, and 0.5g vase) are all doing well, though I'm getting a tiny start of BBA (black beard algae) in the bowl, dosing excel directly onto it to hopefully kill it off. I think its because of the high nitrates from the soil leeching ammonia (that the beneficial bacteria quickly converts), it could also be from fluctuating co2 levels from me doing frequent water changes to reduce said nitrates. Jar and vase are not showing any algae thankfully. I'm thinking of looking for a taller thin/cylindrical vase to move the sword plant into.
A while ago I noticed someone commented on feather like patterning on a semi cellophane betta photo and took another look at Alastor.. well its not a perfect feather shape (looks like the 'feather tip' broke off) he has it too on his dorsal ^^ He's getting better about my finger by the glass (not bolting away) but he still backs up. Hes the only one of the 3 now that won't take food from my hand now.

//i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz61/Purr_Machines/AquaAurora/022-5.png[/IMG][/URL]




In other news Magnus is healing up nicely, unfortunately though I think one of the fat cats laid against the multi plug extension cord last night turning off power to his tanks filter and heater (and the light and filter on the plant dumping tank), did not do a water test but temp went down to 72-73F. I did a 5x dose of prime and put him in his water change cube, did 100% water change, re-primed water and dripped him back in. He's fine but I feel bad that he had a cold night in an unfiltered tank, sorry buddy :c
Quick above view photo of him.. I wish my phone camera would capture how my eyes see things, he's more vibrant in person. Really love how bright the blue in his fins are compared to body scales!


I ended up confiscating more stuff from my niece (by marriage not blood related) shes the one I got my first used 10g tank from and those shunned less than 1g 'betta cubes' I don't keep fish in them.. she tried (and failed). Anyways I set up the smaller of the betta cubes with some of her left over substrate.. I wouldn't call it gravel, looks more like smoothed shiny shell chippings? No clue where she got it, a rock I found at a local stream, and the 2 marimo, no plan for any live animals in it, ever. I can't good photos of where I actually keep it, since they need so little light to survive, photos come out very dark ad grainy in that spot.
I'm not entirely happy with it so I am trying to clean off my unused 'shrimp rock' that I'd tried (and failed) at polyurethane-ing to seal them from leeching calcium and magnesium into the water (my water is hard enough these rook set the #s off he charts) several months ago. The urathane did not dry right and parts of it pealed and leeched out calcium still. Anyways dunked the rocks in gasoline for a bit then scrubbed the crap out of them in water until i was too sick to handle it any more... ugh still feel nauseous from it even after 7+ thorough rinses with soap my hands reek (and i was wearing gloves before.. they didn't help), don't know how some people can work around gas all day x.x.. Anyways I wanted to completely clean off a rock or 2 and use it + black diamond 'sand' in the mini cube with the marimo instead of the initial substrate and hardscape...I'll stop blabbing and slap up my quick photos.


I might also say "[censor] it!" and give up on the rocks and just sell the marimo... this is true marimo btw not that fake man made stuff on little plastic core structures. Find it funny that people make and sell fakes, but sad that the true wild marimo is pretty much endangered from over harvesting. No one wants to wait the many many many years it takes for an existing marimo to produce another of decent size.


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## Aqua Aurora

*OMG FLARE!! + we got some big bugs*

XERXES FINALLY FLARED FACING ME!!! And on 2 different days. First time got out of focus photos without his pelvic fins down because he was charging at me, but today I got a decent one, with *full *flare!! Beard is more translucent red than translucent yellow like I thought though. And it same some spots of red but its hard to see 
3 days ago:

Today:


In other news we have gotten some messed up weather here! Went from it being in low 40s and needing the heater on to mid 70s and needing the AC (we like it cold.. well the people do not the fish ^^). On the warmer days found some incredibly large crawlers around the outside of the house including a HUGE caterpillar (don't know exact species) just hanging out.. dunno how it had survived the early cold spell but wtf.... should have metamorphosed a while ago  For not having a macro lens I'm really happy with this shot, but it was a HUGE bug (easily thicker than my thumb)


And a very large night crawler (type of worm), this guy got washed onto concrete so I picked him up to put back into the mulch garden. Damn he was fast and wiggly! Was like handling a young/newborn snake trying to slither out of my hand but without the fear of getting bit (on a random note I had a dream about a venous snake biting me twice the night _before _i found this thing). I had t use both hands and keep putting one in front of the otehr to keep him from shooting off. This crawler was easily as long as my hand (middle finger to wrist) when fully outstretched (could shrink to 1/3 the size) and almost as thick as my index finger!



And some pico tank shots for fun
Alastor being a hunch back from glass distortion with a O --- o face

Better tank photo

All 3 (love how they look when the bit of sun touches them through the window blinds)

Alastor actually pecked my finger yesterday when I did a water change on his tank! He's been finger shy since I got him so I was happy to see the behavior. It was basically a "FEED ME!" peck as I did not give him (or anyone) lunch that day.. they had frozen food the night before so they get fasted for meal right after that. But I'm happy to see he's getting less shy.

Magnus is still doing great in the qt tank. and his bubble bowl is not leeching so much form the soil (finally nitrates are equal or slightly lower than Alastor's tank) so may put Magnus in his tank in a week or two.. want t get as much fin healing done as possible first. Since he loved his home made mesh tube so much I may put a weighted one in the bowl that has an extra cover on it to act as a darker cave. Also have to make out of tank visual divider so Magnus and Alastor aren't flaring at each other all day. Both tanks have home made lids so not worried about jumping at least ^^

Promise to get off my arse and post about my other, non betta tanks soon.


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## Schmoo

I absolutely love your cookie jar tank. <3 I've seen you post about it around the forum, but I just wanted to ask a few questions:

1.) How does Alastor do in it? I'm not trying to imply anything at all! I'm just curious because I'd like to attempt something similar for my next betta. I know every betta is different, but still... >w>;
2.) What do you use for a lid? I read that you have home-made lids for them.


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> I absolutely love your cookie jar tank. <3 I've seen you post about it around the forum, but I just wanted to ask a few questions:
> 
> 1.) How does Alastor do in it? I'm not trying to imply anything at all! I'm just curious because I'd like to attempt something similar for my next betta. I know every betta is different, but still... >w>;
> 2.) What do you use for a lid? I read that you have home-made lids for them.


Thank you! and I understand, Alastor does quite well in the jar. He seemed a bit daunted by the 10g quarantine when he had it to himself, but it was kinda empty (qt tank after all, can't have a ton of stuff that needs sterilized or toss if the unspeakable happens). First bit of time in the jar he was a little skittish, I think because the curved glass distorts everything that gets close. He's gotten use to it though and doesn't back up when I put my finger to the glass now (still won't follow it though). The 2 pieces of driftwood and Indian almond leaf behind them form a loose 'cave' and dark area for him to hide if he wants but he mostly just likes swimming through the gaps (made sure they wre wide enough that he could not get stuck). The driftwood doesn't take up a ton of space but breaks up line of sight across the whole tank so he can swim around/through it to see something at the other side. The pretty moss mass seems to entertain him, I'm not sure if he sees the microcrusations in the tank and is hunting them around the moss, to baby snails before they get big enough for me to see. Either way its amusing to see him above moss with his head pointed almost straight down and a semi flare (fins out but no gill or beard action). I need to trim and replant some of that moss soon. The tank is by the front door, in the living room, and has a view to the kitchen table. So he gets some stimulus from the comings and goings of family members and pets through these areas. My husband and i usually hang out by him while prepping and after eating dinner to watch tv (I've not tried to see if he watches anything yet, he seems more interested in us than the tv when i peek over though). He has no issues with water changes (I usually do 50% once a week, nitrates stay at 10-20ppm mark), and when I add water back in I use a plastic ziplock bag, sometimes it gets submerged a bit and Alastor will swim up into it and look up at me "Are you done yet?" then swim back out and under the wood. But hes not scared and hiding or angrily glass surfing when do water changes.

As for lids yes, all the tanks (except open the top riparium) have home made lids from [Lexan sheets from Home Depot]. Its a clear polycarbonate sheet that looks like glass but is cheaper and does shatter as easily (such as when dropped), and is also light (but its easy to glue something to it to add weight). Give me a moment and I'll take a photo of the lid.....
Ok here we go (poor Alastor got excited, lid removal usually means feeding time.. "where's the food?! :c )



Sorry not the best of shots, was trying to be quick. You cant see its not a perfect circle, but it fits over the opening fine and has a cut out for were the equipment goes in (sponge filter's air tube, sensor for temp controller, and heater cord) the gap is too small for any betta to fit through (well a fry could jump but no juvi/adult) I can barely fit my needle-less syringe through the gap to inject the daily dose of Excel. Having the lid lip stick out past the jar's rim makes it easy to grab and edge and pick up, but you can easily make your own handle to remove the lid with super glue and a misc item such as a big glass bead. The small curved white/cream things on the underside of the lid are tiny cut scraps of PVC piping that were glued on with super glue. These keep the lid from wiggle, or a very determined betta from bumping the lid till it slides to the side and gives them a gap to get out. It also adds a little extra weight (not much but every ounce helps with a betta)
If you'd like to try making one you need 1 sheet of the stuff (Lexan) you can get away with a [10"x8" sheet] which is just about $4 since the inner rim of the lip/opening is about 7.5". I don't know about all Home Depos but for me it was at the back of the store near the windows and doors isles, you can ask an employee to help you find it too. If they don't know Lexan, mention its covered put over in ceiling lights a "lens".
Anyways get a sheet, get your tank, and get a working pen or sharpie.
Take the glass jar lid off and put eh Lexan on, hold it in place and mark where you need to cut (make sure it goes onto the rim and is not so narrow that it falls through). Remember to make an opening for equipment. It may be better to get everything set up and in then get the lid so you know where the hole(s) need to be. 
Now the harder part (possibly), you need to have or find someone that does have an electric saw (circular saw, table saw, band saw(this is what my husband used).. pretty much anything except chain saw and oooold school tree cutting saw). Its highly recommended to get a blade for this saw that is "many toothed"/"high tooth count" I think wood cutting blade will work well. 
Someone needs to be slightly adapt at using the saw. If no one knows how to use it well... get a few sheets of Lexan and mark them all for lid cutting so there can be a few practice tries. Circles are a lot harder than a straight line. For openings for equipment you can make square cuts instead of rounded one(s) (probably easier).
Keep the sticky tape on the Lexan and consider also putting some tape around the area being cut (inside the line for the lid) this will help keep the Lexan from chipping/cracking while being cut and end up with an unsightly piece.
Once cut make sure it fits properly then you have the option to sand the cut edges to get the loose polycarbonate shreds off (this stuff can be rough). Once all done remove the 'sticker' on both sides of the sheet and you're ready for use!
You can add items to it like a handle or little pieces of aquarium safe.. whatever to keep the lid in place with superglue on the underside (recommend 3 or more points to keep it in place), just make sure the lid is dry when applying glue and to let it dry before using.

The bubble bowl has the same style lid, the other tanks have square or rectangular cut lids as they aren't rounded tanks. But only the two rounded ones have the added bits underneath to keep them in place. Its extra precaution since Magnus showed he was determined to get into a fight once already >.<

Hope my long rambling helped ^^"


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## Aqua Aurora

*Additional info on lid making*

first off: typo correction in earlier post: Lexan does *NOT *shatter as easily as glass (didn't spot till after I could not edit). Its a semi flexible hard plastic.

In addition to options mentioned above my handy man husband suggested several more tool options for Lexan cutting:
jig saw
hand saw
coping saw
Non electric:
utility/razor knife or straight razor -set jar upside down on Lexan (put on table or hard surface you don't mind getting cuts in) and cut around the edge of the jar lid over and over and over with this knife/razor to cut in deep then you should be able to snap it loose.

For making holes for the equipment:
you can also use a razor or utility knife or even a drill (wide enough drill bit for cords and airline tubing) to make the hole(s). 
Also Dremel motor tool is an option for making small indentations and sanding.


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## Schmoo

Oh wow, thanks so much for that awesome explanation! :3 Also, love the Pidgeot next to the tank. xD

To me, creative tanks like this are just so much more aesthetically pleasing. Plus, it opens up new creative possibilities, and I love to get crafty.


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## Aqua Aurora

*....Perfect timing Magnus.. =,=*

So Magnus had maybe 1-2 weeks left of fin healing from his diver jumping escapade to be perfect again, and I get back from an outing today to find he decided it'd be a _great _idea to become a fin nipper =.= bad Magnus!
Well screw it if he wants shredded fins might as well test out if the pvc pipe hides are betta fun friendly too.. Will probably put him in his bowl next week. No point waiting for fins to heal if he won't let them. Sadly I keep planted tanks (except qt) so he won't get aq salt treatments in there but hoping the fact that its a planted tank keeps him from getting bored/stress and fin nippy again.


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## Raye

sorry if you've answer this before, but can i ask how you got the hygro sp. 'tiger' to grow sideways like that (on page one)? i really dig that look.


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> Oh wow, thanks so much for that awesome explanation! :3 Also, love the Pidgeot next to the tank. xD
> 
> To me, creative tanks like this are just so much more aesthetically pleasing. Plus, it opens up new creative possibilities, and I love to get crafty.


I have fun with DIY projects usually I have the idea/want for something, describe it to my husband, and he figures out how to make it (if its a common DIY i'll give him info on how others make it but he usually comes up with his own easier/better/cheaper way).
There is also a Sandslash ^^ My husband has put smaller starters from gen 1 by Magnus so he wanted to put some by Alastor too.



Raye said:


> sorry if you've answer this before, but can i ask how you got the hygro sp. 'tiger' to grow sideways like that (on page one)? i really dig that look.


Its fine, i don't think I actually described it here yet. I use to let it grow straight up long ago (in a 20g tank in April) and roots would form at each notch/node. On a lark one day I pushed some of these roots higher up the stem into the substrate, forcing it on its side (roots closest to 'top') and noticed it kept growing along the substrate. As it grew longer, more roots formed and anchored it right into the sand, perpetuating what I'd started.
When I set up this tank I simply took the stems with their many roots intact and planted with all roots put into the substrate. I clumped them close together so the stem wasn't so visible and put another plant (hydro sp japan) mixed in with them for contrast, and that's that. They will grow along the substrate until they hid a blockage (tank wall, decor) then grow up again. But its easy to just trim this growth and replant it.
Xerxes loved wiggling his way down under the mass of plant 'carpet' and making a sleeping spot on the substrate (like a dog digging a ditch under a porch/deck to rest in).
If you've not owned hygro before but plan to get it, I'd suggest also buying some form of potassium supplement as they are potassium hogs! If they don't get enough you will see deficiencies in the leaves in the form of small pin holes. I use Seachem Prime and more than recommended; I dose 1 whole extra day and double the recommended dose for this tank. But then I have a lot of hygro. When starting out with just a single bunch of stems normal nosing amount would probably be enough. You can also get orangeish-brown -'red' (in quotes as not really red) patterning on new leaves with medium light but they grow fine in low light too.


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## Boshia

I stumbled onto this thread through your signature, and wow I am so glad I did. All of your bettas and tanks are so beautiful, but I am particularly in love with Xerxes' tank!


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## Aqua Aurora

Boshia said:


> I stumbled onto this thread through your signature, and wow I am so glad I did. All of your bettas and tanks are so beautiful, but I am particularly in love with Xerxes' tank!


Thank you very much for the kind words! Sadly I look at this tank the most since its on my desk and I just keep wanting to rescape it and try something new ^^'' 
Really want to get my anubias collection going again (use to have around 20 species) but I'd probably be bad and get a whole 'nother tank (and betta) for that adventure. I'm a frugal person so I fight myself with every new tank over the $ for it. The part of me that wants reliable/quality equipment beats out my cheap-ass-ed-ness so it can be $100-$150 for a tank, heater, and filter, and lights, then another $100 in plants because I'm too impatient to wait for them to grow in/fill out x.x 
I have MTS *bad *(multi tank syndrome) and my husband is a sweet heart and keeps facilitating/encouraging it instead of just saying "Honey, you ave too many already." like most spouses would.


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## Raye

Aqua Aurora said:


> Its fine, i don't think I actually described it here yet. I use to let it grow straight up long ago (in a 20g tank in April) and roots would form at each notch/node. On a lark one day I pushed some of these roots higher up the stem into the substrate, forcing it on its side (roots closest to 'top') and noticed it kept growing along the substrate. As it grew longer, more roots formed and anchored it right into the sand, perpetuating what I'd started.
> When I set up this tank I simply took the stems with their many roots intact and planted with all roots put into the substrate. I clumped them close together so the stem wasn't so visible and put another plant (hydro sp japan) mixed in with them for contrast, and that's that. They will grow along the substrate until they hid a blockage (tank wall, decor) then grow up again. But its easy to just trim this growth and replant it.
> Xerxes loved wiggling his way down under the mass of plant 'carpet' and making a sleeping spot on the substrate (like a dog digging a ditch under a porch/deck to rest in).
> If you've not owned hygro before but plan to get it, I'd suggest also buying some form of potassium supplement as they are potassium hogs! If they don't get enough you will see deficiencies in the leaves in the form of small pin holes. I use Seachem Prime and more than recommended; I dose 1 whole extra day and double the recommended dose for this tank. But then I have a lot of hygro. When starting out with just a single bunch of stems normal nosing amount would probably be enough. You can also get orangeish-brown -'red' (in quotes as not really red) patterning on new leaves with medium light but they grow fine in low light too.



hygros are my favorite. my 5g has angustifolia, polysperma and corymbosa, & i've owned pinnatifida, difformis and stricta/kompact. i think 'bold,' 'tiger,' and 'blue' are the only commonly found ones that i haven't owned. might have to try the horizontal method if i ever get my hands on them. do you have/have you ever had a problem with the stems rotting while growing them horiziontally? i think that'd be my biggest concern.


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## Aqua Aurora

Raye said:


> hygros are my favorite. my 5g has angustifolia, polysperma and corymbosa, & i've owned pinnatifida, difformis and stricta/kompact. i think 'bold,' 'tiger,' and 'blue' are the only commonly found ones that i haven't owned. might have to try the horizontal method if i ever get my hands on them. do you have/have you ever had a problem with the stems rotting while growing them horiziontally? i think that'd be my biggest concern.


That's cool that you have so much ^^ I actually never had a melting issue with tiger but corymbosa and angustifolia were a [censore] for me and lost 3/4 of what I bought when I tried them to melts off >.< but I think it has to do with how different the environment they come from and go into is (those went from high tech/light to low tech) but the few that survived are in my plant dumping tank growing fine now. If you don't notice that your bottom leaves are falling off when it grows straight up (they still are getting enough light) then encouraging them to grow horizontally should work fine.
I think I have some leftover tigers tossed in my plant dumping tank. It has no heater but medium light and daily ferts, it has the possibility of snails or minor alage in there though. If you're interested I'll fish it out and take a photo and pm you about selling it for cheap if I have enough to warrant selling. But I have no insulation so I cannot offer any DOA guarentee (if you don't want to buy because of that I understand).


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## Raye

Aqua Aurora said:


> I think I have some leftover tigers tossed in my plant dumping tank. It has no heater but medium light and daily ferts, it has the possibility of snails or minor alage in there though. If you're interested I'll fish it out and take a photo and pm you about selling it for cheap if I have enough to warrant selling. But I have no insulation so I cannot offer any DOA guarentee (if you don't want to buy because of that I understand).


i'd be interested! i already have snails and i'm sure my amanos would take care of algae. and temperatures out here aren't so low that plants would be compromised during shipping yet. so if you would shoot me a PM, that would be grand!


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## Schmoo

Love the new icon, AA!


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## Aqua Aurora

Raye said:


> i'd be interested! i already have snails and i'm sure my amanos would take care of algae. and temperatures out here aren't so low that plants would be compromised during shipping yet. so if you would shoot me a PM, that would be grand!


Ok pm with photos sent ^^



Schmoo said:


> Love the new icon, AA!


Thank you! Decided I really loved this photo I took of my nerite in the bubble bowl from a couple months ago. My other avatar image was a crop photo of my powder blue dwarf goirami that passed of old age back in April. Love that one too but this one has more shine ^^


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## Schmoo

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you! Decided I really loved this photo I took of my nerite in the bubble bowl from a couple months ago. My other avatar image was a crop photo of my powder blue dwarf goirami that passed of old age back in April. Love that one too but this one has more shine ^^


I think I agree. :3 And zebra nerites are just so cute anyway. <3


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## Aqua Aurora

*A Long Journey: 20g long's history*

Finally decided I'll try to cram the short yet long (lot of photos) history of the 20g long. DId not add my full anubias plant list but if you want to know it (or what a specific plant in the tank is from a photo) let me know.

Sorry for large photos

Start date:April 14th: 6 otos and Arist'oto'



April 16th: got some house hold plants to try riparium out with by planted in HOB filter: maidenhair fern, fittonia albivenis, tradescantia zebrine (aka wondering jew), and pothos.



April 23rd: plant growth, floaters galore + some free sickly riparium plants and riparium planters I got for price of shipping. Riccia put over foam outflow of HOB. Smaller HOB put back on 10g (half media split with new filter)


April 30: short of part of my anubias collection and riparium plants, fern is only one doing poorly, wandering jew growing like mad 


May 8th:rearranged tank to fit in all the anubias, removed rocks as I suspected Arist'oto' managed to rip his fins on them. Got another riparium specific plant.. it did not fair well from shipping..


June 6th: lost anubias collection to rhizome rot disease that came in on a plant from a forum seller (not this forum). I lost Arist'oto' to an unknown disease after introducing new fish without quarantining first. Was expecting a shipment of new fish after so bought some random mis-mash of plants from my preferred plant seller site... turns out the fish seller had family problems so the transaction and fish shipment never happened :/ Smaller HOB back on the tank + failed attempt at a mesh riparium basket (was too flimsy had to remove).


June 15-23: Decided to wait a month in case disease was columnaris before new fish. Got some sexy Mazantia wood that me and my husband sawed-all in half (btw this is a very hard wood, rattled all the tiny bones in our hands from holding it down). Ripped out plants and put wood in + new riparium plants, planters, and floating trellis rafts(too lazy to slit full plant stock at this point^^'') Cut tablecloth and sewed seams + sewed on Velcro so it can be removed for washing (the checkered cloth was driving me nuts) 







June 30: most of the plants underwater were medium light but only getting low light because of rafts and riparium plants above. Removed the majority and put in low light plants: dwarf lilly plant, java fern needle leaf, crypt parva and wendtii green.


July 6th: Husband made sexy background with scrap from tablecloth and backer board (mold resistant drywall)



Julyy 28: just growth update


Aug 4: was sick of driftwood leeching so much tannins that it kept dropping pH (was planning fish soon so needed pH to get stable). Removed wood and boiled for several hours: 1 hour boil, pot drained and refilled, wood rotated, repeat.


Oct 3rd: No more tannins since boiling. Tank has had new otos, cherry barbs, and an angelfish added, then moved to a different wall. This is the last shot of it as a 20g riparium before all plants and fish were moved to my 55g (will posts its history another day). 



Oct 21: after letting the tank go without a water change for several weeks, only dosing ammonia to keep it cycled, everything was COVERED in snail poo so had to clean substrate with 200+% water change and remove and scrub wood clean.
Before:


After:


*Current Tank stats:*
*Tank:* 20g long 30"x12"x12"
*Start-up Date: *April 14th
*Filter: *Aqauclear 70 with foam over outflow
*Heater:* Eheim Jagar 75watt heater
*Light:* 13 watt 6500kelvin cfl bulb in clamp on work lampx3 clamped to shelf 29" above substrate (will lower when plants are gotten)
*Substrate:* Black Diamond blasting 'sand'
*Hardscape/Decor:* Ghostwood x2

Water Parameters:
*pH: *no tested recently (assuming 7.5)
*GH & KH:* 70s & 160s ppm (hard water)
*Temp:* 73F
*Ammonia:* 0 ppm
*Nitrite:* 0-0.25 ppm (use strong ammonia dose filter almost cycled)
*Nitrate:* no recent tests done
*
Plant list:* currently nothing
*Livestock:* Noting serious just ramshorn, pond, and Malaysian trumpet snails, will determine fish/shrimp after plants.

*Tank Placement:* Wall just outside office
*Plant Supplements:* none at them moment
*Other Things:* 1 Thermometer, black table cloth and background, did I mention I have a lot of snails?

Too tired to write anything else up on the 20g long right now.. maybe later.. if you have question(s) about one/some/all of the plant(s) just let me know.


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## kjg1029

wow! i love how it looks like the plants are spilling out! it looks so lush!


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> wow! i love how it looks like the plants are spilling out! it looks so lush!


Thank you ^^ Its very nice have the plant life above water to look at too (not just below), nice added bit of green hues. about 50-60% of the above water plants are actually converted house plants. Some -but not all- house plants do good with the wet roots.


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## kjg1029

ive always wondered if that would actualy work, i tried it with a mundo grass (i think) that i mistakenly (newbie! lol) bought for my aquarium only to figure out it needs to be dry -____- so i put in in my HOB filter, but it just looked stupid with one plant sticking out lol, so now its in a pot now in my window!....but im definatly gonna try this...maybe in the near future..


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## Tress

I noticed that you said you used foam to reduce the outflow. I also have an aquaclear that needs baffling, what kind of foam did you use? lol I want to avoid using the water bottle baffle that most suggest. Are there drawbacks to it?

Also loving how that riparium looked. Maybe once I get more comfortable with live plants I'd try that. Do you need to add ferts for them?


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> ive always wondered if that would actualy work, i tried it with a mundo grass (i think) that i mistakenly (newbie! lol) bought for my aquarium only to figure out it needs to be dry -____- so i put in in my HOB filter, but it just looked stupid with one plant sticking out lol, so now its in a pot now in my window!....but im definatly gonna try this...maybe in the near future..


I really wanted to try mondo grass!! Unfortunately I could not find it when I first set up my riparium. By the time time mondo grass was available I had no room left to put it anywhere >.< I do want to try it some time bu its too cold here now so I cannot get it again argh. Have to wait till spring



Tress said:


> I noticed that you said you used foam to reduce the outflow. I also have an aquaclear that needs baffling, what kind of foam did you use? lol I want to avoid using the water bottle baffle that most suggest. Are there drawbacks to it?
> 
> Also loving how that riparium looked. Maybe once I get more comfortable with live plants I'd try that. Do you need to add ferts for them?


Originally I used leftover blue sunsun canister filter foam that I cut to fit. Then I hated the blue so I just measured the outflow (roughly) and went to a LFS and looked at their black foam replacements. I bought one that was very cheap but a bit larger than the outflow (I can't remember what brand since I wasn't specifically buying it for that certain brand of filter). Got it home put it over the outflow to see how much needed removed then cut it carefully with a razor blade (can also use scissors). I made it just a tiny bit bigger than the space it went in to make sure it fit snugly. You don't have to use filter specific foam, you can probably find cheaper foams at a home improvement store or possible art and craft store, just make sure its not impregnated with anything (give it a sniff for perfumes/detergents) and rinse it in tap or removed water change water before use. The only downside to foam is it will catch mulm so over time (if its ONLY a betta tank no snails or otehr fish it will take a looong time) it will get a big clogged and need rung out in water removed at a water change. That said, I kept mine planted with riccia and never cleaned it as it did not get clogged. I did eventually take it out after Arist'oto' passed and put the riccia on floating rafts in the tank.
When I got foam for the outflow I sued coarse filter foam, which means its very airy, larger particles can pass through it. This doesn't baffle flow as much as fine foam but it won't clog as easily, it also was good for planting riccia on as the wider spacing let riccia get snagged into it and stay put.


On the other hand here is a fine foam (very dense)which I used over the intake, and it would clog (mostly from snail poo) and has to be rung out in old tank water once in a while. (depends on tank stock for me was every otehr week.. but i have a lot of snails).


For riparium plants they are all different just like aquatic plants, some do fine in very simple tanks with no ferts and low light (pothos for example) others might need some additives. I've always dosed ferts so I can't really give a comparison or example for one that needs ferts... I know several of people have used pothos with no special care given for it. I know you do not need co2 or "liquid co2" supplements for riparium plants, they get plenty of co2 from the air... Well I guess dwarf taro needs ferts.. I just don't know which ones as mine died even with fert dosing so I must have missed something (deficiency charts for taro said it was calcium issue but my water stained glass and terracotta pot argue otherwise (calcium rich tap here) so no clue what its issue was).


----------



## Raye

bummer about the anubias collection. must've been rough to lose them all like that.
also, that june 15th riparium set up *o*


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Raye said:


> bummer about the anubias collection. must've been rough to lose them all like that.
> also, that june 15th riparium set up *o*


Yeh it sucked watching the. Go one by one then 3 at a time till everyone was gone :c 
I loved watching the evolution and growth of the riparium, looking back over the photos as I made the post... I really feel like continuing the riparium on the 20g long again with some new plants I've not tried yet. Thing is fall/winter is a real pain to find anything locally or get anything to survive shipping in the cold :/ hate having to wait!



Hmmm photobucket derped some photos of foam, will repost those later.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Aqua Aurora said:


> Originally I used leftover blue sunsun canister filter foam that I cut to fit. Then I hated the blue so I just measured the outflow (roughly) and went to a LFS and looked at their black foam replacements. I bought one that was very cheap but a bit larger than the outflow (I can't remember what brand since I wasn't specifically buying it for that certain brand of filter). Got it home put it over the outflow to see how much needed removed then cut it carefully with a razor blade (can also use scissors). I made it just a tiny bit bigger than the space it went in to make sure it fit snugly. You don't have to use filter specific foam, you can probably find cheaper foams at a home improvement store or possible art and craft store, just make sure its not impregnated with anything (give it a sniff for perfumes/detergents) and rinse it in tap or removed water change water before use. The only downside to foam is it will catch mulm so over time (if its ONLY a betta tank no snails or otehr fish it will take a looong time) it will get a big clogged and need rung out in water removed at a water change. That said, I kept mine planted with riccia and never cleaned it as it did not get clogged. I did eventually take it out after Arist'oto' passed and put the riccia on floating rafts in the tank.
> When I got foam for the outflow I sued coarse filter foam, which means its very airy, larger particles can pass through it. This doesn't baffle flow as much as fine foam but it won't clog as easily, it also was good for planting riccia on as the wider spacing let riccia get snagged into it and stay put.
> 
> 
> On the other hand here is a fine foam (very dense)which I used over the intake, and it would clog (mostly from snail poo) and has to be rung out in old tank water once in a while. (depends on tank stock for me was every otehr week.. but i have a lot of snails).
> 
> 
> For riparium plants they are all different just like aquatic plants, some do fine in very simple tanks with no ferts and low light (pothos for example) others might need some additives. I've always dosed ferts so I can't really give a comparison or example for one that needs ferts... I know several of people have used pothos with no special care given for it. I know you do not need co2 or "liquid co2" supplements for riparium plants, they get plenty of co2 from the air... Well I guess dwarf taro needs ferts.. I just don't know which ones as mine died even with fert dosing so I must have missed something (deficiency charts for taro said it was calcium issue but my water stained glass and terracotta pot argue otherwise (calcium rich tap here) so no clue what its issue was).



(corrected photo issue)


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Resolution to so Issues + New Tank on the Way!*

*[Rant.. feel free to skip]*
So if you saw my recent post in aquabid threat (photo section) I mildly vented about some issues... Basically I'd bought 20lbs worth of liquid plant ferts from amazon + new needle-less syringes for dosing and they packed them poorly, package broke and was shipped back to amazon before anything got remotely near my home or even state (not even to a directly surrounding state). Well amazon being the increibly peice of [censor] its become lately 1: altered tracking info on their site to say delivery was atmpted to me (fed ex tacking showed true status) 2:They updated overall order status to delivered/shipped/ and refunded (there were 4 items in one package.. they refunded only one item (cheap one of course)) 3: they made no attempt to fully refund or to reship the items not refunded 4: they did not contact me about the issue (you'd think a decent company would email or call to say "I'm sorry we're experiencing some difficulties with your order, we apologize for the delay [insert what actions they plan to do next (refund/reship)]"... Maybe i'm an old timer now for expecting this service but I'm rather pissed they don't seem to have such a concept now...
Had to [censor] at them with multi hour to write lengthy email and get told I'm getting a "good will" refund.. "good will"? wtf you [censor]s [censor]ed up the whole thing and want to screw me out of over $100.. and call it "good will" to correct your mistake... [excessive amount expletives deleted]. Well [censor] them now, I'm not doing ANY business with amazon again, they've become crappy middle men that are unnecessary and put no effort out to keeping customers happy anymore. Better to cut them out of the loop and go directly to sellers on their own sites (not amazon).
I ended up finding what I wanted on another site for cheaper .. but this whole bs with amazon wasted 10 days past the chem the order should have originally arrived and my ferts are running var low and the needle-less syringes are wearing out. I actually JUST bought the same syringes amazon has but for less on ebay (with free shipping) woot!

My other issue was a lost package, I'd won a RAOK (random act of kindness aka free stuff just pay shipping) for anubias nana on another forum I frequent, plantedtank.net. Well it was suppose to arrive on Friday, but USPS has gone down the crapper too and can't mange to scan their packages.. The item arrived a day late but even a day AFTER that the last scan info on the mail was it leaving an AZ sorting facility. As far as USPS tracking is concerned its lost... I'm also mad at my mailman as apparently they can just take days off on a whim and not load their trucks (have a friend of the family that's a mail-woman (sadly she doesn't deliver for my area though). I'm quite certain that since we got nothing on Friday (and we usually get some spam/scam crap) and a lot of stuff Saturday that he just took the day off... Seems like paying for 2nd day priority is pointless.. 
Anyways plants came at least so I'm done with venting and resolved my issues..

*[Ok onto the good news!]*
After linking tanks, heaters, and equipment for a forum member to save $ instead of getting some stupidly over priced (imo) Fluval chi I decided "this is too [censor] cheap not to get!" and bought a 6.1g Aquatop Bowfront $28, a mini sponge filter (have a spare air pump) and Aquatop 100watt heater. All this cost less that $55! I have spare CLF plant lights and can get a clamp on lamp for about $8-10.
Some of you might think nearly $30 for a 6g tank is stupid when "I can get a 10g for $10 on the petco sales".. well comparing an AquaTop to a Tetra brand tank is like comparing this:








to this:








I'm not saying anyone who uses tetra tanks is using trash (I have several tetra tanks myself and don't hate them), just AquaTop in in a whole different (higher quality) league of tanks.
Btw AquaTop also has a 3g bowfront for $18! Sadly its out of stock at the moment but for the quality of work that's a [censor] awesome low price!!!

Anyways going to restart my anubias collection in here, granted I can't cram in as many species as the 20g use to hold, but oh well. Might also grab some Fissidens fontanus and smooth river rock to cram the moss in between the crevices. Will posts photos as stuff progresses with that.


----------



## kjg1029

oh man! thats not right about the ferts! 100$ is ALOT of money!! and they just screw you out of it!!!>:[ im mad for you lol! and the ROAK package sucks too! i hate when stuff doesn't ship on time like why did i pay for fast shipping then!? *rips out hair*
and lol! comparing an AquaTop to a Tetra brandxD so true,
i love reading your posts! they always make me laugh!


----------



## Tress

Wow that is a nice tank. Lol I calculated what my shipping would be for it...$107.32. ... I'll never have nice things .-. the shipping price always kills me.


----------



## kjg1029

i agree!^ its like ahhh! im already forking over an arm and a leg for it, but you need my other leg for shipping too!? lol


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*The Magnus Movement*

Got sick of Magnus being in quarantine and since his soil based tank has stopped leeching I moved him over. Dripped him in then netted him to the bowl. I'm a bit worried about keeping him in a planted tank.. I had put duckweed in the quarantine to help with nitrates.. in 2 days he ate it all.. I checked its not stuck against the filter intake sponge or behind the outflow or decor, its gone.. and he had some slight constipation but no swim bladder issues... Well salvia minima is bigger than duckweed but I also have dwarf baby tears in there (and they have crappy short roots for plants so they break loose and float up easy) I'm gonna be pissed if he eats those, they're hard to get to grow in a non co2 tank (can be done but they are sooo slooow without co2). Not sure what I'll do with him if he ends up not being plant friendly.. I like my planted tanks... 
Anyways here's some photos






Random shot of the mess of cords, temp controllers, and surge protector and light timer for these tanks. Lights unplugged for Magnus to acclimate for the day.



Oh forgot to mention made a little fabric privacy shield between the tanks so the fish aren't stressing and flaring at each other constantly. Husband made the wood base and drilled holes for dowels which I then pinned the fabric to. Plan to sew it someday, but the bobbin re loader is being a little [censor] on my old sewing machine so its just pinned together for now. 






Pardon all the crappy photos, will get better quality tank/fish shots later in the week.




kjg1029 said:


> oh man! thats not right about the ferts! 100$ is ALOT of money!! and they just screw you out of it!!!>:[ im mad for you lol! and the ROAK package sucks too! i hate when stuff doesn't ship on time like why did i pay for fast shipping then!? *rips out hair*
> and lol! comparing an AquaTop to a Tetra brandxD so true,
> i love reading your posts! they always make me laugh!


Yeh they've gone to pot so I only use amazon as a search engine now and will not buy from them again. I've found most storefronts on amazon actually have their own webpages I can buy from direct instead. Its asinine that *I *have to put out so much work to get my $ back for their [censor] up.



Tress said:


> Wow that is a nice tank. Lol I calculated what my shipping would be for it...$107.32. ... I'll never have nice things .-. the shipping price always kills me.


I'm sorry, if I lived at one of the border states I'd tell you to drive to 'the line' and I'd meet you there to 'toss' a tank over for you (don't have a passport so gotta stay on the us soil)^_~ 
If it makes you feel better, I do hit barriers of "not getting to have" for some nicer/rarer aquatic stuff living on the east coast instead of the west (California gets ALL the good [censor]!).




kjg1029 said:


> i agree!^ its like ahhh! im already forking over an arm and a leg for it, but you need my other leg for shipping too!? lol


Yeah shipping costs really bit you in the [censor] sometimes. I was lucking enough to have free shipping for my tank order though.. Just waiting g for them to fill/ship it *hovered on order status page* come on you've been 'open' for work for 2 hours I wanna see some updates *spam refresh*


----------



## kjg1029

lol that little curtain thing looks cool! good idea! i hate having cardboard and newspaper between mine.......sounds like project time!xD 
ive also come to the conclusion that i need one of those anchor jars to make a planted "micro" shrimp tank...but a betta would defiantly fit.......lol!


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> lol that little curtain thing looks cool! good idea! i hate having cardboard and newspaper between mine.......sounds like project time!xD
> ive also come to the conclusion that i need one of those anchor jars to make a planted "micro" shrimp tank...but a betta would defiantly fit.......lol!


Thank you ^^ It was pretty easy to make, only thing bought was the fabric, had scrap wood or thin dowel from unrelated projects. You could probably make one with no cost from wood straps (or 1-2 metal hangers even), old curtail/sheet/unwanted clothing/etc, and pins/double sided tape/stick-on-velcro/even folded over regular tape as fake double skidded tap. Once I get it sewed I'll be happy as I can remove it from the wood and wash it if it gets wet/dirt.
The Anchor 2g cookie jar is nice, you can get them at Walmart for $10 (at least that's how much mind cost) saw one at Target for $13 today... also saw this *2.5*g Montana Anchor jar (lid is removable so all glass)


I almost grabbed it but had to stop myself, already have a new tank on the way, don't need another new one yet.


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## kjg1029

wow thanks for the info! i will definatly look around


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## Aqua Aurora

*Must... resist.... temptation*

So in the "dream betta" thread I posted I'd like a solid orange or orange wit red spots (absolutely no pineapple-ing), or a chocolate betta (dark hues: orange and dark brown/black), either plakat male or any tail type female.. also mentioned possible interest in a dumbo/elephant/big ear plakat....
Weeelllllll I found a dumbo/big/elephant ear I like on ab.. but I' doing my best to resist buying him as the tank isn't even here yet (it actually hasn't even been shipped out yet! apparently 'special handling' charges for packing the tank for shipping means extra delays x.x) ... also I think I'd be better off with a female as this will be sharing the desk with my other plakat male and the monitor makes its hard to come up with a visual barrier. I kinda really want him but I want to wait and look around more before I buy (and wait for tank to get here and filter cycled... if I can hold out that long). I hope I don't end up regretting waiting....
Arg kept looking around ab and found a nice pure white dumbo female! Must.. resist.. 

In other news, Magnus didn't eat live plants to the point f explosion (yet) so that's a plus. He's settling in fine tot eh bowl and I'm happy to see he will swim up wit his cute little eager wiggle but bursts like before. Going to take him a while to get use to finding food around the floaters though.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Magnus meets the Pale Pond Snail!*

Hung out with teh delta boys yesterday for a bit. Magnus is still exploring his new home, and spotted a (very pale) pond snail.
[que "Jaws" theme music]



Snail spotted!


WTF are you?!


Bah! You're boring, I'm going over here.

And so ends the (short) tale of Magnus and the pale pond snail.


Also here's a decent (though dark) side shot of Magnus 


Really hope he stops fin nipping now that he's in here, i want to see sexy perfect fins again!


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## Schmoo

Magnus reminds me so much of my Mace! :] Also, that pic. of him and the pond snail is really cute. I'm not sure why, haha. xD


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*A crappy day:Anubias Armageddon*

Well I'd planned to setup another tank next week, have a 6.1g aquatop bowfront that's suppose to be here Monday.. I'd bought about $200 in anubais from several sellers already for the tank.. and one sellers batch has the spreadable disease, rhizome rot... I lost my last anubias collection to this disease and had though I'd avoided it by only buy anubias I could be shown clear photos of rhizome and roots first to ensure I got healthy plants.... well I was wrong.. 1 nana completely dissolved yesterday, and all the others from this seller have the signs they'll go soon too... [censor]! Over $100 in anubias down the drain again! I'm so sick of getting sick anubias from [censor] bag sellers!
For anyone not familiar with rhizome rot, its not a well know disease but sadly seems to be getting more prevalent and is contagious to anubias kept in the same tank (it can also affect crypt species).. you can read about it [here]
Along with the info in the link, the rhizome will sometimes also get a semi translucent fungus growing over it (looks similar to fungus seen on newly added driftwood to aquarium, but its not the same stuff) if such visual ques are spotted you should remove the infected plant from the tank immediately.

I'm feeling very defeatist at the moment, and tempted to throw the entire collection of anubias out and just be done with the damn plant forever.. also feel like returning the tank and equipment I bought for the anubias because "whats the point.. its all rotting away anyways..." ugh...


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## sweetbettafish

Neat journal, Aqua! Personally I prefer Tetra when it comes to heaters, which brand do you guys like?


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## Aqua Aurora

sweetbettafish said:


> Neat journal, Aqua! Personally I prefer Tetra when it comes to heaters, which brand do you guys like?


Thank you. I prefer Eheim Jagar, all my tanks, -except the cookie jar and bubble bowl because of their curved shapes won't fit it, so using cobolt mini 10 watt with azoo micro temp controller- have Eheim Jagar heaters. I usually buy 'one size up' for wattage to gallon ratio (wish i bought he next size up for the small tanks but that heater was too big). I even have an Eheim Jagar for heating the 5g bucket I put new water in for water changes.


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## Aqua Aurora

So although I may loose all my anubias to the disease rhizome rot for not separating all plants as I should have.. wanted to show photos of the petites I got before they go...(see last post on previous page more more info)


(pardon the driftwood fungus in the 2nd photo.. trying to ride it out instead of removing to boil and scrub again)
I'd planned to stuff the long roots of these anubias between rocks I was going to grab for my upcoming 6.1 bowfront.. but ow I suspect they'll be infected and die soon too (really hope I'm wrong... but the pessimist in me says 'they're all going to die!'.


Also here's a shot of the fungus that will grow on dieing anubias rhizomes I mentioned in the previous page (see the semi translucent white threads coming off the cut part?)


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## Tress

So sad that you keep losing them :/ They are so nice looking


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## Aqua Aurora

Tress said:


> So sad that you keep losing them :/ They are so nice looking


I wouldn't have this problem if I stuck to my known reliable seller, but they have limited variety... I got greedy for other types and paid for it dearly by buying form people who don't take care to quarantine their plants just get them shipped in from malaysia (usually) and turn around and ship them right back out... Asia isn't know for quality control and these sellers don't bother to say 'that plant looks half dead let me throw it out"... nope its just "stuff it in with the others, I don't offer refunds so I don't care"...

Another 2 nana were at the point of dissolving today (thick white semi translucent fungus wrapped around rhizome/base of stem which was soft and easily fell off when touches) so I just tossed them in the trash.. Keeping a close eye on the petites (they're in separate tanks), going to give them a month, if they're not dead by than, then they avoided the rhizome rot disease.

Here's a photo of one of the nanas I tossed, notice the rhizome is discolored, as well as the base of the stems.. its rhizome also very soft and flexible (leaves broke off at the stem base to rhizome if i tried to pick it up by a leaf, cannot hold its own weight as its rotting)


I half suspect people keeping plants in high light high co2 environments slow down this disease' progression (but this is simply speculation) as one seller that _claims _he home grows his.. well they're the ones rotting right now.. but he seems to grow them fast enough to lop off chunks to sell before they dissolve..in my set up its very low tech so the change in environment and lack of co2 may let the disease spread through the rhizome at greater speed...but the fact that it can still occur with emersed grown anubias (grown above water in high humidity) that's also a co2 rich environment... I dunno, its still a not well known disease. I'm hoping in the next decade it will have been researched enough to find out its exact cause and maybe a cure (or preventative). 

But for now I'll just have to give up on having any variety and stick to the common anubias I can get from my one trusted seller (when they're back in stock).


----------



## Johnny579

I love your cookie jar setup, i may try something similar if i can find one big enough.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Photo Shoot + New tank!*

Photo updates of the boys
Alastor


Xerxes


Magnus



Xerxes is flaring more with full gill and beard action but he has a habit of charging from the back of the tank when doing this so I've yet to get a fully in focus shot... here's the best so far.. sorry camera angled above him but beard is down.. he's flaring at a white eye glasses cleaning cloth.



In other news my tank, heater, and sponge filter arrived. Did a 2 day leek test + heater check, passed! Now I have to wait for my husband to handy-man me a mini stand for this. The tank will sit mostly on my desk,but its too long to fit completely because of my monitor, so 2-3" will be on my husband's desk which is pushed up against mine (makes an "L" shape, i sit at the right side and him at the bottom of this "L"). His desk is about 1/2" higher than mine and that discrepancy can mess up a tank full of water so he's going to plane a piece of wood to set on both desks and give a level surface for the tank. I've also asked him to stain it to the desk color and urethane it to avoid mold or warping of the wood. He says it will be 2-3 days to be ready for use, so may have it by monday.
I had planned to go rock hunting this past weekend but we had dreary wet cold weather so I did not.. Hoping to this Saturday though!

Anyways quick photos of the tank and equipment


Although its rimless I've very disappointed in the black trim..but I'm hoping I'll not notice it once i add black diamond 'sand' and a black background. Still good price for a nice quality tank though.


I'm half tempted to rescue a dumbo plakat (i think) male (or hm female mislabeled) from petco... 
Poor things not doing to well.. water got REAL murky.. only thing holding m bag is I don't want to get a betta until I can get and test my rocks (nylon test) if they pass.. and the betta hasn't (died) I'll probably grab him.. even though he's not what I'm looking for...
10/30


11/4










Johnny579 said:


> I love your cookie jar setup, i may try something similar if i can find one big enough.


Its called Anchor Hocking Cookie jar 2g. Do you live in the US? I got mine at Walmart for $10 (well it was got as a gift from there), its also at Target for about $14 (there's also a slightly different glass jar same maker that's 2.5g for $20, photo is in one of my recent posts in this thread one page back). You can also find it on amazon (don't really recommend buying from that site anymore though.. its gone down hill..) or ebay (their 100% money back guarantee is better and covered everything.. unlike amazon now...).


----------



## kjg1029

so pretty! i love that EE!


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## Schmoo

Xerxes is so handsome! <3


----------



## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> so pretty! i love that EE!


I am in love with *this *EE but he's on aquabid.. well was, but did not get bought and seller has not re-listed him.. once I test rocks for betta fins, if they pass.. I might contact this seller and splurge on another over-seas betta if its still around (hope he didn't sell it locally or cull it).




Schmoo said:


> Xerxes is so handsome! <3


Thank you ^^


----------



## kjg1029

oh my word!! im in love too! his color! its just so beatiful!lol


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> oh my word!! im in love too! his color! its just so beatiful!lol


I know! and I love the pelvic fin tips, look like little white claws ^^


----------



## kjg1029

i cant even look at aquabid because i always find like 20 that i *NEED*! lolxD


----------



## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> i cant even look at aquabid because i always find like 20 that i *NEED*! lolxD


I'm not quite that bad since I told myself only fish that can't nip their own fins now -except EE which i think can reach their 'ears' if they wanted-.. but plakats or female other tail types only... though I'm not a fan of crowntail females I've seen on aquabid.. their rays are too long for my liking


----------



## kjg1029

im not picky, i like all tail types! i really want a HMEE though, or a PK i just have cts and vts cuz my lame petstore!!!


----------



## Tress

Oh man, I hope they do still have him, he is awesome! I remember him from when you posted him on the AB thread


----------



## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> im not picky, i like all tail types! i really want a HMEE though, or a PK i just have cts and vts cuz my lame petstore!!!


Have you tried asking them to get some other varieties.. maybe they don't know there are other (sometimes more desirable) tail types.



Tress said:


> Oh man, I hope they do still have him, he is awesome! I remember him from when you posted him on the AB thread


I actually don't think I linked that boy, I linked a more white and grey tone long finned hm (not plakat) EE a little while back though.


----------



## Tress

Aqua Aurora said:


> I actually don't think I linked that boy, I linked a more white and grey tone long finned hm (not plakat) EE a little while back though.


I realized that after then I went and looked at the AB thread xD so yea, fail.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*20g long's Current Residents + Other Updates*

So I'll post on the 55g's history someday soon, but for now here are a few photos of the current residents f the 20g long, its only temporary though. They just finished a week in the 10g with medication dosing and will have 2 weeks in here. Currently 6 cory, bought as julii cory but at most only2 may be true julii, and 4 false, or 4 false julli and 2 of another breed that looks really [censor] similar... I was going to get Sterba's cory but they cost 2x as much x.x These will all be going into the 55g once they get a clean bill of health. The other residents are 6 ghost shrimp I bought on a lark with the cory since they were only about $0.40 each. I'm thinking of either spitting them between the betta tanks and see how the boys deal with ghost shrimp.. or putting my in my new 6g once its filter gets cycled.








So far I lost 2 anubias nana and 1 minima to complete melting from rhizome rot.. still keeping the rest of the anubias quarantined waiting to see what happens... hoping I don't loose any of the petites.. would also like the round leaf and gold to survive but would be happy with just 00% petite survival....

Went rock hunting this weekend at the stream, sadly most weren't quite the roundish shape I wanted, and the few that were I suspect have harmful minerals in them from their coloration... I'll most likely go to a landscaping place to find river rock instead, just hope they'll sell me 5-10 rocks instead of by the 100lbs pounds (don't need that many).

In other news I *REALLY *want [this guy].. but its going to be below freezing around here for a while for the low temp range so i can't risk it :c
He's plakat, orange(ish), has the Armageddon trait (red spots) and double tail.. if he was also elephant ear with all that I'd say "[censor] it! he's mine!!" and try to convince the seller to hold him (after paid) until its safe to ship (above 39F for low range temp)... Wonder if anyone's bred to make a double tail elephant ear... or orange EE...Would droll over such a wonderful find if there was.... *Sigh* I must stop trying to setup tanks at bad shipping times (hot f summer and freeze of winter)...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Omg I got another ._.'*



Aqua Aurora said:


> .....
> In other news my tank, heater, and sponge filter arrived. Did a 2 day leek test + heater check, passed! Now I have to wait for my husband to handy-man me a mini stand for this. The tank will sit mostly on my desk,but its too long to fit completely because of my monitor, so 2-3" will be on my husband's desk which is pushed up against mine (makes an "L" shape, i sit at the right side and him at the bottom of this "L"). His desk is about 1/2" higher than mine and that discrepancy can mess up a tank full of water so he's going to plane a piece of wood to set on both desks and give a level surface for the tank. I've also asked him to stain it to the desk color and urethane it to avoid mold or warping of the wood. He says it will be 2-3 days to be ready for use, so may have it by monday.
> I had planned to go rock hunting this past weekend but we had dreary wet cold weather so I did not.. Hoping to this Saturday though!
> 
> Anyways quick photos of the tank and equipment
> 
> 
> Although its rimless I've very disappointed in the black trim..but I'm hoping I'll not notice it once i add black diamond 'sand' and a black background. Still good price for a nice quality tank though.
> 
> 
> I'm half tempted to rescue a dumbo plakat (i think) male (or hm female mislabeled) from petco...
> Poor things not doing to well.. water got REAL murky.. only thing holding m bag is I don't want to get a betta until I can get and test my rocks (nylon test) if they pass.. and the betta hasn't (died) I'll probably grab him.. even though he's not what I'm looking for...
> 10/30
> 
> 
> 11/4



Well I did it...I impulse bought the betta boy from PetCo today. I felt bad that he was still there over 3 weeks and was staring to go down hill. He's still healthy but has fin damage now. Nothing warm clean water can't fix. Was very happy to see him have an appetite. While he was being drip acclimates it was lunch time and today was brine shrimp, he ate 3.. Each one faster than the last once he figured out it was food.
Anyways I thought he was female at first from short pelvic fins and stress stripes, but no eggs pot that I can find. After asking in the photo section and getting several replies, he's a young male. I kinda wanted a female more than male as I don't know how Xerxes is going to like another betta on the desk (I don't think he knows about the deltas upstairs (shhh don't tell him).
After drip acclimating the new fella in he was put in the 10g quarantine with the sponge filter and heater destined for his 6g bowfront. I put some media from the 20gs cycled filter in by the sponge filter to help cycle it. Also added homemade betta tube (he's been in it half of the times I've poped in to check on him) and 3 new healthy anubias petites tied to a suction cup to keep them down. Only filled the tank to 7-8g and put a black clothing the backside to keep it dark while the planted tank next to it has the light on.
Poor little thing was terrified when he went into the tank, I don't think he'd ever had so much free space and never encountered a filter before. He stayed at the opposite end for the first half hour before summoning some currage to explore.
Will update with more photos and such on him over time ^^

Anyways enouch babbling here's some photos


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## Aqua Aurora

I don't think the new boy is use to flat glass tanks as he stares at his reflection in the corner a lot (doesn't flare though.. not sure that they do when still juvies) hope he will get over that in the final tank home. He hung out by the sponge filter a lot last night, and is on top of the heater (resting on suction cup) right now. I tried to feed him pellets but he didn't want to come to the surface.. and it was the one time I could not get the pellets to sink when I wanted them to (go figure) oh well will try again at dinner time.
I went to two landscaping places today that I pass by often and for about $8 total got 70-85lbs of river rock... could have gotten more (one place was just flat rate for a full 5g bucket.. I only filled the bucket about 2/3, could not haul it if I'd added any more). Currently soaking and scrubbing stone dust and dirt off them, will have to pH test them with vinegar after they dry out completely (my water will make test fail as its alkaline) then try to sand/smoothen out a few rough spots ad pick out a few for the 6g.
Going to go do minor re-scaping on Magnus' tank now.. I took all the micro sword and mini micro sword from my husband's tank as the hydro. sp japan has taken over and makes it impossible to see micro sword now. Will be moving Magnus to a temp cube since it will be messy planting, then 100-300% water change to clear up the water before he goes back in. Probably won't take pics today as I suspect it will still be a little cloudy, so many tomorrow.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Magnus' Tank Minor Rescape + More on the New Guy*

Re-planted all the floating dwarf baby tears (aka hc cuba) and the micro and mini micro sword i took from my husband's tank, sprinkled some sand i grabbed from another tank on top of spots that soil was visible and did a few partial water changes to remove floating debris. Magnus seems unaware of the added carpeting plants.. or just doesn't care.. I don't care as long as he doesn't eat them (I noticed a lot of floaters were nibbled on and Magnus' forever-fat-belly... your not a herbivore... idiot...). I'd try fasting him to reduce the belly but he'll just eat more plants.....

Before


After (will take full tank shot later.. need to clan the glass)


In other news the new boy.. well he can be a bit random, almost like split personality disorder. Sometimes he'll swim up to me and watch me/my finger o the glass.. other times when I go to the tank he'll spaz and zip along the bottom to hide in the opposite corner by the filter... I had a hard time trying to get him to eat yesterday.. got him to have lunch by sinking the pellets, but not dinner.. today at normal lunch time he wasn't interested in coming over.. but a bit past feeding everyone else he was being curious/brave again and came by me.. I fed him a pellet and let him see my hand go above the tank and poked a finger tip in with the pellet.. did this 3 times, he ate each time, reacting faster than the previous.. he even looked to be asking/expecting more, but he belly was starting to show so I stopped.. each time I've passed the tank after that feeding he zips to the closest point to me and follows and watches me... We'll see how he feels about me after I do a water change. I tested today, the aged filter media is keeping ammonia and nitrite at 0, but nitrates are higher than I want (I did not ring out media before putting it in so mulm from the other tank came over, hence these higher nitrates. Its nothing dangerous but I want to keep them low for fin healing.





You may notice in the last photo his pectoral fin.. no, its not ripped, he has a clear area in it (not sure if its healed from past damage and will color back up, or naturally like that and will stay clear).. I've also noticed his left pectoral and pelvic fins are slightly smaller than the right ones.. not sure if this _is _because of damage, or birth defect.
His main body colors are quite interesting, when he doesn't have stress stripes the scales can look either metallic-ally blue-green (leaning more towards green) or blue-purple depending on how light is refracting off them. Its very hard to capture with photos and my phone camera does a horrible job with focusing so I've not tried to take a video.. it would just e a swimming blue and focus on equipment in the back x.x
Well going to go do the water change now... he will _not _be happy as I have to remove him for a 100% change..


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## Tress

My EE has clear bands in his pecs too, doesn't seem to be damage as the fins are growing. He is a cutie though


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## Aqua Aurora

*Rocking out*

Here's a quick photo of all the rocks I got yesterday after cleaning and drying... when brought home they were all either white-grey from stone dust or brown-tan from mud... actually got a variety of colors (more apparent when wet). Will post photos later of them wet (how they'll look in tank).. btw the tank size is only 1/3-1/4 the size of the cardboard these are resting on... Gotta figure out which ones I want to use then sand/smoothen out a few chipped spots on some (husband may try making a diy rock tumbler for this.. or perhaps dremel).


.. Ignore the floor, unfinished side of the basement and last home owner was a painter.. the utility sink these are by is covered in layers of paints.






Tress said:


> My EE has clear bands in his pecs too, doesn't seem to be damage as the fins are growing. He is a cutie though


Thanks for the info and compliment ^^ since he's still a juvie.. I'm curious if he'll keep the short fins (be plakat) or if they'll grow out into a long finned variety. I don't know at what stage its obvious what tail type they will be... hope he stays plakat..


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## Aqua Aurora

*Tank Temptations and More on the New Guy*

So I haven't even set up the 6g yet.. and still need to figure out fish and plant stock for the 20g.. and I already have my eyes on more small tank possibilities.... Went to Michel's today looking for non metal hooks/reef hanger type things.. no luck there but these caught my attention

Would make nice pico betta tanks like my bubble bowl and cookie jar... if they'd been 1/2 the listed price I think I would have bought them.


In other news the new boy is doing well.. he absolutely does not like to be removed for 100% tank water changes.. and is quite the speedy little bugger when the nets in there.. So my last clean I said [censor] it, and left him in, did 75-80% water change, refilled (with chlorinated, tank temp water) and repeated one more time. He wasn't too happy about it.. wonder if he'll be more inclined to removal next time...
Aside from water change challenges, he's gotten use to me and usually swims over when I come to the tank now. I'll even play hide-n-seek/peek-a-boo with him with some plastic grass I keep outside the tank (is not betta fin approved). Hes pretty cute about it.. if I could get my phone camera to stay properly focused I'd take a quick film of it. He's also a bit amusing about food.. first day first meal he had brine shrimp (thawed) no problem.. has had several days of pellets (took a bit to figure out going to the surface but he's got it now)... Saturday was thawed black worms.. wouldn't touch them.. just watched them float or sink but didn't go close. I had to pull them out with tongs and gave him pellets which he was happy to eat.. I decided to test him on a live black worm and grabbed one out when I collected some for my husband's puffers. The worm was thin but almost as long as the betta.. he watched it wiggle and sink in the tank.. I thought he'd ignore it then SLURP! He sucked it down fast and did a cute speedy spin in place. I think he liked it! Tried one more thawed black worm and got a blank face ".. I'm not going to eat that..." 
Messing around with layout of rocks for his tank.. they seemed smaller when I got them, now on the cardboard marked with tank outline.. I find I have far too many rocks and not enough tank space. Have to narrow down the quantity I use and figure out how to make sure they don't fall over and break the glass (not all have stable bottoms).. was thinking of getting the plastic light diffuser sometimes called 'egg crates' to put on the bottom then substrate and large rocks over top. Will post layout options (photos) after I meddle a bit more... My husband also made the wood piece I need to level the tank as it sits partially on his desk and mostly on mine with a 1/4-1/2 discrepancy in height which is a no-no for a full tank. Planed, stained, and urethaned, just need to dry then slap some felt on the bottom to be ready to use... Now.. where can I get some felt... can't go back to Michel's or I know I'll end up with those huge vases walking out of the store with me...


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## andakin

I find everything at Michael's is overpriced. I think Target and Walmart has similar stuff at a price that's a bit more reasonable, still too expensive for me. I can buy a good size tank at those prices. I'm not a fan of curved glass as it gives off too much distortion when I photograph.


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## Tress

Agreed Andakin. Michaels is horrendously overpriced when I can find half the stuff they sell at dollarstores... might not have the same quality but then again nothing seems too.


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## Schmoo

I really like the one on the bottom left.


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## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> I find everything at Michael's is overpriced. I think Target and Walmart has similar stuff at a price that's a bit more reasonable, still too expensive for me. I can buy a good size tank at those prices. I'm not a fan of curved glass as it gives off too much distortion when I photograph.





Tress said:


> Agreed Andakin. Michaels is horrendously overpriced when I can find half the stuff they sell at dollarstores... might not have the same quality but then again nothing seems too.


I kinda like it, for one thing the curved glass doesn't seem to have the issue of bettas seeing their reflection.. that or the 2 I have in curved tanks just don't care. I have so may flat glass tanks, having a different shape is something new and fun (imo). My biggest negative for curved tanks is equipment options get limited, no HOB is made to fit those, but luckily sponge filters are cheap and can just be added to the split airpump line I already have (can stuff 2 more on it before I need another splitter). Agree about the pricing, but someone on another forum pointed out that they do coupons for 50% an item, so I can get 1 for 1/2 the price.. makes it more tempting to me. Sadly my dollar tree (or dollar general.. can't remember what its called), walmart, etc never seem to have anything decent in stock or I'd buy from there instead... I might try poking my head in a flower shop to see if their vases are asinine-ly priced too.



Schmoo said:


> I really like the one on the bottom left.


Same! Though its the most unstable of the lot (smallest base), but it just looks so interesting compared to the more common shaped ones.


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## Schmoo

Aqua Aurora said:


> Same! Though its the most unstable of the lot (smallest base), but it just looks so interesting compared to the more common shaped ones.


I like that one, and then the top left. Well, they're all really nice, but those two are my favorite. Gah! Every time I come to your journal I get the overwhelming urge to plant! xD


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> I like that one, and then the top left. Well, they're all really nice, but those two are my favorite. Gah! Every time I come to your journal I get the overwhelming urge to plant! xD


Bwahahah may the planted MTS spread!!


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## Schmoo

Aqua Aurora said:


> Bwahahah may the planted MTS spread!!


I'm actually strongly considering downgrading my HMPK size-wise, and planting him a nice glass container, similar to yours. I think he'd find the plant matter more entertaining, even though he'd lose about a gallon of water. 

My husband would also probably enjoy having one less actual tank. xD And having something a bit nicer to look at, lol.


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## BlueSky99

I love your diy tanks. They look so nice and I love all the plants in them. I really want a planted tank, but I'd use it as an excuse to get a 2nd betta, and I have no place to put it (at least in my room, and that's where I'd want to put it).


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> I'm actually strongly considering downgrading my HMPK size-wise, and planting him a nice glass container, similar to yours. I think he'd find the plant matter more entertaining, even though he'd lose about a gallon of water.
> 
> My husband would also probably enjoy having one less actual tank. xD And having something a bit nicer to look at, lol.


I know my bettas like their planted tanks over the quarantine tank they start out in. I think live plants add some extra dynamic to the bettas life, not just from absorbing nitrates, especially if they like hunting snails ans some come in with the plants. I don't think he'll mind the small size change if he's not some super hyper fish that's literally bouncing off the walls of his tank right ow (if he is.. he needs a distraction anyways.. probably bored or chasing his reflection). My husband enjoys watching the betta and sitting by the (now many) planted tanks we have ^^ I've tried snapping a few shots of him sitting on the floor in front of Magnus and Alastor's bookshelf tank stand playing with them but they turned ended up out of focus :/



BlueSky99 said:


> I love your diy tanks. They look so nice and I love all the plants in them. I really want a planted tank, but I'd use it as an excuse to get a 2nd betta, and I have no place to put it (at least in my room, and that's where I'd want to put it).


Thank you ^^ Once MTS (multi tank syndrome) starts, its hard to stop! Can always find an excuse to get some wall mounted shelving or a small stand/mini book shelf to house more tanks! Make sure to check weight limits they support and to mount wall shelving properly (into studs), and be careful about getting water on particle board.. it will bow and can even break if too much spills. You can (or can ask someone to help with that knows how.. I asked my husband to) stain and urethane some wood..simple cheap piece(s) from a hardware store) to put tank(s) on. The stain makes it pretty and urethane seals it against water so it won't bow or break down from spills.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Rocky Layout*

Rough ideas for 6g bowfront rock layout..
dry:


wet (+ one new stone husband added):


Debating about using that 5th rock or possibly another.... or just the original 4. Also ping-ponging between keeping the cluster more to the back corner to hide equipment, or to put it dead center in the tank.. not sure if the new guy will be a tank surfer or not.. Once I can confirm my several anubias purchases don't have the horrid disease (another 2 have it right now.. ugh) I plant to put all the petites in.. and maybe some of the others depending on space.
I'm really worried as I stupidly took media from the 20g fitter for the 10g quarantine where the new betta is.. Thing is I have suspected infected anubias in the 20g.. and new ones I thought were safe I the 10g... putting the media over might transfer the disease (not sure) get to wait and see. I really really really hope not, as its the thickest healthiest looking batch I've gotten.. really kicking myself for not thinking of that the first day i put the betta and anubias in the 10g. I removed the old media today, cupped the betta (boy did he NOT want any part of that), and did complete drain and refill of the tank. I cut the ends off the anubias and bleach dipped them then rinsed and dunked in water with 10x prime to remove any chance of chlorine issues. I cut into the prices I lopped off, nothing noticeable for disease yet but a week into exposure I'm not sure that a cut piece would show signs yet.

Need to go get felt for the wood 'stand' tomorrow and look into plastic 'egg crates' (a light diffuser sometimes re-purposed for scaping in aquariums (create elevation and anchor hardscape)). I also need to rinse some new sand or old gravel to use (not sure which I want), not too motivated though as I usually do rinsing in a 5g bucket in the backyard so I can dump excess water on the lawn.. but freezing temps makes that a no go... I'll probably stick with the sand, love that stuff.


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## Tress

Love the rocks, I think putting them towards the back looks a bit nicer. Off center is usually a good choice. I hope the anubias pull through. 

I know your pain with washing sand when its cold. I will probably have to do some more soon but with over a foot of snow on the ground it will be very "fun".


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## Schmoo

I would keep the fifth rock. :3 I think it pulls it all together very nicely.


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## Tress

^ Agreed. Plus uneven numbers look ... idk less "perfect" IMO


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## Aqua Aurora

*Little Naming and Shopping Rambling*

So its been the mandatory week I wait before I even consider looking at names for a new fish. I've been looking around alot and not settled on anything yet.. kinda of want to give a sky themed name for the new boy's white dumbo pectorals, or something to do with 'rust' for the rust colored red on his head and back,...but have enjoyed the trend of names for my other boys so not sure what I'll be calling him yet.

I got the other materials I needed for the tank today. Bought the last of the felt in stock at a local fabric store, apparently they won't sell it any more as chain stores out compete them on price BUT I was given more than a yard (just to get rid of the last of it) for the price of a yard + it was 50% so it was still cheaper then the chain stores.. was about $3 after tax for 4feet. More than I need for this project but there's plenty of other uses for it. I also stopped by Home Depot and -after staring at their indoor plants and taking photos of a few to look up for riparium possibilities.. its a serious addiction along with MTS- got the egg crate light diffuser.. only one size in store (huge) so will have to has my hubby to cut it to size. May or may not mess with changing heights of the rocks using this stuff too. I also got some clear acrylic by optix instead of the usually polycarbonate lexan for the 6g's lid.. it was cheaper by about $7 so figure I'll give it a try.. won't be cutting the lid until I can put equipment ad rocks in to see where the holes need to be. Hopefully it won't scratch/shatter from cutting or bow from use.

Now I'm debating about a permanent background on this tank as the new dumbo likes to glass surf the qt tank (but in all fairness it is a boring tank.. sorry boy).. I need to figure out how to remove reflectivity from the back panel..I've seen some people use window tinting INSIDE the tank instead of the outside but will have to look into its long-term duration (if it breaks down or leeches anything). I may also cover the side panel facing towards Xerxes' tank so they don't see eachother constantly...but going look into my options first before trying anything..

On a tangent I still don't know about underwater plants but I'll definitely be doing more riparium plants on the 20g... probably take up all available space on the back and side walls for them again too. I currently have a prayer plant, ivy, and *checks tag again* an anthurium to try out. I'll probably move the anthuriam to the 55g as its a larger plant and grab off one of the smaller plated baskets to make room for it (maybe the stunted lily plant)... I still need to write up a history on the 55g for here.. maybe tomorrow.




Tress said:


> Love the rocks, I think putting them towards the back looks a bit nicer. Off center is usually a good choice. I hope the anubias pull through.
> 
> I know your pain with washing sand when its cold. I will probably have to do some more soon but with over a foot of snow on the ground it will be very "fun".





Schmoo said:


> I would keep the fifth rock. :3 I think it pulls it all together very nicely.





Tress said:


> ^ Agreed. Plus uneven numbers look ... idk less "perfect" IMO


Thank you for the feedback ^^ No snow here but freezing temps.. ugh. I'd probably go with the sand as I know from my 2 mustards dragging themselves along the sand bottom(exploring/wedging themselves between plants) that it won't hurt their fins.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Mini photo shoot*

Snapped a few quick pics of the new boy after he had dinner



And favorite one for last


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## Tress

Hehe the hummingbird wings look is one of my favourite things about EEs He's such a cutie :3


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## Schmoo

EEPKs might be my new favorite type of betta, mein Gott.


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## Nimble

His tail's getting a little bit long to be considered a true plakat, don't you think? Short-finned, definitely, but maybe a little long to be classed as a plakat.


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## Aqua Aurora

*More on the Bowfront..*

Slowly making progress with the 6g prep.. cut felt for the wood base (so it won't slide on the wood table it will be on), and glues (now drying). Also took the bowfront and put it on top of the egg crate to mark the shape then started clipping.. made base to set into the tank... and cut and zip-tied some extra pieces to create minor elevation, and to prop up the tallest rock so it doesn't fall back.
When messing with the rocks more.. I found I kinda like the look without the tall rock (which is still the only one I worry about with stability).








And wanted to end with Alastor, eagerly waiting for me to put the [censor] phone down and feed him. So patient, good boy.







Tress said:


> Hehe the hummingbird wings look is one of my favourite things about EEs He's such a cutie :3





Schmoo said:


> EEPKs might be my new favorite type of betta, mein Gott.





Nimble said:


> His tail's getting a little bit long to be considered a true plakat, don't you think? Short-finned, definitely, but maybe a little long to be classed as a plakat.


Thank you I love the fluttery pectorals of the dumbo betta ^^ 
And yes I'm worried he's not going to turn out to be a plakat.. I really don't want another long finned betta... not sure what I'm going to do if he does turn out to be one.


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## Schmoo

You can always ship him to me. ;] Heehee~


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## LadyNightraven

Ah, those colors! Your new guy is lovely, Aqua Aurora!


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## Nimble

He's got a REALLY wide dorsal... he might have some Double-Tail genetics in his background. If it were me, I'd test and see if that's true.

He looks like he's going to have short fins, but longer than a Plakat should have. Either way, he's a very handsome boy, very clean-colored, and would make excellent breeding stock.


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> You can always ship him to me. ;] Heehee~


Haha nice try but no, my husband's already attached to him and would be quite upset if he disappeared. I also really like him, just had planned his tank out for a shorter finned fish since there will be a lot of rocks.




LadyNightraven said:


> Ah, those colors! Your new guy is lovely, Aqua Aurora!


Thank you ^^



Nimble said:


> He's got a REALLY wide dorsal... he might have some Double-Tail genetics in his background. If it were me, I'd test and see if that's true.
> 
> He looks like he's going to have short fins, but longer than a Plakat should have. Either way, he's a very handsome boy, very clean-colored, and would make excellent breeding stock.


How do you go about testing genetic makeup? I'm not too keen on stabbing my fish with a needle or ripping some scale/fin-age off to send into some place to test, and as a Petco purchase I can't simply contact the breeder... But it would be cool if he were part double tail (even if it doesn't show _in _the tail.. which I would absolutely LOVE.. wonder if there has been a successful doubletail dumbo yet? I'd imagine it would cost a fortune). 
Though he looks nice his left pectoral and pelvic fin are smaller than the right ones, they've not grown to match their counter parts yet so I suspect its a genetic defect (or possibly a growth defect from poor water conditions as a fry), wouldn't want to risk making non pro-offsping. 
Actually all my males have some failing that makes breeding (for show quality) a bad idea. Xerxes has scales going over his eyes (I think the left side is almost completely blind, the right is partially) and a slightly smaller left pelvic fin. Magnus has.. whats the term..? Weak dorsal fin (falls over/doesn't stay straight up with flaring) and his pelvic fins.. well they just don't 'sit right' on him (always off to the left -not centered). Alastor is the least messed up but he has some fin curl-age (which I think is genetic, not because of environment-has same water params as the other males).


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## Schmoo

[censor]. Welp, can't say I didn't try. xD

I think I agree with you about the rocks. I like the look better without the tall one.


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## Aqua Aurora

No photo update for tank progress today, but maybe tomorrow...
Yesterday was warm (50sF) so took advantage of the warmer weather to rince off some more black diamond 'sand' in a bucket outside for the 6g bow-front. 

I'm thinking of using the leftover sand and river rock to redo the marimo cube and give it to my husband to put on his desk at work since it is 0 maintenance (except water top off.. which I'll cover by giving him a capped bottle of declorinated tap). Currently the marimo cube is just sitting by the qt tank but doesn't get a lot of viewing or love.

In other news I looked into painting the inside of the tank to remove glass reflection and keep the new boy and Xerxes from seeing eachother and flaring constantly. I had no luck finding an aquarium safe glass adhering paint, BUT found krylon fusion to be a very commonly used spray paint for fresh and saltwater fish keepers for plastic and acrylic parts in their tanks (like diy intake/outflow and sump boxes). After a little hunting around town I finally found it in black at Pepboys (Walmart only had fugly colors, and surprisingly Home Depot and Lowes did not carry it at all ). Going to ask my husband to cut the piece of acrylic I bought already (initially as the lid) to fit on the inside back wall of the tank, sand it to make it rough (to make it easier for the krylon to grip onto) and then will try painting it. 24-48 hours of dry time then will see how it holds up in water. If it works I'll buy more acrylic for one side wall and the lid (lid won't be painted), and use the egg crate that the rocks will be set on to hold the acrylic sheets in place so they don't fall over or leave a gap for a fish to get stuck....Will update on my progress/findings from that later this week hopefully ^^

As for the rocks I'm 90% sure I won't be using the tall thin dark one.. its the most unstable and I'm worried that bumping the desk could cause it to fall over and break the tank glass... hopefully the other rocks are tall enough to hide the sponge filter and heater. I'll be adding the egg crates, rocks, and sand after I make the acrylic sheets.. and will probably transfer the new betta( (I really need to settle on a name) and the aubias in his qt tank, over to the 6g then. Still waiting a few weeks to make sure the other anubias is safe... another has already melted, and one is close to melting but they were separated to smaller containers fairly early as I suspected them of disease.

Quick photos of melted anubias round leaf before throwing it out (rhizome, stem, ad leaves were completely soft). And anubias barterie that's been degenerating for a bit (suspect it will dissolve in another 2 weeks at most), final photo shows a whole in the underside of the rhizome where some roots _use _to be as well as discoloration at the base of a stem (will turn into a whole as well)


Aaand finally some more pico tank temptations from candle/vase glassware..


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## Schmoo

You have a cube for your marimo ball?  That's adorable. If I had a job where I had a desk, I'd totally take mine to work. x3 My boys aren't too fond of it, it seems. 

I'm so excited to see how your new tank turns out! I love the rock layout, and can only imagine how gorgeous it'll be once it's finished. :3 

Also, dat tall cylinder vase though. <3


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## Aqua Aurora

*Hence forth you shall be....*

Finally settled on a name for my new dumbo boy! After staring at him a bit yesterday evening I told him he needs a name soon.. as I walked away several syllables popped into my head (ever have that happen? kind of like a blurry thought). Put together they made "Aristocles".. I like it so that is his name! When I went back to his qt tank and said "You're name is Aristocles now" he decided to approve with a manly semi flare! Got gill plate spread but not beard drop, good enough for me! Here's a photo of his flare, and a few more I took today.






Also it turns out the one piece of acrylic I bought is enough to not only make the back internal piece, but also the internal side and a lid (if done in 2 pieces which is fine). Going to ask my husband to cu this later, then sand and spray on the black.... Here's some photos.. also bonus base that the tank sits on (and a little felt on the other side).










Schmoo said:


> You have a cube for your marimo ball?  That's adorable. If I had a job where I had a desk, I'd totally take mine to work. x3 My boys aren't too fond of it, it seems.
> 
> I'm so excited to see how your new tank turns out! I love the rock layout, and can only imagine how gorgeous it'll be once it's finished. :3
> 
> Also, dat tall cylinder vase though. <3


I pulled the old rock and shell 'gravel' today and put int some sand, let my husband pick out rock(s), he chose a slightly tall one so we'll have to re-cut the lid once he decided on final rock placement. Quick photo, water is still a little murky but some tiny water changes should fix that. Will get clearer photos of it later.


----------



## Schmoo

That really is a cute idea. My boss plans on turning his basement into an office (instead of us meeting up in his livingroom or various places when we have meetings), so I may do something similar. I think marimo balls are absolutely adorable. They're addicting in their own right. I only have one atm, but I'd like to get more.


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## Aqua Aurora

Plastics were cut last night but it was too cold to spray paint, temp dropped and we have snow today. Did some minor tweaking on the cut pieces for inside the tank so they are slightly lower than the glass (hard to estimate height for initial cut since the piece won't fit IN the tank uncut) so it doesn't catch on the lid and fall forward. Peeled one side of the acrylics cover off and went at ti with an electric sander to give the spray paint a slightly rougher surface to grip to, then husband set up a spray station suing a large cardboard box in the basement and went at the two pieces. Kept the door open and the fan on (and will continue to) for a while to vent the space out. If you ever use spray paint indoors make sure its a well ventilated area! its much safer to do outside, but temps would not allow for that today). Have to let it dry for at least an hour.. bottle says to apply additional coats BEFORE 24 hours or after 7 days.. hoping the 1 coat will be enough though so we can just let it dry for 2 days and test it in water. No photos for now sorry, will take some later when the paint is dried.

Even though I'm pretty much 2x doses and doing an extra day of potassium fert injections, Xerxes hygos (potassium hogs) are still having pinhole issues. I'm thinking of stuffing a root tab down by some and test if that helps (keep a control -several stems without access to the root tab- for comparison). Xerxes is indeed going blind, he'd had dragonscales on his eyes for a bit, but he's having a harder time aiming and grabbing pellets at the surface lately, he gets them eventually but some time sit takes 2 or 3 'attacks'.

Aristocoles is starting to use his beard, though its short, he was not happy with me submerging a single finger in this tank devoid of pellet last night so I got to see some black beard action. Couldn't get a picture of it though, as soon as my husband walked by Aristocoles stopped and stared at him instead, silly boy. 

Another anubias is showing signs of the rhizome rot, its also one I quarantined in a cup and is actually a piece I cut from another infected plant (the barterie) trying to see if it had not been infected yet.. no such luck there but oh well. Still waiting several weeks to ensure all the other anubias is safe.. so Aristocles probably won't get all his plants put in his tank until a week before Christmas (as long as the painted background works out.. if not it make take longer to set up the tank).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sorry for the lack of tank related photo, especially for the new EE, Aristocoles. Black backgrounds in a dark room in a black bucket with water don't show up well in photos.. Its been over 48 hours so put the Krylon fusion painted acrylic in my black 5g bucket I use to dump old tank water in at a water change. Dechlorindated the water.. just because it will be dechlorinated in the tank and am leaving it for 48 hours to see how it does.. I'm probably going to slap a heater in there to keep the water warm as the final tank will be heated. Will know monday if its aquarium ready. If so I'll probably put in the background, sand, and rocks Monday then move Aristocoles and the filter and heater Tuesday. The boy is having a lot of fin growth, white tips and edges coming in on his anal and caudal fin, the rays on the anal fin seem spiky as the spread between tries to catch up. He's also flaring at me more, and his black beard seems to be getting a little bigger... someday I'll get a clear photo of it (and Xerxe's flaring).


2 nights ago I had a lot of crappy dreams.. one included finding all my anubias rotted away to mush, when I rubbed off the dissolved parts the core of the rhizome was still solid but it looked like ginger root (except more rounded than flat) and a tan/brown color. But the plants were dead.. I think it was my mind preparing me for what will probably be a mass-loss of plants from the disease. Sadly today I am seeing signs of rhizome rot on my big bushy anubias petites I had in the 55g (moved them to a cup) ... whats *worse *I am seeing crypt melt for the first time ever! Its a symptom of the disease when it infects crypts, and the fact the that plants have NEVER melted since I got them in the summer.. its not an issue of tank environment.... I'm NOT going to be happy when all the crypts melt grrr..guess I'll find out if the disease kills ferns too... If so I'll be royally pissed as I'll loose over half my plant mass (if you include the riparian plants) if the crypts and ferns all die from the disease... I hate being a pessimist.. but I hate being an optimist and being heart broken (as I've not prepared for the worse) ever more. Either way a loss still hurts... and with plants it can be an expensive loss, ugh x.x


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Here have some photos*

Magnus and Alastor's tanks needed a good glass cleaning
*[Before]*


*[During]*

*[After]*





2 large mts in Xerxes tank climbing the mountain (rock).



Day before thanksgiving, its snowy and wet, and the dog wants me to put the camera down and towel dry him off (he loves his towel dries after being out in rain/snow). I think he intentionally goes under low hanging bushes/trees to get some extra snow/rain on his back to make SURE he gets a towel dry.



Cute little cat feet that belong to a 20lb allergy causing main **** mix... I'm surprised her previous owner didn't call her 'mittens' (if her paws looks weird to you cat owners.. her previous owner de-clawed her by removing the claw and the bone they grow from.. rather cruel surgery imo).



Aristocoles' 6g bowfront tank with lid! (I asked my husband to not make it the exact tank shape, but to leave extra so I can remove the lid(s) easily).



Another photo of the marimo cube, big one is still floating from the 100% water change (this was taken a few days ago, it has since sunk).



Anthurium I plan to stuff into the shower baskets as a riparium plant in the 20g long someday... or might use elsewhere.. I need to trim some damaged parts off.



Some ivy I got at a garden center. Thinking of making it a riparium plants with roots in water and wrapped around the exposed part of the wood above water... but its been growing like mad since I got it and used old tank water for its watering so I will end up with a lot extra after that..will have to find somewhere to put it (right now its on the printer between the 20g and 55).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*The Moss-abilities are Endless...*

Opps forgot a photo of the moss (non aquatic) I pulled up from our walkway the day before snow. Thinking of making a small planted vase/cube/cup with it *or *attaching it to the above water driftwood in a tank. For now its in small plastic cups with soil base and daily misting as I figure out what to do.
You can see my calcium deposits on the terra cotta pot and old soil.. I have very hard water..



[video link to moss cup idea I'd want to try] or maybe something [like this but with moss], or [this, sans the bunny], ooo or [this one], really like the natural/messy look to it... might have to go see if I can harvest some more moss fro my front yard ^^''


In other news, 24 hours+ in water the krylon fusion painted acrylic is still holding up. Slapped a heater in the bucket to bring temp up towards mid 70sF to see if warmer water will make it break down (since the heater will be next to the back panel when the tank is set up).

And right now Xerxes is looking at me with a pouty face because I skipped lunch for him (and everyone). They all had a lot of black worms for dinner last night (my angelfish was a major pig and got real fat.. funny seeing a thin bodied fish like that with a big belly) so no lunch today... but its amusing seeing him sulk for food... little plakat piggie that he is.


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## Schmoo

I want to request pictures of Xerxes. <3 x3


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> I want to request pictures of Xerxes. <3 x3


I'll get some tomorrow for you! its past lights out now. My phone camera doesn't do well with flash or.. without when light is off.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Quick photo collage of Xerxes*

As requested by Schmoo; new photos of Xerxes.

Will get some better quality shots later.


----------



## kjg1029

he's so pretty! I loovve his yellow color!


----------



## Nimble

How's his vision? Does he have much of a problem?


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## Schmoo

Guh, he's so gorgeous. I'm in love with your fish, AA. <3


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> he's so pretty! I loovve his yellow color!


Thank you ^^ I hope the blues stop bleeding/spreading in his fins, or he won't keep that yellow for much longer :c



Nimble said:


> How's his vision? Does he have much of a problem?


 He has depth perception and partial blindness issues. Its only really noticeable at feeding when he will occasionally miss a pellet. I am working on training him know by 'feel' were I'm putting the food (always feed in same spot but pin pointing a tiny pellet when blind is still hard). Right now he lunges where my finger just was, but sometimes misses the pellet. No issues with the frozen/live foods though (he pretty much latches onto the tongs and rips/sucks everything off before i can release the food). Aside from feeding he roams his tank and checks things with no issues crashing into the glass, equipment or rock (will remove once he's completely blind so its just plants and filtration pipes in tank (heater is hooked into filter return line)).



Schmoo said:


> Guh, he's so gorgeous. I'm in love with your fish, AA. <3


Thank you ^^I love him too.. even if he makes it very difficult to get a decent photo (took nearly 100 just to get those x.x HOLD STILL!)



The krylon-ed acrylic held up to the 48 submerge test! No photos tonight but tomorrow I'll be putting Aristocoles' tank together and after a few water changes to clear up water quality from sand (I've pre-rinsed it but still expect a little murkiness), will be moving him over. I can't wait to get him in and get some new photos of him and his set up! His fins are getting big compared to where they were when I got him. He's adorable and after feeding like to strut and semi flare (without the beard but full fin spread) for me for a bit then go off and investigate something or other. Xerxes on the other hand just keeps begging for more food..

Right now I'm torn with the anubias... either all the ones I want to put in are ALL already infected with rhizome rot.. or non are and I'm being over paranoid.. Will start out with the 3 that are in the qt tank with him for now and add the others in a few weeks (mid December-ish).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Aristoloes' Tank photo dump + my desk view*


























And Finally, a panoramic from my desk chair of the tanks in the office that surround me.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Feeeed Meeee*

Xerxes mooching for more food after getting fed his portion of the bloodworms for lunch today. You can see how bad the scaling is over his left eye.


I gotta say I love the extra illumination with the 6g and 7g's lights on now, but it makes my desk feel that much darker when they turn off >.< Damn algaes getting in the way of keeping the lights on longer...


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## Schmoo

For some reason, I had it in my head that Aristocles' tank was bigger. o.o I like it even more now, though! And is that Xerxes in the other tank? And Xerxes! <3


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## Aqua Aurora

*Alastor and Magnus*

Givin' these two some photogenic-ish love
Alastor's red is slowly expanding.. I wonder if he's going to turn into all red fins in a year (or even red bodied )?




I love the way the blues in Magnus' fins shine in the light!







Schmoo said:


> For some reason, I had it in my head that Aristocles' tank was bigger. o.o I like it even more now, though! And is that Xerxes in the other tank? And Xerxes! <3


In the panoramic view from the left you see my husband's 12g long mr.aqua tank with dwarf puffer (he names Grim "[censor] of the deep" (rhymes with lick)) otos and cherry shrimp. Then Aristocole's 6.1g bowfront Aquatop, and finally Xerxes's 7g cube Aquatop on the right. The bowfront looks small with the huge rocks in it, but I like the simplicity.


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## Schmoo

Hm, the panoramic view of it may be distorting it a bit then, 'cause it looks like a 3 gallon to me. xD Regardless, I really like the way it turned out. How's the new guy settling in?
I love that second picture of Magnus! Beautiful!


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> Hm, the panoramic view of it may be distorting it a bit then, 'cause it looks like a 3 gallon to me. xD Regardless, I really like the way it turned out. How's the new guy settling in?
> I love that second picture of Magnus! Beautiful!


Yeh its probably just the panoramic distortion, I simply sat in my chair and rotated it, so that's the farthest point from the camera in the photo.

Here is a shot of just my desk to better show its size. It is shorter, but also longer than the cube


And Aristocoles seems just fine and settled quickly in the new tank like hes been in there a long while ^^


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## andakin

I have a similar tank as the one on the left. What did you use to darken the background?


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## Schmoo

Lovely tanks. Gah, I'm so envious of your planted tanks. <3 They're beautiful.


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## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> I have a similar tank as the one on the left. What did you use to darken the background?


Acrylic sheets 


And krylon fusion black


48 hours dry time before use, held in place with the grate and rocks.

It works well as sheets in the tank but the acrylic makes a poor lid, in one day of use its bowed worse than the many months old polycarbonate lids I usually use. Will probably by some Lexan and redo the lid.




Schmoo said:


> Lovely tanks. Gah, I'm so envious of your planted tanks. <3 They're beautiful.


Thank you very much.


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## andakin

I'm still trying to understand. You cut a sheet of acrylic to size, painted it, and then secured it with silicon?


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## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> I'm still trying to understand. You cut a sheet of acrylic to size, painted it, and then secured it with silicon?


Yes it's cut and painted acrylic put into the tank but no silicone used. If you see the spam of 6g tank setup on the past page (2nd photo) there is white "egg crate" (a plastic light diffuser) with my large rocks ontop of it (keeping rocks off glass and spreading the weight to prevent tank bottom from breaking, also a great way to create elevation in scapes with the use of many cut layers and zip ties). The egg crates is cut to fit snugly in the tank and pages the black acrylic against the glass walls so it stays put. Hope that explains it


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## andakin

Thanks for sharing. It makes sense now. I initially thought the backing was on the outside or that it was a thin sheet of tint.


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## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> Thanks for sharing. It makes sense now. I initially thought the backing was on the outside or that it was a thin sheet of tint.


Originally I was going to do that but after some reading, it became apparent that I'd still have an issue with visible reflections on the glass itself leading to glass surfing, chasing after "that other male" (himself).


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## Aqua Aurora

*Some babbling*

Aristocoles is doing great in his new home. I don't think either him or Xerxes have spotted each other yet as they are not at the closest points to each other in their tanks flaring. I've not been able to capture it with the light on yet (got a very crappy dark photo) but Aristocoles likes to swim all over in front of me to get my attention then rest on top of the thermometer suction cup (between the glass top of the thermometer and tank glass). Every time I try to grab my phone to snap a shot when he rests there he wiggles out and swims around again. 
I'm happy to say he's not a food beggar like Xerxes, but I've not established an *exact* place for feeding in this tank yet (kinda off center to the right at the front) unlike Xerxes which is the front right corner.. and he'll sit there looking up through the floaters wistfully hoping for food to be dropped when ever he's gotten my attention.

I'm absolutely replacing the acrylic lids, they are so bowed that Aristocoles could jump out easily (thankfully he's not tried nor had a reason to yet). I will say though that I do like the light refection on the rocks from the water droplets on the underside of the lid, its especially notifiable on the large far left rock. Fortunately the painted acrylic in the water is not bowed and works perfectly as Aristocoles is never surfing the glass on the back or right side. I'm to get one more piece to paint and put n the other side so he doesn't surf there. I'll probably also make some black pieces for Xerxes tank and also paint his intake and outflow pips black (will have to get him a set of spares to run with while the painted ones dry).

Did a water change for Magnus' and Alastor's tanks yesterday. I ended up pulling most of the blyxa from Magnus' tank as it just doesn't want to stay down 9stems keep breaking) currently they're floating in a cup by the light.. not sure what I want to do with them... The tank is a little more open by the sponge filter now where I do not like, but the pygmy chain sword will eventually take over the whole place so I can leave it be. Alastor's tank is always messy.. biggest down side to moss is it catches poop and since the white boy doesn't eat snails there are a few ramshorns in there pooping up the place... I'm tempted to be bad and copper treat the tank but then that means no snail or shrimp can EVER live in that tank or a tank using that filter...I've also heard some plants don't tolerate the copper treatment well and worry I'll kill all the moss (if so no worries I have more!.. also loaded with snails! thus making the whole ordeal pointless =,=).


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## Aqua Aurora

*Betta.. Pen.. Same Difference. Lets do it!*

So I found my blue pen and was wiggling it in front of the boys at my desk (Aristocoles and Xerxes) both flared at it, but never let me get a photo with their beards down *huf*. Anyways I noticed after Xerxes flared a bit at the pen he went to the back right corner of the tank and wouldn't come front and center again.. he seemed to be gulping air.. then I stand up and find he's nest building! Did he think the pen was a sexy dark blue female to court "Oh my, didn't expect such lovely company! Just let me make a nest real quick and you can come in!" (equivalent to "let me clean up real quick" as men desperately try to hide dirty clothing and trash from take out meals that were strewn all over an apartment). He's still at it while I type this haha 

Anyways his 'sexy female betta' 


and the very beginnings of a nest


I feel kinda bad for him now, he's not going to get any bong-chicka-wow-wow, poor boy.
.
.
.
.
.
Ok few minutes after taking first photo.. my finger got the "STAY AWAY!" flare and I got some shots of him building.. nothing very cool.. but he busted me watching him and got grump.


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## Schmoo

xD That made me giggle. Poor Xerxes. His hormones are all aflutter!


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## Aqua Aurora

Aristocoles (you can see the blue bleeding into his pectorals)



Xerxes


2g Cookie jar (Alastor)


2-3g Bubble Bowl (Magnus)


>0.5 g Argentinian sword vase (NEED AN UPGRADE!)


Carmel YumYum (Grand Duchesses of Finnly) (55g riparium)


Poinsettia by 2 and 3g


Various terrestrial moss samples collected from the yard


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## Aqua Aurora

My husband is such a sweetie. I told him I was collecting moss from the yard to mess with tiny mos terrariums. He brought home some for me that he'd spotted today. Its reindeer moss! I can't properly ID the others but this one is pretty distinct. He said it dreid out at the office and turned to dust if he touched it but once we got it home and rehydrated it poped right back. 


