# My tiny tropical hideaway.



## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

I'm not too sure what to write about here, so I guess this can be a place for my ramblings about my fish tanks. I currently own 3 male Bettas (Licorice, Sapphire, and Tequila), 4 female Bettas (Turquoises, Ruby, Opal and Midnight), 1 Albino Pleco (Pleccy), 3 Neon Tetra, 3 Glowlight Tetra, 4 Ghost shrimp, 1 Cherry shrimp (Peppermint), 1 large ramshorn snail (Snelly) and about 20 assorted ramshorn snails.

Originally, I had all my bettas in large 1-2 gallon decorative vases. I had each vase have stalks of bamboo sticking out and a live Anubias on a rock. This was to keep some oxygen in the bowls and something for them to lay on. I knew this wasn't the best for them, but at the time, we had no room and no outlets for them to have heaters and such. I wanted to prove to my parents that I could take care of fish because in the past we had a tank, but my parents hated cleaning it. Each of the boys had a bowl to themselves while the 4 girls had one bowl together. All of them showed signs of enjoying their bowls, but I defiantly wanted to get bigger things for them.

Picture of their original setup:



















After awhile of showing I could take care of all these bowls, cleaning them every other day, trimming the plants, giving them food and fresh water, I proved to my parents I could get something bigger. We were planning on changing our birds room to having a long dresser in the room. So telling my parents the long dresser would be perfect for a large tank, I could put the girls in with a few more fish and have 2 of the boy bettas upgraded to 2.5 gallon tanks. They agreed this would be a nice idea and would be the tropical pet room then. 

I'll post some pictures of the room eventually, when we have more of the room done. So I guess what I can do is give a rundown of all my lil fish and their personalities in this post 

My tank is a community sorority tank...is that even a thing? Well I have 4 female bettas. I bought them all at different times, more so to give them time to adjust and then they have a pecking order. My first two girls are Turquoise and Ruby. Turq is the iridescent blue and green crowntail. She was the alpha female of the pack until we introduced all of them into their large tank. Ruby is the vibrant red veiltail who keeps the youngin's in check. I bought these two from the same Petco and they had cups next to eachother. I think they have a bond and are rather close. My next little girl is Opal the veiltail, she was originally all white with a small red stripe on her tailfin. After a few days, she changed to having a creamy white body and a washed out red fins. She's the curious one, always getting into things. Last but not least is Midnight the pushy baby Black Orchid crowntail. Next are the non-betta residence of the tank. The 3 Neon Tetra and 3 Glowlight Tetra are the community shoalers. They keep to themselves for the most part, swimming in the middle of the tank and playing keep away. Pleccy the Albino Bristlenose Pleco has earned respect from the bettas by not taking any nonsense from them. Pleccy is alil smaller than the rest but isn't afraid to smack the bettas around with her/his tail. Last but not least, the community inverts, my lil shrimp and snails, the tank cleanup crew. Peppermint is a low grade cherry shrimp who keeps to herself. Being the smallest shrimp, she hides in the most unusual spots and sometimes takes me an hour just to find her. The 4 ghost shrimp are the adventurous swimmers, normally swimming near the fish like the are part of the group. The fish kinda look at them like...Uhhh what is that?!? Last of my lil community are the snails. Most of the snails don't have personalities that I have noticed, but I do know they prolly do. 

When I first started getting into fish, Licorice, the Black Orchid male betta gained a little friend, her name was Snelly. Snelly just kinda appeared one morning and Lic was like...What the heck is this?!? He tried eating Snelly but she was too big for him so he would just flare and swim around angry at her. Eventually, Lic and Snelly became best friends and even sleep near eachother. Snelly would come up for air at night and Lic would swim over and rest his body ontop of her shell. I looked up more info about ramshorn snails and saw they came in multiple different colors, that got me hooked! I told my parents I wanted more snails and we bought a mixed lot of leopard, red and blue ramshorns. Sapphire the marble blue and white halfmoon betta is the frisky boy. Every time he would see me come near, he would flare his clear frills and wiggle his tail. I would play fight with him, putting my finger up to the bowl, and he would try fighting me. My last male betta is Tequila the gold and blue double tail halfmoon. He's my lil SBD boy who I had no idea had this until I looked it up. His tail is so heavy for him, he has a bit of trouble swimming, but he can make it up for air and be super active anyways.

This is the new big tank:










And two of the boys 2.5 gallon tanks:



















Licorich's bowl:










Licorice still keeps his bowl because when I attempted to put him in a tank, he was acting missurable. I would do everything I could to make him happy with it, but he just didn't like it. He would mope around, laying at the bottom of the tank and wouldn't even play with Snelly who he _had_ to have with him.

Anyways, I hope this gives everyone a rundown of my little fishy family and I will try and update this as much as possible. Comments are always welcome and I know the fish will love to hear about their new fandom here (Yes, I do talk to my fish  ).


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

So funny about Licorice. I wonder if he's agoraphobic?


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

hrutan said:


> So funny about Licorice. I wonder if he's agoraphobic?


I have no idea, he truly is a picky fish. I kinda view him as this old man who doesn't want to be bothered. Just let him have his nice little cozy hole with his best friend, and he's golden. He's the most laid back out of all the males I have too. When I used to clean all the bowls, he would be in a cup with the 4 females. They would be swimming around him all like WHOA GUY! and he was like MEH. He never tried to hurt them or even flare, just kinda sat around waiting to be put back in his bowl with Snelly.

Note: Lic and Snelly are the ones in my avatar.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Nice decor!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Nice decor!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Thanks  I like to try and have some natural looking stuff in my tanks. In my next update, I'll be showing off my new driftwood I bought for the big tank 

P.S. I just looked at your tanks and I really like them, really natural looking. You'll have to teach me how to add moss and plants on my driftwood sometime.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Thank you! I really try to make them as nice as I can. Only if I tried that hard in algebra! Hahaha. Plus nothing is more beautiful than a thriving natural system.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Thank you! I really try to make them as nice as I can. Only if I tried that hard in algebra! Hahaha. Plus nothing is more beautiful than a thriving natural system.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I wish my dad would of realized that before he killed all our pondfish. Killed them by putting algae killer in because he "didn't like the green algae." On the plus side, he complements me on my tanks all the time now and says I do better at caring for the fish than he did with the pond fish. Lol.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Okay so I got an update, no idea if I can post more than once in a topic but if I am doing something wrong, let me know!

