Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Actually I moved him in there temporarily while I cleaned out his little 0.8 gallon tank and water change. Probably wasnt a smart thing to do but was convenient at the time since his tank needed a WC... He was in there for about an hour roadtrip and I have since put him back into that little puddle until its safer for him. He seemed pretty agreeable when I put the plastic cup in for him to swim into... and didnt show any affects from the ammonia or nitrites so I dont think any harm was done. I actually tested his little tank and it had a higher concentration of nitrites than my cycling tank. :shock: The way the readings for my cycle are going my tank should be ready in about a week or so at which time he will get to move in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Looks like a malaysian trumpet snail to me. Tank looks great as well. I agree that you could fit more plants in too . If your bettas nitrites were high a few medium sized water changes this week should bring them down, and some aquarium salt will help detoxify the nitrites. Our tap water contains some nitrates, which is why you got a reading above 0 with those. What size of container is your betta in? I have my bettas in with live plants, and they do really well with them. Careful with a betta with other fish though, I just found out from a friend that they will attack other fish's eyeballs sometimes leading to popeye (which my male GBR recently died from before I took out my male betta). Just be cautious is all I am saying, if you see any aggression from him I would put him back in his own tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 I think that really depends on the bettas temperament. All of my community tanks have a "retired" betta in them and I'm more worried about other fish going after them. I even have a giant plakat who is more worried about dinner than all the mollies and angelfish with him. "Popeye" can also be an illness or from fish fighting among themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 My betta seemed honestly dissappointed being back in his little 0.8gallon (3L) tank as he kept swimming around the back then stopping to look out at me then repeating that process. Hopefully he doesnt have any issues with the planned stocking I have for the planted tank so he can join them. Its obvious to me that my twice weekly water changes are not working well for that little tank. probably has something to do with the lousy non aquatic plants that I put in there before doing any reading and research that I bought at Pet-not-so-Smart. I was thinking about getting 2 Siamese Algae Eaters for my tank but realize the SAE can grow to about 15 cm over time... do you think they are too big for my 30 gallon? How fast do they grow anyways? Plans are for 1M/2F sunset gourami (yes I know I may have problems with the betta with these guys), m/f lyretail swords, 8-10 rummy nose tetras, 6-8 panda cory, m/f endlers and possibly 6-8 cardinal tetras if there is room and probably a couple amano or cherry shrimp if I can find them. And of course my 6 Malaysian trumpet snails. My Nitrite spike happened last night so it wont be too much longer! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 I think I may have gotten a few too many plants. Baloney. I can still see the back of your tank- you can put waaaaay more plants in there. :smokey: As for the cycling- some of your reduced ammonia levels will be from the plants consuming it. With that said, if you're going to be stocking the tank slowly, there's no reason why you can't just skip the fishless cycle in favor of a silent cycle. I tend to agree with Werner, if you can see the back you do not have enough plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 well it seems my fast growing plants are doing great in the tank so far... the Wisteria, Hygrophilia Polysperma and Bacopa Caroliniana are making some nice gains on a daily basis. And my hydrocotyle verticillata seems to be growing nicely foreground despite apparently needing high light requirements. I have now gotten white stuff growing all over and the water is cloudy which apparently is a good thing and typical of a tank cycling. I am also starting to get what I think is brown algae growing on the leaves of my swords and my anubius prompting me to leave the light off day and night. A minor light source is available from a 2 ft wide window above the tank which doesnt have that much light coming in but still not a complete black out of the tank. One of my cryptocoryne (an undulata) is melting away and some of my java ferns are starting to go translucent from the rhizome up. I am hoping this is just the plants adjusting to all the nitrites and bacteria in the water? Dont suppose anyone can tell me ballpark how long the nitrite spike might last? Anyone have opinions on getting a siamese algae eater? wondering how quickly 2 might outgrow this tank? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I have now gotten white stuff growing all over If it's on the wood, it's a fungal growth. Perfectly normal for newly submerged wood. I am also starting to get what I think is brown algae growing on the leaves of my swords and my anubius prompting me to leave the light off day and night. Also a normal occurrence for newly established tanks. You can put the light back on. Otocinclus would take care of both issues (once you're tank has finished cycling). Plus they stay nice and small. I like them much better than SAEs. some of my java ferns are starting to go translucent from the rhizome up. That's not normal. Sometimes they get a slightly translucent tip, but not the whole leaf. Pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 The white stuff is growing on leaves, wood, equipment and the tank silicon and the water seems to have quite a bit of stuff floating as well as on the surface. They are almost like dust bunny kind of things and I can see some of them against a dark background that they resemble a tree in that they have a trunk which is attached to the surface and have wispy looking branches. They are not very big or tall... maybe about 1-2 mm high. I suppose they could have grown on the wood first and have spread but I didnt really notice. I have 3 large pieces of driftwood in the tank which were boiled prior to placing in the tank. Yeah I was looking at some ottos as an alternative and see if there are any around at the different shops. I will need to do some research on them first. Thanks for the suggestion. Only reason I thought of SAE was cuz I heard they eat more forms of algae than other fish. The java ferns are going translucent from the rhizome and just the bottom third of the leaves ... I am wondering if the problem might have been from over handling them when I was trying to attach them into cracks or tie them down onto the driftwood. I am thinking it is even though there was no outward damage immediately. I will try and get some pics up tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 (edited) The white stuff is growing on leaves, wood, equipment and the tank silicon and the water seems to have quite a bit of stuff floating as well as on the surface. They are almost like dust bunny kind of things and I can see some of them against a dark background that they resemble a tree in that they have a trunk which is attached to the surface and have wispy looking branches. They are not very big or tall... maybe about 1-2 mm high. I suppose they could have grown on the wood first and have spread but I didnt really notice. I have 3 large pieces of driftwood in the tank which were boiled prior to placing in the tank. Ah- that sounds more like hydra. I had a ton of them when I set up my last tank. They seem to have a population explosion because of all the micro-oganisms that are newly available. They should start to reduce their numbers after the tank settles in a bit more. Really pretty harmless unless you've got fry. Edited April 22, 2009 by werner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Here are the pictures of what might be hydra: and the pics of my java ferns that seem to be going dead from the rhizome up: Let me know what your opinions are. FYI I am entering into the 2nd week of the nitrite to nitrate portion of my cycle with daily additions of 2 ml of ammonia and the heat turned up a bit to 27 degrees. Dosed the tank with fluorish excel according to the label instructions at the beginning of the cycle about 2 weeks ago and have since only added half that dosage one time last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Yeah that looks like hydra on the leaf- can't tell with the equipment pic. Not sure what the problem with the java fern is- maybe the ammonia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cgy_Betta_Guy Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 here is one with the flash... shows some color to the "white stuff" ... maybe some sort of algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 I don't think the white stuff is harmful. I have seen it before in aquariums and it seems to wipe right off, kinda like a white slime is that right? Don't know about the java ferns, could be higher levels of ammonia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 here is one with the flash... shows some color to the "white stuff" ... maybe some sort of algae? alien goop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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