BettaBeats

hi all, im upgrading to a 20gal this week, although i do not have a stand for it. i am wondering what i could do, ie; a piece of wood on my carpet, or what?

im a new aquarist,but even after 2 months of the strips i threw them out. i'd rather the liquid test since it is highly accurate.

Thanks to some of the links posted in this thread and the addition of my CO2 reactor, I have gotten rid of the hair algae and a lot of the spot algae. I think I also had cyanobacteria but that is gone now. It sort of died off? I also upgraded my lights to 15watt flourecents and my plants are loving it. but now I have Staghorn Algae on some of my crypts! my water tests with the API freshwater kit are in a good range, although my PH is 7.6 but with the high range, might be 7.8 my platy mom also seems like she is in some stress, hiding in my cabomba and not swimming about.

i purchased 6 new cherry shrimp last week to equal 8. this week i have only seen two, and no carcasses or molts. but no shrimp either. also, my platy who just gave birth is under a lot of stress by any movement around the tank. the fry are still in the mesh box inside the tank, about 3 weeks now, however, i'm not sure if my betta is attacking my shrimp, or if copper in my pipes did it? (although, i only see a bit of copper under my sink, not a whole lot more.) i also put in one flourescent last week and havent replaced the remaining incandescent out. plants seem to be doing healthy, i just did a small water change. What could be causing the stress? this is a planted tank, various crypts, vals, cambomba, banana plant, java fern ..

I have been talking to a good friend who has helped me with the DIY co2 plan. I am also getting a timer and will try for florescent bulbs. They have a whiter light that I think I'm looking for. The canopy I have doesnt sit properly on the tank, it doesnt have the hinges since its second-hand. it works though, .

I am lucky I put in red stone in my tank and my Cherries cannot be seen much. I have had one cherry die and one Ghost die, and I might have suspected a hungry betta 'testing' the meal or the school of rasboras. but any fish that get get agressive could potentially kill a cherry shimp. a ghost shrimp is much harder to see but im a noob.

I wouldn't describe java babies as fuzz. The roots are a little hairy, but you should see new leaves too. The fuzz might be another form of algae. definitely new leaves Would having it behind a curtain next to a biig window have anything to do with it?

My laterite/gravel mixture is just 1.5" mixed throughout. No gravel top layer, but I am sure I need to do that. 1" of gravel over the top of my laterite/gravel mix. The light I will work on. Flourescent you say? I guess that means a whole different canopy. i have 30 watts incandescent over 10 gallons that i thought was adequate. CO2?? My friend said to make my internal canister filter not produce air bubbles on the downflow, but you think I need more CO2? and phosphorus? how do I add phosphorus to my tank? could lighting take care of that, or would I need ferts? and CO2? My tank isn't overly planted. my java fern is growing fuzz on its leaves in an attempt to reproduce, my v. spirallis is growing and looking healthy, but my cabomba is stretching, AND multiplying. You can tell I'm a noob. I just thought with my red platy fry doing great (from 13 im down to nine, some because they got into the main tank from their crib), the java fern w/ its fuzz growths to reproduce, and the fact that any clipping or loose leaves I've replanted of v. spirallis and cobomba have grown healthy, it looked like things were growing great. But this 10 gal is just a beginner tank. I'd hope to get into aquascaping in the near future in my fathers 45-150 gal tanks, once I get the dynamics of a planted tank under control. Finally, is this situation serious? I'm trying to save to move. Amongst my spending the aquarium seems to be a good hobby that doesnt take more than I can allow in terms of my income, but I can't go over the top just yet. Thanks for your reply, hope you give me a bit more info, and I hope I gave enough info for you to understand my tank...

Hi all, It is finally the weekend and I want to start to solve this problem I have had since I planted my tank and added fish. I have 5 rasbora hets., a male betta, a mom red wag platy, 8-9 fry, two cherry and one ghost shrimp. im using Laterite 'First Layer' planted tank substrate mixed in with gravel. it sits about 1 1/4" to 1.5" on the bottom of my tank. My plants seem to do well but I have green water and tiny dot-like algae blooms on my tank walls. I have done 1/4 and 1/2 tank water changes, tried reducing light, feeding food and watching it get eaten rather than over feeding, scrubbed the walls, changed/beefed up filter media (Tetra Whisper 10gal.) and nothing seems to work. my thoughts: 1)the filter is too weak for the tank I have. 2) I have too much laterite in my tank, I'm highly suspicious of the laterite because of its potassium content, and because I mixed the substrate as a novice aquariast and I may have added too much. What do you all think?