Yesterday I went to the not so local fish store...it's 30 minutes away from my house. I really wanted to get some driftwood to make more of the tank natural. Anyways, I found two pieces of driftwood inside two of the store tanks that I really liked and asked if I could have those instead of the dried ones. The guy said sure and pulled the two pieces out for me. Asked him how to treat them and he told me they freeze their wood before they put them in with any of the fish or reptiles. I never heard of that before so I was skeptical and asked around here and seems like it was okay to freeze and boil them.

Here are the bags with the driftwood in them:



















After we went to that petstore, I wanted to stop at Petsmart to see if they had anything good and look at their LED lights. We had a lady that had the same name as myself too! It was funny because my mom was yelling my name and the worker kept thinking my mom was yelling for her. Anyways, I saw they had some ghost shrimp that were pregnant and I wanted to get a few more shrimp. The lady caught like 10 of them in the net and we kinda just picked which ones we wanted. I ended up taking 2 pregnant ones and a smaller one that had a trumpet snail shell stuck on its foot! I named him Nautilus because of the swirl on shells are called that.

Shimp pics:










and Nautilus:










So today, my mom and I took the wood out of the freezer and boiled the wood for about 30 mins and then cooled it off with some cold water. I just finished putting the driftwood in the tank and the gang just love it!

Ruby hiding:










Ruby and Opal playing tag around the pieces of rock and wood:










Last, Ruby and Turquoise checking out the wood together:


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Nice driftwood!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Nice driftwood!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Thanks  It's not as big as I was hoping but it still adds a nice natural look in that corner of the tank now.

___________________________________________

Update!

Well some good news and some bad. The bad news, Nautilus died over night. I'm not sure if it was because he was trying to molt and the shell got stuck or he just wasn't well. He was a cute little one but on the bright side one of the shrimp had their babies! I'm gonna leave Nautilus in the tank for awhile because I heard that baby shrimp eat their moms if the moms die. I figured they could eat him, plus the other shrimp won't mind a nice bite to eat either. Anyways, I tried to get a good picture of the babies but they are so small my camera wouldn't focus right. I'm guessing she had about 10-15 babies cuz I saw a lot of lil ones on the rock and cup. One thing I'm confused about is, some of them are on the cup and rock while I see some floating around in the water. Are the floating ones alive swimming or dead in the water? I can't really see them well so I have no idea. I'm a first time shrimp grandmommy so this is all new to me!

Pictures!










Yeah that picture is so bad, I will try again sometime later.

Oh and I never really filled anyone in on my fish. About 2-3 weeks ago they came down with Ich. It was horrible, one by one they each had white spots on them and the entire tank broke out. Not knowing what to do, I panicked grabbing all the fish and inverts out of the tank and put the fish in one tank and the inverts in another. My father and I emptied the entire tank and I boiled all the decors and cleaned all the live plants I could. I set the tank back up and filled it back up with water. I knew I had to turn the temp up to over 86 degrees so I did that and also left the filter alone so it still kept some of the good bacteria in it. While we waited for the tank to clear of the ich, I bought some Mardel Maracide and gave the amount directed on the bottle. It was a slow process but after tanking the meds for about a week as directed, they showed signs of being better!

The fish are all back in the tank now and it's been about a week. I have been giving them Kordon Ich Attack herbal meds just incase they still have some of the Ich. A few times I saw them scratching a few plants but recently they haven't in awhile. I think they are almost out of the woods! Once I am done giving them the herbal treatment, the inverts will get to join them in the big tank. I didn't want to hurt the snails and shrimp while giving them meds. Ruby came down with dropsy for a few days but she has seemed to be better. Her scales have went down and shes been eating normally again. 

My only new concern is her bottom fin is torn. I believe that Midnight has been picking on her because Midnight is trying to be the new alpha of the tank. Ruby now back to full strength tho has been fighting back and keeping her ground. The tear in her fin is now fixing itself because I can see there is new tissue growing in. They all have their own hiding places but sometimes they play alil keep away just to make sure the other girls know their place.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Is that shimp tank brackish?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Is that shimp tank brackish?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


No it's not because it also has ramshorn snails in it. I don't want to harm the snails.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Than the shrimp couldnt give birth to successful larva.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Than the shrimp couldnt give birth to successful larva.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


That's weird tho, I can see them clinging to the tank sides and the cup I have in there. Some I see floating in the water, but they aren't white or anything. I can even see lil black eyes.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Are they larva?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Are they larva?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


They are whatever just hatches out of eggs. I put some crushed pellets and a moss ball in the tank, and just read they don't like light so I covered the tank with a towel.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Were the eggs green or brownish before they 'hatched'?

Ghost Shrimp cannot successfully breed in freshwater HOWEVER, the American Glass Shrimp can! The name Ghost Shrimp encompasses a wide variety of shrimp that all look pretty similar, the common "ghost" shrimp is often sold as the American Glass shrimp in disguise! However unlike many other shrimp, these shrimp do hatch as larvae as tankman12 said so they are harder to raise than other shrimps which hatch as shrimplet's; mini versions of their adult selves. Shrimp from the Neocaridina species hatch as shrimplets rather than larvae. Here's a quote on care:

"Once hatched the small larva will require powdered algae (Spirulina is a great algae for this) and should be in a separate aquarium to avoid predation. The larva will metamorphosis to miniature versions of the adults in about a week. Once the larva have reached metamorphosis, they will require no further special care."


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

The eggs were green, I took some photos above of the parents  Kinda blurry to see them but they were green atleast I know that much. They look like mini babies of the shrimp too, not sure if that is larva or shrimplet?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Larvae will be really small, shrimplets generally hatch out a little bit bigger but you should be able to see them pretty clearly. 

The eggs will turn from green to clear near the end, if they are fertilized so if they were always green then they most likely weren't fertilized.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> Larvae will be really small, shrimplets generally hatch out a little bit bigger but you should be able to see them pretty clearly.
> 
> The eggs will turn from green to clear near the end, if they are fertilized so if they were always green then they most likely weren't fertilized.


Then why do I see them clinging to the walls and rocks if they weren't fertilized? I'm just confused...not debating. I'll see if I can get some better pictures.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It's possible they turned clearish overnight but from what I've read (this isn't based on experience), they generally go clear two days or so before they hatch. I find it just as weird as you do.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Here is a picture of one of them on the glass. He does have a tail just like the adults but it's hard to see it.










