# Elliot & his tank progress.



## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

I did not realize this was here. Now I can just babble about my 10 gallons of fun in one thread! 
I got this chunk of love couple days ago. It has been soaking & I need to sand it, but I'm loving the looks of it & all the hides for my gang. But not so hidey I can't see them! 
Which actually doesn't seem to be an issue as the ADFs and Elliot are all rather brazen and active. I think this will be the last addition needed to make my tank look full & natural. Well, except MORE PLANTS!


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## Bilbo Baggins (Jan 27, 2016)

Nice bit of Bogwood there, but --sand it ? --never heard of anyone sanding down bogwood before but then what do I know. So you are Elliot and its your tank ? or is it Elliot is the main fish in there and its His tank ? Tell us about your tank and its fish or shrimps. Im delighted to see a journal in this section which isnt someones 250 gallon pride and joy, Ive been watching you tube stuff lately which does wonders with even 5 gallon tanks, usually involving shrimps. Will be interesting to follow the journal of a ten gallon tank. Good Luck---bilbo


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

My name is Joy & Elliot is my betta. I got him on 01/30 & we are happy to report a successful tank cycle! I say 'we' because it really was teamwork, his fishyness & my wanting it to turn out well. 
I have everything written in a notebook from day one, even down to the plants I added. I wish I had of scrolled down to this section b4, because I have found it a fun & very satisfying journey. 
As of today I have one uber-active betta & 2 ADFs who are insanely cute & all over the tank. I had bought 3, but one did not live thru quarantine and passed the 3rd day. 
I'm actually kinda bummed about that chunk of wood pictured. Since putting it in 2 days ago it grew some kinda crazy white film on the blonde parts of the wood. Apparently it's harmless, but either way I took it out.
I had sanded it and the other piece as they had some severely sharp & snaggy nooks & crannys. Elliot's very curious & flarey, so his tail is his gift & his curse. 
I'm going to bake the new piece in the oven at low temp for a few hours to hopefully dry out whatever might be hanging out in it, as I did not have this issue with my first piece of wood.
Is there a difference between Mopani & bog or are they the same thing?
I will try and gather the pics I've taken since day one, it's pretty cool to see the difference from then & now.


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## Bilbo Baggins (Jan 27, 2016)

Apparently the white mould is common on bogwood and will disappear after a couple of weeks in the water, howevever I now see why you might want to sand it clean a bit. Not sure about the type of bogwood you mention, Ive got some issues with some Sumatran bogwood I bought--I cant get it to sink. anyway Joy, nice to see, as I said a journal of a small tank in here, see if you can post a pic of Elliot, there is a large and very keen bunch of Betta nuts on here.--Billy (bilbo)


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

Some pictures of Elliot & his 2 tank mates.
First betta pic is from the first week I had him. Second is now (week 5'ish). His fins look so shaggy. 
I've never seen him bite his tail, but he flares ALOT & is constantly swimming around the plants and the log and the heater. He doesn't seem stressed out or freaked out, so I haven't stressed out with worry. Tho I do keep a vigilant eye on his pretty tail.
Oddly though, some days his tail looks less damaged when he does a full on picture worthy flare, which of course is never when I have the camera! LOL.
The 3rd pic is of the froggies. A video would do them more justice, as they are pretty freaking awesome! 
There are just the 2 & I am hoping to get 2 more tomorrow, because they like to be in groups. But these 2 seem pretty out going & active, so if the stock doesn't look good, I wont bother.


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

I baked the wood & soaked. Then baked it again & soaked. It is a beautiful piece & there are holes & notches to hook the Anuibus plants to. 
To do this big re-arrange I hand cupped the frogs & betta & put them in separate mason jars. 
I must admit, I so loved holding the froggies. These guys have stole my <3 LOLOL
Water params are all on spot with 10 gallon. I need WAY more plants tho. I had to cram a crap load in the corner where Elliot has a flaring obsession. 
This tank is right next to my bed & I stare & stare...  I wish I was a fish


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## Bilbo Baggins (Jan 27, 2016)

Real nice tank Joy, and Elliot looks like a nice guy, nice bit of aquascaping in the tank and the frogs are awesome, what do you feed the frogs ?


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

I've been feeding them Omega One whole frozen blood worms, but it seems Elliot is far smarter than the frogs & consumes way more than they do or he should.
Been using a turkey baster to try & get them in a particular spot, it's not working well at all for me.
It just kind of blows the worms all over the tank.
I ordered 10" stainless steel tweezers off Amazon last week, hopefully they will be here tomorrow.
Elliot normally eats Omega One betta buffet flakes, he's a come out of the water type for them even, so I'm leary of him over eating, but he's on those worms soon as I put them in.
Everyone in the tank is so active all the time that hopefully nobody gets too fat till I figure this out. 
And for the record, I can not express how awesome the frogs are! I'm not sure if I got 2 of the most out going hams on the planet but they have been literally hours of amusement!
I wonder if the reflection inside the tank may make them believe there are more of them than reality? LOL.
Either way, I'm really loving this tank.


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## Bilbo Baggins (Jan 27, 2016)

A tip I got from a magazine was, get a piece of tubing about 3/4 in diameter and just drop the frozen worms into place letting gravity do the work, the worms just sink down the tube into their required place. I used to use this simple way to get worms etc into Corydoras resting spot, so that they got the worms instead of all the thieves hanging around.


