# 46gal Bowfront- Low Tech Betta simplex community- 10/19 update



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, the weather yesterday kept me from working out in the garden like I'd planned, so I have finally gotten around to working on this tank!

I'm still toying around with ideas, but I know it's going to be a rather unique tank. Defnitely lots of mosses (since I've got them coming out my ears anyways!) I'm also going to have a terrace with a rock wall, and some pretty fantastic Manzanita trees. I'll probably do a Val nana background, since it's such a tall tank. I've got tons of Crypts and Java ferns I'm figuring out how to incorporate... and I'm going to TRY and figure out how to keep my Najas contained.









Equipment is:

Eheim 2217
Hydor ETH 300 watt inline
Coralife 2x21 watt T5NO
I'm going to try Mineralized Soil for the substrate.

Fauna also are still up in the air, though I'm still wanting a colony of wild-type Bettas for sure.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yesterday I spent HOURS sorting through the jumble of plants that had just been tossed into this tank over the past year. Turns out I have all these plants to play with for the new scape:

Lots of Crypts, mostly C. wendtii and C. undulata
1 scraggly Hygro kompakt that may not make it
Cabomba furcata (it's fuchsia, too! Been floating in the tank right next to the lights..)
Tiny bits of Hornwort (I'm surprised this one hasn't done well in this tank?)
Little bit of Hairgrass
A few sword corms that I have no idea what swords they may be at this point (I'm ashamed to say I let many really nice swords die of neglect in this tank







)
Tons of Java ferns (Regular, Windelov, and perhaps some Needle Leaf)
Najas guadalupensis (this stuff always takes over any tank I put it in, but I love this plant!)
Stringy moss
Fissidens fontanus
Suesswassertang
Riccia
Red root floater
Azolla

I know I want some Val nana. I'm also thinking about adding some Lobelia cardinalis "small form."

I also need some fine stainless steel wire mesh for the mosses. I heard that Ace Hardware sometimes carries it, so I need to check that out.

I think I need a bigger tank to incorporate all these plants and play around with my ideas...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Today I figured out that my paver blocks were still much too big, so I spent a good 2 hours knapping them down smaller.









Then I placed the terrace foundation layer.

Mixed the mineralized soil (I DO love playing in the mud!







), lined the tank edges with CQ/Flourite black mix, added the potash and dolomite to the bottom of the tank, poured in the mud, and capped it with more CQ/Flourite black, to the top of the foundation pavers.

Added the top row of pavers and filled in the back with the remaining CQ/Flourite black mixture. The amount worked out perfect!









Here's a "teaser" shot:









I just now finished filling the tank and plugged back in the filter. The water is actually clearer than I'd expected!

Now to start planting...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The cats are always entranced by bubbles running through the Python LOL



























Here's the preliminary 'scape. Not happy with it yet, but I'm pooped! Do keep in mind that there will eventually be a Val nana background, as well. Part of the goal also is to incorporate plants throughout the entire water column, as this tank will have a colony of some wild-type Bettas, probably B. simplex.


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

My dog is also curious about the bubbles in the tube. Mine will "attack" the bubbles if I'm not watching. I had to cut a 1' section out of my tubing because of him.
A betta tank would be real nice. I've thought about rescuing a few from the LFS around town, but I wasn't sure how well they get along with each other in the same tank.
I think a foreground of E. quadricostatus would look nice in there.


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## msc (Mar 10, 2008)

Looks like you’re off to a good d start Laura. I will be watching this one, I have the same tank. Sitting empty, hoping to start working on it after the holidays.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I haven't quite decided on the foreground, but E. quadricostatus WOULD be nice... I may go with E. tenellus 'micro' just to pull in some more red, though... We'll see.

I'm probably going to go with a colony of Betta simplex for this tank, 4 males and 2 females, since the males get along fine unlike B. splendens. It's actually better to keep more males than females, since these Bettas are mouthbrooders, and the males won't eat while holding eggs and fry. With more males to spawn with, the males tend to get more of a break between spawns.

Here's some pics of Betta simplex:


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Beautiful fish. I can't wait to hear stories of spawning.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

msc said:


> Looks like you’re off to a good d start Laura. I will be watching this one, I have the same tank. Sitting empty, hoping to start working on it after the holidays.


This tank sat empty for quite a while, too. And has been just a "holding" tank for about the past year... I love bowfronts, though, so an empty tank is a crying shame! :hihi: Hopefully you'll get some $$ for Xmas to get to work on your own!

I must say I'm very happy with the mineralized soil this time around. It was definitely the bad ADA AS that I mixed in last time that caused my water issues, as the tank is already crystal clear!

I've got some Val nana on order and it should be here late this week, hopefully I'll get it planted this weekend.

I've got some ideas for playing with the 'scape some. I've already removed 2 of the blocks near the center of the tank and I think I'm going to make a "path" to the back of the tank. 

No surprise, the Cabomba furcata won't stay put. It's only in there b/c I had it lying around, and it's probably going to go. I think I also will play around some more with the "trees."