I would say he is about the width of a piece of mechanical pencil lead and about 3 grains of small salt long. Wow I have a weird way of measuring. LOL!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

lol, that's how we should measure everything! Let's see....my tank must be somewhere around 346 grains of salt long! haha.

It's a teeny little shrimplet! Congratulations! Which means they aren't American Glass shrimp then unless somehow they evolved that quickly which...I don't think they do, could be wrong but I'm pretty certain lol.

Do you have any pieces of plant you can throw in with them? Your plants will naturally have Infusoria growing on them which can be a source of food for your shrimplets. Best to take mommy out though if you want those shrimplets to survive!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

I was debaiting on saying sand/salt or even candy sprinkles! LOL.

Yay babies! This is my first time having baby shrimp so I know this is gonna be tough and prolly a lot won't survive, but atleast I know these guys have shrimplets!

I put a moss ball in the tank and there is some debris from old wafers and a cucumber in the tank. The tank they are all currently in, is the hospital tank that I've been keeping them in while the big tank of fish get their meds. I didn't want to hurt the inverts with any form of meds.

I don't have any other filtered tanks except for two that have male bettas in. They will try and eat the parents so I don't really wanna subject them to that. Is it best to just hope they survive through having the adults in there with them?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Maybe if you give them a ton of hiding places...?


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

hrutan said:


> Maybe if you give them a ton of hiding places...?


I could, I just don't know what else to put in there. It's a barebottom hospital 2.5 tank. I was only intending on keeping them in it temporary.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Without knowing any better (and I really don't know), I'd take anacharis and spread it out to give a ton of little nooks and crannies and leaves for them to hide in. Should also provide microscopic organisms for them to eat.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

hrutan said:


> Without knowing any better (and I really don't know), I'd take anacharis and spread it out to give a ton of little nooks and crannies and leaves for them to hide in. Should also provide microscopic organisms for them to eat.


I asked to go to Petsmart tomorrow to buy some anacharis for them. I don't want to get too many different plants that I'm not fond of but for these lil cuties it's worth it!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

So today I went to go buy some anacharis from Petco and Pets Supplies Plus but both places didn't have any. I decided to get some hornwort since it was the best coverage plant they had. It's temporary anyways so I am not too worried about it, it will suit the lil shimplets just fine until they are alil bigger.

Petco had some beautiful male bettas that I really wish I could of bought. They had a red, white and blue one and then they had a cellophane one that's body was completely white with a few black scales. Then I saw these two lil girls just looking at me like "Take me home please!" So I grabbed their cups and bought them. I named the purple-ish one Iolite and the orange-ish one Topaz. I have some photos too!

The girls in their cups:



















Iolite exploring the dirftwood (she's behind the green plant):










Topaz exploring:



















Iolite meeting Turquoise: 










All the girls are getting along for the most part. I had to put Midnight in a net and give her a time out because she was getting too rough with the new girls. Opal was chasing Ruby around so she had to be in a time out also. Both girls are behaving now and haven't bothered the new girls anymore. They know that when they get the net timeout they were bad and shouldn't be chasing the others.

After I bought the girls I saw a really cute spotted Bristlenose Pleco, so I had to get it! Mucky...that's its new name, is hiding somewhere in the tank so I don't have any pictures yet. Anyways, I had a great day and very excited about my new additions. Tomorrow I am expected to get my new HOB filter with UV sanitizer light and sometime during the week I will be buying some more plants for the girls to hide in.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Managed to get a picture of Mucky the Bristlenose Pleco and Pleccy the Albino Bristletnose Pleco!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

....did you just throw those new girls in the tank?! :shock:


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> ....did you just throw those new girls in the tank?! :shock:


I didn't just toss their cups into the tank no. I did do the whole water accumulation thing so that they would adjust to my water. I made sure that the already situated girls were aware of the new comers and let them see the girls in the cups too. If you're concerned they are picking on them, they only did for a few minutes to check out who the new girls were. Nothing was damaged or hurt, just did some flaring to show them who was incharge. I am currently looking up prices for a few new plants so they will have more coverage too and that should arrive mid-week. I just checked on all of them and the new girls have found some nice hiding spots and have been swimming with the big girls up top nicely. Also, unlike a lot of fish owners, I don't have enough room to have a bunch of hospital tanks. The current tank I have is for the baby shrimplets and snails and the current girls I got had to go in the tank.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

No, what I mean is you need to quarantine those girls before they go into the tank. You don't know that they're not disease free and that can severely mess up your tank. Take it from someone who knows, please. You can acclimate them to the sorority water but float their cups in the tank, change their water every other day with the sorority water but make sure that the new girl's water never touches the sorority water! Do that for at least 2 weeks, this allows for the girls to become acquainted and there will be less fighting and it will ensure that there are no immediate diseases.

Sororities are one of the highest stressful tanks, these girls aren't meant to be together, they aren't like this in the wild either. Sure, they might be in the vicinity of each other but they have an entire rice paddie to swim away from if they need to. 

If you want your sorority tank to not die early, please always quarantine at least two weeks if not a full month with the method I described. It's not much effort or space keeping but will keep your girls safer.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> No, what I mean is you need to quarantine those girls before they go into the tank. You don't know that they're not disease free and that can severely mess up your tank. Take it from someone who knows, please. You can acclimate them to the sorority water but float their cups in the tank, change their water every other day with the sorority water but make sure that the new girl's water never touches the sorority water! Do that for at least 2 weeks, this allows for the girls to become acquainted and there will be less fighting and it will ensure that there are no immediate diseases.
> 
> Sororities are one of the highest stressful tanks, these girls aren't meant to be together, they aren't like this in the wild either. Sure, they might be in the vicinity of each other but they have an entire rice paddie to swim away from if they need to.
> 
> If you want your sorority tank to not die early, please always quarantine at least two weeks if not a full month with the method I described. It's not much effort or space keeping but will keep your girls safer.


Oh the cup thing I could do, I never was told to do it that way. I was always told you have to have another tank handy with filters and heaters and whatnots. I knew about waiting 2 weeks though. I do apologies though, I wasn't meaning any harm nor being argumentative towards you. I won't be adding anymore fish for a very long time, or well at all right now because I need to get some plants and have them get less stressed first.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Well that's for a real QT lol, there are DIY ways around it you just have to ask the forum or poke around for yourself is all.

Don't apologize to me, apologize to your girls! lol, just make sure you do it from here on out if you do get more fish of any kind.