Also we got our tree for the holidays (live) gotta decorate it sometime. Magnus was adorably watching it all yesterday when it was brought home. (the blue shiny thing on the left is a blanket for the cats to try to keep them from shedding like monsters on the tree skirts (stand is wide, takes 2 skirts to cover).


Sat by the delta boys this evening in a rocker watching tv, here's my view (I spent more time watching them than tv i think)


Magnus' yellow has gotten a lot darker since he fist came home. Its almost an orange.


Alastor being shiny, you can see his fins are changing color (not instead of a iridescent blue/opal/pearl quality there are fain streaks of pale pink creeping into the tail


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## kjg1029

you know you have a true passion for fish when you can sit there and just watch, for longer then you watch tv...I do it too. I just love watching them swim around in their plants, and do the cute things they do..!

your husband is so cute! Lol its awsome that he pays attention to little things like that. That's some pretty moss btw xD

your bettas and plants are all looking fabulous as well!...im jealous of the live Christmas tree..we got plastic D: haha


edit: oh and that angel up there ^^ >:[ me want!!!! Lol no fair!


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> you know you have a true passion for fish when you can sit there and just watch, for longer then you watch tv...I do it too. I just love watching them swim around in their plants, and do the cute things they do..!
> 
> your husband is so cute! Lol its awsome that he pays attention to little things like that. That's some pretty moss btw xD
> 
> your bettas and plants are all looking fabulous as well!...im jealous of the live Christmas tree..we got plastic D: haha
> 
> 
> edit: oh and that angel up there ^^ >:[ me want!!!! Lol no fair!


I mostly listen to tv (or have it off and just play some music) and watch fish now. There are only a few shows that will grab my attention away from the fish but I'm locked on them during the insanely frequent commercials. Ugh-I feel old saying this but "I remember way back when there was only 5-10 minutes of commercials between the ending of one show/movie, and the beginning of the next.. no interruptions during it."

I love my hubby, wouldn't trade him for the world <3 Always there to help me, be an enabler/give encouragement, or just listen.

Thank you, its nice have the smell of pine, but the pine needle mess if you forget to keep the tree watered gets annoying (not forgetting this year!!).

I got the angel at a local Petco, I think the color variation term is "silver" but I may be wrong.. I got it as a rescue..was _suppose _to be there buying a gold ram, but it was getting bullied by bigger angels so I took it instead. Most of the time the chain stores here have: koi, marbled, uh don't know the term but a white with yellow markings and 'flushed cheeks', smokey, and occasionally a fairly decent coverage 'black', but these striped ones I don't see too often. It reminded me (loosely) of a pretty 'wild type' angel called Altums (I don't have the pH to keep them so Carmel is my substitute ^^)
(not my photo)


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## kjg1029

I *really* want an angel tank...but its going to be a while before I can set up a larger tank lol they are just soooo beautiful!!


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> I *really* want an angel tank...but its going to be a while before I can set up a larger tank lol they are just soooo beautiful!!


You can technically squeeze one into a 20g tall, but a 40g breeder-55g or large is better. I didn't want to deal with a territorial breeding pair so I only got the 1. They are a lot like bettas, quick learners, they wiggle dance and beg for food and will watch you when you're in sight.


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## kjg1029

yeah i was thinking about maybe one in a 20 gal, but even just 30 gals is alot better...but at that point its still gonna be a few hundred dollars, so i might as well spring for a 55g lol


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## Schmoo

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: your tanks are lovely, AA.


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> yeah i was thinking about maybe one in a 20 gal, but even just 30 gals is alot better...but at that point its still gonna be a few hundred dollars, so i might as well spring for a 55g lol


Petco has its $1 per a gallon sale dec. 26 through mid January I think. BTW, the tetra 55g is actually 48 if filled to the top (was so pissed when I measured and plugged that into a calculator.... rip off tetra company!), a 40g breeder is actually about 43g. If you want a cheap canister filter sunsun makes one (don't waste $ on the uv light version-didn't do [censor] for me) also wrap it in a towel (or put one under it).. they can get a bit noisy (Eheim is wonderful silent but also very pricy x.x) but a large hob filter may cost about as much as a cheap canister so its up to you. I use to like the large aquaclear 70 (have on a 20g long right now), however they seem to have gotten cheaper lately and rattle more than they use to a few years ago :/




Schmoo said:


> I've said it before, and I'll say it again: your tanks are lovely, AA.


Thank you! ^^


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## kjg1029

I *really* wish that I lived near a petco! I only have one small localy owned pet shop

if I can manage to find a 30+gals with a stand...I know exactly what I'm doing! Lol


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## Aqua Aurora

*too soon*

[wtf I didn't hit 'post'?] ignore this.. re-posting with long post (and several photos) shortly


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## Aqua Aurora

*Busy Busy*

So yesterday was a bit hectic. Aside from doing a water change on my husband's 12g long tank I also finally moved my false julli cories from qt to the 55g. The false julies are settled in well (I think having otos and a clam schooling fish make them relax quick) and I think they even ate some of the mico pellets I put in for lunch that got to the bottom. They're doing great now but [censor] are they a pain to try to catch! 
I also caught out the ghost shrimp.. sadly only 2 survived (I blame dosing Seachem Nitrate as 3 died after dosing). I had one clear and one opaque white/yellow survivor, so they went into the desk tanks with Aristocoles and Xerxes. Both are still alive. The clear one with Aristocoles has no problem swimming around all over and is actually surfing the front glass right now for food (going to add a bit of shrimp food later). The opaque one with Xerxes has been hiding on the bottom in the plants since he went in.. not sure if its just a skittish shrimp or if Xerxes went after him. I didn't get a shot of it as it happened after lights out but the EE boy did notice the ghost shrimp once last night. The shrimp was against the front left corner/seam and Aristocoles was laying on the substrate in a way that 'blocked his escape' (at long as the shrimp didn't just swim up and over him) looking at it "...  what ARE you?" that lasted about a minute then he went back to normal and don't pay the shrimp any mind.
I wanted to get more ghost shrimp to quarantine and have ready by the holidays for Magnus and Alastor, but when i dosed Ammonia for the qt filters BB (beneficial bacteria) yesterday and tested today.. its not as strong as I thought I'd be (still getting ammonia and nitrite readings) so get to mini-cycle before next batch goes through qt. I'm also planning to grab some otos for my husband's tank, and a few more cory and cherry barbs for the 55.





Can you see the shrimp?

Xerxes wasn't in the mood to be photogenic



I also decided to make a cute collage the other day... its the snack that smiles back!



....but the bettas weren't always smiling..
no beard drop but OMG A FLARE?! You never flare!

Also cute inquisitive look



And some mostly in focus flares from Aristocoles
"GRRRRR"

"Oh hai!"



Xerxes keeps making small bubble nests but it never gets much bigger than this


Also a cute shot of him scrutinizing a bladder snail


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## Schmoo

That last pic. of Xerxes. <3 I say it all the time, but gosh he is such a gorgeous betta. 

The collage with the goldfish cracker is adorable. xD And I love that half-flare pic! I have one of Grievous, and it makes his face look so funny.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Mossaholic + Some other Stuff*

I may be turning into a mossaholic! I've collected several spies from the yard but non where quite what I wanted.. and I wasn't too keen on buying moss. Well my husband pointed some out yesterday when we were driving. It was perfect! I don't know its exact name but its a more compact growth mount like moss and it was growing in an long abandoned parking lot of a car dealership (from the architecture a 60s or 70s building.. easily abandoned 10-20 years) up against a mini barrier (those concrete bump ups used for parking spots so you don't go to far forward). Well I couldn't get it out of my mind so I went back and harvested about 1/6th of it.. I wanted to be greedy but I don't have any spare pots so didn't take much. I feared that if I waited we'd get snow and a plow pushing snow off the road would bury and kill it.
Anyways here's a quick shot of what I grabbed. It has some spores and a few unknown tiny plants growing out of it but I like it! I need to gently brush the soil debris off the top with a soft tooth brush.


Now I need a nice planting pot (or many glass bowl) for this! I thought about trying a bonsai pot then started going off on a tangent and looking at bonsia trees.. then found a cool aspect called phoenix grafting (the use of dead woof with live bonsia trees).. I'm half tempted to re-evaluate some of my leftover driftwood and give this a try. (note:moss at base of bonsia trees.. may also try)
[not my photos]


























I'd also found a photo (sadly can't find again) of a tiny glass cube aquarium with moss in it surrounded by a wide but shallow tray of terrestrial moss.. it looked pretty cool and I'd also love to try something like with with a custom made tank and tray from excess aquarium glass... someday...




Schmoo said:


> That last pic. of Xerxes. <3 I say it all the time, but gosh he is such a gorgeous betta.
> 
> The collage with the goldfish cracker is adorable. xD And I love that half-flare pic! I have one of Grievous, and it makes his face look so funny.


Thank you ^^ Yeh Alastor looks kinda fat with the gill spread going on. If his beard wasn't so big that I could see it when tucked away (its black) I'd never know his beard color as he just won't show it for me.



In other mossy news- I ordered some of the aquatic variety, pheonix moss aka Fissidens Fontanus. I'm tempted to gut the moss from Alastor's tank and try this stuff in there. I'm hoping it arrives on Saturday and would go grab a new lamp for the tank (the light it currently uses is too far above and doesn't give enough light to the substrate).
I was thinking of also copper bombing the tank to kill snails and the micro crustaceans in there before the fissidens arrives, but I'd want to remove Alastor to do this as I don't know how tolerant a betta would be to copper treatment. However I had an odd dream last night... I had a betta male (not one I've own or ever seen) either hm or delta blue and red colored in a cup with barely enough water to stay submerged (had to hold the cup at a tilt to maximize his water depth) and was panicing-ly running around as many other weird things happened, trying desperately to find some safe water to add or to put him in... I ended up with ice cubes and melted ice water.. no good too cold (had no way to heat), some unknown water that had fizzles like a soda but tasted like normal water.. didn't trust.., and some that smelted like chlorine (and could not find any form of dechlorinator).. no way.. I woke up before finding the betta some much needed water and it made me worried that perhaps the copper treatment to remove inverts might be done wrong and leave Alastor without a proper home (perhaps killing his beneficial bacteria.. but I'd have to leave the sponge filter in during treatment as the crustaceans like to hang on it. 
Another reason to hesitate to copper treat the tank is it would make it impossible to ever keep shrimp in there.. and I did want to get him at least a ghost shrimp.. or toss in some cherry shrimp from my husband's tank..*hmmmmm*
Well i ramble.. I need to go do a water change on Alastor's and Magnus' tanks now.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Grrrr*

I'd like to give a big ol' middle finger to China.. and to Aquaon for letting their products be poorly produced there. Heaven forbid I try to put on and take off the siphon from the tubing to clean and dry it... I mean its not like its _designed _to let you.. Oh wait it is! But wait again! Its from China!!! So it's gonna break =,=



Didn't take photos but during the water changes for Alastor and Magnus I gt some water on the out of tanks divider so i moved it to dry it off.. Well they saw eachother. I could see Alastor get flare-y (no beard though) and zip around his tank, Magnus flared s bit with a little beard drop but got distracted by me again quickly and forgot about Alastor. I was surprised they didn't just hover where they could both see eachother to flare, but moving around constantly got them out of sight of eachother and out of mind.


And in other news here are some shots of a mini Aristocoles and ghost shrimp encounter.. not very eventful.. but he sees him.
[cue horror movie tension building music as shrimp nibbles food]

And here comes Aristocoles to see why I'm not paying attention to HIM (and shrimp drops food)

He sees him!

.. and then looses interest immediately

He swam away after that shot (was all blur photos)

As a side note DAMN Aristocoles' fins are getting long!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Light Ugrade*

Alastor got a Light upgrade! I was going to grab another lamp like Magnus' but they did not have that type.. Instead I got a swing arm lamp (perfect height which is good as I cannot lower it). I actually like the swing arm enough I might grab another for Magnus and retire the desk lamp (until I have _another _small tank >.>''' ) The lower light really brightens up the tank! Sadly my fissidens did not come today (seller told me they had delays and will ship out today instead of Thursday as originally planned), really hope it arrives in good shape!
Anyways photos of the light upgrades






And a festive looking shot of pearling riccia in my husband's tank (reminds me of holiday lights on an evergreen)


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## Aqua Aurora

*Post Holiday Updates, Photos, &l a Lil' Rambling*

Hope everyone that celibates had a nice holiday. We had family visit.. usually they come on the 25th but this year our option was getting up at 5am to have them pop by quickly or do our thing on the 24th... no way in hell me and my hubby were getting up that early!

Sadly the poinsettia I'd bought died a bit ago.. I think it was over watered before I even got it (so roots had already started rotting) and it just wilted/lost its leaves... will have to find a better seller (who knows how to tend them) to by one and try to keep alive for the year.

On Christmas eve my husband and I went to petsmart to get our (spoiled) dog a gift (cats get nothing they just meow annoyingly at 3am with new toys in their mouth.. so only catnip for them!), I had to peek at bettas.. my husband pointed out a little multi colored crowntail female (wasn't my type but I know a few forum members would love his speckled/slashed colors), and a "dragon scale" labeled crowntail male.. who was most certianly not dragon scale (very muddied colors-couldn't even remotely pretend he was 'white' or 'platinum' bodied). I looked around and found a pretty delta mustard in the back I felt sorry would probably die there (or in some idiots 0.25 cube) from neglect. My husband also looked at the other fish and was interested in a dwarf gourami but when he walked up to its tank, he says it swim to the back with great haste, crashing through 3 fish in the process. I don't need another betta.... yet, and when I was there did not have a tank for one (fixed that after a few hours ^^ ). So no one was bought.. instead we left with a rawhide our dog loves for 'car bone' entertainment that he'd not had in several months (they don't sell the large ones in muli packs anymore :c) and some chicken liver treats. Well he loved the bone.. the treat not so much :/

After the petstore run I made 40 cupcakes (20 chocolate (green frosting) and 20 white-funfetti (red frosting)) for mass consumption. Husband: cooked shrimp, did home made cocktail sauce (which was all consumed (I don't eat sea food, but was told it was very good)), lil' smokies and bbq sauce, also had assorted cheeses and Ritz crackers, as well as some other spicy chip that got eat very fast. Sorry didn't take photos of the rest of the food, it was kept in the fridge/in crock pot 'till everyone got here... cupcakes were fine to leave out for a few hours.


The tree and presents (to and from family (opened after eating)) and the betta tanks. The betta lights provide the main light in this room where we did gift hand out/opening so I kinda had to push for gift giving to get it done before lights out (refuse to leave them on longer and have another hair algae nightmare like my mother caused =,=), got 'em done with a bit of time to spare so yay! Had animal planets too cute on in the background, anyone else see it? Was a non vocal episode just holiday music and adorable puppies and kittens of many breeds being "awww".


All that's left of the cupcakes the day after.. from 40 to 8... *grabs one*.. erm 7, they were good! By the 26th they were all gone :3


I got a a lot of great gifts this year.. but gotta say...OMG YES!! Lantern candle vase aka next pico tank! Thinking another dirted planted tank like the bubble bowl.... need to figure out plants.. and find a place to put it though >.>''


Forgot to mention, I re-did Alastor's tank this week, removed Christmas/Singapore/Weeping moss mix (which ended up all looking suspiciously like java moss....) and put in fissidens fortunas. I originally fantasized I could take the pre-grown-on-mesh fissidens and wrap it around the wood... stainless steel mesh is *not *flexible so ripped it all off and tied to wood directly with fishing line. Excess was folded into the ss mesh and put down to carpet... will probably take a year to get any decent growth. There were also several _tiny _pieces left I could not grab so I left them in a tupperware of tank water by my dump tank so they get some light and hopefully grow.


Que photo bomb


"Whaaachya doooin'?"


Magnus' bowl.. nothing new... pygmy chain sword is getting tall. The salvia minimia grows INSANELY fast in here.


Few shots of Magnus.. wish his fins would heal but he's a perpetual fin nipper now...




And shot of all 3 picos! Now that gifts are done and I know I did not get a tall narrow vase.. I must go get one to transplant the sword.. need 16"-24" tall and not that wide..1"-4" at most probably. Debating about getting local or rolling the dice on shipping (and breaking in transit)...


Xerxes is doing well.. still a huge food mooch.. watched him flare fervently at a MTS crawling up the glass today (he stopped when i whipped out the camera though.. so here are some other shots.



A big old bladder snail in Xerxes' tank.. it fell from the floating salvia minimia and Xerxes tried pecking at 'em to eat but it just got up and kept on chuggin' so the plakat gave up and went to his feeding spot to try to convince me that I _forgot _to give him lunch...nice try.


I've not been happy with the growth in Xerxes' tank.. I'm tempted to scrap the plants and grab all the needle leaf and narrow leaf java fern from the 55g, and Philippine and threadfin fern from the 20g to rescape his tank (and add some regular java fern just to have some thick ones)... but still mulling that idea over..


Finally got several photos of Aristocoles resting on the thermometer, this was the most in-focus. He just swims around like a spaz then STOP thermometer time! ("hammer time" reference for you young'ins)



Size reference for him and the ghost shrimp (semi translucent tan-orange blur going over the thermometer.. I can't get any of them both holding still that are in focus ugh. The ghostshrimp is ad long as Aristocoles' body (excluding fins)


New fissidens in the 6g bow front, both fish and shrimp love it (or rest and forage in)


Not the best of shots but I love how his caudal fin looks


"you can't seeeee meeeee"


FTS



For Christmas the fish didn't get anything super special but I did thawed brine shrimp which everyone enjoyed, I also gave blanched cucumber to the otos. Was suppose to do Magnus and Alastor' water change on thrusday but meh... it didn't hurt to wait an extra day.



Got to wake up its morning to the fat white [censor] having tried to jump onto the bookshelf Magnus and Alastor live on.. and knocking over the sword vase.. spilling water (mixed with soil) all over the cream rug... NOT happy with that cat! I don't know how long the sword was without water... hoping it bounces back.. I wanted to grab a new taller vase at Michels' today (have a 50% off 1 item coupon) but the husband's parents visited (fortunately just as I finished wet vac-ing the carpet) to deliver presents and his mother insisted she had large vases to give me a free upgrade. So now I have to wait on her to bring one over (never know when they'll visits (generally very infrequent like once every few months) they're terrible about planning with us in advance, just a call "Oh we're on our way over" randomly) or look rude if I go buy my own .... I know she'll give me all sorts of attitude if she comes over with a vase and I already have a new one... *sigh* in-laws...


----------



## Schmoo

Those cupcakes looked great! :3 And congrats on the new, soon-to-be tank!


----------



## Nimble

That bladder snail is actually a pond snail. Easiest way to tell is to look at the antenna and the shell. That guy you posted just now is a Pond snail, because of his thicker antennae.










That's a good way to help. 

Also, those cupcakes looked REALLY good. I need to make cupcakes.


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> Those cupcakes looked great! :3 And congrats on the new, soon-to-be tank!


Thank you ^^ husband help frost them (the smoother looking ones). I'll be eager to set it up.. once I find a place I can set it!



Nimble said:


> That bladder snail is actually a pond snail. Easiest way to tell is to look at the antenna and the shell. That guy you posted just now is a Pond snail, because of his thicker antennae.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That's a good way to help.
> 
> Also, those cupcakes looked REALLY good. I need to make cupcakes.


I didn't notice the antenna.. but the shell is not so pointed, so I thought it was a pale bladder.. wonder where I finally picked up a real pond snail.. as I've had bladder snails forever and miscalled them pond snails... It would explain how all my dark snails turned light so fast.. seems all the bladders died out and were replaced by pond.. wonder if they ate 'em... or used chemical warefare 

They were really good (and now are all gone)! Its just Pillsbury brand dark chocolate and funfetti with green and red vanilla icing and sprinkles (holiday themed icing). So nothing super fancy or home made but still really yummy!


































I still have over 1/2 a container of each icing left... might make some more cupcakes just to finish that off.


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## SplashyBetta

Those cupcakes look amazing! *drools*

Your tanks are absolutely stunning. I love planted picos! I keep wanting to turn one of my gallon vases or jars into a mini NPT but I never get around to it.


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## Aqua Aurora

I also got some needed Seachem Ferts and a new PAI master test kit for the holidays. I'd had an issue with a bad nitrate test kit once (always gave a higher reading) so I tested the new against the known good (and nearly empty) nitrate test kit with Aristocoles' tank water. 10-20 ppm nitrates, nice ^^ Hoping to get that down to 5 when I finally add the rest of the anubias.. I'm still hesitating a bit as I fear the disease but I've had most of the anubias for 2 months or more now so it _should _all be fine.

Going to go do Aristocoles' water change now and add in once more Krylon fusion painted panel so he doesn't surf the one exposed size wall... also need to adjust the left rock as it seems to be sliding down.. may remove the betta and shrimp for that so no one gets squished.





SplashyBetta said:


> Those cupcakes look amazing! *drools*
> 
> Your tanks are absolutely stunning. I love planted picos! I keep wanting to turn one of my gallon vases or jars into a mini NPT but I never get around to it.


Thank you ^^

NPT picos are pretty easy to set up since they're so small it takes less prep and less planting. The longest part for me was prepping the soil for the vase and bubble bowl, I sift out all the wood chips (MiricleGro Organic potting mix has a LOT in it) so I didn't get tea colored water from excessive tannins.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Aristocoles Tank Updates, Riparium Planting, + New Moss Bowl*

Ever hear the saying "Measure twice, cut once."? This is what happened when you only measure once (and forget to take into account the egg crate under the substrate....Its a good 0.5" above the tank top. Using black electrical tape to keep it against the glass all.
I will probably ask my husband to help by cutting it to size later, but when I put it in I wasn't in the mood to remove it to cut immediately.



Stuffed plants onto the 20g riparium yesterday. Ivy (exact type unknown), Maranta leucoreura (aka Prayer plant), Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella and Syngonium (already have larger specimens those 2 on the 55.. (they came with the pray plant), will probably give these away once it warms up), and the huge Anthurium. Purple waffle (which is doing great) is sharing a basket with the prayer plant which has new leaf growth ready to happen.
Also got 5 new false julie cory (added after photos were taken) which will be quarantine for 3 weeks (or 21 days after last death.. hopefully don't loose any) then added to the 5 in my 55g to bring their total to 10.







I would have preferred [this] variation of prayer plant but the one I have is the only color variant I've seen..

Moved the huge anubias hastifolia over to the 55g as its new leaves were growing out of the water already! Also going to sell or give this away(hope to sell.. cost me $20 and its doubled in leaves) when temps stay above freezing.


Sadly Aristocoles decided the ghostshrimp was food... found him pecking the last of the life out of it around lunch today. Aristocoles was literally guarding his kill, kept by it and with arc his body around it, almost as if to hide it from me.. its in the front of the tank boy.. I can see it.. Bit bummed as I wanted the shrimp to clean the fissedens :c
Sadly the photos of what I described came out blurry but have a few for those who want to see
[Warning dead shrimp photos, do not click if you are uncomfortable with that subject matter]
[Dead shrimp]
[Guarding the kill1]
[Guarding the kill2]
[Going in for a bite]

Got a few photos of Aristocoles flaring. Not sure if he has a short beard or just doesn't push it down all the way.


Also grabbed a low wide bowl at Michel's' yesterday to plant my terrestrial moss in (may also use some leftover river rock). Will probably do that this weekend. It was only $8.99, with coupon total after tax was about $4.75, so not bad... I'm resisting the urge to instead use to for the fissedens as a submerged moss bowl.. must.resist.temptation. It was sold as a 10" wide bowl.. can't find a measuring tape to confirm it though >.<


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## kjg1029

I have a fear of my bettas killing the shrimp that I really want to buy for a few of my tanks...but idk if it will be worth it...

cute bowl! Its gonna look great!


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## DaytonBetta

Your riparium is really cool!


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> I have a fear of my bettas killing the shrimp that I really want to buy for a few of my tanks...but idk if it will be worth it...
> 
> cute bowl! Its gonna look great!


I'd hoped since the shrimp was as large of the betta's body that he wouldn't eat it.. got along with it for about 2 weeks then today killed it :/



DaytonBetta said:


> Your riparium is really cool!


The most recent set up shown in photos won't last long. I've ordered some riparium plants that will hopefully ship and arrive next week (if weather is good) and I'll be re-doing the 20g again.


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## Tress

Sucks that he killed it. Though you sure he killed it or just took advantage of it when it was weak?


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## Aqua Aurora

Tress said:


> Sucks that he killed it. Though you sure he killed it or just took advantage of it when it was weak?


Well I saw him pecking it as it was nearly dead (curled, body going opaque, but still moving its legs/pissers/antenna a little) and he was pecking off tiny chunks of the underside after it was dead... It is possible that it was molting or messed up from the major water change I did on Sunday, but I dripped the betta and shrimp back into the tank so it shouldn't have been an issue... If I can ever get a hold of ghost shrimp again (apparently some [censor] hole in the area comes in on delivery days and buys ALL ghost shrimp from both stores.. they just didn't come in the day I got them).


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## Tress

e.o I hate people that take _everything_ and leave nothing for anyone else.


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## Aqua Aurora

No photos today (hopefully tomorrow). I repurposed one of my 10gs as a testbed for a vivarium, see if I can convert some more riccia to emersed growth on top of clay media with some water below (to keep clay wet) and daily misting, as well as a few misc other plants to see if they'll transition well....If it works I'll be setting up my 20g long as a vivarium after its current quarantine stock is done (all the new cories were still alive today)... Also would need to get a 40g breeder while the sale is on at Petco to move the riparium to... but I'm trying not to getting too excited yet...

Right now the new riparium additions are doing well, one tiny snip of ivy I stuffed in a hole in the driftwood died, but it had no roots (broke when cleaning) the rest of the ivy looks good though... I actually only used 3 strands from the pot.. less than 1/10th of it.. may add more (or try it in high humidity viv... speaking of if the plants don't die and I do a serious viv (10g is just a test) I'll have to get a proper humidity and temp gauge.

I added some cherry shrimp juvies from my husband's tank to Alastor's jar on Tuesday i think it was? I spotted 3 of the 4 or 5 I put in still alive today so yay, Alastor didn't eat them!!.. yet >.> May also try putting a few in with Aristocoles, but not for a while... want him to forget the taste of ghostshrimp before considering a smaller _snack_ going in...

I also slapped together my terrestrial moss bowl.. not too pretty right now, but hoping it will look better as it starts to grow in/together. Will probably ask the hubby to cut some leftover Lexan scrap to make a lid for that with gaps for airflow.

Anyways going to slap up photos tomorrow(maybe), all tank lights are off now.


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## Aqua Aurora

*moss terrarium and riccia vivarium startup.. also shrimp*

3 of the 4 or 5 cherry shrimp juvies I put in Alastor's tank (surprised he's not eaten them). 3d shrimp is on the left, under the sponge filter


Shrimp molt



Moss terrarium setup 
MiracleGro organic potting mix, a bag of sifted out wood-chips from MGOPM used for 3g, and terrarium


Mixed together



And done.. not so pretty but hoping it will grow together and look nice.



And vivarium testbed setup in 10g using:
expanded clay media, 10g tank, marineland LED (6700K) on 12 hours a day, lot of water (below/in clay media), and a lexan lid that allows for some venting with 1-2" gap. Plants include:
blyxa j. (I think this is only a 100% submerged plant but trying it)
dwarf hair grass
hygro corybosa
ludwigia (not sure which sp.)
anubias petite
creeping jenny
bacopa caroliniana (I think?)
hydro sp. japan
pennywort
and a lot of riccia









We'll see how it does in a week or two. This is not a proper viv setup, I left out a soil/substrate (clay media is drainage layer) and screen to separate clay from soil.. want to see how plants do before I invest in coco husk, fibers, and sphagnum moss to make a real vivarium substrate.


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## Aqua Aurora

*trophy molts? *

I'm not messing with the placement.. but I found a second molt next to the first.. they are lined up oddly symmetrically... I wonder if Alastor is doing that (little decorating)


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## KitDewStein

Wow your fish and tanks both look absolutely amazing!


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## Aqua Aurora

So its a month past when I wanted to, but I finally get the Argentinian Swords in a larger vase! Grabbed an 18" tall cylinder vase at Michel's with a 40% off coupon.. I'm sure if I waited till next week there would be a 50% off one but I'm done with waiting (waited to see if the mother-in-law had one I could get for free.. all she had was the exact thing it was already sitting in..). It feels a bit empty in the upper portion but hopefully will grow now that it has the room. I may try to get a hold of another dwarf patter lettuce to put up there as well.







Alastor and Magnus are still doing great. I've seen 2 female cherry shrimp out periodically in Alastor's tank, one time one of them was on the surface (on top of salvia minima) I thought it was dead but it shot back under the plants and to the bottom when I shifted a few... wonder if it was eating, sun bathing, or hiding from the betta. Fissendens is doing well, I'm seeing bits poking through the mesh and its still looking lush on the wood! Magnus is still fat.. I don't think he'll ever get rid of his gut (because he likes to eat the floaters, but not fast enough to keep them in check.. I still have to toss a good hand full each week as its too cold to ship them right now). The pygmy chain swords are not so pygmy.. at least the oldest ones aren't as they are as tall at the tank! But fortunately most are still short so they are not taking up too much room yet. I'll end up rescaping and moving them to the edges/perimeter so the main space will still be swim-able.. not that he likes to swim all over the place,he's more of a meandering wiggle but exploring and resting on the plants. 
Magnus likes to semi flare me with spread gills but no beard periodically.. usually for the first "Hello" of the day, Alastor very infrequently will do the same semi flare but when I am (trying) to put food in his tank and the pellets are not coming off my finger so the finger is in the water longer than he'd like. Really need to clean the interior glass of the betta tanks as its getting a bit diatom-y, will probably do that at the water change tomorrow.





Updates on the other bettas and tanks to come.. eventually ^^'' I'm a bit per-occupied with a new adventure: trying out a vivarium! Nothing substantial yet just getting materials gathered right now. Hoping to turn a 40g breeder tank into a dart frog tank with a water feature because hey I'm coming from an aquarium background, I need some visible water!





KitDewStein said:


> Wow your fish and tanks both look absolutely amazing!


Thank you!


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## DaytonBetta

I look forward to hearing about your dart frog set up. Will you turn the 40 gallon vertical and put glass doors on the front? Most dart set-ups I've seen are tall.

Are you on frogforum.net? There is a lot of good information there.


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## Bettabubble3

JUST READ THE ENTIRE THREAD. Took me about an hour or so and I loved it. Can't wait to read more.


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## Aqua Aurora

DaytonBetta said:


> I look forward to hearing about your dart frog set up. Will you turn the 40 gallon vertical and put glass doors on the front? Most dart set-ups I've seen are tall.
> 
> Are you on frogforum.net? There is a lot of good information there.


I'm going to do long not tall tank and will have some water and be using emersed aquatic plants. 
I'm not on frogforum, I tried dendroboard but seems people there prefer criticizing and say "use the search engine, you're quests must have been asked 100 times".. well no not the exact details I'm looking for.. but whatever. I'll go peak at frogforum, see if it has a nicer/more helpful active community.



Bettabubble3 said:


> JUST READ THE ENTIRE THREAD. Took me about an hour or so and I loved it. Can't wait to read more.


Thank you ^^ Hopefully will update in a few days with Aristocoles and Xerxes updates/photos.


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## Aqua Aurora

So rescaped Aristocoles' tank a little, removed the large rock on the back right and stuffed in 3 more petites. I ended up doing 10+ water cahnges (with the betta and plants removed) trying to get rid of the damn white film this tank's silicone produces.. seriously wtf.. never buying a bowfront from aquatop again.... Anyways husband trimmed down the painted side pannel and a back panel that popped out (because of heater suction cups not wanting to let go grrr) which wouldn't properly re-seat as sand got under it. THe boy is back in and exploring a little but he doesn't seem to notice too much change. I'm pretty sure I said before but if not, his ghost shrimp died a while back.. I've been trying to get another but petco hasn't re-stcoked (or some [censor] keeps buying them all before I get there each week), the one time I caught petsmart with a fresh stock (still in shipping bag) there were too many dead ones to want to risk it. Hopefully I can get a new ghostshrimp someday to clean the fissendens (which is doing well btw.. aside from the white film specks getting on it).







Xerxes has become a bit of a douche about the camera and don't like to pose for me, but instead zip to the back of the tank to protect his non existent bubble nest with semi flares and posturing behind the plants =.= I've not been happy with this tank for a while and am tempted to take all the java fern from the 55g and stuff it in here.. but then I'd need new plants for the 55..



(back of the tank shot) "WTF are you doing back here?!"


I love how blue he looks in this shot




And some more shots of the pico tanks



Find Magnus:


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## kjg1029

all your fish/tanks are looking absolutely great!


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## Schmoo

Xerxes! <3 My Grievous is the same way about cameras. *shakes fist*


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## KitDewStein

I found Magnus


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## Bettabubble3

I love your tanks. I hope to be as good as an aquascaper as you one day.


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## Aqua Aurora

kjg1029 said:


> all your fish/tanks are looking absolutely great!


Thank you very much ^^



Schmoo said:


> Xerxes! <3 My Grievous is the same way about cameras. *shakes fist*


Both Aristocoles and Xerxes were flaring at my finger until the camera came out.. then they just go into douche mode >.<



KitDewStein said:


> I found Magnus


Congratulations! Have a cookie











Bettabubble3 said:


> I love your tanks. I hope to be as good as an aquascaper as you one day.


Thank you! I still have a long way to go myself to make scapes look the way I want (really need to break down and get a co2 system for the lush thick plant carpets), but practice and a lot of research on plants (learning how high they'll get and which grows faster) as well as spending hours looking at other people's scapes helps a lot ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Alastor and Magnus Update*

Well time for an update! The delta boys are still doing well though I had a bit of a scare last week as there was a heater complication and we went about 24 hours without heat (outside temps were 19-26F range). I was worried about bursting water pipes (as my parents are only just finishing recovering from a similar disaster in their home) and fish-cicles.. All tanks except for these 2 boys have heaters "one size larger" than needed for their tank so as long as the house stayed 60F the rest would be fine. However Alastor and Magnus have too small a tank for a large heater so theirs barely keep 5-8F above room tamp. Fortunately my husband remedied the problem with a (nearly) 24 hour long fire in the fire place (same room as these betta tanks-fire went out while we slept at some point but I got it going again before the house got too cold) and we used the fan system of the house to circulate air and keep it decently warm, living room stayed 73-74, the coldest rooms were probably 65-ish. Thankfully everything is working again and there has bee no sign of stress on any fish or plants from the little temp dip. Watching and tending the fire was fun though, glad we had a lot of firewood for it ^^





Its hard to get good in focus photos but the fissendens is growing pretty fast (as far as fisendens goes) in Alastor's tank, I may even trim it soon and use the excess to fill a few spots. Mean while Alastor gets gradually more red in his fins and less cellophane. He is also semi tolerant to me touching him now (remember you should always thoroughly wash and rinse hands before putting them in a tank). 
No real update on the shrimp, I don't see them out too often to know if the females have berried yet or not, they were saddled last I saw. For those not familiar with shrimp: "saddled" is a term for a lightening of shell on the back's of female shrimp that shows before the next molt (shredding of shell) at which time they will be fertile and ready to receive a male, resulting a pregnancy. "Berried" is a term for them being pregnant, as they carry eggs under their tails that look like tiny berries-they remained berried for about a month then release tiny versions of themselves-shrimlets (not all shrimp species bear young or release them when fully developed, some go through larval stages.. but cherry shrimp just make adorable miniatures). I am testing with a few (I think) males and definite females to see if they will breed in this tank now with a 'predator' (Alastor) when they would not before when it was just shrimp.





Magnus is going well, his fins seem to have stopped healing (that or he does very exact 'trimming'). Even if he stays permanently tatter-tailed I still love 'em, he's definitely the most tolerant to petting, though he will nip my finger with extreme prestigious if only one is in the water, he never strikes when there are 2 or more...silly boy. The pygmy chain swords keeps getting tall in his tank 




I have to move the sword vase to the windowsill (lets see how quickly I have another hair algae relapse), just during the day, in the evening when the sun is set I put it between the tanks (hence the gap) to get some of their light. The home made reflector addition on the bubble bowl's light prevents too much light from reaching the sword when its between the tanks (and its too tall to keep in front as my husband already almost knocked it over the first day). I may take one of both of the swords to try to convert to emersed growth once I set up the emersed bin.. we'll see.



Will try to update on my other tanks in the next few days hopefully.


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## Tress

Ooh, the fissendens look great, and I can't believe how much Alastor has changed!

I totally understand that worry when the temp drops, I have a drafty house and this endless cold snap is keeping the area in the -20'C/-30'C and my mini heater in one tank can't keep up :/ doesn't feel like it will ever be warm again ;-;


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## Aqua Aurora

*The Wicked Witch Revisited*

While doing water changes for Magnus and Alastor today I noticed some strange behavior while dripping water back into Alastor's tank (using an airline tube to siphon new water into the tank adds it slowly so the TDS (total dissolved solids) does not swing to fast and stress the shrimp). Alastor stuck his head under the small piece of driftwood in the front and kept trying to get further under.. I'm not sure why.. it was amusing ave a little shrimp next too him watching "Whatch'ya doin' under thar?" He looked suck but I assure you he was not.. the photo I took reminded me of the Wizard of Oz and the house landing on the witch.







Tress said:


> Ooh, the fissendens look great, and I can't believe how much Alastor has changed!
> 
> I totally understand that worry when the temp drops, I have a drafty house and this endless cold snap is keeping the area in the -20'C/-30'C and my mini heater in one tank can't keep up :/ doesn't feel like it will ever be warm again ;-;


Thank you! I'll try to get a full side view shot of him later to compare old photos with to show just how much the red had spread. 
I love the wilderness of Canada..but not the cold! I've never experiences that low of a temperature.. if I did I think I'd bury myself in a heap of blankets and not come out!


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## Tress

Aqua Aurora said:


> I love the wilderness of Canada..but not the cold! I've never experiences that low of a temperature.. if I did I think I'd bury myself in a heap of blankets and not come out!


I think the lowest I've ever had to face was around -45'C and that was last year. We had a few -40'C days but most were on/off -20'C. This winter sure is testing us. It's been steady -20'C during the day and dipping -30 to -40 nightly. Everyone *is* hibernating and only leaving the house once every week or so for supplies. No one is ice fishing, no one is snow machining, no one is enjoying the snow. 

You know it's cold when even Canadians don't want to go out and play.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Xerxes and Aristocles Update + Alastor photo comparison*

I got sick of Xerxes tank as it pretty much went to [censor].. I didn't constantly tend the rotala and it grew fast but the bottoms were loose leaves and eventually most of the stems came loose. The hydro japan didn't ever really grow so I suspect I have lighting more on the "low" than "medium" end so the front kinda looked like crap.. the hygro tiger was either growing upright with pinhole issues (potassium hog) or along the substrate again (seemed to have less pinholes being lower from the light). 
Unfortunately for me the temps here have been single digit to teen range mostly... far too cold for plant shipping arg. I wanted to gut all the fern from the 55g to redo Xerxes tank with but when I started pulling it out.. I realized how few crypts were left and was certain the fish would not be happy with the extreme reduction in hiding places. I was going to wait but decided to tear out about 1/4-1/3 of the fern and take the dwarf lily to put in the 7g. I removed Xerxes and gutted the tank, bleached the rock to remove some algae and after many water changes to remove mts poop, re-planted. 
The tank now how a mix of ferns (needle leaf, narrow leaf, Philippine, and thread fin java ferns), the anubias micro is staying in the tank for now until I can determine if it is disease free (I'm suspicious of 1-2 of them), I rotated the rock and put the lily behind it, and the hygro tiger in front as a ground cover again. I stuffed a few root tabs in for the potassium monsters of the tank and now get to wait several months for everything to fill in. I hope the dwarf lily takes off again like it use to be way back when I first had it in this tank, I may buy another just to get more leaves. Xerxes build one of his (very small) bubble nests by the leaf at the surface after the first night. I'm hoping my husband ill cut and paint some more lexan or acrylic to stuff into Xerxes tank to remove his reflection and make it all black. I wish I had spare inlet/outlet pipes as I'd love to paint the pipes black too. In spring I think I'll buy some regular java fern and hopefully fill out the tank (and possibly remove the hygro), we'll see.
The blue in Xerxes' fins is slowly expanding (soon his tail will loose its orange hue), and the red of the Armageddon trait grows a bit wide but nothing too huge. I notice he's also losing some of the blue on the side of his head and body.. it looks like its getting more black. Also his pelvic fins which sue to be more red/pink are getting orange. I wonder if he'll pull a major marble color swing like Varmit experienced with Waldo. He still build pitifully small nets and will flare at me with his orange and red spotted beard but never with the camera out (unless he charges then swims away quickly so I can't get him in focus ugh). The scales seem to be progressing over his eyes but he's still seeing.. fairly well... some days he has no problem snatching food.. others it seems lie he's just binding lunging at the surface for pieces.






As for Aristocoles, he only had a minor update as I put the golden and micro anubias that had been quarantines in another tank into his.. after they were put in my husband's tank for an oto and shrimp cleaning as they were covered in diatoms... then a bleach dip to remove any algae. Not happy with their placement right now so may tweak that. I also removed the fissendens as it was a magnet for the white stuff that comes off the tank silicone, and I have no shrimp to clean it.. I tried 2 large amano shrimp but I'm pretty sure Aristocoles scared them into crawling out the first night.. I've not seen them in a week (even when doing a water change)... $8 down the drain.. I guess Aristocoles is in no mood for tank mates.. He's still loves resting on the thermometer and it semi tolerant to me petting him now though he tends to turn around so he can see my finger. He's very flare-y and gives full beard now (my lil' boy's growing up aww) and the beard is actually a dark wine red instead of black. Of course as soon as the camera comes out he's not in the mood to flare at my finger or any other object.
My husband loves to call Aristocoles "Jazz Hands" instead of his proper name because of his big constantly wiggling pectorals ^^ Its amusing as even when all tank lights are off and his tank is very dark you can still see the white/light blue pectoral wiggles as he swims around... he's actually having fun wedging himself under/through the anubias petites in there as I type this.. silly boy. Oh I also spotted a bubble nest from him (just before destroying it with a water change) against the thermometer.. it was tinier than Xerxes' but maybe he'll get better at making bigger ones with time.




And a photo comparison of Alastor, smaller image is from October, larger is from yesterday.





Tress said:


> I think the lowest I've ever had to face was around -45'C and that was last year. We had a few -40'C days but most were on/off -20'C. This winter sure is testing us. It's been steady -20'C during the day and dipping -30 to -40 nightly. Everyone *is* hibernating and only leaving the house once every week or so for supplies. No one is ice fishing, no one is snow machining, no one is enjoying the snow.
> 
> You know it's cold when even Canadians don't want to go out and play.


How much snow does it take to shut down schools and businesses there? Is does temperature play more of a role than snowfall? In the states it varies by region. Where I live can close from just a few inches, but Chicago needs several feet to consider closing down. I heard that some schools delayed opening near me yesterday because of "low temperature concerns", no new snow or threat of it.


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## Tress

Aqua Aurora said:


> How much snow does it take to shut down schools and businesses there? Is does temperature play more of a role than snowfall? In the states it varies by region. Where I live can close from just a few inches, but Chicago needs several feet to consider closing down. I heard that some schools delayed opening near me yesterday because of "low temperature concerns", no new snow or threat of it.


Usually a few feet is needed, and generally it's just the schools and some highways that close - especially if its blowing snow. Temp usually needs to be around -30 in the morning to qualify. Our school buses run in some of the worst conditions, they just sometimes drop a few routes. There is a small community in a mountain with one of the scariest 1 lane roads, poor kids miss a lot of school in the winter months.


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## Aqua Aurora

*20g Update*

The Anthurium and Alocosia polly moved to the 55g as their huge leaves blocked light for shorter plants. I took the smallest peace lily and Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie' for the 20g (the ruellia was cut and wilted mostly before forming new roots, the stumps of the original plant have several new spouts). All the underwater plants are gone except 1 anubias nana (plants went into 12g to be a snack for the otos and shrimp (covered in diatoms) then moved into 7g and 6g). I added several river rocks so the underwater view of the tank looks like a hill stream sort of setup with the rocks and wood, its simple but I really like it. I want to add more rocks but then the tank looks too cluttered. I'm considering letting the rocks age a bit (get algae and micro fauna covered) and finding a hillstream loach or 2 to put in but I'm not 100% set on that yet (my main concern being this tank has no lid and they can "literally climb glass" end end up a dried out fish on the table.). Before you consider this fish for a betta tank, DON'T the water conditions needed are so different one or both fish would die from improper setup (hillstream loaches must have very fast moving highly oxygenated water and prefer much colder temperatures than bettas- the current these loahes need eliminated many fish species as tank mate options as most will just get blasted against the tank wall). For that matter, white cloud mountain minnows have no place in a betta tank either as their max temp is 72F, warmer than that causes shortened life spans and they do prefer some current. And of course I find a stunning blue-green HM male betta at the petstore the day after putting the minnows in the 20g and no longer have an open tank I could put it in.. grrr.
On Monday I got 12 White Cloud Mountain Minnows. They're not super interesting fish but they're active and I got them on a B1G1F deal (though the insanely small print you can't read apparently says only eligible for up to 4 fish...) I'm going to go back to the store when they restock tomorrow and see if I can grab another 8 (aqadvisor says I'd still be under 50% capacity with my filtration). They're tiny but very iridecent if you look closely. I was happy to see them already showing courting activity the day after they were put in within 10-20 minutes of turning lights on. They're inquisitive but get startled easily still, hoping that goes away as they settle in more.
I actually went back yesterday to the petstore to try to buy some more white clouds but the few I'd not grabbed on Monday were gone. I was happy to find that at my stop at Lowes (was getting a new back of MiracleGro organic potting mix) they have.. Dragons Tongue!! Its a cool shin leafed plant with green upper and purple undersided leaves that another member here has successfully planted in their HOB. I've been looking for this stuff since I'd seen their thread. I also grabbed another purple waffle as I just like that plants. I looked at a few other things but a lot of plants were nearly dead... hopefully the new ones convert to riparium life well. I forgot just how dark purple waffle is as a terrestrial plant, look at it next to the one that's been on the water for several months!
My next task with this tank is to test using Krylon Fusion on a basket to make it black as I hate seeing the terracotta colored clay media. If it works I'll gradually rotate out eat basket, dry it, spray and cure it then shuffle the next plant over and repeat. 
I don't think I'll add any more aquatic plants to the tank, just emersed, but we'll see how things go in the spring.
If anyone has any suggestions for fish that can go with White Cloud mountain Minnows (would love a center piece or single fish not another school) in an open top tank I'd be happy to hear your input (70-71F, 7.5 pH, hard water).

Onto the photos!







*
Current Fauna: *12 white cloud mountain minnows (hope to make 20)
a few baby MTS
*Current Riparium Flora:* Purple Waffle
Dragons Tongue
Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'
Spathiphyllum
Dwarf Taro
Sweetflag
Star Grass
Lizard Tail
Prayer Plant
Rain lily
Riccia
Also have a tiny stem of hydro japan and Fittonia albivenisin the riccia



In other news Aristocoles is bubble nesting more (still ridiculously tiny bubble nests) but he puts them right where I feed him and dose in liquid ferts. He bit the [censor] out of my finger trying to defend his nest while I was trying to feed him .. dufous...


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## Aqua Aurora

*Some Random Updates*

Nothing really new, just sitting through more snow here (snowing again)... this winter has given us the longest lasting snow in a long while.. I think its been over a month of snow on always being on the ground here. Supposedly its going to warm up next week. Hope so!
I took a shot of the dog bowl in the car, it had a thin layer of ice that looked fairly cool. Photo doesn't do it justice for detail but the dog wanted in the car (and at his car bone) so couldn't get a better shot


Aristocoles' largest bubble nest yet.. still pretty small.. I ended up thinning out the floaters after this so he could build his next somewhere else instead of his feeding spot where it could get easily damaged.


I think I'm going a bit betta crazy as I swear I can see a grump betta face frowning hard at me in the larger driftwood in Alastor's tank.. see it?

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
how about now?


Hopefully the fissendnes keeps spreading and covers that frown for me... I need to figure out how to stuff in the slab of it I removed from Aristocoles' tank... might pull all the fissenends out of the mesh in Alastors tank and stuff it on the one large piece to put back in. I have a hell of a time trying to cut the stainless steel mesh so i can't slip the large one in half... will figure something out..


Did not get any more minnows for the 20g, it snowed the day the store gets shipments in and I assumed the buy one get one sale would be done on the weekend. So I'll just have 12, but they're smart little fish and already have the ques for feeding learned and even follow my fingers around from the glass. I ended up pulling the heater out of their tank. Though I had it set at 68F it was 71-72F. 
One of my heaters is being a little pain in the [censor] and not working right (fortunately its the one I sue t heat bucket water for a water change).. had to set it to max (93) to get it to 75F....Not so happy with eheim right now, these are suppose to be the best heaters (most reliable/long lasting). Hope non of the tank designated heaters head down this path...


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## Aqua Aurora

*I had a dream last night!*

I had an odd dream, my husband had a tank in the office but it was against the wall where we walk in/out and was... Something like a mix in my mind of the 12g long mr.aqua and a 55g tank.. It was a long rimless tank but was probably 30-40 g in water volume and apparently it was his tank. Some how the stock of fish that was in thier yesterday was gone and new ones were in. There were 4-5 red fish with black horizontal body stripe down the middle.. They were very similar in shape to madagascar rainbowfish (just red instead or yellow). There was a betta but it wasn't a realistic one as it had the body size (if not larger than) a giant/king being 4" or a little more of just body with long hm fins! He was red with some purple in the pelvic and anal find. There were also 2 species of cory, 5 or each. As I'm talking with my husband as to why the stock has changed, out of the corner of my eye I see the betta suck down a tiny red fish. I start pointing it out to my husband and suddenly one of the large fish opened its mouth all the way and tried to eat the betta head first!! I think I woke up at that point... Was an odd one...


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## Aqua Aurora

*Snowed in*

So got a good bit a snow here, acutally msot acumiliation I've seen since living in Pa that didn't melt off quickly. Fortunately it was soft dry powdery snow so we went out to clear the car, driveway, and walk way before dinner. Hubby used a broom to sweep the car clean. I saw what was about to happen and a split second in my mind thought "I should tell him(husband) to stop"... *rapid tap camera's 'take photo' action*




You can see in the third shot our dog notices the impending doom but.. too late to get away, last shot has that "aaah! cold col cold on my back" pose.
Our lab had walked out to the unshoveled walk way to sniff and was coming back towards the open garage to find my hubby as he could not see him.. he just happened to have real bad timing. I'm not a terrible person for not preventing this... it wasn't thick ice sheets or heady wet snow >.>'''



Anyways in other news I decided to shift the fissendens mesh sheets in Alastor's tank only to find they're poop traps!! O.O Lifted one up and whole tank get nasty, and a ton more was still settled on teh sand under it... I netted out Alastor and started removing the driftwood and equipment to net the cherry shrimp in there when i find.. SRHIMPLETS!! they bred! I managed t catch 6 adults and only 3-4 shrimplets.. I suspect Alastor may have eaten their siblings but my lack of knowledge a few minutes before that there are babies.. i handled the fissendens covered wood roughly and may have killed some form drastic water temp change >.<''
I had wrung out the sponge filter in the removed tank water before I saw the shrimplets so if I'd siphoned any up I was never going to find them (the water was as clear as MUD.. 0 visibility.
Did a 400-500% water change to get up all the poop then put the equipment, wood, and fissendens mesh from Aristocoles' tank in. I took apart the 2 mesh pieces and pulled out their fissendens. I'm not sure what I want to do with it.. may sell for cheap (less than a golf ball portion-typically moss selling size). 
I dripped Alastor back in then the shrimp (both were floated in a zip lock bag to get up to temp before releasing.

so much poop


Plants back in, all full of bubbles from the water change


Fts.. pardon the airline tube, dripping Alastor there.



aAove view of the fluffy-ness (love how thick this stuff has gotten! Dosing plant ferts (every other day except excl which is every day) really helps it.)


Que Jaws music "dunna.... duuuna"


Shrimplets circled.. these are maybe 3-4 weeks old (sorry out of focus shot, they hid as soon as they were released so no good photos yet)


And everything's back to normal




On another not my white cloud mountain minnows were amusing at lunch time yesterday. It was blood worm day and at the end of feeding one (already very full) female (I think) had a blood worm sticking out of her mouth and could not get it down, she spent a good 4 minutes swimming around the tank, darting away from the others as they saw the worm and tried to grab it.. then finally got it down, it was funny to watch the interactions. I may have to dice up blood worms for them in the future ,just glad she didn't choke to death.
Can you see the blood worm sticking out like a tongue?


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## Zhylis

I'm in love with your Fissidens, AA! I can never find any locally and with the current weather... So dense and fluffy!


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## SplashyBetta

I love your White clouds! The one with the worm is hilariously cute :-D My neon tetras were like that today when I fed brine shrimp. They have such little mouths!

And yay for shrimplets! I wish my ghosties would breed :-(


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## Aqua Aurora

Zhylis said:


> I'm in love with your Fissidens, AA! I can never find any locally and with the current weather... So dense and fluffy!


If it wasn't sub freezing I'd sell you my excess but that doesn't help as it can't survive shipping right now ^^'' If you do get some, low-medium low light, cooler water (I keep the tank at 76F not 80-fissendens seems to turn a sickly looking color in warmer water), and a little plant fert dosing helps a lot. If you have a co2 system the stuff will grow pretty crazy.



SplashyBetta said:


> I love your White clouds! The one with the worm is hilariously cute :-D My neon tetras were like that today when I fed brine shrimp. They have such little mouths!
> 
> And yay for shrimplets! I wish my ghosties would breed :-(


Never had a chance to breed ghost shrimp. Dwarf shrimp (cherry, rilli, tb, bb, crs bluebolt, chocolate, etc etc etc) are easier as they hatch as miniatures of the adults and can be in the same water as adults, no larval stages to have fun trying to feed them through, or messing with salinity (for amano shrimp). Cherry and rilli seem the most tolerant to a wide variety of water parameters, the other types need some very specific pH, hardness, and tds levels.. not much fun trying to balance you water for their needs unless you have awesome tap water that comes out at perfect params for them.


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## SplashyBetta

I had one ghost shrimp from the store already berried, but sadly she was the only one that didn't make it :-( It looks like the four I have now are all male.
I'd love to get some Cherry shrimp, they have such nice colouring. Are they the same as ghost shrimp diet-wise?


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## Axeria

wow! You have managed what I hope to! Getting RCS or Blue jellies to breed and start a colony with my betta  I bet the clue to getting that to work is with lots of hiding spaces  

Lol I love the bettaface photo and the photo series with the snow! haha my dog is such a snowmonster he would love that


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## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> I had one ghost shrimp from the store already berried, but sadly she was the only one that didn't make it :-( It looks like the four I have now are all male.
> I'd love to get some Cherry shrimp, they have such nice colouring. Are they the same as ghost shrimp diet-wise?


I believe so, they are scavengers, will eat uneaten fish food, there are plenty of shrimp foods on the market too (some bettas have been known to eat shrimp food) they need a matured (aged) tank so microfauna is plentiful for them to forage for all day long, and an occasional algae wafer and blanched veggie (lettuce (romaine-iceberg is nutritionless), spinach, cucumber, and zucchini are most commonly used but carrots and other veggies have been used with success by several shrimp keepers).
Just remember cherry shrimp are smaller so 4 cherry shrimp eat a *lot less* than 4 ghost shrimp, don't over feed.



Axeria said:


> wow! You have managed what I hope to! Getting RCS or Blue jellies to breed and start a colony with my betta  I bet the clue to getting that to work is with lots of hiding spaces
> 
> Lol I love the bettaface photo and the photo series with the snow! haha my dog is such a snowmonster he would love that


Having a matured tank with dense plant growth (a moss of some sort is often recommended as a great place for microfauan to grow and for shrimp to hide) definitely helps. Case in point: I didn't even _know _there were babies until I took the tank apart! I just find it amusing they would not breed as a shrimp only tank (with more mos back then) but put a predator in and they start pumping out babies (though not many survive). 
Every betta is different for personality/tolerance but for ability to catch shrimp/shrimplets plakats and females will be more likely to have the burst of speed to snag one. Long finned bettas are slowed down a bit more (but they can still grab one if they try).

Our dog use to like the snow more but as an 'old man' that he is now I think he doesn't care for having it dumped on him. He use to love catching/chomping snow balls when he was younger.


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## Axeria

Yeah, my plan is to have atleast two-three types of moss and alot of small hideys for them, I have picked up some shrimpcubes thats basicly a ceramic cube made for dwarf shrimp that fish cant get their thick heads in. Got some stars aswell  lol!

HAHA! the fear of death gave them a hightened libido maybe xD

My dog is only 3 yrs old so he still are jumping around eating snowballs when we throw them at him. Last winter while we lived up north he had this idiotic idea that he would only poop on top of the huge snowpiles around our street so I had to climb them every single day to get the poop scooped


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## Aqua Aurora

Axeria said:


> Yeah, my plan is to have atleast two-three types of moss and alot of small hideys for them, I have picked up some shrimpcubes thats basicly a ceramic cube made for dwarf shrimp that fish cant get their thick heads in. Got some stars aswell  lol!
> 
> HAHA! the fear of death gave them a hightened libido maybe xD
> 
> My dog is only 3 yrs old so he still are jumping around eating snowballs when we throw them at him. Last winter while we lived up north he had this idiotic idea that he would only poop on top of the huge snowpiles around our street so I had to climb them every single day to get the poop scooped


I've not tried the cubes, don't know their actual size but I'd be worried a persisant beta could get itself stuck >.> hope I'm wrong.


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## Axeria

You have a point there, I have to check them and maybe cover the sides with moss so it wont be possible to get stuck. I thought it would make great little houses for my RCS, but if my betta can get stuck I deffo wont use them


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## Aqua Aurora

more photos!





and a spam of Xerxes shots..


*sigh* never in focus... for the flare


Xerxes vs. tablet pan










Will get more shots of Magnus and Alastor this week.


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## Tress

ooh~ What kinda of tablet do you have? That pen looks like mine, except mine has the eraser end.


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## Aqua Aurora

Tress said:


> ooh~ What kinda of tablet do you have? That pen looks like mine, except mine has the eraser end.


Intuit Wacon tablet, about 2-3 years old.


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## Axeria

Haha xerxes looks so grumpy in the first tablet pen pic xD very cute! ^_^


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## Aqua Aurora

*Must... resist.... temptation*

Went by Petsmart today on a lark, there was actually a decent betta selection for once.. I had a hard time walking away without one (or three). New ones were in adn in blue water so a few I was intersted in I could not tell what thier real colors were. But there was a blue-green with white outlines finned "hm" (looked like a delta) possibly plakat or a young long fin like Aristocoles was? A steel blue hm or delta, photo made him look more blue, and a hard to photograph crowntail female that looked to be green copper with black head and red/black fins.
I'm tempted to pop by again and see if the blue-water bettas are in clear water ye (employee said they'd be changing them over soon) but I'm pretty sure I'd end up leaving with a fish and I don't have any tank setup for one atm. I'd have to get a breeder basket and keep it in the 55g or 12g (could not have running loose as it could get sucked into filtration, nipped by cherry barbs, or have a fight with the puffer or eat cherry shrimp). Then I'd be spending a few months getting plants and setting up a soil based tank in the lantern vase I got for Christmas.. which would make me feel bad abut keeping the little betta in a breeder basket for 2-3 months while soil leeches out ammonia and cycled the tank,... even though it would be a little more swim room and definitely warmer and cycled water compared to a cup... gah MUST RESIST!!! I have 4 betta and 3 community tanks+ a vivarium in the works, I don't need another tank... >.>




Axeria said:


> Haha xerxes looks so grumpy in the first tablet pen pic xD very cute! ^_^


Yeh he wasn't happy with it, but I loved how he flared, closed one gill, then opened it up again like.. "Maybe I don't need to flar.. OH YES I DO RAWR GTFO!"


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Crap Tap (water)*

So with all the snow melt water levels are way up around here and apparently the water treatment pant is massively overdosing chlorine into the water to make sure they kill everything (including the end consumer!). When I turn on hot tap it smells like a warm swimming pool, and when I drink cold tap with ice.. taste like a swimming pool... and when I put tap in a little under 1g cube (currently holding MTS I need to sell), I can't see 2-3" down!!!


pardon the nasty sink, it the utility sink in the basement and apparently the last owner was a real [censor] who dumped a LOT of paint down the sink/drain... so multi color fugle sink!

Needless to say I'm 2x dosing Prime for water changes >.>


Random shot of Alastor's tank.. I think its my favorite scape at the moment.. as long as I don't think about how much poop gets under the mesh >.>


And Magnus who didn't want to be photogenic..or the camera decided to be a derp abut the dark fish in a bright tank *sigh*






Went back to petsmart as I needed to pick up more liver treats for the dog and only find the brand I like there (billjack). I looked at the bettas again and was sad to see a dead one, it looked like one of the new ones just didn't survive the weekend. I spent a lot of time mulling over taking the pretty blue/green boy home (I think he's a plakat from his tail length? no looking at it now he's just young like Aristocoles and will have a longer tail... ah that makes me want him more ). 



I also looked at the emerald female and aaaalmsot went to the register with her but.. giant white poop strand.. don't need an already sick betta :c



Above photos are from last week, below are two other bettas that got my interest, one was a grizzle(?) white red crowntail male who was just very active and watching me the whole time, not quite my style of fish but I made sure to say hello to him ^^


And a dragon scale blue and I think a touch of yellow so mustard female, the photo doesn't do her justice! She's very brightly colored.. but then I wasn't 100% it was a SHE and not just a mislabeled young male so I didn't take her.



So no new fish.. yet >.> I keep thinking about that blue-green boy... gah do not need another betta right now!!
Well off to go do water change on the white cloud tank and dose plant ferts!


----------



## Axeria

Wow! Go prime(!) is all I have to say :O That is just insane! But I guess it is for the overall health of the people drinking it, still anoying I bet :/

I love the scape in Alastor's tank  And Magnus are on my fishnap list now  lol! Dat tail is awsome! *droool*

I like the petsmart fishies also! I would have a very hard time restraining myself from purchase


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## Aqua Aurora

Axeria said:


> Wow! Go prime(!) is all I have to say :O That is just insane! But I guess it is for the overall health of the people drinking it, still anoying I bet :/
> 
> I love the scape in Alastor's tank  And Magnus are on my fishnap list now  lol! Dat tail is awsome! *droool*
> 
> I like the petsmart fishies also! I would have a very hard time restraining myself from purchase


Yeh toots love prime, does it and the water is clear in a few minutes!
Thank you, I really love how thick the fissendens has got in Alastor's tank.
Funny thing about Magnus, he is not a feather/rose tail, he is a delta but he mangled his tail his first week here. He spotted Alastor through the mesh divider in th quarantine tank and found a way to jump over 2" out of the water and get though an icy bitty gap in the divided against the lid and the got whooped on the other side for maybe a few minutes before I found and speedster them. I kept him in s medical tank with aquarium salt and daily or every other day water changes trying to heal the fins. When they were maybe 80-85% healed he ripped them up himself so I gave up and put him in is tank. The fins since healed a bit more but will never get back to normal delta tail shape again.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Xerxes bubble nesting*

dang it I thought I hit "submit" but I guess not >.>'' ok try 2

The dwarf lilly leaf Xerxes was nesting under a few days ago broke but 2 large ones have reached the surface so he's been using them, and surprisingly let me take shots of him nest tending. I wish my camera captured colors the way I see them..dwarf lily plant leaves are much more vibrant the the photo suggests.
Yesterday











Today


----------



## Fenghuang

Your planted tanks are gorgeous, Aurora.


----------



## Tress

Ahhh I love watching them nest, it's so interesting. I find they all have different techniques to it. Shreddy still was the best at it and I wish I could post the video I have of him working on it >.<


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> Your planted tanks are gorgeous, Aurora.


Thank you! ^^



Tress said:


> Ahhh I love watching them nest, it's so interesting. I find they all have different techniques to it. Shreddy still was the best at it and I wish I could post the video I have of him working on it >.<


He's the only one that makes a decent nest (pathetically small compared to some boys though), the others have sponge filters which move the water too much to keep a bubble nest together.. Aristocoles can get a maybe dozen bubble 'nest' built but that's about it, it breaks up over night.


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## Axeria

I love your tanks! They are so natural and have really good "flow"! They look amazing!


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## Aqua Aurora

I can't get a clear shot to show yet but Alastor is marbling more.. there is some color coming in on his body.. wonder wtf he's going to turn into 
In other news Xerxes is mad at me as its water change day so I wrecked his nest.. sorry boy! He'll be even madder when he realizes its Sunday and I don't feed them dinner today. 




Axeria said:


> I love your tanks! They are so natural and have really good "flow"! They look amazing!


Thank you!!


----------



## Tress

Bahaha poor Xerxes, just a bad day over all


----------



## Aqua Aurora

No photos yet, need to shrink thier size on the comp first but Magnus seems to have been getting himself stuck somehow and damaging the scales on his head/gills/face. Not quite sure how but my best guess is he was trying to get down in the sponge filter from the top opening.. Possible to pester a snail.. I tested his water params to make sure it wasn't a common sickness from poor water quality... Pristine water 0, 0, 5ppm nitrates, nice. I thought to a moment that he might have a parasite sticking out of his cheek (not out of the hill but on the face infront of it) but I e had him since.. October? And have Ben careful with all new fish that came into the house after that (none are in his tank or even in the facility of it) to not let anything new contaminate in.. So I don't think its parasite as that seems like a very long time for it to become visible? I dunno I think I'm being overly paranoid.
Aristocoles' tank has been getting pretty diatom heavy lately, I scrub down the rocks with a tooth brush every other eek and finally had to clean off the anubias leaves yesterday. Fortunately it's a string leaves plant so I was able to just wipe it down with a wet paper towel to get most of it off.
Xerxes can nolonger bag at his feeding spot as the dwarf lily leaves have decided to all grow towards that corner, so now I just feed him wherever I can actually see him. Some days he has better aim for food than others...
Alastor is doing good, nothing to report on his tank.. I really need to trim the fissendens but worry about cutting shrimp lets in hc hiding in it D:

My other tanks are dong well.. I'm considering getting a hill stream loach for the 20g long as I've let it get very diatom covered. Just need to move the filter media from the job to the canister I have in storage. If I do end up getting one I'd probably periodically rotate out Aristocoles' rocks and anubias to the loach tank for cleaning/feeding then move 'me back... Wonder how he'd feel about that...



Tress said:


> Bahaha poor Xerxes, just a bad day over all


Yeh he was not happy, but at least he had nest building to keep himself semi occupied.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Oh forgot to mention: the red in Alastor's anal fin is starting to bleed up into his lower scales on one side.. Wonder if he's going to try to marble into an all red boy and pretend he's one of the cherry shrimp. I'm going to be bummed when he does marble more, I love the pearl like look of his scales and fins in the right light.


----------



## Julie7778

I love your tanks! I was wondering how you keep up with the fish, I'm pretty sure Alastor doesn't have a filter, so how often do you clean the tank? If I got something like that how often should I clean it? (Mine would have less plants of course!) Haha! Sorry for all the questions I just read this whole thread! Btw I'm in love with your bettas, I wish my petsmart had dumbo bettas!


----------



## Tress

Julie7778 said:


> I love your tanks! I was wondering how you keep up with the fish, I'm pretty sure Alastor doesn't have a filter, so how often do you clean the tank? If I got something like that how often should I clean it? (Mine would have less plants of course!) Haha! Sorry for all the questions I just read this whole thread! Btw I'm in love with your bettas, I wish my petsmart had dumbo bettas!


Actually she has sponge filters hidden in her small tanks  

Nice to see another Ontarian on the forum! Welcome!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> I love your tanks! I was wondering how you keep up with the fish, I'm pretty sure Alastor doesn't have a filter, so how often do you clean the tank? If I got something like that how often should I clean it? (Mine would have less plants of course!) Haha! Sorry for all the questions I just read this whole thread! Btw I'm in love with your bettas, I wish my petsmart had dumbo bettas!





Tress said:


> Actually she has sponge filters hidden in her small tanks
> 
> Nice to see another Ontarian on the forum! Welcome!


Yep


I'm happy to hear you think he has no filter, means I did a good job hiding it behind the driftwood ^^ But Alastor has a mini cylinder sponge filter (Jardin brand) in the back. Here is a photo of his tank from a few weeks ago when I cleaned out a lot of poop hidden under a mesh moss matt.

see it in the back there?

I only do a 0.5-0.75g water change once a week on Alastor's tank(2g). Magnus (2-3g) gets about 0.75-1g water change once a week. Aristocoles(6g) and Xerxes(7g) get about 2-3 g water change once a week. BUT all their tanks are filtered (cycled) and well planted.

How often you do water changes depend on a lot of factors including tank size, whats in the tank (fish and plants) and how good you are about not letting uneaten food it in the tank. I assume you don't plan to have a filter? You should look at the option of a cheap air pump and small sponge filter, it really doesn't take up much space. But if you are going filter-less (and even with filter you still should) get a liquid test kit (API master test kit is recommended by most). And test ammonia every day to determine how often to do water changes. There is a sticky in (I think) the betta care section with % and frequency chart for water changes on filter-less tanks. If you keep a lot of fast growing plants in the tank (or riparium plants above the water with roots in the tank) they will help absorb the ammonia but you still need to test to make sure ammonia is not building up.

My petsmart only recently tarted getting dumbos (for a long time all they had was vt and crown tail) so yours might.


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## Julie7778

Wow! You hid them great. I'm going to be honest.. I have no idea how sponge filters work or how to set them up. I would love to get one and a bowl for a betta. At the moment my plan is to split up my 10 gallon tank into 3 sections.. But I have one fry in it and I'm guessing my swordtails from my 20 gallon tank will drop more in the future... Ugh debating whether to get 3 bettas or leave 1 spot open for babies x_x so hard to choose.if I saw dumbo bettas I would of already had the tank filled hahaha. 

Thanks Tress! I'm loving this forum.


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## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> Wow! You hid them great. I'm going to be honest.. I have no idea how sponge filters work or how to set them up. I would love to get one and a bowl for a betta. At the moment my plan is to split up my 10 gallon tank into 3 sections.. But I have one fry in it and I'm guessing my swordtails from my 20 gallon tank will drop more in the future... Ugh debating whether to get 3 bettas or leave 1 spot open for babies x_x so hard to choose.if I saw dumbo bettas I would of already had the tank filled hahaha.
> 
> Thanks Tress! I'm loving this forum.


I'll try to explain it.. not sure how good this will be..
A sponge filter is basically a sponge with a cut hole for a harder plastic tube that is inserted in it (or has an attachment for the tub on top of the sponge that has escape holes) that has holes in it that an airline tube from an air pump is fed into (or an under water pump). Without the holes in the tube the sponge filter just becomes an air stone and PUSH air out of the sponge, but with the holes it lets air escape not through the sponge, but the tube. In the act of doing this water is SUCKED into the sponge and goes up the tube along with the air, moving the water and once beneficial bacteria colonizes the sponge media it cycled and filters the tank water. 
It also sucks in particles/debris which over a period of tie can clog the sponge (depending on how messy your tank is-if only bettas it will take a loooong time.. if you have snails their poop with clog it up after several months. Periodic cleaning of the sponge filter to keep it unclogged is a good idea, simply pushing a siphon used for water changes against one portion of it and sucking all debris off works (don't clean the whole thing at once or you risk a re-cycle from loss of bacteria).


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## Julie7778

Ohhhh!thanks so much. I just don't know what to do, my tank has a filter and its a bit strong. When the betta (which I think is now named Kiko) swims by that part the current pushes him. I'm hoping to try to baffle it with a water bottle.


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## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> Ohhhh!thanks so much. I just don't know what to do, my tank has a filter and its a bit strong. When the betta (which I think is now named Kiko) swims by that part the current pushes him. I'm hoping to try to baffle it with a water bottle.


The bottle is one baffle method, I use sponge/foam filter media though. The intakes of my HOB and canister filters have a thick cut piece of sponge slipped over the openings (like a thick sock) and the outflow of the HOB has a strip of foam/sponge breaking up water flow. The canister has a spraybar which I aim the holes at the wall the bar is suction cupped to so it bounces off that and kills flow decently.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Moss Trimming, Snail Sushi, Betta Dreaming*

So yesterday I hacked back some of the fissendens in Alastor's tank.. I hate it now.. it looks like a drunk gave the moss a hair cut >.< Going to have to go back and trim it more to be even then let it grow back. I'll probably remove the wood to trim in a clear glass mini 'tank' (acclimation tank) next time so I can see it better and not worry about cutting fins or shrimps.
Here's the butchered mess:


I also send out about 90-100 mts in two packages yesterday to some buys from another forum, all coming from my 55g.. they were making a cucumber sushi wrap on Wednesday so I had to thin them out!


In other news.. I had another betta dream last night. It was an odd one, I don't recall going into the store, and it's not layed out like any pet store I'd been in.. I found myself in front of a .. 20g high I think that was divider for 5-6 betta males. You'd think "that's awesome more room, and heater and filtration." right? Except the dividers had large holes so the fish could see eachother.. and no lid.. also the divider stopped at the water line! The back of the tank made no sense.. it was like a bad attempt at a sump system (more holes like the divider and some odd pump filtration separated by a 'wall' in the tank). I found a mostly blue (with a little red) hm that had jumped into this back section and was slowly dieing out of water ontop of this warm filter/pump.. thing. I carefully picked him up and put him back in his section.. pretty sure he was going to die. The section to the right of him was suppose to have a 90% red hm (some some black or dark blue) but it also jumped into the back section and had dried out completely on some more of the equipment out of water, he was gone. I don't know what the betta on the other side of the blue idiot was, I must not have been interested in it.. but the other side of the red fella had two mustard males (brothers).. veiltails  I'm not a vt fan as I always seem them with clamped fins but these guys had full fin spred/open/flare like pose going. The one to the right was especially active and 'flirty' with me, strutting and wiggling and flaring at me (with a beard that was a dark grey with very precise white round dots, and a tiny splash of his mustard colors at the edges). He was a lovely shade of blue with a slightly orange-yellow fin hue.. I couldn't describe him to do him justice but wow he was stunning.. I thought "I want to buy him!" then I woke up =.=
Now I want to go check all the nearby petstores to see if such a vt is there.. make an excuse to go grocery shopping with some "accidental detours" >.>''


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## Aqua Aurora

*Some Blathering + photo dumping*

[due to going over the text count limit (by nearly 2000), photos will be in a separate post]

Mmm my fingers smell like garlic from de-shelling a new head to jar and fridge (with a great side effect of making garlic extract) great way to keep garlic fresh longer.

After writing my previous post I went looking for the betta from my dream.. I had an excuse to go out grocery shopping since we're having guests this weekend and I needed some stuff for dinner for them...I went to all the lfs near me (sadly only 3) this includes the one I refuse to ever buy from again because of a real [censor] (rhymes with witch-y) employee that's always there and always giving attitude... No sigh of anything remotely like the betta in my dream.. I tragically found a nearly dead betta quite literally COVERED in ich, it was so thick I thought it was a rotting corpse but the poor thing wiggled when I picked up his cup. I gave him to the 4 employees chattering behind me in the 'desk' area I guess you'd call of the fish section. Told them it was nearly dead from a horrible fungus infection. One laughed (for who knows what reason) I gave them a nasty glare then left. At the final store I found dead baby bettas (yay =.= wtf do they even sell thoses) and the only betta remotely good looking. I'd want to call it a platinum orange crowntail, had a nice platinum sheen scales and nice solid orange tail. Non of that unappealing pineapple look (no black marks on scales) but I notices a dark mark on the pectorals... I almost wanted to buy him but no, don't have a tank setup so resisted... 
photos make his scales look more peach than they were


I've not gone back since because I think I'd break down and grab him.. not quite the solid orange I'd want but he was lovely...


So we had some company on the weekend, which i managed to get interested in the cherry shrimp in Alastor's tank. It was quite amusing to watch them sit in the rocker next to the tanks and seethe two boys just STARING at them, waiting to get some attention.. like politely begging dogs (ones that sit and store but don't whine or... my deceased first dog's trick..drool down your leg to food).
I shipped out my fissendens clipping yesterday, and with the weather warming up I may start selling ans shipping out my salvia minimia (need lows to stay in the 40sF).
I've also very tempted to buy some new plants and redo Xerxes tank as I'm still not happy with it.. trouble is what I want to do will cost about $100 after shipping x.x ugh.. I've also been prepping a vivarium that I want to use emersed aquatics in (I've transitioned a lot of plants to emersed already.. riccia and pennywort being the real monsters in this above water form) I'd like to grab some more plants for that and it just adds to the $ >.< I'm such a cheap arse I struggle to convince myself of every purchase (mean while my wonderful husband is encouraging me to just go buy whatever I'm waffling over).


I keep fighting diatoms in Aristocoles' tank and have to clean rocks and plants at water changes now.. thinking about putting him in the breeder basket for a few days and releasing some otos in there from my 55g. 
My 20g long is also diatom central, but I've intentionally let that one go crazy.. now I just need to find a local source for hillstream loaches...I've also considered increasing my white cloud mountain minnow count.. I'd seen some golden white clouds at one store.. dunno if they'll hybridize with the regulars (not that I've gotten any babies yet) but I may grab them. The anubias I left in the 20g is being off.. it stopped growing leaves (had a new one that's the same size since I added the minnows) but its roots are going nuts... Its NOT shown nitrate deficiency (crinkling of the leaves or extreme deficiency which is leaf deterioration-turns yellow then brown then breaks down-also happens in rhizome rot but much faster) so I dunno wtf its up to... the anubias in my other tanks are spitting out new leaves pretty fast.. I feel Aristocoles likes to maneuver the bunches behind the rocks around as they keep getting shifted to the right of where I want them. I'm almost ready to call the anubias in Xerxes' tank safe as its also been growing new leaves quickly and I've not seen anything remotely suspicious (rhizome rot symptoms) since I last rescaped. Xerxes is slowly having a harder time with aiming to grab food (yesterday was a bad day)


Due to going over the text count limini, photos will be in a seperate post.


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## Aqua Aurora

*photo fun time*

*bring on the photo dump-age*
>1g glass cube with just 2 marimo and 1 rock.. photo angel gives that mutli mirrored effect


Aristocoles and his tank


He flares constantly.. until the camera comes out then he's a douche.. only decent flare shot I could get


Xerxes and his tank


Got a flare shot!! with the tablet pen blocking the view >.<

Nest tending

Angled shot to show his new issues.. he has what I think are cysts? 1 is at the base of his visible pectoral, the other on his head between his eyes. I put in another pellet and he let this one go then ate both.

He did a bit better aiming for his food today but this one he caught odd and didn't want to let go to catch properly to swallow.. you can see the scales growing over his eyes and the new lumps on his head and pectoral again


Magnus and his tank


His dorsal is weak and cannot go up properly (no full flare fin glory for him) because of the damage to the rays (I think is the term) way back when I first got him.

Did I mention he has sparkly blue lipstick on now?


Alastor and his tank

He's turning more red (and purpe-ish) see it working into his scales now?



And a fire red female shrimp



20g riparium



Baby tears (not standard aquarium hc, this is helxine soleirolii) bought for viv but slapped on top of HOB intake and its growing nuts!)


Great for blocking light on the intake where I kept getting nasty algae growth before. (few weeks ago photos before plants were added)


Mostly riccia with some hydro sp japan (clover looking) and fittonia albivenis

Wondering jew aka Tradescantia zebrine (just stock a clipping in water (keep leaves dry)) it'll grow happily!

Flower from one of the grass plants I think stargrass.

dwarf mondo, dragons' tongue, older purrple waffle (converted to riparium)

newer purple waffle (still converting), dwarf taro, peace lily (small species), rain lily (thin tall grass), ruellia brittoniana 'Katie', stargrass (short grass), sweetflag (medium-long grass at end) and friendship plant on floating raft (with some reindeer moss (non aquatic)-white clouds were all "O.O wtf?!" when i put the raft in, was amusing watching them nervously check it out from a short distance (would not go under it) for the first few hours.)



55g riarpium (left to right) pothos, Spathiphyllum "domino', Syngonium, Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella, Alocosia polly, Anthurium, and Aluminum plant (cousin of friendship plant) and riccia on rafts.. plus more pothos








New bloom (spathe) on spathiphyllum "domino' (peace lily)

Old and new bloom on anthurium + a new bloom just starting to sprout



Emersed plants for vivarium
[censor] ton of riccia

emersed tub with a lot of stuff (lets see if I remember it all...) pennywort, hygro corybosa, rotala rotundifolia, ludwigia (repens, acurata x respens, palustris), creeping jenny, riccia, anubias petite, bacopa caroliniana...I'm sure I'm forgetting something..oh yeh hydro sp tiger, and more pennywort (damn that think loves being emersed)




And we'll end with a lil' bloom from outside (periwinkle)


----------



## Fenghuang

So. Many. Plants. *is in awe*

I read certain slow growing plants like anubias grow faster emersed. Have you noticed that?


----------



## Schmoo

Your plants make me weak in the knees. xD <3

My Walmart now stocks those large cookie jars like Alastor's tank...and I'm considering getting one. >w> I stare at them every time I go.


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> So. Many. Plants. *is in awe*
> 
> I read certain slow growing plants like anubias grow faster emersed. Have you noticed that?


Riparium and emersed setup are pretty much set and forget! I dose the tanks with ferts for the aquatic and riparium plants but there's no algae cleaning (or having to remember to water but not over water) and much less dead leaff pruning on riparium plants. Emersed tanks I just vent some fresh air in each day (pull back a corner of ceranwrap) and that's it. I've not closely looked at the plants since I set it up several weeks ago.
I honestly have not looked at the plant let me go check...yes.. yes its nearly doubled in leaf count  wouldn't have 1/3 that many new leaves under water.
And most plants will grow faster above water than below (some do not grow above water at all though like blyxa). This is because these plants developed to grow on shore lines where they spend part of the time out of water but in rainy season/high waters they survive under water for long long periods of time, just growing slower. Some plants will loose emersed leaves when converted, others (like anubias) will usually keep them. If you have a co2 system, blasting the plants when first submerged helps them convert more smoothly (and with much less leaf loss).

Amusingly I tend to kill regular terrestrial plants that ain't in a riparium or emersed/vivarium style setup either by over or under watering. I've been trying to keep a mini orchid going (seen by riccia tubs) but I forget to mist it for days at a time and have lost all the flows + 2 leaves >.>'' I think its still alive but not happy.




Schmoo said:


> Your plants make me weak in the knees. xD <3
> 
> My Walmart now stocks those large cookie jars like Alastor's tank...and I'm considering getting one. >w> I stare at them every time I go.


DOOOO IIIITTTT
And get the jardin mini cylinder sponge filter (i see it on amazon, not sure if its elsewhere) its the smallest diameter sponge filter I've found so far. (but let me know if you find something smaller!) and a mini heater. I recommend lager wattage than 10watt (unless the room is near 80f) I have cobalt mini 10watt.. room temp about 70.. tanks usually peak around 76 (but that's fine for the shrimp and fissendens). I also use the azoo mini temp controllers as a back up to ensure the tanks never over heat (say if ac breaks in summers and house is 85-heaters won't turn on).
oh and don't forget to make a DIY lid ^^ diy lid post, link to lexan
I don't recommend the 2g for a super active (short finned aka plakat) fish unless it seems to not like large spaces, but my long finned delta boys enjoy it, they're very leisurely.. unlike Xerxes who still swim around like a mad man (half blind).


----------



## DaytonBetta

Everything is looking great! You definitely have a green thumb!


----------



## SplashyBetta

PLANTS! I really want to try growing some things emersed... Is it difficult to transfer plants from an emersed to submerged set-up? Are there a lot of problems such as dying off, leaves browning, etc? Or is it a fairly smooth transition?

You have inspired me to set up a planted betta jar :-D It's a Bormioli Rocco Fido jar, about two gallons, maybe a teensy bit under. So far it has black sand, a terracotta pot, two stems of ludwigia repens, and a java fern. I have some plants arriving in the mail soon and my shrimp nano is in need of a trim, so I'll probably stuff a bunch more plants in there! For a filter, a mini sponge filter. ;-)


----------



## Aqua Aurora

DaytonBetta said:


> Everything is looking great! You definitely have a green thumb!


Just with ripariums and ersmed set ups sine its no work, aquatic I do ok.. regular potted house plants I seem to kill >.< can't get watering right.. go figure..




SplashyBetta said:


> PLANTS! I really want to try growing some things emersed... Is it difficult to transfer plants from an emersed to submerged set-up? Are there a lot of problems such as dying off, leaves browning, etc? Or is it a fairly smooth transition?
> 
> You have inspired me to set up a planted betta jar :-D It's a Bormioli Rocco Fido jar, about two gallons, maybe a teensy bit under. So far it has black sand, a terracotta pot, two stems of ludwigia repens, and a java fern. I have some plants arriving in the mail soon and my shrimp nano is in need of a trim, so I'll probably stuff a bunch more plants in there! For a filter, a mini sponge filter. ;-)


Transitioning form above to below water can have some die off depending on species and tank conditions, every 'ecosystem' is different. I see stems seem to have more leaf die off when they go under water but anubias, crypts and ferns have kept their leaves. If you have no fish and do have a co2 system, crack it under water, it will make the transition much smoother (look up "dry start method" aka "dsm" for aquascapes to read more on emersed to submerge transition-these are set up right in the tank and its simply flooded (carefully) when grown in then the owner typically cranks co2 for a few days-week then dials it in (so its not lethal amounts of co2 for fish/shrimp)and cycles tank or does fish in cycle).
Good luck with the jar! i enjoy the simple cured tanks and have fun watching the fish swim in and out of view in theirs ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

*Wheres my [censor] icecream?!*

[[censor] your forum posting doding.. wont' keep my all cap post title...*grumbles*]
So I have a love for orange sherbert ice cream (or just plain orange ice scream.. non of that cream-cicle or swirl bs PURE ORANGE ONLY)... Turkey Hill is the only brand around here that has it.. but all my local grocery stores (AND THE the turkey hill store) seem to fail to restock it often.. they just have some rainbow and orange swirl [censor] most of the time grrrr.. So I spent this morning bouncing 4 stores to no avail. 
I ended up stopping in at my local Petco since its by one of the stores I stopped at (just run across the parking lot and my dog (who goes everywhere in the car with me) needed a piss break. I went in and looked at the betta of course. Several jars of the generic red and blue vts males, a few reds 2 cambodian and 1 blue females (or young males mis-labled).. nothing worth taking a photo of sadly.. IN the regular male's section there were several other bettas, here were the most noticeable:
a nice steel blue double tail

the orange and platinum crowntail I looked at last week.. he seemed grumpy at me (for still not buying him)

a copper/black/white/red that was.. meh

and OMG A SOLID BLACK!!.. with shredded fins.. no want... >.< (also featuring what I hope is calcium stains on the cup )


Also a yellow (semi pineapple) with some green irids that would not hold still

and 2 of the 'favorite' cronwtails' brothers, the one on the left is not very ct.. i think a parent was hm and he got more of that in his fins (but still 'ripped' tips for ct so not that pretty).



I'm not sure if I posted it here but several weeks back I saw an elephant ear that had been in the store since Aristocoles was first there (so a few extra months in the [censor] jar), the poor thing was really meshed up swollen opaqued eyes and a completely destroyed 1 pectoral fin. The store manager refused to sell him for less than 1/2 price (they're over $20....with return voided) but a kind employee said she'd medicate him, and had mentioned it to me again when I'd stopped in last week.... well today he wasn't there. The woman who was caring for him was not in so I asked another that knows.. well she knows my dog and loves to dote on him.. about the EE.. he's been put down just a few hours ago. I'd thought of buying him to fix but what research I did online was inconclusive for the cause of the eye issue (some sites said 'side effect of parasites' others 'bacteria infection') so I wouldn't know what to treat him with and thus never took him. I feel bad, but I would have felt worse if I tried to medicate and killed him anyways.
Here are the old photos I'd taken of him.. poor thing




Ok moving on.. my angelfish, CarmelYumYum (husband named her), in the 55g riparium was an absolute pig today at lunch (brine shrimp on the menu) for some reason the cherry barbs seemed.. preoccupied down behind the driftwood *que Gunther music*.. I thought I got their attention so I started putting the food in.. but they didn't come up, and the rainbow fish loves her new little 'special' spot that's suppose to be for cories so Carmel hogged a good 85-90% of the food.. that was 2/3 of a block you pig!!! After I tried getting a head on photo of her to either show my husband just how fat she got or to be her last photo in case she exploded (she didn't surprisingly). But she was all like "NO! You can't show anyone how fat I am!" and kept turning ever time I got a head on view and tried to snap a shot.. well I'm still gonna show how fat you got you little [censor] so there!
behold the non slender angelfish!.. and my nerite snail egg covered tank >.<





Did I mention yet how much I hate iphone's auto re-focus for taking photos? i can NEVER get a shot of Xerxes flaring.. try to but the 'smart' phone likes to be a dumb [censor] and [censor] it up... but got a nice side view semi flare and an amusing shot of a ramshorn baby on the lily stem between Xerxes and me *que tension music as the snail is stared down*




I ended up re-potting a prayer plant that I'd moved off the 20g to make room for the mondo grass. Its on the windowsill by Alastor and Magnus in a terracotta pot.. lets see if I can kill it in soil >.>''
My husband likes the idea of filling the house with more plants now that we don't have any cats to destroy them so living room might look more like a jungle by the end of summer (maybe.. if I don't go black thumb on the non tank based plants..)


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## SiameseFightingArt

That poor EE. I have an EE that looks exactly like him though and it caused me to start tearing up when you said the EE was put down. I could just imagine my boy being put down just for being blind if I didn't buy him fast enough.


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## Aqua Aurora

SiameseFightingArt said:


> That poor EE. I have an EE that looks exactly like him though and it caused me to start tearing up when you said the EE was put down. I could just imagine my boy being put down just for being blind if I didn't buy him fast enough.


I get into the "what ifs" .. what if I'd bought that EE instead of Aristocoles? Would he still have gotten sick? Would my boy have just suffered the same fate?
He might have been bought months ago and spared that torture (or still died in a fool's care) if they didn't have such an asinine price on their dumbos!


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## SiameseFightingArt

it's always the price


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## Aqua Aurora

Just a mini post, Magnus started a (very tiny) bubble nest! I haven't seen one from him since his first days in quarantine (before he spotted Alastor and got his fins wrecked). Its at the opposite end of the tank from the filter, so least choppy areas for water movement (buffeted by salvia minimia). 
Not a great shot, I can either see Magnus or the bubbles not both with this camera =.=


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## Aqua Aurora

*Arg bag magnus! Bad!!*

I don't know how he keeps doing it but Magnus got himself mangled again.. the back end of his dorsal (closer to tail than head) near the base it ripped loose several rays, but its still attached to the rest by the 'webbing' but looks bad and has blood (ripped part got more red after photos were taken-that ray is almost solid red now). Typically when bettas fin nip its the top of the fins not the base, so I suspect he got stuck.. somehow??? He has a small suction-cupped heater and a airline fed sponge filter (same ones as in Alastor's tank.. Aristocoles also had a sponge filter but it and the heater are a different brand).. no one else has had these issues.. Substrate is black diamond 'sand' so its not large marbles/gravel.. there's no hardscape just live plants... WTF ARE YOU DOING IN THERE TO GET MESSED UP LIKE THIS?!?!






To try not to have an only negative post.. I'll also post on Aristocoles.. See I broke a (rather large) pothos leaf off my 55g riparium by accident yesterday when I was reaching over it to get into the water (oops). I'd read a lot of betta owners will put pothos leaves i their betta tanks for them to rest on where the leaf dips below the surface by the stem, and to bubble nest under.. Aristocoles didn't know what to make of it the first few hours he stayed at the other end of the tank, but today he'd started a (puny) bubble nest under it.. which I destroyed when I harvested salvia minimia in the afternoon for a sale (got a little back log of orders for it ^^.. sorry boy). Hopefully he'll start making a better bubble nest tonight.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Mr. Aqua 12g Long*

I haven't posted on it here I spent last Friday re-scaping my husband's 12g long tank (took 12 hours with breaks for dinner and such).. before I did it the tank had turned into a tangled thick mess of plants with little light getting to the bottom, but not its much better.. thought I'd start posting on it here.

Pre-re-scape


Post re-scape
husband's view







side view

my view


Still need to replant the bit of floaters and will b putting the last floating riccia blob down as a carpet once I get some ss mesh.


*Tank:* 12g long Mr. Aqua 36"x8"X9.5"
*Start-up Date: *fish-less cycle started at end of april 2014, took media from a 90% cycled tank (my 7g). started planting and getting fish mid May 2014
*Filter:* Eheim classic 2211 canister filter WITH spray bar
*Heater*: Eheim Jagar 50watt heater in a DIY pvc inline heater connected to canister filter outflow
*Light:* USA Sat Planted + LED 36"
*Substrate:* Black Diamond blasting 'sand' it's cheap and awesome stuff GET IT!
*Hardscape/Decor:* 2x Rose quarts

Water Parameters:
*pH: *7.5
*GH & KH: *haven't tested recently..
*Temp:* 76F
*Ammonia/Nitrite:* 0 ppm
*Nitrate:*10-20 ppm
*
Livestock:*
1 male dwarf/pea puffer
2 zebra otos (.. there were more but wild caught otos have poor survival rate)
[censor] ton of cherry shrimp (actually a bit of all grades: cherry, sakura, painted, fire red)

*Plant list:* (after re-scape)
Riccia
Narrow leaf pygmy chain sword
Pennywort
Creeping jenny
*
Tank Placement:* On husband's desk so 'front' of tank faces him, 'back' of tank is by me, next to Aristocoles' tank.
*Plant Supplements: *Seachem liquid: Excel, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Flourish
*Other Things:* 1 Thermometer, cut foam cover over filter intake, DIY Lexan lid, 1 glass bead+fishing line to hold cucumber

Some photos of the residents (pre-rescape):
zebra otos



dwarf puffer (horrified of the camera, cannot get better shots of him =,=)


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## Julie7778

Beautiful  are those plants good for low light or not recommend? I'm looking for a grassy effect


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## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> Beautiful  are those plants good for low light or not recommend? I'm looking for a grassy effect


Sorry no, these are all medium light plants.. though some say pennywort and creeping jenny can be low light- the lower leaves always die off in lowlight when I tried them in another tank and it doesn't look too appealing that way. The riccia is actually a floating plant that can be grown floating in low light but when tired down to the bottom it needs medium or higher.
I posted in your plant thread and relied in the "some day" thread about a few options.


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## Julie7778

Great thank you for all the help, gorgeous tanks btw!