It's nice that the tank sits right next to my desk, as I can play around with ideas in my head.

Oh- I forgot to mention that this tank is going to be a QT tank for Cardinal tetras for my 90gal before I ever put any Bettas in it.


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## jjlin78 (Aug 15, 2009)

looks good so far laura, i have a question about the hydor heater. does the heater slow down the flow considerably or just a little. i've been searching this site for 2 hours now and can't really seem to find the answer. thanks.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

It looks cool. Have you though about adding another terrace? Good Luck!


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## angelicodin (Dec 2, 2009)

lauraleellbp said:


> Defnitely lots of mosses (since I've got them coming out my ears anyways!)


I'll take some moss ;p

But this is such an awesome and unique idea, I love it ;p +sub


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

jjlin78 said:


> looks good so far laura, i have a question about the hydor heater. does the heater slow down the flow considerably or just a little. i've been searching this site for 2 hours now and can't really seem to find the answer. thanks.


If they slow down flow at all, it's not much. CO2 reactors can slow down flow quite a bit, but I've never noticed any difference at all with the Hydors.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

JakeJ said:


> It looks cool. Have you though about adding another terrace? Good Luck!


I did think about that, but unfortunately there's not really room. If the tank were 18" deep instead of just 12" I probably would have!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

angelicodin said:


> I'll take some moss ;p
> 
> But this is such an awesome and unique idea, I love it ;p +sub


Whoops- you're a day too late, it's already all spoken for! 

Thanks for the compliment!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, according to my tracking #, my latest plant order left Tampa this afternoon... so I'm hoping will be on my doorstep tomorrow so I can work on the tank more!

I'm having a hard time not stocking the tank with something, though.

Since I have to take down my leaking 10gal at work, I may end up throwing all my RCS in this tank...


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## angelicodin (Dec 2, 2009)

Hey ya lauraleellbp, what kind of wood is that in there?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's Manzanita.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

So I just finished a major rescape.

Ditched the Cabomba (Kara, I hope you can find a use for it cuz it's headed your way! LOL), rearranged the driftwood into 2 trees instead of 3, and added the Val nana, some E. tenellus 'red', and 2 pots of Cryptocoryne parva.

I like it much better.

I still need to get a foreground, and get wire mesh so I can play with my mosses. I want to put some Fissidens fontanus on some of those pavers.

As soon as the tank clears a little I'll post some shots.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Here's the pics:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Those plants will look cool with those branches.

Are you using the pavers as an element of the layout, or as a way to separate the foreground and midground? If they will be very visible you might try staggering the individual pieces so that they will not make such straight lines.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

A bit of both for the pavers, actually.

I think they'll look much better once algae grows on them, and also a few of them I'm going to cover in Fissidens fontanus once I get some wire mesh.

I was going to fill in the trees with plants, but I'm actually leaning away from it now- I really love how branchy they are.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Quick update.

I have a bunch of Ranunculus inudatus to add along the "path" but they're all still floating ATM.

There's some crypt and val melt going on, but not quite as much as I'd anticipated. All the plants are putting out new leaves/runners, and the Hygro kompakt is starting to color up a bit. The "C. parva" (which I really don't think are C. parva but I still like them) are also putting out new leaves, but it's interesting that the leaves are all growing out horizontal to the substrate instead of up and slightly angled like I'm used to Crypts doing. IDK if this is a characteristic of this particular plant or an effect of my relatively low lighting.

Very little algae to date, just a dusting of GSA and brown on the back tank glass, and also a bit of staghorn that looks like it hitchhiked in on some of the Val nana. 

Most of the old Val nana leaves are dying back, but I'm hoping the new leaves and runners won't take long to grow nice and tall. I'm really counting on them to add some height to my scape.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Finally got the Ranunculus planted today.

The Crypts are all doing really well. The C. "parva" (which as time passes I'm doubting more and more is actually parva... but I still like it!) is sending out leaves that stay horizontal to the substrate instead of growing up. I actually like the effect, it helps fill in the space more. I've been pleasantly surprised at how little they've melted- only 2-3 leaves out of all the pots I put in!

The Val nana still hasn't grown tall, so the background looks very empty.









I also still need to get all the E. tenellus 'micro' for the foreground.

So the only part that is "done" is the mid-ground! lol


















The Hygro kompakt is showing some lovely pinks, I just couldn't get it to show up on camera. These shots are looking down on it from the top.


















Windelov Java Fern is filling in nicely, too. I'm still debating breaking up this clump to spread around on these branches of Manzanita.









I'm hoping to get my Cardinal tetras from RMC Aquatics in the next week or two, though, so the tank will be stocked soon, if only temporarily!


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Ah ha, finally found your spray bar. It's quite hidden! Tanks looking good. Can't wait for a few months to pass and it to really grow in. Love the Manzanita trees.

Are you hoping to have the Terrance wall eventually covered with moss?