Here's my old sorority tank where you can see some of the cups floating with new girls in it. I anchored mine to the side with twisty ties and just hooked one end to the cup and the other went over the rim of the tank. This is what I'd consider a moderately planted tank.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well today I woke up to some bad news.  I went to go feed all the girls n tetras and I look at the side of the tank and see Mucky. I was like awww he's actually visible today! Little did I know, he was actually dead so I pulled him out of the tank and put him in a cup to make sure he was. Yep...he was...dead.  I can't believe Pet Supplies Plus would sell fish like this and just not care. I mean the girl that helped me, she even tried to pick out a nice perky one for me and I know it wasn't the typical store associate talking. She actually cares about animals, suggested other products to me, even told me of another local pet store to go to for shrimplet food.

On the bright side of today, I do have some good news and that the new girls are fitting in great with the older girls. They came up to the top with them there was no fighting just waiting for food. I think they have earned the respect of the other girls now. I emailed a guy on Ebay about some plants he has that I am interested in too. He only offers bunches of 6 of each rooted/potted plant but 6 is a lot for my tank. I asked if there was a way to allow me to choose like 2-3 plants and not have 6 bunches of each? He said that I can give him my list and see what we can work out! Last for the good news, the baby shrimplets have all wondered into the hornwort. The parents and snails too have made themselves comfy and now hide all over it. I hope that I get atleast a few babies to survive.

I don't have any pictures today, but I will in a few hours after I put in my new filter! It's suppose to arrive today and I am super excited, like I even cleared my day just for this thing to come (not like I have a super busy life anyways  ).

@lilnaugrim
I have learned my lesson with the passing of Mucky. I won't just toss fish into my tank anymore. I think my girls will forgive me though, they seem to be doing fine, Mucky must of just been an unhealthy fishy.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It might not have been the stores fault but the tank might not have been suitable for him. There's a bunch of things that might play into it though; stress at the store, stress coming home to your tank, stress from possible girls nipping at him, stress from the other pleco might be chasing/aggrivated him. Even if you can't see the apparent "stress" or bad behavior from another fish, it could still be there. Just like if you're out in public with your parents (either mom or dad doesn't matter) and you do something you probably shouldn't and your parent gives you that look that tells you, you did something bad. Other people might not recognize that as anything but you sure do know what it means. The same is true in fish, they often do things that we wouldn't consider aggression but can very much stress out other fish; the way they look at each other, the way they approach each other can all tie in. 

Not trying to berate you on it, just letting you know that you can't blame just one factor when it comes to fish; everything ties in one way or another.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Today I went to go return Mucky to get my money back and the store manager wouldn't accept him. They told me they needed a separate water sample to make sure it wasn't my fault. My mom wasn't too happy with that and for the $5 we bought him for, we wasted in gas to bring him up there. We decided to just give him a nice burial in my backyard and forget about the money. He was a very cute lil guy and Pleccy even showed some interest in him. Guess it just wasn't meant to be to have him. RIP lil guy, you will be missed.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well I had an interesting and fun day today. I went to my local Petco and had a walk-in interview. The manager that interviewed me told me last week I should apply because she knows I do know my stuff about animals and should come in. Thinking to myself, sure why not, I went in. I had the normal questions then had a roleplaying portion. She seemed to like my roleplaying and I did manage to spot things others don't. A man then came in during the interview with a fish that was beat up from his other fish. I told her if she wanted to help him, I could watch her in action. So she was like sure and went ahead and started helping him. She took the fish and continued to help him with getting a few other fish and he wanted to get a shrimp and plant. I actually found a plant that fit his description and suggested it while she was helping. He liked the plant and bought it  While at the cash register he was talking about his hatchetfish and how he didn't know the gender and how could you tell did we know? She didn't know and neither did I but I responded with I only know like tetra and bettas. He goes, "Oh can you tell me how to tell the difference with my Flame Tetra?" I'm like sure, "You can normally tell from size and color with most fish." The manager that was interviewing me nodded and smiled and the guy was happy. I don't think he knew I was actually being interviewed and thought I was just a shopper. He said, "Thank you ladies." and went on his way. So we finished the interview and she was like well call back Friday and we can let you know what our final verdict will be. One thing I have going for me is, she already knew me and liked me from being a customer and they really need a bird person. None of their employees really know enough about birds and I would be perfect for that. After the interview I bought a new plant for my aquarium but don't really know much about it. 

Picture of new plant:









It looks just like another plant I currently have but has orange-red leaves. I don't know much about either plant tbh, but the older plant has been thriving and hasn't died yet. I have been calling it Japanese Cress.

Picture of my other plant:









So yep, that is my entry for the day. It took me almost two hours for the interview since I shadowed her during it but I had a lot of fun.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I hope you get the job. It sounds like it went well and you'd be well-suited for it!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

DaytonBetta said:


> I hope you get the job. It sounds like it went well and you'd be well-suited for it!


Thanks! I hope so too.

Update for today:

I called Petco and the general manager told me that they are still taking interviews and they will call me. Typical response from a store you try to work at. Atleast it wasn't a no right off the bat and I still have a chance.

As for my fish, they have been doing great! They are going on their 3rd week of being on Kordon Ich Attack and I haven't seen any spots for about 2 weeks now. Every so often I see one of them scratching a plant, but I have a feeling they are doing it to make me freak out.

Last night I had the funniest thing happen. Ruby my lil red veiltail was swimming around and she found a snail on one of the pennywort leaves. Curious, she goes to eat it but this snail had other plans. The snail jumps back into its shell and I guess Ruby's lip was still connected cuz she just goes swimming around the tank frantically with this snail on her lip. She's whipping around the tank shaking her head and freaking out. I'm like OMG and go to get a net to help her but by the time I got up to help, the snail let go. Hopefully, this has taught her a lesson to not go eating the snails.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Welp, I was very excited that the girls made it through Ich but then I took a look and Topaz has it now. She's not scratching on anything but I could of swore I saw white spots on her tail fin. It's hard to see them anywhere else on her body because she has natural black spots like pineapple bettas have. I'm pretty sure it is Ich though, luckily I have been treating them with the Kordon stuff every day. 

I did spot a really cute thing Opal and Topaz was doing this morning. They were playing in the bubblewands, which I got movies of it!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10102591238389524&l=8459295697495215912

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10102591238299704&l=1098240602964455410

Hopefully people can see the videos, it's so cute watching them.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

It doesn't sound like the medication is working for the Ich. Have you increased your temp (at least to 86 degrees), are you cleaning the gravel and changing the water at least every 3 days?