Just to update: Managed to save 13 fry! I also purchased a mesh fry-crib that fits in my tank nice and gets good waterflow - hoping to give them a great environment.

ooh neat! I have yucky pond-tank plant snails. I need a snail that is aesthetic and hearty to kill these suckers off. I have tried to damage the egg sacks but it is no use. Right now I have 3 of the hermaphrodites laying sacks. an assassin might be nice to have. Let me know, I'm DT SW Calgary on 17th ave.

that you, i have been looking for a good read on the aquatic plant subject. right now i have to contend with live birth Fry.. from my Platy. I just thought she was dumb but she definately was popping them out today I'm happy because this is my first ever fish tank and things seem to be going quite well.

after the slow initial births the platy started popping them out faster. i've managed to save 8-9 in my make-shift fry cup for now. However, my betta loves the taste of the fry so Im sure a few went that way (he's the reason i saw the fry in the first place) and now I have just witnessed my Ghost Shrimp snacking on a fry. Any tips on raising these guys? I am able to use use the magnets to pull the cup down slightly under the surface to exchange water, they have cobomba clippings, and I wouldn't mind testing myself to raise them.

thanks! I have it under control I think. I may be new to having my own tank but I have seen fry holders before. I made a quick one out of the bottom of a 600ml pop bottle with small slits to allow water flow, attached it to my tank with my magnetic glass cleaner, put in some cobomba clippings and some gravel and i have 3 fry in there now. It is DEFINATELY the Platy. She's rubbing her belly on the ground and pooping then 'plop' out comes a fry which goes to hide in the cobomba. The Betta is the one thats seeing them as food, so I am not sure if i should put him back in the 1.5 gallon vase on my table for the next while or leave him in there (he really thrives in the 10 gallon) heh, Im quite enthralled that my first tank is doing so well to be honest. aside from green water...

hey! I just looked in my tank and I have FRY! Two at least. I am not sure where they came from?! I have 5 rasbora hets, 1 red wag platy, 1 male betta, and shrimp/snails. It looks like they must have been live birthed because the egg sacs I saw I damaged because they were snails (on the filter). I am kind of interested in saving as many as I can... PLEASE HELP! I think rasboras and platys can give live births? My platy has been hiding in the corners behind the rocks and drift wood and looked puffy, but at the same time, the rasboras are the only multiples. Also, I havent had the fish in the tank longer than two weeks.. any of them.. so i'm not sure they'd be egg births but rather live bearing..

I have a planted 10 gallon that is quite easy to care for. Cambomba, Mondo Grass, Java Fern, Banana Plant, and Spiral Val. My canopy has 2 15w bulbs, my filter is a 10gal Whisper and it is quiet. I have 3 cherry shrimp and 1 (or 2) ghost shrimp, 5 Rasbora Hets., 1 male Betta, and a dumb red wag Platy. Its a nice, easy set up and quite fun to look at. I'd suggest not having red gravel with cherry shrimp though, lol

Hi there, I am new to the forums and obviously new to Aquariums. My friend has gotten me into keeping fish and live plants afterI fell in love with his 10 gal nano reef. At the moment I am figuring out what works best, is cost efficient, and is easy for me to get to (big als and Pices can be over a 1.5 hr bus ride) I purchased Cabomba, Java Fern and Vallisneria spiralis from PetSmart since it is close to my work and a CTrain. All are doing quite well. Aside from the cabomba 'melting' because I had planted them criss-crossing, I have been able to successfully grow clippings. However, I also bought 'Mondo Grass' from PetSmart. Google search says these plants are not fully-aquatic. They are doing well in my tank, hardly need to clip off dead leaves. But I dont want to allow these plants to die. I like the look of them but I know there are other plants I could possibly get to replace them and get the same aesthetic value. My shrimp and Betta really enjoy the 'garden' of these Mondo grasses. How to I sustain these healthy plants if they are not fully aquatic? Thanks for your help. Also, when I get a good video done I will do an introductory post to my tank. however, here is a good pic of the one side of my 10 gal. with a lot of my fauna showing too!

I am really enjoying my Rasbora Hets. just 5 of them in my 10 gallon planted aquarium works really well and I get a lot of enjoyment watching them dart around. they are a simple and attractive fish too and can individually be quite curious.