5 Gallon Rescape

[AlexJordan]

Hi, all. Last summer I found a betta in absolutely desolate condition - translucent fins, light blue scales, he looked so sad. I slapped together a five gallon to save him, and thankfully, he survived. Nowadays, he's a brilliant royal blue with tinges of red, and he looks fantastic Here's my boy
 

 
 
 
Anyway, I'm looking for inspiration. I know I'm changing to a dark substrate, probably black like my 29, but I saw a gorgeous tank I wanted to emulate but I just can't find the picture! It was a small tank, black substrate, but filled with luscious big leaves. I think they were anubias, and I think it was a user on here. 
 
Anyway, here's the tank now
 

 
I'm hoping to plant it a lot more densely, and I definitely want a more jungle-y feel. I'll keep y'all posted

 

[Munroco]

Well done on your rescue. It was well worth it when you see the beautiful fish you ended up with.
 
Covering the back of the tank would make a big difference. Paint, a backdrop, or like me a black binbag cut to size.

 

[AlexJordan]

Definitely, I'm actually looking into getting a black backdrop right now 

. Once I got Calypso, I thought I wanted to keep it simple.. but now I think he'd do better in a more densely planted tank. I still can't believe he has this coloration, he was practically cyan tissue paper in the Petsmart cup.
 
Anyway, to give you a better idea of what I'm thinking of doing, it's something like this - http/tropica.com/en/inspiration/layout/Layout39/5034 - but much more. Less wood and more plants, I can never have any luck with wood 

 

[AlexJordan]

Whew! I found the tank I'm looking to emulate, it's NickAU's lovely cube! 

 
Isn't it gorgeous? I'm looking forward to getting plants.

 

[AlexJordan]

Just got paid, so I took a little eBay shopping trip 

. Driftwood and gravel ordered for 5 gallon!!

 

[NickAu]

I guess I should show you my other 2 tanks.
 
2 Foot.

 
6 Foot

 
feeding time in the 6 footer
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fAE4W3ix1o

 

[AlexJordan]

Both of those tanks are simply gorgeous! I can only hope mine will grow to half their level 

 

[HarpyFishLover]

How in the world have you gotten him to live that long? My family's two betta-fails only lasted like 4 months.

 

[AlexJordan]

How in the world have you gotten him to live that long? My family's two betta-fails only lasted like 4 months.

 
Well, those bettas might have been in a delicate state in the first place, and Calypso seemed to be pretty young when I got him. It's probably the combination of being young and better water parameters, and maybe I just caught him before the betta in a cup syndrome took its toll.
 
It's ten months this May that he's been with me, and I'm grateful he survived 

 

[AlexJordan]

Update: Well, not really much of one, but new gravel has arrived! I won't start the washing and re-gravelling until I get the driftwood (which should be in anywhere from 1-2 weeks), but yay, progress!

 

[AlexJordan]

Welcome folks, to the Land of Tannins and Bad Aquascaping!
 

 
I boiled the wood for a good three hours and it seems to be doing better, now that it's been in there for about a day. The wood looks a little overdone right now, and if I weren't so exasperated with this tank (shoving a suction cup into a filter for 20 minutes really tries your patience), I'd still be fiddling with it. Either way, I'm giving poor Calypso a little more time to accommodate before I start rocking his world any more. The semester is over (WOOHOO!!!), so I'll have a bit more time to monitor everything and go search around for plants.

 

[NickAu]

 
How in the world have you gotten him to live that long? My family's two betta-fails only lasted like 4 months.

It all comes down to water quality the right diet right water temp.

 

[AlexJordan]

^^^ Agreed. About a month ago Calypso was very listless, and I tested and there had been a random ammonia spike. I did a 60% water change and he popped right back, flared fins and kicking. 
 
Speaking of which, the boy reminds me of jaws since I can't see his coloration very well now. He's just an intimidating silhouette