what do i need?

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:47 pm

I currently have a ten gallon aquarium set up that I want to start a Betta sorority in. I've been told it can be done. But what do I need to make it work? I've been told young females make it much easier also plenty of hiding places and plants.

What plants should I use? ( all live of course) and hardy is best.

I have a filter Airstone water conditioner melafix bettamin a brine shrimp net ( i find its easier on the fish) a huge cave, some anacharis. Is there anything else?

Also I was thinking about terracotta pots ( with no hole in the bottom cuz they can get stuck) would these work? I've seen it done but I wanna make sure. Also my filter is a little strong for them so is there a way I could fix that?

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:05 pm

Plants like java moss and java fern re easy to keep. Floating plants like Amazon frogbit work well as surface plants. If you use a 10G it will need to be really well planted with lots of places to hide to make it work. What type of filter is it? you can slow it down slightly by putting filter sponge over the intakes for the filter but that will mean any little bits in the water will get stuck in the sponge on the out side. This wont make any difference to the filter but might not look to good.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:13 pm

not looking good is fine its covered lol. i'm not sure the type of filter I bought it with the tank. Right now I have anacharis. the local pet store does not carry java moss or java fern. why do I need wood?

and Could I just get wood from like the woods and boil it thoroughly to kill everything?

Driftwood can be so expensive and I'm going to be a college student so I just cant afford a lot right now. But I will look for Java fern and Java moss.

Also the current was a big problem for my male but never for my female so will my new females be ok? ( I no longer have my other bettas)

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:23 pm

Sorry i didnt mean wood i ment to write lots of places to hide Duno how i manged to get them to mixed up haaha. Have a look one ebay for the plants you can normally get them for a betta price than in lfs. I wouldnt think that the current would be to much of a problem And if its well planted then they should stop most of the current.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:38 pm

ok I'll do that Smile

is there anything else I need? I will definetly look and see if I can order some java fern Smile

and I'll keep clipping the anacharis so I have plenty Smile

where would you recommend getting bettas? And how much are they? I only need pet quality maybe the LFS would be good but having help from someone who knows more about them is great Smile

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:44 pm

Cant think of anything else If im honest. The price all dependence on the quality you are looking for. I you just go to the lfs and but standard blue or red VT females they will be about £2 but if you want different colours and tail types yo could be looking at alot more. Some lfs might stock or order you in some different tail type bettas i managed to get DT and CT females from my lfs for £2 so its worth asking. If not i would have a looks on ebay theres some nice fish on there and if you get them al from the same seller you might be able to have conbined postage that would save some money.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:02 pm

Thanks

actually my lfs has all kinds of colors Smile

blue white red purple. I wanna get all different color baby girls Smile

But is there anything I have forgotten to get them other than a water test kit?

And are there any little cleaner fish like corydoras I could add to help keep the tank clean?

Also should I go ahead and add some melafix when I add them just incase they fight or already have anything?

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:08 pm

Have you got water declorine? Dose the tank have a heater? if so what temp? And has the tank been cycled?
Any of the 3 types of pygmy corys will work. You could probably get away with 6-8 as they need to be in groups. Sand is best for corys as some gravel can damage there barbels.
corydoras hastatus
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corydoras habrosus
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corydoras pygmaeus (these are what i have)
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You could get away with a Bristlenose or bulldog plec if you didnt get the corys but they can be a little messy.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:14 pm

the tank is cycled no heater as of now but I am getting one as soon as I rehome my little goldfish Sad

and the water conditioner is very high quality the pet store told me it even has stress coat. Anything bad in the water it will remove.

My substrate is actually decorative marbles. Easy to clean and nothing can get hurt on them Smile

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:23 pm

Fair enough. The bettas will do best at 26-28C. Marbles should be fine for the corys. The corys will need extra food added they wont just live off of scraps of food that fall to the bottom. I feed mine algea wafers and bloodworm pellets and loads of fruit and veg that get put in for my BNs and there fry.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:42 pm

I'm not every good with celsius >_< sorry. and whats a BN? Ok I love Corydoras Smile

plus the bettas even in a bad mood cant hurt an armored fish lol. Ok I'll keep that in mind when I get them Smile

I cant wait Smile

but I'm gonna be spending so much money grrr ( I'm also getting a lovely gift for christmas but I have to buy all kinds of things for it lol )

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 6:52 pm

79-82F. Bristlenose plec
Theres some pics of mine here

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and some of the fry

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Bettas are normally fine with corys IME. I like corys to ive got 19 overall lol and they spawned a few weeks ago. I know what you mean about the money the amount ive spent over the last year on the is mental.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:01 pm

Yeah so I'm just trying to figure out what to do. I dont wanna get rid of my tank altogether but I also need the cheapest way to go.

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:09 pm

You can make them look good fairly cheaply. I made slate caves and coconut caves for my tank and collected loats of wood from the forest sanded it and soaked it to go in the tank and you can use oak leaves in the tank aswell. All the bits ive got/made and how i did it are in this section
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by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:15 pm

Thanks

thats will help so much Smile

I'm gonna keep clipping my anacharis so I have plenty of plants Smile

and get some logs and terracotta pots Smile

so it shouldnt cost too much to get this tank going Smile

water test kit hose segment pots and plants... I think thats it Smile

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:21 pm

With the ood make sure its a type of hard wood because soft wood will rot in the tank. The other thing i just remembered you could add are cherry shrimp they make very little waste and are quite active and funny to watch.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:26 pm

I think I may just go to the river find driftwood and boil it. Would that work?

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:32 pm

I think the forest would be the easiest because the dark needs to have fallen off of the wood before its safe to use.

by **elliriyanna** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:41 pm

yeah but drift wood thats been in the river and is on shore from being washed up would be good I think

by **kizno1** on Mon Jul 19, 2010 7:44 pm

But that could be any type of wood. And most of the stuff in my rivers still have bark on them which means there no good. Its up to you bit i personally think it will be easier to get from a forest.

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