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

can you sink those block in more or sort of bury 1/4 of them, or is it intentional to have them sticking out? Looks like it's coming along..


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## esteroali (Oct 24, 2007)

*Pavers*

Have you ever thought of using larger lava rocks for a border? They are super easy to attach stuff to and you would not see edges. Of course, you may want edges.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

crossbow- Actually, you're probably seeing the tape that's holding up my super-expensive and fancy store-bought black background LOL The spraybar is there, just it's at the very top of the tank and doesn't show in the angle of these pics; I'm slightly looking down on the tank in them.

I'm not particularly fond of those bricks, either- they were just the best thing I'd come across to date. I am hoping to cover them in Fissidens at some point and that this will help them look better.

non compliance- there's 2 rows of bricks in there, so the ones you see are sitting directly on top of the "foundation" row. So I can't bury them deeper. I'm willing to replace them if I could find something suitable...

Damien, I've never seen lava rock bricks that I could stack into a wall- do you know where I could get some? I DO want a wall in the tank, I kind of envision this tank as kind of a "garden path," which is where the landscape paver idea came in in the first place, just these were the smallest scale pavers I could find.


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Oh, they're sitting ontop? are they cantilevering the front edge of the bottom pavers? What I find objectionable is the area under the fronts of the bricks. Maybe you could push the bricks back so that your substrate will cover the bottom of them... so they look like they are stuck in the substrate as opposed to sitting on top... just a suggestion...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, I was hoping they'd be a bit more buried, too, but I used all the substrate I had. The edges won't show as much once all the foreground has filled in, though. I may have just snagged enough E. tenellus 'micro' for my purposes, just waiting on a return PM...


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## emmanuelchavez (Apr 20, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> Yeah, I was hoping they'd be a bit more buried, too, but I used all the substrate I had. The edges won't show as much once all the foreground has filled in, though. I may have just snagged enough E. tenellus 'micro' for my purposes, just waiting on a return PM...


Oh, worry not. I have plenty of e. tenellus for your purpose. The tank will look quite majestic with it filled in too. roud:


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Good luck... if you move those back a touch, you may beable to just pile a little bit more up against them... ???


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

emmanuelchavez said:


> Oh, worry not. I have plenty of e. tenellus for your purpose. The tank will look quite majestic with it filled in too. roud:


WooHoo!

So as of today, I'll have both E. tenellus AND 50x Cardinal tetras in this tank within a week's time! I'm very excited!! :icon_smil


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Phew- I just finished planting 150ish E. tenellus from Emmanuel! My finters are completely pruned LOL

I had to pull up 2 of the "foundation blocks" in order to plant down the "path" and it made a huge mess when they came up! The tank is clearing up fairly well, though (I've had to dust off the plants several times) and I'll get some pics once it's cleared a bit more. 

I've decided that I do want to replace the pavers with something smaller if I can ever find anything appropriate, they're just too large to fit the scale of the tank.

I also went ahead and introduced 5 Amano shrimp to start helping with algae control. Algae isn't bad, mostly just getting a light dusting of diatoms on the tank glass and rocks, but prevention is always worth a pound of cure! I put in 2F and 3M, they're busy zooming around the tank in their Amano-ish way...

Mark said he's shipping out the Cardinals tomorrow, so they should be here early next week.

The main plants are all in place now, so its just a matter of waiting for them to grow in and put on some height.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

So here ya go

FTS









With flash the brown algae shows up really well









Left









Right









New E. tenellus









Java fern 'windelov'









Crypts are doing really well









C. parva









Val nana are throwing off runners, hopefully they'll start growing UP soon









Amanos


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

That is a lot of tennelus! It really is taking shape. I am looking forward to seeing the new fish in with the new scape. I have to hand it to you, this tank really proves that high light is not necessary for a nice planted tank.


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## emmanuelchavez (Apr 20, 2008)

Holy cow!
How did you have the patience to plant it all? Haha.
I gave up when I had last rescaped my tank and started to clump them together.

The tank will look fantastic once the plants fill in more.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, guys!!

I also must say, planting in mineralized soil is the easiest stuff I've ever planted in! The soil caves in just as soon as you release the tweezers, making it so much easier to keep the plant right where you want it!

I probably would have gone bonkers trying to plant this many E. tenellus in just about any other substrate LOL


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## jjlin78 (Aug 15, 2009)

i was just reading about e tenellus and was wondering what happens if you don't cut the runners?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

jjlin78 said:


> i was just reading about e tenellus and was wondering what happens if you don't cut the runners?


It's just harder to plant them when they're still attached to each other. I do tend to clip the chain pieces off fairly close to the plants, as once the chain is cut it will just rot.

Nothing bad should happen to the plants themselves if you leave the chains intact, they often will keep runners attaching themselves to all the other plants in their "chain" throughout their lives. 

I suppose that might even be a good survival strategy on the plants' part, as presumably they could pull nutrients from each other if one o the plants had a deficiency but another along the chain had a surplus? That's just conjecture on my end, though.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Cardinals are here!

