I have two shoutouts to Greg today… 1) Thank you thank yo...
I have two shoutouts to Greg today…
1) Thank you thank you thank you for the mug! I’ve wanted one firnsonlong and I know you can’t buy them which makes them extra special. She’s so cute and makes me happy. 🌱🥰 2) Check out the new growth from my Greg shop beauty Queen Mary. She is spectacular! #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #HappyPlants #PlantAddict #GregPlantShop #GregGang #greggivesback #GregFeedback #Greggers #gregteam #gregmug
1) Thank you thank you thank you for the mug! I’ve wanted one firnsonlong and I know you can’t buy them which makes them extra special. She’s so cute and makes me happy. 🌱🥰 2) Check out the new growth from my Greg shop beauty Queen Mary. She is spectacular! #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #HappyPlants #PlantAddict #GregPlantShop #GregGang #greggivesback #GregFeedback #Greggers #gregteam #gregmug
0ft to light, indirect
5” pot with drainage
Last watered 4 weeks ago
28
Best Answer
@teacher12 hmm ok some issues here.
Corys are not algae eaters. Common beginner misconception. They only eat food that drops to the bottom, not algae. The panda garra should get it, but they like to be in groups. Corys too.
Given your betta's fins, i suspect it might have fin rot. Use aquarium salt [NOT MARINE/REEF SALT] on it [1 tbsp/gal], and pls maintain the tank 😅.
I recommend trying a method where you use organic compost on the bottom, abt 0.5-1", then cap with 1-2" of sand. The corys will like the sand too. It's what we call an 'ecosystem' setup, so it's more forgiving on the maintenance. Make sure to get lots of stem plants like Hygrophila, Ludwigia and Rotala [just don't try wallichii or marcrandra]. Pearlweed is popular too
Corys are not algae eaters. Common beginner misconception. They only eat food that drops to the bottom, not algae. The panda garra should get it, but they like to be in groups. Corys too.
Given your betta's fins, i suspect it might have fin rot. Use aquarium salt [NOT MARINE/REEF SALT] on it [1 tbsp/gal], and pls maintain the tank 😅.
I recommend trying a method where you use organic compost on the bottom, abt 0.5-1", then cap with 1-2" of sand. The corys will like the sand too. It's what we call an 'ecosystem' setup, so it's more forgiving on the maintenance. Make sure to get lots of stem plants like Hygrophila, Ludwigia and Rotala [just don't try wallichii or marcrandra]. Pearlweed is popular too
@captainstardust I’m a library teacher! (I’m housed in the library and do all of the library-esque things but am a certified teacher.)
@captainstardust btw - I was checking out your oasis and your Nan is gorgeous! I’ve never seen that plant before. Wishlist - ✅
@Araceae good eye! I am terrible at aquatic plants, so going to try again with a second tank, and redo the first one. It was gorgeous at one point (see first two pics). I have a peaceful betta Teddy Swims, panda Cory’s, a panda garra and some tetra. It’s a 20 gallon, but some snails have taken over, so I just added an assassin snail since Teddy has no interest in killing anything. He’s the sweetest. It was my first tank, so I’m giving myself grace. Dreading taking it apart and cleaning everything, but it will be worth it. The third pic is how it looks now. Clear water with solid parameters, but lots of algae.
@teacher12 nice! Bucephalandra was a bold choice for first tho 😅. And the Myriophyllum tuberculatum. As expected i can't find them in the after shot
I would suggest, however, that you glue the Anubias to a stone or wood. It should be the golden round-leaf one in the foreground. Also, try removing the plants from the pots. Remove as much rockwool as possible using tweezers, and plant directly into the substrate. Rockwool tends to to hold onto nutrients, unfortunately it can also leech a lot of it into the water. So you'll want to rid of asuch of it as possible
I would suggest, however, that you glue the Anubias to a stone or wood. It should be the golden round-leaf one in the foreground. Also, try removing the plants from the pots. Remove as much rockwool as possible using tweezers, and plant directly into the substrate. Rockwool tends to to hold onto nutrients, unfortunately it can also leech a lot of it into the water. So you'll want to rid of asuch of it as possible
@Araceae thank you for the advice. I did some research, but not enough. I was going for a girl tank with the pink plants and the crystal rocks,but the white isn’t very forgiving. I was going to glue the anubias when I redid the tank, but I’ve been prcrastinating. I want to take out the gravel since it looks bad. I thought the Cory’s would take care of the algae, but I think my problem is too much leftover food. I think they have a hard time feeding around the gravel. I was going to plant the other plants in the second tank, but again, I procrastinated and now I’m hoping I’m not too late. I also slacked on the filter, which needs to be changed out. My relaxing hobby has turned into a stressful one, but I know it’s a learning curve. Even Teddy is looking sad with his ripped fins. I don’t see anything bothering him and he swims around all of the time with the other fish. He enjoys hiding and has several spots that are his, but maybe he just wants to be alone. The garra likes to bounce around the tank, and also push the Cory’s around at feeding time, but they could care less. They are funny fish.
