They Look Cool But Are They Practical In The Long Run?

[Ch4rlie]

Don't add ammonia to the tank with the betta!
 
Will probably kill him am afraid!
 
You are now doing a fish in cycle, therefore the betta will produce the ammonia.
 
Hopefully someone will give you the link for fish in cycle as I can't seem to find it at the moment.

 

[peegee617]

Does he like my Edge? Hard to tell, but I don't think he's in awe as much as he should be. He's doing quite a bit of moping on the sand.  I've got the filter flow as low as it can go and he still seems to struggle to swim. Maybe that's the curse of those fins - designed for looks, not efficiency.  My other CT doesn't seem to have any trouble getting around.  Oh well, time will tell.  Gonna do a partial water change today, hopefully get that test kit and some more plants.
 
Watch this space ;-)

 

[pike01]

you need some mature filter squeezing for your filter it will speed it up ,have any friends/family etc who keep fish to get some or your lfs .

 

[Gizaroo2]

If that plant is an Anubias of some sort (which it resembles), it needs it's rhizome above the substrate. If not, it will rot. They do best tied to something like driftwood or a rock.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

No, you don't want surfactants.  Just ammonium hydroxide and water.
And as Charlie points out... don't add ammonia to the tank with the fish in it.  That is only for fishLESS cycles.  You are now in a fish IN cycle, and the fish will provide the ammonia... you just need to keep it low enough to be safe for him.

 

[Wildbetta]

Aside from the fact that those plants do resemble anubias and most likely need to be pulled from the substrate to assess the roots, you will need to leave around 1/2in or so between the bottom of your lid and the water surface so the betta can get air.  They will drown if not able to get to the moist air above the surface.  Although they do breathe a bit through their gills, their primary source of O2 is from the air.  Training him to "go to one specific spot" to breathe is not going to work so well.  It will work for feeding though which will be useful for you.  Do you have a heater in the tank?  If not, that is something else you need to get for that tank since bettas require a temp of no less than a stable 78F.  

 

[peegee617]

Well, the fishy life is full of ups and downs isn't it?  My super-swollen Betta Alpha passed away today. I guess he must have read the same article I did 

 
So.....after posthumously thanking him for all the pleasure he had given me I sterilized his bowl and put Beelzebubbles in there next to my other boys, and I have to say the difference in his behavior is remarkable. He was very inactive in the Edge tank, mostly just sitting. Now he is swimming about, flaring at the others whenever he catches a glimpse through the plants, and he's EATING... Yay!
 
That means the new tank is empty again (is this an exciting journal or what??)  I did a 70% water change, put in the plants I bought today and it's looking really cool. The water is still cloudy, but I am assured it will clear with patience (like that's a strong point of mine).
 
I was a bit disappointed that the girl at my LFS did not know the names of ANY aquatic plants except amazon sword, So, according to her I bought 'two fluffy ones and one lumpy purple one' oh, and a small moss ball (at least she kinda knew what that was)
Here are some pics if anyone can help identify further. 

And here are pics of how the tank looks planted. Once again my trusty assistant was supervising the water addition. 
 
The last picture shows one of the really cool features of the Edge - the super-clear view from on top. It's a bit bubbly because of having only just topped the tank up. I'll post more pictures as the tank matures.
 
 

Yes the tank is heated, but the lack of open water surface was one of the reasons I moved him. I agree that these tanks really aren't ideal for Bettas or other labyrinth fish.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I'm sorry to hear that.
 
On a brighter note, I like what you have done with the tank. No idea about the plants sorry, maybe post a topic in the plant section?
 
IMO a school of mosquito rasboras would look really nice in there! Either them or some pygmy corys.

 

[pike01]

hi fluffy is cabomba  no idea on the other (red leaf plants need a lot of light ). not much light on the fluval edge do they recommend plants for there tank's? I have done same mistakes in the past after a lot of money and newbie disasters have learned to do research into plants and fish requirements. and this is what forums are all about to help .

 

[peegee617]

I thought it might be cabomba. That will do ok then. And yes, I know red-leaved plants are tricky 'cos they need more light, but the one bunch wasn't expensive (one of the very few advantages of a small tank - it doesn't take much to fill it with stuff...) and I figured some of the leaves are very close to the light so they might do ok, at least for a while.  Honestly I was expecting more from my LFS, but there's only one in town so maybe they don't feel the need to really try too hard. 
 
I tested the water this evening:
 
pH 7.2
Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all zero.
 
Now I'm back to fish-less cycling I'm going to have to find ammonia.

 

[Ninjouzata]

You can get the right ammonia at Ace Hardware

 

[peegee617]

Oh Cheers Ninj !
 
I had to look up pigmy rasboras - they are really cute fish, and I seem to have accidentally created the perfect biosphere for them, other than I have a suspicion my water is hard.
 
I have to confess to having a hankering for an F8 puffer. Three actually, but I guess that's just one more silly idea in a tank this size ....

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If you like puffers you could have a dwarf puffer?
Only thing is you would need another tank to breed snails in.

Also, even with hard water as long as you buy locally they should be alright, as they will probably already be acclimated to your water. Would be good to ask if your LFS adds anything to their water.

 

[peegee617]

Or hook up with someone who has a snail problem ;-)
Seriously, I wouldn't want to run the risk of introducing another problem along with someone else's snails, so I could probably manage a snail colony somewhere.  
 
They typically have a number of puffers in the store - F8's and green spotted (I think) amongst others - and they acclimate them to fresh. From what I've read they do ok in fresh but better in brackish so IF I decide to take the plunge and try them I will set my salinity to match the store's and then go from there.
I also know they are sensitive to uncycled water so this will force me to be patient and complete the process first. 

ok, it wasn't pigmy, it was mosquito rasboras. I knew it was something small.......

 

[Ninjouzata]

Dwarf Puffers don't need any salt, and from what I've been told by a puffer enthusiast around here, they are one of the few puffers that don't need snails, although you're still quite welcome to feed that.