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## Aqua Aurora

*New 2g Lantern + 7g cube re-scape*

So way back in December I got a nice glass 2g-ish glass lantern candle holder to turn into another pico tank which I finally put together yesterday.
Sifted Miraclegro Organic Potting Mix through window screen to remove wood chips-doing this means the water won't turn tea colored from tannins or have a drop in pH. Put gravel in deepest part of the new tank then put soil on top. Added enough water to soil to make it doughy but not too runny. Mixed/stirred soil about then settled it and added cap-black diamond 'sand' (sand was pre-washed several months ago). Stripped the remaining crypts (wedtii green) from my 55g and did a quick bleach dip for algae. Rinsed thoroughly and put in a tub with a lot of extra dechlorinator. Separated new crypts (parva and undulata) from rock wool. Put plastic bag on top of sand and gently cupped in dechlorinated water then siphoned it out to remove loose debris (repeated a few times). Used long planting tongs/tweezers to plant crypts in tank (after determining where heater and sponge filter will be). Added some sand and added then removed water to get rid of pushed up sediment then pushed down roots and repeated this again and again and again... 
Got tired of that so finished off the water changing today and put it upstairs by Alastor and Magnus for some light until I grab a fixture at the store. Alastor seemed very curious about the new tank, Magnus.. not so much.
I need to find some taller crypts that don't get monstrous..









Ok onto Xerxes' 7g cube re-scape. Since he's going blind I've wanted to get rid of the rock and redo the tank to be denser but blind fish safe. So after finishing the 2g lantern I gutted Xerxes' tank and pt him and the plant in a bucket, did a lot of water changing, then added new plants I'd bought online. The Java fern is awesome but sadly the new dwarf lily bulb i ordered came dead (this is the 2nd time the seller has sent me a dud bulb NOT happy....). I kept the several varieties of fern that were in the tank before, its old lily, and the anubias but removed the salvia minimia (put into 10g for now) and hygro sp. tiger (will be planting in the emersed setup). 
Pretty happy with the re-scape but I might grab some more needle leaf/narrow leaf fern from the 55g to stuff in a few places. Currently floating Xerxes in a bag to get him to temp before letting him loose.. he's glaring at me wanting out of the invisible barrier (plastic bag) NOW. ^^

Last tank shots before re-scape




And after




I need to find a reputable seller for dwarf lily bulbs that won't arrive dead (symptoms: the day after you put them in water they have a white slime cover ans smell worse than garbage)... Want some red/orange contrast and the lily has been an easy plant to get that with.. I could try tiger lotus but supposedly thats a much larger nutrient absorber than the lily.


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## Fenghuang

Alastor actually looks so much like our Clarence. Except Clarence chewed off most of his caudal and dorsal. -_- 

I would have to check when I go down (or ask my girlfriend to), but we may have some extra dwarf lilies in our tanks. We have a bad habit of buying tons of random plants without putting too much thought into their care and then "misplacing" them. We use to have a massive mother plant, a handful of smaller plants, and some baby ones that were offshoots from them. Could send you some for the cost of shipping if we do.

The thing is, dwarf lilies are still very aggressive plants for "dwarves." They are very fast growers and will quickly choke out the others plants around them in a smaller tank if you don't keep them trimmed. Really pretty plant though.


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## Julie7778

Fenghuang what type of fish is that behind the betta?


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## Fenghuang

Julie7778 said:


> Fenghuang what type of fish is that behind the betta?


Should have been a _Corydoras agassizii_ (common name spotted corydoras).


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> Alastor actually looks so much like our Clarence. Except Clarence chewed off most of his caudal and dorsal. -_-
> 
> I would have to check when I go down (or ask my girlfriend to), but we may have some extra dwarf lilies in our tanks. We have a bad habit of buying tons of random plants without putting too much thought into their care and then "misplacing" them. We use to have a massive mother plant, a handful of smaller plants, and some baby ones that were offshoots from them. Could send you some for the cost of shipping if we do.
> 
> The thing is, dwarf lilies are still very aggressive plants for "dwarves." They are very fast growers and will quickly choke out the others plants around them in a smaller tank if you don't keep them trimmed. Really pretty plant though.


Alastor hasn't nibbled yet *knock on wood* might not look like Clarence for long.. he's been marbling not sure if he'd going to turn purple or red on me (scales).
I'd greatly appreciate if you had a/some spare lily(s) you needed thinned out and would ship them. I'll check what weather is light for the next 10 days and send you a note ^^
Thank you for the warning on dwarf lilies. The one in Xerxes tank now was actually in there when I first set it up, but it got too big and shaded all the stem plants. Now with low light ferns I'm not as worried about it getting a bit big but have no issue trimming it back as needed.


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## Schmoo

Your planted tanks make me weak in the knees, Aurora. <3


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## Aqua Aurora

Ugggh I'm soooooo sore.. feel like an old woman today =.= Di d some much needed yard work this weekend after spending Thursday and Friday setting up a new tank and rescaping an existing one needles to say everything hurts x.x
I need to grab a new light fixture for the crypt tank but I'm not to urgent about it since it looks like I'll have a total crypt meltdown.. which is quite a shame as my first batch of crypts (bought from a different seller) was emersed grown (out of water) and I had no melt from them! Explain that >.< I still want to find a taller crpyt to go up to the surface but not be a monster (balansi gets too long...) as I'd like it to be a crypt only tank.

I did stop by a petstore this morning and grabbed a 3way air line splitter since the new lantern tank will be upstairs with Magnus and Alastor. Haven't hooked it up yet though. While at the store I looked at bettas.. there was a pretty blue irid (sort rainbow irids actually) but mostly red male vt there a few weeks ago.. I was tempted to buy him but resisted. Now I feel bad for him as he has sbd and is stuck at the surface.. it pulled at my heart when I picked him up and he wiggled so hard to get down to my finger level near the bottom of the cup. I had a hard time leaving him but I don't have a proper setup to treat him right now so I couldn't take him. There was also a blue female (I think vt) with the same issue and adorable need to get lower and closer to my fingers when I held her cup. Had to keep telling myself the tank isn't ready yet and I'm suppose to find an orange or chocolate betta for that tank.. but I keep thinking .. maybe if he's still there next time I'm by that store I'll buy him.. then I argue with myself I can't save every sick/messed up betta and it won't make the store improve their living conditions if I do.
Here is a photo of the boy from 2 weeks ago, I didn't want to take a photo todayand see how much duller he got when compared, I'd end up buying him...

I have no clue wtf this store puts gravel in their cups.. but at least the bettas are on shelves with visual dividers so they don't see each other and stress.. The whole stores fish section was just a giant disgusting mess.. grossly over stocked tiny tanks with aggressive fish that didn't belong with the other fish in their tank.. some messed up skirt tetra with a lower jaw that looked to be rotting (wasn't cotton mouth).. don't want to buy any fish from their store with that sort of setup..




Schmoo said:


> Your planted tanks make me weak in the knees, Aurora. <3


Thank you ^^


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## Fenghuang

AUgh, he's _beautiful,_ Aurora! Poor boy. :-(

Whenever I see gravel in the tiny bowls or cups stores use, I get the sinking feeling that the store do not do any water changes

I have not actually experienced a complete crypt melt yet and I just got my first crypts a few weeks ago. Thank goodness. I have experienced anubias melting on me though. :|


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> AUgh, he's _beautiful,_ Aurora! Poor boy. :-(
> 
> Whenever I see gravel in the tiny bowls or cups stores use, I get the sinking feeling that the store do not do any water changes
> 
> I have not actually experienced a complete crypt melt yet and I just got my first crypts a few weeks ago. Thank goodness. I have experienced anubias melting on me though. :|


Don't know if I believe them, but a store employee spoke with me the first time I was looking at this boy.. Said more would be arriving later that day for more variety, I held up a few and said they were pretty uncommon then asked about water changes, he said "once a week" and a female employee walking by said "two" "..oh twice a week then." if that was true I don't think him and the female would have sbd, but the female's was from sickness I could see a white turd, didn't see any poop on the boy or in his cup to tell if it was disease or over feeding for him.... So tempted to just buy him.. only be $4 and change after tax...must resist.... I'd lie to myself that I'd get him healthy then donate him to someone (for price of shipping) but I'd be too attached by then.
I experienced rhizome rot which killed my whole anubias collection.. almost twice (manages to keep some separate the second time).. several hundred dollars worth of anubias.. turned to mush and into the trash...


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## BlueSky99

Aqua Aurora said:


> Don't know if I believe them, but a store employee spoke with me the first time I was looking at this boy.. Said more would be arriving later that day for more variety, I held up a few and said they were pretty uncommon then asked about water changes, he said "once a week" and a female employee walking by said "two" "..oh twice a week then." if that was true I don't think him and the female would have sbd, but the female's was from sickness I could see a white turd, didn't see any poop on the boy or in his cup to tell if it was disease or over feeding for him.... So tempted to just buy him.. only be $4 and change after tax...must resist.... I'd lie to myself that I'd get him healthy then donate him to someone (for price of shipping) but I'd be too attached by then.
> I experienced rhizome rot which killed my whole anubias collection.. almost twice (manages to keep some separate the second time).. several hundred dollars worth of anubias.. turned to mush and into the trash...


Aw, that sucks. Does the rot show up out of nowhere or can it only be introduced by an infected plant?


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## Aqua Aurora

BlueSky99 said:


> Aw, that sucks. Does the rot show up out of nowhere or can it only be introduced by an infected plant?


Its a disease that spreads from plant to plant, it won't show up out of no where (is not randomly floating in your tap water), it comes in on a plant already infected which is why its best to quarantine all new anubias for at least a month in a separate tank (or bowl of water).


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## Fenghuang

Speak of the devil, I just had the pleasure of fishing out and disposing of four nice sized anubias plants from my "planted" bowl. They practically melted in my hand as I did so. Only two tiny anubias nanas and a small anubias lancelot made it out unscathed from the lot.


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## Aqua Aurora

*And then there were five..*

Welp.. I did it.. I bought him even though I shouldn't have. I'm really hoping the boy's SBD is just from over feeding and a few days fast will fix it. If not its on to the Epson salt bath and looking into a good wide range medicine for parasite and bacterial infections..
Really not happy with the incompetency of the store.. I wanted to take him home in a tote so I asked to have him bagged. His cup had gravel and I had to point out to the employee I did not want gravel going in the bag (don't want the fish stoned to death being dumped in with gravel). Well instead of being smart, getting new water to put in the (large) fish bag then add the betta she dumped him out into a fish net and left him for a minute while she got water from a fish tank!! I cringed knowing how nasty their tanks are.. I'd rather take some dechlorinated tap! Ugh! Grabbed him and stuffed the bag in my hoody and went for the car. 
He made it home ok so I set up a temporary quarantine tank.. since he's having such a hard time swimming I decided to use the sump tank my husband help me put together so he has about 3g but the glass divider is near the water level so I put some water on the other side in case he gets gutsy and jumps (tank rim is still 5"+ above water level so no getting out). I'm hoping to move him into the regular 10g qt tank once he's able to swim normally,. After an hour drip acclimation and nearly half hour float in a bag to get to temp I let him loose in the tank, he's not too happy right now, probably wondering wtf all the [censor] in the tank is. I put in a eheim jagar heater, sponge filter, home made betta tube and thermometer. Because I needed to reach the air pump to use a sponge filter the qt tank is under my desk for now. Real happy there are no more cats to harass the fish or drink the tank water, the dog is good and will leave the tank alone.

Anyways photos of the sad lil' boy.. hope he pulls through! Pardon the grainy-ness.. camera sucks in low light...






As a side note: most sites on SBD (for bettas) mention the use of a thawed pea, but this forum's disease section sticky says no peas for bettas....






Fenghuang said:


> Speak of the devil, I just had the pleasure of fishing out and disposing of four nice sized anubias plants from my "planted" bowl. They practically melted in my hand as I did so. Only two tiny anubias nanas and a small anubias lancelot made it out unscathed from the lot.


Don't add any new anubias for a month, they may still have the disease (recommend a 100%+ water change to remove any dissolved bits of anubias left in there). Hopefully the remaining plants did not get infected.


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## Fenghuang

I am glad you went back for him. He should be fine in no time. I've had more than one betta that had stress-induced SBD that went away on its own after getting the fish into warm clean water. All things considered, his colour and fins look good, so I would expect a quick recovery.


The puzzling thing is none of my plants were new...


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> I am glad you went back for him. He should be fine in no time. I've had more than one betta that had stress-induced SBD that went away on its own after getting the fish into warm clean water. All things considered, his colour and fins look good, so I would expect a quick recovery.
> 
> 
> The puzzling thing is none of my plants were new...


I hope so, I'll be heart broken if I loose him.. will be haunted with the "I could have saved him if I bought him the first time."(2 weeks-ish ago) looping in my head.
No new plants (of any kind-seller might have housed with diseased anubias) within the past month? Did you transfer anything from another tank that had new anubias into that tank?? If no that I've very puzzled 


So far the new vt boy likes hanging out in the front left corner by the thermometer. I placed it in the same manner as Aristocoles' tank where he can rest on the suction cup between the thermometer and tank side if you wants. I like to think he's on that side because it puts him closer to me though ^^'' He did move around a bit and was on the right side when I came in the office a little bit ago. I think he's used the betta tube once already but I'm not sure yet, hope he will, made it brand new for him yesterday.. which reminds me I wanted to post how to make one in the DIY thread..


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## Fenghuang

Aqua Aurora said:


> I hope so, I'll be heart broken if I loose him.. will be haunted with the "I could have saved him if I bought him the first time."(2 weeks-ish ago) looping in my head.
> No new plants (of any kind-seller might have housed with diseased anubias) within the past month? Did you transfer anything from another tank that had new anubias into that tank?? If no that I've very puzzled
> 
> 
> So far the new vt boy likes hanging out in the front left corner by the thermometer. I placed it in the same manner as Aristocoles' tank where he can rest on the suction cup between the thermometer and tank side if you wants. I like to think he's on that side because it puts him closer to me though ^^'' He did move around a bit and was on the right side when I came in the office a little bit ago. I think he's used the betta tube once already but I'm not sure yet, hope he will, made it brand new for him yesterday.. which reminds me I wanted to post how to make one in the DIY thread..


Well, you have him now, so you don't have to deal with those regrets. 

Nope. No new plants. These anubias were all bought from the same seller at the beginning of March and I have kept them together. I have some plants from the same lot in other tanks and they are just fine. I wonder if it has something to do with my female that started acting up suddenly and died within hours. I suspected there was something wrong with the water. I did a 100 percent water change, but it started to cloud up and smell right away. Next thing I know, most of the plants (all anubias and moss) were dead. Things are just not going well recently. 

You should! Betta tubes are great enrichment for bettas (although my weird fish shun them).


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## bserrano2

Hey Aqua Aurora, enjoyed reading your journal, definitely subscribing!!!

Also good luck with your new betta, hopefully he pulls through!

As for betta tubes my Navi loves his!! I placed the roots of my anubias through the mesh holes and it serves nicely as a way to hold them down. It gives it a more wild look and Navi enjoys it.


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> Well, you have him now, so you don't have to deal with those regrets.
> 
> Nope. No new plants. These anubias were all bought from the same seller at the beginning of March and I have kept them together. I have some plants from the same lot in other tanks and they are just fine. I wonder if it has something to do with my female that started acting up suddenly and died within hours. I suspected there was something wrong with the water. I did a 100 percent water change, but it started to cloud up and smell right away. Next thing I know, most of the plants (all anubias and moss) were dead. Things are just not going well recently.
> 
> You should! Betta tubes are great enrichment for bettas (although my weird fish shun them).



Cloudy and smelling  thats very odd.. did you disturb the substrate and possibly release one of those bad air bubbles that can build up (anaerobic I think is the term) when putting water in the tank? If there isn't enough surface agitation for the gas to release at the surface it can stay trapped in the water and harm fish (and I think plants) but I've only read this not experienced it. 
The only tank that I have that the water smells is my 55g.. the ghostwood in there never lost its 'newly submerged' fungus growth.. smells awful but I only notice it when I do a water change and am dumping out the water.
Did the water when drawn from the tap (assuming your using tap and not RO or DI) have the smell? 

As for the new boy he's already a little more responsive, not flaring but his fins are not as clamped (can see the pretty irids in his tail now) and he's not stuck right at the surface! He's able to hover about 1/2"-1" below the surface without moving to stay there AND..he's using the tube ^^



In other news Aristocoles likes to sulk from lack of attention.. lol sorry had to put that in.. he was just laying on the bottom looking at the sand and seemed so glum.. then he notices me looking at him and swims up and about all happy and silly. Xerxes is glass surfing... I almost want him to go fully blind so that will stop.. maybe I'll have my hubby help cut and paint some more acrylic sheets like in Aristocoles tank for Xerxes... Its Xerxes isn't glass surfing or begging for food he's tending his bubble nest and flare charging me.. silly boy.

Aritocoles*sulking* "she doesn't wuv me" :c


*gasp* "Oh are you looking at me? You do wuv me!" (not pictured-happy dance! camera can't get in focus for that fast wiggle butt action)


Xerxes WHOOOOOOSSSSHHHH "gtf away from my tank, my tank!! *chases reflection back and forth* "*I'll [censor] kill you*(reflection)!!!"







bserrano2 said:


> Hey Aqua Aurora, enjoyed reading your journal, definitely subscribing!!!
> 
> Also good luck with your new betta, hopefully he pulls through!
> 
> As for betta tubes my Navi loves his!! I placed the roots of my anubias through the mesh holes and it serves nicely as a way to hold them down. It gives it a more wild look and Navi enjoys it.


Thank you ^^ New boy seems to like it. Never thought of using anubias (have seen others use moss on them though-tends to look ugly until the moss has had a few months to grow in/on then it looks pretty damn nice).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Never thought I'd be so happy about poop*

So I spotted a normal colored (brown/tan) pellet typical turd in the new vt tank just before bed last night, was so happy it wasn't a white string of sickly doom! He's no flying around the tank but he's definitely more active today and appears to be in control of his swim bladder again! He's responsive and came over to investigate me when I sat on the (cold) tile and wiggled a finger at him ^^ The heater is being a [censor] in the qt tank though, I have to keep adjusting it down more and more. Its staying at 82F (which s fine) but I have it cranked down to 69F on the dial..Granted this heater is for a 20g not a roughly 3-4g but still it suppose to turn off when its at/above the dial set temp...

In other news I'm nearly out of my Seachem ferts again, except Excel, I buy a big 2L bottle of that. Somehow I miscalculated how much phosphorous I needed (have a few bottles left).. but potassium and iron are nearly empty. I'm debating looking into dry/ei fert dosing instead of using these bottled liquid version, just not sure where to begin to find which brands will give me the best bang for my buck. I'm not to keen on pre-mixed squirt bottles as each of my tanks has different plants and different needs. Xerxes tank needs extra potassium for the dwarf lily but the java fern and anubias in there don't need large doses of anything, and my husband's tank gets extra phosphorus to keep the green spot algae at bay. Measuring out dry ferts would not be much fun as most calculatons/dosing info is for 10g or 40g tanks, but I have: 2g,3g,6,g,7g,12g.. hard to get fractional amounts of table/teaspoon measurements.. I feel like I'd have to get a little weighing station (one that does oz and grams) and spend a half hour getting measurements right on there to then dump into a tank.

Bought a lamp yesterday (same one as the cookie jar) for the lantern tank. Moved it to the floor so I can see Magnus and Alastor again.. have I mentioned how happy I am not to have cats anymore? Love not having to worry about tanks being on the floor and knocked over and drunk from. I don't have a diy lid for the new crypt tank yet though so I am getting a bit of evaporation.

I did a water change on Alastor and Magnus' tanks as well as the new lantern tank (so much crypt melt :c) a little bit ago. Magnus' dorsal rip is slowly starting to heal, you can see the bit of gap in it in the photo below... And Alastor's slow marbling progress.. Then there is the dog, Boo, snoring like an old man on the couch behind me the whole time I did the tank maintenance.


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## SiameseFightingArt

Your dog looks so sad and tired. lol cute tho. <3


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## Aqua Aurora

SiameseFightingArt said:


> Your dog looks so sad and tired. lol cute tho. <3


That's just his eye skin and jowls sagging, everything sags when you're old, human or dog its doesn't matter. He's not sad, he's spoiled rotten! How rotten? If we (husband or I) put a food (yummy human food) in front of him but out of reach he puts out no effort to get it (even if its something he loves to eat). He knows if he just stares pitifully at it long enough we'll give up and move it in range for him to eat without having to budge, he also gets to use (aka ruin the cushions on) all the couches in the house and come on the bed (fortunately he usually sleeps on the couch in the bedroom at night). 
I love his white eyebrow dots, makes him look more expressive when he's begging or trying to look pitiful/innocent haha.


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## SiameseFightingArt

They always look so sad when they beg except my chihuahua. It looks like two large white bowling balls popping out of her head when she begs. XD


----------



## Aqua Aurora

New boy is more and more responsive, even without associating me with food yet he's interested in and comes close to watch me when I say hello and wiggle a finger at him ^^
In non fish related news, felt like sharing a few things:
Last weekend when a ton of yardwork was done (that left me aching for days) my husband sucked a baby bunny up into the mower when doing the lawn (apparently it either tried to run or was sucked out of its nest in the middle of the yard). It managed not to get choped up or break any bones and after the mower stopped it flew to hide.. in the recyclables right by the back door. I ended up grabbing and putting it back at its nest using a towel (that was prompt washed to avoid fleas and such).. here's a photo of the little thing pined between a pizza box and the mini steps to the back door.


A week before that my husband did a home made potato bread stuffing with some leftover potato bread hamburger rolls, it was so good.. pre-cooking photo.. post cook it was so [censor] good we devoured it before I thought to get a shot, opps


The dog's beg-y "I wanna play" face



And something semi aquatic related.. set up 3 grindal worm cultures (1 soil based and two soiless based with scouring pads using tap or distilled water). Here's some prep photos of the culture containers. These will hopefully be a new food for the dwarf puffer, and if the cultures thrive a nice semi frequent treat for the bettas and other fish.







*sigh* and sadly I have mites in the grindal cultures.. came with the worms and soil I'm guessing as i put the original soil in the soil based container 


And we'll end with some aquatic photos..
Ashot of the cookie jar, bubble bowl, and a peak at the crypt melting lantern tank.


And a flash light on the new boy.. might add a light to the tank today so he doesn't get too use to the dark..





SiameseFightingArt said:


> They always look so sad when they beg except my chihuahua. It looks like two large white bowling balls popping out of her head when she begs. XD


I never was a fan or tiny dogs, always think I'd end up crushing them, prefer the big breeds (or welsh corgie-big dog on stub legs) so I can play/rough house with no fears ^^''


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*and then there were .. 6?!*

I asked my husband why he keeps encouraging me to get new tanks. He told me as much as I might not realize, he really does enjoy the planted tanks and the fish in them and likes seeing how happy they make me too... yep so more tanks....

*NEW FISH*
[Censor]! I keep growing in bettas! I ran out of tanks, filters, and heaters.... no problem I'll just buy more! >.<
Who's #6?
mustard gas double tail halfmoon

In just sun light in his current 2.5g quarantine tank he looks very green, sadly most all photo attempts are reflection heavy, the few that aren't are dark and grainy =.=


yes the one photo has a plastic planters pot suction cupped to the bottom, there is pillow stuffing (cheap filter floss) in the small holes so he doesn't get stuck.

I decided yesterday to grab the tank at a petstore then after go look if this betta was still at Petco (first photo is from last Thursday). I was so shocked to see he was still there I grabbed him, a heater, and a thermometer.
I reused the name I gave my first try at a betta.. a failed rescue of a plakat mustard double tail but died from ammonia poisoning form his store crap cup. So he is Dijon for short but I'm calling him "Sir Dijon Spituski the fourth". Spit was added as he refused his pellets today.. or not so much refused but sucked in, chewed, and spit them out over and over until the pellets were just a fine powder on the bottom of the tank that I had to siphon out. He apparently was happy enough getting out of that crap cup and into a heated tank (with prime to bind ammonia until the filter comes) that he built a bubble nest. Can't really say what his personality is yet.. he's not flare happy, not incredibly shy or inquisitive.. just so far a picky eater...

So the plan for now is buy a 5g standard tank, de-rim and re-silicone then plant with my currently emersed hydro japan (clover) and the old rock from Xerxes' tank. Already spoke with the hubby about a diy light fixture.. this tank will be on a bookshelf so it will be a socket and aluminum reflector bolted tot eh top of the shelf with a cfl bulb screwed in... also need to get more Lexan to make lids for the new tanks.

I am also still mulling over what crypt(s) to get to fill in the lantern tank.. hard to find any in the 10"-14" range, seems most are 6" and under or 24" and over =.=

Since Dijon has a food based name I am tentatively calling the red vt Saffron for now but I may change his name..open to suggestions.


*Mad (Max) Magnus *
Ooo Magnus was so mad that there is another mustard in the same room as him and that what's worse I spent a good hour sitting by THAT one instead of him (and Magnus could clearly see me from his tank perch). He was so made that when I finally came over to him he flared! with beard!! Clearly not happy with me.


his beard has a little yellow band on each side.


----------



## Schmoo

Aw, poor Magnus. xD Love your new boy, though. He's such a cutie.


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> Aw, poor Magnus. xD Love your new boy, though. He's such a cutie.


He's over it now (post dinner) "GRRRR!! Ooo pellets! *nom* .. What was I doing again?"
And thank you ^^ I'll get more photos once the light is rigged up... also should slap my spare LED over "Saffron"s qt tank so I can get some shots of him.

Actually scratch that I'm going to put the spare LED on Dijon's tank instead of the clf like I original planned.. but will still grab a light for some photo taking of the vt.


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## SplashyBetta

It's just one thing after another... Losing one of my guinea pigs, then one of the bettas, now my hamster, and my sister in the hospital... and to top it all off I have the flu. :-(


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## JHatchett

That new guy is a adorable. I'd have taken him home too.


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## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> It's just one thing after another... Losing one of my guinea pigs, then one of the bettas, now my hamster, and my sister in the hospital... and to top it all off I have the flu. :-(


Sorry to hear :c



JHatchett said:


> That new guy is a adorable. I'd have taken him home too.


Thank you! I'm glad I grabbed him ^^




Bought the 5.5g aqueon tank that Dijon will be going in, it fits much better on the bookshelf (2.5 is too small). My husband insists on getting to de-rim it, says he has fun working on that stuff but I think he is also paranoid of me cutting myself by accident if I tried to do it.
Dijon is more active today and he finally ate something! Lunch time menu was thawed frozen brine shrimp and after spitting it out once he decided he liked it and sucked it and several more down (he does a lot of chewing on his food). I love his scales, in slightly differnt lighting his body can look blue, green, or even a purple hue. I put my led over his tank this morning while it was dark outside and on the moonlight setting he looked like a copper . I'm sitting infront of him as I type and he's swimming back and forth at the front glass watching me and mouthing at me. If I stare at him he stops for a bit to stare me down and do that mouth thing then swims s but more. No flaring yet so I've not seen his beard but I'm guessing it's solid black.

I add itself forgot to feed "Saffron" brine shrimp and he was not happy about it. I got some blood works out but he just pouted under his heater (it's suction cupped to the tank bottom) and didn't really notice the food. His tank is dark so maybe he couldn't really see it? It tried putting a light over the tank and he freaked! His under his piece of Indian almond leaf. I shouldn't be too surprised he's had no light on his tank since he's been here.. Will have to get him use to it before he moves into his planted lantern vase.


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## Julie7778

Hi Aqua Aurora! So sorry to invade your thread but I have some questions! Do you think the "Shrimp EBI kit" that comes with that Fluval lighting would be able to grow a carpet (without any specific plant growth stuff)? I love the carpet look but I don't wanna risk it if it'll all die down.


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## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> Hi Aqua Aurora! So sorry to invade your thread but I have some questions! Do you think the "Shrimp EBI kit" that comes with that Fluval lighting would be able to grow a carpet (without any specific plant growth stuff)? I love the carpet look but I don't wanna risk it if it'll all die down.


I've never used that brand/light so I cannot say with any certainty. The amazon description for its claims it can grow low and medium light plants. Consider trying dwarf hair grass-like your own hair/grass on your lawn it can be cut to a desired height but will still grow. You could also try a moss carpet tied to stainless steel mesh but that takes a bit of $ and a little patience to tie it all down. There are a lot of moss varieties to choose from and they're very undemanding of ferts. Crypts parva is another option but you'd pretty much have to buy enough to carpet right off the bat its insanely slow growing and could take a few years to fill in. Crypts tend to melt when first put in a new tank so if you do try it, don't freak out, just remove the melted leaves with periodic water changes..they'll grow back over a month or two.


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## SplashyBetta

Do you know what would happen if I used craft mesh instead of steel?


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## Zippy2014

I agree. You can't have just one. That's why I have 3  I love the females for some reason so I have 2 females, 1 male.


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## Julie7778

Aqua Aurora said:


> I've never used that brand/light so I cannot say with any certainty. The amazon description for its claims it can grow low and medium light plants. Consider trying dwarf hair grass-like your own hair/grass on your lawn it can be cut to a desired height but will still grow. You could also try a moss carpet tied to stainless steel mesh but that takes a bit of $ and a little patience to tie it all down. There are a lot of moss varieties to choose from and they're very undemanding of ferts. Crypts parva is another option but you'd pretty much have to buy enough to carpet right off the bat its insanely slow growing and could take a few years to fill in. Crypts tend to melt when first put in a new tank so if you do try it, don't freak out, just remove the melted leaves with periodic water changes..they'll grow back over a month or two.


Does dwarf hair grass grow fast? Also, is UG as hard as it seems? I'd like to simply just put it in and have it grow but it seems like it always dies off for people or they have yo be fancy with a dry start and add a bunch of stuff to the tank.


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## Aqua Aurora

*"omgf light aaaaaa"*

So the two new boys aren't use to light yet and my first try with light sent them bolting under their IAL...
Dijion


Look at that face!


"Saffron"... who I'm thinking of making a mixed word name between "saffron" and "sapphire" for his blue and reds... "Saphiron"?
He booked it the second that light went "on" woosh.




Once I get Saphiron use to the light I can get some better photos of him. He's got attitude and loves to flare at me if I put my finger in the water, but he still wants attention ^^






SplashyBetta said:


> Do you know what would happen if I used craft mesh instead of steel?


If you use craft mesh for moss carpeting you'll have to weigh it down. Either by leaving the corners clear and pushing substrate over the edges, or tieing lead free plant weights or even glass beads (what I usually use-just had them handy). Stainless steel mesh sinks but the mesh will be semi buoyant and not stay put without anchoring.



Zippy2014 said:


> I agree. You can't have just one. That's why I have 3  I love the females for some reason so I have 2 females, 1 male.


I've been wanting to get a female but I keep bringing homes males ^^''


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## Aqua Aurora

(sorry forgot to quote and respond to this in my previous post)



Julie7778 said:


> Does dwarf hair grass grow fast? Also, is UG as hard as it seems? I'd like to simply just put it in and have it grow but it seems like it always dies off for people or they have yo be fancy with a dry start and add a bunch of stuff to the tank.


DHG is semi slow growing for a low light no fert tank, in a medium to high light tank with co2 and ferts its medium-ish with growth rate. Sorry but UG is not possible for you unless you go high light and get a co2 system (Seachem Excel won't cut it). It dies from improper lighting or if going from dry start to submerged-not enough co2 blasting in the tank. Best thing with dry start method is to have a co2 system ready and when you flood crack co2 for sevearl days/a week then slowly bring down the bps (bubbles per a second-rate at which co2 is going into the tank) to a low enough level to keep fauna (fish/shrimp).



TO the one that said my dog looked sad sleeping on the couch here's some happy shots


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## SiameseFightingArt

I love your dog Aqua! :3


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## Julie7778

Your dog is adorable! And damn, do you have any idea for carpet plants or just plants I could cover the foreground with that I don't need CO2 system and will do good with the Fluval lighting?


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## Aqua Aurora

SiameseFightingArt said:


> I love your dog Aqua! :3





Julie7778 said:


> Your dog is adorable! And damn, do you have any idea for carpet plants or just plants I could cover the foreground with that I don't need CO2 system and will do good with the Fluval lighting?


Thanks ^^

You could use astro turf? No work carpet but not betta approved (rough plastic) ^^''
For real plant options.. just the ones I mentioned before: dwarf hair grass ("dhg belem" aka "Eleocharis Belem" is the best but also most expensive), crypt parva, and mosses,.. another option (thought expensive) would be anubias nana petite or micro. but its best to buy in large leaf count per a plant instead of 4-5 leaves at a time. I personally like the idea of a moss carpet, especally for shrimp, they'll love it and it will look nice once it grows in

not my photos:

dwarf hair grass (DHG) right after a trim









crypt parva









fissendens fortanus








flame moss in the background of this one, fissendens in front









either Christmas or peacock moss (i think Christmas)



Ooo here's another option! Get marimo balls and split them to make a carpet. note marimo is a specialized form of slow growing hair algae NOT moss. It will never anchor itself (never forms roots) so fishing line must be sud to tie it down. Don't use algaecides or Seachem Excel in the tank (or on the marimo-no bleach dips) and don't expect it to spread enough to fill in unless you can wait 10+ years, so like parva you have to buy enough to make a full carpet right off the bat. Looks pretty cute and since its so slow growing you'll never have to trim it ^^
















after several yeas it will get fluffier from growth like this

I wish my husband's 12g long didn't get 3x doses excel now, I'd make a marimo carpet for his shrimp! But his light is too strong for that to be an option (have to dose Excel to keep unwanted algae away) :c

The mosses, fissendens, and especially the marimo to better in mid 70sF rather than 80-82. I keep my tank with fissendens at 65-76F, Alastor does just fine with the slightly cooler water. Marimo will do fine shaded by other plants it needs very little light.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Betta tanks fts*

Some tank frontal shot with updated plant list

7g Aquatop cube- Xerxes- dwarf lily plant, java fern: regular, needle, narrow, Philippine, and thread fin



6g Aquatop bowfront- Aristocoles- anubias nana: golden, petite, and micro, salvia minimia


2-3g Bubble bowl- Magnus - pygmy chain sword, dwarf baby tears, micro and mini micro sword, salvia minima


2g Anchro Cookie Jar -Alastor - fissendens fortanus, salvia minima



Some more shots of Dijon (see last post on previous page for some better in-light photos, will get more shots of the vt once he's use to light.




Got a 5.5g aqueon tank to use for Dijon on the bookshelf (2.5 is to small looking). Me and my husband worked on de-rimming, clearing silicone , and re-siliconing together. Pretty happy with it...needs to sit and cure another 24 hours before filling (did a water test before the re-siliconing since we just redid the top where it had been cut-passed the test perfectly) ^^





And the lantern tank is a melt-y mess right now.. still looking for tall but not 2 foot+ crypts for it.


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## Julie7778

Wow! That tank looks really good, can't imagine getting the top off. I'm still scraping glue off my Fluval EBI =_= also, I love the Marino balls, is that just with any type of ball from even like petsmart? How would I break it anyways? Also, how do I start a moss carpet? It's not my favourite look but it could work!


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## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> Wow! That tank looks really good, can't imagine getting the top off. I'm still scraping glue off my Fluval EBI =_= also, I love the Marino balls, is that just with any type of ball from even like petsmart? How would I break it anyways? Also, how do I start a moss carpet? It's not my favourite look but it could work!


The marimo sold in a betta style cup at petsmart is true marimo. I'd get the mesh you want to tie it down with and carefully push a knife or sharp scissors int the center of the ball and make a cut outward from there.. sorta like cutting open an orange but only half of it.. if that makes scenes? make 4 cuts from the original incision point going outward 1/2 down the ball, you should be able to peal it open with 4 corners now and can gently cut or tear it to spread more to fit your mesh. Tie it on with fishingline. Don't worry if the line is visible at first, in a few months it will be hidden by new growth.
If you use moss its typically sold in golf ball size portions, some sellers offer the option to get some pre-tied down (usually costs most). If you do it yourself get a few portions and your mesh. When the moss arrives take it out and lay it on the mesh to cover it (not dense cover but make sure some moss is at each corner and the center, it will grow to fill in gaps). Tie it down and let it grow. Don't tie too tightly, it can constrict the moss and hurt it.


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## Schmoo

The new tank looks amazing!


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## Julie7778

I might go with dwarf hair grass, if that doesn't work probably will be going with the Marimo balls. Thanks for the info ! Btw, have any aquascape ideas for my Fluval EBI ?


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## Aqua Aurora

Sorry been very busy will post updates and photos soon!! Actually meant to do them here but hit 'submit' by accident and can't type it all in before the 20 minute editing deadline >.< oops!




Schmoo said:


> The new tank looks amazing!


Thanks




Julie7778 said:


> I might go with dwarf hair grass, if that doesn't work probably will be going with the Marimo balls. Thanks for the info ! Btw, have any aquascape ideas for my Fluval EBI ?


Nothing specifically, but I'd recommend spending an hour or more looking at Google images, you can look up "fluval ebi plants", "planted nano tank", "planted pico aquarium", "lowtech planted shrimp tank", etc etc etc. I always enjoy looking at all the lovely planted tank photos on google.


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## artemis35

As a long-time lurker on your thread, I just wanted to say how incredibly gorgeous all of your tanks are!

Your plants are always so lush and healthy. I also like the variety of "styles" your tanks have. Plus, you manage to take very clear, "natural" looking photos. Always a treat when you post tank updates!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Updates!*

OK update time!

*Living room pico/nano mania:*(2g,2g,3g,5g)
So got a beautiful old couch from my in-laws (excellent condition) and ended moving the couch from this room to the basement then spreading out the tanks. Magnus has a different light fixture now, black lamp like the other two.. I'm thinking about doing a frosted back for Dijon's tank and maybe adding a warm light behind it (want another light to bring out the green in his scales, the leds are too blue). I had to raise his tank to put it closer to the light. Waiting on some airline tubing so I can hide Magnus' air pump on the floor, and another temp controller but otherwise everything's how I want for now.. which the crypts would grow back already!

Anyways changed thread title as there are now 4 tanks instead of 2 and here have some photos!
















*55g riparium:
last week:*
So I got sick of the mold/fungus mess that NEVER went away and after noticing my fish were gasping at the surface and not too interested in eating it was time to get it out. 
I put the old red cedar back in that use to be with my pleco and tossed the quarantine pvc hides in until I find more wood. 
Did a 50% water change or more and everyone seems better today. I tested yesterday before the change-everything was 0ppm. Today I have a little nitrate (10ppm) but thats what my tap has + i took out the submerged plants so I suspected a little nitrates but no ammonia or nitrite readings thankfully. 
The wood smelled like rotten eggs and was quite nasty. Took it outside and scrubbed 'em off in the bucket I originally boiled them in, water got so barn and nasty coudln't seen 1" down in it >.< Wood still smelled after but letting it dry out then figure out if I want to wash it again or what..
Sadly I'll have to do a canister cleaning soon as water flow is about 1/2 what I want but ugh don't want to do yet.. just dealt with one nasty smell yesterday don't need mulm covered 'goodness' today...sometime during the week or next weekend I'll get it..
Holy [censor] did the pothos get long! One of the vines is nearly 15' long now x.x 
Peace lily and anthurium have new blooms started. 
No photos to prove it but CarmelYumYum either gets too focused on food to notice, or tolerates it because she's happy to have food but I've been able to 'pet' her dorsal fin a few times ^^ 

Anyways photo time!





*This week:*
Good news: confirmed CarmelYumYum is indeed female. As the only angelfish in teh tank she laid eggs on the intake pip on the right side of the tank after the old wood was removed.
Bad News: CarmelYumYum, an angelfish, laid eggs in a tank and went into protective cichlid parent mode which mean no other fish on that half of the tank and her attacking me if I went in.

After 48+ hours I wasn't happy with the temperament change and ended up going in with a tooth brush, pushing off all the unfertilized eggs (no male after all), and siphoning them up with a quick water change. Day after she was back to normal. Hopefully she doesn't try doing the egg thing again. I'd hoped she's just eat them since they were unfertilized but first time trying so who knows..

Plant news: The tank has 2 new plants on the right side, purple queen (pallida) and marble queen (pothos). Hope they acclimate well, really love the contrast they give.

Guarding (morning after eggs were first seen.)


Carmel: "GTFO!" (taken next morning)


Plants!







artemis35 said:


> As a long-time lurker on your thread, I just wanted to say how incredibly gorgeous all of your tanks are!
> 
> Your plants are always so lush and healthy. I also like the variety of "styles" your tanks have. Plus, you manage to take very clear, "natural" looking photos. Always a treat when you post tank updates!


Thank you very much for the kind words ^^


----------



## Strawberry12

Thanks to YOU I had to go to the garden center today and get some stuff to do a nano riparium on my 3 gallon  I got a purple waffle plant and English Ivy. 

What do you use for substrate in the planters and what do you use for baskets? I've read that shower caddies work really well.


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## SiameseFightingArt

Strawberry I'm doing the same thing for my indoor pond! Lol. I know they sell some nice shower baskets at Bath and Beyond, but I'm curious as to what you use as substrate for the pots as well Aqua. Do you use red clay?


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## Aqua Aurora

Strawberry12 said:


> Thanks to YOU I had to go to the garden center today and get some stuff to do a nano riparium on my 3 gallon  I got a purple waffle plant and English Ivy.
> 
> What do you use for substrate in the planters and what do you use for baskets? I've read that shower caddies work really well.





SiameseFightingArt said:


> Strawberry I'm doing the same thing for my indoor pond! Lol. I know they sell some nice shower baskets at Bath and Beyond, but I'm curious as to what you use as substrate for the pots as well Aqua. Do you use red clay?



^^ glad to get others into trying ripariums out! For planter baskets I use these, they have slits at the bottom that roots can grow out. I got them at my local giant food store of all places.


Also ended up buying.. I think 7 to mail to someone on another forum that started a riparium and could not find any of these in their area. Paying for them + shipping was still cheaper than the alternative basket they had found (apparently way over prices like $8 each x.x)

There is also a larger one by the same company let me grab a photo of the one I've not used yet. These have larger openings so gravel won't work (falls through) but the clay media does.



For media I use this (top it will some leftover darker gravel so I'm not looking at terra-cotta color):


Its expanded clay pebble media, I had it leftover from doing an aquaponic system (similar to riparium but grows food you eat and separates plants and their roots from the fish so no nibbling while it grows). You can also use gravel but I'd recommend buying some non metal (fiberglass, plastic, or rubber) window screening and lining the inside of the basket to keep the media from falling out of the holes... I had a quick photo "how to" on this somewhere but I can't find it now >.<



I love purple waffle btw, works greats on the riparium. I tried an ivy once (not sure what sp.) but it did not do well so I removed it. Hopefully your ivy is a type that likes wet roots ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Crypt Cornucopia*

Quick update, got some more crypts in the mail to watch melt in the new lantern tank (though crossing fingers that they don't).



Crypt list now:
parva, wendtii green, wendtii red, undulates, retrospiralis, balansae
Hope they all grow back!


----------



## Strawberry12

Great, thank you! i'll go to TJ Maxx later and see what I can find in the bath section. I ordered the clay media on Ebay. 

I hope the ivy works out well! I googled "Riparium plants" and English Ivy was on a few lists, so hopefully it works out.


edit: man, crypts always look so sad when they're first put in. I hope they hold up!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Strawberry12 said:


> Great, thank you! i'll go to TJ Maxx later and see what I can find in the bath section. I ordered the clay media on Ebay.
> 
> I hope the ivy works out well! I googled "Riparium plants" and English Ivy was on a few lists, so hopefully it works out.
> 
> 
> edit: man, crypts always look so sad when they're first put in. I hope they hold up!


A lot of people buy hydroton but its not commercially available anymore, though many sell theirs used (or bought it in bulk when it was being discontinued). Its the same as the brand I use, but prices vary depending where you buy the stuff, so not sure which is cheaper now. 
Another option I forgot to mention is lava rock but its heavier and usually more expensive (also a lot rougher so if any manages to fall in the tank it would lead to ripped betta fins). 
I think the clay media is best as its light weight and absorbs water so if your water level is a little low but the bottom of the basket is still in water the plant won't get dried out. My 55g can have water level drop 2" or more over a week from evaporation so thats a good characteristic to have in the riparium media to keep the plants fed and wet ^^

Whats weird is my very first crypts (last year) were bought from someone who grew them emersed (above water) and I had 0 melt when they were put into a low tech tank.. but these.. ugh melt central >.<


----------



## SiameseFightingArt

Now I'm able to spice up my indoor pond  My goldfish will definitely be grateful for the surface covering. What would be some of the plants you recommend for it Aqua?


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## Aqua Aurora

SiameseFightingArt said:


> Now I'm able to spice up my indoor pond  My goldfish will definitely be grateful for the surface covering. What would be some of the plants you recommend for it Aqua?


What is the max height you would tolerate plants getting? Some of mine stay bellow 12", other get to 24-36" or more over the years.


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## Aqua Aurora

Some more shots the the VT. I still am not 100% set on a name.. he's a flare happy [censor] who will flare at my finger/his food as I put it in the tank, but he always wants attention (even if he flares at me alot).. He moved too fast to get in focus shots but bleh here you go





He's looking more purple than blue bodies.. wonder if the colorful gravel in his cup at the lfs was what made him look more blue before?

Also here's some shots of Dijon

Look at that beg-y face!


And Magnus being a goof.. he grabbed a pellet weird and instead of letting it go so he could suck it down and eat it he just held it for a few minutes. I ended up having to use another pellet to get him to let it go and eat both normally


----------



## Aqua Aurora

SiameseFightingArt said:


> Now I'm able to spice up my indoor pond  My goldfish will definitely be grateful for the surface covering. What would be some of the plants you recommend for it Aqua?


starting up a list: please note I've never kept goldfish so I do not know what they may or may not try to eat.
*LARGE PLANTS:*
Peace lily: some species stay under a foot tall, but they the commonly sold ones can get 36" or large tall and wide. I have a small sp (not sure of name) taht stays 12", and one called Spathiphyllum "Domino" thats about 20" now (great contrast plant). BLOOMS
Syngonium: mines over 21" now and still growing
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella: same height as Syngonium.. i think they're in a race..
Anthurium: 13" atm broad heart shaped leaf (larger leaves and shorter stems then synonium). BLOOMS
Alocosia polly: same height as anthurium, darker green with pale green/white veins, great contrast plant.
Pothos: not height but length, a vine that can get 20 feet long or more over the years if not cut. Its leaves can also get larger than your hand. Roots will grow insane and get down into the substrate then spread all over the tank (make sure they don't clog the filtration). There's marble queen, variegated, and regular green pothos.
Purple queen: just got, not sure how big they can get (is about 8" now.. suspect it will get over a foot tall easily) nice splash of vibrant purple color

*'SMALL' PLANTS:*
Mondo grass and dwarf mondo grass: mondo grass is often miss-sold as aquatic but its not. No sure on heights, only own dwarf and its about 4" atm
Purple waffle: dark green leaves when grown in soil, new leaves are light green on riparium, underside is purple, slow grower mines still under 4"
Mosaic/pockadot plant: just got myself but seen others use, comes in green with white or green and pink, I _think _it stays around 6" 
Fittonia albivenis (aka angel kiss): green with either white or pink veins, can get leggy if not enough light but stays at/under 6"
Wandering jew (Tradescantia zebrine): another vine like plant purple and green, the stem it grows on is not strong so it will sag/droop and leaves stay smaller than pothos but i found it grew faster than pothos
Aluminum plant/Freindship plant/Moonphase plant: same family different variations, does well in floating trellis raft (roots free floating in water but can also be in planter) does not look good when trimmed but bounces back after a week or so. You can trim to keep compact and replant to get bushier look, or let grow tall (mines about 6-7" atm)
Cyperus Umbrella Sedge: i got a free half dead one that din't make it so no input on it.. buy a healthy one...
Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie': needs [censor] ton of light to keep most of its leaves or it gets a cocnut/banna tree look. Looks like [censor] when cut but will bounce back in a week or two. Slow grower less than 8" for me atm.

*Emersed aquatic plants:*
things to float on top of foam rafts or put ontop of the planters substrate:
mid to lo humidity (30-60% ish or more):
moss
riccia
creeping jenny (same stuff in garden centers as in aquariums-may loose leaves from transition from store to pond don't worry it'll grow back)

high humidity (80% or more) need their own planters or if getting a tall variety you can plant under water and let leaves grow above water, too many varieties to list specific sub species.
sword plants (some get 6".. some can get 24")
anubias (can be 2" petite to over 36" gigantae (better to plant rhizome in tank and let leaves grow out-so want one of these!!!))
crypts
java fern



There are plenty more plants to try, these are ones I've used or have read of others having success with.


----------



## SiameseFightingArt

Goldfish only eat submersed plants so no worries unless they jump to eat the leaves lol.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Purple queen flowered! Less than a week on the tank.






SiameseFightingArt said:


> Goldfish only eat submersed plants so no worries unless they jump to eat the leaves lol.


Ah k, I was more concerned they might eat roots.

I also forgot to mention you can grow most any herbs and a lot of edible plants with roots in water. Typically this is "aquaponics" and the fish are kept separate from the food stuffs so they don't eat it, but I'm growing chives on my 20g long right now. A lot of people grow mints, basil.. I did dill and lettuce on an aquaponic system a while ago (had a pleco in that tank that ate anything plant matter so had to keep those above the tank in a pvc tube that canister filter water pumped through then fell back into the tank). If you've ever had flavorless hydroponic veggies don't worry! Those grown with fish tank nutrients have wonderful flavor (its a much more nature method of growth than hydroponics). If you have proper lighting and nutrients (high nitrates and either iron, phosphorous, or possasium depending on the specific veggie's need) you can also grow 'fruiting' plants (cucumber, peppers, etc).. there was a huge thing I read/watched on youtube about the proper form of iron for plants to absorb... I just used liquid iron ferts (Seachem) ^^ The company does not claim their stuff is safe for producing edible foods, but we didn't suffer from it.


----------



## artemis35

Beautiful flowers on the purple plant.

I really like your vt guy. 
It's nice to see someone give the vt males some love. Seems like they always get overlooked for the bigger finned guys. I have a soft spot for vt, though (all of my females are vt).

And crypts :shake:
I can grow any stem plant (even the "harder" ones), but every crypt I have ever tried has immediately melted and never come back, lol. I cannot figure out why? My water is insanely soft (gH, kH both ~1), maybe that is why? Regardless, I have given up on them for my tanks.


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## BettaLover1313

Subscribing! Why wasn't I reading this sooner (read it all tonight XD)

Beautiful tanks! I'm very envious! 

All of your bettas are beautiful, and I'm glad to see the VT boy doing better.


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## Strawberry12

Aww poor Vt dude looks so skinny


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## Aqua Aurora

artemis35 said:


> Beautiful flowers on the purple plant.
> 
> I really like your vt guy.
> It's nice to see someone give the vt males some love. Seems like they always get overlooked for the bigger finned guys. I have a soft spot for vt, though (all of my females are vt).
> 
> And crypts :shake:
> I can grow any stem plant (even the "harder" ones), but every crypt I have ever tried has immediately melted and never come back, lol. I cannot figure out why? My water is insanely soft (gH, kH both ~1), maybe that is why? Regardless, I have given up on them for my tanks.


Honestly I never looked at vts as an option before as (until this one) all I saw were the common 95% reds or blues and always had clamped fins. He just spoke to me and I couldn't leave him there.
I'm not too knowledgeable on crypts yet, I've had good success with wendtii in my hard water.. from reading [here] there are some species that do better in hard water. But I don't see any listing for specific soft water crypts, but I'm sure some are.



BettaLover1313 said:


> Subscribing! Why wasn't I reading this sooner (read it all tonight XD)
> 
> Beautiful tanks! I'm very envious!
> 
> All of your bettas are beautiful, and I'm glad to see the VT boy doing better.


Thank you!
The vt was all better after 24 hours with just warm water and ammonia bound with Prime ^^




Strawberry12 said:


> Aww poor Vt dude looks so skinny


Must be 'high metabolism' aka hes very active ^^ He gets 5-6 pellets 2x a day and every other day for lunch he gets frozen foods, but most recently that lunch is 3-4 big fat live black worms as I have a lot. You should see his belly bulge after a worm feed, looks like an eggy female (if you ignore his huge fins).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Got new plants in for Dijon's tank today: echinodorus pariflorus tropica and Echinodorus angustifolia Vesuvius. The Vesurvius is pretty tall so might have to find somewhere else for it... "I.will.not.set.up.another.tank. I.will.not.set.up.another.tank. I.will.not.set.up.another.tank. I.will.not.set.up.another.tank..."


and a cool view of the bubble bowl


I also bought some leopard vals for the 20g long... I had a dream several weeks ago that short version I had a lot of male and female betta splendids of different colors and tail types (all so lovely-lot of combinations and hues I don't think exist) all in one tank. I was panicking and trying to find other tanks, bowls, containers to separate everyone (who someone none had fin damage yet but there as chasing)... I saw two tanks in the room that I don't have.. One was full of vals leaving little swim room, the other was a thick perfectly spaced and full leafed stem plant tank of what I think is ludgwidia red (leaves went all the ay down which means it would have to be high end of "medium" or into "high" light... so yeh when I spotted these vals for sale on another forum I decided to jump on them and see how they do. 
I had Italian vals in the 12g before, they did great until I dosed excel for hair algae (instant melt-complete die off) hoping the leopard vals grow to the surface and take over the tank.. might consider making it a sorority setup if they do. Going to ask the hubby to drill to lower the book shelf the lights are clamped to for the 20g so the vals get enough light.
seller photo: http://i.imgur.com/bnPWjd7.jpg

No photos today, maybe tomorrow, but I redid the carpet in the 12g to dwarf baby tears so selling the riccia mats in the market place section with a free anubias nana tossed in. Riccia makes a lovely looking carpet but needs trimming.. and the shrimp in the tank would not gtfo for trimming (always worried i'd cut a doze+ in half when trimming >.<) so yeh wanting to off load the riccia.


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## charliegill110

wow it took me a couple days but i've read the whole thing! i love your journal and your tanks! i loved those pictures you posted a few pages back of dijon hiding under the ial because the light was on. that was sooo cute.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Disaster strikes*

The 55g started leaking yesterday, I don't know where the source is but I had to do an emergency transfer of fish to the 40g i planned to use for a vivarium. Sadly the 40g is on a low table that makes it impossible to use the canister filter.. I had to dig up my old noisy aquaclear70 and suff a little media from the canister in it, but it won't be enough so I'm stuck on daily large water changes for ammonia... 
I really wish I hadn't tossed 2 dozen ramshorns in the 20g just a few days ago to clean up all the diatoms (and they've made fast work of them).. would have moved the otos over there so they had food and less stress >.<
Get to rip apart and re-silicone the 55g (only one my husband and I did not re-do when it was bought.. obviously a big mistake as its leaking now.. =.=)
So I'll be grump and busy and achy for a few days as we try to salvage the 55g.. it was put together so [censor] poorly.. I'm surprised it held up this long...


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## Fenghuang

That sucks, I'm sorry. :-( Hope it will be an easy fix!


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## Aqua Aurora

Spent all of yesterday de-siliconing the 55g.. my fingers are so raw and back so sore! Hubby just re-silione the tank and after 48 hour cure we'll test its hold (fill) for 24 hours.. then if that all works we'll be putting a wood frame around the base for extra support.. and then the tank will go on the low table the 40g is on now (that'll be fun to juggle shuffling around >.<) and I'll probably switch to a sponge filter as I am thoroughly sick of priming canisters .. might sell off the monster canister and the spare media box for cheap... Also the canister won't work with the tank on that table as the bottom of the tank is below the top of the canister.

Going to try to rig up sum temp lighting for the plants as I'm more worried about them dieing from insufficient light than the fish from water quality.

So far I think all the fish are alive (otos are hiding in the pvc hides) but no one looks stressed or gasping for air at least. Wish us luck getting the 55g resealed!


here is the last tank photo, taken about 3 days before the disaster..



In other news I got some leopard vals in the mail last Friday and stuffed them in the 20g. I ordered 25-30 but the seller generously gave me 50+ (if you count the runners)

Before



After



Hoping it will overrun the tank and give tons of hiding places. Right now I'm just happy it didn't do some mega melt from the transition.

btw the long white roots are from the purple waffle, that thing really likes having its 'feet wet' ^^ gotta stuff the roots back behind the wood again.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Some side babblin'*

I forgot to Mention I've had Xerxes for over a year now! A year and 11 days at this point ^^

In other news last... Thursday I think, I did my first water change on Dijon's newly planted tank. He attacked the siphon, nipped it twice. He's my first betta to even pay any attention to the siphon at all. I had some otos last year that liked to play and dart under the siphon (make their tank's water cahnge real hard) and my white cloud mountain minnows don't get too close to the business end of the siphon but they follow it around seeing if any food will get kicked up from the substrate, but he's the first betta to interact with it. He's tried flaring a few times but he seems to be new to it (perhaps like Aristocoles I got him right at the end of sub-adult?). Can't say how the swords in his tank are yet.. they're not melting but I'm not seeing new growth either.. but I should be patient and give them a few weeks to acclimate.

Crypt tank is still a sad melt-y crypt mess... slowly, agonizingly waiting on it to get past that and into re-growth.

What else.. oh I put the veiltail (still not 100% on a name.. want to give him something authoritative for a name as he's so flare happy.. and the only one that will flare at me while I have food/am feeding (the others only flare when there's no food)).. tangent.. yeh vt is on the desk now next to Xerxes' tank. I put the DIY divider between his 2.5g tank and the 7g cube. I tried having the curtain removed for sevearl hours yesterday, I'm not sure if the veiltail saw Xerxes, but Xerxes staid oblivious to the betta just inches away from him. I don't think the vt and Aristocoles even see each other though they should be able to.

I set up large bins for the black worm cultures so instead of literally a dozen smaller containers to do water changes on every day I now have 3 large bins I can siphon and refill like a tank. Since I'm still not settled on how to get around the usps inconstancy issue for shipping floaters all my excess salvia is going into the bins for now to keep ammonia down.



My husband helped set up a temp lighting option for the 55g so the plants don't die on me.. I borrow the lights from the worm bins during the day and run them on their intended plant's at night... The purple queen has been looking the worst of the plants from this emergency, its leaves are wilting pretty bag but its still spitting up flowers.. so hoping it pulls through.


And lastly.. I had a terrible thought after seeing something quite exciting... Discus! Not just any ol' discus but ones bred in high pH and hard water. They're typically a ph of 6 range fish with little to no hardness.. but the ones I saw were bred in my type of water conditions! I had the horrible idea of getting rid of my 55g fish and grabbing some discus.. but I'd feel terrible tossing them at a lfs to most likely die in store or in some concomitant person's home... I'd want to keep the otos and cory but they can't live with discus due to a nearly 10 degree temp differential between the species.. otos could go in the 20g if I took out the ramshorns but the cory need a larger tank. Such conundrums... well right now I want the tank to be about the riparium, if I got discus I'd have to make it be about the fish and under water visual appeal so I'll just have to dream about a discus tank for now..


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*[censor] my life.. this is not a good tank week.....*

So not a good week for tanks here... I really want to scream and strangle a certain lieing plant seller right now... I bought dwarf baby tears (hc) on a per-carpeted mat of coco fiber for my husband's 12g long tank.. when it came I noticed it had a metal frame around the coco fiber to keep it from breaking apart.. I contacted the seller who assured me it was safe and that they had kept it in shrimp tanks without issue.. well then why is it that the shrimp stayed as far away as possible from the hc mat (congregating at the top corners of the tank on top of penny wort) and when I went to inspect the tank closely I find over half the shrimp (sub adults, juvies, and shrimplets) are all dead! I should have known better than to trust that two faced [censor].. stainless steel is the only metal safe in an aquarium with shrimp and that was not ss...

What bothers me is I also have mats of java fern in Xerxes' tank from the same seller with the same metal framing.. he's not shown signs of stress of sickness but I don't know if it will effect him eventually... The java fern looked great for the first week or two but now all the leaves have plantlets growing on them which means the mother leaf (large leaf) will die off once the plantlet has grown enough to pop off.. so I'll most likely gut the mat and toss the metal then try to figure something out with the fern (and hc)... I have some ss mesh still I might buy some coco fiber and re-mat the plants on the safe metal...

Right now I'm just in a really foul mood....


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*"that which we call a rose by any other name would still.."*

"..have varying reactions from my fish."

So our roses are starting to spit out blooms like crazy and my husband brought me in a lovely fresh cutting ^^

I decided to show the deep pink bloom to the bettas for some enrichment.. and their reactions?
*Xerxes:* minor curiosity, checke dit out for a few seconds. But mostly he was interested on when the [censor] I was ging to FEED HIM.. seriously.. such a pig.
*Aristocoles:* first time I showed it: very curious, not sure what to make of it, 2nd time I showed it *FLARE GRRRRR*..  ooook...
*Unnamed VT boy:* I'LL [censor] KILL YOU!!! **FLARE* FLARE FLARE, DART ALL OVER THE TANK AND FLARE SOME MORE!!*.. ok chill out.. clearly he's not a fan of pink.
*Alastor:* Hard to say.. he watched it but no attempt at a flare (which he never does anyways) or to back away. I guess he thought it was nice?
*Magnus:* semi flare (no beard drop) and back away from it.. like a boy going "ewww cootie!" haha
*Dijon:* Swam forward then backed up from it.. then lost interest and swam off to check out other things in his tank.. soo disinterested.


----------



## Strawberry12

bah! I'm sorry for your shrimply troubles  Does that seller have a yelp or something? I'd be tempted to leave a nasty review. 


Oh so at my discount grocery store I found those exact suction cup holders! yayyyy


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## TuiAndLa

I've peeked in here a couple times, awesome journal! I loooooove your 20 gal, especially after the vals. Oh my goodness, it's gorgeous. 0u0

I'm curious though, does that driftwood stick out of the water? (I can't tell in the photo) I have some driftwood ... ok, it's oak wood that I cut, debarked, boiled, dried, boiled again and stuck in the tank. xD Works well. Has that typical white bacteria thing going on atm, it's not aged yet. But anyway, I had it sticking slightly out of the water, but noticed it was getting some nasty mold on the bits that were above water.... ew. So I cut them down to where they're fully underwater now. ...If yours sticks out of the water, is there no issue with that?

Also, good to know about the purple waffle. =) I've thought of getting one at one point... almost got an african mask plant too a while back like you've got in your 55 but couldn't remember if I'd seen them in ripariums or not. haha -grabby hands @ all your plants- :mrgreen:


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## Aqua Aurora

Strawberry12 said:


> bah! I'm sorry for your shrimply troubles  Does that seller have a yelp or something? I'd be tempted to leave a nasty review.
> 
> 
> Oh so at my discount grocery store I found those exact suction cup holders! yayyyy


I'm still fishing out corpses :c wonder if the whole colony is just slowly dieing off from that disaster..I don't know if they have yelp or any other forum of social media account to leave vehement comments on.
Glad you could find some cheap local baskets ^^




TuiAndLa said:


> I've peeked in here a couple times, awesome journal! I loooooove your 20 gal, especially after the vals. Oh my goodness, it's gorgeous. 0u0
> 
> I'm curious though, does that driftwood stick out of the water? (I can't tell in the photo) I have some driftwood ... ok, it's oak wood that I cut, debarked, boiled, dried, boiled again and stuck in the tank. xD Works well. Has that typical white bacteria thing going on atm, it's not aged yet. But anyway, I had it sticking slightly out of the water, but noticed it was getting some nasty mold on the bits that were above water.... ew. So I cut them down to where they're fully underwater now. ...If yours sticks out of the water, is there no issue with that?
> 
> Also, good to know about the purple waffle. =) I've thought of getting one at one point... almost got an african mask plant too a while back like you've got in your 55 but couldn't remember if I'd seen them in ripariums or not. haha -grabby hands @ all your plants- :mrgreen:


Thank you ^^ yes the wood sticks out a bit, I have very calcium rich water so it gets caked on calcium deposits above the surface where the wood stops wicking up water. When the wood was new I was getting some of that new wet wood mold/fungus above water. Someone on another site recommended wiping it down with a q-tip/cotton ball/paper towel soaked with Seachem Excel.. but it didn't seem to help, it went away as the wood aged.
Purple waffle is definitely a good thriving plant for ripariums. The Alocasia polly I have has done well but has only shot out one new leaf so far. Its a big plant though so make sure you have 24" or more or room above it to put a light (unless its by a window with a lot of sunlight).


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## Aqua Aurora

Got some Echinodorus angustifolia 'Vesuvius' and Echinodorus tropica that I slapped into Dijon's tank.. sadly they aren't doing too well.. they came with no roots AT ALL (odd for swords) and yellowing on the Vesuvius... Also took some more shots of Dijon.. damn camera never captures him looking green like I see him, he comes out more blue in the photos =.=




Where's Dijon?

There he is! 

Odd ball loves burrow down under the plants-Xerxes use to do this a lot too.. wonder if its a mustard thing.. Magnus tries to wiggle down into the chair sword leaves but his long fins make it hard for him to get far ^^





Some shots of Alastor! He's slowly but steadily marbling


photobombing fissendens shot


He loves getting kisses (more than the traditional finger wiggle) and comes up near the top to get close.. makes for amusing distortions as seen here



And Magnus.. wanted to show how different lighting angles make him look more black or blue. He holds still more than the others so more shots of him.
first up.. see how his fins have grown back.. hes got a perma-curl at the top of his caudal fin from the original damage back in October







When I say "semi flare"/"gill puff/pushed out" this is what I mean:


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## lilnaugrim

Aqua, the seller you mention. You can leave a review on her site.

I've never had an issue with the metal before, perhaps yours is a fluke. Is there a way you can test the metal content of the water? Maybe it's a coincidence as well? Just trying to think outside the box, I know your angry at Heather, but Heather has always been so helpful and courteous to me that it's hard to see that she'd lie about something like that. I know we all have our opinions and such, but just maybe you jumped to conclusions?

As usual, all your tanks are gorgeous and I'm jealous of your MG boys ^_^ I really need one back in my life for sure.


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## Strawberry12

Hey how high above the riparium plants do you suggest the light be? It's a 12w 6500k bulb.


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## TuiAndLa

Ah, I see. Good to know, thanks!

Yea, I just use a window for my pond, but I'm limited for plants b/c the "pond" is smaller and round, rather than long (wanted something long, up to 50 gallons but this 18 gallon thing was the best/nicest looking I could find back then). lol I'd still love to upgrade some day. xD

For now the african masked plant will have to wait I guess. With one half being taken up with pothos and the other half taken up with arrowhead (pushing 20 inches tall now!), it would almost block out light for any other plants (but I have 3 others waiting to go in there hehehehe).... I'll figure it out. xD

Your boys are so beautiful too. I love that "semi flare", it reminds me of Anduin, my blue marble. He does the same thing when I pass by. lol


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Aqua, the seller you mention. You can leave a review on her site.
> 
> I've never had an issue with the metal before, perhaps yours is a fluke. Is there a way you can test the metal content of the water? Maybe it's a coincidence as well? Just trying to think outside the box, I know your angry at Heather, but Heather has always been so helpful and courteous to me that it's hard to see that she'd lie about something like that. I know we all have our opinions and such, but just maybe you jumped to conclusions?
> 
> As usual, all your tanks are gorgeous and I'm jealous of your MG boys ^_^ I really need one back in my life for sure.


The non ss metal is the only new thing introduced to the tank ins over a month. I removed it and have since done 2 50% water changes over 3 days to remove the metal contaminant in the water. Did not think to keep a sample for testing.
I've not check the site since it happened, but on the day I realized what was happening it was down/closed for "medical emergency" reasons.. 
She also suppresses negative reviews-i made a 1 star review for her dwarf lily plants as 2 of the 3 I've bought in the past year arrived dead (smelled foul-fungus under water, never grew anything (in appropriate growing conditions) and were soft aka dead).. i submitted that review over a month ago and the dwarf lily still has a 5 of 5 star rating....She might have been good once but _I think_ her quality has gone down hill. This is just my opinion.. I won't be buying from the site again, the shipping costs is not worth it and I've been disappointing with the last few packages.
Either way I got some real ss mesh in the mail so me and my husband (need his tools to cut and bend this stuff.. thick ss=no easy cut/bend by hand >.<) will re-mesh the dwarf baby tears with ss and try to use the old coco fiber and see how it does. If the shrimp start dropping like flies again I'm tossing the coco and plants and switching back to riccia (will probably try tile/slate with riccia on top and warped in that plastic mesh bath sponge/scrubber thing).

As for mustards *I freaking LOVE them*.. which is odd as I don't actually like the color orange or yellow.. but on bettas I do  got a really strong urge to get a pure orange betta (no irids or black pineappling) or a real chocolate (no blues). But I am seriously tempted to get just all mustards (differnt types) as the fish pass of old age so I'm not just 1/2 mustard, 1/2 other betta population ^^''.. but then there's that want for the orange and chocolate! 
ARG SO MANY BETTAS!!! NOT ENOUGH TANKS!!!





Strawberry12 said:


> Hey how high above the riparium plants do you suggest the light be? It's a 12w 6500k bulb.


CFL I'd say at least 3" above the riparium plants, but raise them higher if its a shallow tank. My 20g long has its lights 20" above the substrate. Some of the taller grass plants (sweet flag) is only 3" from the lights, but some are 12" away (diagonally as planters are at back of tank and lights at the front.... vertically the lights are about 6" above the farther ones). If you use florescent bulbs or HO (high output) lights they should be higher as they give off more heat.




TuiAndLa said:


> Ah, I see. Good to know, thanks!
> 
> Yea, I just use a window for my pond, but I'm limited for plants b/c the "pond" is smaller and round, rather than long (wanted something long, up to 50 gallons but this 18 gallon thing was the best/nicest looking I could find back then). lol I'd still love to upgrade some day. xD
> 
> For now the african masked plant will have to wait I guess. With one half being taken up with pothos and the other half taken up with arrowhead (pushing 20 inches tall now!), it would almost block out light for any other plants (but I have 3 others waiting to go in there hehehehe).... I'll figure it out. xD
> 
> Your boys are so beautiful too. I love that "semi flare", it reminds me of Anduin, my blue marble. He does the same thing when I pass by. lol


"Yeh you better just keep on 'swimming' by.. I'd [censor] you up if you got in my tank!"
Pothos is a real beast! didn't realize how long mine was on the 55g till I had to remove it x.x my arrowhead aka Syngonium is very tall/lanky/all stem with small leaves in comparison to the pothos, Anthurium, and Alocosia polly leaves. How big are your arrowhead's leaves compared to your pothos?


----------



## TuiAndLa

Aqua Aurora said:


> "Yeh you better just keep on 'swimming' by.. I'd [censor] you up if you got in my tank!"
> Pothos is a real beast! didn't realize how long mine was on the 55g till I had to remove it x.x my arrowhead aka Syngonium is very tall/lanky/all stem with small leaves in comparison to the pothos, Anthurium, and Alocosia polly leaves. How big are your arrowhead's leaves compared to your pothos?



That quote literally made me LOL. xD That about sums it up.

I LOVE arrowhead. Can't get enough of it. lol In my experience, the arrowhead does even better than the pothos! The arrowhead roots are SO long, literally 6+ feet tall (I've taken the plant out before and have to hold it well above my head, to keep the roots off the floor... I'm 5'2"). lol None of the arrowhead roots ever rot off, but occasionally I'll find a few pothos roots that I have to pluck off b/c they've rotted and died.

The arrowhead leaves are huge, some as big as my hand, generally bigger than the pothos leaves. Not sure what would be causing your leaves to stay small. =/

Took a couple photos to show you. The pothos leaf I used for comparison has recently grown in, and they tend to be bigger in the middle of the main plant, but most of the pothos leaves, especially the ones trailing off furthest from the plant, are about 2/3 to half that size.

Oh, should mention, I've had my arrowhead plant for a few years now (put it in the pond last year). I bought it when it was tiny like all the other 3 dollar angel plants. haha One of the 3 plants waiting to go in there atm is another arrowhead. The one I have is white butterfly, and I just got "cream allusion", so I can't wait to add it in and have the 2 colors together. =D



















It's not actually that dark in the pond, it's just the light settings the camera is on. lol

I also cut off tons of stem pieces from my main plant (at the bottom where it had lost leaves when it was still potted). On each little nodule along the stem, there was a tiiiny bud that would start growing. I was in awe. lol So now I've got this going on in my betta's tank. It's so cuuuute! ^_^ Mini-me arrowhead. lol That's about 10-15 separate stems.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

I have a different breed/sp. of arrowhead from you so perhaps thats why mine has small leaves and lanky stem. Really like the white contrast on yours, I may go see if I can hunt down some locally and change mine out!

I say I don't want to by any more plants but aah so many to try.. also want to get a hold of Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan' its like the dwarf lily plant but lime green leaves and more crinkly lookin'.. dunno where I'd put it though >.> Speaking of dwarf lily I need to trim mine its about to hit the surface-prefer the red leaves below water to add contrast of color.


----------



## TuiAndLa

Ahh, good point, that could be why. lol Ooh, that Nymphoides looks cool. I stay away from aquatic plants, myself, because I managed to kill frogbit.........

So I stick to the "lazy planted tank". rofl


----------



## ryry2012

Aqua Aurora said:


> The non ss metal is the only new thing introduced to the tank ins over a month. I removed it and have since done 2 50% water changes over 3 days to remove the metal contaminant in the water. Did not think to keep a sample for testing.
> I've not check the site since it happened, but on the day I realized what was happening it was down/closed for "medical emergency" reasons..
> She also suppresses negative reviews-i made a 1 star review for her dwarf lily plants as 2 of the 3 I've bought in the past year arrived dead (smelled foul-fungus under water, never grew anything (in appropriate growing conditions) and were soft aka dead).. i submitted that review over a month ago and the dwarf lily still has a 5 of 5 star rating....She might have been good once but _I think_ her quality has gone down hill. This is just my opinion.. I won't be buying from the site again, the shipping costs is not worth it and I've been disappointing with the last few packages.


It's good to know. I was always amazed that she only received good reviews - 4 or 5 stars. Even really good sellers could get negative reviews once in a while. Now I know why... I might try a different shop next time. If you don't mind my asking, what's your favorite online shop now?

BYW I really like your non regular tanks, especially the bubble bow. Love its junglish look!


----------



## Strawberry12

ryry2012 said:


> It's good to know. I was always amazed that she only received good reviews - 4 or 5 stars. Even really good sellers could get negative reviews once in a while. Now I know why... I might try a different shop next time. If you don't mind my asking, what's your favorite online shop now?
> 
> BYW I really like your non regular tanks, especially the bubble bow. Love its junglish look!




Yeah, that's why I like 3rd party websites like yelp or facebook, they can't remove those reviews.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

TuiAndLa said:


> Ahh, good point, that could be why. lol Ooh, that Nymphoides looks cool. I stay away from aquatic plants, myself, because I managed to kill frogbit.........
> 
> So I stick to the "lazy planted tank". rofl


The above water plants are definitely easier, especially if you have room for the larger types ^^ once you go underwater you have to be more picky about exact amount of lighting, ferts, nitrogen (ammonia/nitrate), co2 (injected, liquid substitute, or a lot of surface agitation (sponge filter is a good one for bettas) to bring co2 under water) to balance everything out.




ryry2012 said:


> It's good to know. I was always amazed that she only received good reviews - 4 or 5 stars. Even really good sellers could get negative reviews once in a while. Now I know why... I might try a different shop next time. If you don't mind my asking, what's your favorite online shop now?
> 
> BYW I really like your non regular tanks, especially the bubble bow. Love its junglish look!


I'm not technically allowed to post the link as it is to another forum that focuses more specifically on live *plantedtank*. Members can make threads to sell/buy/raok and the site has a ptrader rating associated with each user so you can see if past customers were happy or not. Lot of people in the hobby there with many different plants (they also sell equipment, hardscape, shrimp, ad occasionally fish).



Strawberry12 said:


> Yeah, that's why I like 3rd party websites like yelp or facebook, they can't remove those reviews.


Good idea, though i don't know if there are reviews on those sites for heather's plant selling site.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Wanted to toss up some photos of Xerxes' tank.. he was stalking a snail as it climbed the glass (hiding in the shadows of the dwarf lily leaves all suspicious and stalker like) then spotted me watching him with the camera





And I've been thinking of getting some frosted window film for Dijon's tank.. 
Wanted to buy locally so I could just slap it on, but can't find one I like so will probably have to use amazon.. again... really not happy with it lately _but _free shipping...

photos of tinted tanks (put on the outside glass)-not my photos btw but ones that inspired m to want to try it links only as some are page stretchers
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4633779999_4034645456_o.jpg
http://www.aquaec.net/wp-content/gallery/aquascapes/aquascaping-aquarium.jpg
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=174689&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1369010338
http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t377/wv_sx4/ftsupdate8-1side_zpscc3f2133.jpg
http://fish-etc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Planted-tank-foreground-larger.jpg
http://i1038.photobucket.com/albums/a461/Dantrasy/ghmh_zpscmd8oqvy.png~original
camera colors [censor], they lily leaves are more orange/red than yellow...

Also going to hard to start trimming the hydro japan in Dijon's tank soon, one it short on the left/front and taller on the right/back of his tank.


----------



## ryry2012

Aqua Aurora said:


> I'm not technically allowed to post the link as it is to another forum that focuses more specifically on live *plantedtank*. Members can make threads to sell/buy/raok and the site has a ptrader rating associated with each user so you can see if past customers were happy or not. Lot of people in the hobby there with many different plants (they also sell equipment, hardscape, shrimp, ad occasionally fish).


Thank you! I know the forum. Yahoo search always take me there. I'll check their sell/buy threads.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

55g is put back together after a long day of work. Really happy with the simple change of lowering it! Will post photos tomorrow ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*55g is back!*

Ok its been over a week since the leak. The old silicone was scraped off, new (large amounts) were put in and allowed to cure for over 72 hours, then a 36-48 hours leak test-passed... Yesterday I spent the whole day draining the temp tank 40 breeder) catching fish, removing plants, draining 55g (thankfully a set and forget with siphon fed to a drain), then play musical tanks/tables and shuffle stuff around *hubby was a huge help here). Set up the 55g on its new lower coffee table and put sand int..then spent about 2 hours adding and removing water trying to clean sand before lower the black background, putting in hardwood and hides, adding plants, filters, and heater, and then finally drip acclimating the fish while we made and ate dinner. 
Thankfully the tank is still well today (had a bad dream about a tank with the front right lower rim being badly damaged and pouring out water). For the week being slightly displaced all the first survived as well as plants.. though the purple queen is looking rater pathetic.. hoping it bounces back! The marble queen is finally starting to put out new leaves and the Anthurium has a lot of new bloom shoots started (counted 4 or 5 yesterday + the 2 already opened up!). I scraped all the riccia off the floating trellises and am considering adding a moss to the rafts/planters to hide the foam/media. Spread out the plants and hand 'fun' trying to wrangle the pothos (3 huge fvines-6-10' long each+ some smaller ones) may mess with pothos placement some more.

The female nerite is a lil 'where's waldo' of a snail... in the 55g i didn't see her since I rescaped with the red cedar... when i took the wood out I found her lodged in a hole on the underside of it. When I emptied the 40g breeder temp tank I again could not find her! Ended up crawling on the floor looking everywhere.. checked the hides and back/undersides of planters.. nope.. finally felt around the inner top black trim of the tank and *pop! tink tink* there she was! Put her in the 55g with the rest after a quick acclimation.. no clue where she's gone to hide now.. don't care as long as she doesn't cover the nice cedar in more freaking eggs..


Peace lily "domino" (mis-sold as "marble sword"-not a sword plant).. I was going to split it as its two large plants but when i took it out of the planter the roots held ALL the media in place... decided not to mess with it and left it whole.


The Syngonium (aka arrowhead) is very lanky and on the temp tank it was tilted which the stem quickly corrected for max lighting.. now all the leaves are pointing to the side/down.. decided to leave it off the riparium and slap it in some soil. Thinking about finding its more white relative to stick on the riparium for more contrast.



pardon the ugly hob.. once I get the sponge filter cycled I'll be removing it.



I find myself wanting to get rid of the barbs, angel, and rainbowfish and jut get a bunch more otos and false julli cory.. I enjoy watchmaking them swim around more than the others.. is that weird?

The tank is low enough now my dog could look into it but he's always been oblivious to fish (even when he went into local streams with fish all around him).. CarmelYumYum was freaked out by him when he sniffed the tank glass (didn't quite get the concept of looking at what's past the glass..)..


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Aristocoles and Dijon*

quick tank photo of the 6g bow front.. Aristocoles likes to wiggle under the anubias and make them lift up so they aren't nicely anchored with roots hidden in the substrate =.= Added a few ramshorns after the pond snails disbarred (assuming into his stomach) to clean the anubias leaves.. they seem to prefer hiding from him so I can to find and place them on the diatom covered leaves to get a cleaning...


And a shot of him resting on his thermometer, hes my only betta that does this.. anyone else have a betta (or other fish) that likes to rest between the thermometer and tank wall?



Yesterday Dijon decided to photo bomb hard when I was trying to get shots of some new fuzz growth that had a dew drop like tip on the sword plant stock in his tank. Ended up removing the plant this morning.. it smelled like anubias with rhizome rot do.. going to be rip [censor] if these plants came in diseased.... lopped off all the rotten leaves and mostly rotten stock then stuffed what was left in a jar with a root tab, see if it comes back or not..
Anyways tangent.. Dijon posed for a few shots (which my camera was a [censor] for and kept refocusing), 
Only decent in focus shot-you can see the fuzz stuff in the background on the lower part of the stock



Then did this adorable thing where he wiggled to the front left corner of the tank and wrapped his tail around himself so he was hidden, so cute!

\


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## charliegill110

yes! my betta does the thermometer thing!


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## BettaLover1313

My VT, Merlin, like resting between the tank wall and the thermometer.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

I really enjoy reading through your journal. It's only my opinion, but I think your tanks are some of the nicest on this forum. 

I wish I could have a riparium. Sadly our two cats eat almost any house plant that is within their reach. I also tend to keep fish species with very suicidal tendencies so an open top has to be avoided.


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## Aqua Aurora

charliegill110 said:


> yes! my betta does the thermometer thing!





BettaLover1313 said:


> My VT, Merlin, like resting between the tank wall and the thermometer.


Glad to ehar others do it ^^ was worried I had a real odd ball as he's the only 1 of my 6 that does it.




LittleBettaFish said:


> I really enjoy reading through your journal. It's only my opinion, but I think your tanks are some of the nicest on this forum.
> 
> I wish I could have a riparium. Sadly our two cats eat almost any house plant that is within their reach. I also tend to keep fish species with very suicidal tendencies so an open top has to be avoided.



Thank you so much for the kind words! Know all about the cat woes (so glad the ones we had finally were rehomed-we weren't suppose to have them as long as we did but "temp".. not so "temp"....), I had to cat proof all table surfaces so they could not jump up (aka cover in junk so no room to get up). Fat lil [censor]s could jump higher than you'd think...especially for ones who's previous owner had front paws permanently declawed. 
I've done pretty ok so far with jumpers, I have madagascar rainbow fish in the 55g which are known jumpers. 

Do you use canister filters/external pump filtration on any of your tanks? If so you can build a riparum just outside of the tank with a window planters/bucket/whatever that water retuning from the pump dumps into first before the tank.. let me dig up some threads from people who've done this...
[1] - can't find the 2nd one now.. trying searching "exterior planter box riparium""diy riparium" or something similar on google
here's a youtube vid of a planter box above a tank with pothos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvzCtzx4UqQ

You can also plant HOBs if you use them, my 20g long always has a planted HOB.
most recent shot: hob is on the left, has helxine soleirolii (big blob of tiny leaves stems), wondering jew, riccia and fittonia albivenis, also some hydro sp japan


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## Aqua Aurora

*Update on 55g, 20g long, adn teh forgotten marimo*

*55g*
Syngonium leaves/stems are finally mostly upright, also grabs a peace lily at a grocery store (kinda hope it turns into a 3' giant). I also removed and potted the dwarf mondo grass from my 20g long. And I pulled some of the pothos off the tank rim to wrap around some simple ghostwood branches (didn't want to use any that stuck out and could stab someone). Roots are still in the tank to absorb nitrates.. Pardon the 2 barren stocks in the HOB, one of the vines lost leaves where it was behind the riparium plants so snipped those off.. going to see if they grow some more. Purple queen lower portion is wily but has new healthy growth on top. Anthurium is working over time getting its blooms up to visible height. 
I really want to go crazy and add more fish but amusingly this tank is more like a pond now (view from above rather than front glass pane).
On a side note, the branches now in front of the 55g were originally intended for my 40g vivarium but decided to go with my manzanita branches in there instead. All the potted plants will be watered with removed tank water on water change day ^^


I want to go crazy and put a giant black mat behind the tank that is 2x as tall/wide >.>'''
Can't wait for the sponge filter to cycle so I can rip that HOB off.. its my retired one that use to b on the 20g long (had brought from a member on here for a great price)... I love that its meant for up to 60g tanks but it doesn't properly fit over the black plastic trim.. really had to fight it to get the intake tube lined up with the impeller ....


*20g long*
Ok so recently my 55g sprung a leak (seal on bottom pane of glass gave).. after fixing that the tank was placed on a much lower table surface so the riparium was more prominent (really like that) and i took over the 55g's previous cabinet to put the 20g long on as its other table top was.. not as sturdy. Removed everything cleaned snad, put hardscape back most the way it was (+ 1 new small rock) and riparium plants back on.. minus the dwarf mondo grass who's roots had turned black  cut those off and stuck it in a planter by the 55g for now.

last shots before redo:




Mondo, cleaning, and after:











*Marimo*
Haven't updated on this in forever... had 2 marimo in a less than 1g cube for some time.. with the recent tank shuffling they finally got a new spot, on a shelf in the office. Finally added the 3rd large marimo I had quarantined for over a month to ensure no pests or invasive algaes. Its still buoyant as I'd rinsed and rung it out before putting it in the tank. Love this tank, 0 maintenance... maybe once every 3 months top off water from evaporation (lid keeps it mostly in), no fauna so no feeding or poop cleaning and no algae issues *knock on wood* since its so low light.


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## charliegill110

i've heard only real marimo floats, is that true? because mine doesn't float at all, even if i squeeze all the water out before putting it in, it will still sink right to the bottom. but i know its a real living plant (as opposed to styrofoam balls being sold as marimo) because i broke it in 2. i got it from petco and it was just labeled a "betta buddy"


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## Aqua Aurora

Sooo.. I may rename Dijon to Shredder... =.=* bad fish!*


He's in the 2.5g quarantine with IAL, aq salt, hater and the vt's filter. The vt boy was moved into the crypt vase with no filter.. So far only a rise in nitrites being filterless so thats pretty good (may do a water change in there today). I'm not sure if its simply that he's not settled in yet but the vt boy is no longer flaring now that he's in a curved glass tank.. so perhaps the flare happy [censor] attitude comes from the reflective heavy quarantine and other flat glass tanks? Still mulling over names.. Husband (jokingly) suggested using the villains name from Harry potter the one "that shall not be named" what was it again? i want to say mordor but thats lord of the rings location...

5.5g fishless


VT in the 2g no sponge filter but I have an airline tube in there to move the water around a little with its bubbling


Really like the crinkly-ness of some of these crypt leaves... still got a little melting but some are growing new leaves now.


Also got pond snails in there (eggs came in on crypts) so get to see if VT is a snail eater like Arsit'oto', Xerxes, and Aristocoles. If not free diatom cleaners.. speaking of once nitrates are under control in the 5.5 i need to get a snail or 3 in there-diatoms starting to pop up.






charliegill110 said:


> i've heard only real marimo floats, is that true? because mine doesn't float at all, even if i squeeze all the water out before putting it in, it will still sink right to the bottom. but i know its a real living plant (as opposed to styrofoam balls being sold as marimo) because i broke it in 2. i got it from petco and it was just labeled a "betta buddy"


I've never owned fake marimo to compare but I do know the real stuff will float after being rinsed and rung. At least mine does, I've also had balls float when i did a 100% water cahnge on their lil' tank way back when, water gets overly oxygenated from the new water (glass is covered in bubbles and you see bubbles on the marimo)


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## DangerousAngel

Bad boy Dijon! He shredded them didn't he?!
Voldemort? That's a cool name choice!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Snails*

So I actually like my snails, currently have some ramshorns snails in Xerxes tank that have done a great job cleaning up and been fun to watch-their lil mouths are so cute. Took several photos of them.. those with the white banding and chunks missing have calcium diffidence-the person I bought them from did not have enough calcium in the water. 
Pardon the water stains on the glass >.>''

Xerxes photo bombing..



One guy getting ready to go (surface) water walking


And Xerxes having an intense moment with a ramshorn too close to his (lacking) bubble nest (no harm came to the snail.. just a hard stare down) also one of the few times Xerxes hold still long enough for me to get in focus shot
que jaws music





And a couple other close ups



A 'lil leopard spotted one-love these


And one of two "blue" ramshorns that came in with the batch-they're more of a pale blue-grey hue... miss my blue leopard ramshorns those were the sexy-est!!





DangerousAngel said:


> Bad boy Dijon! He shredded them didn't he?!
> Voldemort? That's a cool name choice!


Yes he did =.=

There we go thats the name *whiny kid voice* "but you're not suppose 'ta saaay iiit!" haha


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## DangerousAngel

The snails are adorable!

LOL :lol:


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## Aqua Aurora

*The office*

Did I mention I really love how Xerxes' tank scape looks? ^^ shots of the office tanks (7g, 6g and 12g long)















Aristocoles keeps knocking the anubias roots loose.. makes the scape look messier *sigh*














Sorry just my view 'back' of the tank-husbands at his desk atm so can't push the monitors out of the way for a fts.








Marimo tank is also in here but kinda a dark spot so slapped the old light that went with this tiny tank on to see for some quick shots, large marimo is still being slightly buoyant. I'm in a conundrum now.. I love how it looks with a light over it but don't need the nightmare of algae growth.. having kept it in the shade of other tanks with very little light has kept this thing in perfect balance so far.. I fear adding a light will ruin it..arg!























On a tangent I fund an interesting page on beneficial bacteria in the aquarium:
http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html


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## SiameseFightingArt

The photos refuse to show on my screen!! NOOO *sobs*


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## Aqua Aurora

SiameseFightingArt said:


> The photos refuse to show on my screen!! NOOO *sobs*


for some reason they're not loading for me either  and photobucket has [censor]ed the bed so I'll just upload them via the site.. one moment
[que elevator music]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
There, hopefully that worked?


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## charliegill110

i can't see the pictures either


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## Aqua Aurora

charliegill110 said:


> i can't see the pictures either


Please try refreshing the page or clearing cookies and cashe, they should be visible now.


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## charliegill110

ah yes it works now. beautiful!


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## Aqua Aurora

*More snail action +diy purigen bag*

Another not quite in focus shot of Xerxes.. flaring at the ramshorns..


*que sexy time music*



*abrupt rip of needle off the record player* *GASP* GEORGE!!


yes I amuse myself... >.>


Ok onto something more useful! I bought the smallest bag of Seachem Purgegin I could find to try out. Supposed it absorbs nitrates (and ammonia and nitrite) as well as being useful with tannins so I wanted to give it a shot on the 5g since nitrates are still high and I will *hopefully* be getting some tannins crazy driftwood soon... Well bag came and is bigger then the entire azoo palm filter... this is an issue.. how to make it fit?* DIY TIME! *Thanks to some suggestions from my husband I found an iron on a semi low setting melted the plastic mesh of a spare aquaclear carbon bag I had (dumped out the carbon and cut down to size). Used a 1/4 of the mesh, melted the open side wall shut then put in puregin and melted the top shot. tada
It will probably break the seal with rough handling from rinsing after the bleach clean but it is working in the filter for now, so I can just make another mini bag or re-seal this one after the "the cleaning".


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Crypt tank is looking better as they get settled in and start gowning new leaves.





After adding the last of the plants:


Aqua Aurora said:


> Crypt list now:
> parva, wendtii green, wendtii red, undulates, retrospiralis, balansae
> Hope they all grow back!



Also one more snail shot-s/he's free floating just hanging out. Notice Xerxes circling in the background? He was follow the snail ^^


And in other news. Never give up on pothos! I cut off some that had no leaves (fell off from being too shaded behind plants) and just plopped them in the HOB so a root nub was submerged. Now I have the starts of new leaves and roots:




And we'll finish with a Syngonium (aka arrowhead plant) close up I liked:


----------



## Fenghuang

The bowl is looking really lovely. I have to set mine up...

What I never quite figured out is how people perform water changes on a heavily planted tank without ruining everything. Will you please let me in on your secret? Pleeeeeeease?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> The bowl is looking really lovely. I have to set mine up...
> 
> What I never quite figured out is how people perform water changes on a heavily planted tank without ruining everything. Will you please let me in on your secret? Pleeeeeeease?


I don't really do anything specific/fancy but I'll do a write up and mabye take some photos while doing a water change tomorrow to show (too tired to type it all up without a lot of typos/mis-fired auto corrects right now).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*[censor] you eheim jagar!!! trying to cook my fish!*

Well... looks like I either need to change heater brands or buy 6 more azoo micro temp controllers.....I come down to the office and look at the thermometer in Dijon's qt tank this morning 95F!!!! Immediately cupped him and floated him in the minnow tank (74F) and ripped out the qt tank heater... Eheim jagar are suppose to be calibrate-able BUT they only adjust 10 degrees for calibration.. I had it set at 76...Its not a super old heater but I've had it since last spring.. not too happy if I have to replace the supposed best heater brand on the market after one year =.= *ugh *
Ok done ranting... Currently dripping Dijon and the sponge filter back into a heater-less tanks... Thankfully the office is always warmer than the rest of the house so he'll be at 74F for now. I'm not too keen on cupping anf floating him in another betta's tank, his tank still has too high of a nitrates to put him in, and the community tanks are all about the same temp (74). Will have to hunt down a new heater...


----------



## LittleBettaFish

I had two Eheim Jager heaters that were not that old, overheat and kill my fish. I am leery of them now and even though I still have a couple running in my tanks, I have switched to a different brand. At least when my cheaper heaters malfunction, they tend to stop heating, rather than overheat.


----------



## DangerousAngel

Oh my, that's scary! What's bad is that Dangerous has one! My divided tank has an Aqueon adjustable heater that I really like. You might could go for that one.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> The bowl is looking really lovely. I have to set mine up...
> 
> What I never quite figured out is how people perform water changes on a heavily planted tank without ruining everything. Will you please let me in on your secret? Pleeeeeeease?


(sorry started typing this yesterday but didn't get to finish it)
Ok long write up time! *rolls up sleeves*
First of all: my way is by no means the only way to do this, there are plenty of other methods/tools that can be used.
Secondly: all linked items are for image examples. If you wish to buy these items look around before paying, I may not have linked the cheapest option.

First things first, tanks has to be planted! I tie down mosses and rhizome based plants to keep them anchored and stuff stems and rooted plants (vals, swords, crypts, bubls (do not fully bury a bulb)) in usually with long planting tongs (click-able) and push up some sand around them to keep 'em in place... I'll even keep a small bucket of sand on hand and after planting carefully pour more sand on top of plants then very gently wave my hand around in the water to create a bit of agitation, causing sand on top of leaves to fall down to the bottom where it should.

Ok water change time! Before you start unplug the heater if it will be above water from the water cahnge, ad filter if HOB (when water level is low the falling water from the filter can uproot plants). 
Tools of the trade: I use Aqueon mini siphon (click-able) but thats not the only siphoning option, it just works well for my smaller betta tanks. I also have 2 5g buckets (can get at home depot/lowes paint section) one to put tank water in and one to put in new tap water to then put into the tank. You can just as easily use 1 bucket for removal and adding of new water, there are also smaller sizes like 3g, and maybe even 1g. I also use a clean zip lock style sandwich bag and a clean easy to hold cup/bowl ( dedicated for water changes. 