They had a pretty rough go of it, though- 17 DOA and 2 more that I'm pretty sure are on their way out as well. I think the heat pack failed.

Since there were dead fish in all the bags I didn't drip-acclimate as usual; I did a pretty abbreviated acclimation to hurry and get them into clean water. I poured them into a bucket with Prime, as usual, then added a cup of fresh water every 10 min or so for about 45 min. Then netted and moved them over to the tank.

It's been about 1/2 hour since I introduced them to the tank, and I think I'm going to euthanize the 2 that look bad (one is upsided down gasping, the other looks like it had severe ammonia burn that pulled most of the scales off its tail area plus has no caudal fin left, and it looks in pain- I don't want to give that one the opportunity to infect any other fish.)

The rest are nice and plump and finnage looks great. roud:

I'm going to give them another hour or so and then try to feed them and get some pics.

I'm also going to bump the tank temp up to 78F tonight, and 80F tomorrow.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

None dead this morning... but I've got 4 that I think will be by the end of the day.

3 are up at the surface, with the same missing tail scales and almost paralysis of the one I euthanized last night. The 4th is lying down on the bottom of the tank.

I tried some anitibiotic food but it doesn't look like much got eaten.

I'm going to do a water change and start on Melafix/Pimafix tonight.

Tank is 77F now, I bumped the thermostat up to 80F. I'll probably bump it up to 82F tomorrow.


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## angelicodin (Dec 2, 2009)

Sorry to hear about you bad luck with the imperials.


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

laura,
Do you like your flow configuration as is? You and I both have the same style tank (46 bowfront here as well), and I was wondering if you fiddled around a lot with the XP3 hardware.

I currently have my spray bar on the far left angled to match the angle of the bow front, spraying to the opposite side, with the intake on the same side of the spraybar inlet (but below it, near the gravel).

Just curious!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Sorry to hear about the Cardinals. The tank looks great though. It reminds me of my parent's house before they remodeld. They had a bunch of small brick planters in the back.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Crossbow- I'm running my Eheim 2217 on this tank, actually, and the flow is really strong... I may end up putting a smaller filter on the tank in the future; either a 2215 or an XP2, I've got both of those sitting around ATM... But the current flow setup is working pretty well with my hardscape and plant arrangement, I think. The water runs down across the front of the tank, back along the foreground, and down the center "path" to my intake.



I think I've got Columnaris. 6 more Cardinals dead today, and at least 4 more showing symptoms.

I'm going to have to try and find some Triple Sulfa tomorrow.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Make that 7 dead today.

At this rate I hope there's some left by the time I can get home with some meds tomorrow. :icon_sad:

I'd start Melafix & Pimafix tonight, but I don't want to mix meds and I'm positive they need something stronger.


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## AkCrimson (Dec 17, 2009)

I'm sorry you are losing fish =(

Hopefully you can save the rest.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Here's a few pics, at any rate. The sick ones are easy to spot b/c they try and hide and stay as still as possible. The area just in front of their caudals is red and raw, like it's lost all scales. They have trouble swimming.





























They all hide together in this corner when I approach the tank, though the healthier ones do swim around when I'm sitting down.


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## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm sorry to hear about your fish :-( I have some advice that may be helpful.

If you're sure it's columnaris, then a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn II works best. I've used it myself with success and many people on Cichlid-Forum have had similar results. Also, lower the temperature in your tank, because columnaris spreads really really fast at higher temps. 76 is probably a good temp. This is all assuming that it really is columnaris :icon_frow

I hope things improve fast. Good luck :redface:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks for the advice, Amazonfish. I'm not 100% it's columnaris, but there's also some "splotchy" fish that are getting worse as I sit here and watch them. The areas affected are mostly around the dorsals and the tails.

It's taking them down _*really*_ fast.

The tank is sitting at 78F now, and I'm hesitant to lower it further b/c Cardinals really do best in the 80s... so perhaps I'll just leave the temp alone for now as a compromise.

If I can't find Triple Sulfa (which I know also does well with Columnaris) then I'll go the Marcyn I & II route. I'm just hoping there's fish left to treat by the time I get home from work tomorrow...

I'm getting really discouraged sitting here watching them croak right in front of me, I'm going to go read a book or something. *sigh*

Cy'all later.


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your fish laura . Thanks for the feedback on the flow. I hope they get better!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

10 more down this morning.


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Any chance something like the 23w UV petco sterilizer would help?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

crossbow said:


> Any chance something like the 23w UV petco sterilizer would help?


I'm not fond of UV sterilizers, personally. And they're only effective against a small range of issues- those that have a free-swimming stage that might actually get exposed directly to the light.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

A) How did I miss this thread?! 

B) The tank is looking FANTASTIC, I really dig the scape and I really like the manzanita trees as they are with nothing attached to them, though I agree smaller stones would fit the scale better if you can find them. 