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

DaytonBetta said:


> It doesn't sound like the medication is working for the Ich. Have you increased your temp (at least to 86 degrees), are you cleaning the gravel and changing the water at least every 3 days?


I have been doing water changes every few days because my new driftwood is still seeping tannis. I have the tank set to 84 because I really don't want to kill the bettas, plants, pleco or tetras in the tank. Will those be okay if I do that all the way up to 86? Also, the Kordon stuff says that it could take up to 5 weeks because it's not as strong as other meds. I haven't cleaned the gravel in awhile because there is so much stuff in there I wouldn't be able to get the siphon anywhere to clean it.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well I haven't updated this for a few days so I thought I should. I haven't seen any signs of scratching, but I still see spots on Topaz. I do have the temp up to about 84 degrees and giving them the herbal treatment. No one else is showing signs of having the ich so that's a relief. I finalized my plant order with a guy and should be ordering them today so I can have them by this weekend. I want to try and make the plants and fish as happy as possible, so I am planning on redoing the tank and adding a Eco-Complete Flourite mix substrate capped with my white sand and gravel. I read and watched some youtube reviews and both substrates seem to be great so I think that is what I might do. This will take a lot of money out of my pockets so a new lighting system will have to wait for awhile. I am hoping it won't be too much a big deal and the plants can handle it until I can get another small light. I was looking through my old photos of the boys yesterday and saw that Sapphire's marbling has changed drastically.



















He's lost a lot of the marbling cept for a small part on the top of his back and almost all the light green-blue is gone! His tail has changed dramatically also, from this normal half-moon to a frilly half-moon. I managed to get a picture of him flaring for me too! He loves to flare at my finger in the morning and we play "fight".










I've also saw a huge progression in Midnight's health and looks too! She's a Black Orchid crowntail and she has one heck of frills now. I can see why she thinks shes the queen of the tank now.



















I have checked and checked again that she is indeed a she but her frills are just so long and beautiful, I doubt myself and think she's a he sometimes. She's been pretty decent with the 5 other girls so I just can't imagine her being a male. I know girls have the white spots on their belly which she has, but man is she frilly!

I've managed to teach Pleccy to eat algae wafers over by her driftwood. I drop a half one in everyday and by the end of the day it's gone! Either she hides it somewhere I can't see it, the snails eat it, or she's that hungry she eats an entire half wafer on her own.

Welp that's my update for now, I will update again if anything exciting happens. :-D


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Except, I don't see ovaries or any shadow of ovaries on "her"...it's definitely a boy. Some boys are much more mellow than others. I had one (may he S.I.P.), Jarvis was a beautiful Double Rose tail and he never once flared at boys or girls and I floated him in the sorority to see if he'd flare but he honestly just looked scared.

Be warned though, they may be peaceful now but fish are unpredictable creatures and they could turn on you on a dime. Just ask LittleBettaFish, she had the same thing happen; male grew up with the females and one day the females flat out killed him brutally. It was a shame too since he was pretty nice looking! But that's the bad thing about Splendens and even plenty of Wilds can still turn on a dime like that too.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> Except, I don't see ovaries or any shadow of ovaries on "her"...it's definitely a boy. Some boys are much more mellow than others. I had one (may he S.I.P.), Jarvis was a beautiful Double Rose tail and he never once flared at boys or girls and I floated him in the sorority to see if he'd flare but he honestly just looked scared.
> 
> Be warned though, they may be peaceful now but fish are unpredictable creatures and they could turn on you on a dime. Just ask LittleBettaFish, she had the same thing happen; male grew up with the females and one day the females flat out killed him brutally. It was a shame too since he was pretty nice looking! But that's the bad thing about Splendens and even plenty of Wilds can still turn on a dime like that too.


How is it I always end up doing something stupid and have no idea until someone else sees it! Ughhh! I don't have a tank for Midnight if s/he is a male. :-? I looked for ovaries and found small white spot, but they aren't as obvious as my other girls. All my girls flare every so often to "size eachother up" but Midnight hasn't been anymore flarey than them. I do know that when I put Licorice's cup in the tank to just chill with the girls while I cleaned his bowl, Midnight was flaring like no tomorrow at Lic in the cup. The girls were like wooo boy! but not much flaring at Licorice. I guess I just have a very small boy with a bunch of girls. What a pimp. :-D


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh lol, it's okay! It's not entirely your fault since he did look a bit like a female when you first got him so it's understandable. I'm just happy at least he's okay with the girls, as I said, there are some males who just don't care; it's the females possibly ganging up on him that I'd be more worried about honestly. Just watch them carefully is all.

Juvie males will have a fake egg spot and sometimes they still carry that over into maturity. Trust me, Betta's only exist to throw us off our game all the time lol. In fact most of my males still have their fake egg spots too, my youngest male still looks every bit female except he's lacking the necessary ovaries to be a girl so it's not too surprising to me


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> Oh lol, it's okay! It's not entirely your fault since he did look a bit like a female when you first got him so it's understandable. I'm just happy at least he's okay with the girls, as I said, there are some males who just don't care; it's the females possibly ganging up on him that I'd be more worried about honestly. Just watch them carefully is all.
> 
> Juvie males will have a fake egg spot and sometimes they still carry that over into maturity. Trust me, Betta's only exist to throw us off our game all the time lol. In fact most of my males still have their fake egg spots too, my youngest male still looks every bit female except he's lacking the necessary ovaries to be a girl so it's not too surprising to me


What kinda frustrates me is that when you go to pet supplies or any major chain, if they have a dragonscale or black orchid, they don't label it male or female. If they are normal veiltails or crowntails, it will say male or female. I asked the guy if it was a girl or boy and he said it looked like a girl cuz of the small size. 

The girls seem to leave Midnight alone for the most part now that s/hes frillier than them. They have their own lil tiffs and they don't hurt eachother tho, I've checked for stress and damage. I will deff keep an eye on them now that I know Midnight could be a boy.

I had no idea that some males could have fake egg spots. That's pretty frustrating too! They do this on purpose just to laugh at us I bet. So because now I have a boy with the girls, does that mean I could possibly have them mate or is it like the big brother in the tank thing?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

lol, I can see them now; looking up at us from their little tanks and cackling when we're trying to sex the darned things! lol!