I start the water change by putting the siphon in and sucking the other end to get the siphon going. Since I clean out the tubing between water changes so it does not mold its not gross for me. siphon bottom in a bucket and push most of the slack in the bucket just so it doesn't fall out. In the tank I never put the siphon directly against the substrate. I'll either hover just above the plants or push down lightly into the plants to get at debris. An up and down motion or circular motion made with the siphon with agitate the water and make debris float up off the substrate where it can be sucked up the siphon easily. 
(sorry for lacking photo clarity)




see the little debris particles floating about?


Sometimes if plants aren't well rooted yet they may come loose from the water agitation and off occasionally go down the siphon. I just grab the tweezers and stuff them back where they go either during or after completing the siphoning. The only plant I have this issue with is newly plated micro swords or hydro sp japan. Most of my other plants have long enough roots or are anchors that they don't come loose.

When I am don't removing water I usually put my hand in and place my fingers over the siphon to stop it from sucking up more water then move the siphon over the bucket to release the water still in the nozzle (sorry no photo-need a 3rd hand for that). If you just pull the siphon straight out of the water it dumps back in the water that was in the wider end part which can knock loose plants. Another option is to tilt the siphon up and bring it above the water then dump it into the bucket.

I don't take out more than 1/2-2/3 of the tank water to try to keep most of the plants submerges so thy don't shift from being out of water.



Now its time to add new water in. This is where the cup and plastic bag come in. I place the bag in the tank on the surface, often putting a corner against the glass to hold it in place, then slowly cup water from the new water bucket onto the bag. This disperses the water over the surface instead of letting it shoot straight down into the tank and possibly uprooting plants. Don't pour too fast, and I'd recommend having the bucket on a chair or table... raise it up so you do not have to bend over to get a new cup of water each time-saves your back.




If bag doesn't want to stay put you can use one hand to hold it in place and cup water in with the other (no photo example-don't have a 3rd hand). When done just pull the bag out, I push it along the lip of the glass to 'squeegee off' water so it doesn't drip everywhere. Wipe down tank glass/area in front of tank as needed, replant anything that might be gotten sucked up the siphon and all done!

If its a shrimp based tank use a light colored bucket and grab a flash light, check the removed tank water for shrimplets. If you find some use a cup and a fine mesh fish/shrimp net. Put some of the removed tank water in the cup and net the shrimp into the cup. Once you've caught them om its time to go back in the tank! If you do this *after *adding new water to the tank float the cup on the tank water and add a little tan water every few minutes for 10-20 minutes (depending on how large of a water change) then let them go(pout cup into tank). If you catch shrimp *before *putting new tank water in you can simply float the cup for 10 minutes then let them loose (just have to make sure they are at tank temp) then add new water.

Hope the write up is helpful ^^

Xerxes was impatient for me to refill his tank.


----------



## LittleBettaFish

Give me your java fern. 

That is all. 

Your tanks always look so lush. Your bettas must love their forests of plants.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Aristocoles photo dump, with some Xerxes and Dijon shots tossed in*

Have a splitting head ache today ugh no fun... but here ahve some photos of Aristocoles being.... himself and a little bit of Xerxes and shredded Dijon too.
*hovering at feeding spot*


"Oh there you are! Feed me?"


"Oo a finger!"


"Bah no food on it *swims away*"


He oddly held this pose for several seconds, gave me time to get a nice shot



"I'm just uh.. gonna go back here for a bit.."


*que intermission music (similar to elevator music)* 
While we Wait for Aristocoles to come back here are some shots from the other side of the desk.

An odd lily leaf in Xerxes' tank its deformed not chewed on.. kinda looks like a puzzle piece ^^


Xerxes' favorite leaf to bubble nest under or hand out under, it looks kinda crappy since it has plantlets growing off it so the leaf is dieing slowly.


GTFO!


*ahem* ok since Xerxes is don't with photo time let take a look at Dijon's shredded-ness.
Pretty much a contiguous "feed me feed me" can be heard from this quarantine tank.



And we're back with more Aristocoles.. 
Aristocoles? WE can see you "No you can't! I'm invsabul"


Yes we can just come out ".. oh ok fine.... Ooo finger ggrrrr!"






"I want some food.".... "Hey are you listening to me?!"



"I'll just go be fabulous over here for a moment"


He puffed and froze glaring at this upside down ramshorn for several seconds then lunged at it!..Yup definitely not good with tank mates....



Lookin' purple



And looking for that snail.. "there he is..."*stare down*







LittleBettaFish said:


> I had two Eheim Jager heaters that were not that old, overheat and kill my fish. I am leery of them now and even though I still have a couple running in my tanks, I have switched to a different brand. At least when my cheaper heaters malfunction, they tend to stop heating, rather than overheat.


I'd prefer a stop heating to overheating too but seems cooking is what happens when the sensor get shot...



DangerousAngel said:


> Oh my, that's scary! What's bad is that Dangerous has one! My divided tank has an Aqueon adjustable heater that I really like. You might could go for that one.


I've actually been thinking of trying the Theo 25 watt adjustable eater so many people on this forum recommend.



LittleBettaFish said:


> Give me your java fern.
> 
> That is all.
> 
> Your tanks always look so lush. Your bettas must love their forests of plants.


Noooo it took me a long time to get enough (and different types) to fill up this tank!

Thank you, I like to think that they do ^^


----------



## Fenghuang

Hi, Aurora, that "tutorial" was super informative. Thank you for taking the time to put that together. :-D

Woah, Aristocoles has some massive fins. I really like the look of those rocks in his setup too.


----------



## NightStars

Aristocoles is a beauty.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> Hi, Aurora, that "tutorial" was super informative. Thank you for taking the time to put that together. :-D
> 
> Woah, Aristocoles has some massive fins. I really like the look of those rocks in his setup too.


Glad it helped^^ 

Yeh kinda hard to image him with the he had short fins when he first came home*digs up old photo* I use to think *hoped* he was a girl but that bubble got popped quick (within the first day).





NightStars said:


> Aristocoles is a beauty.


Thank you ^^


----------



## Bettabubble3

this is my favorite journal. As soon as i get an email that theres a new post I rush onto it lol


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Just some updates..*

I finally broke down and trimmed the fissidens, it was getting crazy thick in Alastor's tank. I ended up using some to make another ss mesh mat and still have a pretty good (golf ball) size portion left over so slapped up a [sales thread] for it.

I managed to make the ehiam jagar "work" again but I have it set at I think 69-71 to keep the 2.5g at 78F.. I got the new hydro theo 25 watt in but have not tried it yet, may test it in a bucket first because.. it kinda looks like it was a returned item, had oily finger prints on the heater when opened and the heater box was slightly damaged. Dijon is still in quarantine healing with daily water changes to add new AQ salt... he's getting harder and harder to catch as he gets smarter about evading the net (no chance of getting him with the cup now he knows he can squeeze under it at the tank corner). I've tried giving him a live black worm while cupped to make it a more positive association but he's still not interested in cooperating I only put in about 1/2 rounded spoon so about 1/2 the strength I could in at each water cahnge (ground up with spoon in hot water then strained with fish net). On a lark I tested ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate the other day. The tank has had the same sponge filter for several weeks and cycled from the vt boy, but I thought aq salt would kill BB (beneficial bacteria) I was pleasantly surprised to find it did not, ammonia and nitrite 0 and nitrate 20 (tap level).

The 12g long seems to have gotten back to normal-I had lost a lot of shrimp to non ss (stainless steal) mesh from a plant site Iw ill never buy from again..but not finding any more corpses now so thats good. I'm thinking of taking the emersed grown riccia and using slate and scrubber sponge mesh thing-y (so technical) to re-try a riccia mat, I liked it with ss but there was no way to keep it down on the edges.

Xerxes' tank .. well all the large java fern in the back is making babies which means the leaves they've grown off of will die.. so I'll probably have to haul that out in the next 2 months and trim off dead leaves then die down the grown plantlets. I'm a bit worried about Xerxes too, he has sevearl cysts or tumors on him now, one on the right pectoral, one on the dorsal, and a little lump on his head... I'm worried if there might be some internal lumps I can't see messing with his organs (no outward signs of this yet though). He's still mostly blind but has same good days with aiming for food. His depth perception is pretty shot but he can see movement like me and my husband by the tank.

55g has had higher nitrates than I'd like since moving the arrow head plant.. I'm thinking of getting a 'Chinese evergreen' (not a true coniferous) and cutting back on feeding.. the Angelfish and rainbowfish are real food hogs though making it hard to get food to all the cherries and especially the cory. I'm hoping the cory get enough to eat with the food I put in after lights out (right before room lights are off so the other fish can't see the food). The purple queen is growing but new leaves are not that purple.. wonder if they turn purple as they get bigger? We'll see. I still have the HOB and sponge filter running on the tank.. hoping in another 2-4 weeks to remove the HOB and just have the sponge filter and plants for filtration ^^


20g long is doing well, vals are settled in and riparium is doing nicely.. except for the chives surprisingly, they don't look as good as the batch I put outside but going to give them a bit more time. Might pull them out and trim the pock-a-dot plant (already doubled in size) and stick it in that planter basket. I currency have a spare sponge filter and air pump running on my 10 tank which houses excess ramshorn snails I'd bought (to clean some tanks and feed the puffer in the 12g) and some mts I've pulled from the 55g. Hoping to get it cycled and move the snails to buy and quarantine another dozen white cloud mountain minnows for the 20g long... Thought I still mull over the possibility of trading in the minnows for a more warm water schooler and getting a centerpiece fish like a dwarf gourami.. but then I'd just compare it to my first fish (a powder blue dwarf gourami) and except it to be as sweet, which it might not be... Really wish I could get my hands on some danio tinwini they are just so lovely (and very peaceful/calm danio).

Now have a spam of photos...
12g long my side view


Xerxes'7g dwarf lily is spitting up a ton of leaves now!



55g





20g long







Bettabubble3 said:


> this is my favorite journal. As soon as i get an email that theres a new post I rush onto it lol


Aww thank you ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Riparium Getting Crowded, Update on Donated Pleco, The Crypt tank*

*I'm Running out of Room!*
Soo went a bit over board and bought several new plants Friday and Saturday for the 55g.
Chinese ever green


Prayer plant


Rumex sanguineus and Scirpus cernuus




And this [censor] that I've tried twice to order from someone on here but it always arrived melted/mush and un-salvage-able. Oplismenus basket grass!



The last 3 came from an outdoor goldfish pond at a garden center. Because they were outside (unlike all my other plants which come from indoor garden sections) I am wary of putting them on immediate as there are plenty of little crawly nibbly bugs I don't want to risk introducing to the system. So for now they're outside in buckets of dechlorinated water (and rain water) until I can get some potassium permanganate-a commonly used item to disinfect pond plants that won't kill them or fish.

I went to 2 nurseries and both recommended a 3rd thats about an hours drive off for more pond selection (sad that close and far ones don't have the potassium permanganate so I had to order it off ebay) and though I don't really have any room left I'm tempted to make the drive and see what all the hub-bub is about at the other place.

Anyways for now the prayer plant and Chinese evergreen are on the 55. The purple queen has not been doing so well, all the old roots melted and 1/2 the stems. Hoping it pulls through as I think I see some new root nubs starting... anyways the 55g as of today:


*Donated Pleco update:*
I use to have a leopard sailfin pleco in my 55g before it became a riparium he'd gotten too big for the tank and even managed to clog a giant canister filter filter (I spent so much on a eheim pro 3x jumbo [censor] huge one) with his poop ugh x.x Anyways I found a nice group that kept giant tanks and had plecos in their other tanks so they were experienced with keeping these giant poop monsters and he went to his new home last October.
A decided to ask about him today, after a few family members I'd asked for help finding him a home (if they knew anyone with large freshwater tanks) had asked how he as doing. The group that has him were quick to answer and kind enough to include some photos of him. They estimate he's grown another 3" and is at a grand total of 16" right now (only 2" left to reach his average breed max length). They also said he's doing well, getting along fine with the fish and people, and that they enjoying having him. I'm so happy he got a good home ^^
(not my photos or tank)




Just a reminder, when you see these cute little plecos at a petstore, many of them can turn into the giant pictured above. Don't buy them if you can't get a HUGE tank with HUGE filtration system.
(my photos)


I still keep an old photo of him as my cellphone back drop, a cropped version of this image ^^ Clean my screen!



The Crypt Keeper
So tempted to unofficially name the vt that.. as he is in a tank of crypts... but still not settled on any real name for him anyways photos of the tank!



And one of the crypts has a bloom, and underwater spathe thats almost opened:


Btw, the veiltail boy seems to get very excited over 'manly' items like pliers philips head screwdriver, and a mans wristwatch. Dunno why but he loved these things.. maybe he's like Klaus from "American Dad"? Klaus is German man put into a goldfish's body.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Not sure if you just don't have any around, but I get my PP from Jungle's Clear Water in Wal-Mart in the fishy section. Just a couple bucks for a bottle. I use that for PP baths and disinfecting things


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Not sure if you just don't have any around, but I get my PP from Jungle's Clear Water in Wal-Mart in the fishy section. Just a couple bucks for a bottle. I use that for PP baths and disinfecting things


*head desk* Didn't even think about pre-made solutions to look into only Googled up the pottasium permanganate and got the dry powder from ebay.. ah well at least it was cheap.. might see if if my local petsmart/petco or walmart have the stuff you mentioned. Found [this] helpful post on dosing for baths... and purple fingers hmm? fun.. don't think there are any latex gloved around the house..


edit: well googled up, walmart does not carry it within my area so ship only, petco and petsmart does not have the brand..I may call the petstore with the for-every [censor] employee (rhymes with witch-y) and see if they have it but doubt it...maybe that pond store that as recommended that is an hours away might..


----------



## lilnaugrim

You can have Wal-mart ship site to store for free. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Jungle-Fo...lear-Water-2-Fl-Oz-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/10313041

Yeah, the other stores don't carry Jungle, it's pretty much just a Wal-Mart thing usually.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Just messing with the zoom, got a few ok shots of some plants, needle leaf java fern, dwarf lily plant, crypt undulate, and leopard val


Really love the lily leaves!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*MTS ahhhhh also Hydro theo review*

The never ending MTS is getting to me again... I'm strongly debating setting up the 2.5 as Dijon's permanent home on my desk and but several more marimo to make a carpet and cover some old driftwood sticks I use to have in the cookie jar before it became a betta tank. I feel like the bookshelf space I have the 5g in is mostly empty so I want to haul the 10g up there and get some more plants, then stick the derimmed 5g on the only empty spot on my husband's desk and get him another fish (that I care for).
Was thinking about trying smaragdina copper as my husband likes the look of them (thanks to Fenghuang I really love the look of their male). If I did try that species it would be a solo male, I'm not comfortable trying a pair in that size tank. My husband also said he's try a regular splendid in one of these two color combinations: red and yellow, or red and black. I'm also looking at asian stone catfish as another option for that size tank but I think he'd rather have something he can find once in a while (those guys are ninjas-look like a leaf be a leaf). *We already own shrimp and a dwarf puffer, but if anyone has other nano fish ideas for a 5g (compatible with a pH of 7.5) I'm happy to hear ideas.*



In other news I've tried a hydro theo 25watt adjustable heater TWICE from amazon now. Both would not heat a 2.5 gallon bucket past 76F (room temp 69-71) even when cranked to max temperature! Very disappointed.. also looks like their put together in a rush as the sticker on the inside of the glass was not aligned in either heater... eheim jagar 25 watt is still on the fritz and after it nearly cooked Dijon again (came into the office to find tank temp at 93F!! ripped ) he's going heater -less for the moment. I know not idea but I'd rather not have boiling betta soup. At least the office is warmer than the other rooms so his water temp is 74F... *Anyone have another adjustable heater recommendation?*


----------



## lilnaugrim

Hah yeah, I've only seen my stone cat twice since I've put him in, that's okay though.

Here are some other fishes for consideration:
Rasbora Espei*, Mosquito Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae), Chili Rasbora, Ember Tetra*, Jellybean Tetra, Green Neon Tetra, Golden Dwarf Barb (Puntius Gelius)*, Celestial Pearl Danio* (Danio Margaritatus), Glowlight Danio, Gold Ring Danio, Emerald Dwarf Danio (Danio Erythromicron), Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma Zonatum), Scarlet Badis (Dario Dario), Red Badis (Dario Hysginon), Endlers

That's all I can think of right now. The starred ones are ones that I've kept. The Tetras won't mind the higher pH level if you acclimate them well depending on where you get them from. But if you do a wild Betta, then you'll have to lower the pH anyway of course. I wasn't sure if you were planning on doing a wild and the tankmates or the domesticated and the tankmates? Meh, either way, those fish would be good with either of them except the danios. Noted that danios do prefer cooler water temperatures along with the sunfish, but the others will be fine with warmer temps too.

You could try the Cobalt Aquatics Accu-Therm, I know some people swear by them as well. I never buy heaters from Amazon any more, I've had two that came from there, one a Hydor and one a Marineland and both went on the fritz. The heaters I bought from Drs. F and S are still up and running two years later, *knock on wood*.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Hah yeah, I've only seen my stone cat twice since I've put him in, that's okay though.
> 
> Here are some other fishes for consideration:
> Rasbora Espei*, Mosquito Rasbora (Boraras Brigittae), Chili Rasbora, Ember Tetra*, Jellybean Tetra, Green Neon Tetra, Golden Dwarf Barb (Puntius Gelius)*, Celestial Pearl Danio* (Danio Margaritatus), Glowlight Danio, Gold Ring Danio, Emerald Dwarf Danio (Danio Erythromicron), Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma Zonatum), Scarlet Badis (Dario Dario), Red Badis (Dario Hysginon), Endlers
> 
> That's all I can think of right now. The starred ones are ones that I've kept. The Tetras won't mind the higher pH level if you acclimate them well depending on where you get them from. But if you do a wild Betta, then you'll have to lower the pH anyway of course. I wasn't sure if you were planning on doing a wild and the tankmates or the domesticated and the tankmates? Meh, either way, those fish would be good with either of them except the danios. Noted that danios do prefer cooler water temperatures along with the sunfish, but the others will be fine with warmer temps too.
> 
> You could try the Cobalt Aquatics Accu-Therm, I know some people swear by them as well. I never buy heaters from Amazon any more, I've had two that came from there, one a Hydor and one a Marineland and both went on the fritz. The heaters I bought from Drs. F and S are still up and running two years later, *knock on wood*.


Thank you for the list! I'll read up on those when i get some free time ^^. It would be a one species (possibly 1 fish depending on type (if non schooler/shoaler)) tank, at most I might add some ramshorn(s) to clean glass. 
From reading up a little on smaragdina its a splendid complex and according to seriousfish.com can take 7.5 pH.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/betta-smaragdina/
I would LOOOOOOVE to get tinwini (gold ring danio) but no one [censor]ing sells them!! grrr I've not seen a listing online in months and no local store sells them nor will they order them (cannot get from their suppliers).

I'll look into the heater you mentioned.. I hate amazon now the only reason I use it is Prime free shipping but the service there has gone down hill *so much* I'm about ready to drop it...


----------



## lilnaugrim

Oh, one of my store get's them in occasionally. If you really want them, I can ask them to order more and get some for you and ship them out. No real hassle for me at all.  They also had some Erythromicron in recently as well. 

The Badis can be single or trios. You likely won't find any female Scarlet Badis, not worth hunting for them either, no one is going to give up their females since they're rare in a spawn >.< Same goes for the Sunfish; they can be by themselves or with a trio in that sized tank.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh, one of my store get's them in occasionally. If you really want them, I can ask them to order more and get some for you and ship them out. No real hassle for me at all.  They also had some Erythromicron in recently as well.
> 
> The Badis can be single or trios. You likely won't find any female Scarlet Badis, not worth hunting for them either, no one is going to give up their females since they're rare in a spawn >.< Same goes for the Sunfish; they can be by themselves or with a trio in that sized tank.


For the Espei rasboras do you mean this guy: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trigonostigma-espei/ seriously fish doesn't have another hit for that sp. Yes that site is my first go-to for fish info ^^'' What size tank did you keep them in?

I wouldn't want to encourage breeding anyways, don't need to deal with micro live foods or finding a place to put fry when they're too big for the tank (overstocked).

I'll probably pull up photos of all the species you listed and see if my husband has an interest in any then research further.

If he chooses tinwini I may ask you about getting an order (if you have to pre-pay store before they order I'd send the funds once you gave me total $). It may be a month before I'm ready to buy fish though, got to get tanks properly set up first. Thankfully have a fully and almost-completed-cycle filters for each tank but will plant heavily and wait for plants to be established.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yes, those are the ones  They're same size as the Ember Tetras. I kept them in the 29 with the Embers but they'll be fine in smaller tanks, same with the Embers. They're literally just like Ember Tetras in Rasbora form haha.

Yeah, I love seriouslyfish too ^_^ 

Breeding generally doesn't happen too often with the Badis, even if they do, they can be eaten by parents usually. It wouldn't be a big issue to deal with at all. It's just that having just 2 males, you'll end up with the regular dom/sub and one will end up dead, deal. 

Yeah, sure np! Just let me know. No need for pre-paying at the store since they'd sell anyways. I don't recall what their price was for them, it was either 1.99 or 2.99. That was previously though, they may go up in price. I can ask about it next week when I go visit--the pricing and if he can get them in at all. Depends on the supplies of course. But yeah, just let me know and we can work that out ^_^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*So busy*

Sorry for the lack of updates..
her have some teaser photos..
5g on my husband's desk.. obligatory blob of cables.. hmm wonder what's in there?

new 10g with some plants floating, will scape wed/thru if last shipment of plants arrive. Wonder how it'll look?



Ended up grabbing a 10g Aqueon at the Petco $ per a gallon sale (just stared Sunday, I think it runs for 3-4 weeks). The 5g looked too small in the bookshelf space to I pulled it out and put the 10 in, stuck a sponge filter and heater on as well as the 5g filter to keep it cycled (btw azoo paml hob will fit on an Aqueon 10g rim, sorry not in photo, put it on a few hours after this was taken). Cleaned some new sand substrate, put tank in (last) open spot on husband's desk and let husband play a bit with scaping. Need to do a few water changes to clear up water and do the chopstick/fork method to remove air bubbles from the sand.

Some of you may have read my husband is getting his first betta ^^ I showed him a lot on aquabid and he decided he liked koi girls so we're giving one a try (fingers crossed she makes it here ok!!). He choose substrate and plants for his tank already. I'll be tossing in a few extras to float and give his fish somewhere to sleep. He'll probably also move the marimo from the little pico on the mini wall shelf into the tank (I told him some bettas like to play with it-roll them) and sleep on marimo like a fluffy soft bean bag (except it doesn't loose its shape)).

I bought some wood from ebay that originally i was going to put in Dijon's tank when he was going to be in the 5g but he seems very content in the 2.5 quarantine on my desk so the wood will go in the 10g now and once (if) Dijon's fins heal up I'll stop doing AQ salt treatments and scape his tank. I already sanded the [censor] out of the wood to make it betta safe but whatever, no chance of riped fins from it in the 10g nano community I'll set up now. Going to boil the [censor] out of the wood while waiting for plants to get here to reduce tanins-don't need them leechig and dropping my pH.. wood did not leech as much tannins as I expected for the 2 hours of boiling I did on it this evening.

In other news, the 55g is at its max for riparium plants, I pulled the HOB off and stuff the new pond plants on after a dip in potassium permanganate to kill off any nasties. CarmelYumYum the angelfish still spits out eggs every few weeks but she's not a [censor] about it now and doesn't care if other tankmates are near the eggs, or me (first 2 times she was very defensive). Anyways I stuffed the hob from the 55 on my 10g quarantine tank which currently holds excess snails to keep it cycled.
Will take photos of the 55g tomorrow.

Rsting the urge to buy a 2nd Thailand fish to justify the cost of transhipper shipping to me fee but I really don't want a betta in the 10g when the other bettas in that room (Alastor, Magnus, and still unnamed vt) are in 2-3 tanks.. they'd get jealous.

Too tired to think of anything else to update on.. will post more photos tomorrow...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*55g photo dump*

spam photo dump, added new pond plants, ripped off the HOB











And some close ups


----------



## lilnaugrim

Gorgeous plants as always! Do you even have room for the Cream Allusion Arrowhead??? haha!


----------



## Zhylis

:shock: So much greenery! That's got to be awesome in the winter time. Love it!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Gorgeous plants as always! Do you even have room for the Cream Allusion Arrowhead??? haha!


You're just looking for an excuse to keep it now aren't you ^_~
I think I can cram it in next to the Chinese evergreen (or do a shuffle of planters and stick it farther over towards the center) I have room for 1 more of the long basket caddies ^^ 




Zhylis said:


> :shock: So much greenery! That's got to be awesome in the winter time. Love it!


Thank you ^^


----------



## lilnaugrim

Haha, nah. I can't get the stupid suction cups on the shower caddie thingies to stay >.> Have any remedies for that? I reckon I have enough plants though.....for now...lol


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Haha, nah. I can't get the stupid suction cups on the shower caddie thingies to stay >.> Have any remedies for that? I reckon I have enough plants though.....for now...lol


Made a DIY post a while ago for this exact thing ^^ I have several but not all done like this (mainly he loner caddies in the example photos)
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=245289&page=31#post5502241
Not that pretty but it won't slide down anymore!


----------



## lilnaugrim

cool, I'll have to see if I can rig anything like that. I did get them to stay on the 20 long but for the 2.5, they just keep sliding down >.> or one side stays and the other falls. I'm sure it freaks out the fish lol.


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> cool, I'll have to see if I can rig anything like that. I did get them to stay on the 20 long but for the 2.5, they just keep sliding down >.> or one side stays and the other falls. I'm sure it freaks out the fish lol.


Yeh a few suction cups just never stick for me which is why I use the wire, thankfully haven't found any squished fish when pulling the caddie out of the water (when it fell in) yet.


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## Aqua Aurora

*"[CENSOR]!!"..yup that 'bout sums it up*

Well yesterday I decided to work on the 10g on the bookshelf. I brought my phone over since I felt like listening to some music.. Turn on a playlist, set it on the shelf above the tank and it just slides right off, slides through my hands twice on the way down and lands square in the bucket of removed tank water (was draining the 10g as I started music) I have one of those "life proof" cases for my phone so I should be safe from water right? Well yes except the flat at the bottom was open still(for whenever you plug in to charge your phone/connect it to your computer)...
*"[CENSOR]!!!" *
So its been over 24 hours of the phone turned off and resting in the giant bag of white rice we have .. I'm a bit bummed I had no music for my work.. and non of my *counts up* literally _dozen _alarms I use to remind me of things every day. But my husband was nice enough to let me use his phone for picture taking of tank progress.. We have a real high quality camera I'd like to take tank shots with some time but I can't find the connector cable to upload photos to the computer >.<

So first the accident and drain of the 10g. Plants and filters were stuffed into a filled bucket and the 10g rinsed and died. Then Windex the otter glass and had fun with frosted window covering material...
"*[CENSOR]* AGAIN!!!"
I'd bounced back and forth on which to get but had bought static cling covers that you use soap and water to make hold to a surface so I would not have sticky tape.. take a guess what I have.... the [censor] glue back kind..Well not as soon as I apply it I better learn to live with it because there was not way to get all the sticky crap off the back to prevent dust and fur from getting stuck on if the backing was ever removed.
This stuff was definitely a "2 man job" had to get my husband's help with another pair of hands.. ended up covering the back and side walls.. back unfortunate has a lot of bubbles but no way to get them out *eye twitch*
"[CENSOR] ONCE MORE!!"
Thankfully past that there wasn't much more for issues but ugh did not need that frustration...
Dumped in sand, did a 100% water changes. Stuffed in wood (which at that point had had... 6 hours of boiling + 2 overnights in water) re-arranged filtration and planted the tank. I had bought Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan' from 1 seller on another forum and quite literally as soon as I'd paid for it another member offers me more for less $ *head desk*
"[Censor]!!"
That was last weekend. Yesterday the packages came. The person who sold me more for less $ not only did a better job packing but also include extra different plants species and everything was clearly labeled, the extras were Water Sprite and... "[cesnor]" I can't recall the the plant's name now. Anyways that, Hydro sp. 'Japan', Echinodorus angustifolia 'Vesuvius', and Echinodorus 'tropica' were put int eh 10g.. I was planting hydro 'til my fingers were as pruney and my back as sore as an old woman ugh. Stuffed osmocote +roots tabs in a few places and then took the wood out for more boiling. 
Once I confirm the filter is fully cycled (currently the azoo palm is piggy-backing to stay wet until it moves downstairs to the 5g, so will test after the HOB goes) I think I'm going to get pygmy cory and a nano schooling fish.. not 100% sure which yet though I'm leaning towards lambchops as my husband liked the look of them..but it will depend on what's available once I'm ready to add fish.
I'm already messing with the scape in my mind.. I may clear out the hydro in front of the log and very front of the tank to let the cory sift the substrate, just keeping the hydro as a mid ground plant.. we'll see as it starts growing in.

Ok you're probably sick of reading by now, have some photos


----------



## ao

Haha, it sounds like quite the adventure!

The tank looks great  I'm going o wager that come trim time...you're not going to love that H. Japan!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

ao said:


> Haha, it sounds like quite the adventure!
> 
> The tank looks great  I'm going o wager that come trim time...you're not going to love that H. Japan!


Thank you ^^ Yeh, I already sold a huge blob of leftover hydro japan today (sold fast) that I'm shipping out on Monday.


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## lilnaugrim

Hehe, yeah, I'm going to have fun with that H. Japan ^_^ It's going to go in Glaston's 1 gallon and in the 20 long to fill up some gaps I have there :-D

Despite all the troubles you had, the 10 looks great with the frosted glass though!!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Hehe, yeah, I'm going to have fun with that H. Japan ^_^ It's going to go in Glaston's 1 gallon and in the 20 long to fill up some gaps I have there :-D
> 
> Despite all the troubles you had, the 10 looks great with the frosted glass though!!


 It should fill in nicely. May take a week or two to acclimate to a new tank but once it gets situated it takes off in medium light (or high light) tanks.

Thank you ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

Some more tank update shots, to hungry to type anything up 
in the office:








The living room


Magnus being a derp with a pellet


+the 10g that's a page back now.

*runs of to get a lil' pre-dinner snack*


----------



## andakin

Those are some giant marimos. I had a couple that size. I gave them away a long time ago and now I'm regretting.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> Those are some giant marimos. I had a couple that size. I gave them away a long time ago and now I'm regretting.


I got the first 2 from my pet incompitant neice after her failed first and second attempt at keeping bettas... i don't know what to make of her she said she was "scared" of the marimo sitting in the empty tank after the second betta died... think that one might be missing a screw... but whatever free stuff for me!
The largest is from a site I won't buy from again as there other plants had problems more times then not.. marimo went through a month + quarantine to ensure it had nothing before it met the others.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*20g long update, plus quick bit on 10g*

*20G*
Pulled the prayer plant off the 20g (put it in the basket with the rest of its kind on the 55g) to make room for a nice large healthy Fittonia albivenis I put on the right wall with the sweet flag and Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'.

With the warmer weather i unplugged the heater as the tank is staying 73F on its own. If we get some cool weather (doubt it at this point of summer) I'll plug the heater back in.

FTS



HOB?.. what HOB?



Gotta trim that polka-dot pant...




Peace lily has a bloom but it's not open yet.



*10G*
Found the name for the pink stem in the 10g:
Persicaria 'Kawagoeanum'
Hav a shot of a happy 'blue' ramshorn climbing the N. Taiwan, a glimps of the persicaria can be seen to the right in the photo.


did 3 50% water changes on the 10g yesterday(did not want to bring water level so low that plants shifted/uprooted) and dosed ammonia for 2 ppm.. today my readings are *drumroll* 0.25 ppm for ammonia and nitrite. Not bad since I just raised it (was previously dosing for 1.5 ppm ammonia).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*dog and 5g*

Quick photo of the dog being a derp upside down on his special made "couch" using old couch cushions wrapped in an inanely huge 'quilt' as he's old and has a hard time climbing up the the regular couches.. also he's not allowed on the cough in that room.. its an antique and my mother-in-law would kill us if she learned he's been on it (you can see a bit of it in the photo)... Anyways I thought it was a cute shot, he's pretending to be a shepherd dog (no this was not staged/posed)



In other news, apparently Koo Yang (transshipper) should have my husband's fish now and hopefully ship tomorrow and be here Wed (but I may just hover at the front door all day tomorrow and Wed.). When I told my husband he got very excited and wanted to prep the tank more (not that it needs it but I'm happy to see him to eager). He had some fun leveling out the sand with a wooden 'fork' (often used to stir noodles-don't worry its clean). 
Will post photos of tank and fish after she gets here and settles in ^^


Also here's this..finally found a use for that bowl i bought a while back (after a failed moss terrarium-didn't let enough air flow in).

Photo perspective is form the forbidden couch 9for pets). In relation to this couch sitting position Magnus' bubble bowl is to the left next to the couch, the dog's 'couch' is next to that on the adjacent wall, on the other side of the dog's couch is the vt's lantern vase. Across the room from him is the window and Alastor's cookie jar below it (to right in photo).. and on the bookshelf you can see in the photo on the self above the visible one is the 10g tank.. oh and the tv is above the fire place but pfft on that I enjoy the tanks ^^


----------



## Strawberry12

What is that sort of cloverish looking plant in the HOB? I WANT!


*pets the puppy*


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## Aqua Aurora

Strawberry12 said:


> What is that sort of cloverish looking plant in the HOB? I WANT!
> 
> 
> *pets the puppy*


opps ignore teh first write up I miss read that

The clover plant is hydro sp. japan growing emersed (out of water). It also grows like that submerged. I just sold lilgagrum a large blob of it (shipped today). It will be a while before I have more ready to sell but I will have some in the future (its in the 10g)


unless you mean the huge blob on the intake pipe to the right of the riccia and hydro japan.. thats Helxine soleirolii, can't find it locally right now (got it in early spring from a nursery).


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## lilnaugrim

Can't wait to get it!! Most of it will go into that new 2.5 and then some in Glaston's 1 gallon and some in the 20 and maybe some in Bowie's 3 gallon if there is enough left over! :-D So excited!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Can't wait to get it!! Most of it will go into that new 2.5 and then some in Glaston's 1 gallon and some in the 20 and maybe some in Bowie's 3 gallon if there is enough left over! :-D So excited!


AH if there's not enough initially for all tanks just give it a month or 2 you'll have a ton of it. ^^


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah, I figure ^_^ That happens with most of my plants lol


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## Strawberry12

lol speaking of which, my floaters I got from you, Aqua have EXPLODED! I swear each water change once a week i'm just tossing handfuls of it. Will probably start listing on Ebay.


Oh and yeah, it was the Helxine soleirolii I was looking at, but both plants are awesome! Thanks!


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## ao

I love your green afro HOB  

Watch out for the kawagoeanum! it's such a weed. I grew it emersed in a terrarium and it took over the entire terrarium, grew about 18in tall, popped out a bunch of flowers and a whole lot of seeds. Then the seeds sprouted...... LOL

It's nice a delicate looking relatively fast growing plant underwater, but once it gets above the waterline, it's a monster!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Strawberry12 said:


> lol speaking of which, my floaters I got from you, Aqua have EXPLODED! I swear each water change once a week i'm just tossing handfuls of it. Will probably start listing on Ebay.
> 
> 
> Oh and yeah, it was the Helxine soleirolii I was looking at, but both plants are awesome! Thanks!


GAH! I originally wrote up a reply for that stuff but the remembered I have a real clover looking plant in the hob so re-wrote it assuming you meant the hydro.
Helxine soleirolii is not an aquatic plant but does great with wet roots. All I did was rinse off the soil then plop it ontop of the intake so the roots dangled into the water that drips back out the front and let it go. lilnagrum also was interested in that plant but I don't think its big enough to hack off chunks yet (must grow more MORE!!!)
I'd found a close relative on ebay you can try 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miniature-F...269?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c4f9ea8dd
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Baby-Tears-...413?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa9e44c4d

I originally got mine from a nursery but they no longer stock it this time of year (everyone is into blooming plants and large land scaping right now it seems). If you check nurseries in March-April thats when I bought it, it was in a lil' green house not outside in the elements.



ao said:


> I love your green afro HOB
> 
> Watch out for the kawagoeanum! it's such a weed. I grew it emersed in a terrarium and it took over the entire terrarium, grew about 18in tall, popped out a bunch of flowers and a whole lot of seeds. Then the seeds sprouted...... LOL
> 
> It's nice a delicate looking relatively fast growing plant underwater, but once it gets above the waterline, it's a monster!


Thanks ^^ Did not intend for the afro, was more hoping for a tiny creeping vine over hanging the hob and hiding it look.
Thanks for the warning about the stem plant. The tank it is in won't have mor than an 1" at most (if I forget to top off/water change for over a week) between water surface and Lexal DIY lid so not much emersed growth room. I noticed it shot out roots on its stem within 36 hours of going in the tank which I was impressed by. I hope it will keep its pink hue for me so I can use it as a contrast plant with all the green in there.


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## ao

Well it's fluffy and adorable  does it flower?


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## Aqua Aurora

ao said:


> Well it's fluffy and adorable  does it flower?


Uhh not that I am aware of (mine has not) let me google that
.
.
.
I only get hits for Soleirolia soleirolii (which i linked for ebay buying) blooms which look tiny and odd:


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## Aqua Aurora

*55g*

Nerite snail enjoying a "feeder rock" (rock left in water out in sun for a few weeks).



*7g*
Xerxes chilling under his bubble nest resting on a dwarf lily leaf with a clipped leaf above for shade ^^


I hate that all the original java fern is going to pot but its spitting out an insane amount of babies. Letting the platnlets grow until they pop off naturally then pulling dead leaves out. For some reason narrow/needle-leaf fern as well as Philippine and threadfin never gave me this "omg new parameters! let me make babies and die k thx bye" [censor]...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*5g time!!*

So I recently had a de-rimmed 5g Aqueon on a bookshelf in another room that was planted and got a lovely double tail mustard gas betta in it... until said betta decided to destroy his fins >.< ugh so he's in a 2.5 quarantine on my desk getting daily 100% water changes and aq salt treatment to get the fish to heal quickly and avoid infection. 

With him out of the 5g I decided it was too small for the space it was in. Que Petco's $ per a gallon sale FOR AQUEON TANKS!! YES!!! Much better silicone work than tetra tanks. So grabbed a 10g for the bookshelf space and offered the husband the 5g. 

He put it on the only open spot left on his desk (I wish I could get a good panoramic of the office.. there's tanks all over! After showing him several options for nano fish in the 5g he decided to try bettas, specifically females or plakats.. After showing him a few dozen he took an interested in 'koi' betta (which si being overly used as a term but its suppose to be a fairly stable marble betta that has colors/partners that look like a koi from above). He end up really liking a female plakat koi from Thailand so I scurried around and bought her (had to get up at 3:45 am to make sure I'd win the auction only to notice there was a "buy it now" option *head desk*) and paid transhsipper (used Koo Yang in MN since he was the ONLY one to pick up when I called (others never called back nor e-mailed me back when I emailed them)).



So fast forward a few weeks. Husband decided he wanted something different from the dark thick jungle mess that is his 12g so we got white aquarium sand (I'd much rather buy bulk cheap pool or play sand I could get enough to fil the 55 for the cost of "aquarium sand" ugh..but this is only for the 5g so no point getting it in bulk). After showing my husband a lot of planted betta tanks he took and interest in this:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JYCMRJbidPQ/TQ3rKzRzvkI/AAAAAAAAAX4/4ZOd337Q3p0/s1600/left.jpg
Dried bamboo turned into live bamboo (aka lucky bamboo which is not a real bamboo but Dracaena Sanderiana) and after a few raids on Home Depot and Lowes and some chopping and waxing we had a 'bamboo jungle' started.. sadly several of the lucky bamboo bought were iffy, I quarantined them and glad I did as they show signs of infection.. Wish I could return them but no store does live plant returns.. even if they did sell already sick plants... Will figure out what to so with them..
I posted a photo of the 'healthy' curled bamboo pieces on the previous page.


Anyways I keep the tank water shallow and let the good lucky bamboo acclimate, toss in some black worms to do sand sifting and wait for the fish to come. Meanwhile the 5g's heater is unplugged and its HOB is in the new 10g staying cycled with pure ammonia.

Fish ships to Koo Yang. I call the day he is suppose to ship the fish out (yesterday), got voice mail but he called back before I could put the phone down. Said Fedex would be by to pick up pacakge soon ans should be here "tomorow"(today). Said he's update tracking after Fedex picked up.. Well fish arrived early in the morning so I scrambled to flood the tank, put the filter on and plug it and heater in, then started drip acclimating the fish. Finally had a chance to lok at email-didn't get tracking # until 6:45 am =.= whatever she's here. 

I pulled hornwort out of one of my black worm bins only to find these little semi translucent.. snot like things on it.. limpets!! Google searching redirects me to a thread on here someone used potassium permanganate to kill them. I ave the stuff since I dipped pond plants recently so do a dip. Limpets turn purple and die (and my hands and nails turn more orange), pull them off, rinse and toss hornwort in.. Hmm tank still looks a little empty. Need more! 

Off to the store with the dog (who loves going to petsmart/petco). Start at Petsmart, I stare at bettas for a bit, take several photos (so many lovely bettas!) then go to the plant section.... I'm reminded of why I always buy plants online.. thers nothing healthy in ther and the hornwort and ancharis was mostly dead.. HOW THE [CENSOR] DO YOU MANAGE TO KILL HORNWORT AND ANACHARIS???? I know they don't dose ferts so its not excel.. whatever I pull out the only not completely dead hornwort (and some Green Cambodian for the 10g). There was also some "frill plant" as it was labeled that I almost bought thinking it was hornort (dark tank can't see much thin needled leaved plants and all..) I bailed on that one though as it cost twice as much and I don't know if it took medium or low light... I think its myriophyllum simulans or pinnatum but not 100% sure, didn't take a photo to compare it.

Try Petco next, look at bettas, take some photos, look extremely bewilder-ly at their dead marimo in a cup.. its [censor] marimo.. how did you kill that?? It needs virtually no light  I peak in the plant tank and remember again why I don't buy there.. everything looked like [censor] and half there stock was not true aquatic (fully submerged lucky bamboo and several other house plants ugh).

Ok so that was mostly a bust but got some hornwort. Got home and did a potassium permanganate dip on it (got my hands more stained), rinsed, and cut off the worst parts of the hornwort then plopped it into the 5g. Cambodian was left to float in the 10 until it gites some roots.

Next I pull the marimo balls from their >1g cube, rinse and ring them then dip them in dechlorinated water and drop them in the 5g. The largest one floated (and sitl is) no suprise, the smaller 2 went down though.

The betta seems very inquisitive and I hope will be happy in the tank ^^


My only disappointment is that she is not a stable koi, she's marbled since the seller photo was taken and the cellophane (clear) parts of her fins are now red and the red scales have seeped over more of her pale body. But my husband knew to except marbling- my boy Xerxes marbled drastically from the time the seller took a photo to his arrival (we proved it was him from fins several distinctive traits-some odd colored scales, deformed ventral/pelvic fin, and notches in anal fin) so thankfully he's not upset.

Ok enough talk, picture time! Kept all tank lights off so pardon how grainy the photos are, better pictures will be taken later!

Right out of the box she's not pale at all! Lil' trooper took the multi day transcontinental trip really well!


Starting to acclimate in a clean cup (shipped in too little water to use larger container yet.


More water-larger container (ended up doing a 2 hour acclimation).


In she goes and off she goes exploring everything, trying to ear bamboo roots ("worm?!.. nope", checking out the red light on the heater ("whats that pretty shiny?"), trying to figure out the filter ("wtf???"). She's so tiny compared to her tank!







Need more plants! Why is it so hard to find healthy local plants??


aand final tank shots
my view

husband's view


above view


----------



## andakin

Nice job on removing the trim. I have a 2.5 gallon that I want to de-trim, but the silicon job is just terrible. There are huge blobs on the top corners.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Don't be 'Koi' with me*

Sorry had to do the pun. Some shots of the girls when she wasn't in motion. She's super cute but sadly marbled a lot since the seller photo, all the cellophane is gone along with most of her peach/flesh tone.

Seller photo:









Her:





















andakin said:


> Nice job on removing the trim. I have a 2.5 gallon that I want to de-trim, but the silicon job is just terrible. There are huge blobs on the top corners.


I sent a good 3 hours scraping off silicone under the trim with a utility blade before my husband had at it man handling and finally ripping the trim off... Would probably ave been easier if we'd jut dunked it in a solvent then re-siliconed everything after but oh well, its off.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

And a quick animation. 


She has no fear! She already bit my finger when I hovered it above her for too long (not sure if a "GTFO" or assuming there was a pellet on it) and gave me a semi flare (gill puff) so sassy and cute!

Hard to get a good photo with the glare from the light but the dwarf lily has gotten REALLY red from the iron dosing in the 7g.



And on the 55 a new addition: arrowhead plant I got in the mail yesterday (thank you again lilgaugrim). Needs to grow a bit before I rearrange tank to put it somewhere better.


Also the Oplismenus basket grass has not been doing so great on the tank-my guess is it hates being cut and 'planted' without roots but the root ball of the original was impossible to break up (must have been a few years old!). But I left the root ball in a bucket of water outside not sure what to do with it and its growing new grass already! May trying breaking a chunk of root ball free to try in the aquarium or simply sell this before it gets too big and needs a large flat rate priority box..


----------



## lilnaugrim

Wow! Never seen a Dwarf Lily that red before! Mine usually get nice, but that's WICKED nice!! I'll have to start Iron too lol.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Wow! Never seen a Dwarf Lily that red before! Mine usually get nice, but that's WICKED nice!! I'll have to start Iron too lol.


I've been dosing Seachem Iron daily 2-3 drops in a 7g (no iron hog plants in there like Echinodorus sp.).. might be overkill but thats the result ^^ Also 2-3 ml Seachem Potassium a day
I think I might cut back to every other day iron dosing though, this stuff is pricy and I want to make the bottle last.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah it is. I started to use the AquaVitro, SeaChem's "Premium" line. I use Activate (Phosphorus and Potassium) and Carbonate (KH and some Potassium). But the Carbonate is 49 ml per 25 gallons once a week....that's a lot! But it says for unbuffered water and without CO2 injection (my tanks) I can use half or a quarter of that dose so I've been doing 5 ml per 10 gallons roughly. I haven't tested anything since I just started, I'll probably test all my tanks today since I've been having issues with my 45 gallon still :-/ started to treat for gill flukes :-(

But yeah, I keep forgetting that Luci (bestie) has a large bag of crushed coral and I can use that instead of Replenish (or use less Replenish so I don't have a crazy amount of hardness) and get my GH from that and idk what to do about my KH. I know I can use Baking Soda but I'm skeptical and there's no set dose :-/ I don't like when there isn't a set dose, it just sort of freaks me out and like I'm going to severely mess something up and plus, that's a lot of work and loooooooots of testing.

Anyway, went off track with that. I do want to start Iron, need it for my grasses, Ludwigia and Rotala would be very happy and so would my Alternanthera. I don't think A. Reineckii is as much of a hog as it just needs some iron to be happy. It was Phosphorus deficient but now that I started Activate, it's much happier in my 20.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*[censor] you plantedaquariumcentral!*

I paid more for an E. parviflorus 'Tropica' which is suppose to be a dwarf sword plant (stays at or under 6").. well that dumb [censor] in az just gave me an *amazon *sword baby instead =.= so my nice 'broad leaf' contrast in the 10g needs to be yanked. Can't have it hogging up the space/lightas it grows. I'm in such a bad mood right now =.= I already swore I'd never buy from her again... this just re-affirms it more.. *UUUUGGGHHH*


----------



## lilnaugrim

Are you talking about the one you thought was a Rosette? It still looks like a Tropica to me though, just Amazonicas. That doesn't mean it's a baby regular Amazon....

BTW, went to one of my LFS's and they had Rosette Swords today. So they are supposed to retain the fatter leaves with the pointy tip on them. But they still get a decent size (in a 15 gallon for size ref)


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Ah I miss read the persons id, 


> You are thinking of what is sold as E. parviflorus 'Tropica'. It does not appear to be that.
> 
> E. parviflorus , E. amazonicus and E. bleherae (not bleheri, as it was named after a woman) are all united under the name E. grisebachii, as although there may be some slight differences, they are not district enough to warrant species status. Your plant falls somewhere under there, but it isn't the dwarfed cultivar, apparently.


Saw "amizonicus" and thought amazon sword...its grisebachii... still a big plant though google says 24" or larger.. yay =,=

I really want tropica as a short 6" sword since I have taller stems in the back, want a transition form tall to short (hydro japan in front) so a medium size pant as a midground (5-7") was what I wanted.


----------



## ao

awww, poor little limpets. Due to the lack of a predator in my tank my limpets are getting huge (2-3mm).

your husband's girl is gorgeous  Marbling or not, she's very pretty. It also looks like there's quite a bit of personality in her! congratulations!


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## Aqua Aurora

*A closer look at some riparium plants*

*55g*
Spathiphyllum "domino" spathe with Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella in background, and pothos in last photo





Maranta leuconeura (prayer plant)


centerilea involucrata (Friendship plant) right:Red Water Dock (Rumex sanguineus)
 

Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)


*new addition* sold as Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion' (arrowhead plant), grass to left is Fiber Optic Grass (Scirpus cernuus)


Alocosia polly


Potted not on tank, Spathiphyllumsp unknown (store bought), lot of spathes!!





*20g long*
Spathiphyllum spathe almost opened


Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'


Dragons Tongue


Fittonia albivenis


Purple Waffle


Polka dot/mosaic plant


Helxine soleirolii




Since my sword will get too big for a 10g I put up a sale/trade thread for it + some extras in the market place.



ao said:


> awww, poor little limpets. Due to the lack of a predator in my tank my limpets are getting huge (2-3mm).
> 
> your husband's girl is gorgeous  Marbling or not, she's very pretty. It also looks like there's quite a bit of personality in her! congratulations!


It seems they(limpets) get eating in all the tanks except Xerxes as he's mostly blind.

Thank you ^^ She's quite a treat and we're both enjoying her (think I may get girls as my boys pass from age or unforeseen disasters)


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*A closer look at some riparium plants*

whoops looks like I double posted my photos, sorry. ignore this post ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*10G*
So sold and shipped out the sword plant, the baby sword stock I had, some excess pennywort, and salvia minimia (in waht space was left in the box) yesterday to a forum member here who can give the sword a better tank home ^^
10g needs some contrast.. its too much of the same light green.. I may be ordering some Alternanthera reineckii and ludwigia red to try out as a contrast against the green... also I'd bought some more cabomba carolina aka Green Cabomba (keep wanting to call it cambodian pff). 
Cycling is coming along well, 12 hours after dosing in 2ppm of pure ammonia ammonia is 0 and nitrite is .. eh around 0.5 I like to get enough nitrospira bacteria built up (this is the one that consumed nitrites) that a 2ppm dose of ammonia has a reading of 0 for ammonia and nitrite after 12 hours.. like to think this is plenty to deal with constant smaller production of ammonia from fish. I'm guessing another 10-14 days the bacteria colonies should be where I want 'em. 
I decided to double up on lighting and use my 2 24" marineland doublebrights , though they are 24" the distance between farthest LEDs is about 18-19" so it works great on top of a shallow 20" long tank. I'd looked into getting a Finnex light but their planted + and 24/7 are too strong for a 10g's depth (don't have the room to raise lights high enough to be 'medium' light), I could not find a fugeray in my tank length, and stringray (not ray 2 and not the clip on) is about same strength as the LEDs I already have.




*5g*
Husband's 5g is slowly changing.. Had to pull out the live lucky bamboo (aka dracaena sanderiana also seen it listed as dracaena braunii) as some stocks were infected with a bacterial disease that I have a hard time finding any real info on other than it turns the plant yellow and kills it, can spread to other plants in same container, and usually you can't save the plant, can try hacking down eh stock but there would not be enough left to put in the tank... So currently have the lucky bamboo quarantined in separated cups in a windowsill (shades drawn so not too bright) to see if any more show signs of sickness. WE tried getting some kiln dried bamboo stocks to put in but they would not stay upright and my husband disliked the brown-er coloring... SO we went to Michel's art store and bought some Sculpy (man that's expensive stuff!) its oven cured then tank safe (follow directions if you use it!). Had some fun making things for the tank and baked them... I'm slowly trying to fill the tank in with more plants (he's apposed to a 'jungle' but just slowly adding should get it well planted soon ^^ Current it ahs hornwort (ugh forgot how much I hated that stuff-sheds constantly) and some riccia and duckweed I pulled from my black worm culture bins. Today I got some frogbit in the mail which I hope will grow nice long roots for the betta gal to swim in. I also convinced my husband to let me put some corkscrew vals in (figure might as well use anti-excel plants since marimo can't have excel.. I tried to get him interested in subwassertang but that failed (He said he didn't want a "green egg noodle" look). Also tried for anacharis (to replace hornwort) but he didn't like it either.. SO Now I'm on the hunt for a corkscrew val seller. I asked the person I want to buy red plants for the 10g if they happen to have any vals but I doubt they will.
Will get photos later once I slap a light on the tank.. I like to let new plants sit in the dark a few hours like with new fish.

*
2-3G Bubble Bowl *
Magnus gets in some weird poses, he just hung out like this for a while as my husband laid on the couch next to the tank.


*7G*
Xerxes has a bubble nest under 1 clipped lily leaf and it trying to start another when I come in with a camera and he tells me to bugger off. You can see his cysts pretty easily in that shot. man I need to stick a ramshorn in the tank again, glass is getting diatom-y.



*55G*
Minor plant rearrangement.. may shuffle things around some more... I trie splitting up the polly but it looks better together now that I look at it... Also about ready to get rid of the basket grass, it just needs more humidity than my house has.


----------



## Mo

Wow ao was right your tanks are amazing!


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## Aqua Aurora

Mo said:


> Wow ao was right your tanks are amazing!


Thank you very much ^^


----------



## Mo

That 55 is just awesome... Do you have any fish in there?


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## lilnaugrim

Oh, I forgot I was going to offer you my Amazonicus Tropica! Do you want it? Just pay shipping  I have no real use for it and it's kind of out of place in my primarily stem tank


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Mo said:


> That 55 is just awesome... Do you have any fish in there?


Yes though I don't see them as well with with this layout (kind like a pond).
I have 1 female angelfish 'silver' color, i think she's a mix between veiltail and short fin-of fin lengths. Husband named her CarmelYumYum when he first saw her.
1 female Madagascar angelfish these should be in a school but the petstores NEVER got any more until she was an adult.. the ones they sometimes get are so small though mine could swallow them =.= So she just hands with the angel
5 otos-love these guys
I think I'm at 8 false julie cory, they're fun to watch go all over the place-definitely better in a large tank.
also have 11 cherry barbs with a 1:2 m:f ratio + an extra gal. They have great color and aren't aggressive. Females always look egg heavy but with the other fish in there no eggs can survive
Also have 2 nerites 1m and 1f.. hate the female spits lil' hard white eggs all over the place-nothing eats them, they won't hatch in fresh water, and they're difficult to remove from driftwood.
Some old photos of the inhabitants (most taken before this more 'pond' like set up was done its too dark to get photos in there now).

Angelfish with her first batch of eggs telling me to gfto (most recent shot of her)



Madagascar rainbowfish (very old photo-she won't hold still for a pic) also angelfish and cherries-they want FOOOD


Rainbow angel eating cucumber, oto on substrate nearby and cherry gal in the back


Oto in front, corry behind, and more cory



oto


FAT oto on nerite egg covered wood, cory exiting stage right


You can see the red and orange blurs of a few male and female cherries here


more cherry blurs


male nerite (+ eggs)


female nerite (and a lot more eggs on wood behind her)


Female riding the male


Note: tank no longer has underwater plants, and is using 1 red cedar instead of the multiple branches of ghostwood seen in most photos.





lilnaugrim said:


> Oh, I forgot I was going to offer you my Amazonicus Tropica! Do you want it? Just pay shipping  I have no real use for it and it's kind of out of place in my primarily stem tank


Do you mean this one you post in your jouranl? (narrow leaf to right of fish) or am i mixing that up with another photo


----------



## Mo

Wow that's awesome! I love the 55 so much, how do you even feed the fish and do wc haha. I'm interested in starting one of those now lol but idk where id get the plants or how I'd care for them


----------



## lilnaugrim

I'll get a better pic of it tomorrow but yes, the small one that I've had for almost a year now and its stayed 6 inches. It has around 10 leaves or so right now.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Mo said:


> Wow that's awesome! I love the 55 so much, how do you even feed the fish and do wc haha. I'm interested in starting one of those now lol but idk where id get the plants or how I'd care for them



For water changes some plants are on floating rafts I can push aside to get access. I don't do much of a water cahnge, maybe 4-5g once a week. Plants take care of nitrates for me. Feeding it not very close and personal. I basically wave food in front of the tank so fish see then sprinkle food in a 3 different spots (have it pinched between my fingers and dive down between plant leaves to hit water then let it go).
Most of the plants on there are from grocery stores (my local Giant) or indoor plant sections of home improvement stores (Lowes and Home Depot). No real care after you rinse soil off and plant 'em. Mine are in inert substrate (clay media) I dose liquid ferts, and the tanks have 6500k lights over them. 55g 4' 2 bulb t5, 20g has 3x 13 watt cfls in reflectors. Very infrequent trimming, mostly just getting rid of dead/dieing leaves/spathes(flowers).




lilnaugrim said:


> I'll get a better pic of it tomorrow but yes, the small one that I've had for almost a year now and its stayed 6 inches. It has around 10 leaves or so right now.


I'd love to see a better photo of it. I'm debating now if I want to try again with your sword or try red stems.. yours is definitely cheaper (and I am a cheap [censor]) hmm, we'll see tomorrow ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

*12g and 5g rescape*

*12g long *
So for a long while my husband didn't get to fully enjoy his 12g as he had monitors blocking the view, now with them raised he ca see the teak better and I decided ti was time to clean it up. I pulled out all the pennywort as it was just a pain, the lowest parts of ti didn't get enough light so there were no elves and the upper part grew very long, blocked light for other plants.. and have gsa (fixed that with a potassium permanganate dip after pulling the pennywort out). The pygmy chain swords had really taken over tank. I pulled them up from the front of the tank and stuffed them in the back right side (from husband's view) of the tank then replanted the creeping jenny on the front right side. Left in the experimental hc coco fiber carpet mat weighed with real ss mesh (unlike the shrimp killing metal it originally was wrapped in...) and made a riccia carpet using my emersed grown riccia and some slate we had laying around that my husband cut into smaller pieces for me. I put in several riccia rocks in the front to be a carpet. Hoping the hc eventually spreads and grows in the riccia.









Some out of focus shots of the dwarf puffer




And final planting



*5g *
For now I stuffed some of the pennywort into the 5g (after it was dipped) and tossed out the horwort (forgot how much I hated that stuff ug shedding nightmare!) waiting for corckscrew vals to ship here to put in the tank as he liked the vertical look of them. I also have forgbit in there I'm trying to get to grow (it does not like being shipped) for long roots and more shade... may also consider adding dwl. Currently water level is lowered as I cannot have the lid on or condensation will kill the frogbit.. (my salvia minima is not so stupidly sensitive but it also has very short roots and husband prefers the long roots for frogbit/dwl to the salvia minima).

His betta girl has been named Chiyome (Pronounced kEy-om ("key" liek keychain and "om" like that self meditating chant ooommmmm)) after the feudal Japanese noble woman who became a ninja and recruited other women ninjas. He picked the name for the red band between her eyes giving her a ninja-esk look.. though with her marble genetics the white above that will likely turn red in time but she's a fearless and inquisitive girl so its not like the name looses its importance... She's a very diligent hunter btw.. tried to put some black worms in the substrate to sift and be fund later (injected them under the tank with a pipet) she found them-last photo of her bum is her hunting them between the marimo.
(vals will be put on the empty side)




Tank will be rescaped again after more plants arrive


On another note have a photo of a chive blossom-have this plant outside by the back patio, usually harvest some for baked potatos (very yummy when super fresh!), this is the first time I've had a bloom-finally moved it to get more sun, guess its happy ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

Pottasium Permagnimate
its a good idea to wear rubber gloved when working with this stuff as well as cloths you don't care about. it stains cloth purple and turns skin dark


But its works great for killing unwanted critters and algaes thus far ^^

*7g*
7/17/15
Diatoms on the glass are getting out of control so I tossed a ramshorn snail in to clean (had removed the previous batch after they finished cleaning and I busted them nibbling on my dwarf lily plant leaves.. after wearing they don't eat live plants those 4 had to go prove me wrong...) you can see the snail 'tracks' in the diatoms from it eating


3 days later
Not completely clean yet but coming along nicely




*20g*
Peace lily spathe finally opened, nothing else to report on with this tank.


*2g lantern vase*
quick snap shot of a water change-how I add new water without disturbing the substrate



*10g*
cycles done a few days earlier than expected! Going to wait for new plants to come in and have time to settle into the teak before buying fish.


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## lilnaugrim

Haha, I love snail tracks! I feel like that could be an off-shoot ice cream to Moose Tracks....lol, that's a terrible idea :rofl:


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## ao

I do the ziplock bag thing too, it's wonderful because the baggie stays afloat.

But sometimes I have to improvise - I couldn't find a baggie during my last water change, so I used the giant IAL. lol!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Haha, I love snail tracks! I feel like that could be an off-shoot ice cream to Moose Tracks....lol, that's a terrible idea :rofl:


Reading that all i could think of was an icecream with little chocolate bits/strands of 'snail poo' in it lol




ao said:


> I do the ziplock bag thing too, it's wonderful because the baggie stays afloat.
> 
> But sometimes I have to improvise - I couldn't find a baggie during my last water change, so I used the giant IAL. lol!


Hey whatever works right? Tupperware containers/lids also work if they'll fit over the surface of the tank.


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## Aqua Aurora

Plants came in today, also took an long drive out to ThatPetPlace/ThatFishPlace to check it out as it was recommended by several people, since its where my husband's dwar fpuffer shipped from I thought I'd give it a try.. Will post photos and more details tomorrow too tired to right now.


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## SplashyBetta

I usually siphon the water into my tanks, but in the smaller ones where I'm only adding a gallon or two I use a plate or bowl resting on the substrate and pour the new water onto that. I like the plastic bag trick!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Update and photo dump*

This past Wed I got corkscrew val in the mail for my husband's bettas' tank and a very generous amount of ludwigia sp red and AR (I can't pronounce or spell is full name off the top of my head *googles*Alternanthera reinecki!). I stuffed most of the red plants in the 10g but had extra I tossed in my husband's 12g long for contrast. The vals were being stubborn about staying planted (had no roots and just shot straight up ugh).
After the planting I went to TahtPetplace/ThatFishPlace in Lancaster with my husband.. overall it was sadly a disappointment.. I was hoping to pick up nano fish for the cycled 10g there but they had mostly livebarers (sword tail and platy) and a lot of cichlids. Their betta section was... depressing.. large quantity low quality. They had some fail EEs (not big enough pectorals but trying to) all with eye infections/eye deformities, and a huge mass of veiltails and a few others all in methalene blue and on a very low shelf system that you had to sit on the floor to see them but with the blue water you couldn't tell true color.. I gave up looking at them. Their plants were in a sad state too, I wanted to buy a proper e. 'tropica.' (small sword plant). the ones they had were completely *covered *in bba yuck.. They also were mis-selling Italian val as corkscrew val.. they had the 2 tanks next to each other and it was clear it was the same plant... 

No fish or plants were bought though I thought about getting some driftwood, but did not. Ended up grabbing a 44" strip light by Current for the 10g (which on the site says "out of stock" but the store had 3..) that was advertized as "adhesive backing".. pfft will get into that rant later. About the biggest highlight was getting to hang with a grey-blue grate dane! Always loved those dogs, first time I got to be by one in person, [censor] they are huge! I knew they were but to have one with tis eyes at my stomach level and being told "he's not done growing yet" O.O 

The store had a large variety of tanks but I resisted looking at them, don't need another. Grabbed some frozen foods on the way out because hey I need more.. btw where the [censor] did Hikari frozen foods go? All i see now is freaking san fansico bay or whatever it si brand =.=


Got home and when my husband and I went to put the LED strip on underside of the Maineland LEDS we found the adhesive backing was *completely non existent*, the cover for the backing was sticky but we inspected that and no, we did not manage to peel the backing off with its cover...The LEDs also came with 5 "clips"/braces.. that were _silicone_.. no clue why they didn't use plastic, a rigid martial would work much better... Ultimately my husband drilled the Marineland LEDs and attached the Current strip light to the underside (after taking the LED apart and making sure he would not drill into the wiring/board inside). Its more flexible than I'd like but it works. The strip lights raised the LEDS enough that it blinded up when we were sitting in the room so my husband made a quick cover with some leftover material from the 55g riparium's background. The downside to this is the lights get hotter than I'd prefer now so I may scavenge a computer fan from an old tower box to help with that.


On the subject of the 10g I sadly had to remove the cabomba, though it could live in that light it apparently is a picky [censor] and likes to shed its leaves when it doesn't get enough co2 (and excel doesn't cut it as an alternative).

Well Friday I decided to gut my emersed setup and re-do it in the unused 40g breeder tank.. I'd not looked in there in a few months.. wow the pennywort completely took over like a weed! Set the 40g up and ripped all the pennywort and most of the hydro japan out then set up what was left in there. Husband modified the lexan pieces to fit the 40g. I pulled out an unused air pump and airline tubing to generate more humidity in the tank and dumped in my emersed riccia. 






While ripping out pennywort I also took some cuttings of bacopa carolina, and pulled all my downi and micro sword I'd bought for the original vivarium (kinda think I'm over that interst.. aquariums are so much easier to maintain) to stuff in the 10g. I also pulled my oldest plant, the Argentinian sword from its emersed vase, and hacked off all its leaves and a good bit of its 16" root system to also put underwater. Redid some things in the 10g last night and ended up with this:


Pulled some more hydro sp. japan to make room for the other foreground plants, anyone want?


Then yesterday I rescaped the 12g long (minor-ly) to put the red plants where they'd get decent light. Current plant list: riccia, hc, narrow leaf pygmy chain sword, creeping jenny, AR, ludwigia sp. red.. and some persistent duckweed..
my view (back of tank)



Husband view(front of tank)







Shot of one of the zebra otos


A female cherry shrimp with a "saddle" this means after she molts she'll be ready to breed.


And some shots of my husband's betta, full name Mochizuki Chiyome, but usually just called Chiyome (except when she's in trouble my husband says >.> she's not gotten in trouble yet). Vals are going through a melt not too uncommon from shipping and pH change, will take photos of the tank once they bounce back.








Put Magnus's old light back on the tank. Having a CFL bulb horizontally mounted in a light fixture almost 1/2s its intensity and the pygmy chain sword has been dieing off because of it. SO back to the vertical mount, we'll see how long it takes for it to grow back.


Shreduski (formerly Dijon) is healing his dorsal ok. caudal is still a mess...


Aristocoles just because ^^
 


I tried putting my zebra nerite male in the 7g but he did not do well..the nerite it dead and oh dear [censor] does it smell when its dead! Can't get the stench off my hand! Well back to ramshorn cleaning crew I guess.

Nothing new with the 20g, love how thick the purple waffle is though ^^






55g I ended up pulling the Fiber-optic grass and Oplismenus basket grass off. They both seemed to need higher light (and humidity for the basket grass) than the tank gave-its T5 gives maybe high end of low light, low end of medium light. I still have a bucket with a huge root ball and new shoots of the Oplismenus basket grass outside with no care at all.. may try to find someone to sell it to, would need a medium flat rate box for the root ball.






Non aquatic tangent, have a (probably poisonous) shrub berry, always love their pale blue hue


----------



## ryry2012

I love Ludwigis Sp. Red! It's pretty.

Have you tried Petsmart? They have Rosette Sword in tubes. It just says Rosette Sword echinodorus parviflorus which should be "tropica". They were kind of expensive but very healthy and clean when I saw them a couple of months ago.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

ryry2012 said:


> I love Ludwigis Sp. Red! It's pretty.
> 
> Have you tried Petsmart? They have Rosette Sword in tubes. It just says Rosette Sword echinodorus parviflorus which should be "tropica". They were kind of expensive but very healthy and clean when I saw them a couple of months ago.


My petsmart is woefully pathetic when it comes to plants..and no tube plants here. My petco gets some plants in tubes but they are not labeled, just "large" "medium" "small' with non aquatic ferns, anubias, and maybe a sword or two of unknown sp. (where i got my Argentinian sword) The petco's underwater plants are so nasty and poorly kept I'd never touch them.


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## ryry2012

I know what you mean about Petco and Petsmart underwater plants. Most of them are not appealing. Even a lot of tube plants are not supposed to be submerged. 
But hey, stop by at Petsmart when you are out of town. You might get lucky


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Few more shots from the 10g





And Chiyome being cute in the pennywort


Shot of the roots of the narrow leaf pygmy chain sword in Magnus' tank and you can see the runner warped over and over in the tank (new chain swords grow from horizontal runners which have wrapped the tank several times).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Just some rambling with thunder rumbling*

No photos since my phone sucks at dark shots but decided to set the Current led strip on the 10g to lighting storm mode while it stormed outside today, of course the real thunder didnt sink up with the tank lighting but it was fun to uses different setting on it.. Incidentally it's "purple" setting feels more like a red sunset.
I don't want to get my hopes up as I do expect die off from emersed to immersed transition but I am seeing new growth in all the newly planted stems in the 10g, the chain sword and ow is are a bit harder to tell if anything is happening yet. I have an explosion of rmsshorn babies in the tank and spend a few minutes every day cursing all I can sewing my finger.. Going to try the product "No Planaria" on the tank as it's advertised as fish shrimp and plant safe but kill snails. I'll do a large water can ge after the treatment to get all the corpses out and make a lil bag of carbon to stuff against the sponge filter (directions say to put carbon in tank once treatment is done). If it works out I may also use if in my fissidens only tank as I have mini ramshornsnails I want gone and dissidents doesn't tolerate the usual snail killing dips or copper treatment (freaking sensitive moss..).

In other news the Bambi vase with spiraled bamboo is doing well, I knocked on out by accident and it had a good bit of roots in it (these were cut from stocks so they started with no roots). The vAseof bamboo seems to do well with the indirect southern sunlight that comes through the large window in this room. I don't suspect any of the ambient light from the picks actually help it.

The bamboo that had been in my husbands 5g is still in quarentine.. Had a week or two without any issues the. Two poped up with the infection showing by the stock yellowing... Treating them like anubias and waiting until 1 month after the last disease specimen is removed before calling them "safe". Wish I could find more info about the bacteria infection they get and other ways to prevent it (like doing dips (wonder if any of them would not kill the bamboo...) when bamboo first comes home and using distiller or boiled water that can't have the bacteria)...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So last night I was very excited to find my nymphaea taiwan (green lily plant in the 10g) clippings I'd tossed into the snail dump tank as food had grown new plants off their stems! I wish I'd known of this before, I would not have thrown away the 15+ other leaves and stems I'd cut off! Could have made a tank full of this plant! Well I know now so all future cut off pieces will be floated in another tank to hopefully make new plants! If the dutch-esk 10g doesn't work out I can fill it with this lily instead ^^



And I love taking close up shots of the riparium plants.. found my polka-dot plant has had several flowers! They don't last long, here's a fresh bloom




Purple waffle showing underside of leaf


Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'


Spathiphyllum domino


Aluminum plant


Alocosia Polly (this plant is like rubber real hard to get a shot that its not reflecting a lot of light off its leaves)


Prayer Plant


Arrowhead plant ('Cream Allusion') (its whiter in person but surrounded by green plants the photo comes out more green tinted)


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## ao

Fun! Banana lilies do the same thing!


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## Aqua Aurora

ao said:


> Fun! Banana lilies do the same thing!


Nymphoides Taiwan Is often called the banana-less banana plant ^^ I'm just happy i can have a back up plan for the 10g.


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## Aqua Aurora

*Ugh its hot out*

Perfect excuse to stay inside and update the journal ^^

*2g Lantern vase*
Grr crypt tank is having a melting disaster again.. hope it recovers with new growth, I'm not in the mood to buy plants and ship in this heat to replace them..
last shot of it before big melt


*10g*
I'm pretty happy with the plants! 2 days ago I kinda over did my ammonia dosing (I dose 0.75 ml Ace hardware janitor strength ammonia). Usually I dose once a day.. well I dosed at 8pm the night before, then that day at 9am and around 8pm again (kinda brain farted that I'd done it already). I did not dose last night because of this and today I was expecting the need for a water change but did a API liquid test first for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.. 0, 0, and 10! Plants are growing fast to absorb all that nitrate ^^ I dose 3ml Ecxel and 0.3 ml Iron each day + tan has Osmocote+ root tabs (if I'd not mentioned that before), lights on 8 hours.
I've been going in the tank daily and squishing ramshorn snail babies.. should get the No Planaria by Wed. and dose that to kill them off. They seem to really like eating the N. Taiwan leaves =,=

Tank shots from 7/31 at last water change








Today




*2g Cookie Jar*


*2-3g Bubble Bowl*

Magnus was not happy I woke him up from his nap turning the tank light on to take a photo, you can see his deformed beard is fully extended to show his displeasure.


*12g long*
Riccia is going crazy I think I'll be trimming it tomorrow or Wed. My only frustration with this tank is BBA (black beard algae), it never gets to beard length but I get the black alga and its a pain to get rid of grrr



*Worm culture bins*
A look at 1 of the 3 worm culture bins, covered in Salvinia minima but it has riccia below it and some duckweed. Most worms hang out under the large brown paper bag I place in as food but some are out 'in the open'. Some bins also have hornwort, one has an anubias nana, and some other small low light stem under the floaters. I really need to do a water change and get the poop/broken down paper out but its such a pain, basically have to remove flaoters then be very careful with the siphon not to suck up worms.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Ah poor Xerxes*

I decided to put a piece of Styrofoam, specifically one made as a float for fishing in his tank, its the shape of a betta minus fins and floats but he postured and looked to be trying to coax it to his bubble nest (circling under the bubble nest then coming back by the float). Right now he is hovering under it looking at it.. hoping this oddly floating female will come down so he can wrap her. Poor boy, its the blue pen incident all over again.

Amusingly I'd tried placing this is Arisocoles' tank a few days ago, he flared at it once and was done with it, went about exploring at the other end of the tank... Actually ended up with these things not because of an intent to go fishing (I don't really find that fun) but my husband wanted to give his female something to play with... incidentally Chiyome, like Aristocoles, was not impressed/interested. 

I wonder is Xerxes would be interested still if he's diamond eye didn't block a good portion of his vision.

My husband would love to show Xerxes and Chiyome to eachother but doesn't want to stress her with netting and cupping or bagging to do so, so its not likely to happen, she did get to see Aristocoles when I had to take her out of the tank to remove the lucky bamboo when it needed separated and quarantined. Her temp under 1g cube tank was in front of his but each seemed particularly interested in the other.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Begining No Planaria treatment*

So I mentioned before wanting to get rid of my baby ramshorn snail infestation in the fish-less 10g tank. Many people who have used No Planaria say it kills snails too, so wanted to give it a try.
Took over a week from when I ordered it to get here.. ebay seller said they had a warehouse flood so that delayed shipping. THey also tossed in some shrimp food I've never heard of, Ebi King Maxima.. not sure if I want to try it or not.. can't find any info on it.

Anyways did a nitrate test to see if I needed a water change before starting treatment. 10-20ppm so I was good. Dosed ammonia and ferts for the day then opened the No Planaria bag. It comes with a measuring spoon and dosing amounts are for 50 liters (13 gallons) so have to knock a little off it to get around 10g. Its 3 days of treatment then a water cahnge and add carbon bag for a day or two to absorb whats left. WE'll see how the plants and snail population do.

Tank pre-treatment


The Stuff




Just added



Few minutes later, mostly dissolve except a clump at the bottom.



Hope it works well. May try in fissidens tank if successful.
My only complaint would be they give so much of this stuff and its stamped with an expiration date, no way I could use it all before it expired.


----------



## bubblesaurus

I love all of your plants! They look so fantastic together and its so well planned out landscape-wise...aquarium-scape-wise? Words.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

I think aquascaping is the word you're looking for? Or just simple scaping works. And thank you! ^^


----------



## Tree

I need to watch this thread! LOL I love all of your tanks and fish!!!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Chiyome Marlbing Progress*

While sold as a Koi which are suppose to be stable and not change, Chiyome is not as stable as hoped ad turning quite red... Progress photos so far



Aqua Aurora said:


> *Seller photo:*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *[7/9/15]*





Aqua Aurora said:


> *[7/26/15]*


*Today*



Also tank shot from my perspective (my desk view-side view of tank)







Tree said:


> I need to watch this thread! LOL I love all of your tanks and fish!!!


Thank you ^^


----------



## Tree

you're welcome. =) 

She is still cute even though she did change color. Me personally would rather have more red and black than white/tan.


----------



## Julie7778

Hey Aqua! What size tank is that little guy in? And what type of light? 

Wow that's unfortunate he's changing. But, he is still adorable!


----------



## Tree

oh wait Chiyome's male? oops Haha


----------



## lilnaugrim

No, Chiyome is a female  And I believe it's a 5 gallon de-rimmed tank!


----------



## Tree

oh thought so. At times it can be so confusing. lol


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> you're welcome. =)
> 
> She is still cute even though she did change color. Me personally would rather have more red and black than white/tan.


Well when I initially asked my husband what he wanted he wanted a red and black fish (because of an emblem from a show we were watching at the time that was very stunning red and black (and silver)). So her turning mostly red with some black works out fine. He really picked her for her form (not as a betta professional but for body and fin shape he felt "looked even"). 




Julie7778 said:


> Hey Aqua! What size tank is that little guy in? And what type of light?
> 
> Wow that's unfortunate he's changing. But, he is still adorable!





Tree said:


> oh wait Chiyome's male? oops Haha





lilnaugrim said:


> No, Chiyome is a female  And I believe it's a 5 gallon de-rimmed tank!





Tree said:


> oh thought so. At times it can be so confusing. lol


Yeh that all got settled out but yes its a *SHE*, 5g standard Aqueon tank de-rimmed top rim (bottom rim still on). The light is 1 13 watt 6500k cfl bulb in a clamp reflector lamp 16" above substrate (clamped to the support brace for a shelf above our desks). I linked exact items I got from home depot, though I went to a local store did not order them online. This is low light at substrate, medium light around the surface. I let the pennywort float so it gets enough light. 
Female plakats do look most similar to male plakats so I can understand the gender confusion. Not obvious to tell from photos but Chiyome is only about 2/3rds the size of Xerxes (my male plakat).


----------



## Tree

Aqua Aurora said:


> Well when I initially asked my husband what he wanted he wanted a red and black fish (because of an emblem from a show we were watching at the time that was very stunning red and black (and silver)). So her turning mostly red with some black works out fine. He really picked her for her form (not as a betta professional but for body and fin shape he felt "looked even").



That is what I look for the most, is their form. Second comes the color. I am VERY picky. LOL


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> That is what I look for the most, is their form. Second comes the color. I am VERY picky. LOL


All my boys are very imperfect form, not good for breeding (deformed or uneven pelvic/ventral fins, fin curling (which i believe is a genetic defect not caused by hard water.. why does only one of my boys have curled fins if its because of hard water?), deformed beard, uneven pectorals, diamond eye.. won't go into the other 3 major fin and rays.. but yeh.. not perfect form, though I wasn't looking at form at the time.. just "oo purdy" *buys* (+ 2 pity/rescue buys). But seeing Chiyome being so lovely makes me want a girl(and one with a good form) too ^^.. must resist urge for more bettas *eye twitch*.

pfft run on sentence of fail... whatever I don't care, still love my deformed boys.

edit.. I actually never took a very good look at my vt Saphiron's form.. might go stare at him for a while


----------



## Tree

on second thought, It depends on me, if I am looking for a betta at the petstores I don't care for the forms of the fish. I care about the color and the energy. But for Aquabid I look for form and color. LOL 

All of your bettas are just too lovely! even if they are deformed. and you are a good parent. =D


----------



## Julie7778

Sorry for all that confusion! It's a cute little girl in that case! :lol:

Aqua do you have a link to that light you bought at Home Depot by any chance?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> on second thought, It depends on me, if I am looking for a betta at the petstores I don't care for the forms of the fish. I care about the color and the energy. But for Aquabid I look for form and color. LOL
> 
> All of your bettas are just too lovely! even if they are deformed. and you are a good parent. =D


Thank you ^^ Yeah its hard to get a good gauge of form when they're wiggling like crazy in a little cup going "OMFG CHOOSE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" Getting a clear photo you can scrutinize helps... I get weird looks spending 10-30 minutes at the betta section looking at them all and taking photos >.> I actually have to stay away from petco and petsmart as there are a few I saw over a month ago that if they were still there I'd want to save (not best forum but I liked their colors).. but ugh running out of room for tanks!!! I'd relaly want to go check if petsmart still has the two girls I'd posted in the "Ones that got away" thread but must resist....

old photos of the girls from June and early july
http://s1382.photobucket.com/user/Aqua_Aurora/media/Other/018_zpsxkupmedv.jpg
http://i1382.photobucket.com/albums/ah275/Aqua_Aurora/Other/040_zpsxyor8dmc.jpg




Julie7778 said:


> Sorry for all that confusion! It's a cute little girl in that case! :lol:
> 
> Aqua do you have a link to that light you bought at Home Depot by any chance?


Previous page, I linked the 4 pack I bought for the light bulb. [this]


----------



## Tree

Hahaha! so true. Phht I do the same thing and people look at me strange when I take out my ipod to take snapshots. And if they ask questions why I do it, I would just say, "It's for my sister she wants me to show her some before I buy for her." hehe. That way I wont look like a goof saying it's for a website. HAHAHAHA!

but MAN she was a pretty betta! =O


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Note to self: Stay out of the petstores..*

So did not go to petsmart (where the girls I linked were) but did pop in my nearby petco.. ugh so hard not to walk out with another male (sadly their females are very lacking..)

Was sad to see two boys still there from Early to mid june, especially this lovely green double tail plakat... been there since 6/17
old photo


today's photos



There was a purple-ish blue and red plakat boy with a lot of spunk, got in my face and flared, wouldn't hold still to get in focus.. generally I don't like blue and reds but I liked him





And then there is this stunning plakat boy who I really wanted to walk out with! omg he's lovely! only 2 shots that he's not a blur in-very active


And yes he's really that green of a body with vibrant yellow fins with shiny blue accents!

So tempted.. must resist..


In other news I need start topping off my tanks more often with the ac and dehumidifier going, even those with lids have a drop in ater level over 2 weeks..might go around with a bucket of fresh water and top everyone off..

Riccia in the husband's tank is going nuts now, will have to trim again already (trimmed last week).
Photos from 8/7 I forgot to put up


Got a bald spot in the riccia mat, need to shove some in there or cover it with 'sand'.. 
I also ordered replacement inserts for the eheim canisters that run the 12g long and Xerxes' 7g cube. The white filter floss-like foam have been breaking down and I think restricting flow a bit.. I'm also thinking of buying a very long pipe cleaner for the canister tubing and maybe a short flexible one for the intake and outflow pipes.. they're getting pretty nasty.


----------



## DaytonBetta

Your plants are so pretty!


----------



## Julie7778

Thanks! Sorry must have missed that and Wow! Those are stunning bettas, I'm surprised you saw them at petco or petsmart. Mine rarely has much, mainly veil tails. 

Tank looks amazing as well!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

DaytonBetta said:


> Your plants are so pretty!


Thanks ^^



Julie7778 said:


> Thanks! Sorry must have missed that and Wow! Those are stunning bettas, I'm surprised you saw them at petco or petsmart. Mine rarely has much, mainly veil tails.
> 
> Tank looks amazing as well!


I'm glad we have a decent variety though its caused me to increase my betta #s with several impulse and pity buys at my petco >.> I just wish they had a better selection of females
And thank you ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Ahh to be clean again!*

I'd let the diatoms build up really bad on the 7g, and the 6g needed a quick clean too. I also put a chain the the 6gs lights so its properly centered over the tank now. And I stuffed the anubias down so its not breaching the surface but Arterioles loves to get under it and get them loosened/floating up.. Both tanks look much better with the tiny bit of work.. I wish my camera would properly capture just how red the dwarf lilies are! they're so lovely! Just waiting on all the new java fern plantlets to grow up so I can cut off the dieing mother plant leaves and anchor the new plants.
*7g cube*




some shots showing the outflow just because.. this is gentle enough for the betta but keep the surface agitated enough to prevent biofilm.




*6g bowfront*





Got a good long pipe cleaner in the mail this week (about 60" long) I'm going to have at the intake and output pipes and canister tubing on Xerxes tank soon to clean them up! Will also be replacing the foam in the canister as its breaking down and I think also contributing to the reduce flow.


*55g*
Just a little update for this tank all the pond plants were removed. I can't give sufficient light for them. The fiber-optic grass kicked the bucket, but the Oplismenus basket grass and Red water dock are in a bucket outside in the sun by the bird feeder..The root ball of the basket grass (never brought inside-just cut some stems from it to put on the riparium) has a lot of new stem growth and its HUGE (needs a medium priority box to ship).. anyone want the 2 plants for cost of shipping?
I need to retie the pothos above the tank its grown nearly 8" since I fired put it against the background!!!
Tank shot


----------



## Tree

do you clean the tanks out once a week Aqua? I just want to know. I do mine once a week 30% and I fear that might be too much for a NPT.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

I'd say the new filter media and pipe cleaning helped!
before photos in above 

After:


Was too strong a flow after cleaning so I had to aim the outflow back at the ball its suction cupped to.. had it too high at first ad water went over the tank side and onto the desk (oops) fixed that.
Xerxes peaking through the compressed plants, love how varied his scale hues are. Had to do a 3g water cahnge to get up all the loose mulm that shot out of the filter (happens whenever filter is turned off then back on). Poo boy freaked out when I had the sandwich over the surface to add water back in, he couldn't get at the surface to gulp were he wanted (being mostly blind I don't think he can see the bag is there like the other bettas). I removed the bag for a few minutes and let him breath and relax before finishing the tank refill.







Tree said:


> do you clean the tanks out once a week Aqua? I just want to know. I do mine once a week 30% and I fear that might be too much for a NPT.


The currently the 55g (largest stocking), 2g lantern vase (because of crypt melt), 12g (mostly to trim riccia and get the cut parts out) and 5g (white sand ugh) are the only ones I do water changes on every week, others are just as I feel they need it usually dependent on poop built up from snails. The plants are so well grown in the other tanks with the low stocking I could go over a month without a water change if I wanted. Be mindful the tanks I'm not water changing have 0s across the board for ammonia nitrite and nitrate. While they still had nitrates I was doing 25% to 50% water changes, the 12g use to get 2 water changes a week for a while. The 55g tank gets 5-10g water change depending on my back (I'm a member of "the bucket brigade" but my husband may fix that soon with a pump and long hose ^^). 5g tank gets about 2g water change, and 2g tank gets 1-2g (remove 1g add 1g, possibly repeat 1 more time), 12g tank only gets about 2g water change.


----------



## Tree

thanks for the tip! I think I will stick to the 30% water change every two weeks for my 5.5 gallons and cap it off from the evaporation. As for the 2.5 I think I will do that once a week since they do not have soil. 

wow what a difference with that flow Haha! 
My sis had that with her sponge filter but it was not shooting bubbles at all! I was like "Um sis, have you cleaned out the filter recently?" She said no and I cleaned it for her. Then I had to knot the tube cause there were bubbles galore! My sis is OLDER than I am and she didn't know she had to do that! And she had fish in the past. Haha


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> thanks for the tip! I think I will stick to the 30% water change every two weeks for my 5.5 gallons and cap it off from the evaporation. As for the 2.5 I think I will do that once a week since they do not have soil.
> 
> wow what a difference with that flow Haha!
> My sis had that with her sponge filter but it was not shooting bubbles at all! I was like "Um sis, have you cleaned out the filter recently?" She said no and I cleaned it for her. Then I had to knot the tube cause there were bubbles galore! My sis is OLDER than I am and she didn't know she had to do that! And she had fish in the past. Haha


I have an HOB on my 20g long. For a while it was only foam media and I forgot to lean it.. mulm build up in it until water could not pass through it as fast the the mortar was pulling it up and I had a mess to clean up x.x I should clean it again soon actually >.>


----------



## Tree

oh my. That would be a lot of hard work but I'm sure the fish and filter thanks you for cleaning it all the time. Haha


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Photo from a few days ago of the 10g, everything is growing good.. I really need to trim the water sprite and n. tawia again they grow like beasts!


Currently I'm growing all the lily clippings in my 2.5g with a 10g standard hood with 2x 13 watt 6500k cfls bulbs in, they're turning into more plants. Makes me itch to set up a second tank to scape them in.



I still have another 10g (currently snail dump tank with excess salvinia thrown in for them to eat)

On the other hand I'm oh-so-very-tempted to buy this bubble bowl vase as its nearly 10gs but doesn't costs as much as the other 10g bubble bowl on the market..
$37 free shipping
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008NUPZT0/?tag=viglink20386-20

$39+$25 shipping
http://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Bowl-J...sbs_201_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1JE35S58GR35VTT5RZFC

And stuff my spare sponge filter, my old eheim heater (after testing that it won't over heat), and the plants in there. My only concern is that small base stem and if the glass is thick enough to support 10gs of water and sand...


And in other news the 40g emersed setup is overrun with the riccia I tossed in! Anyone want some? I need to re-ID all the stems in there and sell them off specifically the different ludwigias, I think I have 4 kinds in there.


----------



## Tree

what plants are these? a type a dwarf lily?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ooh...Ludwigia....I like that plant lol. When you find out what you've got, I might be interested!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Got Aristocoles to flare with the camera in focus and holding still for once! He was under his anubias until he noticed me watching and came charging out to flare, photo is as he just starts tucking his beard away.


Tried taking some shots of Xerxes but he was just a blue blur zipping all over the place!



Tree said:


> what plants are these? a type a dwarf lily?


Its Nymphoides taiwan (aka the banana-less banana plant), yes its in the lily family but doesn't seem like such a potassium hog (holes are from ramshorn snail infestation in the 10g taking some nibbles.. the love it like a salad =.=). I have osmocote + root tabs in the 2.5 and dose 0.5ml each day to keep hair algae at bay. I also put in a few drops of Seachem nitrogen (not very often maybe once a week) since there is no fauna.




lilnaugrim said:


> Ooh...Ludwigia....I like that plant lol. When you find out what you've got, I might be interested!


Will do. I know I tossed in.. *digs up old plant list*
respen, arcuata x repens, and palustris.. I _think _I also had one that started with o.. ovalis?

I just need to figure out which is which.. one of them really loved being emersed and has lovely compact/low growing leaves mostly green with a touch of red in the stem/leaf.. I think these are the palustris but not sure.

edit: I put on an ID thread on another forum that's plant specific, there's an IDing guru there that hopefully will pop in and help within 24 hours ^^


----------



## Tree

ah gotcha! cool! I wish the dwarf lily could do that.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> ah gotcha! cool! I wish the dwarf lily could do that.


Same! Instead dwarf lily just melts >.<

I recall reading on another forum that tiger lotus will start new plants at the top of its stem by the leaf too (not sure if cuttings will produce it or only when the stem is connected to the roots still).


----------



## Julie7778

I was curious, do you think Anubias petit would grow in a tank with the finnex stingray 16inch? With some flourish Exel and no CO2


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Julie7778 said:


> I was curious, do you think Anubias petit would grow in a tank with the finnex stingray 16inch? With some flourish Exel and no CO2


I think so but it depends on height between light and substrate?

I was told regular finnex stringray 24" is about equivalent in par to my marineland double bright 24" (though I'm not sure how accurate that source was).

quoted from another forum's post on lighting with par cannot link thread here, to follow this forums rules) to show marinland double bright 24" par


> Low light - 15-30 micromols of PAR - CO2 is not needed, but is helpful to the plants
> Medium light - 35-50 micromols of PAR - CO2 may be needed to avoid too many nuisance algae problems
> High light - more than 50 micromols of PAR - pressurized CO2 is essential to avoid major algae problems


youtube video comparing stingray to planted + by finnex, I think on a 20g high? haven't watched it in a while:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD7QaRzf1Qw

quoted from this site:
http://aquariumledguide.com/finnex-stingray-aquarium-led-light-review/


> 16 inch – (20) 7000k + (4) Actinic Blue LEDs + (4) 660nm Red LEDs – 10 watts
> 20 inch – (23) 7000k + (5) Actinic Blue LEDs + (4) 660nm Red LEDs – 11 watts
> 24 inch – (27) 7000k + (5) Actinic Blue LEDs + (4) 660nm Red LEDs – 13 watts
> 
> An example that shows the PAR of the Finnex Stingray was tested with the 24 inch fixture. On a 20 inch deep tank, it read around a 30 on the PAR rating.





lilnaugrim:
I got a responce from the plant IDer who believes
this is respens



and this palustris


shot showing all the ludwigia + some other stems (pardon how crappy some plants look, pennywort was growing like a weed and smoothed some out for light.


Seems my mix is missing or died off, they believe the other stem that I thought was the acura x is actually a hygro.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

A comparison of Hikari frozen blood worms and San Fransico bay brand frozen blood worms:
Hikari frozen blood worms
cons:
Cannot get locally, must order online with overnight shipping ($25-$36)

pros: 
Small blood worms easier to feed smaller fish
Usually float but do sometime sink
For smaller mouth fish like white clouds its easy to cut up a small portion of a block so its shredded peices
I've been told Hikari has a very strict standard for sanitizing foods and their freezing process to make them safe

San Fransico bay brand frozen blood worms:
cons:
HUGE (ok so to most this is not a con but the only fish I have big enough to benefit from these larger worms are the angelfish and madagascar rainbowfish.. I don't even think my cory can eat these without choking to death)
If you use a little pipet to feed fish these are too big to be sucked up into the pipet
Sinks INSTANTLY and very quickly, if fish doesn't see it go in they won't see it before it hits the substrate (or gets hidden in plants)
Did I mention they are HUGE? Need pro knife worm to mince these small enough for micro fish mouths.
Dye added-when put in water to thaw water turns red
Have not found any good info on how they sanitize and freeze food, since they are cheaper than hikari (ignoring shipping costs) I'd suspect they are not as through but don't know

Pro:
Seems to be only brand sold locally now... so cost savings...



Guess what I tried feeding the fish today? Not happy with it and really bummed this is the only brand I can find by me now :/ Going to try the brine shrimp in a couple of days.. hopefully its better.


----------



## Julie7778

Thanks so much ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*AAAAAA *I have hair algae in the fissidens tank! *[Censor]*! Time to start daily dosing excel instead of every other day.. I believe it was caused by the filtered sunlight that comes in through the blinds so I slapped the old privacy shield I used to have between Alastor's and Magnus' tanks up to block some of it... fissidens doesn't tolerate copper treatment for snails and I don't think it will take peroxide treatments either so I'll have to shade, manually remove, and 3x excel dose daily to fight it... Will have to toss excess floaters from this tank unless algae is gone.. On a side note I've also noticed a frond of what I think is Christmas moss growing up out of the fissidens.. I'm tempted to pluck it out and drop it in another tank to let it do its thing.. there's also something else in there.. not sure what.. its not subwassertang, its a thin strand with small spikes nubs but its the same sort of texture as subwassertang... its not mini Pellia aka coral moss..not riccia..