@Araceae that is great advice. Thank you! I actually had 3 garras, but two died soon after I got them, which was weird since they were all from the same LFS, but I’m sure I did something wrong in the beginnning. Yes, aquarium salt! I bought sometime ago and forgot about it. I tried some SeaChem stress guard, but I didn’t use it for long because of a medical issue with my skin. I also have sand which I haven’t used yet. I started my base with Ultum Contrasoil, so I think that was pretty good. I have it for the new tank as well. I was really good about keeping the tank clean and changing out the filters as needed, but I’ve been traveling the past few weeks and I haven’t done a big maintenance job other than cleaning the filter, but I can see it’s getting clogged with floating plants. I have not slacked on checking the water parameters since that would kill my fish, but the tank is getting my full attention this week now that I’m home for awhile. Sigh. When it works it’s the best and when it struggles it is painful. 🌱🐠🐠🐠 I have been consulting with my LFS a little and they suggested taking everything out and redoing it. I think I am going to need to boil some of the rocks at this point, but I don’t want to ruin the bacteria balance either. Thankfully I can salvage a lot of it and I have a separate mini tank for my betta so he can have some space for a few weeks, which he might appreciate while the new 10 gallon cycles. Thank goodness I’m on summer break!!!
@RealSimpleMama I‘m a certified teacher, too. It’s always interesting how different regions use different terms for essentially the same job!
@teacher12 I hadn’t seen it before either — found at Orange Lake Nursery!
https://orangelakenursery.com/products/alternanthera-ficoidea-partytime?_pos=1&_sid=1dba96432&_ss=r
https://orangelakenursery.com/products/alternanthera-ficoidea-partytime?_pos=1&_sid=1dba96432&_ss=r
@teacher12 I’ve been on a historical fiction kick! I just finished “The war that saved my life” and its sequel and they were excellent. Also will read some of my kids’ series like Wings of Fire, and Frostheart. But I love historical fiction, sci fi, and YA fantasy.
@Araceae Thank you! I have no idea how old he is. He’s grown a lot since I got him in January. I fell in love with him because he was kind of shy and sad and then he turned out to be a gentle soul who is curious, but never bothers any of the other fish.
@RealSimpleMama if you are up for a heavier WWII fic that happens to be one of the best and most original books I’ve ever read, try Code Name Verity.
@Araceae I spent four and a half hours yesterday cleaning and updating the tank. I think it turned out really well and the Cory’s are loving their new tunnels. I also added a bottom feeder that allows the food to gather in once place and one of the Cory’s keeps resting in it. It’s funny. His own little space. Teddy seemed to enjoy exploring, and he’s moving between leaf clusters, so I really hope his treatment works. I decided to try the Sea Chem Stress Guard again, so we’ll see what happens. I just read a depressing post about how bettas are living much shorter lives due to inbreeding, so I’m worried he won’t recover. 🥺 Thank you for the inspiration to get after an overhaul of the tank!
@teacher12 tank is looking great!
Inbreeding seems to affect more of the super fancy ones. Black bettas like Teddy Swims actually have breeding issues themselves. The gene coding for black is a lethal gene. If you breed two black bettas together, a lot of the offspring don't make it to adulthood. I think they have to cross out for black bettas, to avoid that many casualties
Inbreeding seems to affect more of the super fancy ones. Black bettas like Teddy Swims actually have breeding issues themselves. The gene coding for black is a lethal gene. If you breed two black bettas together, a lot of the offspring don't make it to adulthood. I think they have to cross out for black bettas, to avoid that many casualties
@teacher12 if i'm being honest, i learnt more from forums and yt channels. You'll know that they're real ppl with real experience. But Aquarium Co-op is good web, has a yt channel too.
For other betta channels, try PNW Bettas, KeepingFishSimple [more general fish keeping and breeding, but he's good with bettas too], Simply Betta, and Danny from MissOrchidGirl has an aquarium channel too [Danny MOG Aquariums]
For other betta channels, try PNW Bettas, KeepingFishSimple [more general fish keeping and breeding, but he's good with bettas too], Simply Betta, and Danny from MissOrchidGirl has an aquarium channel too [Danny MOG Aquariums]
I'll also avoid bettas that are have metallic/dragon-type scales. I mean, a Galaxy, Avatar, Samurai, Full Mask, Dragon, Blue Rim or Marble WOULD be fine if they've got good genes, but the issue is that their metallic scaling tends to gradually cover the eye as the betta ages. The proper term is 'diamond-eye'. The chance of this is low-ish, but still a large portion to be concerned. I personally am not against metallic/dragon bettas, but if you want to i try to opt for those that don't have so much scaling or bettas from a proper breeder. GloBettas too, they're bettas injected with a jellyfish bioluminescence gene. It's not totally harmful, but they're prone to develop blindness too
There's also shortbody bettas [the organs are squished, more prone to swim-bladder issues], dumbo ear, rosetail, crowntail, combtail, feathertail and half-sun bettas [more prone to finrot] and even the rare mutation that prevents the betta from having a tail [these are actually perfectly fine. Some might actually swim better fsmr] or having a single pelvic fin [again nothing wrong], or even double tails [not to be confused with Double-tail bettas, that have two tail lobes. I'm referring to Fantails, that literally have two tails]. Nothing wrong with these, just gotta give em more attention
Ok, sorry EXCEPTION TO THE METALLIC/DRAGON SCALES.
Wild bettas in the Betta splendens complex like Betta imbellis, Betta smaragdina, Betta mahachaiensis, Betta siamorientalis or Betta sp. 'Alien' [hybrid] naturally have metallic scales. These are completely normal.
Some in the Betta coccina and Betta foerschi complex also have a bit of metallic scales. Same for certain mouthbrooding bettas like Betta pugnax.
Actually, now that i think of it, most wild bettas have metallic scales
Wild bettas in the Betta splendens complex like Betta imbellis, Betta smaragdina, Betta mahachaiensis, Betta siamorientalis or Betta sp. 'Alien' [hybrid] naturally have metallic scales. These are completely normal.
Some in the Betta coccina and Betta foerschi complex also have a bit of metallic scales. Same for certain mouthbrooding bettas like Betta pugnax.
Actually, now that i think of it, most wild bettas have metallic scales