Yes, it is possible they can breed, while the eggs/fry will not survive, this can still put a major stress on the fish. Parents can even die after spawning and not from injuries but from pure stress that you won't be able to see. There are a lot of things that can stress a fish that you won't be able to tell apart from normal behavior. The way the fish approach each other or look at each other; signals being sent out much like the Growth Stunting Hormone of the babies. A simple flash of the fins, so much that you wouldn't even think that were stress inducing which is the main reason why we don't suggest male/females housed together except for breeding and even then, it's very temporary.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well I will deff keep an eye on the lil group. Hopefully, they can just all be friends and just do their own fishy thing. I sit in that room for hours just watching them swim around. It's super relaxing to just listen to the bubbles and my birds in the room. It's like a tiny little tropical hideaway. When the room is finally done with refurbishing, I will post a picture to show everyone what I mean. Thanks for your insight though! If they don't breed I think I would be happier, just because then they can all just be friends. Breeding just complicates things just like in relationships.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

So today, well yesterday but today I actually put some in, I got my plants. I bought about 6 different plants which I am very pleased with what they had for selection. Only problem is, one of the plants seems to have not made the trip okay. The frobit which I was expecting to be lush green and very rooty, are well...not that. All the other plants survived and are in a waiting tank for me to make my substrate megamix. I sent an email to the seller and we are currently working something out about the frogbit. I like the plant but it just didn't survive the trip. I took some photo's to show him and while I was trying to, my girls were in and out of the roots and stems. It's like girls! I am trying to show they are dying and you're all happy playing in them! Anyways, I'll share those photo's here with you guys and keep updating as I redo the substrate this weekend.



















Here are the top views of the frogbit:


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

That's some really strange shaped frog-bit! Mine have always been rounded, not more heartshaped....huh


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> That's some really strange shaped frog-bit! Mine have always been rounded, not more heartshaped....huh


Weird, well IDK then, it could of been pretty if it didn't mostly die. I'm considering getting something else possibly, maybe water lettuce. I am waiting to see what the seller says about my photos. Maybe I'll buy yours lilgrim.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, I'll try to get some pics of my frog-bit for you so you can see. Mine is also much smaller. Not doubting there might be different kinds but it just doesn't look at all like frogbit to me which is just strange, most sellers know what their plants are!

I'd be happy to send some dwarf water lettuce to you if you wanted. I have pleeennnty of it! haha if my frog-bit ever grows too, I can send some of that but it will be a while until I have any sort substantial amount still


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well the seller wrote back and said the ones that are remaining should perk up and give me some beautiful plants. He asked me to keep him updated with the progress of them and if I don't feel I got my moneys worth, he will take care of me cuz he wants me happy.

I'll try giving this stuff a chance before I go buying anything more from anyone though. Your stuff looks beautiful but my parents are giving me the looks of, I'm spending too much money, so I have to slow down for awhile.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I just looked at my frogbit and realized that yours look very normal! lol I'm just used to looking at the smaller baby plants is all I guess haha. Nvm about me!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> I just looked at my frogbit and realized that yours look very normal! lol I'm just used to looking at the smaller baby plants is all I guess haha. Nvm about me!


I think you're trying to be my s/he betta, trying to confuse me and make me frustrated. LOL! I think I would of liked smaller plants but these might turn out to be good, my girls seem to like them so that's all that matters right? Haha.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

lol sorry, I guess it has just been a while since I really looked at my plants. Like sure I see them but I don't often inspect them closely "^_^


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

BIG BIG BIG update today!! About a week ago I bought a bag of Seachem Flourite from Petsmart. Then I spoke to a guy about some new plants I wanted to get for my tank because the girls need more coverage to hide. Bought some Corkscrew Vals, Vesuvius, Red Cabomba, Radican Marble Queen, Micro Sword and some floating plants. The frogbit I bought didn't make the trip very well and I think I only have one surviving plant from the batch of like 15. Today though, I bought the CaribSea Eco-Complete Black. I wanted to do a mix of both the Flourite and Eco-Complete, I call it Eco-Flourite now. Washed it all out so that most of the cloudy mess was gone and brought it inside so no bugs crawled in it.

After I did that I took a long nap because it was pretty hard washing out all the cloudiness but in the end it was gonna be well worth it. My dad and I started taking the tank apart, me catching all the fish while we strained the water out with the syphon. 










After we took the water out we began taking the gravel and sand I had in there. Luckily my dad had a small shop vac that could suck water and all kinds of stuff. It made the project go a lot faster and easier. Once we got all that out I began to put the Eco-Flourite into the tank. I knew I had to have atleast 1 1/2-2in of the substrate and luckily one bag of each type was just enough to fill my tank bottom.










I put in the divider rocks where I wanted to start planning stuff and where the "beach" area would be. You can see in the next few photo's how much Eco-Flourite I used. I actually love the color it turned out so I don't mind it showing above the tank bottom frame.



















While I figured out where the rocks were gonna go, I also added my crab home fixture. It's gonna be the future home of some gold claw crabs I have planned. Even if I don't get the crabs, my girls use the house as a hiding spot. 

I didn't know if I should put the plants in first before I capped the mix or put the plants in after I capped it. So I came on here and requested some help and got some great advice and opinions on what to do. Once I got the answers I needed I began capping the mix and putting in a few of the plants.










I put in the bamboo stalks and the Micro-Swords because between the two plants I'll be putting a large rock formation. So I had to figure out where to fit them and organize what was going where.










This is as far as I have gotten because it is almost midnight here and I am exhausted. The girls and tetras are in a waiting bowl and will be put in a waiting tank for the big tank to be ready for them. Because I left water inside the filter, I won't have to cycle the tank as long, and the sand and gravel was used previously so it will still have some of the good bacteria. I will update this more tomorrow when I have all the plants and decorations back in. I also saw some great driftwood at Petco so I am going to get some more of that too!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Looking good so far! I like the cleaner look that it has with the sand and gravel separated like that. I'm just a fan of more naturalistic tanks anyway though lol so don't take anything personal! 

I hope the frogbit multiplies too ^_^ It should after it goes through it's acclimation period and if it doesn't, I can always send you some too for just the shipping cost since I know you're parents don't want you spending any more; I've been there before, heck I still am there haha but I tend to spend secretly so they don't really realize it ;-) easier to do when you've got a credit card though and can drive around and stuff :-/ anywho! I hope it all works out well!


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

The only problem you are going to have is the flourite will bubble up and go on top of the sand. But looks good.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Awe thanks Lilgrim and Tankman! I will make sure to poke the sand every week to make sure no gases ruin the tanks cycling. I might take you up on that offer for the frogbit if this last plant doesn't make it. I might consider water lettuce instead but for now I am really happy with the tank.