Also did I ever mention I have what looks like fissidens growing off the driftwood in the 20g long (this tank and wood was NEVER exposed to any moss while with me) I'm very perplexed by it but I'm letting it grow, maybe in a few years I'll have moss covered wood with no effort!.


----------



## Strawberry12

Julie7778 said:


> I was curious, do you think Anubias petit would grow in a tank with the finnex stingray 16inch? With some flourish Exel and no CO2


my anubias was the only thing that survived _Plant Meltdown 2: Electric Boogaloo_, so I can't imagine why not. it's just in a jar in my bathroom right now with no extra fancy lighting.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*2.5g*
8/18


8/23

I did not add any more clippings since the last photo so wanted to show progress before I go hack back this plant in the 10g again (and put cutting in the 2.5)
The big leaf stuffed in the substrate in the most recent shot 9about center) has less than 1/4" stem but it still grew roots. All the other planted stems that grew roots and were shoved in the substrate have new stems sprouting now! The stems on the right that have no new growth at the substrate have baby plants growing at the top of the stem (hidden by the big leaf) if you look closely you can see their roots hanging down.


*55g*
I ended up splitting the prayer plant into 2 planted on the 55g as it was getting so bushy! 


Also hacked apart the aluminum plant and hoping to get some more growth now that its double the stems.. but it goes though an ugly wiling period when trimmmed so one last good shot of it before that starts



*20g*
purple waffle getting huge.. I'm thinking of cutting it (and replanting cuttings)


this bugger spat out seeds without me seeing or I would have caught and tried sprouting them..


Its hard to see but the peace lily has a new baby growing off it!


filter plant growing and growing.. I'm worried its roots will eventually clog the impeller but I don't want to disturb it..


----------



## themamaj

Aqua only up to page 15 of journal. I am in awe of your beautiful tanks and hope I can get my planted tanks as successful. I did get the light you recommended from Home Depot. I noticed you had yours hanging directly above tank. How have you rigged that or what clipped on? I am fighting brown algae on leave so am hoping the extra lighting will help. Very intrigued with your dyi lids as well. Are the smaller heaters you use in your bowls stable on temp on their own? Look forward to reading more of journal! Off to bed so can go to work and earn money for tanks and plants haha. Major MTS


----------



## Innerbeauty

Aqua Aurora said:


>



Such a _beautiful_ color! His lil lips are adorable too... His glistening scales remind me of the Rainbow Fish just a little bit. (children's book)


----------



## Innerbeauty

Aqua Aurora said:


>


What is the luscious plant in the water in the bottom of the pic below the containers? Some type of moss? I love it!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Aqua only up to page 15 of journal. I am in awe of your beautiful tanks and hope I can get my planted tanks as successful. I did get the light you recommended from Home Depot. I noticed you had yours hanging directly above tank. How have you rigged that or what clipped on? I am fighting brown algae on leave so am hoping the extra lighting will help. Very intrigued with your dyi lids as well. Are the smaller heaters you use in your bowls stable on temp on their own? Look forward to reading more of journal! Off to bed so can go to work and earn money for tanks and plants haha. Major MTS


Thank you ^^ patience is key to let everything grow in. the lights above the 7g cube is hung from some cheap chain I also grabbed at home depot (chain link put through the rubber clamp part)

The heaters in the 2g cookie jar 2-3g bubble bowl, and most recently 2g lantern vase are 10 watt Cobalt mini 'constant on' style heaters. Meaning they don't turn off. But from reviews they don't chip paint or electrocute fish (some 'betta heater' scarily have these issues). I have the constant on style heaters plugged into azoo micro temp controllers which turn power to the heater on and off so it keeps a constant temp. I have used a Hydro Theo 25 watt adjustable heater on a more recent set up, overall cheaper than buying a constant on style heater + temp controller, though its a little bigger.

Lid DIY post in DIY thread if you want to try it:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=245289&page=27#post5347082

Brown algae aka diatoms are pretty common in new tanks (first several months) or come in on new plants. Depending on what size tank you have (and temperament of your fish) you might be able to get a simple algae eater like pond, bladder, or ramshorn snails are smallest. But do note: with any algae eater you are trading algae for a lot more poop-all algae eaters have huge bioloads (poop alot) for their size.



Innerbeauty said:


> Such a _beautiful_ color! His lil lips are adorable too... His glistening scales remind me of the Rainbow Fish just a little bit. (children's book)


 Thank you. I thought of that too when he first arrived (he'd marbled a lot since the seller in Thailand took his photo) ^^



Innerbeauty said:


> What is the luscious plant in the water in the bottom of the pic below the containers? Some type of moss? I love it!


The lower area plant is actually floating riccia fluitans which is a crystalwort not a moss-it will never form roots. Got a TON of it in there, its taking over all the open water below the tupperware.


----------



## themamaj

Thanks good to know. Been really frustrated at the brown spots. Other than asthetics does it harm the plant it all if I keep it cleaned off? My heater concern is for my 1.5 tanks. They are fine currently but will have to get something on them for winter that I can purchase a lot of that wont break bank. My bigger tanks adjustable heater size works fine.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

I finally settled on gold ring danio aka daino tinwini for the 10g after my husband saw them and liked them (I've wanted them for a while), which a wonderful lilnaugrim can have their lfs get and ship to me (I pay for obviously) since _my _lfs won't get them ugh [censor] stores. Now I just get to worry over weather temps as it gets as high as 90sF here... Wonder if they'll breed for me in the 10g if they are the only fish? Would love it if they did! 


On another note: *woot 50 pages of multi tank syndrome-nes!*




themamaj said:


> Thanks good to know. Been really frustrated at the brown spots. Other than asthetics does it harm the plant it all if I keep it cleaned off? My heater concern is for my 1.5 tanks. They are fine currently but will have to get something on them for winter that I can purchase a lot of that wont break bank. My bigger tanks adjustable heater size works fine.


If algae is left on a leaf too long it will block the leaf from getting light and the part of the leaf completely covered by algae will die (this takes weeks). If you are wiping it off though there is no harm.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So I never quite updated here.. I saw ramshorn babies a few days after the No Plarinia treatment was done but have not seen any since then so yay I think it worked! Starting to use it on my 2g cookie jar (so hard to make tiny enough doze, its about 1/7th what the dosing measurements are for x.x

Anyways have some photos...
10g before and after trim













My favorite part of the tank




Alastor and his 2g cookie jar


Magnus and his 2-3g bubble bowl


Saphiron who I don't take many photos of (he won't hold still) in his 2g lantern vase. His fins just keep growing! His fins have beautiful irids but I can never quite capture them on camera :/



And a ramshorn snail in his tank either cleaning at the water line or trying to escape..



Also I just bought a used Finnex ray 2 for 1/2 price.. its perfect for a 10g >.>''
Aaand I set up my spare 10g (was a snail dump tank) to test some driftwood in that I'd boiled.. I originally planned to use the wood to tie down all the java ferns in Xerxes' 7g cube.. but I had issues with persistent fungus in the past with other woods so boiled a good 14-16 hours over a few days and now testing in a lit heated tank. Woods release their sugars into the water whihc fungus forms and eats hence that newly submerged driftwood gunk.. in my 55g it NEVER went away, suppose to only last 1-2 months if proper wood but I suspect the seller sold much fresher wood then they claimed (not as old and dried as it should be) so the wood in the 55g had fungus still after what 5 months? I finally took it out.. Sorry rambling, I don't want to deal with that with wood I plan to spend a few hours tieing java ferns to so yeah into test setup it goes to see if it will be a pain or not.. 
Since I don't have any spare lights I pulled all the N. Tawian from the 2.5 and planted it int eh 10g on one side and tossed the wood on the other, there threw in some hydro japan and water sprite clippings from the 10g. After I was done and filled the tank I realized I really like how the wood came together in an absolute non attempt at a scape, kinda a cool wood cave... Had to slap myself and remember this is not betta safe wood (which is why it will be buried and covered in ferns).. My mind immediately protested and started thinking of alternatives to sue in the fern tank and keep this wood to space and maybe grow moss on... I has a few (very few) pieces of smooth manzanita branches but its nowhere near enough for all the ferns.. I could ask my husband to cut more wood... but I'd rather wait and see if this stuff behaves or does the forever-fungus thing... I probably would fill the tank out after another 1-2 trims of the other 10g with water sprite and the green lily.. ass a dark moss on the wood for contrast, maybe flame moss th.*NO STOP THAT BAD BRAIN !*I can't stop this mutli tank syndrome! It's driving me nuts!!!

shots from the tossed together 10g
wood


pre-established clippings with new growth


new clippings


----------



## SplashyBetta

Are those roots hanging down in the bowl and jar the salvinia minima? They look so cool!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> Are those roots hanging down in the bowl and jar the salvinia minima? They look so cool!


Yes. Thank you ^^


----------



## andakin

Not sure if I've complimented before, but I really like how your plants look algae free. You must be doing something right.

How were you able to get a discounted Ray2; was it a sale or used?

I was really happy with the Ray2s when I first got them. Now, I'm finding them too bright and only run one unit. I just wish they were programmable and dimmable, like all the new fixtures.


----------



## SplashyBetta

Aqua Aurora said:


> Yes. Thank you ^^


Now I'm even more excited for my package to arrive! I love floating plants with jungle-y roots, I didn't realize the salvinia was like that. Pretty neat


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aqua, try using the flash on the camera to capture the irids. Don't aim the camera directly at the tank but tilt it up or down so the flash doesn't white out the entire photo. If you've got a DSLR, then you can up the shutter speed, if you have a regular point and shoot camera or a phone then you might be able to use a Sport setting or something to get a faster shutter speed. But it won't hurt the fish at all, that's how I get my pictures of my fish with their irids. I really don't know how I even took pictures before my DSLR lol!!

I LOVE the look of those driftwood pieces and how they're thrown in more or less! It just has a real nice natural feeling to it :-D I can only find straight pieces here for the most part >.< I have to really hunt to find a good piece if I want one!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> Not sure if I've complimented before, but I really like how your plants look algae free. You must be doing something right.
> 
> How were you able to get a discounted Ray2; was it a sale or used?
> 
> I was really happy with the Ray2s when I first got them. Now, I'm finding them too bright and only run one unit. I just wish they were programmable and dimmable, like all the new fixtures.


Thank you but I do get algae, diatoms most commonly but a quick wipe down or toss in of a snail helps. Sadly I have bba in my husband's 12g long.. I've had it for a year, it doesn't get thick and fluffy but won't [censor] get off the leaves! Ugh so frustrating! I think its a flow issue (need more current) but dwarf puffers like billow finned bettas get bladest around by strong flow so I can't do that. In such a shallow tank with a light right on top of it I guess I should be happy its not hair algae... Also the 20g long has algae on its river rocks but I don't care. I toss them in the 55g periodically for the otos to munch on. And the 2g cookie jar had hair algae last weekend (bumped up the Excel dosing to daily instead of every other and used the privacy curtain I had between Alastor and Magnus when on the same surface to block the indirect sun from the window that I think caused it.

Sorry thought I'd put that in, its used, bought from a forum member on a plantedtank specific forum. I figured half price and still working hell yeh! 
According to this:
http://i45.tinypic.com/29p5km0.jpg
with this


> Low light - 15-30 micromols of PAR
> Medium light - 35-50 micromols of PAR
> High light - more than 50 micromols of PAR


 I got a high light LED (for a 10g) for cheap! Or I can raise it to make it medium or low light. I might put it on the existing high light 10g and pull off one of the marineland doublebrights and the falsely advertised as adhesive current LED strip light to use on _another _tank. >.>''





SplashyBetta said:


> Now I'm even more excited for my package to arrive! I love floating plants with jungle-y roots, I didn't realize the salvinia was like that. Pretty neat


I like the short rooted salvinia, but roots get longer and thicker (long as in about 1" instead of 1/2") under brighter light, or when not thinned/disturbed for several weeks.



lilnaugrim said:


> Aqua, try using the flash on the camera to capture the irids. Don't aim the camera directly at the tank but tilt it up or down so the flash doesn't white out the entire photo. If you've got a DSLR, then you can up the shutter speed, if you have a regular point and shoot camera or a phone then you might be able to use a Sport setting or something to get a faster shutter speed. But it won't hurt the fish at all, that's how I get my pictures of my fish with their irids. I really don't know how I even took pictures before my DSLR lol!!
> 
> I LOVE the look of those driftwood pieces and how they're thrown in more or less! It just has a real nice natural feeling to it :-D I can only find straight pieces here for the most part >.< I have to really hunt to find a good piece if I want one!


Thank you for the tip! I've been using my phone, never loaded any extra camera apps just used it's default. WE have a camera but I cannot find its usb cable anywhere (and of course it has a non standard itty bitty other end to plug into the camera so no universal adapter goodness to save me). I'll try meddling with my phone and do the fash trick you suggested.

I did actually just toss them in without any effort just "you all go in this corner"*drop drop drop drop* ^^. This was a kind unappealing whole very .. I don't know how to describe it.. odd piece of wood. I'll pull out the pieces and lay them together to show how it was later on as don't think I ever took a shot of the wood while it was hole. Hmm except maybe when I first arrived.*digs around through old photos*. FOUND ONE doesn't show how much curve is in the thicker prat of the stem though

I'd never use it as the whole piece but I love it in these cut chunks heh go figure.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Well I think the snail in the 2g lantern vase was trying to escape, found another snails' shell by the filter (I thought I'd put one in before). Fortunately the blue ramshorn wasn't dead yet so I pulled him out, will toss in a brown ramshorn later (don't care if the brown ones turn into lunch).

The bubble bowl I'd been looking at on amazon i left in my shopping cart but never checked out.. It's shot up to $74 from $36.. so unless it goes back down to the previous price those fools selling the product lost any chance of it being bought. I can buy a bigger bowl for less than that price (about $10 less) without the stem/base under it.


I decided to torture myself and went to Petco and Michel's today.
This yellow vt boy with blue eyes has been here a few weeks.. He's still spunky and has a tinge of orange n his fins.. but a little pineapple-ing.... I dunno in a sea of red and blue vts he's pretty nice, I can't see why he hasn't been bought yet!




Part of me started thinking "he'd look nice with the yellow fish I plan for the 10g.. but no no I'm not suppose to put a betta in that tank.. and I want females or plakats.. vt male is neither stop thinking about taking him >.<

Wasn't much appealing in the non vt section, this guy was nice looking forget the term for his coloring


Then over to the art store.. have a 40% discount coupon (where's my 50% off coupon you cheap [censors]?).. EXPENSIVE and only a little bigger than the lantern vase .. maybe 2-2.5g range? Was horrified of dropping it trying to take a photo, with coupon its $21


Much cheaper at $5.4, little smaller probably 1.5-2g at most



Seen a few people use these style jars (not this exact one) and just seal the valve so no chance of emptying out on the floor. $15 with coupon probably around 2g?



Of course the most expensive is the most appealing of them >.>''

Also went to petsmart.. nothing of interest sadly though the dog was quite happy since got to say high to several people and a puppy.


----------



## Tree

oh man that first vase! wow that is the largest one I have seen yet! but man that price...


I torture myself when I go to pet stores too. but at least I have the will power to leave them. budget is low so that is why I shy away from bettas after looking at them. But GAH I wish I could have a room just for fish!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> oh man that first vase! wow that is the largest one I have seen yet! but man that price...
> 
> 
> I torture myself when I go to pet stores too. but at least I have the will power to leave them. budget is low so that is why I shy away from bettas after looking at them. But GAH I wish I could have a room just for fish!


U replied to thsi but somehow did not? where did it go??

Its about 12" tall and maybe 6-7" at its widest. The price is the only reason it didn't stay on my hip/purse and walk out (after check out) with me.. if it had been maybe $5 less I can't say that my will power would have held (where's the freaking 50% coupons?!)... Then I would have grabbed the yellow vt boy for it >.>'' Its not that he's anything special but in a store of 20 some red vt (and a few meh blue vt) he stands out.. seriously how has no one bought him yet?


----------



## Tree

Aqua Aurora said:


> U replied to thsi but somehow did not? where did it go??




wait what? LOL confused. you replied and it never showed?

Yeah he is one hell of a looker! I always love seeing yellow bettas. (Yellow is my fave color) 
I would have walked away from that vase too. You could buy a standard 5 gallon for that amount. lol


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> wait what? LOL confused. you replied and it never showed?
> 
> Yeah he is one hell of a looker! I always love seeing yellow bettas. (Yellow is my fave color)
> I would have walked away from that vase too. You could buy a standard 5 gallon for that amount. lol


Sorry I replies to this* 
I'm sleepy and spelling just gets worse >.>''


----------



## Tree

LOL it's ok, I have the same issue at times.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Yeh sorry about that, "u' next to the "i" and I'm all thumbs when I'm sleepy ^^'' But I ry not to use too much chat speak so I don't spell "you" as "u" or "too" as "2".. my spelling is bad enough don't need to make it more confusing haha.
If you like the yellow boy Tree I can send him you way if you cover costs (I still have box and Styrofoam insulation from previous shipments to me and I think a kordon breather bag around here, if not I'd double bag with the non breather bags) _He's got handsome blue eyes_ ^.~


----------



## lilnaugrim

OH! Do not use Breather bags for Anabantids! They do need actual atmospheric oxygen. Kordon warns against that, they don't last long in the breather bags even though there is generally 200% more oxygen intake than a fish needs if you give enough surface area (don't blow up like normal bag, keep flat and placid). While most anabantids can use both gills and labyrinth organ, they're so specialized now that they need to breathe atmospheric air more than they can take oxygen from the water itself.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> OH! Do not use Breather bags for Anabantids! They do need actual atmospheric oxygen. Kordon warns against that, they don't last long in the breather bags even though there is generally 200% more oxygen intake than a fish needs if you give enough surface area (don't blow up like normal bag, keep flat and placid). While most anabantids can use both gills and labyrinth organ, they're so specialized now that they need to breathe atmospheric air more than they can take oxygen from the water itself.


Opps ok thanks for that warning! I'll probably toss the kordon then as I doubt I'd ever ship fish except bettas.


On another note I'm very happy to say my husband's dwarf puffer is finally accepting another food! He ate some grindal worms today! Last time I tried he just spat them out and watched them disappear into the plants =.=. Since its a soil-less culture with scouring pads and water at the bottom to keep them moist I have to change out the water ever few days (or it gets a bit smelly). Inevitably a few worms get washed out with this clean so I just make it a point to pour out the container's water into another container. I pipet-ed the escaped worms to try on the puffer today, I think I'll continue doing that so he'll get grindals every 2-3 days ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*'lil bit o rambling*

*10g*
SO I'm not sure If I'd mentioned it before but when I set up the high light 10g I also put in my wonderfully under-loved but still kicking Argentinian sword.. I've had these since.. 2012 I think? Its been through a lot including several months in a cold cup of water as just a crown and not remotely enough light to grow. It was most recently neglected as an emersed sword in a tall narrow vase. Its roots were easily 16" long and its leaves all grown for above water life so I hacked off all the roots and leaves (left about 1-2" of roots). I am happy to say I can see its new leaves growing between the versuvious sword and bacopa. I'm considering removing the AR from the front of the tank and shifting the Argentinian sword to its spot... maybe put a few of the red ludwigia stems clippings over there too once they get their first snip snip (I *love *how their leaves look now!). I also have a still unidentified stem in there, not sure if its ludwigia or hygro, but its taken its sweet time converting over to submerged life... hoping in a few more weeks it will be big enough I can get a proper ID on it.



In the other 10g I just set up with the clippings from the high light 10g and wood intended for the 7g.. the wood is starting to get the dreaded fungus growth.. I'd hoped I'd boiled it enough to not have this *sigh*. Will have to wait and see if it ever goes away to sticks around indefinitely like it did on the 55g wood I use to have..




*55g*
Also on the 55g I decided I was sick of the empty spot on the back left of the tank so I pulled the peace lily from the pot in front of the tank to put on the riparium... I'm thinking of getting rid of my aluminium plant and friendship plant as they have hard time getting decent light with all the bigger plants around them. Since I planted the 20g long under water I can't exactly transfer their floating rafts over. Maybe I'll just pot them and put them by the window, see how they do.
Before

The peace lily

After


Hoping the newest lily grows big like the "domino" on the left.

May adjust the pothos so that, aside from the one on the back wall, all just have roots in water and drape over the front to hide the tank (still have 2 vines partially submersed-with leaves out of water).

Btw red water dock and basket grass are doing great with no love in a bucket outside. Red dock really bounced back quick! Periodic rain refills what sun evaporates. If anyone wants them for the price of medium priority box let me know.



*Other*
What else.. oh I decided to whip up another batch of Repashy Soilent Green. Last time I'd used an ice cube holder to form blocks.. which were subsequently difficult to remove from the ice-cube holder and harder to cut into smaller pieces for feeding when frozen... So this time I decided I'd poor it out on wax paper to make a sheet I could cut. Sounds like a good plan until the boiling water used to mix in the powder hits the wax paper and breaks it down... making pealing the gel off the paper very tedious... =.= But I have a bag full of yummies for the freezer finally and to feed every few nights to the otos, shrimp, cory, and whatever else goes after it in the cory's tank (everyone).


----------



## Tree

God I freaking adore you tanks Aqua. yours and Liln's are what inspired me to make a NTP and a riparium. hehe


----------



## Julie7778

Tree said:


> God I freaking adore you tanks Aqua. yours and Liln's are what inspired me to make a NTP and a riparium. hehe


Agreed. I love your tanks as well Tree!


----------



## kittenfish

Try parchment paper next time. Stuff is magic.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> God I freaking adore you tanks Aqua. yours and Liln's are what inspired me to make a NTP and a riparium. hehe


Thank you ^^ Love hearing that you and others are trying new stuff especially ripariums (so addicting).


Julie7778 said:


> Agreed. I love your tanks as well Tree!


Thanks ^^



kittenfish said:


> Try parchment paper next time. Stuff is magic.


I wanted to use parchment paper but we're out of it! I stupidly thought "Hey this is kinda the same thing" (not)... Ah well, hopefully next batch I make will be easier.


----------



## Tree

Julie7778 said:


> Agreed. I love your tanks as well Tree!


why thank you. =)



Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you ^^ Love hearing that you and others are trying new stuff especially ripariums (so addicting).


They are! just as bad as Bettas. you cannot just have one plant... lol


----------



## Innerbeauty

uld like to pick your brain if you would be so kind.... 


I think I've read every page of your journal now....  (addicted to it!) I remember somewhere along the line you mentioned rocks and their safety for the aquarium. I have been collecting rocks from our creeks on the property and have gotten some really pretty ones. I first test them with vinegar to see if they bubble and then boil them if they don't. (and I don't intentionally grab limestone rocks.) 
Could you give me any more information on how I test these? And if they do harden water... can I put some sort of sealant on them to fix it?

I am thinking about selling some of them but really want to know what I'm selling first. (like... double double checking them.)

A couple of my rocks are in my avatar. The white one is quartz tho you can't tell it by the pic.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Here's a good list just about safety, not about ID'ing but you might find it helpful as well Innerbeauty ^_^ http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=477970


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Innerbeauty said:


> uld like to pick your brain if you would be so kind....
> 
> 
> I think I've read every page of your journal now....  (addicted to it!) I remember somewhere along the line you mentioned rocks and their safety for the aquarium. I have been collecting rocks from our creeks on the property and have gotten some really pretty ones. I first test them with vinegar to see if they bubble and then boil them if they don't. (and I don't intentionally grab limestone rocks.)
> Could you give me any more information on how I test these? And if they do harden water... can I put some sort of sealant on them to fix it?
> 
> I am thinking about selling some of them but really want to know what I'm selling first. (like... double double checking them.)
> 
> A couple of my rocks are in my avatar. The white one is quartz tho you can't tell it by the pic.





lilnaugrim said:


> Here's a good list just about safety, not about ID'ing but you might find it helpful as well Innerbeauty ^_^ http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=477970


Thank you for posting that link lil' I can never find it when I want to.

As or testing rocks I have liquid API test kits including low and high pH and a GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness) test kit (sold separate from master test kit). When I get new rocks after a thorough scrub and rinse I put them in a container/bucket of water for sevearl days then test pH, GH and KH. Some people's (like lilnaugrim) had tap that degases (I think is the term?)over night/several days changing the pH (if you don't know if yours does this then do a 'control' test where you test pH straight from the tap, then set some water out for several days and test again to see if pH is still the same. If pH, GH, and KH aren't affected, and the stone is not one of those listed in the link lilnaugrim gave as unsafe I'd think it _might _be ok, but proceed with caution if you cannot ID it.
A key thing to keep in mind for stones used in betta tanks is how sharp or rough they are. Get a nylon stocking and rub it over the rocks at every angle. It is snags slightly or completely rips it can damage betta fins. If you have access to a rock tumbler (I wish I'd kept mine from when I was a kid >.<) you can tumble the rocks to make them much smoother and safer, just have to add an abrasive to the tumbler.
As for sealing rocks.. I tried that last year with some stones I got that looked beautiful but were made of magnesium and calcium they sent my GH and KH off the charts! My husband helped and we tried sealing them in urethane (oil based) and let them cured several days. But when I went to test them in water the coating was tacky and started to peal.. so not aquarium safe.. I don't know if it was the urethane or the vary slippery texture of the rocks it was put on (not purse enough to grip possibly?) but that was an utter failure.. I was quite frustrated as I coated all the rocks and this stuff did not want to come off (if I could I would have just used it in a fauna-less tank but nooo it was stuck on there worse than bubblegum in your hair =.=). Have not tired any new coatings since.


----------



## lilnaugrim

NP ^_^ I have it bookmarked for that reason haha.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> NP ^_^ I have it bookmarked for that reason haha.


I haven't cleared or organized my bookmarks in over 3 years.. its a mess x.x


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Feeling a bit sick today so not much going on.. have some photos taken over the past few days

Fungus spreading on the wood.. and tank glass (the specs are not 'lil aquatic critters.. its fungus) and thermometer ugh =,= I recall why I hated this wood so much.. When I feel better I'll remove scrub and boil it again.




An odd shaped driftwood I have that's just a _tiny _bit too big for a 10g (sawing an inch off the long end would help) I'd love to use it but worry about a betta getting stuck in it or shredding fins on it. I had this in the 20g long for a bit while it was fauna and flora-less (right when 55g went riparium and fish moved in).. with no heater it didn't produce the dreaded fungus.






Dwarf puffer vs bladder snail! FIGHT *que mortal combat music* I find it amusing the snail is as big as him, such a small fish! Btw that snail is still alive.. puffer is taking his sweet time getting around to eating it but whatever, if eggs get laid then thats just future food for him.



Shreduski! I don't take many photos of him.. fins are doing well, about 75% regrown.





And Chiyome.. first shot is out of focus but I love that gaping mouth look


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Gah my willpower has completely forsaken me!*

I have no willpower any more!! I've been mentally battling myself over buying a stunning boy of aquabid .. but with the promise I made to myself a while ago to buy a female before a male I also need to get a gal. I struggled with it for 2 days and last night told myself "No, just no" and was done with it.. Then today I looked into my 10g dump tank and thought " Hmm the N. Tawian and water sprite are doing really well, could use them in a tank (maybe add some dark moss for contrast)." and then the battle in my brain started aaaallll over >.< [censor]
My main argument to not get any more bettas was the issue of finding the space for them..... My wonderfully enabling husband recommended wall mounting my monitor and raising it several inches to move Aristocole's bowfront under the screen and put a new tank on the left side of the desk.. (and I'd likely cram a pico on the right side for the "must get 'first' (buy 2 seconds before)" girl >.> Then I have to buy a new light for the bowfront so the light is not blocking the monitor...and for the pico (would use my $40 ray II LED on new tank on the left I'd get with the light raised a bit so its not high light.. then I have to add some shielding so I don't go blind from it.. and block off Chiyom'e tank so it doesn't get an algae explosion from the new light). Then buy some new plants for the pico because I like to use different plants in every tank and [cesnor] the cost of all this is adding up fast!! Making my frugal side groan "hnnnnn too pricey.. >.> but so want.. but ugh the $$"
I fear I will loose the battle and be several hundred dollars lighter in a week..I'd likely wait until the fish got to me then set them up temporarily in the 10g and 2.5 (and oh no heaven forbid I be sensible and use these tanks (flat glass 10g and 2.5g) on my desk.... I want curved tanks.. which costs 2x-6x as much *head desk* [censor]) then buy all the tanks/lights/extra plants and set up. I fear if I buy everything before the fish arrive I'll have one or both DOA jut to leave me hanging... That's the other thing that bugs me! I really want these fish but _REALLY _don't like shipping in this warm weather... plants would be worst off in the mail then the fish since I'd want mosses that prefer mid 70sF and lower ugh.. what to do!!


edit: as a side note I am thinking of selling some riparium plants, planters, planter media, and floating rafts.. maybe making a little $ will ease my guilt about spending so much? .... >.>


----------



## lilnaugrim

Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has zero willpower left ;-)
Willpower is a depletable source so it's normal to go through phases.

Ooh, I may buy the floating rafts from you. Are they good for all riparium plants or just certain ones? I want to put my arrowheads on the 45 but haven't had luck with getting wiring to hold up the planters. Unless you want to send some of that my way as well ;-) and then maybe I'll just buy some plants from you ^_^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has zero willpower left ;-)
> Willpower is a depletable source so it's normal to go through phases.
> 
> Ooh, I may buy the floating rafts from you. Are they good for all riparium plants or just certain ones? I want to put my arrowheads on the 45 but haven't had luck with getting wiring to hold up the planters. Unless you want to send some of that my way as well ;-) and then maybe I'll just buy some plants from you ^_^


Yeh ^^''' I saw your newest boy, very interesting like the contrast of the anal fin to the other fins!
I was going to sell a package deal with 2 kinds of plants for the raft, 2 rafts, 2 planter baskets (with media, mesh, and extra (2) suction cups, and a plant for 1 basket that can be split between the 2.. would need a medium priority box to fit the plants and equipment. I don't knot that the arrowhead would be a good candidate for the raft, the person I originally bought them from seems to only recommend smaller thinner stemmed plants for them but no harm in trying. You'd have to find a unique way to hold the plant in/on the raft though since they just have small holes for thin stems to be stuffed in.
I'm kinda falling asleep here so I'm gonna stop typing.. have to spell correct every other word now.. >.< Will give more details tomorrow morning/afternoon, I'll PM you *que falling asleep on keyboard* 5 t8i jk5rt


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aqua Aurora said:


> Yeh ^^''' I saw your newest boy, very interesting like the contrast of the anal fin to the other fins!
> I was going to sell a package deal with 2 kinds of plants for the raft, 2 rafts, 2 planter baskets (with media, mesh, and extra (2) suction cups, and a plant for 1 basket that can be split between the 2.. would need a medium priority box to fit the plants and equipment. I don't knot that the arrowhead would be a good candidate for the raft, the person I originally bought them from seems to only recommend smaller thinner stemmed plants for them but no harm in trying. You'd have to find a unique way to hold the plant in/on the raft though since they just have small holes for thin stems to be stuffed in.
> I'm kinda falling asleep here so I'm gonna stop typing.. have to spell correct every other word now.. >.< Will give more details tomorrow morning/afternoon, I'll PM you *que falling asleep on keyboard* 5 t8i jk5rt


Thanks! I'm really smitten with him!

Ah okay! Well, I have some of the planter thingies, I really just need the wire. I'll have to look harder and go to the hardware stores, I haven't been in a while.

And no worries, I'm falling asleep over here too but I've got work to do >.<


----------



## Aqua Aurora

For sale thread up in marketplace section for riparium package. I'm sure I'll regret selling off my trellis rafts later since they're no longer made or sold but oh well.. Only thing I wanted to try with it but never did was some stems like creeping jenny and ludwigia (or maybe a moss) to cover the raft and drape and spread out over the water's surface. Always thought that'd be a cool look but never got around to it :/



lilnaugrim said:


> Thanks! I'm really smitten with him!
> 
> Ah okay! Well, I have some of the planter thingies, I really just need the wire. I'll have to look harder and go to the hardware stores, I haven't been in a while.
> 
> And no worries, I'm falling asleep over here too but I've got work to do >.<


Sorry didn't see this post till after I'd finished PMing you.
You can get the wire for cheaper at a home depot than it would cost me to ship it.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ah, no worries ^_^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*I'm not dead.. also MTS contntinues!*

A bit busy throwing money in every direction >.< My enabling husband thumbs-up-ed more bettas and tanks.. which means also more plants and lights and driftwood and [censor] I can't believe how much I spent!! *big buyers remorse*
The 2 new bettas:
Have I mentioned blue is my favorite color? I freaked when I saw him >.>''
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/closed.cgi?view_closed_item&fwbettashmp1441376104









And this girl I talked to a seller through email to get (was not posted on aquabid) so I can keep my promise to buy a female as my next beta (paid for her before the male).


Using transshipper Koo Yang again, I called just before lunch time and got him on the line ^^ (fingers crossed they make it to him then to me alive and well). Wish a good north east coast transshipper would pop up, would love for one to pup up within 2 hour drive of me but not in Philly (refuse to commute into that nightmare sooo many bad drivers).

As for tanks I was originally going to use my existing 10g and 2.5 standards but don't care for the flat glass as much. My wonderfully enabling husband told me to get what I wanted (he knew I had a dream tank of a 8-10g bubble bowl). Sooo after a Michel's trip I got the vase I'd left behind before and am waiting on eh bubble bowl to ship (really hope it arrive undamaged/broken). The vase is decently thick glass, hope the bowl is too. I was going to buy a much cheaper bubble bowl that had a stem/base but the [censor] sellers doubled it's price so it cost more than the original one I'd looked at...

Going to use the many N.Taiwain clippings that have turned into new plants + water sprite clippings in the big bubble bowl-its filling up the spare 10g tank fast) , also ordered some flame moss. In the smaller vase I'm not 100% sure on flora... I _was _going to go pure marimo but I bought some dwarf hair grass and anubias coffeefolia (I'd wanted this for a while). No plants have arrived yet but hope they make it through the heat.

As for hardscape in the tanks I need to get the bubble bowl in so I can figure out exact measurements and don't buy something that won't fit.

Tanks are all going to be crammed onto my desk. Aristocoles' 6g bowfront will be moved under the monitor (which will be wall mounted), bubble bowl placed in Aristocole's old tank spot, and the vase by the 7g cube (may ask hubby to build a base/back brace for it so I can't accidentally knock it over). I bought Aristocoles a new light, Finnex FugeRay 12" (unfortunately a 12" light does not mean 12" of LEDs.. more like 8" =.= but according to some par charts it should be fine for his tank depth). Bubble bowl will get the Finnex Ray2 LED and the vase will get Aristocole's old CFL light.

I may do soil based capped in black diamond in both tanks, or root tabs instead of soil.. not sure yet.

Will update later this week on the other fish and tanks.


----------



## Innerbeauty

Oh, goodness, my jaw dropped on that blue boy! Wow!

I look forward to seeing your new tanks.....  

I'm glad you got that vase. I was dissapointed at the time when you left it. I love seeing what you do with things!


----------



## charliegill110

wow that blue one is stunning! when will they arrive? you should do a before shot and then an after shot of your desk after you get the new ones set up.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Innerbeauty said:


> Oh, goodness, my jaw dropped on that blue boy! Wow!
> 
> I look forward to seeing your new tanks.....
> 
> I'm glad you got that vase. I was dissapointed at the time when you left it. I love seeing what you do with things!


Thank you ^^



charliegill110 said:


> wow that blue one is stunning! when will they arrive? you should do a before shot and then an after shot of your desk after you get the new ones set up.


Thank you. They should be here in 9-10 days. I will, after I clear the mess off haha.


----------



## Innerbeauty

Hey Aqua!!! When your anubias died did they just turn to mush? I see the pics of rot, and I really don't think mine looks like that. I have a coffeefolia that I just noticed yesterday that was turning yellow/white with white fuzz. I pulled it out and it turned to mush in my hands and smells awful. I just moved the darn thing last week! All other anubias look fine. I so hope this doesn't happen to them, I have 6 total in that tank.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Innerbeauty said:


> Hey Aqua!!! When your anubias died did they just turn to mush? I see the pics of rot, and I really don't think mine looks like that. I have a coffeefolia that I just noticed yesterday that was turning yellow/white with white fuzz. I pulled it out and it turned to mush in my hands and smells awful. I just moved the darn thing last week! All other anubias look fine. I so hope this doesn't happen to them, I have 6 total in that tank.


They do dissolve if you don't throw it out first. From the sound of it the plant had rhizome rot (breaking down rhizome and smell like garbage), any other anubias that were in the same tank as it are at risk (it spreads through the water column). Keep an eye on them for a month (4 weeks), I'd recommend a water change to siphon out the melted bits of dead anubias. Hope no others get sick. I lost a huge collection from 1 bad plant spread real fast and destroyed all the anubias >.< Its a good idea to quarantine all new anubias for 4 weeks separate from tank that has other anubias for 4 weeks, just a bowl with tank water in a windowsill or next tot eh tank to get indirect light is fine.


----------



## Innerbeauty

Thank you!!!  Sort of.... you gave me kinda bad news actually. lol

I also want to say Thank you to you and Lil for the rock info and links. I just went back to copy all of it down and noticed my reply had dissapeared? hmmm. I very much appreciate your wise and experienced help


----------



## Boshia

Aqua, how has your experience with Koo Yang been? I've been looking for a transhipper.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Innerbeauty said:


> Thank you!!!  Sort of.... you gave me kinda bad news actually. lol
> 
> I also want to say Thank you to you and Lil for the rock info and links. I just went back to copy all of it down and noticed my reply had dissapeared? hmmm. I very much appreciate your wise and experienced help


Sorry for the bad news but if it gives you the warning to separate and keep an eye on plants, or quarantine all new anubias you may save plants and $ in the future at least.
I've had huge posts written up and lost them then just "grrrr" a bit and make a short version >.>''



Boshia said:


> Aqua, how has your experience with Koo Yang been? I've been looking for a transhipper.


My first experience was good, only negative I'd say is he does not use styrofoam in the warm months (would prefer it be used) but does pack well in packing paper. I'm shipping through him again for the newest 2 and have been able to get a hold of him via phone at normal business hours no problem, he picked up when I called to verify pricing for this shipment. The other transshippers NEVER called me back when I tried contacting everyone a few months ago for my husband's betta.




Sorry for the lack of promised updates on tanks, had a nasty flu it felt like and basically was stuck in bed all yesterday and early today ugh no fun. Will try to get photos and update info on everyone tomorrow.
As a side note.. someone paid for floaters and MTS and didn't include their forum name so no clue who that is  but if they are reading this I'm sorry I could not ship this week, being too nauseous to be in front of a computer, no way I could drive to the post office (much less gather and pack up plants), by the time I felt better it was too late in the day to ship.


----------



## themamaj

Oh that blue HMPK is sooooo gorgeous! Love yellow too. Cant wait to see tanks


----------



## Innerbeauty

Aqua Aurora said:


> Sorry for the bad news but if it gives you the warning to separate and keep an eye on plants, or quarantine all new anubias you may save plants and $ in the future at least.
> I've had huge posts written up and lost them then just "grrrr" a bit and make a short version >.>''


Oh, yes, I really appreciate your help- I was merely using humor, not trying to downsize your advice! I did just what you recommended. 
Yes, don't you hate computers when they do that crap to you? You'd think we would learn to copy once getting past a couple of paragraphs, but then that is a pain in the butt in itself.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Ok update spam! 10g high light is doing good, I'm gonna pull the AR and move the Argentinian sword tot eh front before it gets too rooted in the back. Photos don't do the ludwigia sp. red and the stem next to it justice, they're a deeper red (luqwigia) and pink (un-IDed stem). Hoping to hear in a week or so if I can get tiniwini for the tank, if not I'll probably try gertrudes.




Most accurate color-wise but still a little weak



2g cookie jar I think I beat the hair algae, but I noticed I have 2 other mosses in there.. not sure what they are. Also Alastor managed to rip his tail on the ss mesh, I covered the mesh with sand after noticing.






2g lantern vase crypts are growing back slowly from latest melt. Need to do another water change to siphon out the dead plant matter.




2-3g bubble bowl.. had some major die off of pygmy chair sword I think from the lack of proper lightly for a while.. I have new growth coming back though, and the microsword in the center was unaffected.





7g cube needs de-diatomed again, and I'm about ready to do the major java fern replanting. Dwarf lilies are much more orange-red than photo shows.




6g bowfront has its new smaller light on it, we'll see how the anubias do with this LED, most concerned about lower leaves and those at the edges of the tank not getting enough light. Aristocoles was the most photogentic fish today.







Chiyome's 5g got a major water change and glass clean yesterday. After the tank was refilled my husband noted she was rearranging the floating pennywort so its more spread out and not clumped together.




12g long lot of green spot algae.. moved the canister filter intake to the opposite side of the tank. Amusingly the dwarf puffer seems to like to swim in the current instead of stay in the calmer waters.. he's also less shy about the camera! The hc I'd left in the tank as an experiment has grown well.. riccia is being a pain (i think the shrimp are pulling it out of the mesh).








20g long I tried splitting the purple waffle.. major wilting on the cutting but it starting to come back. Had to clean the filter foam s pulled out the broken up chunks with riccia on top and put in a solid piece with slits cut for some plants. Thinking of tossing some stems from the emersed setup onto here (maybe ludwigia).




55g riparium is doing well, I don't see the fish with the way its set p but one of the large ones (rainbowfish or angelfish) crashed into me last night at dinner time and wiggled away quickly.. it was like getting your hand electrocuted without the pain (fish had a lot of power in its movement).




10g temp tank for big bubble bowl plants.. wow the N. Taiwan is growing fast! so is the Water sprite. I also have some hydro japan floating in there I need to sell at some point. The bubble bowl should be here tomorrow.



And a sneak peak at the 2.5g vase (measured via bucket marked at gallon 1-5 volume) with plants from jdaquatics: overgrown dgh (planter pot? what planter pot?) and some anubias coffeefolia. I'd prefer larger anubias but for the price I'm quite happy with this order! I notice one of the dhg pots has different leaf shape.. possible a different sp? Ah well will add a little variety to the grassy tank Now I just need the driftwood, fun part will be getting wood that fits in the 5" diameter opening... only downside to these not straight glass tanks-limited opening for hardscape to fit in through.








themamaj said:


> Oh that blue HMPK is sooooo gorgeous! Love yellow too. Cant wait to see tanks


Thank you^^



Innerbeauty said:


> Oh, yes, I really appreciate your help- I was merely using humor, not trying to downsize your advice! I did just what you recommended.
> Yes, don't you hate computers when they do that crap to you? You'd think we would learn to copy once getting past a couple of paragraphs, but then that is a pain in the butt in itself.


Its easier to write everything up in a word document/note pad application then paste it onto the web once done so it can't be lost unless you loose power/force shut down your computer, but then you have to stop and ask why everything is so poorly coded now, a forum page or browser could be done in a way that moving to another page then back to a post you were typing does not loose it.. I know its possible as I've seen it in the past (and got very frustrated when it stopped working).


----------



## Bettabubble3

Im literally obsessed with this thread. Im fairly new to planting and you are the best.


----------



## Tree

how many watt is your light in the 10 gallon? I might get a stronger light for my tank with the ludwigia sp. in it. They are not doing so hot anymore more. =( saddness. 

BUT MAN I love those tanks you have. *drools*


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## Aqua Aurora

Bettabubble3 said:


> Im literally obsessed with this thread. Im fairly new to planting and you are the best.


Thank you but there are plenty of people with much fancier (planting/scaping) and cleaner thanks than I. I look at google for "aquascape" or "planted nano tank" and those make mine look subpar... If I would get over my hear (and frugality) and try co2 I could do better with my scaping.. but I'd rather stay simple. ^^



Tree said:


> how many watt is your light in the 10 gallon? I might get a stronger light for my tank with the ludwigia sp. in it. They are not doing so hot anymore more. =( saddness.
> 
> BUT MAN I love those tanks you have. *drools*


Remember watts per a gallon rule for lighting tanks is dead as there are so many different lighting options now, *par *is a better measurement for lighting a tank. Even when using the original florescent bulbs associated with watts per a gallon it doesn't work, simple example: 20g high vrs 20g long.. same # gallons but 4" height difference and mean depending on which tank the same light would be low or medium light, etc. I'm sure you know this already with the planted tanks you keep, but just wanted to mention it.

The high light 10g (not the plant dump 10g) has 2x 24-36"" Marineland doublebright LEDs (total 24 watts) and Current USA LED flex plus strip 44" (14 watts) so total is 38watts over the high light tank. I don't have exact par info on the strip light but I know I'm at high light overall since the 2 marinelands put me at medium light by themselves.


And thank you ^^



edit: whoops meant to include some update photos, will get those and some info up soon.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Getting close*

Uuuugggh [censor]!! Wrote up in post above and took to long so couldn't submit but it lost all I typed >.<
GRRRRR... ok lets try again..
Flame moss came in, its 2 days late and some is browned but its long moss not little tiny clippings like most moss sales so I'm happy! Just need to get the wood to attach it to. Bubble bowl also arrived today. First photo shows moss, vase and vases plants, some hydro japan (for wood seller), and a bit of the 10g dump tank adn the bubble bowl. 2nd photo shows bubble bowl by the 10g (10g is 12" wide), bubble bowl is 14x16" outter 13.5x15.5" (height x diameter) internal dimensions. Last photo shows 100ml prime bottle in bowl for scale. Have not filled bowl yet to verify volume, but I've read its 8-10g with nothing else in it... maybe I'll add pygmy cory >.>


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## kittenfish

Wow, that bubble bowl is going to look amazing once it's set up. Where did you order it?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

kittenfish said:


> Wow, that bubble bowl is going to look amazing once it's set up. Where did you order it?


Amazon but you can get it on ebay to "jumbo bubble bowl" shipping is expensive because its so big! If you're lucky enough to be in driving distance of the seller go pick it up and save a ton of $.
I _was _going to buy this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_image_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
but the [censor] seller doubled its price so its more expensive than what I finally bought... idiots.




In other news my bettas should be shipping out from Thailand today, hope they make it to Koo Yang in good shape.


----------



## Tree

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you but there are plenty of people with much fancier (planting/scaping) and cleaner thanks than I. I look at google for "aquascape" or "planted nano tank" and those make mine look subpar... If I would get over my hear (and frugality) and try co2 I could do better with my scaping.. but I'd rather stay simple. ^^
> 
> 
> 
> Remember watts per a gallon rule for lighting tanks is dead as there are so many different lighting options now, *par *is a better measurement for lighting a tank. Even when using the original florescent bulbs associated with watts per a gallon it doesn't work, simple example: 20g high vrs 20g long.. same # gallons but 4" height difference and mean depending on which tank the same light would be low or medium light, etc. I'm sure you know this already with the planted tanks you keep, but just wanted to mention it.
> 
> The high light 10g (not the plant dump 10g) has 2x 24-36"" Marineland doublebright LEDs (total 24 watts) and Current USA LED flex plus strip 44" (14 watts) so total is 38watts over the high light tank. I don't have exact par info on the strip light but I know I'm at high light overall since the 2 marinelands put me at medium light by themselves.
> 
> 
> And thank you ^^
> 
> 
> 
> edit: whoops meant to include some update photos, will get those and some info up soon.



ah that's right. I keep forgetting about that. lol thanks for the advice.


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## BettaSplendid

Oh so exciting! All those plants, what fun! And new bettas!! I am looking forward to seeing them.


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## themamaj

Aqua your floor looks like mine last two days buckets of plants  You have inspired me on all your beautiful tanks! Done two this weekend and loved every minute. Cant wait to see your new one. Happy scaping!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> ah that's right. I keep forgetting about that. lol thanks for the advice.


^^



BettaSplendid said:


> Oh so exciting! All those plants, what fun! And new bettas!! I am looking forward to seeing them.


I'm excited too ^^ they should ship out today from Koo Yang to me.



themamaj said:


> Aqua your floor looks like mine last two days buckets of plants  You have inspired me on all your beautiful tanks! Done two this weekend and loved every minute. Cant wait to see your new one. Happy scaping!


Yeh I tend to hog up extra space with unfinished projects alot >.>'' Happy to hear I inspire others to set up planted tanks ^^ They're quite fun to scape and rescape, and thank you. ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So since I've not been able to properly set up the spherical tanks yet the new bettas will have to be temp housed in the 2.5 and 10g rectangle tanks.. Id decided to splurge and buy some silk plants for them (also needed to buy another sponge filter and some more algae wafers), which should be here Friday.. figure no point stressing in a barren quarantine. 

I shuffled the plants for the bubble bowl into the bowl (no official planting) to clean out the 10g, and moved my snails to a tupperware to clean out the 2.5.

I also decided to get blue eye gertrudae (Pseudomugil gertrudae) for the high light 10g tank... couldn't get tinwini and was sick of waiting (my ammonia bottle is almost empty to so want to get fish before I had to buy a new one).

What else..I decided to fill the bowl yesterday to figure out its volume, its just a little under 8 gallons with nothing else in it, so 6-7 with substrate, wood, equipment.


----------



## IslandGirl7408

Aqua Aurora said:


> Well I think the snail in the 2g lantern vase was trying to escape, found another snails' shell by the filter (I thought I'd put one in before). Fortunately the blue ramshorn wasn't dead yet so I pulled him out, will toss in a brown ramshorn later (don't care if the brown ones turn into lunch).
> 
> The bubble bowl I'd been looking at on amazon i left in my shopping cart but never checked out.. It's shot up to $74 from $36.. so unless it goes back down to the previous price those fools selling the product lost any chance of it being bought. I can buy a bigger bowl for less than that price (about $10 less) without the stem/base under it.
> 
> 
> I decided to torture myself and went to Petco and Michel's today.
> This yellow vt boy with blue eyes has been here a few weeks.. He's still spunky and has a tinge of orange n his fins.. but a little pineapple-ing.... I dunno in a sea of red and blue vts he's pretty nice, I can't see why he hasn't been bought yet!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Part of me started thinking "he'd look nice with the yellow fish I plan for the 10g.. but no no I'm not suppose to put a betta in that tank.. and I want females or plakats.. vt male is neither stop thinking about taking him >.<
> 
> Wasn't much appealing in the non vt section, this guy was nice looking forget the term for his coloring
> 
> 
> Then over to the art store.. have a 40% discount coupon (where's my 50% off coupon you cheap [censors]?).. EXPENSIVE and only a little bigger than the lantern vase .. maybe 2-2.5g range? Was horrified of dropping it trying to take a photo, with coupon its $21
> 
> 
> Much cheaper at $5.4, little smaller probably 1.5-2g at most
> 
> 
> 
> Seen a few people use these style jars (not this exact one) and just seal the valve so no chance of emptying out on the floor. $15 with coupon probably around 2g?
> 
> 
> 
> Of course the most expensive is the most appealing of them >.>''
> 
> Also went to petsmart.. nothing of interest sadly though the dog was quite happy since got to say high to several people and a puppy.


I love the first vase,but how would you attach a filter, heater, thermometer, etc?


----------



## Strawberry12

Question aqua- when planting pothos in a riparium, should those thicker stem pieces that are mixed in with the roots be in the water or out of it?


----------



## lilnaugrim

I love Gertrudae!! Feisty little fish with a BIG attitude problem lol. Mine definitely had the Napoleon Complex XD

Have you looked at the Threadfin Rainbowfish? My LFS has them in right now and man, they are beautiful!!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

IslandGirl7408 said:


> I love the first vase,but how would you attach a filter, heater, thermometer, etc?


I use a small heater so its not too long and the glass being curved won't be an issue. As for filtration I only use sponge filters in these curved tanks so its an airline tube going int the tank to a weighted sponge filter set on the bottom. To make the sponge filter sit in the 'back' and not directly under the opening I put a wire in the airline tubing and bend it to roughly shape with the tank. As long as the air pump is running water does not go into the airline tube and does not have contract with the metal wire. I had a photo of it somewhere but can't find it so I'll go snap a shop real quick, pardon how dark the tank is, lights don't turn on for a bit.
This is the crypt lantern vase which has a similar shape to the vase you're asking about.







Strawberry12 said:


> Question aqua- when planting pothos in a riparium, should those thicker stem pieces that are mixed in with the roots be in the water or out of it?


The thicker vine part can be kept in water, or out with just part of the roots in water, both works fine. I had my pothos on the 55g riparium mostly submerged (except leaves-which were above the water) for several months, it had no issues and kept growing fine. Keeping more of the thick vine part in water as it grows will lead to more roots growing between each new leaf, if the vine part if kept dry there will be root 'nubs' that don't grow new roots since its just exposed to air (in soil it would also grow roots.. but planting in soil would defeat the point of having it on the tank to absorb nitrates). This will not effect the original roots, so its up to your personal wants. Bettas will love the extra roots from keeping more of the vine in water (leaves above water) as it grows and have places to explore and rest, but if you are doing an underwater planted scape the roots will looks wild and messy and possibly unappealing (depending on your preferences) so you'd want to minimize amount of roots, or find a way to hide them... sorry run on sentences getting lazy here ^^''



lilnaugrim said:


> I love Gertrudae!! Feisty little fish with a BIG attitude problem lol. Mine definitely had the Napoleon Complex XD
> 
> Have you looked at the Threadfin Rainbowfish? My LFS has them in right now and man, they are beautiful!!


I looked at threadfins during my many month mulling over of species, but like the blue eyeds form and color better. Getting them from msjinkzd, should be shipping out today and be here tomorrow (hopefully) with the bettas.. gonna be fun juggling drip acclimation of 3 separated tanks. Speaking of bettas I didn't get a tracking # from Koo Yang yet so I think I'll call today and see if they've shipped out.



In other news, what I thought was a "strong chin" (joke) on Xerxes is another cyst on his lower jaw, its not that big and doesn't prevent him from opening his mouth of flaring so it doesn't worry me... he's at bumps/cysts now.


----------



## Strawberry12

great! I like messy jungle tanks so i'll leave the roots all haphazard-like.


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## Aqua Aurora

The blue eyed's came in and are drip acclimating slowly, they are so freaking tiny!! Going to have to grind up flakes to a dust for them. I also have grindal worms but need to get the culture bigger I just split the culture so hopefully will ave 2x as many in a few weeks/month). I thought about trying a microworm culture but eh it seems like much more work than the black worm and grindal worms.
Look at those horrified eyes


drip dirp drip


I posted in teh aquabid thread in the photo section about this but i'll say it here too:
The fish shipment from Thailand was delayed (airplane issues) and won't get to Koo Yang until today. He said he will hold the fish over the weekend and ship monday so they don't sit at the post office on Sunday. Hope they make it ok, kinda worried about them being in those tiny bags 2x as long as they normally would.

As a side note, photobucket is being all spazy for me today  the [censor]...keep getting errors and "Acception"s


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## Aqua Aurora

So I had stuffed the plants in the bubble bowl to free up the 10g (though the fish did not come to fill it) but I decided to do a water change and fill the bowl higher today (was only 1/2 full before). Really like the look of it and glad I got a nice dark flame moss to contrast the lighter greens of the N. Taiwan and water sprite. Getting impatient to get wood so I can properly plant and scape it! Also shot of the vase. ^^




Going to go clean diatoms out of Xerxes' tank now
.
.
.
"I can see you now!.. Give me more food!!"


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## Aqua Aurora

New fish are settling in, they are skittish with movement but also curious and will come out and look after the initial startle. I think I have 4-5 males which is perfect if so, 2f 1m ratio is great (15 total). 1 male is nearly twice as big as the smallest fish, clearly top man in there and probably sexually mature or darn close while the others are still juveniles. 
I fed them grindal worms today, put some in the tank and walked away so they didn't get nervous. When I peaked they were out in the water column around the worms and I did not see many worms left. A few minutes later no worms visible so I think they ate them ^^ Will try finely ground flakes tomorrow, also going to call around and see if any lfs carry frozen *baby *brineshrimp. 
My husband likes the way they swim and stop to look (and the males 'flare') then move again. Anyways some photos:




In other news, silk plants came in and I was very disappointed with how TINY 2 of them were.. I don't know where the amazon seller pulled the dimensions from (out of their [censor] I'm sure) the packing around the item wasn't even as big as the dimensions listed, items were even tinier.. not even big enough to be viable for the 2.5g quarantine...But this is why I like using prime, send them back for a refund at no cost! Just waiting for UPS guy to drop off filter and take return package. I may look around the lfs for some silk plants while hunting down the frozen baby brine shrimp. The 2 larger silk plants I got are at least adequate size, but the base is like lava rock.. a real pain for a bare bottom quarantine... will try to silicone seal coat the base to make it betta safe. I'd thought about buying some silk plants that have a round base.. didn't look rough but they cost 2x as much so frugality stopped me... ah well.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Lack of updates.. time to fix that! Have some photos and intermittent text babbles:

Xerxes:


Husband's 12g residents:
dwarf puffer:


zebra otos:


Cherry shrimp:


Today's fish lunch: black worms:



So the two new beta came in safe and sound on Wed, set out their quarantine tanks and got them settled in. The male is ridiculously small... for those that recall Aristocles when he was young and short finned enough that I thought he might have been a female.. yeh this new boy is smaller then Aristocole's was back then. The female is bigger than the male and she's an egg happy gal, not blimp size but definitely more eggy than my husband's Chiyome. No names for the new ones yet.

The quarantine tanks. I coated the plastic tips and lava rock like base of the silk plants with silicone ad let dry for 36+ hours before they went in the tank, no smell and working well to prevent rips. Pulled out the old home made betta tubes too. You might notice the sponge filter in the larger tank is covered in a shower scrunchie (same stuff I sued to make the riccia carpet).. the sponge filter was not a jardin and ridiculously rough foam material.. I didn't have time to send it back for another so I had to cover it to keep the new boy's fins from getting shredded against it.



New yellow koi female, sadly she has some white scales that already have a touch of blue to them.. didn't want that.. hopefully it doesn't get too noticeable. She's very fearless.






Tiny male.... really not happy with the dark markings/scaring/whatever on his body.. not sure if his sales photo was Photoshopped to remove the black marks or if thats damage or something else...He does not hold still.. 300 photos for just a few partially in focus


----------



## BettaSplendid

For whatever it is worth (probably not much) I really like the new boy. Do you think he will always be small or is just young? He is very adorable to me.


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## themamaj

Do you have scarlett temple in one of your larger tanks? Mine started out beautiful and now some melting. Any suggestions?


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## lilnaugrim

The black marks on him are just scrapes likely from netting or water changes or whatever. Those will heal up so don't worry about them, should only take a couple of weeks to see the difference! :-D He's beautiful ^_^


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## Aqua Aurora

BettaSplendid said:


> For whatever it is worth (probably not much) I really like the new boy. Do you think he will always be small or is just young? He is very adorable to me.


Thank you, I appreciate the comment. I've grown fond of him in his few days here (the female too-both are fast learners i=food).. just had that initial bumbed-out-ness from the black marks.. but then I started looking into ancient mythology hero name options for him and his "battle scars". I can't say yet if he'll stay runty or if he's just very young and will grow. A few members of this forum who have multiple bettas have shown comparison shots of how big/small some males are to each other. We'll just have to wait and see ^^



themamaj said:


> Do you have scarlett temple in one of your larger tanks? Mine started out beautiful and now some melting. Any suggestions?


The proper name for scarlet temple is Alternanthera reineckii (quite the mouth full, AR for short). It does best in high light with CO2, but can survive at the high end of medium light without co2 (I use Excel-a liquid substitute to co2). I had some melting when I first got it but it bounced back. Its done very well in the 12g long tank on my husband's desk.



lilnaugrim said:


> The black marks on him are just scrapes likely from netting or water changes or whatever. Those will heal up so don't worry about them, should only take a couple of weeks to see the difference! :-D He's beautiful ^_^


Oh that's such a relief to hear! I was already looking into warrior names for him assuming its permanent, but now I can broaden the naming themes ^^




Gotta go out for a bit but will do a proper update when I get back hopefully ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

*Cramped desk*

I love how bright my desk is during "lights on" time for tanks now, but it makes it feel that much darker when they're off... might have to get inventive and have different light times for the tanks (but still line up for feeding schedule). Have 4 tanks crammed on my desk now, got them situated Sat. 
The tanks + desk panoramic view. The new tanks aren't officially planted yet.. still need to boil the wood I fished out some more then figure out which pieces I'm using and sand them down as needed. I'm really hoping going overkill with this wood boiling will get rid of the possibility of fungus... When I dump out the water its still freaking tea colored :/ Nearly 24 hours worth of boiling (spread over several days) wonder how much more it will take.









After a few prototypes my husband made a fairly minimalist stand for the monitor that rests on the 6g bowfront (we tried a raised shelf but it was too high and hurt my neck, which is a shame as it turned out very lovely with the stain and wax finish). I had to rescape the tank to move the anubias to the back of the tank since the front would have light blocked by the monitor's stand frame. I had to net Aristocoles out to give the tank a good clean and re-arrange rocks and plants.. unfortunately he decided to dart through the net as I tried to catch him and instead of pinning him in the net's square frame (where a fish should be)... he shot through lost most of his tail T_T My poor beautiful finned baby looks awful now as I'm forced to wait several months for hopefully a decent grow back of 2/3rds of his tail fin (which pretty much ripped off at the base) >.<

Last photo of him a week before the accident..


And now... 


I had to remove over half of my anubias.. most of the micro (only kept 1 in the tank) and a lot of the petite.. I'm debating about selling them or tossing them in one of the qt tanks with a light (and keep them in after fish it out) to grow and sell. Not a lot of anubias micro sellers out there....
Photo of all that I removed, enough to fill a 7x7" Marina betta cube.


all the removed micro


all the removed petite


Close up of the two species to show leaf size difference



In other news the new fish are doing well. Now that I've stripped all the emersed plants from the 40g breeder (holy [censor] I didn't realize just HOW MUCH was in there..should have charged more for those) I think I'll drain and store it away and move the qt tanks off the floor and onto the table the 40g was on.

The blue eye'ds rainbows in the high light 10g are doing well and come out front and center whenever I'm near the tank now ^^ They did not care for crushed up flakes or micro pellets so they're living on frozen baby brine shrimp and live grindal works. I'm happy I kept part of the culture and didn't RAOK it off completely, they REALLY love the grindals. The brinshrimp I think I bought too much (2 packs) I haven't even used 1/10th of the first cube yet and they get more bbs than grindals (3 of 4 meals are brineshrimp)... well as long as I don't brain fart and leave the pack on the counter to thaw and go bad I'd say I'm set for their lifetime on the baby brine shrimp at least ^^ I tried putting a pond snail in the tank to help with some diatoms.. but I think the rainbows will peck it to death considering the mts in there was flipped over with its trap door shot for days after they went in.. but we'll see. 
They don't hold still for shots, this is the only one that has 1..2.. almost 3? in focus.

I need to go in and trim the N. Taiwan and water sprite again... almost time to trim the stem plants too.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Uuuuggh I just wrote this up and lost it *head desk* ... retyping..
I think my new yellow girl is getting a bit more black in her body, I'm hoping thats an optical illusion since her tanks' not getting the indirect light from the (now dismantled) emersed setup. I let her and the new boy see eachother after lunch today (removed the cardboard between their qt tanks), woo did the blue boy get excited! Some almost full flared and zipped back and forth trying desperately to get her attention. She noticed him a few times and put down her ventrals but didn't seem to stay interested(I still find it amusing that she's bigger than him). 

The driftwood for their tanks has had 24 hours worth of boiling over a 5-6 day period, been thoroughly scrubbed (and mostly debarked via a straight razor), baked for a few hours to kill anything that might be left in it, aaand boiling now for a few more hours to re-water log and get rid of some more tannins (its never ending tannins!!). I'm hoping this weekend or early next week to mess with scaping the new tanks with this wood and get everything properly set up.. then cross my fingers that I won't get any fungus...

No shots of the wood yet (maybe when i mess with scaping) but here's some other stuff:
Looks like the new girl is getting more black in her.. shone I light on her for the second photo



And the new boy, he does not hold still!


Proof that snails are real poop monsters to any disbelievers! This is 2 bladder snails in 1 small (clean) cup for 1 hour with no food source. Multiply that x24, then x7, and x however many more snails you have to compound just how much poop they make in a week! (btw these particular snails are not full grown yet).


"beauty and the beast" aka ludwigia sp. red and pesky duckweed (with narrow leaf pygmy chain sword around them). I really need t get in that tank and trim!


Xerxes decided to let me get a few in focus shots of him yesterday



I wanted to take a nice close up shot of the anubias in Aristocoles' tank.. he photobombed me a few times before I got it, first photo is the better of the bombings



Chiyome was not cooperating for photo taking this is the best I could get (she's staring out of the tank at my husband, hoping for some attention from him)


----------



## BambooTikiBettaGirl84

I know this isn't a selling thread but if you were interested in selling the micro, I'm interested in buying some. I like petite Anubias but the micro is so adorable and works well with my micro garden look I'm going to be working on this spring.


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## RNHime

Love your fish and all the plants! By the way if you do decide to sell some of your anubias I'm very interested - you can PM me! I love my petites (need more!) and would like to try micro. =D


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## LadyNightraven

I finally finished catching up on your journal, and I am seriously in awe of your planted tanks. I feel like I'm doing well keeping my three anubias nana, one anubias congensis (at least that's how it was labeled at Petsmart), and five Marimo balls alive and happy. I really like the new yellow girl and blue boy. I'm glad they arrived safely.


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## Aqua Aurora

BambooTikiBettaGirl84 said:


> I know this isn't a selling thread but if you were interested in selling the micro, I'm interested in buying some. I like petite Anubias but the micro is so adorable and works well with my micro garden look I'm going to be working on this spring.





RNHime said:


> Love your fish and all the plants! By the way if you do decide to sell some of your anubias I'm very interested - you can PM me! I love my petites (need more!) and would like to try micro. =D


I'll let you two know when I'm ready to sell the anubias ^^



LadyNightraven said:


> I finally finished catching up on your journal, and I am seriously in awe of your planted tanks. I feel like I'm doing well keeping my three anubias nana, one anubias congensis (at least that's how it was labeled at Petsmart), and five Marimo balls alive and happy. I really like the new yellow girl and blue boy. I'm glad they arrived safely.


Thank you ^^


Sorry for lack of updates, been very busy here. Have the bubble bowl and vase setup on the desk with new bettas in. Also finally decided on their names, the blue male is Ajax: names for a very large and powerful commander in the Iliad (we'll see if he grows bigger to fit his name.. I almost named him after a giant from Greek mythology but liked the sound of Ajax better), and the yellow female is Freya: named for a Norse goddess of fertility, beauty, and gold.
It took me a few days to get both tanks fully setup and the fish in (naive me though it'd only take 1 day) but they're settling in well, fairly happy with how the scapes turned out. I admittedly spend a lot of time while lights are on watching all the bettas on my desk now ^^ Sorry no photos yet, will get to those sometime (have to go through to out of focus and resize the decent shot).
Since I'm at my absolute max for tanks I've taken photos of the extra (smaller) driftwood for sale, just need to stop by the post office to pick up some boxes and see what I can fit in which.. and those that don't fit in priority boxes will get shipping calculated based on zip/box size and weight.


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## Aqua Aurora

Desk photos
Ajax and Freya are a real pain to get photos of, they don't hold still!!














Aristocoles' caudal fin is growing back nicely, I got a few shots of him flaring at some driftwood I had on the desk but they were very out of focus :c


Xerxes planning out his next bubble nest I'm guessing? He saw Fray spinning around her tank earlier today and was trying to strut and get her attention.. i don't think she saw him.


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## Tree

GAh what a cutie!


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## artemis35

As a long-time lurker on your journal, I just have to say that "gorgeous" doesn't even come close to describing your tanks. IMO, you have the best looking planted tanks on this entire site. Thank you for all of the eye candy


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## Aqua Aurora

Tree said:


> GAh what a cutie!


Thank you ^^



artemis35 said:


> As a long-time lurker on your journal, I just have to say that "gorgeous" doesn't even come close to describing your tanks. IMO, you have the best looking planted tanks on this entire site. Thank you for all of the eye candy


Thank you very much for the kind words ^^ There are plenty of much more lovely planted tanks then mine out there, but I do my best to make stuff work with what I have (no pH tampering and no co2 systems.. generally trying to keep it low maintenance).


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## Aqua Aurora

*Not dead*

Just been busy and sick.. SO sorry for lack of updates..
Magnus has been ballooning for a few weeks now, what I originally though was bloat from eating floaters I've been told might be tap worms.. so he's going through a med treatment in the 10g.. Here are some photos of Magnus and his tank which I re-did before he went into qt.
plant list:
leoaprd vals (Vallisneria spiralis Leopard)
Micro sword (Lilaeopsis mauritiana)
Mini micro sword (Lilaeopsis nova "mini")
Lilaeopsis ??? (un IDed taller micro sword species)
anubias nana micro
anubias nana petite
Salvinia minima
riccia fluitans






I made a craft mesh arch and covered it in some of my excess anubias nana and petite before i made the sales thread to sell off the remainder. Magnus enjoyed the cave and long vals that went to the surface (before he went into the qt tank).


Shreduski have moved into a 2.5 with lucky bamboo and pothos on the windowsill above Alastor's tank. He has a heater (tank temp staying 78f) but no filter and ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all 0. My husband helped me make a 3 sides background for the outside of the tank using the green bamboo fabric we'd used to me a privacy/diver shield before. I believe Shreduski enjoys the mostly dark tank, he started bubblenesting the first night in and keeps growing it. He won't full flare but does partial flare at me when I wiggle a finger at him. Unfortunately its impossible to get a photo of the tank/fish as it does not have its own light (uses ambient sunlight) so for now had a dark shot until I cal slap a light over the tank to show the inside....




For any of you that have been reading my journal for a while/read back a ways you may recall the lucky bamboo was originally for Chiyome's tank. But some were infected and all have to be separately quarantined for sevearl months until they no longer showed any sighs of sickness. By this time Chiyome's tank had new plants and my husband had noted she's quite the jumper (has jumped out of the tank and bounced off his hand to land back I the tank before) so he's not comfortable going open top tank even with water level reduced. I'm hoping to grab 2-4 small pots to plant the remaining lucky bamboo in and put them around the outside of the 2.5g tank to add a little depth. Its hard to see but the 3 small silk plants I'd used for Freya's and Ajax's qt are also in there, the larger silk plant was too big to fit in there.

Sheduski's fins had mostly healed (80%) in his previous tank buuuut then they got destroyed again so he was moved and I'm hoping he'll let them fully heal this time.. if he does I'll rename him (yet again) this time to Moros... but thats a big if... *glares at Shreduski*


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## themamaj

Glad you are feeling better! I love Magnus's tank. What type of heater are you using in that? What type of substrate do you like the best for your planted tanks?


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## Tree

welcome back. and yes glad you are feeling well. 

Does it seem that a lot of MGs get bloat easily? seems like it to me cause I saw the most beautiful MGCT yesterday that had bloat. (the CT looked like my sardine.)

nice new setup with the lucky bamboo. Sometimes I with Bettas don't jump cause of that reason. =( Glad she is okay though and he caught her. 

seems like all of your bettas are giving you a hard time eh?


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## Aqua Aurora

Grabbed some quick photos of Shreduski's tank with a little led light from a Marina cube. He did not want to have his photo taken =.= best shot I could get of the little [censor]... can't tell he's a double tail with his anal fin in this state




Aaand made some Halloween cupcakes (triple chocolate with vanilla frosting I dyed orange) mmmmm! Sadly my local grocery store doesn't bother to stock Halloween themed cupcake holders or toppings... but they already have xmas ones out =,= I suspect these will all disappear quickly (we'll blame it on a ghost ^.~)






themamaj said:


> Glad you are feeling better! I love Magnus's tank. What type of heater are you using in that? What type of substrate do you like the best for your planted tanks?


Thank you. I have a cobalt mini 10 watt heater (constant on style) plugged into an azoo micro temp controller. 
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25672
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23735
I bought these before I'd read about hydro theo adjustable heaters. I'd use that brand instead now to save $. But way back when I set the bubble bowl up for Magnus originally i wanted a small heater that wouldn't paint peel (like some 'betta heaters'/'under gravel heaters'). The colbalt only cooked fish as a 'constant on' heater hence the temp controller.

I prefer black diamond blasting 'sand' (its actually coal slag), its easy to plant in and CHEAP. I can get a 50lb bag for $8 at tractor supply co and it lasts me for several tanks (have used 3-4 bags ($24-32) for: 55g, 20g long, 12g long, 10g standard, 8g bubble bowl, 7g cube, 6g bowfront, 5g standard, 4x 2-3g tanks). It would cost more than that to get 'aquarium sand' for just the 20g long. Its in all my tanks except Shreduski's where I re-used some old gravel. Like all sand's black diamond needs rinsed thoroughly before use but is great stuff. I'd recommend either poking the sand with a chopstick or the pronged end of a fork at each water change or adding mts (Malaysian trumpet snails) to aerate/sift the sand.




Tree said:


> welcome back. and yes glad you are feeling well.
> 
> Does it seem that a lot of MGs get bloat easily? seems like it to me cause I saw the most beautiful MGCT yesterday that had bloat. (the CT looked like my sardine.)
> 
> nice new setup with the lucky bamboo. Sometimes I with Bettas don't jump cause of that reason. =( Glad she is okay though and he caught her.
> 
> seems like all of your bettas are giving you a hard time eh?


I can't say, Magnus has always been a derp eating his floaters so he'd be fat from that. Shreduski has not had bloat nor Xerxes (though he's technically a marble not a mustard.. but I call Xerxes mustard anyways). I'm surprised you didn't buy up the sardine-Similar betta. Sorry about his passing btw... not looking forward to loosing any of mine but I'm worried I might have acted to medicate Magnus too late.
Shreduski was in an open top tank before moving to the 2.5 so I'm not worried about him jumping. He has a partial lid that has an opening for the pothos and lucky bamboo. Some bettas jsut seem more jump prone than others. Chiyome, according to my husband (I didn't see it happen) bounces off him by herself and back into the tank. She's apparently most jumping at feeding time when he moves the lid back. I was just happy it wasn't a frantic "Honey! She fell out onto the desk!" and a scramble to quickly but gently get her back in.


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## themamaj

Thanks Aqua! Have a tractor supply right by my house. Never thought of checking there. Do you use root tabs or just liquid additives with that? I have several of hydors that are adjustable. My 50 watt does fine in 10 gallon. Have 25 watt on 5.5s but it seems like I have to set temp way high to get it to maintain 78-80. Have a couple of Penn plax adjustable that do great but never hear any feedback on them. Guy at store doesn't like them but always perfect on temp for me. I have some more heaters I need to buy so always looking for best one for money.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Thanks Aqua! Have a tractor supply right by my house. Never thought of checking there. Do you use root tabs or just liquid additives with that? I have several of hydors that are adjustable. My 50 watt does fine in 10 gallon. Have 25 watt on 5.5s but it seems like I have to set temp way high to get it to maintain 78-80. Have a couple of Penn plax adjustable that do great but never hear any feedback on them. Guy at store doesn't like them but always perfect on temp for me. I have some more heaters I need to buy so always looking for best one for money.


Some tanks (with non rooted plants like moss, java fern, and anubias) i use liquid ferts. The crypt tank and Magnus' bowls have root tabs and no liquid ferts added. I use 20/40 grit or -60 grit black diamond for sand size ^^
I used eheim jagar for a long time but they're bulky.. they use to be the most reliable heater but I had one go on the fritz and jack tank temp up to 90 and 94 F on perpetrate occasions (betta survived but that heater is retired). Have not used the hydro theo that long yet.


----------



## Schmoo

Your new fish are so cute. Your new boy is quite handsome. c: Still in awe of your tanks. <3


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## Innerbeauty

Drooling for new pictures from Aqua..... :greenyay:


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## Aqua Aurora

I'm sorry for the lack of updates! I'll try to make a proper post soon.. 

Magnus had to be put down, since he did not get any better with treatment. An autopsy done after passing showed a LOT of fluid in the stomach and some unknown decomposed thing.. possibly blocking anything from leaving the stomach. I pulled all the pants from Magnus' tank and did a PP dip then put them in Antaeus' (the vt's) tank. I took Antaeus' crypts and anubias and currently have them stuffed in the 20g long... not sure if I want to sell them or use them yet.. Redoing the bubble bowl now not 100% sure how yet but mostly driftwood with leaf litter and I' thinking riparium plants.. and possibly floaters.


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## LadyNightraven

Oh no. I'm so sorry about Magnus, Aurora. :-(


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## themamaj

Im so sorry about Magnus. Do you take fish somewhere for autopsy?


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Im so sorry about Magnus. Do you take fish somewhere for autopsy?


No my husband cut him open after we confirmed he was dead as I couldn't keep my hands steady enough to do it. Then I used a simple computer connected microscope my husband had got me to inspect his innards. I don't know if any vets by me actually deal with fish.


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## Aqua Aurora

Well [censor] me... something is up with my tap.. dosed for 3ppm ammonia in the bubble bowl reading was 0ppm after 24+ hours.. added another 3ppm worth (total should be 6) still 0ppm test reading (yes I am using liquid api test and I know how to do it-done it for 2+ years)..ended up buying a new test kit and a new bottle of ammonia.. still the same. I only get a green reading when using distilled water and a LOT of ammonia (lethal to anything 3+ digit ppm ammonia).. dunno whats up with my tap but ugh no easy fish-less cycling for me I guess.... Btw the filter in the tank went 2+ weeks with no fish then was thoroughly rung out and nearly boiled so no chance of a proper BB colony left in it.
On a side note have I mentioned my lack of restraint with betta buying? When I went to petco to get a new test kit (and forgot to use the 0% discount coupon.. doh >.< ) I saw a yellow dalmatian female vt.. almost grabbed her but resisted (barely) as I wanted to figure out this ammonia problem first... I decided [censor] it and went back to look for her today, figured I can do a fish-in cycle, if I can't see ammonia I can just increase water changes (and slap a few riparium plants on top to help)... alas she was gone.. a much paler sister was there but meh.. wasn't feeling it....


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## lilnaugrim

Heh, yeah, my willpower has it's good days and bad days. I was extremely close to buying this poorly little DT yesterday that was so pale, I felt terrible. But I decided against it (thankfully), at least, until I get Feng's boy shipped out and then I can float another in with Macklin :roll: I'm ridiculous I know.

So, just trying to keep it straight. You've been dosing ammonia how long now? What size tank? Plants I assume?


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Heh, yeah, my willpower has it's good days and bad days. I was extremely close to buying this poorly little DT yesterday that was so pale, I felt terrible. But I decided against it (thankfully), at least, until I get Feng's boy shipped out and then I can float another in with Macklin :roll: I'm ridiculous I know.
> 
> So, just trying to keep it straight. You've been dosing ammonia how long now? What size tank? Plants I assume?


I only did 2 days of dosing (nomraly would not do 2 days in a row but wanted to test as i should not be getting a 0ppm reading), 2-3g bubble bowl, no plants on it yet (and no BB to suck it up). So the ammonia has to be there but something in my tap is messing up the chemicals used for the test.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Ah, okay I see. Well that's strange. No chemist so I can't exactly say what's going on here. I did find something about gassing and how ammonia can become less strong over time if the bottle is left open but I doubt you did that, considering how strong ammonia is.


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Ah, okay I see. Well that's strange. No chemist so I can't exactly say what's going on here. I did find something about gassing and how ammonia can become less strong over time if the bottle is left open but I doubt you did that, considering how strong ammonia is.


I'd bouth a new bottle of ammonia along with a new test kit. Got 0ppm readings with new:new, old:new, newld (ammonia:test). My husband did some digging and found it may be due to too many particulates in the water effecting the test. Sometimes our tap is.. not so clear-I've had hot tap come out so milky white I can't see my hand 2" into a glass cube! Its not that bad visually right now but the particulates can be too small for the human eye.


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## lilnaugrim

Yeah milky water from hot tap tends to come from the water heater and that increases the TDS in the water which is why it's better to use cold(er) water for tanks with shrimp and other TDS sensitive fishes and either acclimate them to it or let it sit out a while to warm up through the day if the house is warmer. Holy run-on sentence Batman! lol. But my well water does the same thing when I use the hot water, especially during winter when it really has to heat up in the water heater tank first.


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## Aqua Aurora

Well we tried the Seachem Ammonia test kit which supposedly does not get affected by turbidity but still getting 0ppm readings when it should be 3ppm or higher...Putting tap through a brita filter plummets the pH (api test shows a bottom-6pH but it could be lower.... how do people test for pH lower than the test reads??) and filtering out the particles I get a proper reading BUT I don't feel like having to pump all my tank water through a brita filter (or ro unit) to use and make it easier to get proper nitrogen readings.. soo I guess I just get to wing it with cycling >.< Hopefully whatever is causing the issue goes away eventually...My husband and i noticed construction by the water treatment plant so maybe its just excess particulates getting in the water from the construction.. but its annoying that Seachem test is suppose to not be effected by the particles but still was... grrr..

Teaser photo of the 2-3g bubble bowl.. still working on it..




In other news I had to trim the water sprite in Ajax's and Freya's tanks as its growing like mad. I slapped up a for sale thread with about 2 dozen stems I cut in the market place section if anyone is interested. If no one buys it.. I'm tempted to break out eh 40g and transfer the 20g plants into it + water sprite and N. Taiwan then retire the 20g long. Oo speaking of the 20g long I have babies! The white clouds have fry-I've seen up to 6 our now (not sure if there are more).
Here's an out of focus photo of 2 of them. They're too tiny for my camera to focus on as they move around so fast! I noticed most have a blue irid streak by their eyes but 2 of them don't.

I guess I should wait for the fry to grow out more before I consider shifting everyone to the 40g..


And the 8g post water sprite trim + mostly in focus Ajax.. who sadly is developing diamond eye >.<



And the 2.5 post trim+ Freya about to attack her thermometer (again) she does not like her reflection in it (maybe it makes her look fat?)


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## Aqua Aurora

Sneak peaks of stuff in the works



last photo is a great example of different light spectrums effecting the look of plants, right container is closer to a t5 light with 6500k-cool/blue, left one is near a lamp with 3000k bulb-warm/red


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## BlueInkFish

Wow, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I thought I was subscribed to this thread already!? Odd, glad I found it again ^^


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## lilnaugrim

Did you buy all those Marimos? They're gorgeous! And I loooove the first stone too! Can't wait to see that aqua-scape! And yay, the floating stones! At my LFS they had an African Dwarf Frog who was adamant to sit on top of the floating stone at the top lol. Wish I'd taken a picture. We pushed him back in (the employee) but he quickly swam back over and perched again, rather cute!


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## Aqua Aurora

litelboyblu said:


> Wow, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I thought I was subscribed to this thread already!? Odd, glad I found it again ^^


Thank you ^^



lilnaugrim said:


> Did you buy all those Marimos? They're gorgeous! And I loooove the first stone too! Can't wait to see that aqua-scape! And yay, the floating stones! At my LFS they had an African Dwarf Frog who was adamant to sit on top of the floating stone at the top lol. Wish I'd taken a picture. We pushed him back in (the employee) but he quickly swam back over and perched again, rather cute!


Yes I did ^^, got them from aquaticarts.com (also on amazon as invertobsession), 25 for $49+$10.50 shipping. From reading reviews many marimos are not as big as advertised by seller (from what I got most are only 1", maybe 5 where 1.5"-2.5") so I bought extra to compensate. At that price though I'm not complaining when locally they go for $7-9 each x.x
First stones are OHKO dragon stones (can look up just 'dragon stones') second is pumice, bought both from ebay seller crazyaquaticstudio- very nice seller.
You should go back to the store and if the frog is still perched there take some photos of it! I hope it wasn't staying near the surface from a nitrite issue constricting oxygen in its blood.


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## Aqua Aurora

Scratch that comment about the marimo begin 1". I measured and they're 1.5".. only 5 are at the 2.5" mark but still no complaints ^^


----------



## simonthai

beautiful set ups! ---Can I ask how the fish find food if the surface is covered with plants? My two guys seem to have to have a pellet dropped right in front of them in open water or they dont seem to find it...maybe my two just arent that bright


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## themamaj

Love your water sprite bowl. How do you get it to grow and spread so well. Mine grows fine but can't get it to multiply like I would like. Do you use sponge filters on your bubble bowls?


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## Aqua Aurora

simonthai said:


> beautiful set ups! ---Can I ask how the fish find food if the surface is covered with plants? My two guys seem to have to have a pellet dropped right in front of them in open water or they dont seem to find it...maybe my two just arent that bright


I train all my fish (bettas and other species) that this one certain area is their feeding spot by only feeding at that spot. I only put food in when they are close/at that spot. When the surface is covered in floaters I push the floaters away with a finger (they usually lay on top of others floaters when i do this)-this signals to them that it's time for food and they come rushing over if they didn't notice before. All my fish figure out the feeding program within a week of getting them, some as little as 3 days.




themamaj said:


> Love your water sprite bowl. How do you get it to grow and spread so well. Mine grows fine but can't get it to multiply like I would like. Do you use sponge filters on your bubble bowls?


I started with a lot of stems before planting and spread them out around the bowl. I put osmocote+ root tabs in the substrate (1 per a 3" square area), and dose excel 1 ml daily (this is an 8g tank), light is probably low end of 'medium'. Within a week of planting stems they were shooting out new stems from the rooted bases of the stem. I notice where the stem produces roots it will also make multiple stem offshoots so making that the bottom of the plant and stuffing it in the substrate gives a bushier look. 
Hope that helps.


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## lilnaugrim

Aqua Aurora said:


> Yes I did ^^, got them from aquaticarts.com (also on amazon as invertobsession), 25 for $49+$10.50 shipping. From reading reviews many marimos are not as big as advertised by seller (from what I got most are only 1", maybe 5 where 1.5"-2.5") so I bought extra to compensate. At that price though I'm not complaining when locally they go for $7-9 each x.x
> First stones are OHKO dragon stones (can look up just 'dragon stones') second is pumice, bought both from ebay seller crazyaquaticstudio- very nice seller.
> You should go back to the store and if the frog is still perched there take some photos of it! I hope it wasn't staying near the surface from a nitrite issue constricting oxygen in its blood.


Ah, very nice! I love the look of river tanks with marimos just rolling around in them ^_^

Yep, I've seen those ones before, I love that one and the Seiryu stone as well. Beautiful for aquascaping!

And it's probably not there, I don't have time to go back unfortunately. Art comes first for the next couple days! But it wasn't likely from nitrite but rather from the Ich medication they were using on the system. All frogs seemed healthy enough, no one had obnixous shedding due to irritation, he just might have been more sensitive. There had been another that was trying to escape out the back but about 5-7 of them were happily foraging through the gravel as usual so I don't think it was something serious. It was cute though, he was still wet so he probably would dip down occasionally and perch again. Might have been warmth from the light as well, who knows.

My frogs used to perch on the dividers frequently when they were courting and singing, and then they'd jump over the dividers if you recall haha. So I think it's just an ADF quirk in a couple of them as they pretty much have their own personalities as well, not as obvious as Betta's I feel, but little quirks!


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## themamaj

Do you like the osmocote+root tabs are better than Flourish tabs? Any suggestions on where to find large bubble bowls or other great containers?


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Ah, very nice! I love the look of river tanks with marimos just rolling around in them ^_^
> 
> Yep, I've seen those ones before, I love that one and the Seiryu stone as well. Beautiful for aquascaping!
> 
> And it's probably not there, I don't have time to go back unfortunately. Art comes first for the next couple days! But it wasn't likely from nitrite but rather from the Ich medication they were using on the system. All frogs seemed healthy enough, no one had obnixous shedding due to irritation, he just might have been more sensitive. There had been another that was trying to escape out the back but about 5-7 of them were happily foraging through the gravel as usual so I don't think it was something serious. It was cute though, he was still wet so he probably would dip down occasionally and perch again. Might have been warmth from the light as well, who knows.
> 
> My frogs used to perch on the dividers frequently when they were courting and singing, and then they'd jump over the dividers if you recall haha. So I think it's just an ADF quirk in a couple of them as they pretty much have their own personalities as well, not as obvious as Betta's I feel, but little quirks!


I looked at getting Seiryu but unless you can hand pick it you can get ones full of jack hammer cuts (not that appealing imo) and I'd read Seiryu will effect pH and hardness (raises it) while OHKO is suppose to be inert. OHKO costs more and is a littler harder to find (fewer sellers) but I thin I'll enjoy it ^^




themamaj said:


> Do you like the osmocote+root tabs are better than Flourish tabs? Any suggestions on where to find large bubble bowls or other great containers?


I've not tried flourish tabs so I can't compare. I got omsocoe + root tab as I can get 100+ on ebay for $10. They last 6-9 months depending on how demanding the plants are/fast growing/densely planted the tank is. I usually do 1 rot tab per a 3" square area.
The jumbo bubble bowl (8g) I had to by online.. costs a bit mostly because of shipping. Its on eBay and amazon search "*jumbo *bubble bowl". The smaller bubble bowl and other curved tanks I have (2-3gs) are all from Michels arts and craft store. I'd recommend you only buy when you can grab the 50% off 1 item coupon-their stuff is over priced other wise. You can look up "Michel's coupons" and see sites that show current running coupons (and you can print them or send to your email to have on your phone). You can also try flower shops and candle shops (often sell vases), thrift stores, someones mentioned Peir1 before but I've not looked their (they're over priced imo).


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## themamaj

I will probably be switching now. Been paying $10 for 10 Flourish. Wow what a price difference! I have looked at Wal-Mart and lots of thrift stores for large bowls but never ran across any. Didn't think about Michael's. I will have to look at Hobby lobby too. Remind me what you use for your lids and what your hubby used to cut. Was it an acrylic? Ran across a pretty 3 gallon I got for $5. Would like to make lid for that and a couple other tanks. I have been using those clamp lights from Home Depot and plants doing well with them.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> I will probably be switching now. Been paying $10 for 10 Flourish. Wow what a price difference! I have looked at Wal-Mart and lots of thrift stores for large bowls but never ran across any. Didn't think about Michael's. I will have to look at Hobby lobby too. Remind me what you use for your lids and what your hubby used to cut. Was it an acrylic? Ran across a pretty 3 gallon I got for $5. Would like to make lid for that and a couple other tanks. I have been using those clamp lights from Home Depot and plants doing well with them.


NOT ACRYLIC-thin acrylic bows horribly from warm humid air under the lid. I tried it for less than a week-it bowed enough a betta could easily jump out (without toughing tank sides or lid) so I tossed it. 
I use *Lexan Polycarbonate*- its in the light diffuser or glass repair section at Home Depot. This stuff hardly bows at all (not enough to be noticeable)
DIY post on it:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=245289&page=27#post5347082

This is the Lexan lid on Xerxes' tank-its been on there for 20 months, the bow is less than 1/4". Acrylic had a good 1"-2" bow in 7 days...


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## themamaj

Thanks for the link! wow pretty amazing to know the difference in how acrylic can bow. I just checked my Home Depot and they have the lexan polycarbonate in stock so may try to pick some up this week and work on that


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## themamaj

Do you have a particular seller you like to use on root tabs on ebay?


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## Aqua Aurora

Some photos of my desk bettas








themamaj said:


> Do you have a particular seller you like to use on root tabs on ebay?


No I just look for cheapest by quantity. I usually take total price (item and shipping). I got omsocote + made root tabs. If several sellers are selling at same quantity and total price compare their estimated delivery date, and check feed back to see if there are any negative reviews to help you decide which to go with.


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## Sadist

Your fish are gorgeous, and I love your water sprite!


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Your fish are gorgeous, and I love your water sprite!


Thank you ^^ I actually got it originally as a free-be tossed in when I bought my N. Taiwan. I never would have bought it myself but I'm gald I got it. 2 small plants have just exploded with growth and fill 3 tanks now (10g, 8g bubble bowl and 2.5g)+ I've sold some.


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## themamaj

Your boys are stunning! Your boy with the diamond eye sure has beautiful iridescent scales. Hate his eyes are affected. Does he still have limited vision? Love that koi. Makes me want to shop Ebay and Aquabid.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Your boys are stunning! Your boy with the diamond eye sure has beautiful iridescent scales. Hate his eyes are affected. Does he still have limited vision? Love that koi. Makes me want to shop Ebay and Aquabid.


Technically both Xerxes and Ajax have diamond eye. Xerxes is much worst, I'd say around 70% blind for each eye with the coverage. He can see his food/movement ahead of him but his depth perception is a little bad (misses when he lunges at food unless he slows down and takes his time) and he can't see whats along side him. Ajax so far only has in it one eye and I'd say about 30% blind on that one, mostly the top of the eye. 
I really enjoy my koi girl! She actually was not listed on aquabid but I contacted sellers who had listings for yellow koi males and got lucky. If you'd like I can PM you the email address of the breeder I got my female from (can't recall their aquabid user name).


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## Zhylis

Good afternoon, AA! Thought you might be interested in these photos; the sp. "dwarf", Santarum has fully acclimated to my tank parameters. Whoever bred this beauty *REALLY* was not kidding about the dwarf aspect! I don't think she'll get much taller than 2 inches, and she's in the dimmest corner of (an admittedly high light) tank. Osmocote, Fluorish iron and trace, and glut.

*So tiny! *Under the blue/white lights, it's not an accurate color representation.









*Runner!* Under ambient lighting, the leaves are red edged, blending into a green/tan center with brown/maroon speckles. Looks like at least two babies off of this runner, and there may be a second runner developing on the opposite side.









 Long time lurker over @ TPT; finally registered when I was crypt hunting! Gotta get 'em all!


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## Aqua Aurora

Zhylis said:


> Good afternoon, AA! Thought you might be interested in these photos; the sp. "dwarf", Santarum has fully acclimated to my tank parameters. Whoever bred this beauty *REALLY* was not kidding about the dwarf aspect! I don't think she'll get much taller than 2 inches, and she's in the dimmest corner of (an admittedly high light) tank. Osmocote, Fluorish iron and trace, and glut.
> 
> *So tiny! *Under the blue/white lights, it's not an accurate color representation.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Runner!* Under ambient lighting, the leaves are red edged, blending into a green/tan center with brown/maroon speckles. Looks like at least two babies off of this runner, and there may be a second runner developing on the opposite side.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Long time lurker over @ TPT; finally registered when I was crypt hunting! Gotta get 'em all!


Thank you for sharing the photos! I know what you mean about the camera not capturing color right, my dwarf lily are much more vibrant red-orange-brown than the photos ever show. Such a cool looking plant I can't wait to trade with you in the spring ^^ The runner is interesting, the dwarf lily and N. Taiwan don't produce off spring the same way... yours acts like micro sword, chain sword, and vals with that runner. 

There are sooooo many crypt species, you're going to need a bigger tank! I found mine did better in a 20g long than in the 2g lantern vase, I think they prefer more water movement (real flow rather than sponge filter 'flow').


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## themamaj

Yes would love to know name of seller. Thanks


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## Zhylis

Aqua Aurora said:


> The runner is interesting, the dwarf lily and N. Taiwan don't produce off spring the same way... yours acts like micro sword, chain sword, and vals with that runner.
> 
> There are sooooo many crypt species, you're going to need a bigger tank! I found mine did better in a 20g long than in the 2g lantern vase, I think they prefer more water movement (real flow rather than sponge filter 'flow').