3) I'm SO sorry to hear about the columnaris! Seems to be going around lately! yikes! I hope you find the meds you need and are able to save some of the cardinals! Good luck!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

PetCo was the only store I could get to this morning, and of course they didn't have Triple Sulfa OR Maracyn I OR Maracyn II... *sigh* About all they had was Maracyn-oxy, so I went ahead and grabbed it, though I'm not holding out much hope at this point.

I'm going to go ahead and dose the tank when I get home, given there are any fish alive tonight.

Gotta remember to pull out my Purigen...


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Oh man Laura Lee, I'm so sorry! Do you think you'll have a chance to try another store on your way home? I hope you find what you need!!! 

And yes, do remember to pull out the purigen so the meds can do their thing. 

Also....on a totally random note....where do you get your animated smilies?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

No, unfortunately I won't be able to try anyplace else today, I've got to pick up my menagerie from the vet this evening (all 4 are there for their annuals augh). 

And the animated smileys all come from TFH's forum.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Well they're awesome smilies! I might have to PM myself a bunch of them to have on hand :hihi: 

Hahaha oh man....the yearly trek to the vet with menagerie in tow....i feel ya on that one! Good luck with the crazies


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, the Four Furry Furies all checked out just fine...

But there was 1 more Cardinal dead last night, and 4 more this morning. I'm down to 12-15 alive now out of 50+. I did start the Maracyn-oxy, we'll see what happens. I'm not holding my breath.


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## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

:frown: Keep us updated. Are the others showing symptoms?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

At least 2 more were showing white "blotches" on them this morning, so I expect those will be dead by the time I get home.

I'm maintaining a strict QT on this tank, no shared equipment (nets, tools, etc) and making sure to disinfect my hands each time I'm done working on it.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

I'm glad the furry furies (i like that nickname ) are all good. 

But of course I'm so sorry to hear about the cardinals. Ugh. I wish I could magically get some meds to you or do _something_! I hope the meds that you did find help you kick this disease. 

Definitely keep up with the strict QT on this tank though, that's absolutely a good plan! (of course you already know that though )

Good luck!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, I THINK things have turned a corner. Only one dead today, and the remaining fish are actually all lloking well- active (none hiding), color is good, no white blotches or discolored tails, and they ate some frozen daphnia with gusto.

I dosed the Maracyn-oxy again and the plan is to continue dosing tomorrow and Sunday, and then Sunday evening do a 50% water change and put fresh Purigen in the filter. (Instructions say to dose for no more than 5 days.)

One of the female Amanos is berried, it will be interesting to see if this treatment might affect her eggs?

I THINK I have 15 Cardinals left.

I'm still getting quite a bit of brown algae in this tank. I'm probably going to bring home some of the Nerite snails from my 29gal for this tank, since there's probably not enough algae now in that tank.


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## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

Glad to hear that things are looking up 

I thought amanos needed brackish water to breed?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yep, the zoes will usually hatch in fresh water, but won't survive.

Wouldn't survive in my tanks, anyways- the fish always go into feeding frenzies any time my Amanos start releasing zoes! LOL


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Very glad to hear the fish are turning a corner for the better. I so hope they turn around for you!


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

I'm glad to hear the good news too, I really hope the trend continues for you Laura Lee!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

No deaths now in the past 24 hours, fish all continue to look well.

I medicated with Maracyn-oxy for the last time tonight, and will do the water change tomorrow afternoon/evening.

There's one "loner" fish that never schools with the rest... but it looks fine, doesn't hide- as a matter of fact, it appears to always be hunting around for food. It's a fairly fat fish, too LOL

I've started the fish on regular Angels Plus flakes. I'm planning now to feed them the A+ flakes all this week to get them used to them, and then start worming them with the A+ medicated wormer flakes next week.

The female Amano is still heavily berried.


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## devadair (Nov 24, 2009)

Looks awesome Laura


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Glad to hear the fish are doing better!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Are the fish still recovering? I hope so.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yes, they're all doing great! No more losses at all, I'm thrilled (and oh so relieved!) to say.

I'm even debating moving my Otos over from their 12gal QT to this tank... I've gotten some serious brown algae going (I had some before, but it's really gone bonkers since I dosed the Maracyn-oxy on this tank, IDK if it's just a coincidence or something got thrown out of balance with the meds?)

I'm actually a little concerned about keeping the Otos in the 12 gal for much longer, as it wasn't cycled previously and it's getting rough keeping up with all the water changes... PLUS it's harder to feed them w/out risking polluting the tank...

It's a calculated risk. Haven't lost a single Oto since they arrived last week, and they all look great. I'm nervous exposing them to the Cardinals- but I'm also pretty sure that the Maracyn-oxy knocked out whatever they had.

I also want to start worming the Cardinals in a few days, and it would be easier to do that with the Otos in the same tank (not that I'm holding much hope the Otos will eat the medicated food... hm)


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

You know me, I would be cautious and wait until there was at least a week of no deaths and a chance to remove more of the medicated water. But with otos, it is always a calculated risk. I am glad to hear there are no more deaths!