I just finished putting in all the plants and decorations! So it's that time...pictures!!! The tank is cloudy but that should settle eventually, I just was so excited I had to take some photos.




























and a close up of the Red Cabomba:



















I just love how bushy and awesome it looks. I think in about a week, if it shows signs of living well in my tank, I might buy some Green and Purple to add into the back on the right side of the tank. It's a bit bear. I still have to add the broken pot pieces and red striped rocks in the sand but other than that, I am done. 

Oh also, I wanted to comment on my filter. It's a new product by Aquatop which utilizes a hang on the back filter with a UV sanitizer light built in! I was using it for about two weeks before this mass aquascape change, and it actually a really nice filter. I was nervous that it was going to be loud or that I could hear the UV light (like I could with the Green Killing Machine UV pump) but it's completely silent. It also came with a surface skimmer which I guess sucks up fish food that hasn't been eaten, but I haven't seen it actually do it. I think my fish eat all the food before it can even do its job. Anyways, the filter I highly recommend if you have algae problems or Ich/parasite issues. The UV light removes algae and some parasites like Ich (which is great)! I think my only negative comment I could say is, it's REALLY strong. My girls have a bit of a hard time swimming near it when I have it any higher than the lowest setting, but for other fish it would prolly be perfect.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

The only thing I don't like about UV sterilizers is that it does kill off your good bacteria too which is fine in a planted tank since the plants will be able to utilize the nutrients and ammonia more which in the end, will help them grow better than if you had bacteria anyway 

I do like AquaTop's line of filters though and I've looked into getting an inline UV or a small UV pump for my 29 but I'm not sure if it's really worth it for my tank is all


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> The only thing I don't like about UV sterilizers is that it does kill off your good bacteria too which is fine in a planted tank since the plants will be able to utilize the nutrients and ammonia more which in the end, will help them grow better than if you had bacteria anyway
> 
> I do like AquaTop's line of filters though and I've looked into getting an inline UV or a small UV pump for my 29 but I'm not sure if it's really worth it for my tank is all


I didn't know it killed off the good bacteria, but it does have a separate switch that I turn it off at night. Not sure if that is good and makes some good bacteria stay longer. I just heard that you should turn the UV off every so often or else it does bad things and wears the bulbs out faster.

I have never seen or heard of an inline UV before but the UV pump I had made me so ughhh! It did do it's job don't get me wrong, but it made noise. It was like white noise or like the noise you hear bug zappers do when a bug hits the light. I couldn't get past the noise especially since I sit in the room to listen to my birds and the bubbles in the tank.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It doesn't kill off EVERYTHING, but yes it will kill off your cycle technically. But the plants will take care of everything as long as they are growing 

Yeah, the inline just goes on the intake tube of your regular filter, though I tend to get a lot of stuff stuck in my filter intake so I think just getting one in the tank would be easier for my tank haha.

I don't mind the noise too much, I have air pumps and they buzz all the time so I've kind of gotten used to it, it's not terribly loud but it can get annoying at times.

Which UV pump did you use? Was it the AquaTop one or a different one?


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> It doesn't kill off EVERYTHING, but yes it will kill off your cycle technically. But the plants will take care of everything as long as they are growing
> 
> Yeah, the inline just goes on the intake tube of your regular filter, though I tend to get a lot of stuff stuck in my filter intake so I think just getting one in the tank would be easier for my tank haha.
> 
> ...


My air pump is mostly silent so I can deal with that, but this pump bothered me enough to take it back and get the HOB UV. Oh! also it was HUGE! Like I couldn't even hide it behind plants because it was so big and stupid. It was this one from Petco:

http://www.petco.com/product/114522...Internal UV Sterilizer with Power Head-114522


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Oh when i said bubble up, i didnt mean actual gas bubbles. I meant that it will come up and mix with the sand.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

tankman12 said:


> Oh when i said bubble up, i didnt mean actual gas bubbles. I meant that it will come up and mix with the sand.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Oh well as long as I don't see much of it I won't mind. I can always use a strainer and fix the sand parts if something really bothers me.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

My next form of action will be contacting the plant seller about the frogbit or might I say lack of frogbit and working something out with them. I also have to look into root tabs because IDK if the liquid ferts I have are shrimp and snail safe. I am extremely protective of the snails and shrimp.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

All liquid ferts are safe for snails and shrimp. I don't remember if it was you I was talking to before about that or not "^^. But yes, just don't go dumping the whole bottle in and you'll be just fine. I've kept shrimp in my planted tanks and the only reason they died is because I have too much TDS in my water which they didn't like, I didn't realize it at the time >.<


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

BambooTikiBettaGirl84 said:


> Oh well as long as I don't see much of it I won't mind. I can always use a strainer and fix the sand parts if something really bothers me.


True, I was just pointing it out so you know.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well I got a bit of an update today! I have been watching my plants in the tank and so far I have seen great improvement in them. They have only been in the tank for about 24hrs and I have seen the Cabomba grow! I put in some of the baby snails I found in the tank and they have been cleaning the vals and vesuvius leaves pretty nicely too. I have read mixed opinions on regular ramshorn snails about how they eat plants vs. they don't. So far I haven't seen any damage on any of the plants, but it has been only a day. I also added the floating Azolla and it's really cool looking. It's tiny little roots hanging down look like strings. I hope the girls like them and will help them feel protected alil bit. I took a water test and everything turned out okay. I have soft water and the PH was in the neutral zone and no ammonia. I might take a sample up to Petco sometime this weekend to get a double check to make sure my readings are good.

Behold the lushness!