I had heard dwarf Santarem propagated by runner but to see a Nymphaea actually put out a runner... Well, my mind is boggled! I want a bit more leaves first, but later, I'm curious what it would take to trigger a flower. They're supposed to be the size of a sharpened pencil tip and smell like vanilla! :-D

Oh man, crypts and their flow. >.< I ended up putting my little crypt babies in a 10 gallon with a Koralia nano. That thing pumps 240 gallons per hour. There is so much current in that tank that I was half seriously considering a baby reticulated hillstream loach. If the tank was longer... Temujin is actually in there right now; he's handling the flow like a lean, mean swimming machine!


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Yes would love to know name of seller. Thanks


PM sent



Zhylis said:


> I had heard dwarf Santarem propagated by runner but to see a Nymphaea actually put out a runner... Well, my mind is boggled! I want a bit more leaves first, but later, I'm curious what it would take to trigger a flower. They're supposed to be the size of a sharpened pencil tip and smell like vanilla! :-D
> 
> Oh man, crypts and their flow. >.< I ended up putting my little crypt babies in a 10 gallon with a Koralia nano. That thing pumps 240 gallons per hour. There is so much current in that tank that I was half seriously considering a baby reticulated hillstream loach. If the tank was longer... Temujin is actually in there right now; he's handling the flow like a lean, mean swimming machine!


I had a weird dream last night (I have a lot of weird dreams >.<) that I had the 12g long planted with a good 50 of these dwarf n., bland substrate (not my normal black diamond) and no stock or other plants.. I was thinking I needed to either get more to make it a dense 'carpet' or something taller for contrast.. Also having a lot of dreams set at my first childhood home/neighborhood lately >.> For some reason this tank was outside in the sun at the top of the cul de sac by my home.. but not at my driveway.
No clue how to get them to bloom, but if you figure it out, let me know! With anubias added phosphorus helps encourage a bloom, not sure if its just time/age with these plants, or chemical (fert) trigger too.
I'd looked into hillstream loaches a while ago, when I moved my fish into the 55g and was wondering what to do with my 20g long. From talking with an owner on another forum I learned: Bare minimum 20g long and [censor] ton of flow-there's no such thing as too much! I have an aquaclear70 on the tank and they said I still needed a decent sized power head. Also make sure you have a lot of pre-algae grown rocks in tank and maybe 4x as many in bins outside the tank re-growing algae-they polish these off fast and its basically the only food they except (won't take processed foods or blanched veggies).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sorry I've been so bad at updating.. so much going on and to share.. where to start.. 

*5g tank*
I redid my husband's 5g betta tank where Chiyome lives before Christmas. I converete dit to mairmocovered pumice scape for floating rock fun. Slapped riccia back in to be the nitrate absorber (and doing great-0 across the board when tested) and give some more shade. I also put the flame moss mats back in after the photo but I'm not sure if they're getting enough light now-if they don't work out I still have 5 marimo balls left over I can toss in for the bottom. The lights were taped over and covered with window screen to diffuse/reduce par since marimo needs such low light.






This was the best photo I could get of her while she was drip acclimated back into the tank.


A few days ago she gave my husband a scare, she was in the riccia but looked dead to him, he poked her and she fell out then sunk like a hit submarine to the bottom of the tank. Thankfully she woke up (was just being a ehavy sleeper) and started swimming (tried to go back to sleep in the riccia again) so all was well.


*12g long*
I also redid my husbands 12g long for new years, he arranged the stones and I planted.. I honestly don't like the plants and am tempted to gut them, the stone scape is nice enough to be an unplanted tank.. but the otos and cherry shrimp would not like that.
Photos to come.


*3g bubble bowl*
My husband's dwarf puffer moved into the 3g bubble bowl Magnus use to live in, it has Philodendron silver leaf on top and driftwood+ pin oak leaves in the tank. I tossed in several snails (which ether are in hiding now or all eaten),as well as black worms. I took Antaeus' cycled sponge filter for the puffer and gave the betta the cleaned out (uncycled) sponge filter Magnus' use to have. His plants are taking care of ammonia and its cycled nicely.
The dwarf puffer has gotten much bolder and colored up more isnce moving to his own private tank. He treated me by eating blood worms on Christmas (always refused in the past) but when I tried feeding them again the nest day he spat them out =.= ah well.










2.5g standard
Shreduski refuses to give up his name as he keeps his caudal fin very short =.= but he's doing well, the lucky bamboo, photos, and bit of philodendron I added have kept his readings at 0. Someone on another forum had asked for more photos of his tank so I'll slap them up here too







*7g cube*
Poor Xerxes, a wile back the cyst on his dorsal fin either burst or he broke it.. well more recently the same ting happened to the cyst on his pectoral fin. The whole fin is gone and I don't think it will grow back as the rays/spines are gone. His tank params are still great (0 across the board for nitrogen and 79F) but with the missing fin he's not as active now, though he still takes food and will react to me going into the tank... I feel terrible for him but not sure if I should put him down or keep him going. I've have had him for 2 years in a few months so he is getting 'old' by average betta life spans.



Will post more late.


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## lilnaugrim

Oh my! Chiyome's tank looks amazing! Those marimo's are intense!!! How have the floating pumice worked out so far (I know it hasn't been long), they looked pretty neat at the store but I couldn't bring myself to buy a rock for 7 dollars there lol. Beautiful tank though, really love the minimalist type things you do!

Ahhh puffer! Gosh, I miss mine so much, he was such a hoot to watch! Love the Phil. Silver too! I've been meaning to get a couple more varieties to add to my regular, light green, and var. colors :-D Can never have enough plants ^_^

Again, really loving Shreduski's tank with the line of lucky bamboo, there's just something so pleasing about it!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*2g lantern vase*
Just some photos I took of Antaeus a few weeks ago, he's doing well-still flare happy, though he did let me pet him a good 5 seconds a while back (I gave him an extra pellet for a reward).




*2g cookie jar*
Alastor is doing well. I think his shrimp finally died of old age or he might have eaten them, dunno but I never see them now so suspecting they're gone. He still prefers smooches/faces to hands/fingers.. his red has spread a lot since I first got him, wonder if he'll manage to have solid red fins before he passes.




20g long
Plants and fish are doing well. I actually have 5-7+? white cloud fry, surprised as I do nothing to help keep fry alive (though I did put the pre-filter back on the intake). The smaller ones live on the calm side of the tank but the 3-4 larger fry (still itty bitty) are wondering more towards the stronger flow around feeding time. Meanwhile the purple waffle is getting huge! It even flowed for me (first time), a tiny little white flower.


fry photos from a few weeks ago-camera does not want to focus on them



*55g*
The plants are growing still, the pothos vine is as thick as a finger now (possibly thicker) and some leaves are larger than my palm-almost as big as my whole hand. I had to remove the prayer plant as it went down hill-currently its in a pot on a windowsill.
When I was out today I called my husband and he asked me about "the red fish in with the marimo balls" I thought he was talking about his Chiyome and her marimo tank but he said he was talking about the tub with the leftover marimo by the 55g.. turns out one of the male cherry barbs jumped out of the tank and was lucky enough to land in the little 10"x6" tub. My husband said he was big enough that from above he thought it was another betta, and for a moment he thought I'd gotten a new one. Thankfully he's watched me net and work with fish enough that he was able to get the barb boy and put him back in the tank. He told me the fish did not fight to stay away from the net-he obviously wanted out of the tub, and my husband used a small cup I only use for aquarium stuff to keep the fish in water as he transferred him back to the tank. I'm not sure if the cherry barb startled from lights turning on or was bullies by one of the other males or possibly CarmelYumYum (angelfish) or the rainbowfish.. Either way he's back in now.



*Consolidation plans:*
Trying to cut 4 tanks down to 2 and my hubby is already encouraging new uses for them ^^
I'm planning to consolidate the under water plants and hardscape of the 20g long with the riparium plants of the 55g and slap them all together on a 40g breeder with a sort of in tank sump to keep the riparium plant roots managed i the back (and hide equipment). I know I am keeping the otos, but am unsure about the other stock. I obviously can't keep everything as the white clouds are only (barely) compatible with otos and the cory.. but I think I'm done with these cory... I have to find a lfs that will take the fish for store credit.. I'd either keep the otos and white clouds or give up the whit clouds and try something else..I'm tempted to try koi sword tails but I'm not sure I want to keep live-bearers, and I am unsure about them with plants-someone told me they were safe with plants but I've only heard it from 1 person.

I'm also going to be take down the high light 10g tank and putting the rainbows in my husband's 12g long. The marineland lights on the 10g will go over the 40 for the submerged plants (t5 will stay on for the riparium plants above). I'm temped to move that 10g to the windowsill since its got a opaque back and side and put the taller riparium plants from the 20g (peace lily) and any that don't fit on the 40g on there then 'rescue' another betta >.>'' I thought of wedging the 20g long on the bookshelf (husband says it can support the weight)the 10g is on but it just barely won't fit, so I may take the other 10g and put that there and keep it about 1/2 full and putting the purple waffle, dragons tongue and maybe Fittonia if it'll fit on there. I'd use the 44" strip light for them. 

My husband-ever the enabler asked me what I'll do with the 55g once its empty and suggested goldfish...I admittedly got interested and did some research and talked to some nice people on a planted tank specific forum (one of whom keeps a planted tank +riparium plants with their goldfish) about it.. I decided against goldfish as it would mean mandatory 50%+ water changes a week and I've been rather happy not having to do that... I gave up my leopard sailfin pleco (donated to a local group) because I was sick of the poop cleaning and canister filter clogging, I don't want another fish like that...
Then after thinking about putting the 10 or 20 in the bookshelf my husband mentioned using the 20g long or even the 55g on the windowsill (bay window) just 1/2 or 1/5th full to make sure its not too much of a weight.. ah decisions decisions...I could keep emersed plants if I did the 55g and put on a lid to keep the humidity in...kinda wish I hadn't tossed all the remaining pennywort in with one of my recent packages I shipped out...that stuff did great emersed.. was more like a weed!







lilnaugrim said:


> Oh my! Chiyome's tank looks amazing! Those marimo's are intense!!! How have the floating pumice worked out so far (I know it hasn't been long), they looked pretty neat at the store but I couldn't bring myself to buy a rock for 7 dollars there lol. Beautiful tank though, really love the minimalist type things you do!
> 
> Ahhh puffer! Gosh, I miss mine so much, he was such a hoot to watch! Love the Phil. Silver too! I've been meaning to get a couple more varieties to add to my regular, light green, and var. colors :-D Can never have enough plants ^_^
> 
> Again, really loving Shreduski's tank with the line of lucky bamboo, there's just something so pleasing about it!


Thank you ^^ SO far so good, but only time will tell with the marimo (thankfully no invasive algae is visible yet but I'm more concerned about the more shaded spots browning). I found its best to take sand paper to the underside of the stone since I can't cover that with marimo-makes it fin safe. I got 2 batches of pumice from ebay seller crazyaquaticstudio, 6 stones in total for a few pennies under $38 shipped. They're larger than any others I'd found so I didn't mind the price. I still have 1 left over (couldn't fit them all in the tank), but it would cost about as much to ship as it would at the store for you. I've been enjoying the philodendron silver leaf, I'd found it at my local home depot in the indoor plant section.


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## themamaj

Chiyome is such a cutie! I ended up getting a red koi just before xmas. Have definitely enjoyed having a koi. Your tanks look great! I can wait to see the stonework in one you were talking about.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Chiyome is such a cutie! I ended up getting a red koi just before xmas. Have definitely enjoyed having a koi. Your tanks look great! I can wait to see the stonework in one you were talking about.


Thank you ^^


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## Schmoo

Oh, Xerxes!  The same thing (the cysts) happened with my Grievous. He broke open the large one several times, but aside from what I attributed to old age, he seemed fine.

Xerxes <3


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## Aqua Aurora

Schmoo said:


> Oh, Xerxes!  The same thing (the cysts) happened with my Grievous. He broke open the large one several times, but aside from what I attributed to old age, he seemed fine.
> 
> Xerxes <3


I'm sorry that Grevious passed.. I'm worried Xerxes may be on his way out but he does still eat (he can't see brine shrimp now with his diamond eyes getting bad but can see pellets and blood worms) and will flare occasionally.. he's just much less active with the missing pectoral now.. a few times I've looked t the tank and I think he's dead and he's just relaxed against the outflow or limp on a leaf.


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## Aqua Aurora

So my husband doesn't really want me getting rid of any fish (kind defeats the purpose of 'downsizing'..) so I'll most likely end up with otos and madagascar in the 40g breeder-the rainbowfish only has 2 years of life left, my husband says "might as well live it out here"-I think because the Magacasrcar is the last remaining fish from my first adventure into fish keeping (pleco was donated to a group and dwarf gourami died of old age) my husband doesn't want to give 'em up. CarmelYumYum I'm debating about.. may keep in 40g breeder until rainbows passes then find her a new home (depending on how I scape it-if I can give her enough room in the front of the tank). If she wasn't a mix breed I could probably re-home her myself to someone that wants a breeder female but she seems to be a mutt of short fin and vial tail. I'll give the false julii cory to a lfs if I can-no real bonding with them they were just a clean up crew for excess fish food. Debating if I want to keep the cherry barbs or not for now... if I do they'll leave with the rainbow fish and I'll try something new then. I think I'd give them up though they're fat and full grown so I'm sure they'd get grabbed quick... I might just say [censor] and give up Carmel to try something else.. maybe the koi swordtails.. the rainbow fish would love the 'free meals' (fry)... Husband wants to keep the white clouds so I'll put them in a 10g on the windowsill with riparium plants I can't fit on the 40g breeder. 20g long and its hob will become the hospital tank, the other 10g (currently holding plants for sale/excess floaters) will be a 1/2 filled riparium for leftover plants from the 20g long riparium and probably get a betta for it... soo I'm not really downsizing tank #s just the total gallons in use.. 
I decided to replace the T5 with a 36" Finnex planted + fixture since the tank is shorter than 48" and I'm sure the bulbs are not going to last much longer on the T5.. sadly I can't find any info on the T5 to know if its HO or NO so I won't buy new bulbs and find out I got the wrong kind when the fixture won't work. I'll also probably buy a submersible pump for the 40g.. I have one from Russel but its rated for 400 lph (I thought it was gph) so its really only good for a 10g. Will have to see if I can find a pump I can attach to the sponge filter and can adapt the outflow to use a spray bar from one of my in storage canister filters (tank will be too low to use canister filter).


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## Aqua Aurora

55g
update photo




20g long (hidden) HOB


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## lilnaugrim

Lol, can you even see the fish in the 55 any more?

Love the HOB too ^_^


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## themamaj

Breathtakingly beautiful!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Lol, can you even see the fish in the 55 any more?
> 
> Love the HOB too ^_^


Only if I sit on the floor in front of the tank ^^' Then the angel and rainbow come over to hang out (or politely demand food). I can see the others but they usually aren't as social.

Thank you ^^



themamaj said:


> Breathtakingly beautiful!


Thank you ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

So after seeing the marketplace thread for kings at petco I hat to go peak at my own.. sadly nothing impressive enough to impulse buy but some interesting boys there:
This boy had a faint blue hue in his white scales


Nice but not my cup of tea


If he were a pkee I'd grab him, but Aristocles was about that short for fins when I got him..


This guy was odd.. no thick metallic/dragon(?) scales on the head (also had a brother that looked like him).


Another ee,very purple but white lips


a 'king' betta-was larger than the regulars but there were 2 others there larger than him


1 of the 2 real big boys-poor things have been there for months. I can't get a decent photo of this one but he's black with some blue ad a tough of yellow in his fins. The non pictured boy is the more common wild type coloration king (black red blue). Honestly if this guy is still there once I free up my 10g I might grab him.. my husband likes the idea of a giant.. this is fairly close. I'm not paying for another Thailand betta since 3 of the 4 I've bought have eye issues (and non of the ones bought from lfs have eye issues though they do have fin flaws.. but everyone does).



This poor boy looks sad but I bet he'd look stunning once put into a good tank and can warm up/color up


Tempting... 



Chocolate-ish dtpk fins are a bit red but he's cute
 

If this one was a pk I think I'd grab him, copper with gold fins so lovely! but no more long fins for me





And just for the heck of it, a photo of one of my husband's zebra otos munching cucumber with shrimp juvies.


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## Sadist

Aww, cutie little oto!

I love those terrarium style tanks!


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## Aqua Aurora

I pulled some bladder snails out of my black worm culture to stick in my husband's dwarf puffer tank to either be food or cleaners demanding on how fast he eats them. Manged to find a big snail in the culture tub, penny for size reference-he's nearly as big as the dwarf puffer.. wonder if he'll be on the menu still or not.


Dwarf puffer sizing up the snail before I dropped it in.


If you're not grossed out by snails its really cool to set them on your palm and feel them move around-the larger ones you can feel better than the tiny ones.


I'm going to go gut my 10g high light now so I can move the gertrudea into my husband's 12g long.. I'll probably keep the plants in there until next week when sell off what I don't have a place for and move the others to their final tank (40g breeder.. need to silicone in the sump walls..).. I'm debating if I want to keep or sell my hydro sp. japan and vesuvius swords... 
At some point I also need to gut and clean Xerxes' tank, the flow rate of his canister filter has gone to [censor] and the walls are covered in diatoms (he doesn't let snails clean the glass >.<), not to mention the various species of java ferns have been just growing messily out of control and need pinned down or shifted to optimize light for them all...
And after saying he won't let snails on the glass I see 1 ramshorn and 1 bladder snail baby on front and side glass panels.. wonder how long before they turn into a snack.




Sadist said:


> Aww, cutie little oto!
> 
> I love those terrarium style tanks!


Thank you ^^


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## themamaj

The pastel dragon scale male would be such a pretty fish in a good home. I sure hope he finds one soon. Oh loving those plakats!! I take it you are a plakat lover like me?


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> The pastel dragon scale male would be such a pretty fish in a good home. I sure hope he finds one soon. Oh loving those plakats!! I take it you are a plakat lover like me?


Yes, especially after my last non plakat decided he wanted to be a plakat and keeps his caudal so short you can't tell he's a double tail >.< no more long fins for me ever! 
That said all my non aquabid bettas were not plakats. I have a delta, hm ee, vt, ad the dt who wants to be pk... they were impulses or rescues from lfs... sadly my stores don't get many nice plakats in.


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## themamaj

I have been lucky to find several really nice plakats locally. I like their feisty energetic personality and yes definitely an advantage on fins! My HM also has no fins from bites. Have tried everything but he is just chronic biter that likes short fins. He was such a beauty at one point. Oh well he is happy and healthy and I just learned that is how he is. I'll have to send you some pictures if run across any gorgeous plakats here. 

I like your snails. Dont think I have seen that kind before. Look like little nerites.


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## Schmoo

Aurora, I have a question for you: what would you recommend as far as filtration on a smaller tank? I want to get something for Caedus' 2.5 minibow (right now it's unfiltered, and I just do frequent WCs). TIA!


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## Aqua Aurora

No photos yet but I started cleaning up Xerxe's tank, it desperately needed it. Gutted and cleaned it Wednesday and started putting the java ferns on new stainless steel mats (the non ss metal mats wrapped in green rubber COMPLETELY disintegrated.. I should have taking a water sample to test tds before I dumped it all out... Anyways I couldn't finish the tank in 1 day so Xerxes went back in and then I got sick for several days and I just dumped the rest of his java ferns inf or now.. maybe next week I'll get them tied down and the tank looking decent again. For now he loves the mess of fern leaves and riccia blob to hang out under for shade. I upgraded his foam pre-filter to a ss mesh filter intake cover (used a lot with shrimp keepers). Its easier to see when its clogged and I hope will let better flow through. 
Xerexs is still chugging along fine even with the missing pectoral (from exploded cyst), he still flares at me periodically and has his usual spunk. He got to see Chiyome while I re-did the tank (put him in the 1g cube next to her tank). He strutted but she didn't seem to take a love interest in him, the blue eye gertrudea in the 12g next to him were curious though.




themamaj said:


> I have been lucky to find several really nice plakats locally. I like their feisty energetic personality and yes definitely an advantage on fins! My HM also has no fins from bites. Have tried everything but he is just chronic biter that likes short fins. He was such a beauty at one point. Oh well he is happy and healthy and I just learned that is how he is. I'll have to send you some pictures if run across any gorgeous plakats here.
> 
> I like your snails. Dont think I have seen that kind before. Look like little nerites.


My avatar is a nerite snail, the photos in an earlier spot are bladder snails. 
I had some growing in a bin with driftwood I was trying to water log. There was no light and the snails got very black, they'd get on top of the wood to eat and their shells would stick out of the water (very calcium rich water here) so they'd get white bands on their shells from calcium deposits. Was pretty col but went away when they went back into normal tanks.



Schmoo said:


> Aurora, I have a question for you: what would you recommend as far as filtration on a smaller tank? I want to get something for Caedus' 2.5 minibow (right now it's unfiltered, and I just do frequent WCs). TIA!


I'm a huge fan of *jardin mini cylinder sponge filters* (from amazon.com) *and tetra whisper air pump* (for 10g-smallest one) for my curved glass small tanks, but you can also use *azoo palm HOB* on flat glass tanks. I have a azoo palm on my husband's 5g tank, the intake pipe is made up of a few pieces so it can be kept short for smaller tanks. It comes with a pre-filter (sponge/foam slip cover for teh intake) which is nice. With live/fake plants by the outake and putting the filter on a low setting it should be good for a standard flat glass 2.5g-not too strong a flow. Also live plants! Probably my favorite filtration but they only work when there is adequate light for photosynthesis (doesn't absorb ammonia when its too dark). Riparium style with house plants is an easy way to go, Shreduski's 2.5g is unfitlered-but its stuffed with lucky babmboo and pothos (imo best beginner riparium plant) (and some philidendron)-all plants sticking out of the top of the tank with roots in water. I've not had to do a water change, just top offs as water evaporates. The tank is on a southern windowsill so it gets plenty of light for the low light plants that are on it.


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## Aqua Aurora

Well my ever waffling ideas I deiced to keep the 55g as is and just move everything from the 20g long into the 40g breeder and as it warms up change out the riparium plants on top. Purple waffle is great but I want to try something new. I'm debating about catching the otos from the 55g and putting them into the 40g with the white clouds, I'm sure they'd enjoy the algae covered rocks I have but ugh catching them is such a pain...
The 10g that had a side and back painted black to go on the window sill will have its other side glass painted and go onto the book shelf and be 60-70% filled to let aquatic plants grow out of the water a bit. Taking the current sat planted+ strip light off as I don't need such high light (maybe I'll toss it up for sale). May either use old 10g light hood with cfls or the marine land LEDs still.. not sure.

Anyways here are some random photos

12g long husbnad's view





my view


Probably going to change things up in here soon. Not a fan of the maintenance the hc (dwarf baby tears) take.


All the male gertrudea food mooching, and lots of cherry shrimp



Gutted and re-did the 7g cube, tied most of the various java ferns to ss mesh
I think I'll sell my dwarf lily bubls (2) since the java fern mats take up the whole tank now.
I took the ss mesh and bent the tips with needle node plyers to make them betta same then used fishing lien to tie down java fern. Tank is still a bit of a mess so no photos




Pulled the water sprite from Freya's tank and stuck it in the back of the 7g, put some of the narrow, needle, and Philippine java fern in her tank. Also she has frogbit with long roots. 




Chiyome's cataracts


Alastor going for a pellet


Antaeus getting petted (he really enjoys it)


3g bubble bowl with tannis heavy water (i shoudl test pH) and philodendron silver leaf


Shreduskies lucky bamboo (and pothos) 2.5g. Can't get him to hold still for a photo but he's keeping his caudal short like a dtpk, but the anal and dorsal fin are still too long to pretend to be pk (sorry body). He always has a bubble nest going in there.




55g a few weeks ago (pothos vines are getting *HUGE*)



20g long


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## Sadist

I love those tanks so much! I really love the short plants in your 12 long, too. 

Oh, those philodendron silver leaf are awesome, too!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Aristocoles tank gets a much needed clean*

Aristocoles' tank needed a clean for a while now. The way the monitor is over the tank it blocks light in the front and some floating plants died from lack of light and decomposed making a bit of a mess. So I took the monitor off and did several water changes as well as trim some of the old anubias gold leaves. The salvinia was in crappy shape so I took it all out and put some in from Alastor's tank to refill. 
I also did a lid mod with the help of my husband.. I didn't take photos so I'l get them another time. Basically I took some leftover lexan strips (less than 1" high) and sanded the bottoms smooth then duct taped it to the inside of the lid to make a clean barrier by the surface to keep floating plants in the light. I then slapped some duct tape on the lid to make a dark shaded area on the other side of the new barricade. It only goes down below the surface a tiny bit. Tape doesn't touch water and water isn't spraying enough to be an issue. We'll see how it lats. Worst case it fails and my husband' silicones on the pieces.
Anyways photos
first my favorite shots from today



fts


And some of Aristocoles..
color accurate but blurry 


Caudal healing coming along nicely (love how the light makes him look purple here)


Flare time! (que blur!)



And the only other shot where his fins aren't a flurry blur, hanging in the newly shaded area






Sadist said:


> I love those tanks so much! I really love the short plants in your 12 long, too.
> 
> Oh, those philodendron silver leaf are awesome, too!


The small stuff on the brown coco fiber is dwarf baby tears (aka Hemianthus callitrichoides or hc for short) great plant if you're willing to keep up on trimming 2xs a week but I couldn't so ti went to [censor]-its roots are short so if it gets too long its buoyancy is more than its roots can handle it and pops loose and floats. The straight grass looking plant is a micro sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis), and the other short plant in front is downoi (Pogostemon helferi).

I'm going to be pulling the hc and adding some other species of micro sword and my hydro sp. japan (clover looking plant) I have.


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## themamaj

Great pictures of the tank!


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## Aqua Aurora

*Why can't I have normal dreams?*

So over the past 2 weeks I've had some off betta dreams I felt like sharing. 
The first one started driving down a 4 lane high way with high hills on either side that had shopping centers.. I was going to an asian (maybe Chinese?) restaurant with my husband and his 2 nieces (we use to babysit them).. Well we turned at a light to find the restaurant (which was perched on an even higher hill and had no parking, road access or even walking path to it)'s roof was on fire.. and some stores across the street on a lower hill apparently had caught fire from the ambers.. No one seemed to care  Somehow we got intot eh restraunt which seemd perectly fine inside and were waking back to some seating in a non smoking section.. passing a 'bar' area I noticed a lot of bettas in cups and of course lost interest in food.. Then i saw a GIANT betta in a 10g.. ti was easily over 7" body length, he made the 10g he was in look way to small. Plakat male solid blue body with solid yellow fins
fin form like "A" below








I got very excited and started talking about how I had the perfect giant tank for that fish, my 40g breeder, and all the plants and the filter and heater and he (the betta) would just love it. The Asian man who owned him (little bald old guy.. honestly don't think he understood much English). said not for sale but was doing a contest to give fish away. Apparently that betta was famous an have been on tv/youtube as the largest betta ever. How could someone with such an awesome fish leave its new owner up to chance.. it could end up in a tiny tank it couldn't move in! Especially when I had a more better tank for it.  I tried to enter the contest but woke up from the dream..

Second dream... I apparently had a female veil tail betta that looked a lot like Antaes, but I called her by my husband's bettas' name (Chiyome). And this betta 9and apparently all bettas in the dream) would float/hover mid air about 3' above the ground at the most. Just.. swimming through the air... The betta was trying to get up the stairs and having trouble (apparently gravity getting in the way to getting up steps). I apparently typically cupped my hands and let the betta float/hover there and walked her up the stairs but today she went on(above) my head and went up that way (I watched our shadows against the wall). I was very excited when we got to the top and let her down to g find my husband and tell him... Something happen and I didn't get back for a while but apparently these magical hover bettas can't be out of water indefinitely... she died from lack of water and when I returned I saw her spirit floating out of her body.. but the spirit was not pale nor translucent as stereotypical spirits are...


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## Sadist

Oh man, some strange dreams!


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Oh man, some strange dreams!


Yeh.. I'd rather have the more 'normal' fish dreams-typically way to many tanks/way over stocked tanks panicking and running around trying to find tanks to serrate fish or water conditioner..



In other news I feel like an old woman.. my back's been messed up for nearly a week (the cold weather is not helping either).. Cleaning up Aristocoles' tank last week did NOT help with it healing.. I've been frustrated as its keeping me from redoing the jumbo bubble bowl which has turned into an overgrown jungle, and re-setting up the 10g and doing some other plant shuffling.. arrrg.

Edit: Ajax (inhabits the jumbo bubble bowl) has had rapid progression of diamond eye, he cannot see above him and needs foods placed far in front of him to be seen. But he still eats and doesn't seem to mind the mess of the tank as he's build a nice bubble nest on/under a N.tawian leaf at the front ^^


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## Sadist

Those are my type of fish dreams, overstocked, bettas jumping to each other's tanks and getting injured and/or breeding, unable to find any creatures in the tank, draining an entire pond instead of doing a water change on it (we don't have a pond, I have no idea what that's about) and drying out the fish on accident, etc. I still have similar dreams about my first pet that I had all to myself when I was 9 and sometimes my grandma. Silly dreams.

Well, Ajax seems like he's living the life. The plants may help him navigate his environment a little. I love that he build a nest!


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## Aqua Aurora

Ajax's nest


Aristocoles floater/shade lid mod, not pretty but I don't see it with the monitor on top so don't care! Ducttape ftw!! Btw its held up well on the underside even with condensation. Need to sand one of the pieces I put it on backwards so rough side in in the water (whoops).




The jumbo shrimp in my husband's tank (when i compare the fish in there to the size of the shrimp, I'm talking about her), he's a beauty I believe the coloration is fire red (more red on body and solid red limbs compared to cherry shrimp which have more transparent parts). Camera made her look more shiny and light red but she's a deep dark red hue.


----------



## kittenfish

Oh god, I also had a dream last night about bettas drying up. It was my fault though, I guess I just decided to put them down for a minute while rearranging tanks and forgot about them? But they rehydrated just fine when I dropped them back in water, so that was cool. I have ridiculously boring dreams.


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## Sadist

Wow, what a big shrimp! I wonder if she's the size of the dwarf crayfish.


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## Aqua Aurora

kittenfish said:


> Oh god, I also had a dream last night about bettas drying up. It was my fault though, I guess I just decided to put them down for a minute while rearranging tanks and forgot about them? But they rehydrated just fine when I dropped them back in water, so that was cool. I have ridiculously boring dreams.


That would be nice if it was true, just toss a dead dehydrated fish in a tank and it pops back to life! Would make shipping them much easier.



Sadist said:


> Wow, what a big shrimp! I wonder if she's the size of the dwarf crayfish.


I can't catch her to measure n(they are quick little [censors]) but I think she's about 1.75" to just under 2" range, since the rainbows max out at about 2"


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## Aqua Aurora

Goings on this week/past weekend.

These may not look very nice but they are [censor] *delicious*! Home made chocolate doughnuts (aka fritters or beignet) with (messy) confectioners sugar ontop. Extremely airy and moist and so addictive! They're fairly easy to make (though the processes can be messy) if anyone is interested I can slap up the recipe and directions for how my husband and I make them.



Re-did the 12g long, removed the hc and put in more micro sword (that was in Antaeus' tank). Need to go re anchor some that got loose but its mostly staying down(will take new fts once I do that). I need to figure out what to do with all the loose hc... maybe sell it for super cheap..
Shrimp swarming on food. The blue eyes were interested in the shrimp's food too but thought me in front of the tank=food time and they went to the surface.




Aristocoles thinks he's so sneaky and can hide from me..silly boy... (he's giving me a quirked/tilted head look right now like "why are you posting that?".. and now he's flaring at me "NO DON'T POST THAT!!" (yes I like to anthropomorphize))



10g bookshelf tank was finally put together. The side and back glass were painted with house paint (outside of the tank, not internal). I also spray painted some shower caddies and rubber coated metal wide black to set up a shallow riparium. Really happy with how it turned out. Re-sued plants from the 10g but have a lot left over that are for sale (sale thread in market place). Driftwood was re-boiled so it'd sink again and some window screen mesh stuffed in the smaller opening of the log to avoid any fish getting stuck. I stuffed gravel ontop of the screen and put some plants up there. Really like how the black makes the green pop.

Debating if I want to stuff more water sprite in on the left side where it is open or let it fill in over time..


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## Sadist

You can never have too much water sprite. Well, unless it's dying or something.


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## Aqua Aurora

*sigh* i had a longer post but it was lost so have a short one
12g long, I'm hopeful that in a few months the micro sword will have grown in well and taken over the front. you can see Freya's 2.5g vase, and the side of Xerxes' 7g and Aristocoles' 6g tanks through the 12g.




20g long baby white cloud mountain minnow (they look like neon tetra at a certain stage in development as they have a blue irid band) decided it was big enough to eat what the adults were having and hogged a bloodworm to itself. I couldn't catch it to pull the worm out and it would not hold still as it tried to keep its prize that it only barely could hold in its mouth, hope it doesn't choke on it... Sorry for out of focus shots, as I said that fry would not hold still...




edit: and some quick shots of Chiyome





Sadist said:


> You can never have too much water sprite. Well, unless it's dying or something.


I don't want the water sprite to dominate the area and shadow the swords and pennywort over there. That's the only reason why I hesitate to put some in the empty spot.


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## Sadist

I had a laugh at the fry zooming around with a bloodworm! Hope it ate it up okay.


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## gogo7

beautiful and impressive


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## themamaj

Really like white cloud mountain minnow. Have been researching them actually today. How long did it take fry from hatching to get to that size? Really a cutie! How many shrimp do you have?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> I had a laugh at the fry zooming around with a bloodworm! Hope it ate it up okay.


I _think _so, with such a densely planted tank I can't get a head count to know if ti choked and died (and was eaten) or not. But I'm guessing it made it.



gogo7 said:


> beautiful and impressive


Thank you ^^



themamaj said:


> Really like white cloud mountain minnow. Have been researching them actually today. How long did it take fry from hatching to get to that size? Really a cutie! How many shrimp do you have?


I honestly don't know, I didn't know they were successfully breeding (not eating the eggs) until some fry randomly popped up. I don't use egg mobs and hatch the fry myself so no clue on dates of birth for them. They're cold water fish and only started breeding after I finally turned off the heater (use to kept it 68-70F, now its 65F), or it could just be that is when the tank was densely planted enough for fry to have a chance at not all being eaten.
Also cannot give a definitive answer on shrimp in the 12g long. Alot.. anywhere from 100-250 rang _maybe_, its impossible to get a head count on them. I do know Alastor's cookie jar had 5 when I gutted and rescaped it (had to catch them out), one was berried so the # could go up soon with shrimplets.. or down is Alastor sets his mind to catching one.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Quick photos of Ajax in the 10g riparium (1/2 full). he's going great in there and I've found a better way to feed him, once getting his attention I intentionally sink a pellet in front of him, he can see it at/below eye level and can get it before it hits the substrate. His vision for things on the surface is pretty much gone due to diamond eye now.




Alastor's 2g cookie jar post rescaping. Decided to try flame moss, originally I was going to put in anubias petite and micro but I like moss+ wood scapes. Always looks 'meh' when first tired down but there is already some new growth getting vertical like flame moss does. Should start looking nice in a few weeks.


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## Sadist

That moss is going to be amazing when it grows out!


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## themamaj

Love the idea of the flame moss. Do you have the carpet piece weighted or just laying on substrate? Is it stacked wood in the background? Love the look. Can't wait to see when the moss starts growing in! You always do a great job with your tanks.


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## Aqua Aurora

*New betta*

Sooo I was going to wait for the jumbo bubble bowl to get thick with plants again (I gutted and replanted when I moved Ajax), but my husband was pretty excited about the idea of a giant betta so we went hunting over the weekend.

First store we went to was a bi out of the way (lot of twisty back grounds to get to) and not a chain store... sadly their betta selection was lacking (didn't even spend 2 minutes by it) but they had quite a few interesting things including a 360g tank with giant gourami, freshwater stingray, and ornate bichir (along with various 10" range common plecos, and what I think were adult tin foil barbs). The giant gourami was like a dog, kept following us around the tank and wanted attention. I didn't think I'd like the giant a they tend to look a bit.. derpy but he was personable (don't worry he didn't follow me home.. waaay to big for me, needs 100g+ tank). There was also another tank probably 100-125g with a full grown knife fish.. [censor] that thing was huge! Also a fire eel but he was hiding. There were also a lot of tanks with various interesting fish, some common like live bearers ad some I'd not seen before like an unknown cichlid that was solid black with small white spots.. no clue on species but it was lovely. I didn't take any photos to share sadly, but it was an interesting and fun trip even if we did not find what we wanted. 

Next we went to a semi close big city petco and they had a much better tank selection than my local one.. was hard to resist buying some 'extra tanks'. They had 2.5 and 5g for under $15 (mine doesn't), as well as a petco 'essential' that was 6.6 and similar in dimensions to mr aqua 6g long, but i was frustrated I could not find anything on the outer packaging giving actual dimensions or something as simple as "is it glass?".. there was also the new fluval III (black packaging, much better light, and a spraybar outflow) but at $70 and no par info on the new light I did not buy it, also the petco arc which I'd considered several months ago but its sump/filtration system has some flaws... The store also oddly had a lot of aquatic plants but not in an underwater display.. lot of tube and bagged plants and the mystery bulb plants... amusingly they ah a good light for these plants but none of them were actually under the light to take advantage of it.. so minor fail..hard a hard time resisting some anubias but not being able to see the rhizome I left it behind. As small of a thing as it might seem they actually had healthy marimo! I know sounds silly but my store manages to ill it somehow =.=. Their regular fish selection was.. meh but they had a decent betta selection and they were much healthier than my usual store, only 1 sideways fish, no dead ones. There were 3 giants there, 2 wild type colorations, and one that was an almost cellophane but really just a marble that hadn't colored up yet (flesh tone body-frosty/irid fins, minor coloring at the back of the body, and light blue eyes). The middle one (wild type) had an eye infection or symptom showing other issues (cloudy eye) so he was quickly rules out. The wild type and marble on either side of him we debated for for a while. Picking up and examining both several times... My husband and I both thought the hooter one was interested in the wild type color but we were both actually more interested n the pale marble. Eventually we settled on the marble who had a few fin rips but would heal fast enough in a clean tank. My husband has a good eye for measuring and determined the light colored one was the larger one (measured when he got home at 2.75"), we're hoping he'll grow some more. My husband had hinted at getting the 6.6gallon (20+" long) tank and grabbing the other wildtype but I saw what looked like a parasitic worm clinging to one of its pectoral fins (might have just been some damaged fin dangling bu I didn't want to chance it). 
Less than 5 minutes into the drive my husband was calling the new betta Captain Ahab for a Moby Dick reference but by the time we got home we was leaning more towards André, the giant from Princes Bride (if you've not seen that movie you should!). I personally prefer to wait at east a week before naming fish in case of death (if they brought something nasty home with them like columnaris or other disease/parasite), but hubby is already names him so yeh he's André now.
When we got home my husband showed the giant to the other office fish. apparently (wasn't in room to see) Xerxes shot tot eh front of the tank and BOOM instant flare when the new fish walked in. The others checked him out without flaring but did have interest (including the rainbows in the 12g long). He acclimated smoothly (got some live black worms while dripping) and went into the jumbo bubble bowl, lights turned off in tank and left off until fish dinner time. He ate pellets fine thought took a bit to get the que to come to the surface for food (he's learning quick now).
The name suits him s he's fairly mellow and easy going (not loud/fast/aggressive) like the character from the movie. He's so mellow I was able to pet him within the first 24 hours! He's already starting to marble a little, getting faint blues in his back end, we'll have to see what he turns into. 
The bubble bowl sits at the corner of my desk so my husband can see into it, and André enjoys getting attention from him, as well as looking at my hubby's female, Chiyome, his 'neighbor'. He still is exploring the tank a lot but stops to hang out/look at me as he passes by the front.
Anyways enough excessive babbling! Have some photos:
AcclimatingL



Next day:







Sadist said:


> That moss is going to be amazing when it grows out!


^^ Its already starting vertical growth, in w month or two should be looking nice.



themamaj said:


> Love the idea of the flame moss. Do you have the carpet piece weighted or just laying on substrate? Is it stacked wood in the background? Love the look. Can't wait to see when the moss starts growing in! You always do a great job with your tanks.


The carpet of flame moss is on stainless steel (ss) mesh-only true aquarium safe metal. The metal is heavy enough it stays on the bottom on its own. I just push a little sand over the edges to avoid fin shredding. Yes its just 2 pieces of wood. larger propped against the glass tank, smaller propped up by the larger piece. I've actually had these pieces of wood for a long time, got them at petco a few years ago when I had a baby pleco that was under 2" (that species (leopard sailfin pleco aka 'Colombian pleco' at petco) gets to 18" so it outgrew the wood fast).


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## Sadist

Awesome, I love the name Andre, and the fish is cute. I see some of his little blue speckles.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Awesome, I love the name Andre, and the fish is cute. I see some of his little blue speckles.


Thank you ^^ 
I'll take update photos this coming weekend to show marbling progress.


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## Aqua Aurora

SO took some shots yesterday of André, you can already see him coloring up. First shot he's looking at my hubby, second he spotted me (after I leaned in a bit more) ^^


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## Sadist

What a cutie! Now, I want a king.


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## Aqua Aurora

Tried to get a better shot of Alastor, he's gradually marbled since I got him, but not as fast as others. Most noticeable is the red in his fins, but the body had a lot of undertones that use to just be white.
Now


Back in Oct 2014



Finally get a decent shot of Antaeus aaaand the vase is so dusty =.= I swear it's a magnet for dust, I cleaned it just a few days ago!


André is doing well, getting use to the feeding ques. Its amusing as he really likes attention from my husband but ooo man does Chiyome get grump when my hubby dares to wiggle fingers at, talk to.. even look at the other bettas down here! Nope, no, he's only allowed to look at and pay attention to HER! She's so possessive! It might seem like I'm anthropomorphize a lot but you should see how she acts up when the hubby comes over to look into my tanks. 
Anyways André is getting more faint color spreading from the back end towards the front, looks like some various hues of blue to turquoise. I've upped his food to 9 pellets 2x a day, 2x as many blood worms as the others on meat day, and he gets an extra meal between the normal 2 with some live black worms. He eats everything just fine, not picky,.. but he's not a veracious pig that looks like he's starving/desperate for food as some other giant betta owners describe there's as. The damaged fins he had when original bought are already showing sighs of healing... his tank is getting a bit diatom-y so I pulled 2-3 pond snails from another tank to drop in today.. we'll see if he eats them or lets them clean up a bit.
And he just flared at me! First flare.. well almost full flare (ventrals/pelvic fins were not down). The color coming in on his body doesn't show up as well in the photos. The curved glass makes his face look bunted but he actually has nice form (imo) for the head/face/mouth.


Xerxes' tank looks like crap right now. I ripped out the regular java fern and frogbit to sell (still available if anyone is interested) they're in a plant holding tank currently...and I'm waiting on some new plants to come in (will hopefully be here Monday), that I hope will do well, trying some small species of swords that stay under 10", and some anubias from a seller I've not tried before, fingers crossed no rhizome rot! 
I was originally going to do African water fern and hygro pinnatifida but the package with them got lost in the ca post office for a week 9ugh =.=) adn arrived half mush.. went complete mush in a few days after that. Researching some more the water fern likes more acidic waters than I have so it probably wouldn't have lasted (should have googled more before buying, could have saves some time/frustration, thankfully seller refunded so not a big $ loss).. but bummed about the hygro, very interesting leaf shape.. might have to find another seller.


In other news I have been (slowly) growing and splitting my soil-less grindal worm culture. I have a backlog of buyers I could not ship to through freezing winter months as I had no insulation/heat packs, but as its getting warmer I'm prepping them for sale. Hoping to split all the cultures 2 more times to get a half dozen starters set up.
I'm thinking of trying white worms soil-less. I've not seen any documentation on it, only grindals so curious if it will work or if white worms get too big to move through the scouring pad fibers..


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## Zhylis

Eep! That is the cutest and tiniest flare I've ever seen; he's like a literal gentle giant!


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## Schmoo

What a cute little flare for such a big fella! :-D Oh my goodness. <3


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## Sadist

Alastor has changed quite a bit! He looks like a new fish!

Don't worry about the dust. I took a photo from a different side of the tank than normal and noticed I've never wiped down that side of the tank! Major water spots.

Andre is a cutie! I love his set up, too. The plants are gorgeous! I love his cute little cello beard.


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## Aqua Aurora

Zhylis said:


> Eep! That is the cutest and tiniest flare I've ever seen; he's like a literal gentle giant!





Schmoo said:


> What a cute little flare for such a big fella! :-D Oh my goodness. <3


It is pretty cute. Now I wish I coudl get one good photo of him with full flare with ventrals down. He actually had nice ventrals, just doesn't spread them too much yet.



Sadist said:


> Alastor has changed quite a bit! He looks like a new fish!
> 
> Don't worry about the dust. I took a photo from a different side of the tank than normal and noticed I've never wiped down that side of the tank! Major water spots.
> 
> Andre is a cutie! I love his set up, too. The plants are gorgeous! I love his cute little cello beard.


Yes he has! Its surprising I bought him as a 'almost white ' betta.. now no so much haha.
I hate water spots. I always seem to have some no matter how careful I am... and most of the time when I take photos I have to delete them because of course the betta had to be in focus right behind a water spot.. ugh..
Thank you. I love the plants but then need diatom munchers to clean it up.. hoping the snails I put in didn't end up as escargot.


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## AzuryTheKitty

What kind of dirt are you using Aurora? Just curious that is


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## kittenfish

What's the mesh over the sponge filter for?


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## Aqua Aurora

AzuryTheKitty said:


> What kind of dirt are you using Aurora? Just curious that is


No dirt! Dirt gets way too messy when I want to rescape. I use black diamond 'sand' (coal slag) as my substrate and use root tabs or liquid ferts.



kittenfish said:


> What's the mesh over the sponge filter for?


I bought a different brand sponge filter than my usual Jardin brand.. this one was made with REALLY ROUGH foam, failed the nylon test, would shred betta fins. So I took a shower scrunchie and metal free hairband to encase it and keep fins safe. Water still flows through it fine.


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## AzuryTheKitty

Where do you normally get this black Diamond sand? Online or at a pet shop?


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## Aqua Aurora

AzuryTheKitty said:


> Where do you normally get this black Diamond sand? Online or at a pet shop?


Neither. Tractor supply Co. locally (shipping would be very pricey) 20/40 grit or -60 grit (aka fine) is sand sized. 50lb bag=$8
Petstores have ridiculous prices for sand imo so I don't even bother with them. I've bought 4 bags ($32 spent) for all my tanks: 2g, 2.5g, 2.5g, 3g, 6g, 7g, 8g, 10g, 10g,12g long, 20g long, 55g, used 3 1/2 bags so far. I couldn't get enough sand for the 55g from the petstore for $32.
If you want light colored sand look at play sand or pool sand as a cheaper option (in bulk) than petstore aquarium sand.


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## Aqua Aurora

_If _I was daring and wanted to breed.. I'd be tempted to get one of these two girls to pair with André, start a giant line... (not a huge fan of their head form though)
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1458567200
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1458567002
But its not likely I'd ever breed.. no stores around me would pay/give credit for fish so I'd have to sell all offspring myself.. not even getting into how I'd deal with jarred males or sorority for the female fry..I could boot the fish from my 55g but then I'd need to make a custom lid for the riparium. Yeah, not likely to breed.. but I can dream right?

As a side not must.resist.temptation. (i dunno why but I've really wanted a copper pk, also the gold+red spot is sexy)
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1458488007
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1458490413
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1458488643
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashmp&1458486604

I kinda want to grab 1 or 2 more 2.5g tanks and pull the riparium plants off my 20g long to slap on top of the 2.5s then fill the windowsill with tanks, setting them up by Shreduski and getting myself 2 more bettas.. but I really shouldn't get more tanks/fish >.>


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## Aqua Aurora

So more shots showing André's marble process. I need to keep an eye on Chiyome's too, kinda slacked off on that. 



I promise to get photos of the other tanks fish!.. Eventually ^^''


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## Aqua Aurora

I promised to get some other photos so here we go!

*55g*
Did a bit of tweaking with lights. Got new bulbs for the T5 as I think the previous ones were near their 'need to replace' useage time (bulbs to be replaced after 6 months of 'on' time-if light is only only 12 hours a day you replace bulb once a year. T5 was pulled out to light over the pothos in front of the tank and foreground riparium . A Finnex Ray II 36" was put in the back on bookshelf brackets, along with a clamp reflector lamp with 6500k 13 watt cfl bulb. So more light over the tank, hopefully plants appreciate it. may re-arange some plants on there..






*7g cube*
Still haven't sold the java fern I put in the marketplace.. if no one takes it I may just throw it out.. don't feel like maintaining a plant holding tank for it. I got some new plants in there now but have to wait for a 1 month quarantine as one of the anubias came in with rhizome rot. I cut the infected part and put it in a vase by the window.. hopefully it doesn't show up in any of these plants now... I got anubias 'diamond' and 'broadleaf' (which i honestly don't think is braodleaf-its not elongated enough). I also got Echinodorus parviflorus from a member on here, E. hadi red and E. aflame from same anubias seller... Plan to add my taller e. Argentinian after quarantine. For now I have some water sprite stems tossed in by the surface for Xerxes to rest on. His riccia mat has gotten huge not eh surface. I had to drape it over the filter outflow to keep in n place so it didn't shade the new sword plants too much, its bigger than my hand!








*6g Bowfront*
Aristocoles is doing well, caudal fin is healing nicely. Salvinia minima needs thinned again as I can barely push it out of the way enough to feed him now (he's at the feeding hole in the close up shot hoping for another lunch). need to get some snails in there to munch diatoms before he snacks on them..




*2.5g vase*
I love Freya, she's like me-doesn't like waking up in the mornings. Every morning when I come down, before tank lights turn on she gives me a semi flare (gill out but no beard), like a grumpy "uhg, I don't want to wake up yet". I can relate girl. Various species of java fern (needle, narrow, theadleaf, and Philippine) and frogbit is doing well.. need to thin frogbit out again.




*8g bubble bowl.*
You've seen plenty of pictures of the new big resident, so here's a fts. I threw in a few snails to eat diatoms but notice there's still a lot of work to do.. I poked a snail that was floating at the surface the other day, it fell onto the driftwood below. André was most adorable, he followed it down and poked it with his 'nose' (did not peck/eat it) then swam away.


5g
Chiyome is dong well, she likes André but doesn't like my husband giving the giant (or any other betta) attention. She's so possessive! Her marimo is doing well, riccia covers 95% of the surface, only a few opens made by husband for easy feeding and petting (he enjoys petting her after each meal). I had to remove the flame moss mats I'd put in as they did not get enough light. This is my view of her tank, first photo is Chiyome trying to get my hubbies attention for some affection. Others are of her looking at me, love the sassy look of the last photo.


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## Aqua Aurora

*The dilemma ... just some of my ramblings*

I have a bit of a dilemma.. I may have found an anubias seller that will take responsibility (refund for) infected plants that come with rhizome rot. This makes me want to be spend happy ($100+) and fill my 40g breeder up with anubias! But then the question arises.. what fauna to put in? Well currently the 40g breeder has siliconed in place black Lexan inserts, as I had prepped it to move my 55g riparium onto along with the aquatic flora/hardscape of my 20g long.. SO right now the display space is about 31"x13"x16 (lxwxh) I made it so I can hide riparium planters and roots , along with filter and heater in the back and side section. Do I keep it like this and stock like a 20g (for fish space needs).. do I cut out the side panel and make it 36" long again.. do I pull out the panel and get another and make it a 3x split tank for 3 male bettas and have just the back section for filter, heater, riparium(put lid on front part)? Do I give the egg shaped two tailed goldfish a try? Thing is I'd be quicker to give up the goldfish than let them eat the plants. ... I've talked with a few goldfish owners that successfully keep with with plants and no damage issues (key being give them more tasty veggies in their diet like blanched lettuce and spinach), but I don't want to find I got a bad one that still likes to shred anubias. Do I do a betta sorority after filling in the tank with other plants so I cant see more than 1" in?.. I love the idea of several girls but uhg the whole sorority thing stresses me out! I'd pick girls I like and would feel horrible when one gets beat up/nipped fins.

Getting past the stocking and tank itself comes the question of anubias anchoring.. I'm debating about buying the 'meh' wood from my local petco (its water logged, no fungus) and bleach soaking then boiling it, thinking the anubias rhizome and roots will mostly hide it. Or I could spend a pretty penny on ebay and get specific wood, but that could easily cost $80-$100.. I should see how much it will be at petco. OR I could go check out the new landscaping store and see if they have any nice medium/large rocks and make another rock/anubias tank like Aristocoles (would try different rocks if I could find nice smooth ones-hoping to find larger versions of mexican beach pebbles if I could-nice dark blue/grey rock). Then I circle back to tank size options (if divided or made longer) as that effects what size wood/rock I could put in as well as stocking for delicate finned fish. I just can't decide!!

On the other other hand I was considering pulling out the lexan and offering the tank as a pet rat tank for my husband as he use to have rats a long time ago and kept them successfully (healthily) in a 40g tank with screen top.Then my mind starts turning about DIYs and making platforms/hides/tunnels and such built into the tank with lexan (for rats..would they eat the silicone? i mean if rats could be kept in a tank as a cage option they must not eat the silicone..right?). Then I circle back to wanting anubias and thinking "well I could get a 29g when the $ per a gallon sale starts at petco again". Then the question of stocking comes back up.


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## lilnaugrim

Goldies generally won't eat Anubias unless it's a dead leaf. My bestie's goldies only eat duckweed and anacharis, she's got a couple different anubias in there along with various Swords, some Water Wisteria, and some huuuugggee Italian Valisneria! They only snack on the duckweed if they aren't fed at least 3 times daily, 5 times is the best since they literally just poop out the food immediately; their digestive tracts are extremely short. So if you've got time to feed them constantly then they're great! But of course they do take a lot of water changes even with riparium/aquaponics type set ups.

I don't think you'd enjoy a sorority though, it can be stressful for sure. It's not so bad if you can detach yourself from your fish like I can (for the most part, there are a few who hit home) then it's okay, but it's still stressful counting them each day to make sure everyone is still good and then the fin damage comes about and it's just annoying.

Is there another type of fish you'd like to try but haven't had the chance yet? Any wild Betta's maybe? Ctenopoma? cold water fishes or tropical?


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## Strawberry12

hey Aqua, question!

I know what you use for light bulbs on your vases/bowls/nontraditional tanks and stuff, but about how high above the substrate do you keep the lights? I feel like that's where i'm running into trouble.


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## kittenfish

Rats produce a lot of ammonia and have sensitive noses so it's best to keep them in a wire cage for ventilation (I have this one). Plus they like to climb the sides of the cage, and it's easier to hang hammocks, toys, a water bottle, etc. If you want to keep a small mammal in an aquarium I recommend gerbils. They're really nothing like rats but they're small, cute, and fun to watch.


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## hellobird

I just spent the better part of 4+ hours browsing though this, TIME WELL SPENT.
AA your tanks and fish are all lovely, so much inspiration here.


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## themamaj

Beautiful pictures. Fish look great!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Goldies generally won't eat Anubias unless it's a dead leaf. My bestie's goldies only eat duckweed and anacharis, she's got a couple different anubias in there along with various Swords, some Water Wisteria, and some huuuugggee Italian Valisneria! They only snack on the duckweed if they aren't fed at least 3 times daily, 5 times is the best since they literally just poop out the food immediately; their digestive tracts are extremely short. So if you've got time to feed them constantly then they're great! But of course they do take a lot of water changes even with riparium/aquaponics type set ups.
> 
> I don't think you'd enjoy a sorority though, it can be stressful for sure. It's not so bad if you can detach yourself from your fish like I can (for the most part, there are a few who hit home) then it's okay, but it's still stressful counting them each day to make sure everyone is still good and then the fin damage comes about and it's just annoying.
> 
> Is there another type of fish you'd like to try but haven't had the chance yet? Any wild Betta's maybe? Ctenopoma? cold water fishes or tropical?


That's a lot of feeding! Yeh not a fan of the frequent water changes for goldies, I like under stocking and letting plants take care of most of it. I get to attached to the fish.. except Shredusky (sorry boy) so a sorority is a no go. From my understanding Ctenopoma need looong tanks(48" swim length or more). No idea about other fish..I guess I've wanted to try koi swordtails, but then I'd want a centerpiece fish and run into possible comparability issues




Strawberry12 said:


> hey Aqua, question!
> 
> I know what you use for light bulbs on your vases/bowls/nontraditional tanks and stuff, but about how high above the substrate do you keep the lights? I feel like that's where i'm running into trouble.


The 6500k 13 watt cfl bulbs in clamp reflector lamps vary in height from 23" above (20g long riparium-low light plants under water) to 17-19" above (6g bow, 2.5g vase, 7g cube) with floaters-medium to low light. And about 14" above substrate for 8g jumbo bubble bowl (medium lightno flaoters). Black lamps with same bulbs have orientation sideways instead of down (weaker) lights are closer at around 12" with low light plants and floaters (2g cookie jar, 2 lantern vase). I also have the 3g riparium with low light plants that also get some indirect light from the window and no underwater plants. If you'd like info on the LEDs lit me know.




hellobird said:


> I just spent the better part of 4+ hours browsing though this, TIME WELL SPENT.
> AA your tanks and fish are all lovely, so much inspiration here.


Thank you, glad you enjoyed the browse ^^



kittenfish said:


> Rats produce a lot of ammonia and have sensitive noses so it's best to keep them in a wire cage for ventilation (I have this one). Plus they like to climb the sides of the cage, and it's easier to hang hammocks, toys, a water bottle, etc. If you want to keep a small mammal in an aquarium I recommend gerbils. They're really nothing like rats but they're small, cute, and fun to watch.


Thanks for the input. Not a fan of the metal cages, I'm a light sleeper and don't need the noise that will cause as they climb around.



themamaj said:


> Beautiful pictures. Fish look great!


Thank you!


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## Sadist

I need java fern, but it'll be a week before I can transfer more money to my paypal.


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## lilnaugrim

There is more to the ctenopoma genus than just the Leopard/African Leaf fish ^_^ I was thinking more like a harem of these guys: Ctenopoma Ansorgii George had them in a couple weeks ago and boy, they were beautiful!

You could try some Kilifish for low maint. fish. Stay away from the Nothobrachius genus, they're only meant to live a year (annual Killis) and they're kind of mean. But Fundulopanchax Gardneri or Aphyosemion Australe's are both very easy and beautiful fish.


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## Aqua Aurora

I spoke with the hubby and he said just buy a new tank and keep the inserts siliconed in the one we already have-maybe we'll use it later. Still debating over fauna stock to determine what to do about tank and filter. I could get a submersible pump if I use the pre-exsisting 40g and build up a fitler system around it (foam and bio media) or use my stored sunsun canister (hated how loud it was when I used it for the pleco), or eheim monster size pro 3 canister (honestly only a good idea if I'm doing hill stream loaches- lot of flow).. hmmmm




lilnaugrim said:


> There is more to the ctenopoma genus than just the Leopard/African Leaf fish ^_^ I was thinking more like a harem of these guys: Ctenopoma Ansorgii George had them in a couple weeks ago and boy, they were beautiful!
> 
> You could try some Kilifish for low maint. fish. Stay away from the Nothobrachius genus, they're only meant to live a year (annual Killis) and they're kind of mean. But Fundulopanchax Gardneri or Aphyosemion Australe's are both very easy and beautiful fish.


I was thinking of the leopard gourami aka petsmart's mislabled "African leaf fish", I forgot about those beauties! Saw it before on a plantedtank forum... but part of me wants to be lazy and stick to fish I can get 'locally'-in driving distance, especially since USPS has been utter [censor] lately for getting packages delivered on time. A betta might survive an extra 4-6 days in a bag in a box, but most other fish won't, and most fish shops that ship won't refund for usps loosing/delaying package. I'd not really considered killifish after reading about short lifespans I stopped.. I'd like at least 2 years out of a fish. My local petco gets the yellow ones.. what were they called..Gold wonder killifish! Googling says they're about 4 year lifespan. I could look at getting them and some small cory to clean up uneaten food.
I should give that one petstore with the giant gourami a call and see if they special order fish on request (also if they have live black worms), might open up some options.
.
.
Just called, they have black worms! 1/4-1/2pound is expensive but still cheaper than overnight shipping from eastern aquatics, so I'll be making a trip to the store sometime to get worms (and probably take photos when I'm there of the fish). They said they'll order fish if they can get them from their main seller/distributor. SO I'll make a list and ask them to check what if any they can get...Now I just need to settle on options of what to get...^^''


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, there are Annual Killis and non-annuals. That's why I suggested looking through the Fundulopanchax and Aphysemion genus as they are non-annuals and will give you 2-4 years. There are some amazing Kilifish that actually get kind of big! Deltaensis is one of them! This is Tony's picture and fish he had collected from the wild. He's a member of our TFSRI group and if you get a Kili anywhere in the states, likely it came from him which I think is amazing! But anyway, he got this fish from the wild and it looked like crap.

Here's the fish he collected:









And here's how he looked after a couple months of good care from Tony! So basic rule for Kili's is, don't judge a fish by it's initial looks! lol. That goes for any fish but I find it especially true for kilis









Another great Kili is the Blue Gularis (real name is Fundulopanchax Sjoestedti [joe-steady]) which also gets pretty big too, definitely fill up the 40 with a family!









Let me know if you want more info ^_^ I can easily ask Tony if he has any extra Kilifish you could buy from him. Most of them are easily found online as well and do very well in shipping.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*The MTS Continues!*

So hauled out the sunsun canister filter and got it working.. but it takes 2x as much watts as the pump (for about same gph) so hubby (ever the enabler for buying new things) said to just get the submersible pump. 
I splurged on amazon, got pump, heater (after digging through many reviews on several brands.. many lot of exploding and over heating issues....) went with ehiem jagar just because its main flaw is over heat/stop heating.. I'd rather than and get a temp controller than get something that's 1/2 the price but could explode. I also bought (from amazon) more pipets (can never have enough for dosing ferts, prime, meds, and meaty meals), thermometer, more airline tubing, and some sponge filters I can lay down low in the black worm culture bins (have a spare pump for them). I just went back and bought a finnex temp controller from amazon.. we'll see how that work out.
Then after bombarding the anubias seller with question for days, I made my first purchase order.. fingers crossed in arrived healthy and rhizome rot free. I'll see how much room they take up when they get here and decide if I want to stick with the 20g space within the 40g, get a new 40g, or maybe a 29g... at petco with teh $ per a gallon sale. Husband showed interest in a column thank but that limits fish to nano species.. also those tanks get expensive fast. I know petsmart/petco has a 20g column.. dunno how I feel about it..

André just decided to make me freak out while typing this post =.= He smashed his gills against the thermometer a few times.. Immediately thought "[censor] time for qt tanks and meds"... lights are off in the tank right now and I've watched him for 10+ minutes after the thermometer 'flashing'. No more signs of irritation/flashing on things in the tank... He appears to be making a bubble nest (or trying) so now I'm guessing he wanted to move the thermometer or saw an intruder (reflection) and attacked it... Going to monitor him closely for another day, if he shows signs of flashing I'm hauling plants from the 10g and putting him in there for treatment. Hopefully its not flukes/ich/etc.





lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, there are Annual Killis and non-annuals. That's why I suggested looking through the Fundulopanchax and Aphysemion genus as they are non-annuals and will give you 2-4 years. There are some amazing Kilifish that actually get kind of big! Deltaensis is one of them! This is Tony's picture and fish he had collected from the wild. He's a member of our TFSRI group and if you get a Kili anywhere in the states, likely it came from him which I think is amazing! But anyway, he got this fish from the wild and it looked like crap.
> 
> Here's the fish he collected:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here's how he looked after a couple months of good care from Tony! So basic rule for Kili's is, don't judge a fish by it's initial looks! lol. That goes for any fish but I find it especially true for kilis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Another great Kili is the Blue Gularis (real name is Fundulopanchax Sjoestedti [joe-steady]) which also gets pretty big too, definitely fill up the 40 with a family!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Let me know if you want more info ^_^ I can easily ask Tony if he has any extra Kilifish you could buy from him. Most of them are easily found online as well and do very well in shipping.


Wow those are lovely! Quick google search says max pH is 7.2.. mine is 7.5 and I don't like messing with lowering pH with tannins then having to lower ph for new water (have I mentioned I'm lazy?)
Are only the annuals shipped as eggs, and the 2-4 year life span lot shipped as juvies/sub adults? I don't feel like hatching out eggs (l.a.z.y).


I'm going to wait for equipment and plants to arrive (and anubias to get through quarantine time-4 weeks), figure out tank size to then determine possible fish stock options. I wish goldfish weren't so much work, would love to try them but...yeah.. I like my lazy tanks.. 2-3 meals a day + daily fert dosing, and at best 1x water change a week (some got a month+ between wc-white cloud tank is only top offs for a few months since fry started showing up).


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aqua Aurora said:


> Wow those are lovely! Quick google search says max pH is 7.2.. mine is 7.5 and I don't like messing with lowering pH with tannins then having to lower ph for new water (have I mentioned I'm lazy?)
> Are only the annuals shipped as eggs, and the 2-4 year life span lot shipped as juvies/sub adults? I don't feel like hatching out eggs (l.a.z.y).
> 
> 
> I'm going to wait for equipment and plants to arrive (and anubias to get through quarantine time-4 weeks), figure out tank size to then determine possible fish stock options. I wish goldfish weren't so much work, would love to try them but...yeah.. I like my lazy tanks.. 2-3 meals a day + daily fert dosing, and at best 1x water change a week (some got a month+ between wc-white cloud tank is only top offs for a few months since fry started showing up).



Those species are fairly adaptable, two-four points isn't going to kill them lol. And that's the usual case because hatching your own annuals gives you a longer time with them than if you'd bought them at 3 months of age, that's only 9 more months. Of course they reach sexual maturity at only a month or so usually (depends on the size) and continuously breed. They're literally made to only live a year due to the dry seasons over there. But anywho, yeah most of the non-annuals are shipped as actual juvie/adult fish.

Phhhff, your fish are lucky, 2-3 meals a day? Mine get 2-3 meals a week lol. My breeder and store owner only feeds his twice a week but they all live off live foods so they get all the nutrition they need! He's produced some serious award-winning fish! If you ever hear of Thor the Firemouth, that was his! Actually...Thor is still in his freezer after being dead three years....he wants someone to stuff and mount him but no one wants to do it the way he wants >.< poor Thor, sits in a freezer all his days. lol, sorry, off topic there!


----------



## kittenfish

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thanks for the input. Not a fan of the metal cages, I'm a light sleeper and don't need the noise that will cause as they climb around.


Just a warning - my girls start running around and screeching as soon as the lights go out.


----------



## themamaj

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, there are Annual Killis and non-annuals. That's why I suggested looking through the Fundulopanchax and Aphysemion genus as they are non-annuals and will give you 2-4 years. There are some amazing Kilifish that actually get kind of big! Deltaensis is one of them! This is Tony's picture and fish he had collected from the wild. He's a member of our TFSRI group and if you get a Kili anywhere in the states, likely it came from him which I think is amazing! But anyway, he got this fish from the wild and it looked like crap.
> 
> Here's the fish he collected:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here's how he looked after a couple months of good care from Tony! So basic rule for Kili's is, don't judge a fish by it's initial looks! lol. That goes for any fish but I find it especially true for kilis
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Another great Kili is the Blue Gularis (real name is Fundulopanchax Sjoestedti [joe-steady]) which also gets pretty big too, definitely fill up the 40 with a family!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Let me know if you want more info ^_^ I can easily ask Tony if he has any extra Kilifish you could buy from him. Most of them are easily found online as well and do very well in shipping.


Those are gorgeous Lil!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Those species are fairly adaptable, two-four points isn't going to kill them lol. And that's the usual case because hatching your own annuals gives you a longer time with them than if you'd bought them at 3 months of age, that's only 9 more months. Of course they reach sexual maturity at only a month or so usually (depends on the size) and continuously breed. They're literally made to only live a year due to the dry seasons over there. But anywho, yeah most of the non-annuals are shipped as actual juvie/adult fish.
> 
> Phhhff, your fish are lucky, 2-3 meals a day? Mine get 2-3 meals a week lol. My breeder and store owner only feeds his twice a week but they all live off live foods so they get all the nutrition they need! He's produced some serious award-winning fish! If you ever hear of Thor the Firemouth, that was his! Actually...Thor is still in his freezer after being dead three years....he wants someone to stuff and mount him but no one wants to do it the way he wants >.< poor Thor, sits in a freezer all his days. lol, sorry, off topic there!


Only one getting 3 meals is André -getting some live black worms between first and second meal. Everyone else only gets 2 meals.. the dwarf puffer only gets one a day but its usually snails, live black worms, or thawed blood worms so 2/3 of the time he has something to hunt... he's not the best hunter so a few snails take a while to eat...>.>
Yeh that's just a little off topic and odd.. not heard of that fish, but I don't really get into fish shows.



kittenfish said:


> Just a warning - my girls start running around and screeching as soon as the lights go out.


Well I asked my hubby about rats and he said he wasn't too keen on getting them again so no worries.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Andre update and packge problems..*

So André was not flashing.. he was bubble nesting against the thermometer. He's been trying his darnedest to make a good bubble nest, wonder if its for Chiyome? ^.~ Not too impressive for a giant but I'm guess its his first one and water's aren't perfectly still (using sponge filter) so its a challenge. I'll take some photos of it and the tank later-the plants are starting to take off again. I had planned to hack down and replant the water sprite to make it a thick mass again but its being used to buffer water for the bubble nest so leaving it be for a bit.

In other news I had a package theft issue with a Sunday delivery of an Amazon order! Package was marked as delivered at 5 after, I didn't notice until half way into the hour and went to grab it (postman failed to ring doorbell/knock.. ugh). Well Nothing was outside the door/mailbox. Looked around.. nothing. Told husband and he came to look, including checking the garage (our old post man and ups person would leave packages in garage if we did not answer the door.. but we've not had that good postman for a few years sadly). I spotted the postman driving it truck out of the street next to ours (we're one house over from a turn into said street) I noticed he was not the postman I see Mon-Sat. I waved him down and ask about the package, did he hand it to someone, or scan and not deliver it? He said and I quote "I distinctly remember putting the package by the door. It was my first delivery on this street". SO I turned around and shouted to my husband who as waiting for me in the yard "It was stolen, going to have to file a claim." The post man got noticeably uneasy when I said this.
I went back inside and called the post office.. I hate those automated systems that recognize vocal words to forward you to more prompts.. I eventually got it to acknowledge "stolen package" and got a "Please call back during business hours Monday" I hung up at that point. Then the door bell rang. The postman I spoke with was there with my package and gave some him-haw mumbling about waiting for a postman to check his truck and giving him 5 minutes to do so... But why would I expect you to check your truck if you "DISTINCTLY" remember dropping off my package? I was just happy to have my package.. I noticed the amazon packing tape was a little ripped at one end.. looks like _someone _decided to take a peak. Btw this box is about the size you'd see a tablet/iPad etc shipped in, but it was a 150watt eheim aquarium heater (these things are loooooong) and some sponge filters. My husband and I both think the Sunday mailman had intended to steel this package assuming it was something or more value that it truly was. After being confronted about the missing package and knowing I'd report it he forked it over. I had intended to report this man yesterday but got very busy as my anubias arrived (will talk about later) and then my husband mentioned I'd most likely get black listed by usps an start having more trouble with missing/damaged/delayed packages if I reported.. which is [censored] up but probably true.

Will post late on anubias and some tank photos.


----------



## lilnaugrim

All these stories make me really glad that my post offices around here are like the golden offices compared to the ones I see elsewhere! They're generally polite and friendly and we've never had a case of stolen packages for us which is nice. We also live out in the boonies lol. But I've also known the postal workers (in both offices near by) since I was a kid and so they're family friends which I'm sure helps. But glad you got your package in the end!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> All these stories make me really glad that my post offices around here are like the golden offices compared to the ones I see elsewhere! They're generally polite and friendly and we've never had a case of stolen packages for us which is nice. We also live out in the boonies lol. But I've also known the postal workers (in both offices near by) since I was a kid and so they're family friends which I'm sure helps. But glad you got your package in the end!


Lucky you!
We use to have an awesome post man, but apparently due to some politics bs (employee that has seniority over him) he lost the part of his route our house is on.. the new guy has be known to take days off (just not deliver-usually either a Friday, Saturday, or Monday) and is horribly inconsistent in delivery time.. The previous postman was here within a 5 minute window every day, so no chance of missing a package. He was very happy/peppy.. in shorts 90% of the year, and great with dogs (had plenty of milk bones on him). He'd take the time to ring the door bell and wait for us to answer to hand a package over (that did not need signature-dunno how he managed to always be here at same time with that personal policy but he was). New guy is drop and run.. rarely rings bell/knocks.. I put out a little card saying to ring door bell.. but it don't help.. ok sorry done with mini vent.



In other news, let me throw some photos at you!

*10g Riparium *
"Eye sight is for chumps, I can still bubble nest!" Ajax manged to build a bubble nest even though the tops of his eyes are covered by diamond eye! (i feel horrible-i broke it feeding him lunch, good thing I got a photo first!.. He was not happy being made to wait on his blood worms).

And some photos of the tank/plants






*2g Cookie jar*
Not a great photo but showing flame moss is going vertical in Alastor's tank.. I hate that I can take photos the exact way I see things.. so much reflections..its not that .. orange either..



*2.5g Riparium*
Shreduski's tanl.. again hate that photos don't come out how I see them-shadows/light from window shades is not so harsh in person. He's the big bubble nester but then he has no filter to break it up (plants do all the work).






*2g Lantern Vase*
Antaeus's tank needs some more plants.. I use to have micro swords in there but took them for the 12g.. haven't decided what to slap in there yet... might thin out some vals from the 20g long and put them in his tank.


Hard to see but he's flaring grrr

Love the anubias petite and micro arc.



*8g Bubble Bowl*
André did not want to hold still for marbling progress photos today... got a photo of his bubble nest (ruined when feeding.. sorry boy), as well as fts + light.





And some above view photos after feeding blackworms


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## Sadist

I love your tanks and plants so much!


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> I love your tanks and plants so much!


Thank you very much ^^


----------



## SplashyBetta

Everything looks gorgeous! Where did you get the 8g bowl? The largest bowl I've been able to find around here is a 4g.


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## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> Everything looks gorgeous! Where did you get the 8g bowl? The largest bowl I've been able to find around here is a 4g.


Thank you ^^
Had to get online, seen on ebay and amazon use search "jumbo bubble bowl" costs $50-60 range (mostly shipping cost)


----------



## Aqua Aurora

3g Bubble bowl, philodendron is doing well, debating about sticking with the fishing ling mesh net or getting a proper treeless for ti to climb...




Freya hoping for food. I tried to get photos of her flaring, but she's been getting lessons from Xerxes on how to always stay out of focus when flaring.. ugh.




Teaser photo showing new anubias in quarantine.

So I mentioned before buying anubias. It came in on Monday and I spent a good bit of time inspecting it. 3 plants showed clear signs of rhizome rot, 2 more I can't tell is rot or just removed stem. Seller was nice enough to refund.. i told them the plant list and total worth from what they send ($22, they said they'd refund $30.. but paypal shows $25?.. whatever its still more than I asked for as a refund. Going to give these guys a 1 month quarantine minimum (all fingers and toes crossed that no others get rhizome rot!). The infected batch were put into an unused worm culture tub and I slapped a piece of lexan over them to keep them submerged (you can see i also did that in the main tank with 1 plant-would not stay down. 
This is by no means a real scape.. its just for qt. I'll consider some nicer stones or driftwood if the survive. I'll probably also order more if they all mange to make it (please please please please). I really like the contrast of the green anubias agaisnt the black background so I'll stick with this tank. and stock it like a 20g long. Dunno if I'll get around to putting a riparium on the back o not.. I might just make that back section a tight mesh net black worm culture area once the filter cycles (instead of having a separate bin).. oo that reminds me gotta break out the ammonia bottle and start dosing. I'll post info/photos on the filtration section later on.

I got sponge filters for the worm culture bins and am not impressed.. they are the kind you can lay down or put at any orientation.. they make large (loud) bubbles. Also disappointed in the airline tubing i bought.. its a real challenge to get it over normal size fittings like a tetra whisper air bump. Wish I had not cut it before finding that out, would have returned it.. too late now.


----------



## SplashyBetta

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you ^^
> Had to get online, seen on ebay and amazon use search "jumbo bubble bowl" costs $50-60 range (mostly shipping cost)


Thanks! I'll have to see about getting one after my next paycheck. That's a bit expensive but I love the look of it so I think it'd be worth it. Have you had any issues with it?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> Thanks! I'll have to see about getting one after my next paycheck. That's a bit expensive but I love the look of it so I think it'd be worth it. Have you had any issues with it?


I'd definitely recommend it if you like curved glass 'tanks' (not ever likes them). No issues for me, its big and bulky so moving it around is a little awkward (like if you gut and take it to the sink to rinse out), but no more so than a 10g.. just rounded instead. Look around at prices before you buy. 
.. Odd I can't find the original listing for it on amazon-had a lot of reviews and photos.
.
.
Here we go had to google "amazon jumbo bubble bowl" to find it, currently *this* one out of stock but gives you reviews/comments to look at
http://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Bowl-Jumbo-Size-Machine/dp/B0068NZYG8
amazon has a new listing for it and oo new one is apparently larger all around(15"x11"x18.. mine is 14"x8.75"x16") so you might have a 9-10g instead of an 8g bubble bowl!
The ebay one is also larger but yikes its shipping is as much as the bloody vase!


----------



## kittenfish

Here's one with a 19 inch diameter for the low low price of $84.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So after my husband complained several times abut how loud the sponge filters were in the office I went to petco and grabbed some air stone (wish I had waited 1 more day, now the sale for aquatic stuff is on, doh >.< ) Installed in André and Freya's tanks already, still need to do Aristocles (I realized I've been adding an extra 'o' in his name lately whoops). Its noticeably quieter already, the downside is the sponge filter does not work as effectively with the smaller bubbles. I found the new pennplax airline tubing I bought is so small it fits INSIDE of the older airline tubing I have....not happy.. getting it on anything is a real pain. 
Anyways at the store I looked at bettas. No one followed me home but there was a lovely peach/pink/white prism/pearl colored double tail male that was very personable and really wanted to get bought. Super wiggly and responsive to being looked at/having fingers near... honestly if he had been pk I would have thought about bringing him home. most of his shots were blurry as he was so active/excited.





There were a few other nice boys there including this marble double tail plakat who also enjoyed attention, wasn't quite as excited as the one above but he was curious.



This long finned double tail had his fills up constantly.. he couldn't see the other males be he *knew* they were there.


Another dtpk, did not want to pose for a photo, best shot I could get.


A hmpk that had interesting colors, little clamped but otherwise ok.



And then this silly marble.. he flared at me then hid against the curve of the cup and refused to let me get a good shot of him.

"you can't see me.. go away!"


There was also a giant wild coloration in a vt female cup, he barely fit in the cup poor thing.


In other news André decided to go on a hunger strike last night. Not sure if he decided he should only get tasty bloodworms and black worms.. or if he was pouty about me trimming the water sprite that had grown tot eh surface and floated (acted as a buffer for his bubble nesting). Either way he kept spitting pellets out so I let him fast. Today he ate his pellets at lunch time just fine. He has not built a new bubble nest yet.



Its getting freaking warm here, have wild flowers and some other things blooming already. Not sure what this one is but its a nice dense carpet with little blue blooms

I should get a shot of the periwinkle too.
Only [censor] thing about the warmer weather is pollen and the mosquitoes are out and hungry!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Ahhh! sorry double posted.. apparently tried to edit past editing time >.<
Tried to add:
Putting an air stone in the sponge filter makes it quieter but reduces efficiency of the sponge filter-does better with larger bubbles.

Also noticed after posting that the slightly clamped hmpk has his ventrals/pelvic fins both on one side, the same way Magnus did when his were tucked up. If I'd mention this to my husband he's likely tell me to buy 'em. He was a nice betta, came over to my finger then just rested and looked at it.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Just tossing up some photos

*55g*
I really love how the top of the 55g is coming along! The super thick pothos vine is starting to weight down the black background though.. I might have to cut it

Lower front... "Fish? what fish?" seriously thought I have to smash my face against the glass to see them...



*20g long*
The Helxine soleiroliiis a real monster! I have an average size hand and with a hand on it.. its just huge!



I have a hell of a time trying to get photos of the white clouds-they never hold still. My oldest fry are looking like mini versions of their parents now-the neon like irid band is fading and their bodies colored up. I have at least 3-4 other batches of fry in there, I try to toss in leftover thawed baby brine shrimp ( feed to blue eye gertruedea in another tank) but they mostly live on inforsona naturally growing in tank and crushed flake food as they grow larger.


*8g Bubble Bowl*
More photos of André marble process, there is a tough of dark blue or black in his dorsal and anal fin now, plus more scale coloring. He did not want to hold still.. He also did not want to eat pellets again last night =,= sigh.. "no I won't switch you to pure worm meals, eat your bloody pellets!"





And some sadder stuff...
Some of the rhizome rot infected anubias I separated to a bin and vase to let die off... Rhizome rot doesn't show the exact same way in each plant so you have to look for several things. Rhizome rot is contagious to other anubias (and reportedly swords and crypts) so you should always inspect and quarantine new anubias for 4 weeks before putting in an established tank to avoid spread of infection.

This one started as a yellow discoloration at the base of the stems that was soft.. and ended with a translucent fungus over the rhizome.. when touched (trying to pull plant out of water) it disintegrated.. I notice the fungus usually happens at the end when its about to completely break apart, but doesn't happen to every rhizome rot destroyed plant..


These two had brown discoloration, and one a lack of/rotted off roots.. they'll be next to break down.



And these two are the same plant (from a different seller than the one above) I split hoping to save it but it was too late.. one part came with noticeable rot via discoloration/soft spot, and pulled off bad leaf revealed more of it. Also roots rotted off/lack of roots.


The one I hoped to save had leaves melt off and roots rot off and discolored underside of rhizome..tossed it in with the known infected half after it was rotting..






Why don't I just toss them right off the bat when infected? Well i try to learn something from each and familiarize myself with the signs of infection and progression. I treat the bin/vase with infected plants like an infected fish -never cross contaminate-always sanitize/sterilize after having any contact with before going near other equipment/tanks.


----------



## Sadist

I'm interested in seeing if they can heal at all under your ministrations.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> I'm interested in seeing if they can heal at all under your ministrations.


Sadly rhizome rot has a very high mortality rate on its victims. There is a only a small window to cut healthy rhizome from infected and serpent them, sometimes the non infection showing part will make it, but in my experience its not a great % chance. 
A few spices have a natural resistance to it, those with red pigment in their rhizomes such as true coffeefolia, there are a few other larger ones but I am drawing a blank on their names right now.


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## SplashyBetta

The Helxine soleiroliii is gorgeous! How long did it take to grow to that size? Or did you buy it like that?


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## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> The Helxine soleiroliii is gorgeous! How long did it take to grow to that size? Or did you buy it like that?


No no did not buy that big, came as a tiny 2"x2" pot from a greenhouse.
I've had it for 1 year+1 week.
Photo of it first put onto same HOB filter (aquaclear 70) it still grows on, april 1 2015:


I've been told this plant is also called Soleirolia soleirolii. You might find it at garden centers or on ebay. It definitely appreciates a strong light.


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## Aqua Aurora

*venting*

[Censor] my life... 
Go to check the anubias qt tank today aaaaand 3 have clear rhizome rot, all of which had partial disintegration (mush/melt off) of leaves.. Soooo likely EVERYTHING is infected and going to die now.. *UGGGGHHH*. So so so sick of this!! I just have no [censor] luck with buy anubias from bulk sellers, I've easily spend $500 over several years and lost it all! Only anubias that survive for me are ones I buy from hobbyist thinning out/tearing down a display tank.

All plans (though I still hadn't quite settled on anything) for the 40g breeder are out. Since everything is infect I'm going to test some things on them that may kill them from treatment (first up aq salt-see how much anubias can handle). I have 0 faith anything will survive.. so no fish.. no other plants.. I'm going to take out, dry and clean the new heater, heater controller, and pump to send back to amazon to try to get a portion of my $ back and once the anubias is all dead the tank will go into storage... ugh I'm just so [censor] pissed off right now.. why did i bother wasting time and $ trying anubias again?! I use to love this plant but now I just hate it. Hate, hate, hate it!!! [Censor] you rhizome rot and [censor] you mass growers of it shipping [censor] infected plants to the US!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Rhizome rot*

just tossing up some more photos showing examples of rhizome rot from the infected anubias I pulled out today


----------



## Sadist

:-( That sucks so much. I've had great luck with anubias in petsmart tubes, but that's a pricey way to buy them.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> :-( That sucks so much. I've had great luck with anubias in petsmart tubes, but that's a pricey way to buy them.


Yeh and you don't know which exact species you are getting as its just "assorted" or "medium/large" etc


On a related note I'd bought a rare anubias on my birthday from a seller in Europe (decided I'd splurge, its the most I've ever paid for 1 just plant), forgot about it as it took so long to come (had to wait for monthly transhipping) but it came today.. after the nightmare I'm living with the other anubias I've told myself "It's going to die, don't get attached to it" but [censor] is it lovely! 
Sold as anubias pinto which is another name for marble. New leaves come out looking like the rarer anubias white/snow white and turn more green as they age. Got this for 1/4 the price it'd be in the states for this many leaves.
So far only slight browning around base of rhizome/roots, hoping is just from rockwool.. but we'll see. I plopped it in my acclimation under 1g cube and put it by a light. I doubt this seller will refund for plant death since its international shipping.
Here is a lovely photo of it before it (likely) melts


----------



## lilnaugrim

If it's QT'd then you know it's not the other plants and it's something else at least. But that's a beautiful plant.

Also, PetCo's Anubias aren't labeled but PetSmart's are. PetSmart also labels aquatic and semi-aquatic and mine have more of a selection at least. But yeah, that's moot now I suppose.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> If it's QT'd then you know it's not the other plants and it's something else at least. But that's a beautiful plant.
> 
> Also, PetCo's Anubias aren't labeled but PetSmart's are. PetSmart also labels aquatic and semi-aquatic and mine have more of a selection at least. But yeah, that's moot now I suppose.


Cool did not know they labeled them, sadly my petsmart doesn't have plants-in-a-tube. Maybe I'll try to find a petsmart farther away, might get lucky and find a better store.


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## cousiniguana

I've learned so much from your journal.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Seriously Shreduski?*

Ugh... There's a reason I shouldn't do water changes in Shreduski's tank.. He decided to go check out the siphon but didn't go next to it, he went _under _it.. The doofus doubletail got sucked up into the tube (mind you this is the tiny aqueon 'mini' 5" siphon), so he gets folded in half when he get sucked in. By the time he hit the top of the siphon he somehow managed to bolt out of it and back into the tank. All this happened in a split second, I don't even have time to react and pull the siphon from the water to break suction.
His fins are always bad shape (hence his 'shred' based name) so can't tell if they get ripped from that, but he seems to be ok, little grump.. maybe pridefully wounded but otherwise ok.. surprised he wasn't missing scales from that...


----------



## charliegill110

Hi I hope it's ok that I'm asking you this here. Imo you've got the best plants on the forum so I figured if anyone knew it would be you. This thread is where I thought of you http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=680921 

So any suggestions? I already have the sweet potato. I've never had a riparium though... Do just the roots go in the water? If so how do I keep the potato part out? I think my grandmas rotted cause she had most of the actual potato in the water as well.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

charliegill110 said:


> Hi I hope it's ok that I'm asking you this here. Imo you've got the best plants on the forum so I figured if anyone knew it would be you. This thread is where I thought of you http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=680921
> 
> So any suggestions? I already have the sweet potato. I've never had a riparium though... Do just the roots go in the water? If so how do I keep the potato part out? I think my grandmas rotted cause she had most of the actual potato in the water as well.


Its fine to ask here ^^
I've not tried a sweet potato yet but someone else here did start (not sen an update on to know how it's going) they kept the potato whole and put just the tip in water (less than 1/4) to grow roots. For Most riparium plants it best to have the roots in water so new stem/leaf growth isn't submerged as it starts.
For my riparium plants I use plastic shower caddies 


With expanded clay media (called hydroton on ebay- but i bought a brand 'Plant!t') that wicks up moisture to plants from the water-I'd suggest doing something similar to keep the spud from getting too water logged.
You can see the media in a planter here


Roots will grow down and into the water with time which is fine.

if you have any other questions feel free to ask ^^


----------



## charliegill110

Thanks for the reply! I was googling riparium a bit and saw people putting plants inside their filter...couldn't that damage and he filter? Like the roots growing down into it? Nonetheless I'm going to give it a try. I think I could pretty easily make a shower caddy thing out of craft mesh. But I kinda think it would be easier and more convenient to put the potato in the filter.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

charliegill110 said:


> Thanks for the reply! I was googling riparium a bit and saw people putting plants inside their filter...couldn't that damage and he filter? Like the roots growing down into it? Nonetheless I'm going to give it a try. I think I could pretty easily make a shower caddy thing out of craft mesh. But I kinda think it would be easier and more convenient to put the potato in the filter.


Pothos is a good example of a plant who's roots will eventually clog the impeller and can damage a filter. most plants don't have too massive or faster growing roots like pothos though. I've grown plants on my HOB (hand on back0 filter for years. Roots grow down into the foam media I put on top making it a little difficult to clean foam as ti clogs over time but not impossible. No impeller issues yet. I've not tried anything in the potato/root vegetable family on an HOB so dunno how wild the roots will get. Keep an eye on them, if they grow towards the intake impeller just trim them.


----------



## charliegill110

Aqua Aurora said:


> Pothos is a good example of a plant who's roots will eventually clog the impeller and can damage a filter. most plants don't have too massive or faster growing roots like pothos though. I've grown plants on my HOB (hand on back0 filter for years. Roots grow down into the foam media I put on top making it a little difficult to clean foam as ti clogs over time but not impossible. No impeller issues yet. I've not tried anything in the potato/root vegetable family on an HOB so dunno how wild the roots will get. Keep an eye on them, if they grow towards the intake impeller just trim them.


Thanks!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sooo last night after much him-hawing (and ever enabling husband saying "do what you want") I bought a 3g picotope tank. There was a 25% discount on drfostersmith.. I'm sure I'll have buyers remorse as it was still $53 after tax and shipping cost and I don't be using its stock light (seems to be better for saltwater coral growth) I could have gotten a 2.5 or 5g standard for 1/4 that at the farther away petco...buuuut its nice glass with curved corners and no trim. I could not find the bloody tape measure to check if it will fit on my desk so will just wait and see.. I was thinking of moving Freya into it and either storing her 2.5g vase of upgrading Antaeus' 2g lantern vase to her's for a little more water volume.
But anyways here are some photos.. 

Love Chiyome's colors in this photo (most true to life)


End of a semi flare at me (can barely see gills out-i notice the white scales on her left gill are turning blue)



André marbling progress + semi flare shot





Freya has been doing her semi flare at me more and more often, but of course I can never get an in focus shot... her black is slowly spreading but not as fast as Chiyome's has.

of course its completely out of focus =.=





And Xerxes came over to semi flare at me too...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Ugh of cores after buying the picotope from fostermsih I find one for cheaper on ebay >.< and I can't get at order details to cancel the drfostersmith order grrrr. Yup buyers remorse in full swing an the [censor] thing isn't even shipped yet...

Side note: ebay has been broken for me..ever since I bought the anubias form there my shopping cart always says I have 8 items.. click cart and its empty, and the icon at the top says its empty.. go to another page on ebay and it says there's 8 again =,= its getting a little annoying.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

André has been a little turd about his Omega one betta pellets lately and spitting them out rather than chewing and swallowing them. He seems to do this any time I mess with his tank (trim and replant clippings of the water sprite and n. taiwan) of course he'd suck down worms just fine but pouts about pellets...
So he's going on a 3 days fast (today, tomorrow, and Saturday) to see if he'll behaves bout eating them.. I think he only wants the blood worms and black worms but tough luck buster, your diet will mostly be pellets. Shame for him since today was a bloodworm day, he's clearly ticked seeing the others get the bright red worms and not him. 


In sadder news, our old dog (13) has been going down hill pretty bad. He's had laryngeal parlaysis for a year now but its gotten much worse recently. Simply put a flap in his that that is suppose to open when he exhales and close and he inhales to keep food/etc form going where it shouldn't, isn't working right anymore... the only 'fix' is surgery but it leaves the dog exposed for issues with the flap cut permanently open.. Two weeks ago he blacked out on a walk because the laryngeal paralysis can basically suffocate them. It was only for a moment but it was not good.. we know we'll have to put him down soon... 
Today he's been having breathing problems (maybe related to the lp but differnt-lp shows as a deep noise with exhaling, today he has issues inhaling) and ended up loosing all his breakfast but it took much longer to get it out (time between starting to dry heave and finally vomiting) then ever in the past. Even after emptying his stomach he's still having problems so called the vet and got an appointment.. I took a quick video of his breathing issue sounds in case he manages to be 'normal' by the time I go in.. but part of me worries more that he'll still be having the breathing issue..


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aw, I'm really sorry about your pupper Aqua, that's rough :-( I hope everything progresses smoothly at least, I know it's definitely not easy all the same.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Vet Vent*

Ugh just need to vent.. completely useless vet! Wasn't even a proper vmd that saw us (husband went along in case it was a 'have to put down' case).. they didn't listen worth [censor] either.. 
With both me and my husband being adamant and clear we did *not *want meds she stilled forced them on us. We're not being cheap about pills but don't want to pump an old dog full of meds just to try to keep him going longer when he's at his end.. then have to get MORE pills to deal with the side effects of the first pills. 
Even though our dog has a respiratory problem we were prescribe a sedative to 'calm him' when the larangeal paralysis acts up that's side effects include.. wait for it.. Respiratory difficulty!... Seriously? Also somehow she got it in her head out dog was having stomach acid problems.. didn't quite listen to the explanation that he couldn't breath and his difficulty breathing led to him upheaving breakfast(looked like he couldn't understand why he had a breathing problem and thought he had something stuck he needed to barf up). First time he's barfed in.. I dunno.. months? I can't recall the last time he had to puke and he eats fine.. anyways she made it out like it was a common occurrence (which its not) and gave a stomach medicine for that... 
Then we tried explaining clearly that he has a routine that he can't keep any more.. and the woman is saying "don't make changes in his routine and..." but he can't DO his routine anymore.. did you not hear what we _just _said? 
We told her he only gets a baby aspirin after his park walk (once a week) and she blew that up into an major "Ooo that's bad for their stomachs!" (another vet at the same practice has suggested it though and he showed no stomach issues when/after he gets it) and forced some other pain killer into the mix to use instead.. and more often...
UGH so frustrating. I mean its good he wasn't dieing on us earlier but seriously wish we could have seen the real vmd... Last time I had this vet see our dog she threw a lot of meds at us that didn't work then either...she was also trying to push us to buy food from the vets office... just... ugggh...
One thing we did learn is he has a neurological problem (common in larger old breeds) which is why he's having issues with his back end.. and that it will progress farther up the body (kinda thinking that's more likely what the issues was today but she wasn't listening at that point-seriously she wouldn't let us talk/ask questions anymore), surprisingly she said there was nothing that can be done for that (I'd expected her to push more meds on us so that).
Yeh so anyways, dog is still with us, but will probably be looking for a new vet..



lilnaugrim said:


> Aw, I'm really sorry about your pupper Aqua, that's rough :-( I hope everything progresses smoothly at least, I know it's definitely not easy all the same.