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

I'm so glad to hear the tank has turned a corner too! WOOHOO!!!! 

Hmm....how many otos do you have? sounds like it must be a lot, I think if you feel the meds are working / have worked, otos will be happier in the cycled tank. If you see it crop up again, you still have the meds and know they worked. 

Otos are so tricky in the beginning and SO ammonia sensitive, that I'd say go for it. If it were any other fish I'd probably suggest taking sara's route and waiting until there have been no signs for a week. But I think otos will do better in the cycled tank. 

Just my 2¢


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I have 15x Otos in QT ATM. Haven't lost any since they arrived (the day after the Cardinals, I think). They're currently in my new (uncycled) 12gal Eclipse and the daily water changes are getting annoying LOL

I was bouncing the idea around with JB and he suggested moving just a few over with the Cardinals for a few days to see what happens. This epidemic was so fast-acting on the Cardinals that I don't think it would take long on Otos if it's still in the tank...

I think I'll do a water change on both tanks later this afternoon and try that.

I still need to replace the Purigen in the Eheim, too, come to think of it...


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Oh 15 otos in a 12 that is uncycled, that must be some serious water changes you are having to do! I can see it getting annoying! LOL 

I think moving over just a few to see what happens is definitely the best plan yet! It's a calculated risk, but a much smaller risk than dumping all 15 in there. 

Good luck!


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## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm so happy to hear that the epidemic is over! I agree with Karackle about moving a few otos over. Why don't you put some cycled filter media in the 12g? You have a 29 gallon that's nice and healthy, right?


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## rasetsu (Oct 11, 2007)

Columnaris is such a pisser. And the cardinals are always the first to go too. Good to hear that the tide has started to turn.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Everyone is doing well... except one of the female Amanos is lying on her side at the front of the tank with a weird blue tinge to her? The other (berried) female appears to be fine. The Female is waving her legs around, so she isn't dead (yet?) and I'm really not sure what to make of it all. Perhpas she's just about to molt? I'm hoping that's the case- but I have a sinking suspicion that the truth is, something is wrong.

I did go ahead and move all the Otos into the tank. Hopefully they'll help get a handle on the brown algae in this tank and then I'll move most of them over to the 90gal along with the Cardinals once everyone completes their QT. I've decided to wait till next week to worm the tank, as I'm going out of town for a few days, and it will be a convenient time to fast the fish before starting them on the medicated food.

There's a serious pond snail explosion going on in the tank, too. I'm not terribly worried about it- in fact, I think the Dwarf Chain Loaches will have a field day once I get them in here. :hihi:


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Glad to hear the fish are doing well, and the Otos are good so far too?

Sorry to hear about the amano though, any updates on that? 

Can't wait to see these guys in the 90 where they belong!!! :biggrin:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The female Amano is still on her side where she was last night, blue in color, with legs still moving... I'm really not sure what to make of it other than I'm pretty sure something is very wrong.

The fish are all fine, otherwise. I'm enjoying watching the Otos school around and then scatter to graze on algae.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Quick update:

All 15 remaining Cardinal tetras have graduated from QT and I took them into work to finish out the stocking on my 29gal.

I also moved all the Otos into my 90gal.

I'm planning some major cosmetic work on this tank. I realized that my Crypts have literally been suffocated with pond snail eggs (all the leaves were COATED in casings!!), the Val nana still has not filled in as planned, and the E. tenellus are still going through a major melt-off.

I had to pull the "trees" in order to get the fish out of the tank. I also manually pulled eggs off of leaves and killed and/or removed as many of the pond snails as I could to help get the population under control long enough to let the plants grow back. Eventually I'm going to stock dwarf chain loaches in this tank, so I'm not worried about eradicating them at this point, but I would like to give my Crypts a fighting chance at least!

I'm planning on a big water change tomorrow, clean the filter, and then move over 2 of the Calico BN plecos from my 90gal (hopefully a male and female). I took down my leaking 10gal from work, and the Crypts, 8 Boraras brigittae and my RCS colony will go in the tank tomorrow as well.

I'm debating pulling the Val spiralis out of my 90gal and trying it in this tank instead... though those leaves are really broader than my vision for this tank, so I haven't quite decided on that move just yet. I'll probably give the Val nana some more time...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Not much has changed.

I added 5x Assassin snails to the tank, and they're doing a great job with the pond snails. :thumbsup:

The RCS are doing great, busy multiplying like the little red rabbits they are. The Zebra nerites have also done a great job with the brown algae, especially along the bottom near the substrate inside the bow, where I have a hard time getting it with my algae scrapers.

My big old female Amano is berried again so I guess she's a Cougar and accepted the advances of one of the new young males I added a few weeks ago, they're all 1/2 her size... LOL

One of my B. brigittae I think isn't doing well. I keep noticing it down hiding in a corner of the tank under the Crypts and it looks like the top of its head is a little discolored. The rest are all doing quite well, though. I'm looking forward to adding more to the tank to beef up the school to 15-20 of them.