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

Did some plant rearrangement. I'm still not sure how to gravel vac with the rooted ones. So everything just gets moved around. But they are growing great!
Water params have stayed nice & level & I consider this pretty awesome.
The newest wood has a bit of slime/fuzz on it still after baking & soaking, but it doesn't seem to be getting bigger.
When I do a gravel vac, I don't feed the frogs, because they just chase after everything that gets stirred up. 
I had also been debating getting some small bottom feeding type fish, but I'm leaning towards not. I didn't know the frogs were as super visually challenged as they are & well, everyone seems to be doing just fine as is  Elliot had a 'tail-gater' once after eating from their frog plate, so I will just leave things be.
And I heard the frog song finally! It is so unique! 
If I didn't have to get up so early in the AM I may never have noticed.


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

I unintentionally fibbed about not getting any bottom feeding fish. 
Stopped into Pet Quarters to 'just look' and see the stock. Well, they had one single solitary albino cory alone in a tank~he is now in mine.
I think they were feeding him crack because this guy has been non stop!
Turned off the tank lights early, watched everybody for aggression & Elliot seemed a little miffy with so much new activity, but then seemed to realize he was still the KING & just swam near him after an initial nip. 
The frogs just do their silly frog stuff & I see them all careen into each other with their awful eyesight! 
I named the cory Lou. 
I'm wondering how they school tho. I can't even imagine 6 of them jetting around like this, or maybe this is a behavior due to stress?
Will find out tomorrow if he is just a spazz


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

Lou's not a spazz! From a bazillion different posts from a quadrillion different forums, apparently this madwack swimming is not unique nor anything to concern myself about.
Just to keep things legit tho, I will get him a couple buddies tomorrow... I'm sure that will give me a great excuse to get a 20 gallon, as that spastic swimming is not really the nice serene setting I had going on with Elliot & the frogs.
I think I just decided mid-sentence that I'm getting a 20 gallon! lolol.


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## aussieJJDude (Jun 9, 2012)

This was the day that Multiple Tank Syndrome started.... If it hasn't happened already. 

Welcome to the dark side.


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

HaHa! I had already turned my quarantine tank into home for a 'sad cup' betta! As far as getting another tank, that's going to have to wait until I move in a few months~but it indeed will happen! 
I really enjoy the whole package of maintenance and learning as well as just watching them.
Went to a brand new PetSmart this afternoon & got 2 more albino corys, Fric & Frac. What a difference in everyone's overall mood! Including mine. Watching the one fish just swim like that was, for lack of a better word, irritating. Thru no fault of his own, poor bugger. Not sure how long he had been alone @ the pet store, but he did a complete 180 with the addition of the 2 new ones.
They are half the size of him, so they look like his kids following him around. It's really cool to watch.
The frogs are even more active. And Elliot seems to appreciate having a new focus besides flaring at his reflection.
I am super happy with this & I believe it's a good balance.


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

The corys swish around too fast for proper pics... I got a good one of my 'sad cup' betta, who I will refer to from now on as grumpy cup Ludwig. He's the prettiest veil tail & looks nothing like he did when I brought him home. He's a blue/red combo.
Elliot just steals the show with his crazy blue shimmer. 
And then there is Geddy Flea, who thinks this whole box of fish & water was put here just for him.


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## Bilbo Baggins (Jan 27, 2016)

Nice pics, apparently Corys love company, go on, get another tank, you know you want to. you obviously love your underwater world, dont be too rough on the frogs they cant help being what they are, Ive seen albino Corys in my local fish store and they look so cute, but Im holding out for Panda Corys, my favourites. Although they did have the most gorgeous half grown ( about half an inch ) Pygmy Corys which nearly went home with me. Glad everything appears to be on the up in your tank, long may it continue.


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## kittenzuponi (Jan 25, 2016)

I've added a new tank. A 3 gal. Critter Keeper for the lone Betta Ludwig that was in a 1.2 gal. I had for quarantine. (That tank has been dried & boxed up & hidden from view!)
I had been having issues with PH levels, in particularly the small tank. The PH was consistently 6 if not lower & I had no clue how to keep it stable in such a small space without wild fluxuations. 
The 10 gal. seems to have settled on a low but tolerable level, I've begun sprinkling in a pinch of Prime Regulator with each water change.
But back to the 3 gal. WHAT a difference! Ludwig is simply put, giddy!
I have the Keeper & a Tetra 3i filter and a small pre-set heater.
The filter gets terrible reviews, but with a few tweaks it is quite functional. You need to buy suction cup replacements as they are sold with a clip & the clip is a bit large for the Keeper lid to fit over, although it did. Also the Keeper has a lip that sticks out, so nothing is really flush.
But using a suction cup allows me to put the lid on securely without crimping the air hose and the heater cord runs right next to it & the lid still fits fine.
I wedged a piece of filter sponge between the intake tube and the tank & another between the actual filter medium, it helps with the crazy bubbles (one of the biggest complaints from ppl in reviews).
The outflow is minimal & it circulates great! 
The heater was a $15 pre-set meant for a 2.5 gal. but so far has not had to be steady on & keeps the water @ 78.
I bought a goose neck halogen lamp at WalMart for $13 (bulb included) and it lights the tank with a warm hue, but don't put too close. It gets hot!
All in all I'm thinking a 3 gal. is the best bet & this set up has really been great for a low budget but pretty keen tank. 
I have the filter & heater in one corner & a bunch of live plants from the other tank (they literally grow like weeds!)
Pics of the set up & of course an extra one of the frogs


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