Thank you for the kind words


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## Aqua Aurora

*55g*
I had to cut one of my pothos vines. Its a monster in size and originally was tried to a background piece of black water resistant material but it had grown so big and heavy it was pulling the background off the wall. SO loped it with a utility blade then stuffed the cut ends into the tank water to re-root.
Photo before the cut 



The piece I cut off was over 60" with the arch curl in it.. probably closer 75" if I could straighten it, but its an older vine which has gotten woody and is not flexible like the thin green vines of a little pothos. The largest intact leaf (I accidentally ripped the biggest one >.<) is 6"!
(pardon the T5 bulbs under the tank, best place to put them to avoid breakage)





And this is the plant I got at my local grocery store on Monday, labeled dieffenbachia aka drum cane. Its going through a month qt on the windowsill
before it goes on any tank just to make sure its healthy. There are some white stains on the undersides of the leaves, may just be the calcium rich local water splashing up on them but can't be to careful.. dunno that I'll be able to cram this one on the 55g, it gets pretty big.


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## SplashyBetta

For the ebay cart issue have you tried clearing your web browser's cache? Sometimes images get stuck and that will remove them.


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## charliegill110

Does your dog love walks despite having difficulty finishing them? My cousin had a dog that loved walks but had trouble walking long distances so we used to put her dog in a baby stroller and push her around. Got a few weird looks and a surprising number of people stop you to ask wtf your doing , but the dog loved it.


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## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> For the ebay cart issue have you tried clearing your web browser's cache? Sometimes images get stuck and that will remove them.


Thank you I'd not thought to clear cache.



charliegill110 said:


> Does your dog love walks despite having difficulty finishing them? My cousin had a dog that loved walks but had trouble walking long distances so we used to put her dog in a baby stroller and push her around. Got a few weird looks and a surprising number of people stop you to ask wtf your doing , but the dog loved it.


Sadly this past yesterday he couldn't even get out of the car the breathing problem was REALLY bad, he gets so excited about going to the park his throat tightens up and he could not breath.. honestly thought he was going to die in the car. This was even using the 'anxiety' meds give a hour before going so they'd kick in.. the meds did nothing to help.


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## charliegill110

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you I'd not thought to clear cache.
> 
> 
> Sadly this past yesterday he couldn't even get out of the car the breathing problem was REALLY bad, he gets so excited about going to the park his throat tightens up and he could not breath.. honestly thought he was going to die in the car. This was even using the 'anxiety' meds give a hour before going so they'd kick in.. the meds did nothing to help.


Awww poor baby 😞


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## Aqua Aurora

Sooo on Sunday this happened...(ignore the container on top)


Yup, goldfish..specifically a black-blue oranda (I think is the color term? s/he's a silver with bronze and black..lilnaurgim I'm looking at you) and a calico fantail.



After speaking with xjasminex, Moonshayde, snakeybird as well as a member of another forum I'd seriously considered getting some fancy goldfish. Did a lot of research but didn't buy for several months as the original plan changes a bit... I was going to condense my 55g and 20g long into 1 tank then re-purpose the 55g for goldfish (at my husband's suggestion), but I ended up keeping the two existing tanks as is. For my birthday I splurged on about $100 of anubias from an e-bay seller that would refund for rhizome rot ridden plants for the first 14 days after delivery Tank has a side and back section (essentially an in tank sump) with pop-display black Lexan (great prices), got a pump, heater, heater controller (as I read to many reviews of cooked fish these days). Husband drilled holes in the Lexan faux walls that I stuffed black foam in, and on the left side I packed in foam and ceramic media around the pump.
Anubias is still going through the quarantine time but when we went to a non chain pet store on Sunday to buy some black worms.. we got drawn in at the goldfish display. WE left but ended up turning around after 2 minutes and going back to grab 2 we really liked, then made a quick top at Home depot for Lexan to make a lid.

After a massive water change on the 40g breeder (which swim room dimensions are just a bit larger than a 20g long with the black lexan walls in) to removed ammonia I dosed to start a cycle + feed anubias I acclimated the goldies and got them in... If they do well and grow (aka I don't [censor] things up) I'll plan to get a 75.. maybe 125g (or a custom 6' long) for them down the road.

They're doing well so far, doing 15 gallon or more water changes a day as the tank gets cycled, knowing goldies are big poop machines. I bought another finnex ray 2 from amazon, waiting for it tom come in then going to go raid the local garden centers for riparium plant possibilities! Once I get the goldfish eating veggies and their various other foods and am sure they're done nibbling plants (so far I've busted the oranda 'testing' the anubias several times) I'll add some more large aquatic plants, possibly an amazon sword or slightly smaller sword, maybe a Aponogeton... I really wish the store I got the goldies from did a better job with their live plants.. all the tanks have hair algae+ green spot algae >.> do.not.want! May also buy some more anubias. I have several small anubias I moved out of the tank before the goldfish were added, may put them back in once the goldies know anubias doesn't mean salad bar(leaves) or spaghetti(roots).

Officially the goldfish are not named yet (I wait at least 1-4 weeks before naming new fish in case of death), but my husband has already unofficially named the oranda Vasco da Gama.. I got 'Calyspo' by John Denver stuck in my head after buying the fish (specifically "Aayyee Calipso") and have been thinking of calling the calico fantail that but would rather look into a more meaningful name.. waiting to see personalities once they're settled in before they have official names.


Anyways they're getting use to different feeding-store did floating I use sinking (soaked) pellets, they LOVED repashy soilent green for lunch today, and thawed blood worms yesterday.. all get soaked in my DIY garlic extract for 2-6+ minutes before feeding. The oranda is a bit more shy and tends to go int the anubias when I take the lid off, calico is fearless except not use to my hand getting really close yet. No problem having me hold a pipet with food by 'em though. I've been feeding the soaked pellets via pipet to make sure the oranda is getting some and trying to get them use to me, once they stay in the open area for feeding time I can just sink pellets.


----------



## Fenghuang

Yay goldies! I love goldfish! (No room sadly >.<) Your bronze-y one probably will not stay that color as he matures. Young goldfish normally start off that color and brighten into orange-red over time. A camouflage thing, I think. 

I don't think your goldfish can do too much harm to an established anubias plant. Now, something like a large common pleco (which my dad kept with his), that was a different story...


EDIT: I was wondering what brands/models of HOB filters you've had good experiences with? The ones on our 40 breeders and our 20 longs keep dying.


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> Yay goldies! I love goldfish! (No room sadly >.<) Your bronze-y one probably will not stay that color as he matures. Young goldfish normally start off that color and brighten into orange-red over time. A camouflage thing, I think.
> 
> I don't think your goldfish can do too much harm to an established anubias plant. Now, something like a large common pleco (which my dad kept with his), that was a different story...
> 
> 
> EDIT: I was wondering what brands/models of HOB filters you've had good experiences with? The ones on our 40 breeders and our 20 longs keep dying.



NOOOOO my husband will be sad to hear that (color was part of the reason he chose that one), I was hoping s/he'd stay dark like the black Moore goldfish :c
My sailfin pleco was a plant destroyer too, glad I re-homed him.
I've been using Aquaclear brands. I have an aquaclear70 on the 20g long. Had used aquaclear20 on the 10g when it kept fish. Haven't used HOB on 40g breeder, but I stuck the ac70 on the 55g when it was cycling a new sponge filter


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## SplashyBetta

Ooh, yay goldfish! I bred telescope eye goldies for a few years. Ended up losing all my quality stock to a mysterious parasite. Tried everything, asked all my goldfish friends, but to no avail unfortunately. Sorry, didn't mean to be a downer there! I'm sure you'll have more luck. I think it's always easier with just a couple goldfish. I'm considering getting a trio for my 120g pond this summer.  Have fun with the goldies!!


----------



## Fenghuang

Aqua Aurora said:


> NOOOOO my husband will be sad to hear that (color was part of the reason he chose that one), I was hoping s/he'd stay dark like the black Moore goldfish :c
> My sailfin pleco was a plant destroyer too, glad I re-homed him.
> I've been using Aquaclear brands. I have an aquaclear70 on the 20g long. Had used aquaclear20 on the 10g when it kept fish. Haven't used HOB on 40g breeder, but I stuck the ac70 on the 55g when it was cycling a new sponge filter


Oh, no, I'm sorry!!! I didn't mean to be the bearer of bad news! >.< All goldfish fry start off a metallic brown or gray/black. They mature into their final color with age. Some _do_ stay like that though. Oh, but that means black moor goldfish start off brown too! So your fish could turn that deep velvet black moor color too. ;-)

Thanks. I will look into them. I think almost all the HOBs we have are the same brand and we have gone through half a dozen of them already (shame on me for wanting everything to match!).


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## SplashyBetta

Another thing is, unless you know the genetics of a black moor fish you never know if it will stay black. Often moors of low quality (such as those from chains like Petco or Petsmart) turn orange as they age.


----------



## Fenghuang

SplashyBetta said:


> Another thing is, unless you know the genetics of a black moor fish you never know if it will stay black. Often moors of low quality (such as those from chains like Petco or Petsmart) turn orange as they age.


Yes, that too! I've heard poor water chemistry can cause a black moor to lose its black as well.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

SplashyBetta said:


> Ooh, yay goldfish! I bred telescope eye goldies for a few years. Ended up losing all my quality stock to a mysterious parasite. Tried everything, asked all my goldfish friends, but to no avail unfortunately. Sorry, didn't mean to be a downer there! I'm sure you'll have more luck. I think it's always easier with just a couple goldfish. I'm considering getting a trio for my 120g pond this summer.  Have fun with the goldies!!


I'm sorry to hear. Did you have a necropsy done on the fish after they passed? And thank you ^^



Fenghuang said:


> Oh, no, I'm sorry!!! I didn't mean to be the bearer of bad news! >.< All goldfish fry start off a metallic brown or gray/black. They mature into their final color with age. Some _do_ stay like that though. Oh, but that means black moor goldfish start off brown too! So your fish could turn that deep velvet black moor color too. ;-)
> 
> Thanks. I will look into them. I think almost all the HOBs we have are the same brand and we have gone through half a dozen of them already (shame on me for wanting everything to match!).





SplashyBetta said:


> Another thing is, unless you know the genetics of a black moor fish you never know if it will stay black. Often moors of low quality (such as those from chains like Petco or Petsmart) turn orange as they age.





Fenghuang said:


> Yes, that too! I've heard poor water chemistry can cause a black moor to lose its black as well.


Well its not a moore, but we'll see what it does color wise (fingers crossed). My husband wanted a larger grey/black oranda at the store but the only other large ones there didn't interest us and is not good to put a big one with a smaller one as there would be too much risk of bullying for food.
How long/what size range do they typically change color if they're going to?


----------



## lilnaugrim

Yeah, that's not a Black Moore, but he's a Blue!
True Blue's have a velvety black/blue coloration and sometimes bronze from baby-hood. As they grow, the bronze goes away and a blue/silver color comes in.

Depending on genetics, he may end up on the silver side like this fellow:









Or more velvet-blue side as they are supposed to be like this one:


----------



## Fenghuang

I never knew there was a color called blue. o.o Always thought they were all different qualities of black.

Did some reading up on it, and apparently, goldfish can continue to develop their color their entire life. Mainly in their first one or two years of life. Water conditions, quality of care, and genetics are all affecting factors. Fancies usually show their best colors around 3-5 inches.

I really like this channel on Youtube. She keeps and breeds goldfish. She had a video about showing a goldfish changing color over time that I thought was very cool: http://youtu.be/5bxSoJbdcGQ


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Yeah, that's not a Black Moore, but he's a Blue!
> True Blue's have a velvety black/blue coloration and sometimes bronze from baby-hood. As they grow, the bronze goes away and a blue/silver color comes in.
> 
> Depending on genetics, he may end up on the silver side like this fellow:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Or more velvet-blue side as they are supposed to be like this one:


Thank you for the info lilnaugrim ^^ I may prod you (and your friend by proxy) for other goldfish info. I'm on koko's site but its not as active as this forum (and there aren't a lot of planted goldfish tank keepers here).
Do you know how often young goldfish (I think these are roughly 2.75-3" long exuding tails) should get meaty meals (one meal a day.. how often a week?) I have blood worms, black worms, ad brine shrimp. I don't want to over do it with protein, but was told young goldies need protein to help with growth.
On the subject of growth I read that they release a growth stunting hormone (like betta fry/juvies) but I could not find info on how long (to what size) they do this.. until sexual maturity?


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## Sadist

Wow, goldfish! Congratulations!


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> I never knew there was a color called blue. o.o Always thought they were all different qualities of black.
> 
> Did some reading up on it, and apparently, goldfish can continue to develop their color their entire life. Mainly in their first one or two years of life. Water conditions, quality of care, and genetics are all affecting factors. Fancies usually show their best colors around 3-5 inches.
> 
> I really like this channel on Youtube. She keeps and breeds goldfish. She had a video about showing a goldfish changing color over time that I thought was very cool: http://youtu.be/5bxSoJbdcGQ


Well there two are just around 3" (excluding tails) now. I'll check out the channel while I have lunch ^^



Sadist said:


> Wow, goldfish! Congratulations!


Thank you ^^


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*Freya's Upgrade*

In other news the picotope came in yesterday. Selling the light if anyone wants it, as I'm reusing my existing light. Moved Freya in and she's doing well. I'm hoping she'll like the more horizontal swim room, its odd having such a short tank, being 4"+ lower than the vase she was in.
I made a mat for the tank as the table is not perfectly lever, used 3 layers of red felt .. didn't want a bright red base though so wrapped it in some of the leftover black material I used behind the 55g riparium and duct tape to keep it in place. Still have to cut the Lexan for it and may scavenge more needle and narrow leaf along with Philippe and thread leaf java fern from the 7g cube.


----------



## Fenghuang

Omg you have so much java fern...! The setup is lovely. I'm sure Freya is a happy camper.


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> Omg you have so much java fern...! The setup is lovely. I'm sure Freya is a happy camper.


There's a *lot *more in the 7g ^^


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## lilnaugrim

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you for the info lilnaugrim ^^ I may prod you (and your friend by proxy) for other goldfish info. I'm on koko's site but its not as active as this forum (and there aren't a lot of planted goldfish tank keepers here).
> Do you know how often young goldfish (I think these are roughly 2.75-3" long exuding tails) should get meaty meals (one meal a day.. how often a week?) I have blood worms, black worms, ad brine shrimp. I don't want to over do it with protein, but was told young goldies need protein to help with growth.
> On the subject of growth I read that they release a growth stunting hormone (like betta fry/juvies) but I could not find info on how long (to what size) they do this.. until sexual maturity?


Np! I'm glad to help! I talked with her last night actually so I have info for you!

No worms, too high in fat and you'll only end up causing digestive problems. They can be used as a treat maybe once a week or every other, that would be okay. Best to use before you use Brine Shrimp so that the shrimps can clean out their digestive system. We use live Brine Shrimp weekly to keep things moving! That and Pea's can be used weekly or more often if you like or if the fish have digestive issues; goldfish, being omnivores can eat it all! :-D Staple food should be a good pellet, NLS, Omega One, etc. We actually use one called Southern Delight Goldfish Food: http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Delight-Goldfish-Food/dp/B00TCTNBB0
It's a fantastic blend and high in protein if you get the Grow Pellet, or the Nutri-Pellet is good as well. So that should be fed 1-2 daily and then some sort of veggie thrown in daily or every other day is great; squashes, zucchini, peas, apples, lettuces, carrots, broccoli, and grapes, things like those you can blanch or throw in raw. Dried Seaweed is always great for grazing! We use it 1-3 times a week depending on what they get that day.

Yes, young goldfish up to a year and even to a year and a half will need a good amount of protein. I'd stick with that Southern Delight Grow pellet for all of that time and you should be just fine, no need to throw in worms or other live foods, other than brine shrimp, normally.

All fish excrete the growth stunting hormone, not just goldfish or Betta's. It's a natural chemical excreted to help ensure that the healthiest and strongest live while the runts go off to die, essentially. Most fish will excrete it until they are sexually mature. Normally for fancies, it's about 3 inches in length so yours are either there or very close to being sexually mature. It may be a little time until the females will produce eggs still, but they will have started puberty at least. However, it's generally complete anywhere from 9 months to 2 years of age! A year is the rough average or just over. You shouldn't have to do daily water changes at all, once (or twice if they clog the filters) weekly is perfect!

Also, be aware that goldfish are extremely good at clogging filters. I recommend taking out your media weekly to do a rinse on it to prevent clogging and a nitrate spike which can harm your goldfish. We have to take the canisters apart almost weekly on a 72 gallon tank, sooo yep! Dirty dirty fish!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Np! I'm glad to help! I talked with her last night actually so I have info for you!
> 
> No worms, too high in fat and you'll only end up causing digestive problems. They can be used as a treat maybe once a week or every other, that would be okay. Best to use before you use Brine Shrimp so that the shrimps can clean out their digestive system. We use live Brine Shrimp weekly to keep things moving! That and Pea's can be used weekly or more often if you like or if the fish have digestive issues; goldfish, being omnivores can eat it all! :-D Staple food should be a good pellet, NLS, Omega One, etc. We actually use one called Southern Delight Goldfish Food: http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Delight-Goldfish-Food/dp/B00TCTNBB0
> It's a fantastic blend and high in protein if you get the Grow Pellet, or the Nutri-Pellet is good as well. So that should be fed 1-2 daily and then some sort of veggie thrown in daily or every other day is great; squashes, zucchini, peas, apples, lettuces, carrots, broccoli, and grapes, things like those you can blanch or throw in raw. Dried Seaweed is always great for grazing! We use it 1-3 times a week depending on what they get that day.
> 
> Yes, young goldfish up to a year and even to a year and a half will need a good amount of protein. I'd stick with that Southern Delight Grow pellet for all of that time and you should be just fine, no need to throw in worms or other live foods, other than brine shrimp, normally.
> 
> All fish excrete the growth stunting hormone, not just goldfish or Betta's. It's a natural chemical excreted to help ensure that the healthiest and strongest live while the runts go off to die, essentially. Most fish will excrete it until they are sexually mature. Normally for fancies, it's about 3 inches in length so yours are either there or very close to being sexually mature. It may be a little time until the females will produce eggs still, but they will have started puberty at least. However, it's generally complete anywhere from 9 months to 2 years of age! A year is the rough average or just over. You shouldn't have to do daily water changes at all, once (or twice if they clog the filters) weekly is perfect!
> 
> Also, be aware that goldfish are extremely good at clogging filters. I recommend taking out your media weekly to do a rinse on it to prevent clogging and a nitrate spike which can harm your goldfish. We have to take the canisters apart almost weekly on a 72 gallon tank, sooo yep! Dirty dirty fish!


Thank you for the info! I'll grab the pellets with my next amazon purchase (probably next week), currently using hikari gold fish sinking pellets (purple bag). I'll switch them to brine shrimp instead of blood worms, and I so far I am always keeping a cucumber in the tank (need to get some more veggie variety... what about asparagus? water foul-er?)
The reason for the daily water changes is the tank is not cycled. I gab a chunk of foam media from the 20g long but that's just a white cloud mountain minnow tank so it'll start off the cycle bacteria but not be enough for these two. My water has been messed up due to work at the waste treatment plant and there's a lot of particles in the water (so far its had no affect on fish/shrimp) making doing an ammonia test impossible (always reads 0 with tap, only works to show readings with distilled/non tap), so I figured better safe than sorry since I can't tell ammonia levels.I wonder how [censor] long the work will be going on at the water treatment center...
Thanks for the tip with regards to media. I have holes cut in the black Lexan and foam stuffed in there, most gunk will likely end up in those, they're easy enough to pop out and ring out in some water. Just have to make sure the goldies don't try to explore behind the openings (and get stuck). There is more media on the sump side before the pump but I think the clogs will mostly be the hole covers.

So if they're getting close to puberty I should be able to sex them _soon _(if i can get them use to handling to me able to check 'back there').


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## lilnaugrim

Oh yeah, I just meant no need to do daily water changes for the growth hormone is all, but yeah for cycling then that's totally fine!

Yeah, goldies are very...curious creatures, they WILL try to stick their faces in anywhere they don't belong so be careful with hides and driftwood! We actually had to take out the driftwood due to the goldies scraping themselves against it constantly as they would waddle-swim by!

I recommend teaching them to eat straight from your hand, this is soooo super helpful when you need to medicate them and they'll eat the pellets up usually. Also training them that it's okay to be in your hand to pick them up for sexing/transferring, stuff like that, that way they don't freak out when your hand is in there or when being moved. It's quite easy! Same as Betta's; goldfish are food motivated so if you work with them, they'll happily swim into your hands!


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh yeah, I just meant no need to do daily water changes for the growth hormone is all, but yeah for cycling then that's totally fine!
> 
> Yeah, goldies are very...curious creatures, they WILL try to stick their faces in anywhere they don't belong so be careful with hides and driftwood! We actually had to take out the driftwood due to the goldies scraping themselves against it constantly as they would waddle-swim by!
> 
> I recommend teaching them to eat straight from your hand, this is soooo super helpful when you need to medicate them and they'll eat the pellets up usually. Also training them that it's okay to be in your hand to pick them up for sexing/transferring, stuff like that, that way they don't freak out when your hand is in there or when being moved. It's quite easy! Same as Betta's; goldfish are food motivated so if you work with them, they'll happily swim into your hands!


I'm starting to get them use to my hand, keeping it hovering under water when doing water changes and when putting food in, but they won't come up to it yet (but I've only been doing this since Monday). Meanwhile my angelfish is scowling at me from the 55g across the room (seriously) >.>''

edit:I don't be using driftwood and the piece I have left is not goldfish or betta safe.. I wish it was, I love the look of it.. but I have no use for it so I may sell it (i think I showed you it before? has the spiral curl in it). I may get a few large smooth stones if I can find any (more vertical than that's in the tank now).
Hey do you two keep goldies in planted tanks? If so I'd love to see fts. second edit: nvm just noticed your journal post with photos ^^

Side vent ARRRRRG someone in MA is selling a 125g with stand and filter for $160!!!! Why can't anyone _local _give me a nice price like that? I really reeeeaaaaally don't want to do a long trip to get a big tank..I'm sure I'd mange to break it on the drive home... not to mention cost of renting a van/truck, gas, hotel, and food for the trip >.< *sigh*


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## charliegill110

Aqua Aurora said:


> I'm starting to get them use to my hand, keeping it hovering under water when doing water changes and when putting food in, but they won't come up to it yet (but I've only been doing this since Monday). Meanwhile my angelfish is scowling at me from the 55g across the room (seriously) >.>''
> 
> edit:I don't be using driftwood and the piece I have left is not goldfish or betta safe.. I wish it was, I love the look of it.. but I have no use for it so I may sell it (i think I showed you it before? has the spiral curl in it). I may get a few large smooth stones if I can find any (more vertical than that's in the tank now).
> Hey do you two keep goldies in planted tanks? If so I'd love to see fts. second edit: nvm just noticed your journal post with photos ^^
> 
> Side vent ARRRRRG someone in MA is selling a 125g with stand and filter for $160!!!! Why can't anyone _local _give me a nice price like that? I really reeeeaaaaally don't want to do a long trip to get a big tank..I'm sure I'd mange to break it on the drive home... not to mention cost of renting a van/truck, gas, hotel, and food for the trip >.< *sigh*


Have you tried asking the seller if they will meet you like half way or something?


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## Aqua Aurora

charliegill110 said:


> Have you tried asking the seller if they will meet you like half way or something?


Sadly they will only do local pickup. I don't blame them, that big a tank may take 3 people to load into a van/truck, same for the stand.


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## charliegill110

Aqua Aurora said:


> Sadly they will only do local pickup. I don't blame them, that big a tank may take 3 people to load into a van/truck, same for the stand.


Oh 😕 How far do you have to travel? You can cut costs by not staying in a hotel (one person sleeps one drives or alternating driving) and take food and drink with you from home


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## Fenghuang

I have a friend in PA who is always finding great CL deals on fish stuff on Craigslist. Don't despair, they're out there. ;-)

Edit: Did you ever check the Youtube link?


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## Aqua Aurora

Fenghuang said:


> I have a friend in PA who is always finding great CL deals on fish stuff on Craigslist. Don't despair, they're out there. ;-)
> 
> Edit: Did you ever check the Youtube link?


Yes, I've been checking out some of her videos in my free time. ^^


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## Nova betta

congratulations on your goldies!

The only other tip I have is when you siphon out your tank put a piece of mesh cloth on the tip of the vacuum. My goldfish have tried to get stuck multiple times, and because fancy goldfish are so fragile I would rather play it safe.


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## cousiniguana

I hear you on having the worst local craigslist. I've been so disappointed with it since I moved here. I finally just sucked it up and worked out good deals at petsmart using a combo "gift card granny" and stalking for super sales. Not as good as a smoking craigslist deal, but less scrubbing involved.


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> I recommend teaching them to eat straight from your hand, this is soooo super helpful when you need to medicate them and they'll eat the pellets up usually. Also training them that it's okay to be in your hand to pick them up for sexing/transferring, stuff like that, that way they don't freak out when your hand is in there or when being moved. It's quite easy! Same as Betta's; goldfish are food motivated so if you work with them, they'll happily swim into your hands!


Well yesterday the blue oranda came up and nibbled a finger twice! Calico fantail has come close but not touched my fingers yet. 



Nova betta said:


> congratulations on your goldies!
> 
> The only other tip I have is when you siphon out your tank put a piece of mesh cloth on the tip of the vacuum. My goldfish have tried to get stuck multiple times, and because fancy goldfish are so fragile I would rather play it safe.


Probably a good diea, i notice they'll come check out the siphon, I ahve to push it down aginst the substrate so they don't go in it ^^



cousiniguana said:


> I hear you on having the worst local craigslist. I've been so disappointed with it since I moved here. I finally just sucked it up and worked out good deals at petsmart using a combo "gift card granny" and stalking for super sales. Not as good as a smoking craigslist deal, but less scrubbing involved.


I don't think my local petsmart gets anything bigger than a 60g or 75g but I'll check.


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## cousiniguana

Aqua Aurora said:


> I don't think my local petsmart gets anything bigger than a 60g or 75g but I'll check.


http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquari...um-ensemble-zid36-5174966/cat-36-catid-300013



http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquari...d36-28285/cat-36-catid-300013?var_id=36-28285


Try stalking those two aquariums for sales. Gift card granny can lead to 20% off and see if you can catch black Friday where they can be up to 50% off.


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## Aqua Aurora

cousiniguana said:


> http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquari...um-ensemble-zid36-5174966/cat-36-catid-300013
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.petsmart.com/fish/aquari...d36-28285/cat-36-catid-300013?var_id=36-28285
> 
> 
> Try stalking those two aquariums for sales. Gift card granny can lead to 20% off and see if you can catch black Friday where they can be up to 50% off.


Nice, didn't know they did 120, only costs $130 more than the 125g + stand i saw used that was 'local' (day drive). And no cleaning/leak fears with a new tank. 
I've not used topfin tank's, tetra is kinda crappy but I like aqueon.. do you know how topfin does with their silicone work? Real sloppy or decent?
I don't do black Friday. Hate the large amount of people all acting like idiots on eh road and in stores.


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## cousiniguana

Aqua Aurora said:


> Nice, didn't know they did 120, only costs $130 more than the 125g + stand i saw used that was 'local' (day drive). And no cleaning/leak fears with a new tank.
> I've not used topfin tank's, tetra is kinda crappy but I like aqueon.. do you know how topfin does with their silicone work? Real sloppy or decent?
> I don't do black Friday. Hate the large amount of people all acting like idiots on eh road and in stores.


I have found them to be quite reliable tanks. Sometimes they can be a little heavy on the silicone, but you can see the individual tank in the store before you leave. I was pretty pleased to pick up my 60 gallon with stand for $165 out the door. Sure I've added to it, but I knew what I was getting into, lol.


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## blueridge

Congrats on getting your goldies Aqua Aurora! They are awesome fish. I noticed that Lil didn't suggest Repashy Soilent Green for feeding your goldies. I have found that my goldfish love this! And it is good for them since it mostly consists of algae and other goodies. Plus it is a gel food which makes it easier for the goldfish to digest. You might want to give that a try too.


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## Aqua Aurora

cousiniguana said:


> I have found them to be quite reliable tanks. Sometimes they can be a little heavy on the silicone, but you can see the individual tank in the store before you leave. I was pretty pleased to pick up my 60 gallon with stand for $165 out the door. Sure I've added to it, but I knew what I was getting into, lol.


Thank you for the info on the tank.




blueridge said:


> Congrats on getting your goldies Aqua Aurora! They are awesome fish. I noticed that Lil didn't suggest Repashy Soilent Green for feeding your goldies. I have found that my goldfish love this! And it is good for them since it mostly consists of algae and other goodies. Plus it is a gel food which makes it easier for the goldfish to digest. You might want to give that a try too.


She didn't suggest it because I already listed that with the foods I'm using ^^ Mine love it too, I give them some finely cut cubes each day.


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## blueridge

Oh sorry! I missed that


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## BettaLover1313

I somehow missed that you got Goldfish too! (must have not gone back far enough in the pages >.< I went back now though lol.) Congrats on getting them! Both are very pretty! I look forward to reading your adventures with them and your bettas


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## Aqua Aurora

Had a busy week/weekend! I tried to order a Finnex Ray2 30" light... piece of [censor] only has LEDs covering 22" inches of it! Sent the piece of junk back and bought a planted + 36" since I already had on and knew it was 34"+ of light and not a rip off. Got the new one mounted using some leftover shelving materials, but will probably have to lower it. Giant dark blob in reflection of second photo is my old dog laying on my feet ^^



I'll be moving the anubias around so it gets decent light from the LED once the riparium is planted and hopefully getting more vertical smooth rocks in there to hide the rhizome/anchoring. I also am waiting on a sword plant that should be here tomorrow for the tank.


Went shopping yesterday at local garden centers. I'd hoped to get purple queen and coleus, but the former was not at any garden center I visited and the latter I didn't realize could get so big/wide-some tags read max at 30"x36"! They looked so small on others ripariums, I wonder if the centers just had larger species, or if on a tank light they stay smaller? I was tempted by sedum and geranium but couldn't recall if I'd seen them on a riparium before so did not buy 9need to go look into them).
Either way I ended up with these:

sweet potato vine, lime green and dark purple, and a friendship plant. I had the friendship plant before on my 55g but sold it when it was being out competed for light. Want to try it again. 

I also managed to get old seeds from my aqauponic system days (3 years ago) to sprout so I'll be growing some organic lettuce. I'm hoping to get spinach seeds to sprout too but they were mostly duds back then so not too hopeful (may have to buy a per-sprouted plant), as well as some oregano.. I can't find my other seed packs any more sadly. 


Going to set up the tank as a sort of aquaponic/riparium with some edible and non edible plants in the back section. I'll probably buy an air pump and toss some air stones in the back for oxygenating the roots since its not going to get much in the way of water flow. Kinda of excited to grow my own greens again since I can feed them to the fish and save on $. I've thought about buying a cucumber plant too but don't have the proepr kelvin lights for fruiting.

I hate seed starter kits after trying one for the aquaponic system, [censor]y plastic lid did not stay on, so instead I start seedling in a clear tuper wear with a paper towel dampened with tank water and either with its lid with some tiny holes for venting, or clear sandwich bags. Currently trying to get spinach and oregano to sprout. Once sprouted I'm putting them on my old riparium trellis rafts on the worm culture bin to grow a bit. The foam absorbs water from the tank and the light on the tub is on 14 hours a day. once they get a bit bigger I'll move them to the tank.




On the goldfish front they're settled in very quickly and use to me. I've had the oranda nibble my finder by Wed' last week, and the calico the day after. Now they both eat from my hand at the beginning of feeding but once food start getting to the bottom they stay down low to go after it. The oranda lets me pet it only lightly and slowly on fin tips, calico isn't in a petting mood yet. Haven't named either until I can be positive on gender.. I'm 85% sure the calico fantail is female due to vent shape and a symmetrical body shape from above. Oranda... not so sure, has a female vent shape but is not a symmetrical body wise from above. My husband hopes the oranda will be a male.

This past weekend I had a mini panic attack...Every day i am doing 15 gallon water changes, and every 4 days or so a 25-30 gallon water change since the tank is still cycled (doing prime to bind ammonia/nitrite each day too). Well during one of the water changes I knocked out a chunk of foam in the faux wall (the black lexan has holes drilled in it with black filter foam stuffed in to allow water flow threw). I didn't notice when I did this and when refilling the tank I use a pump to make it go faster. I put the hose in the back part of the tank to refill to not disturb fish/substrate. I noticed only the oranda was coming over to hang with me while refilling.. where was the calico? I looked all over, in the anubias.. nothing! Then.. light bulb.."OH [CENSOR]!" I turn off the hose nozzle and look in the back section. My poor calico fantail had been blasted with high pressure water for a good minute back there! I ran and turned off the pump then had to carefully net her and move her back to the front section (she was very calm about netting and being taken out of the water for a moment and stuff the foam back into the hole she'd gone through. Thankfully she managed to be undamaged-neither scales, eyes, gills, or fins showed issues from the lil' adventure. I think I need to get more egg crate and make a little box behind each of the foam pieces to keep them from going through again. I'm hoping any future mishaps I can pick them up by hand to move back.



Some other photos taken during water change. That's not uneaten food on the substrate, black diamond has a lot of orange hued particles in it.





I rearanged plants in sevearl otehr tank s adn put up a for sale thread in teh marketplace section.. Will post more later on the betta tanks!





blueridge said:


> Oh sorry! I missed that


No worries




BettaLover1313 said:


> I somehow missed that you got Goldfish too! (must have not gone back far enough in the pages >.< I went back now though lol.) Congrats on getting them! Both are very pretty! I look forward to reading your adventures with them and your bettas


Thank you ^^ just got them 8 days ago.


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## Aqua Aurora

Grrr had a long post written up then accidentally closed the browser! ugh

*3g Picotope*
Freya has a nice new lid thanks to my diy handy hubby ^^ I also put int eh rest of the needle, narrow, Philippine, and thread leaf java fern into her tank that use to be in with Xerxes.





*10g Riparium*
I took out Ajax's java fern to sell last week 9went fast), and yesterday took his Argentina and Vesuvius swords along with the penny wort. Did a little rearranging and a water changes for good measure. Will get photos of the tank later. 


*7g cube*
Xerxes is still hanging in there. He's a bit grumpier since I had to remove his large riccia mat to give more light to the various smaller sword species I put in his tank. I left the anubias floating as a replacement shade area. Tank now has: Echinodorus aflame, Echinodorus hati red, Echinodorus parviflourus (x2), Echinodorus Argentinina (x2), Echinodorus Vesuvius (x4), Chain sword (x3), N. taiwian, and Bolbotis fern... and some left over water sprite I've not removed yet.



*8g Bubble bowl*
Andre has been marbling and being an all around [censor] he's refusing pellets and even brine shrimp! He only will eat blood worms and live black worms =.= I've tried fasting him for several days but he's still being a stubborn turd!
Not so great marble progress shot.. he's not holding still for me at all..



*6g Bow front*
Nothing really to report, Aristocles is doing well, he caudal fin is 95% healed! His floaters need thinned and I'm going to move the excess into Freya's tank cone I sell off all the frogbit (still have a few portions for sale in the market place thread+ other plants)


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## Aqua Aurora

OMFG I'VE HAD THE HICCUPS ON AND OFF FOR 5 HOURS NOW!!!! 
Sorry just needed to vent that.. seriously though I've never had them this long and its getting annoying! I've tried all the various fixes from sucking on sugar to startle to hold bread or bag inhale.... ugh *hiccup*...


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## Aqua Aurora

*Won't be avaiable for sevearl days*

I likely won't be active here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... Tomorrow evening my husband and I will be taking out dog to the vet for the last time... His breath problems have gotten even worse, we decided it was his time to say farewell. My hubby is very choked up about this, he had this dog since before we wet, and got him through a rough patch back then. Excluding fish this will be the first death I am around for.. I missed all the family member's passings (didn't get to say a proepr good bye) and my first dog being put down. I'm not sure how I'll take it.. right now even while typing this I'm a bit in denial of it I think.. or rather its not _really _sunken in yet...I imagine I'll break down either while it happens or the morning after when I wake up and got to feed someone that's no longer there..


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## Bettabubble3

Aqua Aurora said:


> I likely won't be active here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday... Tomorrow evening my husband and I will be taking out dog to the vet for the last time... His breath problems have gotten even worse, we decided it was his time to say farewell. My hubby is very choked up about this, he had this dog since before we wet, and got him through a rough patch back then. Excluding fish this will be the first death I am around for.. I missed all the family member's passings (didn't get to say a proepr good bye) and my first dog being put down. I'm not sure how I'll take it.. right now even while typing this I'm a bit in denial of it I think.. or rather its not _really _sunken in yet...I imagine I'll break down either while it happens or the morning after when I wake up and got to feed someone that's no longer there..


Im so sorry. This is such a rough time, I've gone thru this too. Best wishes and take your time coming back. My prayers are with you.


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## Aqua Aurora

Its hard having our dog gone.. he wasn't noisy per-say but the house feels so... quiet without him. He was so embedded in everything my husband and I did throughout the day, its feeling empty without him, I thnik I'd go mad with lonelyness if I did not have my husband. I keep expecting to see him in his kennel or on the couch as I enter the room. My whole life I've always had a dog around, even when I as living at the dorm for school I dog sit/hung out with the dogs of teachers in walking distance from the campus....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmZv5ND2YuI


Ok back onto fish stuff...

*8g Bubble Bowl*
André is getting more and more marbled, blue is spreading in his fins now along with scales. he's being a little better about pellets, he'll eat about 4-5 a meal now before losing interest and swimming off, not the 9 I'd like him to but better than non.
Last week-see body markings


Today-see fin markings


*6g bow front*
Just a quick photo, Aristocle's doesn't ant to cooperate for a photo to show his tail regrowth. Can't get a glare-less photo with all the tank/office lights on.



*40g breeder*
Still haven't names them but they eat readily from my hand now. The oranda lets me pet it, fantail isn't too keen on petting yet though. I'm actually not 100% if my fantail is a fantail or a ryukin that hasn't gotten eh accentuated back arch yet.. hope its not ryukin (nothing against ryukin, its just not what I wanted for a first goldfish).
spam-o-fish-photos! I need to find the cord to upload photos from the real camera and stop using my phone, can't get good shots with this but oh well.

*ninja nibble*









Initially set up lights and put on sweet potatos and friendship plant. 



Adjusted the lights, tossed a scallion on test tank 9far left) it grew a new blade of 'grass' in 2 days! Also put on the sweetflag from my 20g long since it wasn't getting enough light.




Oh I also stuffed aquacelar 70 foam media behind the cut outs in the lexan so the goldies can't get in the back section any more. And got an air pump set up for them. I think the outflow arrangement puts a lot of oxygen in the tank (i see bubbles at the opposite end) but sometimes I knock the spraybar under water which defeats it so air stone doesn't hurt ^^

I still need to add more black diamond and plant the sword plants I got from a RAOK.... right now they're just floating.



*55g Riparium*
Just a full tank shot.. i tried to pollinate the spathes of the peace lily but not sure if it worked... They can take up to 6 months to grow the fruits enough to be removed so we'll have to see. The store bought pace lily had its first bloom, also (not pictured) the baby dwarf peace lily on my20g has its first spathe. CarmelYumYum (angelfish) it getting big, and as far as I can tell everyone else is doing well in there.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Your Blue is absolutely stunning! He looks so much like our blue! And the Calico looks like our old Calico Ryukin ^_^ I don't think s/he is full Ryukin, likely though they are mixes since that often happens especially from pet shops as I'm sure you're aware. We had Pearlscale Veil mix, Pearlscale Fantail mix and a couple others so it's absolutely possible that it is a Fantail/Ryukin mix since that seems to be pretty popular out there.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So some of you might recall old journal entries where I make mention of my angelfish, CarmelYumYum. My husband named her when he first saw her as the tan/brown marking on her dorsal fin was the hue of carmel, and he was hungry haha. Well my husband finally decided on a name for the blue oranda, he wanted to call him/her Chocolate for the bronze hue in its body (though I explained that will likely go away as they grow). If I'd known he'd do a food name I might have bought an orange fantail instead to name Orange Sherbet (my favorite ice cream flavor... which I annoying have a heck of a time getting the good brands of around here >.< ), but as I have a spotted calico I named her Sprinkles to go along with the food theme.
I planted the swords I'd gotten as a raok last week finally. SO far the goldies are leaving them be (not dug up or completely destroyed).. I expect to loose all the original leaves but knowing how resilient swords are from my very old Argentinian sword (only plant still alive from my first aquatic plant purchase many years ago) I'm not too worried.
Lettuce seedlings are about ready to go on the tank, and I think I'm going to try to take photos of the terrestrial plant growth from the angle shown below from now on to see growth easily-resting phone on tank trim so its always same angle/distance. I managed to get a decent shot of Chocolate.. wish the dorsal and top of the caudal was in focus too but the rest is. Sprinkles doesn't want to hold still for a decent shot =.=







Side note: grindal worm cultures are for sale again. I've worked through the waiting list and still have plenty left over. More info in my for sale thread in the marketplace sub forum





lilnaugrim said:


> Your Blue is absolutely stunning! He looks so much like our blue! And the Calico looks like our old Calico Ryukin ^_^ I don't think s/he is full Ryukin, likely though they are mixes since that often happens especially from pet shops as I'm sure you're aware. We had Pearlscale Veil mix, Pearlscale Fantail mix and a couple others so it's absolutely possible that it is a Fantail/Ryukin mix since that seems to be pretty popular out there.


I can see her being a mix, woudl rather have that than pure ryukin.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

I promise I'll get this thread updated properly soon! I've been insanely busy and not had much time to post lately.
Goldfish tank is going to be fully aquaponic (edible plants) for the terrestrials and I needed to shin out the water sprite as its growing like mad in there. 20g long had rain lilies and sweetflag removed. I also finally had to hack down my purple waffle as it had turned into a real monster.
Have a lot of plants for sale (aquatic and riparium), along with grindal worms and the usual mts and salvinia. Sale thread in market place section if anyone is interested.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So I went to petco last week to get a nerite snail to deal with a diatom explosion.. snail died and I blamed the goldfish, but I went to petco yesterday to try again and all the snails were gone. I spoke with an employee there I talked with often when I use to bring my old dog in. She said all the snails up and died so guessing whatever got them (ammonia poisoning is my bet) also got mine. Next shipment arrives in a few days so I'll go in when they're unpacking and grab a new snail then 9and return the old one for a refund.. maybe.. might keep it for the shell...

That aside the same employee eagerly showed me several bettas, she knows I always like to look at them, and from the way she talked i think she keeps some too. There were 4 gorgeous kings (2 regular 2 halfmoon) there I really wanted to take home!!
2 were blue and black no red (red hue in photo is reflection of my hand), one was a darker blue than the other, both were clamped but responsive


Then she showed me 2 more at another display, one was metallic green and red, the other blue/white/green/and kinda peachy orange-pink.. I thought "tropical' from the colors. Both of them had bubble nests and a good bit of spunk! Got flared at and a bit of wiggling.





Also saw a lovely regular plakat boy with metallic blue outlined in black, and yellow fins


The employee also showed me "paradise" bettas which were vibrant colored deltas (hey gotta give them a fancy name to jack up price right?). When she mentieond them I thought she ment the paradice fish that's gourami not betta. One was chocolate (I think) it was pale and had bad fin rot, the other was a lovely metallic blue mustard full mark with vibrant yellow fins (made the above mustard look dark and meh in comparison) sadly they both had bad sbd, she was trying to treat them but in those unheated ammonia cups there's not much to be done. Didn't take photos of them, should have though.
I wish I had room for more fish! Would love to buy all the ones I showed + the sbd mustard but I can't.... I do have a qt tank that's not in use and insulated boxes though, if anyone wants one of the bettas shown above and will pay for it+ shipping I'm happy to send them your way. Clamped kings would get a few days recovery first before shipping

Anyways here are some tank photos, not all the tanks but several
2.5g standard with lucky bamboo, pothos, and philodendron. Finally got a sponge filter crammed in there. Plants are growing like mad


3g bubble bowl sorry photos came out kinda crappy, philodendron is growing all over!



8g bubble bowl is over grown with water sprite again. really need to trim that. Andre is marbling out gradually-back half is turning more blue.


6g bowfront, Aristocles is doing well, so are the plants, need to trim a few old leaves


Xerxe's 7g cube, need to thin the water sprite, he loves lounging in it


3g picotope, Freya loves all the java fern and salvinia filled in nicely. Shes is absolutely flare happy! You'd think she was a male she's so flare-y.. I think she's been around Xerxes and Aritocles too much.



ugh looks like I need to resize some photos or just retake 'em.. lot of blurry.. whatever I made an update at least right?


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## Sadist

I love the photos! I really wish I had room for those pet store fish.


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## themamaj

Tanks gorgeous as always! Oh those beautiful plakats! I would have struggled to resist. Since you do so well at plants maybe you can help. I seem to be queen of melt these days. So frustrating as my sorority tank i have good light, Co2 plus osmocote root tabs, ecocomplete substrate and i supplement once a week. Seems like any time add new plant it disinegrates within the week. What am i doing wrong?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> I love the photos! I really wish I had room for those pet store fish.


Thanks. Same here but I'm over capacity as it is, can't maintain another tank long term.




themamaj said:


> Tanks gorgeous as always! Oh those beautiful plakats! I would have struggled to resist. Since you do so well at plants maybe you can help. I seem to be queen of melt these days. So frustrating as my sorority tank i have good light, Co2 plus osmocote root tabs, ecocomplete substrate and i supplement once a week. Seems like any time add new plant it disinegrates within the week. What am i doing wrong?


I know right!
Many species may experience melting when put into a new tank, but from what you described you're way over dosing ferts. If the ecocomplete substrate is under a yaer old its probably still has nutrients in it, having root tabs + eco complete+ dosing extra ferts is throwing thievery off balance. Unless you are using high light setup and high bps (bubbles per a second- way to count co2 going into tank) you should stop dosing the tank with redundant ferts.
If its a stem plant, as long as the entire stem does not turn to mush it will bounce back. 
Sword plants if the crown (where roots and leaves grow from) doesn't go soft it will come back (they're very resilient).
Crypts are well known melters, if its roots don't all completely melt away they'll bounce back but may take a month.

I've found some plants tend not to melt as much if I acclimate them like a fish when first brought home-have them in water from previous tank and gradually add water from my tank + float them to get to temp. I'm not saying this gets rid of all melting, but its less shock on the plants.
Another thing to be mindful of is different plants like different temp ranges and pH, just like fish. For example the African water fern does better in more acidic water (7pH and below), several moss species growth better in cooler temps (below 76F), and some plants don't tolerate excel (which you don't need to dose if you are using a co2 injection system) such as subwassertang and anacharis. 
I don't know what your lighting is (type of light, distance from substrate, duration its on) but some plants need medium or high light and will tend to die if kept in low light.
You can look up your plants by name (if you need them IDed consider posting clear photos in the planted betta tank sub section). There are several site that give info on lighting, pH, temp, etc requirements for plants.

Hope that helps.


----------



## themamaj

Yes! I did not think about over dosing. Trying too hard  Other thing haven't thought to check was ph plant liked best. Great tips.Thanks


----------



## Aqua Aurora

The poor sbd 'paradise' betta is still at petco along with the lovely king I was most tempted by
the king

'paradise' male, photo doesn't do his colors justice, so stunning!


The non king plakat I showed in a previous post is still there and developing sbd now :c
alos note the water line is never at the "water line" mark =.=



Rescaped my 2g cookie jar yesterday, was sick of the flame moss which was not growing all that well. Managed to fish out 3 adult shrimp, did not see shrimplets but there was a lot of mulm they could have been in. I found it easier to drain the tank, pull out the substrate and rinse it in a container then wipe down the bowl and put the sand back in rather than multiple water changes to siphon out poop. I'd planned to stuff more anubias in there but then where woudl be no room for the background plant to get light.. or for Alastor.
Flora: Anubias marble (aka pinto), golden, and nana. I also moved my bolbitis (aka African water fern) in behind the driftwood and the usual salvinia minima. Fauna: Alastor (he's getting old) and 3 cherry shrimp.


----------



## Sadist

I love that tank! I'm surprised so much will fit into a 2 gallon space.


----------



## Nova betta

beautiful tank!

My salvina minima came today! Thank you so much!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Just want to note that most fish at pet stores don't actually have sbd, instead, it's only buoyancy issues caused by poor food. It's "cured" by fasting 3-5 days. I've rarely seen a fish not "recover" from this, I say this all in quote marks because it's really not an illness like SBD actually is (either a deformity causing it or bacteria). So if you see a fish who is having buoyancy issues, I really wouldn't worry about it, nothing a good few days of fasting won't fix.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> I love that tank! I'm surprised so much will fit into a 2 gallon space.


Thank you, I know, I didn't think the fern would fit back there.



Nova betta said:


> beautiful tank!
> 
> My salvina minima came today! Thank you so much!


Thank you, and glad it made it there ^^ Incidentally the salvinia you got came from this 2g tank-it gets packed really quick as it grows so fast!



lilnaugrim said:


> Just want to note that most fish at pet stores don't actually have sbd, instead, it's only buoyancy issues caused by poor food. It's "cured" by fasting 3-5 days. I've rarely seen a fish not "recover" from this, I say this all in quote marks because it's really not an illness like SBD actually is (either a deformity causing it or bacteria). So if you see a fish who is having buoyancy issues, I really wouldn't worry about it, nothing a good few days of fasting won't fix.


Thank you for that info. Antaeus had the buoyancy issue but was completely cured overnight, I assumed it was having a heater and prime to bind ammonia, but I did not feed him during that initial 24 hours either.
The lady that takes care of the bettas said she was treating them, but did not say with what meds. I'll mention next time I go in to try fast them a few days and see if they get better.


----------



## Nova betta

lilnaugrim said:


> Just want to note that most fish at pet stores don't actually have sbd, instead, it's only buoyancy issues caused by poor food. It's "cured" by fasting 3-5 days. I've rarely seen a fish not "recover" from this, I say this all in quote marks because it's really not an illness like SBD actually is (either a deformity causing it or bacteria). So if you see a fish who is having buoyancy issues, I really wouldn't worry about it, nothing a good few days of fasting won't fix.


Is it possible that a fish could develope SBD after being in a petstore cup for months? I have a HMPK who was at petco for at least four months before I bought him. He has major SBD and I have had him since October of last year. I always blamed the SBD on the petstore cups but could it have been a birth defect?


----------



## Crash

Aqua Aurora said:


> So I went to petco last week to get a nerite snail to deal with a diatom explosion.. snail died and I blamed the goldfish, but I went to petco yesterday to try again and all the snails were gone. I spoke with an employee there I talked with often when I use to bring my old dog in. She said all the snails up and died so guessing whatever got them (ammonia poisoning is my bet) also got mine. Next shipment arrives in a few days so I'll go in when they're unpacking and grab a new snail then 9and return the old one for a refund.. maybe.. might keep it for the shell...
> 
> That aside the same employee eagerly showed me several bettas, she knows I always like to look at them, and from the way she talked i think she keeps some too. There were 4 gorgeous kings (2 regular 2 halfmoon) there I really wanted to take home!!
> 2 were blue and black no red (red hue in photo is reflection of my hand), one was a darker blue than the other, both were clamped but responsive
> 
> 
> Then she showed me 2 more at another display, one was metallic green and red, the other blue/white/green/and kinda peachy orange-pink.. I thought "tropical' from the colors. Both of them had bubble nests and a good bit of spunk! Got flared at and a bit of wiggling.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also saw a lovely regular plakat boy with metallic blue outlined in black, and yellow fins
> 
> 
> The employee also showed me "paradise" bettas which were vibrant colored deltas (hey gotta give them a fancy name to jack up price right?). When she mentieond them I thought she ment the paradice fish that's gourami not betta. One was chocolate (I think) it was pale and had bad fin rot, the other was a lovely metallic blue mustard full mark with vibrant yellow fins (made the above mustard look dark and meh in comparison) sadly they both had bad sbd, she was trying to treat them but in those unheated ammonia cups there's not much to be done. Didn't take photos of them, should have though.
> I wish I had room for more fish! Would love to buy all the ones I showed + the sbd mustard but I can't.... I do have a qt tank that's not in use and insulated boxes though, if anyone wants one of the bettas shown above and will pay for it+ shipping I'm happy to send them your way. Clamped kings would get a few days recovery first before shipping
> 
> Anyways here are some tank photos, not all the tanks but several
> 2.5g standard with lucky bamboo, pothos, and philodendron. Finally got a sponge filter crammed in there. Plants are growing like mad
> 
> 
> 3g bubble bowl sorry photos came out kinda crappy, philodendron is growing all over!
> 
> 
> 
> 8g bubble bowl is over grown with water sprite again. really need to trim that. Andre is marbling out gradually-back half is turning more blue.
> 
> 
> 6g bowfront, Aristocles is doing well, so are the plants, need to trim a few old leaves
> 
> 
> Xerxe's 7g cube, need to thin the water sprite, he loves lounging in it
> 
> 
> 3g picotope, Freya loves all the java fern and salvinia filled in nicely. Shes is absolutely flare happy! You'd think she was a male she's so flare-y.. I think she's been around Xerxes and Aritocles too much.
> 
> 
> 
> ugh looks like I need to resize some photos or just retake 'em.. lot of blurry.. whatever I made an update at least right?


Good god Aqua, wanna go back and get me that white/blue king? :lol: He's a beauty, dunno how you resisted!

Xerxes is gorgeous as always I see.


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## Aqua Aurora

Crash said:


> Good god Aqua, wanna go back and get me that white/blue king? :lol: He's a beauty, dunno how you resisted!
> 
> Xerxes is gorgeous as always I see.


If you're serious about him I'll go check price for fish + shipping. I still have Styrofoam insulation and small shipping boxes I can send him in.


----------



## lilnaugrim

Aqua Aurora said:


> Thank you for that info. Antaeus had the buoyancy issue but was completely cured overnight, I assumed it was having a heater and prime to bind ammonia, but I did not feed him during that initial 24 hours either.
> The lady that takes care of the bettas said she was treating them, but did not say with what meds. I'll mention next time I go in to try fast them a few days and see if they get better.


Unfortunately, it's usually a combination of the ammonia build up and the food that they feed. Primarily, it's the food. If they continue to feed crap food, it's going to continue to be a crap-shoot for the fish is all. And it usually takes on average 3 days to fully digest, sometimes 5 depending on the foods they feed. But again, if they continue to feed that food (usually freeze dried foods or low-grade like Hikari/TopFin) then it's really not going to do much. But it's not typically hurting them in the long run either, it's more of a temporary situation until they are on better food and can get all that crap out of their digestive system.

It's similar to a person eating fast food all the time; you're going to end up bloating, lack of energy due to poor nutrition, and maybe some other unpleasantries. Once you filter out the not good stuff and start eating as you should; veggies and meats and all, then the bloating usually goes away and energy comes back  same principle!



Nova betta said:


> Is it possible that a fish could develope SBD after being in a petstore cup for months? I have a HMPK who was at petco for at least four months before I bought him. He has major SBD and I have had him since October of last year. I always blamed the SBD on the petstore cups but could it have been a birth defect?


Not likely solely the cups. That's more likely a birth defect. A lot of HMPK's I see lately look like they have DT geno in them. Obviously, the effects are much worse with an actual DT but fish that come from a DT line can still have defects that make a thicker body. That's just one reason of course, a lot of poor care growing up can have a huge impact on the SB.

It's highly important to have a humid air surface over the Betta's while babies for the SB to fully form properly, if that wasn't there, the SB may not have fully formed properly and that can cause issues as well. So not so much birth defects as they are defects that happen during growth. Bacteria can play a role as well in the formation of organs, similar to Betta's missing ventral fins due to not clean bottoms of tanks.

So there is a plethora of reasons that a Betta could have SBD due to a defect/growth issue, it's typically not related to the cups themselves or the ammonia buildup that happens. The temporary stuff usually is caused by food while long term SBD is either bacterial (previous improper care) or a defect of some kind. Defects can also come about from attacks or hitting something too hard (jumping and falling is one). So yep, not likely the cup!


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## themamaj

Aqua 2 gallon tank is so lovely! I love the cylindrical tanks but found more of challenge to plant as curvature sometimes makes things look a bit different on placement. Do you have a filter? Are anubias tied to driftwood? 

Saw a paradise betta a week or so ago. Colors were very pretty. I'm amazed your store has unique kings. Those would be hard to pass up.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Aqua 2 gallon tank is so lovely! I love the cylindrical tanks but found more of challenge to plant as curvature sometimes makes things look a bit different on placement. Do you have a filter? Are anubias tied to driftwood?
> 
> Saw a paradise betta a week or so ago. Colors were very pretty. I'm amazed your store has unique kings. Those would be hard to pass up.


I actually like the distortion, looks different depending on what angle you're peering in.
Yes I have a sponge filter it hidden behind the driftwood (along with the heater). And I actually did not die down the anubias. The marble/pinto up front I tucked its roots under a rock, the golden I pinched the roots between 2 pieces of wood, and the nana is just free floating but not floating at the surface. Only thing I tied down was the fern in the back so the roots/rhizome aren't as visible as it'd be free floating.
Yeh the one king is very tempting.. as well as the paradise boy but I don't want another tank.. although I have a freaking [censor] ton of water sprite just sitting in bins trying to get sold off not to mention anubias I don't really have a tank for. I could set up my 2.5g vase Freya use to have.. and the 10g qt... no NO! NO MORE TANKS! I already have 14 (excluding qt and culture bins), don't need another >.<


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## Aqua Aurora

André marbling progress.


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## Sadist

Gorgeous! He seems to have the same color as my Mr. Fish did.

Is his aggression changing with his coloring?


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Gorgeous! He seems to have the same color as my Mr. Fish did.
> 
> Is his aggression changing with his coloring?


Nah he's still placid. I don't keep any other livestock with him but his tank does have some pond snails, but he does not eat them. I have been tempted to buy a blue mystery snail, might try putting it in with him and see how he does. Though his tank stays surprisingly clean so I'd have to supplement mr/s. snails diet.


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## themamaj

Beautiful marbling


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## BettaStarter24

I love that white and blue king too lol. Really wish I could afford him. It'd be about $37 Fish +shipping granted shipping is $15, Halfmoon Kings are $22 with tax.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Beautiful marbling


^^




BettaStarter24 said:


> I love that white and blue king too lol. Really wish I could afford him. It'd be about $37 Fish +shipping granted shipping is $15, Halfmoon Kings are $22 with tax.


I can actually buy fish+ ship for $34 if you are truly interested.
I'm happy to buy and ship him, even care for the fish over the weekend if needed (would ship Mondays,Tuesdays, or Wedsndays) at no extra cost-have a spare qt tank with anbuais + spare sponge filter and heater so he's be comfy. Heck I'd even throw in some free live aquatic plants you could use if you'd like! I have several Nymphaea Taiwan (small light green leafed water lily plant), water sprite, and always some salvinia minima.. also have a few tiny java fern plantlets floating about, even have a bit of riccia if its wanted.


----------



## BettaStarter24

Aqua Aurora said:


> ^^
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I can actually buy fish+ ship for $34 if you are truly interested.
> I'm happy to buy and ship him, even care for the fish over the weekend if needed (would ship Mondays,Tuesdays, or Wedsndays) at no extra cost-have a spare qt tank with anbuais + spare sponge filter and heater so he's be comfy. Heck I'd even throw in some free live aquatic plants you could use if you'd like! I have several Nymphaea Taiwan (small light green leafed water lily plant), water sprite, and always some salvinia minima.. also have a few tiny java fern plantlets floating about, even have a bit of riccia if its wanted.


I'm considering it but I'd have to wait until next week to pay you and I'd have to figure out where to put Misha. Or where he'd go. My big tanks are all occupied by one fish or divided for 2 or 3 guys. How big is he? Would he be ok in a 5g or is he a full giant?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

BettaStarter24 said:


> I'm considering it but I'd have to wait until next week to pay you and I'd have to figure out where to put Misha. Or where he'd go. My big tanks are all occupied by one fish or divided for 2 or 3 guys. How big is he? Would he be ok in a 5g or is he a full giant?


I'm not sure if he'll grow more but I've been told petco kings are typically half giants. If he was a true giant he'd take up the entire length of the cup.
Top of a petco betta cup is 4.2" across (according to Olivia27 who helped me out before) so he's _roughly_...2.75" maybe 2.6"? But I'm not sure about distortion from the cup making him look bigger/smaller.
Did a quick google on "king betta 5g", seems other betta owners say that's ok. My king (who I call a giant though technically not because he's names after André the Giant) is in an 8g jumbo bubble bowl which at its widest length is about the distance across of a standard 5g, but its a bit taller of a tank.

If you'd like to pay for just the fish ($22) sooner I'll buy and hold him for you then ship after final sum ($12) is sent over, or wait and pay full sum before I go grab 'em which ever works best for you ^^


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## BettaStarter24

I can't afford anything right now until next week.


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## BettaStarter24

I do want him. I can't afford anything until next Friday unless I pick up more hours. I want to ask if you'd be willing to pick him up for me and then I pay you once I know he's still there vs paying then having him be gone, but I don't want you to be stuck with him if it turns out I can't take him. I can ask my boss at work if there are more hours I can pick up tomorrow, I will let you know tomorrow probably what the verdict is. Also have to get my mom fully on board with the idea lol. I did get some more in tips tonight so if I get more hours and once i deposit that into my account I'll probably pay you tomorrow if I can get mom on board. Just let me get things on my end figured out finance wise and I'll PM you tomorrow or something.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

BettaStarter24 said:


> I do want him. I can't afford anything until next Friday unless I pick up more hours. I want to ask if you'd be willing to pick him up for me and then I pay you once I know he's still there vs paying then having him be gone, but I don't want you to be stuck with him if it turns out I can't take him. I can ask my boss at work if there are more hours I can pick up tomorrow, I will let you know tomorrow probably what the verdict is. Also have to get my mom fully on board with the idea lol. I did get some more in tips tonight so if I get more hours and once i deposit that into my account I'll probably pay you tomorrow if I can get mom on board. Just let me get things on my end figured out finance wise and I'll PM you tomorrow or something.


I'll keep an eye out for your pm to hear if you mom lets you take him, or if your boss will. If you are concerned about the betta being gone and me keeping your $ I would never do that-in case the betta was gone or died in my care prior to shipping I'd refund all $. I'd like to think RussellTheShihTzu could vouch for my honesty with $ is you have concerns.
I've had people who interest in bettas from my petco in the past but never pay of them so you can understand why I'd need some assurance I'm not going to end up with an another permanent fish (which has almost happened before). I REALLY don't want another tank.. 14 is too many already!!


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## BettaStarter24

Sent you a message 

I definitely get where you're coming from with wanting payment first, no doubt about that! I'm just extra wary about buying from people on online forums or craigslist or something like that.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sorry for lack of updates, still alive! Also still have a ton of salvinia, anyone want it? Just cost of shipping $7 for a 10"x6" tub worth! PM me.

Xerxes tank was gutted and redone, put down gravel and took out some plants as he doesn't generate enough ammonia to feed everything I had in there.
Fighting some hair algae and Xerxes is grumpy to have lost his favorite resting spot (an n. taiwan that turned into a real monster and smothered other plants out lighting wise).
He's still doing well, eyesight is [censor] ans feeding is getting harder but he's still chugging along.
Sad little brown mush in front is e. aflame.. not sure if it will bounce back or die.

















Photo pre-rescape with n. Taiwan bed
*







*


André is slowly marbling from back end to front, fins are getting more blue. Love his colors. He's still a mellow fellow, need to replant some uprooted water sprite in his tank and trim the very long flame moss (no tank photo its messy) ^^


















Quick shot of Freya when I was measuring salvinia roots for a buyer-she wants food!











On a sadder note Chiyome is not doing so well. She has her cataracts that have been there for a while now, my husband also noticed a cyst/tumor on her pectroal fin (same fin as Xerxes that blew out), a month or so ago, and yesterday she developed bloat/sbd and is stuck at the surface. I did an epsom salt bath last night but she's still not right so fasting a few days and trying another bath.


Will post more updates/photos eventually >.>'''


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## Sadist

Good luck! I love Andre's marbling.


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## Aqua Aurora

Chiyome seems to be better, was fasted 3 days and no more sbd issues. She got bloated AGAIN when given another blood worm so no more blood worms for her (she's pissed).


Xerxes has a new roomy and he's pouty (at least not massacring)


----------



## Sadist

What a gorgeous snail!


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## themamaj

Haha what a funny girl Chiyome is. I guess cant blame her. Blood worms might be like chocolate for bettas.

What a gorgeous snail! What kind is it?


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> What a gorgeous snail!


thanks ^^ its from kitkat67



themamaj said:


> Haha what a funny girl Chiyome is. I guess cant blame her. Blood worms might be like chocolate for bettas.
> 
> What a gorgeous snail! What kind is it?


Purple mystyer snail (bought as pepermint but it decided to turn darker) from forum member kitkat67


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## themamaj

That is by far the prettiest mystery snail I have ever seen! 

Fish loving the salvinia. I put it in several of my tanks that also have dwarf water lettuce. It is beautiful on the surface. Much larger than other salvinia had from lps and long lovely roots. Thanks again. If you ever have abundance of water sprite let me know. Hard to find locally.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> That is by far the prettiest mystery snail I have ever seen!
> 
> Fish loving the salvinia. I put it in several of my tanks that also have dwarf water lettuce. It is beautiful on the surface. Much larger than other salvinia had from lps and long lovely roots. Thanks again. If you ever have abundance of water sprite let me know. Hard to find locally.


Thanks ^^ I actually just raoked off a 3" bucket worth on a goldfish forum (it went fast! didn't have time to post a thread here). I'll let you know when I have some again, it grows insanely fast in my goldie tank so shouldn't take too long.


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## Aqua Aurora

Soooo my ever enabling hubby and I went to Petco yesterday and came home with 2 new bettas. We both had trouble picking between 2. My hubby got 1 of 2 kings that was there. I got a mustard double tail plakat that's been there since at least last month (I'd taken a photo of him in Aug.), I had a hard time choosing between him and a pastel 'mustard' EE (who'd also been there at least a month). Ultimately my want for a dtpk mustard won out so I too that one. My hubby took the larger of the kings who is standard dark black/red/blue and looked to have some damage on his face (or possibly pale marking?).
Photos of them acclimating, my poor boy is so pale here, he blends into the wood table 

















Aug. photo of my new boy:









And 2 others that have been there for over a month (the ee is the one I left behind, I think its eepk! his fins have not grown kinda wish I'd grabbed 'em) The blue dtpk has such a sexy long dorsal!:


















Here are 2 others I liked at the store: mellano dt and this lovely pastel marble hm (stupid petco labels everything dragon scale to jack up $$)


















New boys won't be in tanks, instead they'll be living in what I've dubbed "pot ponds" Photos to come.

Side note: my dtpk is insanely shy.. i think I got spoiled with goldfish being so friendly/non-skittish. Names for new boys still undecided.


Btw i have a for sale thread up in US classified section: had to gut and replant Andre's tank so have a HUGE hand full of flame moss for sale + free water sprite and riccia add ons.


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## InfiniteGlory

Aqua Aurora said:


> Greetings all and welcome to my betta journal where I'll keep track of the several different fish and planted tanks I have active. I've found betta are like potato chips, you can't have just one! Starting this journal off with 3 betta boys and their tanks, may add more later, certainly hope not to be removing any though. There are a few other non betta tanks I may toss up photos and updates for occasionally. At the time of opening this I have *has to visualizes each to to count* 6 active tanks (3 are betta inhabited), 1 quarantine tank, 1 'plant dumping' tank, 1 0.5 planted vase, and some unused small containers (most likely for plants and snails then fish).
> 
> *XERXES*
> So first lets have some introductions, this is Xerxes, he's a mustard gas plakat male bought from aquabid from a Taiwanese breeder (he's changed a lot from the auction photo). He's a very active boy that likes to swim around the tank all day, he's very food greedy and has no problem jumping up to nab food off my finger if I take too long getting it unstuck from said finger. He gets incredibly grumpy when I'm late to feed him lunch and dinner, especially when its feeding time and I have a camera/phone camera in my hands. He does not like to be photogenic or be in photos... unless she's photo-bombing. He likes to burrow down under my thick plant carpet and rest on the substrate (like a dog who dis a ditch under a porch to sleep in).
> (seller photo)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (more recent photos)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> His tank mates currently include: 2 otos (unnamed) and unknown #s of Malaysian trumpets, ramshorns, and pond snails (he eats the little ones usually only see medium to big mts)
> 
> 
> 
> Ok so you've met the gang, lets go over some details about their lil' home
> *Tank: *7.1g AquaTop low iron cube 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8
> *Start-up Date: * fishless cycling started mid March, fish/plants added May 15th
> *Filter: *Eheim classic 2211 canister filter WITH spray bar aimed at wall its suction cupped to
> *Heater:* Eheim Jagar 50watt heater in a DIY pvc inline heater connected to canister filter outflow
> *Light:* 13 watt 6500kelvin cfl bulb in clamp on work lamp hung from chain about 20" above substrate
> *Substrate: *Black Diamond blasting 'sand' it's cheap and awesome stuff GET IT!
> *Hardscape/Decor:* Currently none but will be adding a nice rock... eventually
> 
> Water Parameters:
> *pH:* 7.5
> *GH & KH:* 70s & 160s ppm (hard water)
> *Temp:* 78F
> *Ammonia/Nitrite:* 0 ppm
> *Nitrate:*10-20 ppm
> 
> *Plant list: *(at time of this journal start up)
> Salvia minimia
> Hygro sp tiger
> Hydro sp japan
> Rotala Rotundifolia
> 
> *Tank Placement:* On my desk to right of the computer monitor near the door
> *Plant Supplements:* Seachem liquid: Excel, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Flourish
> *Other Things:* 1 Thermometer, 1 Indian Almond Leaf, cut foam cover over filter intake, DIY Lexan lid
> 
> And we'll end the first post with a recent frontal tank shot as I view it from my seat at the desk.. I really need to re-scape and trim plants soon!


Do you have any pictures of the heater. Curious to see and know how you did it

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## themamaj

Congrats on new boys. Very intrigued by pond pots! Looking fwd to pictures


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Congrats on new boys. Very intrigued by pond pots! Looking fwd to pictures


Thanks ^^



InfiniteGlory said:


> Do you have any pictures of the heater. Curious to see and know how you did it
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


Sure, I'll dig up photos tomorrow.


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## Sadist

I'm curious about pot ponds, too!


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## Aqua Aurora

*DIY Inline Heater*
Materials Used:
Eheim jagar 50 watt heater
1" to 1 1/2" (or 1 1/4") pvc reducer bushing
(2x) 2"x2"x1" pvc T
(2x) 1"x 1/2" barb adapter
2" pvc cap
zip ties

Tools Used:
measuring tape
pvc primer
vc cement
silicone

Other Material and Tool Options:
Varying part sized depressing on canister tubing inner dimensions and heater size.
























*Pond Pots*
I didn't think I would but I actually like these plastic pots, they're from Lowes and hold 6g empty, with substrate and large plant pot they hold about 4.5gs. Added bonus: they're made from recycled materials and made in the US! DOwnside: without a light its hard to spot a dark betta in them >.>'' I should have bought the pale pastel mustard, oh well!




















I put my Dieffenbachia and the swiss cheese plant into some smaller pots than what they were bought in. Punctured the pot with a nail to put coated wire thrush and hang it on the inside of the pot. Cut the bottoms out to let roots grow through rasily, then covered cut area with window screen mesh (becuase if you've ever kept a betta you'll know they'll find a way to shred their fins on something if its left exposed). I added my expanded clay media after putting the plant in, then topped with gravel(old gravel I used in 55g years ago but had rinsed and stored).





















































































Photos from Tues of them in their new homes (eheim heaters are temporary until smaller hydro theo heaters arrive.. for some [censor] reason amazon hasn't even shipped them yet even though I ordered them Sunday grr =,=), I also ordered some silk plants since there won't be enough natural light for aquatic plants. May stuff more palnts around the rim, or get another pot (AND BETTA) >.> I really want to strip the 20g long's riparium and stuff all its planters on a pot.

King


















Mustard dtpk


















Still thinking about names.

I hate the biofilm but I'm not sure if I want to stuff and airstone i there or not...don't want to add bladder or ramshorn snails to eat the biofilm.


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## themamaj

That is so cool. Love the brown pot! Didnt know thosetypes of snails eat biofilm. Good to know.


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## InfiniteGlory

Awesome job on the heater. Thanks for the pictures and information

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## Aqua Aurora

So fake plants came today and were shipped right back! "silk" plants were more like a soft plastic, too rigid to be used for the bettas pond pots. 

I went to a local petstore that I'd bought some decent silk plants at before but they annoyingly don't have them any more grrr.

So onto amazon I go. to order the above mentioned plants (in my windowsill tank and qt), the larger silk plant costs 1/3 less than the small one  ..what? why? Whatever, guess I'll be using some light green on purple plant in there instead of the light green plants I planned (as I save nearly $15 buying the large plants). 

I'm also going to try my local dollar store and arts/craft store for cheap silk plants I can DIY, main thing to watch out for is metal-don't want metal rods in them, or foam, or 'pollen' dusting.

Amazon finally updated my heater order and now they'll be here Friday..glad I have the back up heaters (hope they don't over heat or fail on me).



I have to stay away from home depot for a while now as I eyes some other nice variations of Dieffenbachia (aka dumbcane) I'd by antihero pot (and betta.. and heater) for >.>'''



themamaj said:


> That is so cool. Love the brown pot! Didnt know thosetypes of snails eat biofilm. Good to know.


They also come in a dark grey/blac hue at lowes. They're realy cool to watch upside down on the surface just slowly moving along "nom,.. nom.. nom"



InfiniteGlory said:


> Awesome job on the heater. Thanks for the pictures and information
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


You're quite welcome ^^ my hubby was a huge help getting this put together.


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## Aqua Aurora

Hydro Theo haters came in today for the pond pots. I ordered them Sunday and they did not ship until eh day they were suppose to BE HER, then they show up today instead of tomorrow as listed.. ugh.



Also the Fake plants I ordered yesterday showed up . Annoyingly the photo example of them is wrong and they have plastic jagged 'grass' of death on them. Debating if I want to strip the plastic additions off or just send them back...Why is finding good silk plants so [censor] hard?



So I'm already itching to meddle with the pond pots.. thinking of using a smaller planter and adding more plants along the rim...Also thinking of buying 1 more and getting some light colored krylon fushion spray paint. Maybe white or some pastel-ish hue if there is one.. or maybe a white base with thin coat of green on top, paint the inside of the pot then letting dry and shuffling plants/gravel/fish over and dry out and paint the next..(then have 1 extra pot at he end, ah darn guess I should get another betta ^^ ) Why do all this? Because I can't see the fish with a flash light most of the day. At lunch time I can as sun hit the pond just right, but rest of the time its hard to see my shy boy... the king has no problem coming to the surface so he's easy enough to spot but you can't really enjoy him as a dark shape in the dark water.

Can you spot the king betta?


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## Sadist

I think I see a fish there. I can see why you're having problems seeing him, though.


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## Aqua Aurora

Woefully under motivated today.. had to put Alastor down last night. He went down hill fast and treatment did not help. Euthanized him with clove oil after 3 days in qt and he was just getting worse.
The fact that the cherry shrimp in his tank are still perfectly healthy I'm assuming he developed the problem more from old age and his body just shutting down then anything else (like water quality issues). I did a water test-everything was 0ppm, still did a 100% water change on the tank (before I realized the cherry shrimp were still in there >.< they won't be happy with the tds flux).

Had Alastor for a little over 2 years. He was my placid boy, loved getting kisses and watching visitors sit by his bowl. He only ever had 1 betta encounter when Magnus managed to jump the divider, but Alastor kicked Magnus' [censor]. Alastor never did a full flare din his life, the closest was a 'semi flare' where he puffed out his gills but no beard drop (and that only happened 2-3 times). He's been through several tank scapes and had cherry shrimp roommates for over a year..He never bothered snails and enjoyed resting on the bottom of the tank staring out at my husband and I on the couch, waiting for us to get up and feed him dinner.
















Debating about moving my newest dtpk into that tank or getting another betta from petco..The new double tail seems to have eye sight troubles and can't quite catch pellets at the surface or sinking. He doesn't have diamond eye or clouded eyes so not sure what's up.. maybe just not use to the darker pond pot? I kinda don't want to put him in the cookie jar though as its a lot less swim room, would rather put a long finned betta in there as they're typically less hyper active than the short fins. But then maybe having a lit tank will help him aim and nab food better.


Going to go do another water change on the cookie jar and maybe some of the other nano betta tanks if I can get motivated.


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## themamaj

I am so sorry about Alastor! He sure was a beautiful fish! I know he will be greatly missed.

That is the most beautiful cookie jar. Was your moss attached to the rocks?


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## Sadist

I'm sorry. What a special boy.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> I am so sorry about Alastor! He sure was a beautiful fish! I know he will be greatly missed.
> 
> That is the most beautiful cookie jar. Was your moss attached to the rocks?


Thank you.
No the moass was tied to a peice of driftwood propped up by the rocks. But you can tie moss to rocks if you are patient about it.



Sadist said:


> I'm sorry. What a special boy.


Yeh he was, I miss my placid boy, he loved getting kisses.
The tank felt so depressing without my little white and red boy in there watching me watching him.




On the note of the 2g cookie jar, I moved my newest dtpk male in today, and glad I did! The swiss cheese plant aka Monstera Deliciosa apparent did not like having wet roots (or maybe went into shock from transplant?). Either way the plant is dead and rotting and the water smelled awful! Pulled the pot out and threw the plant in the compost, not sure if I'll reuse or toss the clay media that was around it (it still smells). I caught out the betta then drained and rinsed the pond pot and gravel in it. 
New guy drip acclimated to the 2g while I dd a water change on my husband's king plakat's pond pot. Gotta say I love these half giants (sold as kings at petco), no fear, comes right up and bumps my finger. He also watched the siphon as I cleaned-i sued a flash light to make sure he wasn't near the intake. While doing the water changed I found out the half king has some damage to his face not a light marking as my husband had thought (was there when we looked at him in the store). From above/at an angle I can see a chunk of flesh missing between his eye and gill plate. Its not infected so I think he's fine... either damage or birth defect. I thought of calling him Scar Face after the movie but he's not aggressive enough for that name refrence.
Lights have been off on the 2g since the new guy went in, they'll be coming on soon though.. wonder if he made a lobster buffet out of the cherry shrimp in there yet...
Will get photos of the new boys eventually, also still need to name them >.>''



Anyways here are some shots of my desk tanks
8g bubble bowl-Andre. Moss grew so long had to take it out and reattach. Also thinned out water sprite, waiting for it to regrow.









6g bowfront-Aristocles (hiding off camera)









7g cube-Xerxes









3g picotope-Freya









Also a view of Andre's biggest bubble nest yet (still tiny) amusingly did this when i fasted him for 2 days because he was refusing pellets (wanted blood worms/black worms)









And a shot of the mystery snail giving kisses









2g cookie jar after Alastor had passed, and one of the cherry shrimps





















55g riparium fts, everything is fighting for light.. also Alocasia polly managed to go to seed without my help O.O


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## themamaj

Beautiful!!


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## BlueInkFish

So much green! I'm jealous of your tanks!


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## Sadist

I'm impressed with all of the tanks! The riparian is magnificent!


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Beautiful!!





BlueInkFish said:


> So much green! I'm jealous of your tanks!





Sadist said:


> I'm impressed with all of the tanks! The riparian is magnificent!


Thank you ^^


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## Sadist

You are welcome! I really like your yellow koi, too. I forgot to mention that.


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## Aqua Aurora

Some shots of the new double tail plakat male, still debating about names. Could not get a in focus shot with dorsal fully spread, he doesn't hold still much.

























Photos don't show it well but he's like a 'samurai' betta (term I've seen used on aquabid) except his blue scales are not metallic- top half of body is blue, bottom half is black. He has a splash fo red in his anal fin which I'm sure will marble aka spread over the yellow. He has white tips on both of his ventrals, and irids in his caudal and dorsal fin.


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## themamaj

He is really a beauty! Got plants yesterday. Thanks!


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## Sadist

He is a beauty!


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> He is really a beauty! Got plants yesterday. Thanks!


Thanks. Hope they grow well for you. I actually just pulled out MORE water sprite x.x



Sadist said:


> He is a beauty!


Thanks ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadly Xerxes is going downhill fast. The past week he's been getting slightly paler, and resting a LOT more. The past two days hes not wanted to get up to eat, but eventually would come to the surface. This morning I thought was the end, as he laid on his side at the bottom and looked up at me through the leaves of the swords. It looked like a death bed "good bye" but he managed to get a burst of energy and shot to the surface!.. then sunk back down.. I used tongs and fed him where he rested. Water params are good, I don't think its illness as he's pretty old, and having all the cysts he does I'm surprised he managed to last *this *long.
I will probably put him down in the next day or two. Not sure what I'll do after that... I may move Freya into his tank and take hers down, or get a new fish for either the 7g or the 3g.. or maybe get something completely different for the 7g.. 
I know I put down Alastor recently but I want to cling onto Xerxes, he was my first real 'serious' betta and my longest lived. He's been on my desk for over 2.5 years and gone though many scapes. I don't want to say good bye but its time...









Obligatory Mystery snail shots


----------



## themamaj

Xerxes is a very special one! So hard to see them aging and struggling.

Your mystery snail is so photogenic. Do you have any on sand substrate?


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## themamaj

I put a big batch of water sprite in sorority. It has helped a lot with coverage and calming girly spats. I think each has a floating area to claim. Such feisty girls haha.


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## Aqua Aurora

Some shots of Freya and her tank. Her black is slowly spreading but nothing drastic. She's still a flare happy gal.






























themamaj said:


> Xerxes is a very special one! So hard to see them aging and struggling.
> 
> Your mystery snail is so photogenic. Do you have any on sand substrate?


Being a slow moving invert its an easy one to tak photos of unlike all my hyper bettas.
S/He use to be in a tank with sand and goldfish but I moved him as I'd added more goldfish and didn't want the bioload of the mystery snail. The snail did fie with sand tank too. Most of my photos of it in the other tank its not on the sand, only one with it on sand was when his/her shell was covered in algae (I finally had to scrub it off with a soft toothbrush 9dedicated to tank use only).


----------



## themamaj

Have a small ivory mysyery in a sand tank now. He just seems so much more sedentary than another mystery I had. Didn't know if sand slowed him down. I supplement him with algae pellets. What do you feed yours?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Have a small ivory mysyery in a sand tank now. He just seems so much more sedentary than another mystery I had. Didn't know if sand slowed him down. I supplement him with algae pellets. What do you feed yours?


Honestly nothing intentionally is fed to the mystery snail, he just gets leftover fish food, Xerxes is an old and very blind betta so a lot of pellets end up sinking as he misses them to spits them out. S/he also munches diatoms and some dead plant matter. Same deal when it was in the goldfish tank, it would eat the cucumber I put in for the goldfish too.


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## Sadist

Poor Xerxes! It sucks being an old man. I hope you can enjoy his last bit of time here.

I love the snail! Those stripes are just gorgeous. I recall reading that they'll keep the duckweed population down in a tank, too.


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## Aqua Aurora

I put Xerxes down last week, and it's been sad looking at the 'empty' tank on my desk. Very Berry the mystery snail is still chugging along fine and enjoyed a cucumber over the weekend, but ti feels too still without a fish in there. Will post memorial photo spam for Xerxes in a few days, have a lot of photos of him, hard to look though without getting emotional, or to choose just a few to post.
My husband and I went betta hunting on Sateruday at our local petsmart and petco. I didn't take photos, or bring anyone home. There was a nice light steel blue and white grizzle crowntail male I liked at petsmart.. but I'm not a huge fan of cts.. Also a marble white dragon scale 'hm' (looked dt) that has startled to marble blue and black at the base of the caudal. At petco there was a 99.9% white double tail plakat male but he has the tiniest specks of blue in his anal in and what looked like a bronze/orange on a few body scales. There was also a steel blue hm but he had red ventrals and not a great dorsal. All the ones I posted on the "one who got away" thread in betta chat forum were still there. There was also a red and platnium dragon scale veil tail male (not seen that before) but looked to no be true platinum as I saw a blue spot on the scales so he's marble to blue and red in time. I didn't feel like I connected with any of them, and for that tank I need someone I really like (also ideally a plakat as I use a canister filter on it).

Have to get photos of the eepk and king, kinda hard to in their pond pots... The eepk my husband named Ciel (from anime Black Butler), but he hasn't named _his _half giant yet.. I really like the big guy, he's extremely friendly. I spoke with my husband about putting him on his desk in a 10g once Chiyome passes. Ciel is getting less timid and coming up to eat in the front instead of hanging out in the lower part of the pond when I feed. He'll come over to my submerged fingers and investigate but won't flare or let me touch him yet. I am still trying to figure out a name for my dtpk boy in Alastor's cookie jar.. wanted something to do with constellations, night sky.. or something to that effect as that's what comes to mine when I look at his dark body and adorable light spot on his head. He's become very sociable after getting a lit tank where he can see my husband and I easily, I'm glad I moved him in there. He also does not have a small mouth as I'd thought, or eyesight issues, he eats his food just fine in the tank.
Anyways photos of the dtpk from the weekend:
you can see the irids in his dosal and caudal fins








love the mouth agape shots (hardly ever get ones that aren't complete blurs)









Oh I also forgot to post photos of André 's bubble nest from last week, he maintained it for quite a long while. Sadly the lily it was under was decomposing so I removed it today. I also did a small water change and stuffed root tabs into the substrate.




















Sadist said:


> Poor Xerxes! It sucks being an old man. I hope you can enjoy his last bit of time here.
> 
> I love the snail! Those stripes are just gorgeous. I recall reading that they'll keep the duckweed population down in a tank, too.


Dunno about that, s/he's not had access to duckweed. I've read goldfish and red eared slider turtles eat duckweed... and I've seen the 'pest' snails eat the underside of frogbit.


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## BlueInkFish

I'm so sorry about Xerxes! S.I.P. He was a beautiful fish.


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## Sadist

I hope you find a guy you like soon. I'm glad the new ones are settling in a bit better, too. I may have gotten frogbit and duckweed mixed up, too. Now, in my groggy state, I have to go look up the plants.


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## Aqua Aurora

(Prepare for Xerxes Photo bombing.)

Xerxes was my first serious betta purchase. He arrived a day early from the transshipper (the same day plants came) so I had to rush to stuff everything in his tank and get him acclimated. It was chaotic but he had no issue with it. He'd marbled drastically from the seller photo to the he arrived home, at first I thought I was sent the wrong fish but close examination of the caudal fin showed it was indeed my boy. Xerxes was named not for the villain in 300, but because of a Family Guy episode where Peter had a hawk named Xerxes that was a total bad [censor]. I loved the name and decided I'd name my next fish that (Xerxes was bought some time after seeing the show).
I found him to be quite the odd fellow over the years with plenty of unique quirts. He loved to burrow under the plant tanks and make little independent 'dens' in the substrate under them, even when there was plenty of mid and upper water column plant cover. He was a pro snail eater and could even could get mts out of their shells (struck fast before they got the trap door closed). He went through a lot of re-scapes and a few tank mates. He never harmed them but would often flare at the otos I kept with him for a short while, mostly when tank lights were off. He wasn't too happy when he got a nerite room mate and killed it. After that he was kept alone (except for 'pest snails') for a long time. Sadly he developed diamond eye and was mostly blind the majority of his life but he did fine until the last few months with regards to getting food. Xerxes was a master of the flare and wiggle technique, making it near impossible to get an in focus non blurred photo of him flaring. I have 1 not so great shot in the 2+ years I've had him. He also passed on this technique to my female plakat in a tank next to his-Freya. She's quite the flare happy wiggle gal now, so a bit of him lives on in her.
Xerxes loved have lily plans or large floating riccia mats in his tank to be shaded under and build bubbles nests around. He built quite a few over the years but never liked me taking photos of him building the nests, if I was busted he's flare then dart away and glare at me from the bake of the tank for a time. I caught Xerxes flaring at a few pest snails that dared to get too close to his nests, or get right up in their faces trying to intimidate the snail away, when that failed he's eat them or peck them so they'd fall to the lower levels of the tank. He changes quite a bit over the years as he was a marble. Mostly the blue bled over the yellow in his fins. His scales took on a variations of blue to nearly white hues and he's look more teal/green at the surface than below water. Xerxes hated when I took the lid off to take photos of him, he always expected, nay demanded food in such instances. He became a bit calmer in his last year and started to enjoy being pet after meals each day. My plakat boy had plenty of misc. objects shown to him for enrichment over the years (mirror exercises or showing photos/videos of other bettas never worked on him). He's inspect and sometimes flare as a few of them, but my short blue metallic pen he started trying to court and build a bubble nest right after seeing. For a long time I think he believed he was the only betta in the home, as he never saw the new fish that came home and got their own tanks, until Freya's tank was placed by him that is. He didn't hate having her there but he didn't try to court her either.
As Xerxes got older he developed cysts and eventually lost part of his dorsal and a whole pectoral fin when the cysts burst. He was a trooper though and kept on going for many months after that before really slowing down. I noticed as he got older his scales all got a little lighter in hue and more of them turned white, like an old man's beard going white with age.


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## Aqua Aurora

Husband's half giant-had to put a clamp light over this today as the dumb cane is not getting enough light. 
bubble nest








hard to see close up-dorsal and caudal fin irids show though 








I weirdly like the one oil slick close up shot 
























Water change time-he watches the gravel move around in the siphon, or comes and rubs against my hand


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## Sadist

I'm loving the little pond tank even though it's harder to see the boy in there!


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## Crash

Wow...so sorry to hear about Xerxes  he was always one of my favorites on this site. 

Never seen his "baby pictures", amazing how much he changed!


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> I'm loving the little pond tank even though it's harder to see the boy in there!


thanks


Crash said:


> Wow...so sorry to hear about Xerxes  he was always one of my favorites on this site.
> 
> Never seen his "baby pictures", amazing how much he changed!


Thank you for the kind words.



*Happiness turned to Sadness*
So I'd done what I told myself I wouldn't do.. looked at bettas on ebay.. I ended up really liking 2 and took over a day to decide between them. Consulted with lilnaugrim about diamond eye for a quick refresher and finally chose a steel blue plakat boy that did not have any red or diamond eye hints. Seller was very good with communicating and let me know they could not ship Monday due to holiday (Columbus day). He was suppose to be here today, but is missing in the mail! I am kicking myself for not taking the other guy. In the past year almost everything I get from anywhere in Ca always gets lost in the mail for 1-6 extra days. Its well past the time my post office gets in packages that would go out for delivery today, and mailman has already come and gone.. no fish... I've resigned myself that he's dead. I'm tempted to go buy the other fish on ebay (not located in Ca) and hope it makes it here, but I've not looked, its probably already bought. If so I guess I'll just have to check the petstores here each week until a special betta shows up that I connect with.
I'm so pissed at usps, I wish usp and fedex took over as main mail/package services, they may cost more but at least they get [censor] to you on [censor]ing time! My poor little steel blue boy, he's going to freeze to death in small that dark box before he gets here.. I think I'm going to cry.


----------



## Sadist

Oh no, what's with the mail carriers?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Oh no, what's with the mail carriers?


I have no [censor] clue but I think after this I won't buy *anything *from the west coast that's perishable (plant/fish) again.


In less depressing news here's some shot form the other pond pot with Ciel the eepk. Its hard to see but his body scales have a blue outline, and I suspect they'll get a bit more blue with time. He also has a nice light blue hue in his fins mixed with the white.
































The Fittonia albivenis did not like getting its roots ripped off (was tangles into vals and substrate on 20g long) to be moved here. After taking the photo I have to take off and toss 3 of the 4 stems of it. 1 stems to be bouncing back so it should do well. The other plants are two unidentified dwarf peace lilies aka Spathiphyllum (one of my first riparium plants) the very white/shiny part in the photo is their spathe aka bloom. My otehr plant on the right is dragon's tongue aka Hemigraphis repanda, its a narrow leaf relative of purple waffle but it prefers stronger light than its cousin.
Ceil is quite the spunky little thing. He's so tiny especially when you look at the big boy in the other pot (he's bigger than Andre!)! He'll come over to my finger when I put it in the water and flare at it, if I move it he'll chase and flare. But If I move it towards him he runs away. I can't tell what his beard color is but maybe I'll put int him a glass cube for a phtoo shoot one day and see if he'll flare for me there. He still has a decent split in his pectoral but I'm hoping ti will heal. No noticeable new damage from the fake plants.


And my dtpk decided to pose for me so I could get a nice shot of him, sadly my fingers are reflecting off the glass though >.< and a tank shot

















Also some Antaeus spam


----------



## Sadist

Ciel is lovely! I love his plants. I was thinking of trying a peace lily riparium, too. Any tips? Just like other riparium plants?


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## themamaj

Hope steel blue boy makes it ok. Loved all pictures. Plants just awe me at beauty.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Ciel is lovely! I love his plants. I was thinking of trying a peace lily riparium, too. Any tips? Just like other riparium plants?


Its a pretty easy ripairum plant does fine in low light, but can take medium light too. Not too fert demanding, but occasional liquid fert or a foot tab helps. Don't buy the iant peace lily plants that are 3 feet tall already unless you have a very big tank for it, stick with the small ones. Over time its roots will grow down into the substrate


themamaj said:


> Hope steel blue boy makes it ok. Loved all pictures. Plants just awe me at beauty.


Thank you.


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## lilnaugrim

If you're looking for an amazing breeder who is in the US, I recommend Martias Pham. He has a page on FB called Texas Bettas Aquaradise: https://www.facebook.com/BETTASALEUSA

He has some gorgeous MG but they're long fin. He does HMPK's too and they are gorgeous. Just got another boy in from him and I adore him! If you asked him, he would happily show you some of the boys he has available! He has some gorgeous golds going up for sale soon! Just a thought is all. All his fish have been extremely healthy :-D


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> If you're looking for an amazing breeder who is in the US, I recommend Martias Pham. He has a page on FB called Texas Bettas Aquaradise: https://www.facebook.com/BETTASALEUSA
> 
> He has some gorgeous MG but they're long fin. He does HMPK's too and they are gorgeous. Just got another boy in from him and I adore him! If you asked him, he would happily show you some of the boys he has available! He has some gorgeous golds going up for sale soon! Just a thought is all. All his fish have been extremely healthy :-D


Ty for the info but I'm not a fb user, i can't freaking navigate those social media pages (also get really miffed at pages that harass you to login like fb and printrest does) >.< so I stick to forums, ebay, etc. But I should really just stick to my local stores... mabye I'll go grab one of the boys I was "meh" about last weekend...




in other news I had made a list of name ideas for my dtpk using my favorite source: wiki Greek mythological deities.. and my computer decided to do an update and reboot without my permission last night so my links are gone >.< so get to go through that big list again


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## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> If you're looking for an amazing breeder who is in the US, I recommend Martias Pham. He has a page on FB called Texas Bettas Aquaradise: https://www.facebook.com/BETTASALEUSA
> 
> He has some gorgeous MG but they're long fin. He does HMPK's too and they are gorgeous. Just got another boy in from him and I adore him! If you asked him, he would happily show you some of the boys he has available! He has some gorgeous golds going up for sale soon! Just a thought is all. All his fish have been extremely healthy :-D


Sorry looking back at my last reply I realize that might have read as snip-pity. If so it wasn't intended. I do appreciate your tips/leads for fish sources, I'm just fb illiterate ^^'' I did look through some of the post on the link you gave until fb harassed me 4 + times to login, got back to Aug posts and didn't see a boy that spoke to me, but I'll keep an eye on the page.