Going to do a water change and a bit of cleanup today, and try and get some updated pics tonight.


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Are you worried about the assassin snails attacking the nerites? Take some photos!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

So far they seem to be leaving the Zebras alone? The Zebras are also HUGE in comparison with the Assassins...

FTS









Hygro kompakt









I had a single strand of hitchhiking HM a few months ago and went ahead and stuck it in the substrate, not expecting anything... but to my surprise, it's not only growing, it's carpeting!









E. tenellus 'red' and C. parva









The C. parva is doing really well, actually









Better than the Ranunculus inudatus, for some reason?









Overall the Crypts are doing pretty well, too

































The Val nana appears to be growing slowly but steadily. I'd really expected when I first planted it that I would be thinning it by now! But hopefully it's still going to grow up big and tall like I envision...

Shrimp pics

























Big Momma

















Fat and lazy Zebra nerite


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Assassin snails on the prowl...


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Hmm...well watch your nerites! I have pond snails in my tank as well, with the nerites, and thought about getting some assassin snails...though I'm afraid they'd go after my lovely nerites!

I think they can take down a snail larger then their size, but I'm not sure. Guess need to ask a snail expert!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on them. I can always throw these in the 90gal with the other Zebras if the Assassins do start to bother them.


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## DeepDownAbove (Nov 16, 2009)

Awesome plant selections. Cant wait till it grows in


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well the newest additions to the tank are 50+ juvenile Cardinal tetras. Not a SINGLE DOA this time (thanks so much, Mark, way to to go!), and though they're tee-ninsy little things (they're smaller than the B. briggitae! lol) they've colored up really well and are happily exploring the tank. They also ate well. I'll try and get some pictures tonight.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Cardinals are still looking good this morning, no losses at all, so the acclimation went well. :smile: These were a few blurry shots from last night:




























If they stay looking good, I may just QT them for 2 weeks, since I know Mark had them for a few weeks before sending them out...

They're so small I think I'm going to feed them 2x/day to try and get some weight on them. I'm going to worm them next week.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

wow very nice! What are those block things for exactly? Decoration?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yes, they're a wall, I was going for a terraced garden effect and those were the smallest pavers I could find. I'm not really happy with them, but haven't found anything better just yet.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Passed the critical 24 hour mark without any losses. :thumbsup:

There is one Cardinal that is the smallest I've ever seen. Even my RCS dwarf it! lol I've noticed that it and about a half dozen other of the smallest fish school together at the front of the tank, while the larger are schooling at the back with the B. brigittae.

I ran to the LSF up in Ft Myers today and stocked up on frozen daphnia. All the fish have round little tummies now.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love these fish? :hihi:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The fish are filling out quickly from their shipping "fast" on their flake/frozen daphnia diet. 

I'm "overfeeding" the fish a little bit on purpose, as most of the RCS have released their shrimplets and are saddled. Over the years I've been keeping them now, I can definitely tell a difference in the # of eggs they'll lay depending on how heavily I've been feeding them. Interesting how most of them seem to be on the same breeding schedule ATM. 

I also just came to the "duh" realization that I've got a 12gal tank sitting empty that will be perfect as a QT tank for my Betta simplex! So I'm going to go ahead and order those sooner rather than later, I don't have to wait for the Cardinals to finish their QT, and I shot off the breeder a PM this afternoon. I'm excited!


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Love the fish. Your tank always makes me a bit jealous. I look at your 50+ tetra, and then look at my four goldfish.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

crossbow said:


> Love the fish. Your tank always makes me a bit jealous. I look at your 50+ tetra, and then look at my four goldfish.


Well, they won't be in there all that long... 

But I do love keeping smaller fish so you can have large schools of them. :fish:


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

looking good


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Added some more plants-

The most notable change is the Hygro angustifolia in the back corners. I'm really liking them there. I didn't pull the Val nana, so some day it may actually make an appearance, but the Hygro definitely helps fill in that background void. Hopefully they'll do well.

I also added some "specimen" Crypts, 3x C. cordata "rosanervig" are tucked in there and hopefully will add some color to the upper portions of the tank once they grow out.


























Cardinal tetras fighting with the RCS over some sinking wafers lol (please excuse the algae, I never can get to that spot to clean...)


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The wall is bugging me, so I'm going to try some of these to replace it: http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/inde...-assembled-dollhouses-dollhouse-miniatur-4892


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I've placed my order for some Betta simplex!!! I'm so very excited!

The breeder I'm getting them from only had 3 unrelated adult males, so I'm getting 3 males (instead of 4 as originally planned) and 2 females, all for $60 shipped. 

Since B. simplex are mouthbrooders and the males can't eat during the month while they're holding eggs and fry, this larger male:female ratio will hopefully make sure none of the males end up "overbred" and starved for too long. (The males are also prettier, so that doesn't hurt my feelings, either!)

These are captive bred fish, already acclimated to hard water (the breeder is also in Florida), and will eat flake along with frozen, so I think they should acclimate pretty easily. :thumbsup:

I'll probably be gone camping the 2nd week in April, so I've arranged to have them shipped the following week.

