# The Story of Claws the Christmas Fish



## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

Hi guys, this thread will be the journal for my first fish tank. Here is the link so my original thread asking questions.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/betta-fish-bowls-habitats-accessories/hello-starting-tank-322482/


*Most recent tank picture…*











*And so it begins…*

I received claws as an unexpected Christmas gift. I've always loved fish tanks and aquariums but never felt like I wanted to deal with the maintenance. After getting Claws I decided that I would go ahead and tackle the challenge since I now had a fish and a responsibility to care for him. I read a bunch of stuff in the internet and picked up a Fluval Spec V, some wood, and some plants. After putting it all together it looked like this!










After a 24 hour settling periods I moved Claws into his new home and he loved it right away. The only thing that concerned me was the filter outflow power. After getting some good advice from other forum members I put a fluval pre-filter sponge over it and that calmed everything down. However, I didn’t like that the lack of surface movement was causing a film to build up so I set about fiddling with the nozzle placement to try and find a way to keep the water moving without being dangerous to Claws.

I settled on up and into the glass which Claws seems to like. With it like this, Claws will often pretend to be a salmon and swim will all his might directly into the outflow stream in order to jump up on top of the nozzle. Victorious, he’ll sit there for a few minutes before doing it again! He is an adventure fish!

*Attack of the wood fuzz…*










Some other forum members explained that this is water mold and common with new wood. My plan is to get a couple nails soon to eat this stuff. =D


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

*First Water Change*

Just finished the first water change and sucked up a bunch of mold. I think one or two nerite snails are on the docket for the weekend. Tested the water i took out and i think things are looking good. Fish has been in since saturday and i've been feeding a little extra to help get things going.

pH - 7.4
Ammonia - 0.25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0

And pics!


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

*And Then There Were Three...*

Last night we went out to aquire Claws' first set of tank mates, two nerite snails! The zebra seems to be a more speedy. After an initial investigation Claws has pretty much left them alone so that bodes well for their friendship. I'm hoping the snails will take care of the wold on my wood but even if not, they are quite pretty to look at.

This the zebra we named Stripe.









and the spotted one we named Spot.


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

*Another Water Change*

No pics today, but i did the 2nd water change of the tank and the params are still looking good. Same pH, no nitrates or trites, .25ppm ammonia (but maybe a little less since the color looked somewhere between 0 and .25).

I've only had the snails in the tank for about 18 hours and holy **** do they **** a lot! Snail **** everywhere! I'm hoping shrimp will eat that...lol


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## oceanbetta11 (Jan 4, 2014)

pretty tank, geargos betta, and cool snails 
 wish you good luck with your new betta


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

thanks!


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## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

Keep an eye on the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, especially now that you have inverts (which tend to be more sensitive to all three). I'd heavily advise keeping up on the water changes, which shouldn't be hard since the tank basically appears to be a modified 5.5 gallon.

I'm not going to criticize you for this, though, since you were not expecting the fish and did not have a chance to get the cycle going before getting him. If you (deliberately) set up another tank, try to cycle it by running the filter for about a month before getting fish and adding fish food to the tank daily.


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

Joshaeus said:


> Keep an eye on the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, especially now that you have inverts (which tend to be more sensitive to all three). I'd heavily advise keeping up on the water changes, which shouldn't be hard since the tank basically appears to be a modified 5.5 gallon.
> 
> I'm not going to criticize you for this, though, since you were not expecting the fish and did not have a chance to get the cycle going before getting him. If you (deliberately) set up another tank, try to cycle it by running the filter for about a month before getting fish and adding fish food to the tank daily.


Thanks, ya its a fluval spec v tank so only 5 gallons. Water changes have been fast and easier than I expected having never had an aquarium before. I've been checking the water parameters twice a week when I change the water. If I set up another tank I would do the fishless cycle (though for whats it worth, the advice I got on this forum said that fish-in cycle with a single betta in 5 gallons was safe).


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

Welp, my snails kept snailing around the one anubias and dislodging it from its sandy moorings so i now have a floating anubias. On the next water change day i'm going to see if i can replant it better while the water is low.


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

*Nitrites*

Test kit showed the first sign of nitrites last night so i believe that means the tank is working through the cycle. No nitrates yet but its on its way. I also had to replant two of my anubias after the snails crawled around on them and uprooted them.


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

*and then there were nitrates!*

Checked the water last night and saw nitrates for the first time. If i understand the nitro stickies correctly, then that means my tank is humming right along in the cycle. I think i'd like to get another anubias that is taller to put in one of the corners. While two of mine were uprooted it seemed like Claws was liking them floating around the top.


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## GuiltySparc (Dec 26, 2013)

*New Growth*

One of my anubias has a little sprout, woo! Guess that means my plants are also enjoying the tank.


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