So my husband told me the name he's given his giant: Papillon as in the butterfly. From the irids in his fins I can see why my hubby though of this butterfly looking at the boy. I'm surprised though as I figured he's give him a more 'tough' name since the betta has a scar on his face. Name might change down the line.

Still not update on the usps tracking, I've been spam refreshing it.. One time I was kinda sleepy and thought I saw "arrival" instead of "origin" x.x


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## lilnaugrim

Oh, sorry, I forgot I recommended him before lol. My bad. But he definitely doesn't post every boy that he has. But yeah, you'd have to have an account to see them. He does also have an account on here as well, he was supposed to put some up in the marketplace at one point but he got a little sidetracked I think  But no worries


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## Aqua Aurora

*EEEEEEeeeEEEEeEeeeeeEEEEEEEeeee!!!*

*'Cuse me while I scream!*








*HE MADE IT!!!!*

A day late, but I noticed he showed up at my post office this morning from tracking info. I called and ask them to hold him. I was told it would be an hour before the mailman was done sorting his parcels. 1 hour later tracking info updates to 'out for delivery' I call and ask if its really going out to the house or if it was held for me as I'd asked. Got a different (useless) employee who just looked up the tracking info.. ye I'm looking at it too. I asked your place to hold it, did you hold it? "Uuuhh... its out for delivery." =.= So wait on mailman. He comes.. and goes without ringing the doorbell (for package drop off). No package. So I go to the post office and after trying to explain I wanted a 'deliver' package 'held' to a woman that didn't speak English well another female employee piped up, confirmed my name and handed me my box! Get back to the car and nervously opened the box. No heat pack, no foam, my heart sinks, "he must be dead". I pull out a firm blob wrapped in news paper and undo the tape hiding the contents to find a wiggly non pale betta boy staring me down! I was so happy!! But omg was his tiny bag of water cold! I cranked the car heat and headed home with him back in the box (was worried about keeping him agaisnt me to warm up). Acclimated and now floating him to get up to temp before releasing ^^ He didn't get pale at all. Tried feeding him, he ate 1 pellet then spit out the next. Maybe he'll want some at dinner time.

He's steel blue, no visible signs of diamond eye*knock on all available wood*, has hawkeye markings (i think that's the term for the darker spots?) on his fins, and white tipped ventrals.

Look how sexy he is!

























Mstery snail chose an odd spot to rest, right by drip line.. maybe talking to the betta through ti like a phone like ^^









few more shots



















lilnaugrim said:


> Oh, sorry, I forgot I recommended him before lol. My bad. But he definitely doesn't post every boy that he has. But yeah, you'd have to have an account to see them. He does also have an account on here as well, he was supposed to put some up in the marketplace at one point but he got a little sidetracked I think  But no worries


No worries, and no need to watch his page now! ^^


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## Sadist

Wow, he made it! That's a tough booger. I hope he stays tough as he gets used to his new home!


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## Fenghuang

I'm so glad he made it home safe.  He is very handsome.


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## lilnaugrim

Never heard it called Hawkeye markings before but it's super cute! Mostly we call them Wild Type spots or just Wild spots since that's what they are lol. But Hawkeye spots sounds wicked adorable :-D
Glad he made it to you. Braving the cold is easier for fish than braving the heat (less oxygen in hot water, not too terrible for anabantoids but other things happen too that make it difficult whereas cold water just means slower metabolism)


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## BettaSplendid

I loved the stories of Xerxes flirting with your pen! How cute! 

And I am SO GLAD your new betta arrived safely and vibrant.  postal people.... Geesh. 

I hear ya on Facebook, it is a no go for me too. The more people tell to sign up the more resistant I am.  I am so irritating. LOL


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## Intilis

Aqua Aurora said:


> *'Cuse me while I scream!*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *HE MADE IT!!!!*
> 
> A day late, but I noticed he showed up at my post office this morning from tracking info. I called and ask them to hold him. I was told it would be an hour before the mailman was done sorting his parcels. 1 hour later tracking info updates to 'out for delivery' I call and ask if its really going out to the house or if it was held for me as I'd asked. Got a different (useless) employee who just looked up the tracking info.. ye I'm looking at it too. I asked your place to hold it, did you hold it? "Uuuhh... its out for delivery." =.= So wait on mailman. He comes.. and goes without ringing the doorbell (for package drop off). No package. So I go to the post office and after trying to explain I wanted a 'deliver' package 'held' to a woman that didn't speak English well another female employee piped up, confirmed my name and handed me my box! Get back to the car and nervously opened the box. No heat pack, no foam, my heart sinks, "he must be dead". I pull out a firm blob wrapped in news paper and undo the tape hiding the contents to find a wiggly non pale betta boy staring me down! I was so happy!! But omg was his tiny bag of water cold! I cranked the car heat and headed home with him back in the box (was worried about keeping him agaisnt me to warm up). Acclimated and now floating him to get up to temp before releasing ^^ He didn't get pale at all. Tried feeding him, he ate 1 pellet then spit out the next. Maybe he'll want some at dinner time.
> 
> He's steel blue, no visible signs of diamond eye*knock on all available wood*, has hawkeye markings (i think that's the term for the darker spots?) on his fins, and white tipped ventrals.
> 
> Look how sexy he is!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mstery snail chose an odd spot to rest, right by drip line.. maybe talking to the betta through ti like a phone like ^^
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> few more shots
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No worries, and no need to watch his page now! ^^


Wow, so glad your boy made it safe and sound!


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Wow, he made it! That's a tough booger. I hope he stays tough as he gets used to his new home!


Indeed! temps here were in the 40s, and no proepr insulation. So far he's doing well, bit of glass surfing, but I've been meaning to do anti-refelction inserts against the tank walls liek Aristolces' tank so will probably do that soon.



Fenghuang said:


> I'm so glad he made it home safe.  He is very handsome.


Same adn thank you ^^



lilnaugrim said:


> Never heard it called Hawkeye markings before but it's super cute! Mostly we call them Wild Type spots or just Wild spots since that's what they are lol. But Hawkeye spots sounds wicked adorable :-D
> Glad he made it to you. Braving the cold is easier for fish than braving the heat (less oxygen in hot water, not too terrible for anabantoids but other things happen too that make it difficult whereas cold water just means slower metabolism)


I think 1 seller on aquabid used that term several years ago (back wen i was buying Xerxes).. or maybe ebay. Didn't think it was an official term but wouldn't think what the proper one was. I know about cold slowing them down -recall learning that during the dreaded 'science fair' years of school-, but I had this fear it would be TOO cold for him to survive. Glad I was wrong ^^



BettaSplendid said:


> I loved the stories of Xerxes flirting with your pen! How cute!
> 
> And I am SO GLAD your new betta arrived safely and vibrant.  postal people.... Geesh.
> 
> I hear ya on Facebook, it is a no go for me too. The more people tell to sign up the more resistant I am.  I am so irritating. LOL


Yeh he was a silly boy. And even with Freya living by him he never saw her as a potential mate to flirt with and bubble nest for *eye roll*.



Intilis said:


> Wow, so glad your boy made it safe and sound!


Thank you ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

Some bubble nest photos
Ciel+ his nest, his fins have been healing nicely 9where a bit shredded when he came home)

















Papillon and his
















Husband told me a bit more behind the reason for his name, besides the colors reminding him of the butterfly (someday I'll pull him out and get good shots so you can all see). Its also the name of a movie with wrongly accused criminal is put on a prison island who eventually escapes, he has a tattoo of the butterfly on his chest. Also the bettas short/nick name is Papy.


Tiny nest from my dtpk who I decided to name Crius- thought to be the Titan god of constellations, because his blue,black, and yellow make me think of the stars. I intentionally mis-pronounce the name like "key' with an 'r' in it and the 'us' like the end of "fabulous".









Newest pk boy is doing well, he's already flared at me! Beard is black and steel blue. Still working on a name, not sure if I want to go with a sky theme or a metal working theme for his 'steel' blue hue. He managed a bubble nest even with the stronger flow in his tank. He's getting along well with the mystery snail.

















And no bubble nest that I can see (might have one hidden in the salvinia though), but a shot of my oldest boy now, Aristocles.


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## Aqua Aurora

I'm still not 100% on the dtpk name though.. I might call Crius "Astraios" instead.. dunno yet.. hmmmm *ponders*

For the new boy in Xerxes old tank I'm leaning towards Ilmarinen- Finnish immortal metal worker and creator of the sky. Other options include Ukko- a Finish sky god, Nuada or Taranis-Celtic gods of sky, or Caelus-Roman personification of sky.


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## themamaj

New boy beautiful! So glad safe. Snail hysterical with tubing. Love pictures


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## Aqua Aurora

Well I have an announcement but i want to post photos with it and photobucket is down so I guess I'll just have to wait.. maybe I'll do some water changes for now and check back later..


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## Aqua Aurora

There finally photobucket is up!
So I got some new bettas!
























































Going to turn my 20g long into a sorority. Won't be immediate but letting the girls hang in their cups together while the tank grows in and they go through qt. heater in tank keeps them warm. I do a water change every day on their cups+ prime.
From petsmart
First one is a hm gal with some white metallic scales, and a bit of blue irids but also red in the fins. She looks like she may marble blue in the body (tiny specks showing)
Second is another hm gal red body with black pineapple and some green/blue metalic scales
Third is a vt female, nothing special but i thought her caudal deformity was interesting so I grabbed her.
There was a dark royal blue vt girl I liked but she was so stressed sewing the otehr bettas I don't think she's do well in a sorority, so I left her.
I was veeeeeeery tempted by a PLATNIUM GOLD VT MALE omg soooo almost bought him, but resisted (and regretting it.. kinda want to go grab him but where the [censor] would i put another tank?).

The next day I went to petco. Not many girls there but some lovely boys, and one pour dtpk that's had sbd for 3 weeks. I found a poor little red vt girl with bad ammonia burns. There was also a red and black pineapple vt girl, and a blue metalic vt girl (stress striped). I decided to try to save the little burned gal, if she dies at least he got a comfy last few days and is cheap enough i didn't mind spending the $. Shes getting 2 water changes a day + prime to help heal. She eats fine and has a little color back today.

more on them later.


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## Aqua Aurora

SO far all the girls are doing well. The little red vt is coloring up a little more each day.

Photos of Ciel's nest*s* yes plural-he wasn't going to be out done by my pond pot neighbor (there's also a tiny one against the heater but you can't see it from this view). 









Papillon's nest and a crappy shot showing his blue fins that led to his name. He expanded the nest a bit after the photo was taken

















Chiyome's tank got a 400%+ water change last week (don't remember the last time I did a wc on her tank) and I pulled out most of the riccia (already shipped it out to someone). Added extra window screen mesh over the LED to diffuse light more. Chiyome seems to like having the mass of riccia out and is mroe active. Sadly the pumice is95% non buoyant now so the marimo rocks don't go as high in the tank as they did when first set up, but it still looks cool. You can see Chiyome's been marbling still-getting more black and blue now. Thankfully no sbd lately *knock on wood*

















Tried to get a photo of Ajax but he would NOT hold still, for a mostly blind boy he moves around quite fast. You can see his anal and lower part of his caudal fin are a darker blue than his dorsal and upper caudal though. Its not an effect of light/shadowing that's his real colors.









Marimo cube next to Ajax's tank, need to top it off with more water. When Chiyome passes and Papillon gets a 10g on my hubby's desk I may take this pico down and put the extra marimo balls in.


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## Sadist

Wow, what a good idea for your 20g long! I hope ammonia burn girl pulls through.


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## Aqua Aurora

to avoid going off topic in the Aquabid thread of the Betta Photo sub forum I'm carrying over a conversation to here:


> Aqua Aurora said:
> 
> 
> 
> nice vts, usually all i find are the common red and blues here, except I actually saw a* platinum gold *male vt at my local petsmart this weekend!! had a hard time resisting but managed not to buy him.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fenghuang said:
> 
> 
> 
> My pastel white betta girl Artemisia should be enough but I still keep finding myself looking at other veils... It's a real problem. >.>
> 
> Do you have a picture of this gold VT? That sounds beautiful!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Aqua Aurora said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sadly no, I spotted him after picking out some girls I as buying and with others there looking I would not put the girls down to take a photo of the male, risk some [censor] snatching 'em. I'd be horrified of dropping a container if I stacked 3 on top of eachother in 1 hand as well >,<' . Surprisingly no one saw/cared about the vt boy though. He didn't have any marbling/other colors on his scales or fins (just metallic white/dragon white body and gold fins) and from what I could so no diamond eye, sadly he was a bit clamped though. If he's still there this weekend I think I may break down and get him. Owning a platinum betta is on my 'betta bucket list' (along with copper and chocolate).
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fenghuang said:
> 
> 
> 
> That's a shame. But you got such pretty girls so I understand worrying that someone would steal them. I do the same thing when I spot a betta I like lol.
> 
> I owned a boy you would have just loved then. Awful awful photo of him, but he was a chocolate betta. And no one wanted him at the store because he was "dull."
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Aqua Aurora said:
> 
> 
> 
> lovely boy! weirdly vt males are the only long fins boys I would get now... after Shreduski wrecked his fins I don't want long finned rose/hm/dt/etc any more
> I can't stop thinking about the vt now.. i may go by petsmart and nab him if he's still there.. worse case I can get him happy and unclamped then rehome him. I'm sure someone would pay the $4 store price + shipping for a platinum gold vt boy. Hell if I was into breeding bettas I'd keep him for making more little platinum babies... but I don't have the patients (hatching bbs) or space for betta baby rearing.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...

aaaaaand then this happened
































Yup I got him! I'm terrible! I'm at 10 males and 4 females now (and my husband's 2 bettas). He's Midas btw, always wanted to get a gold theme betta to name after the king with the golden touch. His ventral tips are curled in, I like to think it fits perfectly for when the king realized this 'gift' was really a curse. His otehr fins are a bit messed up but should heal. Otherwise healthy male. He's in his cup in the 10g wt with the girls until his tank is setup. i honestly don't think the girls even notice him. They're always looking out towards the room/me and my hubby.

Also this boy was there and I nearly was really bad and got them both (but resisted).. he has some blue in his fins which will likely marble out and make him not a real chocolate in time. what looks lie black finnage int eh phtoo is actually blue, but body is pineapple/chocolate.










*The full story:*
So this all happened on Tuesday, my petco gets their bettas in on tues. or wed. I called and was told they're in but not unpacked. .. waited an hour, went-still in box.. did grocery shopping and went back.. STILL in box ugh.. Made sure the fish care taker knew I was going in for a look (not stealing) and dove in... man if you think the cups they're kept in are cruel you should see how their shipped (no i didn't take a photo) barely enough water to stay submerged and that's it. Very filthy water too. Anyways only females in the shipment were ct so I went to petsmart and the platinum gold vt boy from last weekend was still there so I nabbed him. I also saw the chocolate vt and spent a good 3 minutes staring at them debating between them or taking both. Left the chocolate as he'll marble more blue. Got teh gold boy, wrapped him in a towel and put a seat belt around him and went home ^^ He's getting daily water change + prime like the girls. He's a bit slower to eat/(catch on that lid off=foods usually coming in) than the girls but doing well.

Waiting on heater, sponge filter, led light, plants and hopefully driftwood which should all be here by the end of next week.. going to clean some black diamond sand an do a kyrlon fusion spayed acrylic sheets in the eank like Aristocels' 6g bowfront to make Midas' light colros really pop.

Some other betta boys at petco:
'paradice betta' lovely colors-very shinry/irid been there 2 weeks









steel blue, been there since the weekend after xerxes past (3 weeks+)









dunno what you'd call him besides stunning-white metallic/dragon scales and a rainbow of colors in fins. caudal is split but has surprisingly been healing! been there since steel blue 3 week range nice personality

















melano blue dt hm, lovely form, only tiny fin damage didn't see him before but he's been there 2 weeks (shipments come every other week).









also the dalmatian vt male I thought of putting in Xerxes' tank is still there. :c



Sadist said:


> Wow, what a good idea for your 20g long! I hope ammonia burn girl pulls through.


Thanks ^^ just need to get it gradually heated so my vals don't flip out and melt (has had no heater for over a year)+ grow some more plants to fill out the back.
SO far so good with the new gal


----------



## BlueInkFish

Congratulations!!! Midas is beautiful!!! Plan on getting more? ;-) LOL.

Also, your Petco has lovely Bettas. I really like the Melano and Steel one... But I must resist the temptation as well D:


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## Fenghuang

Glad you got him! He is very handsome ;-) love that pineapple boy too... I probably would have been a lesser person lol.

I have seen how they're shipped on those little tiny pouches with many a few tablespoons of water. I mean, it's definitely an efficiency thing, but I do think the smaller amount of water is actually suppose to help prevent them from getting jostled around as much during transportation. Or at least that's what I read somewhere.


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## Sadist

That melano is gorgeous! Well, they all look good, but that one is my favorite. Someday, I'm going to have that coloring of fish.


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## Aqua Aurora

out of focus, but showing the ammonia burn girl has colored up nicely









didn't realize how much red was was in the blue vt's fins-fat since this is right after blood worm breakfast









and another shot of Midas









Tried to get photos of the other 2 girls but they were too wiggly.




BlueInkFish said:


> Congratulations!!! Midas is beautiful!!! Plan on getting more? ;-) LOL.
> 
> Also, your Petco has lovely Bettas. I really like the Melano and Steel one... But I must resist the temptation as well D:


Thank you ^^
If you really want one and are willing to pay for fish + shipping I'm happy to send one or more your way ^.~



Fenghuang said:


> Glad you got him! He is very handsome ;-) love that pineapple boy too... I probably would have been a lesser person lol.
> 
> I have seen how they're shipped on those little tiny pouches with many a few tablespoons of water. I mean, it's definitely an efficiency thing, but I do think the smaller amount of water is actually suppose to help prevent them from getting jostled around as much during transportation. Or at least that's what I read somewhere.


It was hard convincing myself not to bring both home. with so little water and the bags not full of air I'd be worried that a wrong wiggle could displace the betta from the water and cause it damage/dry out. I prefer the way they're shipping from online sellers at least they get a bit more water in those bags.


Sadist said:


> That melano is gorgeous! Well, they all look good, but that one is my favorite. Someday, I'm going to have that coloring of fish.


I know right! If you are willing to pay for fish + shipping I'm happy grab him for you ^.~


----------



## BlueInkFish

Thank you for the offer! But like I said, I must resist! Lol. I have the tank and everything but I have to move out the Betta I have in there. And wait for the plants to fill in. Thank you Aqua.


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## Sadist

Thanks for the offer. It'll take all I have to keep my current stock alive through the winter, and I already have the "live food/hospital" tank occupied instead of vacant. 

Ammonia burn girl looks like she was starting to get fin rot, too. Hopefully, all those water changes will fix that soon. 

I love fat little blue girl! She loves her blood worms already!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Officially naming the steel blue boy Cirrus (you pronounce the 'c' like an 's').




BlueInkFish said:


> Thank you for the offer! But like I said, I must resist! Lol. I have the tank and everything but I have to move out the Betta I have in there. And wait for the plants to fill in. Thank you Aqua.


I understand.


Sadist said:


> Thanks for the offer. It'll take all I have to keep my current stock alive through the winter, and I already have the "live food/hospital" tank occupied instead of vacant.
> 
> Ammonia burn girl looks like she was starting to get fin rot, too. Hopefully, all those water changes will fix that soon.
> 
> I love fat little blue girl! She loves her blood worms already!


It might be what I thought was ammonia burned fins was fin rot? Photos I took from the first day don't show a worsening in fins compared to the recent red shot.. Maybe I'll put her in the 2g vase now that I have a spare heater and do some aq salt treatment.
Looking at fin rot photos I think Midas might also have a bit of fin rot from his time at the store (thought it was damage from poor handling/shippign at first). So may use his perm tank as an aq salt treatment on him too before plants come in.

All the new girls *inhale *their food!


----------



## lilnaugrim

Do you have Methylene Blue? That will help more than AQ salt will for that fin rot and possible ammonia burns. I don't see the burns on her though, just the fin rot.

Also, I adore that blue VT girl's point on her tail! She's got some PK genes in there :-D


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Took out the java ferns in Freya's tank and put in a plant I really enjoy and was happy to get a hold of again: downoi! Had to stuff some silk plants in the back while waiting for some more plants/driftwood to come in the mail to fill that area out.
photo bucket is being a [censor] and not working again so will post photos later

I made the mistake of shifting some stuff in the 20g and made a huge mess so just ripped everything out, gutted about 1/2 the substrate, spent forever catching white clouds, and than nearly 3 hours doing water changes constantly to get all the poop out (haven't doing a gut-n-clean of this tank in over 2 years). Had to stop as i was way too prune-y to stand it any more. Still need to cut needle/narrow/philipine/threadleaf java fern off their mats and tie them to the manzanita (that will probably take a whole day >.<) THEN replant the tank with all the vals, and a few crypts and bulb plants I have... I need more wide leafed plants for this tank.. maybe I'll buy some over priced amazon swords at the petco this weekend..





lilnaugrim said:


> Do you have Methylene Blue? That will help more than AQ salt will for that fin rot and possible ammonia burns. I don't see the burns on her though, just the fin rot.
> 
> Also, I adore that blue VT girl's point on her tail! She's got some PK genes in there :-D


Yes I do! will read up on treating with that again. 
I know right? i gt her because of that oddball point in the tail, of course as soon as they're all free in the 20g (won't be for a while) I'm sure it'll get nipped off.


----------



## Schmoo

Ohhh my gosh, Midas! <3 

(Also HI! )


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Omg been so busy!!! Will do a better update with photos alter. I have all my girls now.. but I'm not sure if 3 of them will make it... I got 4 this past weekend at petsmart-3 hm and 1 vt female. Total girl count is 8. I noticed another hm girl I did not buy was pineconing and nearly dead.. should have stopped right then, but these girls looked(and still look) fine-no visual signs of disease/lethargy etc.. the only issue is they won't eat anything-pellets, garlic soaked pellets, blood worms, or garlic soaked brine shrimp.. it's been 4 days. The newest vt girl eats fine btw. I do their daily water change last each day.. also tried a 1 hour paragaurd dip on one of them, she took it well, but still won't eat =.=

SO I now doubled my betta count >.>''
have mroe updates but need to make dinner



Schmoo said:


> Ohhh my gosh, Midas! <3
> 
> (Also HI! )


Hello ^^




lilnaugrim said:


> Do you have Methylene Blue? That will help more than AQ salt will for that fin rot and possible ammonia burns. I don't see the burns on her though, just the fin rot.
> 
> Also, I adore that blue VT girl's point on her tail! She's got some PK genes in there :-D


Did 10 second dip method. Both are doing well, fin rot is not getting worse.


----------



## Zazwaki

Still reading through, your tanks are beautiful. Maybe one day I will finally figure out how to get mine to look as nice.



Aqua Aurora said:


> Another ee,very purple but white lips


 If I saw him in a store, I would be extremely conflicted if I should get him or not. He reminds me of Booney who passed away in June. Even though Booney is a crowntail, more white on his face, and a darker purple. 

Also, all of your fish are beautiful!


----------



## themamaj

Have always done baths. What is ratio for dip. Is it more effective than bath?

Really enjoy seeing fish pictures of ones in your area. You have brought home some beauties. I have seen one like the yellow fin boy around here. Those are stunning in person.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Will get photos eventually of all the new girls but they don't want to hold still or the photo comes out rather dark.. here is what I have for now though. PArdon the poop in some photos-taken just before water changes

If you look closely you can see new growth on Midas' fins









And the red girl's fins, she looks so lovely under a light (used flash light)









Finally got 2 of the 3 new hm gals to eat.. one is still being stubborn =.=, this one

























One of the other new hm gals that finally ate today-a mustard, she's much more lovely than the photos show

























The tiniest gal, shes so cute, photos don't do her justice


















and now photo quality goes down hill
the vt female with the interesting caudal tip from first batch

























the red and black girl with green irids (that won't be photogenic for me) from first batch










new red, black, and copper hm girl

















purple and red vt female in new batch










And a photo of the qt tank








There's a lot of sediment in the tank, not their cups, I use pippets which are #ed to suck out any poop each day at water change time.


And finally after nearly a week I have the 20g long replanted.. still need a few more plants for the right side (would love to get a hold of some large sag. species or more leopard vals). Need to stuff root tabs in.

Plant list includes various crypts, java fern: philipine threadfin needle and narrow variations, anubias micro, my mystery fissidens, [censor] ton of leopard vals (+ many just roots/crowns of val floating at surface that need to grow new leaves), some nice broad leaf crinium (unsure of exact kind), and still have the Helxine soleirolii on the HOB. I may plant some emersed stem or riccia on the foam I eventually slap over the outflow, but waiting until the girls are ready to move in.






















Zazwaki said:


> Still reading through, your tanks are beautiful. Maybe one day I will finally figure out how to get mine to look as nice.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If I saw him in a store, I would be extremely conflicted if I should get him or not. He reminds me of Booney who passed away in June. Even though Booney is a crowntail, more white on his face, and a darker purple.
> 
> Also, all of your fish are beautiful!
Click to expand...

Thank you ^^
He was a lovely boy, hopefully went to a good home.



themamaj said:


> Have always done baths. What is ratio for dip. Is it more effective than bath?
> 
> Really enjoy seeing fish pictures of ones in your area. You have brought home some beauties. I have seen one like the yellow fin boy around here. Those are stunning in person.


I don't know if its more effective than baths, the methylene blue you can do a 50ppm dose for up to 10 second dip. 


> Add 5 teaspoons (24.65 ml) per 3 gallons of water. This produces a concentration of 50 ppm. It is not recommended that the concentration be increased beyond 50 ppm.
> (c) Place fishes to be treated in this solution for no longer than 10 seconds.


. I had a 1g so did a 1.5 tps dose. The other directions on the bottle were for multi day treatment at a much weaker 3ppm dose. I change water every day so I opted for the dip. It worked well, Midas' and the 'lil red girl's (kinda tempted to call her Pheonix or Phen for short) fins are healing nicely. 
The paragaurd dip could be called a bath as it was a 1 hour treatment, but the bottle uses the term 'dip' so that why I called it 'dip' not 'bath'.


----------



## themamaj

Midas has some nice clear fin growth! He is a beauty. Absolutely adore your little red girl. So glad you got her. Mustard girl lovely and smallest one such a cutie! Your tank is amazing and will be perfect for girls with your coverage. It makes transition to sorority life much less stressful o have so many great hiding spots and lots of room to spread out. 

Was just curious on dips. I typically do 20 min baths. I pull them to small container amd let them soak while doing tank maintenance. It is exciting when see treatment working and new growth. 

Always enjoy your pictures!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Midas has some nice clear fin growth! He is a beauty. Absolutely adore your little red girl. So glad you got her. Mustard girl lovely and smallest one such a cutie! Your tank is amazing and will be perfect for girls with your coverage. It makes transition to sorority life much less stressful o have so many great hiding spots and lots of room to spread out.
> 
> Was just curious on dips. I typically do 20 min baths. I pull them to small container amd let them soak while doing tank maintenance. It is exciting when see treatment working and new growth.
> 
> Always enjoy your pictures!


Thank you ^^ I typically don't remove the bettas during water changes, only major rescapes/substrate changes (very rare).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Went to pestmart again to grab nerites for my connected 75gs and of course had to look at bettas. The chocolate boy i'd left before is more mustard now (more blue irids coming in on body and fins). There were nearly half a dozen mustard females hms there too! I also spotted a light copper hm (looked almost silver) was very tempted but* not sure if 9 girls would be pushing it in the 20g long, don't want it to be too crowded*.. going to try to dig through other sorority threads and see if I can find an answer.

In other news I put the last coat of krylon fusion on some acrylic sheets (can finally tan out) that will go into Midas' tank to avoid glass surfing. I also have lost of the driftwood covered in marimo, the batch I got wasn't so great so I'll be returning part of it.. may finish covering wood using my older marimo balls (leftover from Chiyome's rescaping. Speaking of Chiyome she's been doing great! nonmore she issues so she's been enjoying blood worms like the others again once every 4 meals. Anyways back to Midas' tank: I got abused gunned stingray 10" (which is only about 5"of actual led) putting window screen between it and top of tank to reduce light intensity to avoid invasive algae on the marimo, marimo doesn't need much light to grow so it should be fine. Hopefully I'll have Midas in his new tank some time next week- have to let the krylon dry 48 hours before submerging it. Will get photos once tank is set up.

As for the stubborn newer hm gals, all 3 refuse pellets still and only 2 have eaten anything in the week (once- had brine shrimp) I've had them. They don't look emaciated or bloated, no noticeable health issues, but I wish they'd [censor] eat! =,=


----------



## lilnaugrim

Each sorority has a balance point. It's the point where everything is perfect and peaceful. Adding or taking away a girl will cause the balance to tip. For my 33 flat back, it was 9 girls for a perfect balance. For my 20 long, it was 11. It's different for every single tank and so there is no good way to tell until you try it. I would say that 9 girls for a twenty is plenty of space still. I would never do the 1 girl per gallon though as others may recommend, it's simply too much. Then again, I did see someone over populate a tank with females and they were calm. Again, it's different for every tank and for every girl as well. Being more heavily planted and divided up with wood and such will help keep a balance as well.

I also went to PetSmart, they always have nicer girls than my PetCo's do. But I found a Mustard girl that you would have liked and a dragon-ish red speckled girl who I was super tempted to bring home just to sell since she looked amazing. I'll update my journal in a few to show the pictures. I ended up going home with a boy that I'll try to sell >.< I really need to stop looking at stores lol. I was doing so well for a while! I hate how much of an addiction fish keeping is! It's insane!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

lilnaugrim said:


> Each sorority has a balance point. It's the point where everything is perfect and peaceful. Adding or taking away a girl will cause the balance to tip. For my 33 flat back, it was 9 girls for a perfect balance. For my 20 long, it was 11. It's different for every single tank and so there is no good way to tell until you try it. I would say that 9 girls for a twenty is plenty of space still. I would never do the 1 girl per gallon though as others may recommend, it's simply too much. Then again, I did see someone over populate a tank with females and they were calm. Again, it's different for every tank and for every girl as well. Being more heavily planted and divided up with wood and such will help keep a balance as well.
> 
> I also went to PetSmart, they always have nicer girls than my PetCo's do. But I found a Mustard girl that you would have liked and a dragon-ish red speckled girl who I was super tempted to bring home just to sell since she looked amazing. I'll update my journal in a few to show the pictures. I ended up going home with a boy that I'll try to sell >.< I really need to stop looking at stores lol. I was doing so well for a while! I hate how much of an addiction fish keeping is! It's insane!


Thanks for the info! Ended up going back out to that shopping center for something else and decided to grab the girl, since 3 of my females are being little [censor]es about eating my pessimist side says "they might die" so having the copper girl won't hurt (she didn't have uneaten pellet sin her cup, just healthy poop). If everyone survives I'll see how they do and remove anyone that doesn't work out (after trying time outs in breeder basket a few times) in the sorority to re-home (don't want even more tanks). Gave copper girl a water change and put in the qt tank which is now really really packed... it I put my little red one back in a cup instead of the cube I'd have more room, but I'd rather not think "I can fit another cup in" because I really don't want more. I'll have to stay away from the pet stores, way to tempting when I go in and seeing as I went from 'well I want to reduce my tank #s" to "oh i have 3 more betta tanks (if you count the 2 pond pots) to take care of" clearly that didn't work out >.>''
Will get photos of the newest girl early next week.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

On a non betta note here are some photos of our now 9 month old puppy Reeny (pretty sure I've mentioned her before?). For those that aren't familiar with corgis what she's doing in the second photo is called a sploot, and corgis do it a lot, its quite cute, one lady on youtube actually named her corgi after the action because she liked the pose/word so much. 

















So yeah more photos of other stuff someday (extreme vague-nes).


----------



## themamaj

Lol love last picture!!! My aunt had a corgi. He was fabulous dog. Yours is precious.

Cutting back tanks thought haha. Never worked for me either. Glad you got copper girl. I have 5 in a 10. Hard to know how personalities mesh until you try. The tank how you have scaped I think you would be fine to try 11. Good luck. Have you tried garlic to food for girls that are finicky?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*sigh* I hate the smell of clove oil.....it sticks with me for hours after I use it.
So you know how I mentioned there was a pine-coned betta at petsmart the day I got the 2nd batch of girls? Well my favorite from the batch (mustard hm) was pine coned and floating nose up yesterday morning. There no curing it since its kidney failure causing fluid build up under the scale leading to the pine-coning.. so i put her down and returned her for a refund. Now I'm just waiting for the other 2 hm girls (who STILL wont' eat) to die. The rest of the females are healthy and eating, including the new copper girl though she's still getting use to it. I'm just worried who I might have accidentally contaminated during water changes and feedings (worked on the bad hm girls last).. hopefully none of the currently eating girls (or Midas) have issues. 
Waiting on marimo replacements to come in today to finish my marimo covered driftwood. If I have leftover (which I will) I'll probably cover some old pieces of driftwood I have and put them up for sale.
New girl doesn't want to hold still for photos-took 20 and most where just blurs. these are the best I got, hopefully will get better ones soon. She may look a little red tinted-that's from the cup's lid.




















themamaj said:


> Lol love last picture!!! My aunt had a corgi. He was fabulous dog. Yours is precious.
> 
> Cutting back tanks thought haha. Never worked for me either. Glad you got copper girl. I have 5 in a 10. Hard to know how personalities mesh until you try. The tank how you have scaped I think you would be fine to try 11. Good luck. Have you tried garlic to food for girls that are finicky?


Thanks. 
I tried garlic before with pellets and blood worms, didn't work.


----------



## themamaj

So sorry. Yes I really hate clove oil smell too. Sorry others still not eating. Makes you wonder what is going on. The new girl is so cute. I hope they all settle down and things work.


----------



## Sadist

I love the new girl! I'm sorry about the sick one and the not eating ones.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*And then there were 21!*

Its not my fault this time!! I had to go to Petco to grab airline spliters, my husband came with and I told him to keep me away from the bettas.. well HE walked over there and pointed out THIS!








He showed a lot interest in it but I said we are already at 20 bettas and did my best to resist adding another betta and tank to the house.. I managed to go through checkout but didn't get 10 feet out the door before my husband had me turn around. He made the excuse that he hardly ever takes a real interest in specific betta at the store so we should get him... soooo we did >.< 
A few others at the store we did *not *take home:
marbling dtpk male-use to be more white. 








lovely ct female.. almost want to get her..








a HUGE pk male very green scales otherwise sorta 'wild' type markings, thought he was a half giant (btw the dtpk and another dtpk were also about the size of a half giant!)








The vt I thought about using in the 7g cube is still there along with a lovely metallic white scaled hm with pastel hues of pink/red/orange fins-he had a split in his tale over a month ago but its surprisingly healing in his cup! He puffed up and showed off his fins for me when I looked up him.


Went home and had to scramble to move Midas into his tank so I could free up the 2g lantern vase for use. As a side note we got a new couch (the old one my in-laws gave us was horribly uncomfortable) and moved the end table Antaeus was on over to the otehr side of the new couch (by the door). I wanted to move his tank since it woudl get extra sunlight from the door and be more of a hair algae problem. Getting the new betta gave me the perfect excuse-I moved Antaeus and his heater/heater controller into the lantern vase on the end table and put my extra marimo balls in along with some spare fake plants. I pulled my twisty lucky bamboo from its low bowl and put that on top. I moved the 2.5g vase with its sponge filter and plants onto the coffee table in front of the couch and re-arranged a few thing, I also took several vals for the 20g long.

Photos from yesterday
Midas looks so great in his dark tank, really pops against it, sadly eh wouldn't hold still for any clear shots.

























new guy hanging by me while I resape the 2.5g

















quick setup of the 2g lantern with Antaeus last night. Reeny by the door because hubby had popped outside.









And new guy exploring his new home








Husband is still mulling over name ideas for the new guy. He's got a lot of energy and sass. Spent the first hour+ in his new tank swimming around, he'd stop and flare at us while we sat on the couch watching him then go back to exploring. He hasn't gotten the hang of feeding yet but hopefully he will soon.

And from today












































themamaj said:


> So sorry. Yes I really hate clove oil smell too. Sorry others still not eating. Makes you wonder what is going on. The new girl is so cute. I hope they all settle down and things work.





Sadist said:


> I love the new girl! I'm sorry about the sick one and the not eating ones.


Thank you both.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

forgot to add some photos
Cirrus








André and his tank
















Ciel








Tried to show how big Papillon is, but he doesn't want to stay in my hand


----------



## Sadist

New boy is lovely! What a find! Not your fault this time, too funny.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> New boy is lovely! What a find! Not your fault this time, too funny.


I know I can't believe he was at a petco and no one had bought him! 
Well, it wasn't! I felt bad doubling my betta count but this time it was my hubby's fault we have another-nother betta not mine.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Quick update: did a methylene blue dip on the 2 stubborn hm girls this weekend. The black/red/copper girl is now eating pellets. The blue metallic with red fins is being a [censor] still. But I got her to eat live grindal worms today. So she will eat, she's just a picky little[censor] about it... hopefully I can fix that.
New platinum dragon male is settling in, still no name but he's getting use to feeding. 
Antaeus is also getting use to new tank with bamboo and fake plants blocking up more of the surface it takes a while to get him to an open spot for feeding.
Midas is settling in well to his tank, and there's nothing much to report on the other bettas... 
Oh almost forgot, I wasn't too happy with Crius' name so I decided to rename him Kudu after the unique species of antelope I really like (though he has no resemblance to it in markings or attitude), also like the name.

I won a raok on another forum over the weekend and of course was not around to claim it, so dunno if I missed out completely or not. If not I may set up another tank-want to do riccia mat and dwarf sag again as I really liked it in the 12g long-but in that tank I couldn't get in often enough to keep the riccia properly trimmed. I use to have a TON of both but have sold off 99% over the past year.. riccia is just slowly growing in Chiyome's tank as well as scraps in Ajax's tank-I'll harvest from this one to start growing. I have 1-2 tiny dwarf sag plants left in Cirrus' tank they've not grown much but I suspect the swords are out completing them for limited nitrates. The vesuvius sword has been going nuts with runners, problem is they're not in the substrate or near it, it mad a u turn against the hati red sword and is growing mid water column right now.. need to get the tongs out and plant that, but I've seen 2 new plants start along the runner in half a week!


----------



## DangerousAngel

I cannot BELIEVE that guy was at PETCO!!! I must go to PetCo promptly! I'm so glad your hubby told you to grab him! XD

Everyone is looking so good, I always love how well scaped your bowls/tanks are!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Heard back from the RAOK holder, yeh I missed out >.< [censor]. Oh well... not like I should really have another tank anyways.



DangerousAngel said:


> I cannot BELIEVE that guy was at PETCO!!! I must go to PetCo promptly! I'm so glad your hubby told you to grab him! XD
> 
> Everyone is looking so good, I always love how well scaped your bowls/tanks are!


I know I couldn't believe it either!


----------



## themamaj

Really love new boy! Is Midas tank just scaped with marimo balls? Looks like thread to tie together? Very nice look! And Andre oh he is gorgeous! Do you have full body shot of him?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Really love new boy! Is Midas tank just scaped with marimo balls? Looks like thread to tie together? Very nice look! And Andre oh he is gorgeous! Do you have full body shot of him?


Thanks. And yes its marimo covered cholla wood. It tied on with low poundage clear fishing line, within a year or 2 the marimo will have grown enough to hide the line.
I'll try to get a shot but André is been stubborn about photo taking lately.


----------



## themamaj

What a neat idea. How do you get the balls to grow? Mine have never done very well.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> What a neat idea. How do you get the balls to grow? Mine have never done very well.


Marimo only grows about 5mm a year, they are an insanely slow growing hair algae. They don't take much for light (need less than other low light plants), I dose fert maybe once every few weeks..but I have a under 1g cube with only marimo that I never dose ferts, it gets splash over light from my 10g that's 1/2 filled and they're doing fine in there. My husband's 5g with Chiyome also had marimo but it is over rocks. (my view of the tank)








the brown is diatoms on the glass, not something on the marimo.
If you plan to do a marimo tank I'd suggest adding some fast growing floaters to absorb ammonia/nitrates (riccia or duckweed are easy ow light floaters), or you should consider the tank like it only has silk plants-marimo grows so so slow it won't make any dent in ammonia/nitrates of un/cycled tanks and do water cahnges accordingly to keep nitrogen levels low.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sooo went for nerties ended up with another girl for the sorority. There was 1 mustard hm female left and I did not see pellets rotting in the cup so I grabbed her! I was at petsmart on lunch break with my hubby so i couldn't meddle around long but I found the young woman taking care of the fish section today KNOWS BETTAS! I mean proepr care and all. I didn't get to talk her ear off about bettas (though I really wanted to) as we had other shops to hit before getting back before lunch break was over, but she said she had 2 sororities tanks and a few solo male tanks that "..keep turning up empty. If my mom likes the male she'll take it with her into work." Her words. Would not be happy if someone was taking my bettas, family member or not. If by some small chance you (the petsmart employee I've described) are reading this,* Hello!! You made my day knowing someone knowledgeable works at petsmart!* 









others not bought



































themamaj said:


> Really love new boy! Is Midas tank just scaped with marimo balls? Looks like thread to tie together? Very nice look! And Andre oh he is gorgeous! Do you have full body shot of him?


took some photos today while feeding


----------



## themamaj

Wow he is the most interesting and beautiful coloration ever seen! Love pictures! New girl is a cutie.


----------



## Sadist

Wow, he takes piebald to a whole new level! I'm glad there was someone at the store who knew bettas. I hope her mom is taking care of all those boys she takes to work!

Love the new girl. Too bad our homes aren't made of water; you have so many interesting fish at your stores!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

so spam of photos from the main room's bettas, I took ~260 photos.. and still some of them are only blurred/out of focus freakin wiggly fish>.<

Midas flare








modded stingray-put tape over the red and blue leds









Kudu (formerly Crius) 








Shreduski

















Still unnamed new male









Antaeus flaring









Ajax









Ciel









Papillon









Sorority girls
first batch I bought



















































Pheonix's fins are all healed up


















2nd batch (starting with lil' miss I won't [censor] eat anything)










































'pheonix's fins are all healed up!

















And the most recent 2





















































themamaj said:


> Wow he is the most interesting and beautiful coloration ever seen! Love pictures! New girl is a cutie.


Thank you ^^


Sadist said:


> Wow, he takes piebald to a whole new level! I'm glad there was someone at the store who knew bettas. I hope her mom is taking care of all those boys she takes to work!
> 
> Love the new girl. Too bad our homes aren't made of water; you have so many interesting fish at your stores!


I'm guessing he wont' stay piebald for too long, likely to trun all blue by next spring is my guess. 
Thank you ^^


----------



## themamaj

The pie bald boy isnt a king is he. Looks big bodied in pictures. So pretty! Girls look like really done well and healed very nicely! Wish you could work you magic on Roman and Chewy here! Ugggg these biters kill me.


----------



## Sadist

Phoenix has really colored up! She's gorgeous. Great finds on all your fish.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

OMG she finally [censor]ing ate!!
Managed to get the stubborn metallic blue girl with red fins to eat today. It was meat meal day so I tried using smaller blood worms about the size of a big grindal (but red) and she took them! She also ate a brine shrimp that somehow got in the blood worm cup. I'm so freaking happy right now!!



themamaj said:


> The pie bald boy isnt a king is he. Looks big bodied in pictures. So pretty! Girls look like really done well and healed very nicely! Wish you could work you magic on Roman and Chewy here! Ugggg these biters kill me.


Yes he is a king aka half giant. He's pretty big but my husband's Papillon is bigger. 
I'm no magic working on fin nippers, just did lot of water changes (and a methylene blue dip)+ keep in warm water. Shreduski is a dthm, can't tell that from his photo though-always keeps his fins short =.= And I'm not sure if Midas is nipping his fins or managing to find rough spots of wood I might have missed with the sand paper...



Sadist said:


> Phoenix has really colored up! She's gorgeous. Great finds on all your fish.


Thank you ^^ photos still don't do most of them justice.. someday I'll get good shots of them all.


----------



## Sadist

Yay, she ate!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*sigh* So she's back to being stubborn again,would not eat blood worms yesterday at meal time, still refuses pellets too =,=


----------



## Aqua Aurora

most recent shots of a few of the office desk fish
Freya, her tank is getting diatoms, may try putting a snail in there.. downoi old leaves are still melting but new shoots are coming off the stem base so I'm not worried.









Cirrus is doing well though I think he nibbled Very Berry's antenna as they seem to be shorter, still has its eyes though. Seeing as he's missing a few scales on his face I'm guessing he got his head stuck in the snail's trap door when going after an antenna.









Aristocles my current oldest fish. Still chugging along.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Antaeus decided to take a dive out of the tank and onto the carpet this morning. Don't know how long he was out, when I found him he was fairly dry and covered in fur. He wiggled when I went to pick up what I thought was a corpse so I quickly put him back in his tank. He went to the bottom, clamped and not moving. I've left him be but not sure if he'll pull through or not.


----------



## Sadist

I'm rooting for him to recover!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Just before the hubby and I went to bed he jumped again! What the [censor]? I had to remove the lucky bamboo and slap a small plate over his tank for the night. This morning I put in some long rooted salvinia from the cookie jar to keep him from jumping and my husband made a quick lid just in case. 
Still no idea why he jumped, params are fine, he's not tried to jump before... best guess is he saw a fruit fly and went after it, or was going after his own reflection? Didn't think he'd jump again after the first time.. kinda wondering if the fall caused some head trauma (like short term memory loss and he forgot the whole incident).



Sadist said:


> I'm rooting for him to recover!


Thanks


----------



## Sadist

What a strange thing! Mrs. Fish used to jump a lot; I heard her hit the lid even with the water level lowered 1.5 inches below the black strip that holds the lid.


----------



## themamaj

I have had them.jump out of blue too. Makes you wonder. Hope he recovers ok for you.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> What a strange thing! Mrs. Fish used to jump a lot; I heard her hit the lid even with the water level lowered 1.5 inches below the black strip that holds the lid.





themamaj said:


> I have had them.jump out of blue too. Makes you wonder. Hope he recovers ok for you.


DUnno why he decided to jump and twice in 1 day but he seems fine now. Surprisingly no fin damage and as far as can tell no scale damage either.

Midas on the other hand managed to break his dorsal rays trying to get behind the marimo covered wood =.=


----------



## Sadist

Silly Midas!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

20g long, only a week or 2 before girls go in, just did a water change so all the leaves are low from lack of water in tank a minute before

















Also wanted to show how tall the lucky bamboo on Shreduski's tank had gotten. Pretty soon I'll have to cut it before it hits the ceiling of the bay window.









On a sadder note Aristoles is slowing down ad starting to go the way Alastor did...


----------



## themamaj

Plant coverage has filled in very nice in 20! Great girl tank. Amazing how tall bamboo is. Do you have it in dirt or just water? Sorry to hear Aristoles is slowing down.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Plant coverage has filled in very nice in 20! Great girl tank. Amazing how tall bamboo is. Do you have it in dirt or just water? Sorry to hear Aristoles is slowing down.


I know right! Thank you. No soil, no root tabs its just gravel and fish. I dose once a week with 2-4 drops of flourish and maybe once every few weeks with 1-2 drops potassium, that's it.
I woudl think he was dead he's so still until I move a finger in front of him, then he slowly flaps his pectorals and turns his head to look at me before going still again..


----------



## Crash

Aqua, I have a question about your opinion on smaller canister filters. You have one on Xerxes' old cube don't you?

I've been considering getting a mini canister for my 5 gal Fluval Chi. Would you say it's better/worth it compared to a nano HOB or in-tank pump driven filter? Is the flow super strong or can you adjust it? 

Also does it make much noise?


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## Aqua Aurora

Alot has happened since last update.. Aristolces finally had to be put down. Freya has moved into his tank and is doing well.
The sorority is doing great, everyone is healthy and fairly undamaged.. sadly there is an annoying algae problem but I'd rather that than a fish issue.
I got some new boys (both one I'd looked at grabbing from my local store after Xerxes' passing), Cacao in Magnu's old 3g bubble bowl. For a while it grew the dumb cane in the previous photo on the windowsill) but now I'm starting lemon mint. I finally rescued the other yesterday (was at the store 2+ months), no name yet and he's in rough shape but hoping he'll bounce back-he's in Freya's old vase with some scavenged silk plants from Shreduskie's and Ciele's tanks + Freya's old driftwood and heater. Growing scallions (green onions) on his tank + a mystery onion that popped up in my chive pot (was so excited to see the sprout-thought it was one of my peace lily domi0 seeds but no.. random 'wtf you doing here' onion...
Papilion now has the marble pothos + cilantro seedlings. Ciel just has 1 dwarf peace lily and the pothos njoy + parsley seeds/seedlings.
Cirrus (Xerxes old tank) has some room mates- 3 nerties moved from my 75g, they've done a great job cleaning up the excess amount of algae in his tank. I'll redistribute them among my other tanks soon (wish they ate the green slime algae gowning in the sorority).


----------



## Sadist

Wow, new tattered boy looks pink! I'm glad you were able to bring him home.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Wow, new tattered boy looks pink! I'm glad you were able to bring him home.


He's not as pink as the photos, she's more white.


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## Sadist

Oh, okay. Is it the same one with spots in the cup? I'm glad you were able to bring them home.


----------



## ThatFishThough

LOL. I've seen a lot of Dalmatians popping up around the forum. My new DT boy, Ringo, a rescued girl, and your boy. Maybe they are the new "Koi"? Beautiful boys! I'm jealous of your tanks! I tried growing a Pothos, but it didn't take well to the water, having already been rooted in dirt. How do you do it?!


----------



## Sadist

I did pothos in tanks, too. You just cut anywhere on the vine and put the cut end in the water. It might take a few weeks, but it will grow new roots in the water. It may grow so many roots in the water that the roots will need trimming from time to time. You can do the same thing but put the cut end in dirt, and it will grow for you. It's very hardy and can adjust to most lighting situations over time, too. I once took a yellow vine with one shriveled, brown leaf and turned it into a plant that grew up the curtains and ruined them just by watering it once a week.


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## Aqua Aurora

Sadist said:


> Oh, okay. Is it the same one with spots in the cup? I'm glad you were able to bring them home.


The one at the top of the post is a different fish from the lower one in the cup.



ThatFishThough said:


> LOL. I've seen a lot of Dalmatians popping up around the forum. My new DT boy, Ringo, a rescued girl, and your boy. Maybe they are the new "Koi"? Beautiful boys! I'm jealous of your tanks! I tried growing a Pothos, but it didn't take well to the water, having already been rooted in dirt. How do you do it?!


I never had issues,it can take a bit to acclimate to water growth but if the vine is long and has several leaves already they tends to transition to water covered roots quicker.



Sadist said:


> I did pothos in tanks, too. You just cut anywhere on the vine and put the cut end in the water. It might take a few weeks, but it will grow new roots in the water. It may grow so many roots in the water that the roots will need trimming from time to time. You can do the same thing but put the cut end in dirt, and it will grow for you. It's very hardy and can adjust to most lighting situations over time, too. I once took a yellow vine with one shriveled, brown leaf and turned it into a plant that grew up the curtains and ruined them just by watering it once a week.


Yeh they're a pretty durable plant.


----------



## ThatFishThough

Where did @Aqua Aurora go?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

ThatFishThough said:


> Where did @Aqua Aurora go?


Sorry I've been rather busy

quick update:
Redid Shreduski's tank and shuffled some things, selling plants from the 10g in the marketplace section: tons of ricca, bocopa carinia (but spelled right), water sprite, hygro temple, and a crypt.
Took the 10g and put all the lucky bamboo in it, filled just enough to use sponge filter (little under half).
Shreduski couldn't swim at all in the 2.5 (just wiggle between roots) as it was so over grown in root tangles! He's gotten fat from lack of activity and being fed as much as the active bettas so diet time to trim the fat.
Tank looks better in person, doesn't photograph well with sun out, may try taking a night time photo later

































Will post about others.. eventually ^^''


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## Aqua Aurora

More updates:
Before Shreduski's tank redo I toggled Cocoa (dalmation hm) and Kudu's (dtpk) tanks. The african water fern was so over grown it needed more space than the cookie jar gave..the bubble bowl gives more space but I may need to confiscate the jumbo bubble bowl eventually for these plants.. plus the plant basket (for lemon mint) I have hanging in Cocoa's tank wasn't staying put well with the sharp curve-the cookie jar has a nice lip I can fold the hooks into. Herbs are still tiny so no shots of them


----------



## Aqua Aurora

UGH FML!!
Was trynig to rinse out the 8g jumbo bubble bowl to redo with new plants aaaand smashed it in the utility sink >.<
Have to put André and new plants in a 10g that has frosted sides for several days while I wait on an expensive replacement bubble bowl to arrive (hope new one doesn't arrive broken!) the tinted glass means I won't be able to see my fish >.< oh well its temp.


----------



## themamaj

Beautiful tanks as always. Sorry about bubble bowl. Have broke tank cleaning before. Good to have extras for temporary. Hope new one gets there soon.


----------



## Sadist

I'm glad you had a back up tank! What a mess. I hope the next one is delivered unbroken, too.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Beautiful tanks as always. Sorry about bubble bowl. Have broke tank cleaning before. Good to have extras for temporary. Hope new one gets there soon.





Sadist said:


> I'm glad you had a back up tank! What a mess. I hope the next one is delivered unbroken, too.


New bubble bowl came in, stuffed new plants and André in. Crypt-o-maia.. hopefully they don't' all melt











Still unnamed male, most recent buy but have had a while-use to look pink in older photos. Trying to grow dill on his tank, also have pothos. His fins were soooo rotted away when i got him, have had good grow back so far

















'nother photo of cocao









And few more photos of Shreduski's bamboo tank-he's getting his muscles back and working off the fat but still not 100% yet


----------



## ryry2012

Can we keep crypt without substrate??


----------



## Aqua Aurora

ryry2012 said:


> Can we keep crypt without substrate??


I let the tiny ones and any broken bits of roots that are still firm float on the surface, they eventually get new growth, so yes but you have to be delicate about tieing them down if that is your plant (attaching to decor/wood).


----------



## themamaj

Love new bowl. I have been on a crypt buying spree lately as well. Got a lutea and undulata today. I have some parva in one of my tanks that is having some yellowing of leaves. It has been planted at least a couple of weeks or so. I know they are quite grumpy when adjusting to new environments but is osmocote enough of a fertilizer?


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Love new bowl. I have been on a crypt buying spree lately as well. Got a lutea and undulata today. I have some parva in one of my tanks that is having some yellowing of leaves. It has been planted at least a couple of weeks or so. I know they are quite grumpy when adjusting to new environments but is osmocote enough of a fertilizer?


Osmocote + root tabs is what a lot of planted tank people use, its plenty for a crypt-they're good enough for fert hogs like vals and swords (faster growers) for 6-9 months, though swords usually need a little extra iron. 
Crypts just take forever to adjust to new environment and get real fussy when moved around in the same tank (don't lie root's shifting). That said my very first crypts I was sold were emersed (above water) grown and they never melted-transitioned beautifully (no melt at all!), wish I could say the same for those I've gotten since >.<
Dealing with melt, have had to trim back about half the leaves already, starting to wish I'd just waited an extra week and tried to get sag instead of crypts for the jumbo bubble bowl


----------



## Aqua Aurora

been terrible at keeping jouranls updated on various forums.. will try to update more.

*8g jumbo bubble bowl*
flora: unknown crypts, broad leaf and regular sag
fauna: mini ramshorn snails #?, 1 half giant halfmoon plakat betta male-Andre
filter: tetra whisper 10 air pump run sponge filter
heater: hydro theo 50 watt adjustable heater
lighter: clamp on work lamp with 13 watt 6500k cfl placed right on lid
substrate: black diamond 'sand'
ferts: osmocote+ root tabs and maybe once a week iron dosing for sag if I remember.








Still have a few floating sag I need to replant once roots re-grow (had some die off) but otherwise happy with this tank, can't wait for the sag to spread all around with runners. My lid is giving me grief with condensation forming then dripping down the side of the tank causing lowered water levels like I had not lid + wet table...need to fix that. 

Andre is marbling up-he's a piebald now (light head-dark body), and the black/blue is creeping over the top of his head.He's fairly mellow and not an enthusiastic eater as most people describe giants/half giants as being. He'll eat but isn't as eager to grab pellets/live/frozen food as my other bettas. 



























Side note: 3 bettas from my local petstore. Did not get any, have waaaay too many tanks now. Sadly their care for the bettas has gone down hill, lot of sick/sbd/near dead ones there :c


----------



## Aqua Aurora

need to take recent photos of all my tanks.. trying my best not to let this go dead again.

*55g tank*
Fora:Nymphoides 'Taiwan', Red flame sword, Amazon sword, Red tiger lotus, Red jungle val, aponogeton Crispus, 1 unknown crypt, crinium.. also got 1-2 otehr kinds of swords with order but forgot their names.
fauna: mini ramshorn snails #?, malaysian trumpet snails #?, 9-12 koi sword tails, 1 silver angelfish, 3-5 various types of nerite snails
filter: huge sponge filter+315 ghp aquatop submersible pump
heater: finnex temp controller and ehiem jagar heater
lighter: 36" finnex planted+
substrate: black diamond 'sand'
ferts: osmocote+ root tabs and seachem liquid ferts-excel, flourish, iron, potassium









Tank has grown in a LOT since I pulled down the riparium (which I really miss btw), feel bad for my angel as she doesn't have much swim room but the line of sight break up helps keeps the swordtail from being major [censor] holes. Use to have otos but I think I lost them (can't seen in a while). Need to thin these plants out soon...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Man this forum is pretty dead now a days huh?

*2.5g*
flora: marimo and riccia
fauna: 1 platinum gold veil tail betta male
filter: tetra whisper 10 air pump+sponge filter
heater: hydro theo 25 watt adjustable heater
light: currently: marineland double bright 24"-waiting on a finnex sting ray 12"... lost in transit =.=
substrate: black diamond 'sand'
ferts: once a week 1-3 drops seahem flourish, sometimes 1 drop seachem potassium

















Midas is doing great, his fins heals up nicely but haven't really regained color in the healed fins. He's spunky, flare-y, wonderful flash of light against the dark marimo. Pardon the riccia stuck on the marimo, photos taken after a water change.


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## themamaj

Plant growth in 55 is incredible! Glad to see Midas doing well. He is one of my favorites of yours.


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## Aqua Aurora

3g Picotope
flora: water sprite, salvinia minima, golden anubias, marble/variegated anubias, anubias nana
fauna: 1 platinum dragon hmpk male, nerite snail
filter: tetra whisper 10 air pump+sponge filter
heater: hydro theo 25 watt adjustable heater
light: currently: marineland double bright 24"-waiting on a finnex sting ray 12"... lost in transit =.=
substrate: black diamond 'sand'
fertsmsocote+ root tabs+ weekly flourish and daily excel










































Shirokuro is alive but could be better-he developed a large cyst/tumor on his side. Hasn't effected his swimming or appetite but not pretty to look at. His diamond eye has gotten worse but he can still manage to eat fine. His body isn't pure white anymore, a bit of copper tone has come in under the scales, and some red around the base of his anal fin. He shares a bookshelf with Midas now-they can't see eachother since there's a black acrylic insert in Midas' tank.



themamaj said:


> Plant growth in 55 is incredible! Glad to see Midas doing well. He is one of my favorites of yours.


He's one of my favs too (don't tell the others)


----------



## Aqua Aurora

*10g*
flora: salvinia minima and Bbolbitis heudelotii
fauna: 1 mustard dtpk male
filter: tetra whisper 10 air pump+sponge filter
heater: eheim jagar 50 watt
light: marineland double bright 24"
substrate: black diamond 'sand'
ferts: weekly dose seachem flourish and pottasium, daily dose excel

















Kudu is doing well, toggled plants and fish between 10g and 3g bubble bowl as the ferns were too big for the 3g. Sadly have sum algae.. looks like staghorn? Will have to treat that. I think Kudu likes having enough room to actually swim again (was really cramped in other tank).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

sorry for delay in update, wasn't feeling do good

*6g*
flora: salvinia minima, anubias nana petite, anubias nana golden, anubias nana micro
fauna: 1 yellow 'koi' hmpk female
filter: tetra whisper 10 air pump+sponge filter
heater: aqua top heater 100watt
light: finnex 12".. don't remember which model
substrate: black diamond 'sand'
ferts: weekly flourish, daily excel


































Use to have a nerite in here but ti cleaned up the place so I moved it to my goldfish tank (tons of diatoms-its very happy). Freya is doing well, she had a nasty infection-like a monster pimple on her lower jaw that exploded and lost a good chunk of meat. A methalene blue dip and some water changes healed her up nicely though, can't even tell it happened now... was worried I was going to loose her when it was an open sore though. She's such a sas-flares at me so often I'd almost think she was male. Took

photo from 10-/14/15


----------



## Aqua Aurora

So not so good news..One of my sorority girls had a rather fast growing tumor show up behind hr gill that swelled then burst. I ended up moving her to a 2.5g with heater on my desk with daily water changes. She's slowly down and don't want her killed brutally in the sonority. I'm starting to think she was one of the top ranked girls before because a lot of fighting broke out amongst the others when she slowed down-missing scales and nipped fins.
Dunno how long she'll last..


----------



## themamaj

Your tanks and plants are so beautiful! Really enjoyed seeing the update pictures. So sorry about your sorority girl.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Your tanks and plants are so beautiful! Really enjoyed seeing the update pictures. So sorry about your sorority girl.


Thank you.

Sadly had to put the copper girl down today, she would perched herself on a tall silk plant by the surface and wouldn't move or eat eat. I think it did a lot more internal damage than I'd realized. At least she got to go peacefully with clove oil.. I hate the smell of that stuff...


----------



## Aqua Aurora

5g
flora: riccia and marimo
fauna: 1 'mustard' (i think yellow salamander is the correct term?) eepk male
filter: azoo mignon
heater: hydro theo 50 watt
light: finnex 16" i think fuge ray?
substrate: white sand from petco
ferts: weekly flourish and potassium -3 drops and 1 drop- for the riccia










































So sad news, Chiyome finally had to be put down. She lived a long life but by the end was getting lethargic and eventually had kidney failure. Put a nerite in her tank for a few days to eat diatoms on the glass then did a massive water change yesterday and moved Ciel over from the pond pot in the aquaponics room. I haven't been able to see him much since he went in-so many floaters and he never wanted to stay put to be looked at. He deiced the table was better than the tank when putting and flopped out of my hands =.= but he's in now and hopefully fins will heal (think damage is a bit from water quality issues in the pond pot-apparently i had pest snails in there and never saw any (just all their poop when I went to take Ceil out). Being in a clean snail free tank with better (lower) nitrate levels should let the fins heal up quickly. Ceil has a lot of personality and I love the big EE pectoral fins. My husband amusingly is not a fan of the huge fins, he prefers hmpk- because they 'look like they could survive in the wild'/'look more like wild bettas', but he didn't mind me moving this fish into his tank. Ceil got his name from David, after a character in a show we'd watched from Queen Elizabeth era (original, not current one), the character has frilly shirt sleeves that came out of his jacket and the pectoral fins reminded my husband of those.
We'll have to see how he does being able to see his reflection and see André next door. The pond pot did not have any reflective surfaces for him to see himself before, hopefully he doesn't mind, if I have to add anti reflection inserts then I won't be able to see him anymore :c


----------



## Aqua Aurora

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF *WAAAANT!!!!*
live betta fish- IMPORTED male- CHOCOLATE ORANGE HMPK- CLEARANCE OVERSTOCK | eBay
Must not buy must not buy must not buy must not buy... why did I go looking around ebay? aaaarg!
Its from the seller I hate though-tried to play up diamond eye bettas as a good thing...also doa policy doesn't tell you if they refund or give store credit... soo I'll just look at him longingly...side note I notice the aquabid thread in the photo subsection seams to have vanished, guess everyone stopped torturing themselves looking threre, then showing off the "omg i want that" here.


----------



## Sadist

I stopped torturing myself with bettas we can't have  I even order all my supplies online, so I don't see them at the pet store. That boy is gorgeous!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

random spam of Ceil


















































*12g*
flora: Sagittaria, leopard val, jungle val, water sprite
fauna: 9-13 (immpsoible to count) chilly rasoras, #? cherry/sakura/fire red shrimp, #? mts 
filter: eheim 2211 canister
heater: 75 watt eheim jagar diy inline ehater
light: finnex 24/7 36"
substrate: wblack diamond 'sand'
ferts: weekly flourish, iron, potassium, osmocote+ root tabs

Not best photos but took quick shots of the 12g long
husband's view:

























side view:









My view:

























Have some bba on filter intake screen and nearby val.. also gsa on ohko (dragon) stones and diatoms growing on front glass.. about time to add nerite for the last 2 (bba I get to deal with myself... yay *sarcasm*).


----------



## Aqua Aurora

No photos today.. went into petsmart to get a siphon for one of my aquaponic tanks (have 3 and only 2 siphons for all 3-want to reduce risk of cross contamination) made the mistake of looking at bettas... there was a chocolate crown tail! Hnnnnnng so hard to put him back. I'm trying desperately to cut back on bettas but arrch chocolate!!! but not a tail type I'm a fan of.. but its a color on my 'bucket list' >.< There were also 2 lovely mustard hm boys there and one vt that looked like Cacao.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

Curse you lack of will power! 
Well I can scratch chocolate betta off my bucket list (all that's left is orange Armageddon (with no black pineapple hints or those irids on the scales)

Need to name him.. I love orange sherbet and chocolate truffle ice cream scoops in a cone.. may try to make a name up from the initials o.s.c.t.i. .... Scoti... meh makes me think of the dog breed..

































Some of the healthier bettas at petco: 2 dtpk, a red platinum pkhm, copper gas hm, and unsure if chocolate or mustard hm (think mustard), didn't get any of these but did get wood for a tank rescape from petco.
*







































*


----------



## ThatFishThough

Want that first DTPK *dies* but I already have at least 3 new bettas on the way.


----------



## themamaj

Aqua Aurora said:


> FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF *WAAAANT!!!!*
> live betta fish- IMPORTED male- CHOCOLATE ORANGE HMPK- CLEARANCE OVERSTOCK | eBay
> Must not buy must not buy must not buy must not buy... why did I go looking around ebay? aaaarg!
> Its from the seller I hate though-tried to play up diamond eye bettas as a good thing...also doa policy doesn't tell you if they refund or give store credit... soo I'll just look at him longingly...side note I notice the aquabid thread in the photo subsection seams to have vanished, guess everyone stopped torturing themselves looking threre, then showing off the "omg i want that" here.


Oh Wow he is gorgeous. I feel your pain!


----------



## themamaj

Well my will power would have been the same. Love chocolates. Could go with a chocolate name like Russell (Russell Stovers). Have had a piece that had an orange filling  He is a cutie. Enjoy all of your tank updates and especially love your break downs of tanks and what you fertilize with. Your EE boy has amazing flappers!


----------



## Aqua Aurora

SO I missed my old 55g riparium, can't set it up again yet but I broke down and bought my favorite pant-peace lily 'domino'. Expected to get something small I could stuff on my2g cookie jar.. what arrived is so huge I don't think I could fit it onto that small betta tank! May have to do some tank shuffling to have 1 big enough for it.. or break it into smaller plants (looks like its made up of 10+ plants in the pot), and re-home the extra plants.




ThatFishThough said:


> Want that first DTPK *dies* but I already have at least 3 new bettas on the way.


One more won't hurt ^.~ if you really want him and will pay for petco cost + priority shipping (I think $12-14) I have spare packages with foam insulation and can send 'em your way.



themamaj said:


> Oh Wow he is gorgeous. I feel your pain!





themamaj said:


> Well my will power would have been the same. Love chocolates. Could go with a chocolate name like Russell (Russell Stovers). Have had a piece that had an orange filling  He is a cutie. Enjoy all of your tank updates and especially love your break downs of tanks and what you fertilize with. Your EE boy has amazing flappers!


I was lucky to find a local chocolate ct instead ^^
Still mulling over name.. hubby suggested just using the letters for his name Oscti.. not yet on that yet...
Thank you, will be more updates soon-need to redo some tanks.
I know right! Love those big pectorals, or as my husband calls 'em "jazz hands"


----------



## themamaj

Definitely jazzy hands  

How are you with java moss? I have some big clumps that have awful black gooey algae on them but have wonderful new growth. Driving me nuts. Any idea how to rid/clean the algae?


----------



## ThatFishThough

Aqua I'll take him. Martias is refusing to sell me his fish because I insisted upon paying via "Goods and Services" instead of "Gift" or whatever.


----------



## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Definitely jazzy hands
> 
> How are you with java moss? I have some big clumps that have awful black gooey algae on them but have wonderful new growth. Driving me nuts. Any idea how to rid/clean the algae?


gooey algae sounds like blue-green slime algae. I'm no pro with that.. I've heard its from too much nutrients-manual removal as best you can, big water change, black out (cover tank with towel/blanket) for 3 days, 'nother water change and see if it gets better-this is what I'd read from others.
you can also google up "The "One-Two Punch" Whole Tank Algae Treatment" and try that-note may want to remove fish for the 1-2 punch treatment until after water change.


ThatFishThough said:


> Aqua I'll take him. Martias is refusing to sell me his fish because I insisted upon paying via "Goods and Services" instead of "Gift" or whatever.


I don't trust sellers that want payment as 'gift' they can just take your money and run. if you complain to papal you get no help because "you gave a gift". Will pm you momentarily-going to call up petco and ask price for dtpk


----------



## Aqua Aurora

2 more quick shots of Ceil.

















My fissidens finally came in... but was several hours late and threw off my whole rescape scheduled (didn't want to guy tank before it came and find out all moss was dead).. so Antaeus is spending the night in an empty tank (no decor/plants) woudl keep him in large storage bag but I want him to have the clean water... 
Cleaned out filter(took apart and cleaned pipes and tubing as well as rinse mulm out of media section-desperately needed to do this flow was getting weak from clogging), tank, removed substrate.. boiled old and new wood (not bleaching wood just for good measure and another boil after).. keeping the light off for now and floating his new moss in there. Hopefully tomorrow I can figure out wood placement and get all moss tied down + throw in new substrate.


----------



## themamaj

His pecs are unbelievable! Thanks for algae tip. I did a large water change and manually rinsed all the plants and put back. It looks a lot better anyway. Maybe with less light I can get it under control.


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## ThatFishThough

Aqua, my dad didn't get home till late last night. I will send the money tonight.


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## Aqua Aurora

Redoing several tanks, have a few plant packages for sale.. also consolidated my spare marimos and found a few babies in their tank so put them in glass jars with sealed cork, offing in US marketplace section for $1 per, as add on to any of my otehr plant packages..have about 8 available.









Took me several days to finish Antaeus' tank rescape but I think he'll like it (he better!) Tied fissidens down to 4 pieces of driftwood, over a dozen small rocks, and on 2 walls of the tank (using craft mesh). The front mot driftwood is the tree trunk one that was in there before (and previously in a 10g), the otehr pieces I got at my local petco-they were in the fish tanks so I thoroughly boiled, bleach soaked, and boiled again before using. Moss walls will take a while to grow in did the sandwich between to pieces of mesh method-makes it more rigid..








Had spare portions of fissidens leftover so selling that in US marketplace too.. along with the small sword species that use to be in the 7g cube.


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## ThatFishThough

Need more pictures of tank... *dies*


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## Aqua Aurora

are my photos all showing up as photo bucket add spam for everyone? because it is for me and its really pissing me the [cesnor] off! i'm only 23% full on photo bucket storage, wtf this [censor] showing up for *rages*


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## Aqua Aurora

https://www.ghacks.net/2017/06/30/photobucket-now-charges-399-for-third-party-hosted-images/
just found this. pretty much reads unless you want to pay $399.99 a year (or $39.99 a month) you're [censored] no uploaded images can be shown on '3rd party sites' such as: forums, ebay, etsy, etc.
time to do a mass image move to another image hosting site.. will take a few WEEKS to move everything over from my .. what 3-4 photo bucket accounts.... grrrrr


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## ThatFishThough

Ouch. That'd be a good one for the rant thread. Sorry about that.


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## ryry2012

I've read about the photobucket issue on another forum. They should have notified people in advance. $399 is way too much. Who is going pay that amount?!


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## betterfisher

Great journal. Just wish those pics would still be there!


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## Aqua Aurora

betterfisher said:


> Great journal. Just wish those pics would still be there!


Sorry not paying $399 a year for photobucket, will dig up some of the good ones later this week and post them to imgur to put here


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## RussellTheShihTzu

I do not use an image host. Instead, I post directly from my computer. They never disappear...sometimes much to my chagrin.


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## Aqua Aurora

themamaj said:


> Beautiful fish, beautiful tanks as always!


Thank you ^^


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## andakin

This has got to be one of the oldest threads around. Nice to see such persistence.


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## Aqua Aurora

andakin said:


> This has got to be one of the oldest threads around. Nice to see such persistence.


I didn't think it would be the oldest still running  that's scary. 
I love bettas, so easy to keep in smaller (under 10g) planted tanks lets me explore lots of aquascaping options! Their individual unique personalities and appearances are also a nice bonus ^^


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## Aqua Aurora

WOW!! page 100!! didn't notice till just now. Let's have a big update for this big number.

*[1/31/19]
7g Cube*
The love-hate relationship with anubias...








You may notice some empty spots in here from the last update.. because I never seem to have luck finding anubias that doesn't melt to nothing (i'm talking total rhizome destruction!). Its quite frustrating.. I lost the 2 lovely anubias goldens and 2 unidentified anubias. What's left *looks* healthy for the time being.. but it takes a month of no rot to know its all gone.
Willow is doing well, she's always exploding and pretty bold. Fastest betta ever to learn feeding ques/where to go for food. She still gets spooked by my finger sometimes but other times she chases. She may not be as 'flashy' as some bettas but I'm glad I chose her.
She decided to nip my finger a few times today after feeding, moth is too small to latch on but it was cute.











*1/30/19]
8g jumbo bubble bowl*
Had to cut the 2 anubias rhizomes as they were too long to let new growth have some room (new leaves were smushed against glass). Titan is doing well, hasn't flared yet but I've not really tried to make him flare.
FTS








side/Back of the tank-my husband's view from his desk. Curved glass make its impossible to show whole thing but it reminded him of a plague mask.

















He does not like to hold still for photos.. best is the middle one-he was being leery of my wacom tablet pen.











*[1/11/19]
75g Goldfish tank*
so, bad at updating. back to just aquarium-2 goldies in a 75g

Last of the older goldfish-oringally had a ton of beautiful black markings and started around 38 grams. S/he is now at 55ish grams and lost 99% of their black.










Sadly I'd lost everyone else.. but got a new roommate for them. We named the new one Pepper. First days home getting weighed and our newest/youngest pup came to check the oranda out, Pepper was just as curious.









After qt I had to bug bomb the room the 75g is in so unplugged air pump and taped up the tank so nothing got in and moved the fantail to a separate temp tank for a few days. They both were acclimated and put back into the tank at the same time (different buckets). They're getting along great and eat constantly! I'm tossing in baby spinach (and sometimes other salad greens) 4-6 times a day + small portions of soilent green 2 times a day! Ps peper is a photo bomber!


































Tank is doing well, plants get nibbled but not destroyed.. have bba (black beard algae) but I think increasing water changes will help with that.

























view from the couch











*[1/15/19]
75g*


















Enjoying spinach. End of the bag so all the pieces were so tiny x.x Thinking to trying to grow my own lettuce again for them.


Btw I don't think I mentioned this but this fantail in the photo is named Tarragon now. Original name was Quinoa (since we use tri color quinoa in some of out cooking) but with the black all gone needed a rename.

*[1/17/19]
12g long*
Been through a lot of ups and downs.. went through a few re-scapes and fish variants. Hubby missed having shrimp through the tank so got the blue version of cherry/sakura/firered shrimp we use to have, they should do well in our water, they just arrived yesterday.

*[flora]* Italian vals, Echinodorus parviflorus, lots of duckweed, stray water sprite I need to remove, will be adding flame moss to driftwood after treating for snails.
*[fauna]* currently Dream Blue Velvet Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi), plan to add nano fish after shrimp colony establishes
*[substrate]* black diamond blasting 'sand'
*[hardscape]* the manzanita driftwood that use to be in my 20g long (cut to fit)
*[equipment]* eheim 2211 diy inline heater eheim jagar 50 watt










*10g half moon*
Clearly been bad at updating since last time I posted this was still a de-rimmed 5g. Got a 10g half moon at petsmart because hubby lied the curved glass (no corners) and moved marimo covered river rocks and pumice to this tank. Also added silicone anemones for hiding places for betta. Has riccia floating at top to keep ammonia in check. 
Sorry not as nice a photo.

*[flora]* riccia fluitans, marimo
*[fauna]* an old veiltail female betta named V
*[substrate]* off white sand
*[hardscape]* river rock and pumice 
*[equipment]* nano sponge filter/airline hose/whisper air pump, hydro theo 25 watt heater, azoo micro temp controller











*[2/1/19]
75g*
Just a quick update on the 75g. Ended up having issues-rain and then freezing temps froze my window shut (yes I water change into the garden even in winter, tank placement is not conducive for draining into a tub/sink, and bucket brigading it would cripple me). Did 2 70% water changes on a wed and friday last week. 

Unfortunately I lost my olive nerite snail-it was old so not surprised. But ti think that spiked ammonia a bit-didn't find it until water change was done so coudln't test to confirm. A few days later Tarragon got real bad swelling by the base of the tail and dropsy/sbd. I moved her to the qt tank and started treatment but she didn't make it through the night. 

Pepper is all alone now, seemed very distraught about loosing Tarragon the first 2 days but has calmed down and is use to being solo again (was solo in qt when first came home). 

I decided I won't buy any more goldfish. I love them but I feel like I loose them too fast, so will be sticking to smaller fish. Once Pepper passes I'm thinking of turning the 75g into a walstad tank since all the plants should do well with that. Would get organic soil and gravel plant everything and re-cycle. 

Then I dunno.. I REALLY want danio tinwini so might put those in and maybe some otos. After they're settled in I might get a baby angelfish again (1), Carmel YumYum (don't look at me, my husband named her and was apparently hungry at the time) got along great with otos and other small fish since it was raised with them, so hoping for the same again. I don't think danio will be an issue for the angel, they're suppose to be peaceful dither fish (compared to other danio)
Will throw up some photos of pepper later.

*12g long*
I've sen at least 6 of the 20 some shrimp that went in.. not sure if the others died or hiding well in the leaf litter/driftwood. Ended up cutting back the vals as some had over a foot floating on the surface. It was killing water movement which caused bio-film and then green algae formed in some bubbles on the bio-film (looks cool but had to go). That all cleared right up as I started cutting back the vals, and taking out a few scoops of duckweed. 
I still haven't fed the shrimp, they seem to be doing fine on the natural food in there but I may try a soilent green gel cube (tiny) this weekend. They've refused spinach the 2 times I blanched some and put it in the tank. Seen a few molted skins (shells? what ever the term) and a few of the live ones are definitely female (i'd bought a 10:5 f:m ratio, wasn't sure what survived).

*10g half moon*
Sadly I think V may have passed, or is on teh verg on it. She's been looking old for a while now, i expected ehr to die back in Oct but she's been resilient! Swim bladder stopped working properly but she'd use the floating rocks and riccia at the surface to rest and get air easily. She's always mange to move over to my feeding spot on a high rock but this week she's not come. I see her wedged in the riccia but dno't want to push her out if she's resting and too tired to get food...I think I just don't want to find out for sure if she's gone.. She's the last of my sorority tank girls.
Once she is passed I'm going to toss the light this tank came with and get a cfl bulb over it adn some taller anubias (if I can mange some that doesn't rot!) before my husband and I hunt down a new fish.. most likely another betta but could be a dwarf gourami or some other small species.. who knows..

*3g bubble bowl*
Haven't updated on this in forever. Its gotten kinda ugly (algae) since Cacao's snail buddy passed on. Haven't added another 'pest' snail since.. think its about time. Can never get an un-blurred shot of this betta so I stopped trying.


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## Aqua Aurora

So thought I'd photo dump some of my passed bettas from 2014-mid 2016, will have another post with ones past that point later.. have to dig through a LOT of old photos
*
Dijion the one who started the addiction..











Arist'oto' the betta that wanted to be an oto











Xerxes my long time desk buddy


















Alastor the most peaceful betta I've ever owned

























Magnus the delta that turned into a rose tail (odd healed fin damage)

























Aristocoles my fabulous finned boy


















Shreduski.. before he earned his name wrecking that lovely tail


















Antaeus flare happy s.o.b.

























Husband's first betta Chiyome 


















Cirrus


















Freya


















André (before he marbles-will show more photos later)*


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## bluesamphire

Magnus and Aristocoles take my breath away.


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## Aqua Aurora

And photo dump of favorite aquarium shots from 2014-mid 2016 (some are same tank rescaped over time)


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## Aqua Aurora

bluesamphire said:


> Magnus and Aristocoles take my breath away.


Thank you, they were very stunning fish!


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## Aqua Aurora

Got a pm asking about Titan's 8g jumbo bubble bowl tank. Thought I'd share the info here too in case anyone else is interested.



Animals15 said:


> Hi, I saw your journal and it is great to see a journal that has been going for as long as yours! I used to have another account years ago and I remember seeing you post quite often.
> 
> All of your Bettas are lovely (both past and present)!
> 
> 
> I did not read all of your entries , so you may have mentioned this before, but where did you get the 7+ gallon bowls? I keep my three Bettas in a divided 29 gallon aquarium ( It is around 9 gallons per section) and sadly will not be setting up another habitat anytime soon, but it will be good to know for the future.
> 
> I have a few questions about the bowls that I hope you do not mind me asking.
> 
> Is adding heaters harder in these bowls? Is the view distorted at all? What is the length (back and forth swimming space) width and height ?
> 
> 
> How much do these cost?
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you and have a great day!


Thank you!
Its fine I wouldn't except you to dig through 100 pages to find the answers.
The exact listing I bought is no longer available on amazon (original bought with prime so i could return if it arrived broken) I spent somewhere between $60-80. This is the closest I can find to it (actually slightly larger! and more expensive x.x at a little over $100)
https://smile.amazon.com/WGV-Clear-...=1549551486&sr=8-3&keywords=jumbo+bubble+bowl
something similar on ebay used:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CYS-GBB108...h=item3b07a00866:g:jKQAAOSwtJFavv5l:rk:2:pf:0


Oh here we go found what I have on ebay-bowl is cheap, shipping is not, total $120 (I swear these were cheaper a few years ago, I've never have spent $100 or more on a tank)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jumbo-Bubb...meter-Fish-Bowl-Plant-Terrarium-/290735442493

and another site with the one I have (I have not bought from here) https://vasemarket.com/16-inch-glass-fish-bubble-bowl


Dimension: High-14", Opening Diameter-8.75", Body Diameter-16" at widest (back and forth swim space/width), 8 gallons

Heater: I use hygro theo 50 wat heater is compact as so I can get the suction cup to hold it on the glass. Longer heaters like eheim jagar would be an issue.

Distortion: there is distortion, mostly at the 'corners' (what ever is the farthest sides of the bowl from your current view.. if that makes scene). Basically if you scape/decorate set up the bowl and think about what angle you're going to see it from and try to scape/decorate from the center outward, expecting to loose detail at the far left/right 'sides' from your view. But if its set up say on a table with a 360 degree view aside from the heater showing that'd be pretty cool!
If you've not owned a curved glass bowl/vase betta tank yet you may want to look at more photos or youtube videos to get an idea of the distortion. Not everyone likes it-I do.

I've kept 2 (not at the same time!!) half giants aka petco 'king' bettas in this tank with driftwood, they still had plenty of roaming space and look small in there ^^


Added info to this post:
I originally got this after seeing photos or maybe a youtube video of someone with the same bowl and an ehiem canister filter, was densely planted and I think had a ram cichlid + some other small fish.


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## Aqua Aurora

*[2/8/19]
[10g half moon*








V passed this past weekend. Found her Monday, gutted and cleaned the tank, removed all the riccia, took out the silicone anemone, re-tied down some loos marimo and ripped open a few balls to put on a rock that spent too much time out of the water and original marimo dried and died off. I had a diy sponge cover on the sponge filter I switched out for a proepr sponge filter-will do a fish in cycle with Prime..

Ordered some new riccia and a large anubias that should be her tomorrow I'll put in the tank and upgrade the light to something a little brighter (currently on stock light), probably a 9wat cfl 6500k in a clamp lamp above the tank (like my 8g jumbo bubble bowl and 7g cube).

After plant come in if they are ok we'll start stalking lfs for a betta that catches my husband's eye. He's told me he doesn't have any preferences on color/fin type/etc more interested in taking someone that is clearly been there too long and needs help (likely to die to try to revive). If we grab anything with fungus/fin rot/etc I'll set up a temp qt until its treated and healed.

Don't worry there is a heater in there, curved glass kinda hides it and the filter... Looking at the photo i need to wire tie those wires to make the back of the tank more appealing.


*12g long*









I'm at 0/0/0 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate! I shouldn't be surprised since its just shrimp but I always had a ton of Malaysian trumpet snails and other 'pests' snails so not use to yellow liquid for a nitrate test. Have to increase my liquid fert dosing (has nitrates in it). If they didn't cost so much I'd buy some more shrimp but I don't feel like spending $100+ on shrimp and shipping again.



*[75g riparium]*
I couldn't resist and had to set up a riparium again! Photos from before setup:
two large sponge filters









Pump from 75g that housed tilapia until recent (those little [censor]s broke the tank!)









The smaller shadow caddie in front is the 'large' one I used on my 55g.. the new ones are even bigger! sorry blurry photo, one dog sniffing the caddies, another is pushing me for attention off camera >.<

















Coated wire to hang caddies, bought 2 rolls (100ft total) which is good because I used about 60 feet for this (double stranded them and added extra to the larger caddies). Suction cups suck [censor] so much now just putting caddies in tank (nothing in caddie) they fell off! I mean.. really?!

















And time to make them black (ignore the pipe behind-for the 55g vivarium project)

















Heater from amazon which I really want to flip out on whoever packed.. WHERES MY PADDING?! this is a GLASS heater bouncing lose in a box *ugh*!!!










After caddies got spray painted black husband cut extra slots in the large ones, sorry no photos.. dangerous process.. but here they are on the tank









The day I finally put plants in I dipped them all in potassium permanganate, I do a stronger bath than most and deep purple to almost black (most keep it pink/light purple) for 5 minutes or so then thoroughly rinse. Had to thoroughly rinse roots clean for most of the plants (peace lily 'domino' was the only one with roots already adapted to water). No photos during this porcess but when putting plants on the tank i realized I went overboard buying pothos njoy.. thats a 22"x16" tub









And Finally done!








*[Flora]*
Pothos Njoy (thought I may be 'Glacier', or 'Pearls and Jade' ??)
Pothos Golden
Pothos Neon
Potho Marble Queen (tiny piece)
Spathiphyllum 'Domino'
Spathiphyllum x 'Wallisii' (dwarf variety)
Spathiphyllumunknonw variety
Neanthe Bella Palm
Water sprite (just added not in photo)
* [Fauna]*
None yet, plan to get endlers
* [Equipment]*
2x sponge filters
whisper 150
airline tubing
ehiem jagar 200 watt (supposedly handles 76f-106g)
shower caddies: 3 corner, 1 jumbo, 4 large, and 5 or 6 small 

*[substrate]*
(not added yet) black diamond 20-40 grit

*[Hardscape]*
(not added yet) may sue some river rocks, unsure..


Tank has had plants on it for 6 days. Dosed Ammonia and some ferts first night. After some small water cahnges to get debris off the bottom I re-dosed ammonia yesterday -1ppm- and its at 0.5 ppm today! So I may be bad and not wait the 2 moths for a cycle and just get fish once its consuming ammonia within hours of adding it. Will start with small stock so there's not too much ammonia and let them breed and fill the tank.

Will get better photos as plants establish.

Photo from 3 days after putting them into the tank-pothos root already growing to adapt to water! Should take new photos to show more root growth..









And I wanted to show this 100% white pothos leaf! Its not a dead leaf! Sadly knocked that and a few otehr leaves off when cleaning x.x 









Oh and I wanted to share this-its a leaf from the unknown peace lily that's just lovely but different (rest are solid green) a few days later a spathe grew from this leaf (but the leaf is not the spathe!)











* ~~~~~~~~~~*




This is not my first riparian, I had a 55g going for a while before taking it down to use the lights for aquaponics. I wish I hadn't given up my plants... But starting again!
*Link to the old tank thread-sorry the photos are all gone thanks to photobucket...[click]*


*Old photos from the now dismantled 55g:*


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## Aqua Aurora

*[2/9/19]

7g cube*
Just a quick shot after a water change-oxygen filed salvinia roots, and Willow.










*10g half moon*
Excuse me while I vent.

*UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH *not a good day for this tank. I'd ordered plants-new riccia and anubias. Riccia came completely covered in duckweed (even after asking the seller specifically if it had duckweed before ordering!) so I get to toss that out.. 

And the large anubias I ordered is missing! Last update in a few days is "In Transit to Next Facility" (this is 2-3 day priority mail.. it should [censor]ing be here!) and with the cold I'm expecting a dead plant to arrive so yeh... not happy...


*75g*
WHAT? WHAT?!
How am I getting this much nitrite in just 1 week? I haven't been able to watch a fishless cycle in a while (tiny particulates in water from water treatment plant being under construction made nitrogen testing impossible for a year+) but I don't recall nitrite showing up this fast and already at 1 ppm.. ammonia at 0 in 48 hours (was 1/2 he dose after 24 hours).









If I hadn't treated all the plants with potassium permagnimate(PP) I'd assume it came from my 'domino' that had roots in water before but PP kills beneficial bacteria so that's out. Everything in tank is new so how's the nitrosomonas bacteria showing up this fast?

Did a 50% water change, dosed ammonia and plant ferts. Also tossed in some water sprite and anacharis for added floating plant cover. Hopefully will get guppy grass and hornwort when I get my endlers for more places for fry to hide and deter jumping. Post w/c photos:









































If all the floating aquatic plants survive, once they start overgrowing I'll take some and set up a dirted tank in the windowsill to see how they do. Yes the MTS bug bites again!


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## Aqua Aurora

Post removed with agreement from the post owner.


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## Lunatic

I cannot believe that I have been here all this time and have not seen your thread! I am loving each and every one of your lovely tanks and bettas, they are all so unique and filled with wonderful color! Oh how beautiful those jars and vases are, secretly some of my favorite tanks are vases, mostly because they are oddly shaped from the rectangular tanks I am used to.

I wish I could grow live plants like that, they are beautiful! 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Aqua Aurora

*2/19/19]
8g bubble bowl*
he does not hold still for a good photo! Need to thin out the floating plants they're really blocking the anubias for light now.









*7g cube*
Willow is very curious and likes to flare at me now (no beard-just gills pushed out) still so tiny, have to be careful not to over feed her after feeding the big giant Titan.









*10g half moon*
Went to teh smae store we got Willow and Titan from, husband picked out a black and white dragonscale plakat boy. He was very darty at first but has settled in and expores his tank all day or watched my husband work. He's named Smokey. Ignore the colors in his white scales-finnex stingray has some strong red/blue leds that does that. I tossed some pothos n'joy on the tank with a 13watt 6500k cfl bulb and its sucking up the ammonia so all nitrogen params are reading 0.










*6g vivarium*
Moved some other emersed aquatic plants in and ripped out most of the hydro japan (clover). Now has African water fern in right back corner, and anubias gigantea tissue culture (supposedly... kinda looks like it was anubias golden (mark on package was in between these 2 on the list)
*[2/20/19]
75g*
I know my plants will absorb a lot of the ammonia, but I still can't believe I have enough bb formed to deal with the nitrites already! This photo is from yesterday: 0 ammonia and nitrite. I thought I'd forgotten to dose ammonia so did a 1 ppm dose and tested again today-same results. and nitrates are 40-80 from 2 days of dosing. So I think I'm ready for fish!! If only it wasn't below 30F out x.x










Hadn't planned on adding this plant, but husband spotted a really nice healthy BIG anthurium when we were out so I booted my extra peace lily 'domino' to take the corner caddie. Did a potassium permagnimate(pp) dip after rinsing roots. Turns out its 2 huge plants (thought i'd be over 5 smaller ones.



















I love using pp for getting rid of pests-usualy do a strong dose dark purple to almost black and put plants in 5 minutes, or 10 if they are too big and stick out pho the water (like these did) and just rotate half way through. You can get it on e-bay easily enough, but wear gloves and cloths you do't care about staining! This is what happens when you handle wet powder (stains for several day):










Anyways have a full tank shot (fts) and some close ups.


















And from above









Looking at the photos I realize 1 of the t5 bulbs finally burnt out 9it was an old one) so gotta replace that.

I put the extra peace lily domino up for sale. I also have 2 decent portions of pothos n'joy, and can add wired shower caddies and clay media. You can find my thread in the "for sale" section, or pm me if you'd like to buy any of these.









Currently the 'domino' is in a pot with water and clay media in the bay windowsill. The pothos is on the tank until sold-pothos photos show it in same type of caddie as close up in photo to its left.

*[2/26/19]
75g Riparium*
Not much going on-tank still cycled, dosing ammonia every day, water change every 3rd day. Dose liquid ferts maybe once a week. Pothos is taking off and everything is getting roots. I put crushed coral in nylon stockings to raise kh for the future livestock. Not shown in photo but my anacharis is pearling pretty much constantly during lights on.










*[2/28/19]*
Soooo I was bad and went to a website that had some tanks I really like at half price... the MTS (mutli tank syndrome) took over and I bought 2 new tanks.. Took about 2 weeks to get plants.
*6g bookshelf tank*
Set up a new dirted tank with black diamond cap more details/photos to come. Hopefully everything survives (all new plants).









*5g curved corner*
An aquatop nanopionics I only used the tank-still have filter/grow tray/substrate/underwater light if anyone would like that?- higher light plants more direct sun from the glass panes in the front door. Wil ahve to see what survives.











Lunatic said:


> I cannot believe that I have been here all this time and have not seen your thread! I am loving each and every one of your lovely tanks and bettas, they are all so unique and filled with wonderful color! Oh how beautiful those jars and vases are, secretly some of my favorite tanks are vases, mostly because they are oddly shaped from the rectangular tanks I am used to.
> 
> I wish I could grow live plants like that, they are beautiful!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I love the curved tanks too ^^
Live plants do take a little work but some are easier to grow than others. 
They're well worth it IMO. If you want I can go over some basic points for keeping aquatic plants.


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## Twist

Your tanks are all so gorgeous and lush! Talk about inspiration!


----------