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

From what I've heard, they eat live plants only as a last resort. So, if you keep the tank very clean, it might be wise to give them a bit of food so they don't devour your aquatic garden. That does mean they'll breed, though, so the excess will have to be removed every now and then. It seems like there are plenty of people who will take them off your hands, though, especially if you have pretty colors. ;-)


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

hrutan said:


> From what I've heard, they eat live plants only as a last resort. So, if you keep the tank very clean, it might be wise to give them a bit of food so they don't devour your aquatic garden. That does mean they'll breed, though, so the excess will have to be removed every now and then. It seems like there are plenty of people who will take them off your hands, though, especially if you have pretty colors. ;-)


With all that has happened with the tank since I got it, I will prolly have that tank sparkling forever. LOL! I do have algae wafers I feed Pleccy the pleco so I can always drop one of those in for the snails or use my veggie clip and give them their own cucumber treat. I am hoping that in the hospital tank, the Reds and Blues have given me some babies. I did see one tiny speckled snail, so they are growing up! I will prolly set up a one stop snail stop to sell my snails once I get a lot of beautiful colored ones. They seem to be the big thing here and I'm glad others appreciate these "pest" snails as much as I do.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well day 3 of having all the new plants in the tank and everything is flourishing and looking great! The Azolla and duckweed are getting a bit annoying to me and the fish though. Oh! everyone has been put back into the tank. They are rather confused by all the floating things in the water and keep trying to eat it. A lot of the Azolla keeps sinking and landing in the bushy Cabomba so I might do a water change to get rid of some of the debris.

I have a bunch of photo's of the girls doing silly things around the newly planted tank so here they are!

Topaz:



















Topaz "You can't see me!" Me "I think your tail is hanging out." Topaz "Darnit!"










Ruby decided that Topaz had enough pictures taken of her, so she took things into her own fins. PHOTO BOMB!



















Opal caught onto this new idea of photo bombing and got in on the action. I was trying to take photos of the new Cabomba plants, Opal just wasn't having it. She just didn't give a fish's tail that day... get it? Photo of her tail and she was mad at me? Eh nvm.



















I think Opal is the best hider of the girls. Can you find her in this picture? Pleccy had a cameo wanted to join in.










Last but not least Turquoise, she's taken a liking to the new plants and enjoys sleeping under them at night.



















Midnight and Iolite don't seem as interested in the plants as the other girls. I have seen Io in the plants but never long enough for me to grab my camera. Midnight though I think because s/he has such long frills, doesn't like going in the plants. Rather hide inside the driftwood or the crab home.










Pleccy checking out the new plants:










I have also came to the conclusion that Opal is a freeze baby. Found her sitting wedged between the tank wall and the heater. She wasn't stuck and could get out just fine, she just was having a nice time warming her fins.










Well there we go, a new entry full of fun filled fishy frolicking!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Okay so I saw the cutest thing ever!!! I walked into the Tiki room (it's what we call the bird and fish room, after the Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room) and found Turq AND Ruby sharing the same Cabomba plant! They must be really getting along to be that close in a plant together. They were both bought together at the same store and same time and near eachothers cups, so I am guessing they were already semi-friends. I woke all the girls up just to snap these pictures real fast too.


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## DaytonBetta (Feb 4, 2014)

I love your Tiki Room and the Disney one. Did you know it was one of Walt Disney's original ideas and a favorite of his? 

I would love to have a room filled with fish, frogs and birds!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

DaytonBetta said:


> I love your Tiki Room and the Disney one. Did you know it was one of Walt Disney's original ideas and a favorite of his?
> 
> I would love to have a room filled with fish, frogs and birds!


Mhmm! You're looking at someone who has been going every year to WDW Florida since she was born in '84. My parents have been going there since it opened in '71, we are Disney freaks. I know a lot of Disney secrets only a number of people know, like monorail breaking and deaths, hidden Mickeys around the parks, why Walt Disney pointed with 2 fingers, so on and so forth.

When my mom found out she was having a little girl, she painted all my walls with Disney characters, to this very day I still have the same walls untouched. I don't have the heart to paint over them even though I am 29 yrs old.

I love our Tiki room, it used to be just a jumble of stuff in the room. Two large mirror closets, mismatch dressers, and horrible flooring. I decided that was enough of that, and we have been remodeling the room so it actually had the Tikiroom feel to it now. I will post a small preview!

Before:










After:



















It's deff not finished, but this is just a small preview of our progress. We are going to add bamboo wainscot around the base of the walls, but no fear! The bird wallpaper will be staying!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

So evidently, my girls think that if something is going in their tank, they all have to examine it, poke it, stare at it, and gosh only knows what else. 




























I decided to put the larger ramshorns I had in the hospital tank back into the big tank. Peppermint the RCS also got to join the big tank too. Every time I dropped a snail into the tank, Opal and Topaz followed it down to the bottom of the tank and stared at it intently. They even gave a few of the snails alil nip just to see what they were. I know they will lose interest in the snails after a bit so I am not too worried about them bothering the snails. I am more concerned for lil Peppermint, she's the only one currently but there are plenty of hiding spots for her. I will be buying a few more cherry shrimp when I can. As for right now, she can be the queen shrimp.



















And here are two videos!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10102625027256364&l=8162276169172859920

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10102625026467944&l=6901822796755010933


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well day 4 of having the plants in the tank and I think day 2 of having the fish in? The Cabomba, Vesusvius, and Radican Marble Queen are all showing the most growth so far. 

Before:









After:









My Vesuvius has twists now!!!









The Corkscrew val is I believe is melting so that is kinda worrying me because I am not sure how to help it. I was told that trimming the bad sections off is okay because it grows like grass. The more I look at it tho, the more I see that is changing.

Ruby has claimed her own little side of the tank to sleep in by the Javafern tree. It's super cute seeing her all relaxed by the leaves and Azolla cluster.










One of the Neons decided to photobomb my plant picture and I found it funny so I kept it so I could post it here.










On my to do list prolly tomorrow is give the tank a water change and sponge off the walls. They are getting algae splotches here and there and I don't want it to get crazy. I have to buy some root tabs for the plants so I can give them some ferts even though they are doing really nice on their own so far.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

Well day 7 has come and everything is running great for the most part. The last few days my family and I worked on our "Tiki room" and got about 95% of it done. It's such a great room to just sit and relax in, watching the fish and listening to my Cockatiels sing. I think the birds really like the room and now we spend more time in it, talking to them and just chillin near the cage. I have some photos of the progress and some fish pictures too!

These pictures were taken at night so the lighting is funky. I will eventually have some more photos of daylight ones.




























I also saw in one of the DIY threads this neat idea how to feed your fish if you have floating plants. It was taking air tubing and making it into a ring. The ring would float ontop of the water and not let any floating plants in. That way the fish could eat their food without eating the plants. My girls just love this because they dislike eating the floating plants.



















I even caught Peppermint enjoying the Anubias on a rock. S/he was cleaning the plant all cute like so I had to snap a pic.










While working on the room, my dad accidentally knocked my air pump off the dresser. It busted it so we had to run out to our local pet store and buy a new one. I totally forgot to buy the root tabs for the plants. So that is still on my to do list.


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