2nd Lot of Questions!

I'll try not to be a pain but as a new would-be keeper of a Betta I'd value more advice before starting on setting-up.

Planning a fishless cycle.

Using gravel substrate. Is it a good idea to ask the aquatic place if I can have some used medium from one of their tanks or not such a good move? Unfortunately, I don't know anybody else with an aquarium.

Plants - want lots! Java moss tied to something, java fern also tied to something. Something floaty and something tall for the back of the tank that he would enjoy resting on; looking for ideas for the last two - and is there anything better than the Java fern & moss perhaps? Any recommendations where's the best place to buy from - an aquatic centre or a reputable online store?

How many corys can I put with my Betta in a 28 litre tank? If not corys, is there anything else that would be as entertaining who would cohabit peacefully with a Betta? Love those little chaps!

I think that's all for the moment. Hope you don't all get fed up with me and all my questions ::

I'm not sure on the asking the Aquatic store for used filter media I've never done so myself.

Plants you can't get better than Daz's (Modaz username here) I have Limnophila Aquatica and sessiflora and my bettas love resting on them. I also have java fern tied to bogwood and java moss sticks all from Daz's store. Here's a link [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Corys personally I would go for 3 in a 28 litre depending on which type of cory you go for. The peppered, bronze and albino's can get rather huge.

Mel xx

Hi
As regards to getting some mature substrate from an lfs. Most, if not all lfs run back-room filter systems, so they wont have any substrate as such. If you trust the lfs, and they are willing to donate some mature media, then i see no problem. If you are going to be going for the undergravel set-up, then you could put the media in a media bag (available at lfs) and place it in the gravel. Its a bit like how you would start the process in a filter. For the u/g you would need a good 1 1/2 - 2 inches of substrate. As time passes, the good bacteria in the media bag will colonies the nearby gravel, just like in a filter.

Now, i have used a product to speed the cycle up. It is the only product i would recommend, and wouldn't if i hadn't used it:) The product is called Seachem stability. I have used it to cycle my 40g marine tank and about 4 fresh water tanks. It worked each time:) You simply add the recommended dose for the size of the tank on day 1, keep adding it for 7 days and its done:) On my 3rd go with it, i stocked 3 bettas on day 2 and have never had ammonia or nitrItes. You dont do any water changes during dosing either, but can do a partial once its finished.

Bear in mind with u/g filters that they aren't good with plants that need planting. Java fern on bogwood etc will be fine.

Having got a tank similar to the ones you are looking at, I wouldn't put cories in apart from Pygmy cories due to the limited amount of ground area. I would also wait at least 2-3 months before adding them though.

Cory cats are really neat fish and they like to be in schools to be happy and thrive, in that size tank I would go with the dwarf type so you can get 4-5 of them, also cory cats are very sensitive to salts as well as plants, so take caution if you ever need to use salts.
Depending on your light wpg (watts per gallon) will make a difference on the type of plants that will thrive in your set up, lower light plants can be moss of most types, ferns and remember if the leaves turn brown and look dead do not throw them out as the spores will make new plants for you. Anubia barteri-v-nana, all these type of plants need to be tied to something like driftwood or a rock. If you have at least 2wpg the grass type plants like sag and val are nice to give depth and height, I love the cork screw vals, they look so pretty, lower lawn type grass like E. tenellus looks nice grown around the base of rocks and decorations. Floating plants I like water lettuce, I love the look of the roots hanging down in the water column.
Cycling-a jump start from a healthy establish aquarium can speed up your cycling time, I would use gravel placed in panyhose placed in an area with high water flow, also taking a piece of the filter media and putting it in your filter will also help, just make sure it come from a healthy tank.
Remember that the NB (Nitrifying bacteria) that make up the biological filter to convert ammonia, nitrite then nitrite to nitrate are found in the filter media, substrate, walls of the tank, on the decorations and on the plants both real and fake, very little is found in the water column.
Good luck and can't wait to see your new tank all set up, this is a fun and exciting hobby, don't you agree.

Yes - I've been looking at the pygmy corys and they seem to be the only ones I could put in with the Betta sizewise so I'll do what's been suggested and wait for a good while before adding them.

Thanks for the info on the plants too - I'll order some from Daz as soon as I get my tank.

The cycling info has also been added to my list of useful notes.

So glad I came across this forum.

LizzieDee wrote: So glad I came across this forum.

Thank you :D We may not know the answers to every question, but there's always someone willing to dig up some info from somewhere