I'm still planning on dwarf chain loaches for scavengers. I'm considering also getting a pair of Peacock gudgeon... but haven't decided for sure yet. I'm leaning towards a school of P. gertrudae for the dither fish.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, the Great Fish Switcharoo has begun! lol

The Cardinal tetras officially "graduated" from QT in this tank today and after hunting them all down for an hour I THINK I managed to get them all out and into the 90gal. Turns out that there were 58 of them, so with the 2 I had left from an old school, I've now got 60 Cardinals in the 90gal. (I SO love these little fish! lol)
So that's Step 1

Step 2 is catching and relocating the 12ish Boraras brigittae out of the 46gal to go into the 10gal. I'm still recouperating from Step 1 so haven't gotten this far yet. LOL I strongly suspect that catching these 12 fish is going to take longer than it did to catch the 58x Cardinals, they're so much smaller and blend in too well with the RCS! (I also need to clean the XP3 on my 90gal and am going to pull plenty of mulm out of that filter to insta-cycle the 10gal.)

Step 3 is me trying to catch and relocate 2 of the 5 Calico BN plecos in my 90gal to this tank, hopefully a M/F pair. 

I may or may not get to all of this today.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Steps 1 and 2 are complete, but I still haven't been able to catch 2 of my Calico BN for this tank.

Since it's so much easier to work in this tank w/out the driftwood in place, I took advantage to do a bit of minor maintenance. Mostly just tweaked some of the new crypt placement and pulled whatever Xmas moss I could find (hitchhiker strands from the crypts that came in from my old 10gal...)

























How do shrimplets know it's safe to come out again? I hadn't seen any in weeks...

































I wonder if this pond snail knows it's about to become a snack?


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

This tank is looking great too!  Too bad the cardinals were only in QT because they look good in here too! :hihi: But of course they look awesome in the 90 as well!  

Any plans for the stocking on this one yet? (sorry if I missed / don't remember if you've already answered this)


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The fish that I know for sure I'm getting are a colony of Betta simplex (starting with 3M/2F and I'll be getting them later this month after I get back from camping with my family), 2x Calico BNs are coming over from my 90gal (if I can ever catch them), and 5x dwarf chain loaches for the bottom.

I'm still debating on the schooling fish, but am leaning towards a school of 20 or so P. gertrudae.

Did you get some Gerties for one of your tanks recently, Kara? How are they doing?

I might also try and find a pair of peacock gudgeon, too.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Wow :iamwithst I probably should have read the title before asking what kind of fish you were stocking! :icon_redf :hihi: 

But anyway, I like your options! I did recently get gerties for my 30g, they're doing really well! However, they are MUCH smaller than I realized they would be, I don't know if you you are familiar with their size (or if I just got runts, or perhaps really young ones that are still growing) but they're not a whole lot bigger than the b. briggitae. And they're not as brightly colored, so they stand out that much less. They'd fit well in the 10g if you want something along with the briggitae (i'm not sure how many you have in there and whether you'd have room for / want more schoolers and still have space for the Betta )


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, I'm back from camping and the Betta simplex are scheduled to go in the mail tomorrow... so fingers crossed they'll be here on Monday! WooT!! :biggrin:


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Yeah! Fishys are coming in the mail! I live through you, Laura!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Betta simplex arrived today safe and sound!

I just finished acclimating and added them to the tank a few minutes ago.

The largest male and largest female already are inseparable; I suppose the male will be holding rather soon. I wouldn't mind if it were later rather than sooner, I'd like to put a bit more weight on the male before he starts fasting, but c'est la vie.

The smallest male (one is still a juvenile, these 3 males are all unrelated) is busy ignoring bloodworms in favor of stalking my RCS, too. :icon_roll

I'll get some pics tonight.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Sure didn't take them long to settle in!

Already some major flirtage going on, too- the little hornballs LOL
This is actually the juvie male, but he decided to pose nice and pretty for me









The female that's egging up is in the top left









Things were getting rather hot and steamy back in this corner- till the paparazzi showed up, that is

































The lovely couple later, w/out the flash









Here he is up at the front of the tank later, not flaring









...until the 2 ladies dropped by









And then everyone all got together for a "happy family" shot. Biggest male is on top, 2 females are below to the left, the juvenile male is in the back, with the 2nd largest male right below Big Boy.









I just love that irridescent band across their anal fins


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i didnt know there were any betta sp. that could be kept in groups involving mulitple males. thats awesome! and they look cool too.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Actually, there's quite a few Betta species that can be kept this way in colonies. It was the domestication of Betta splendens and how they were bred for sport fighting that has made it impossible to keep the ones we get in stores this way; true wild-caught B. spendens also can be kept in colonies, given the tanks are large enough. Betta imbellis is an example of a species that is extremely similar to B. splendens (and can cross-breed) and can be kept this way. I'd compare their aggression levels along the lines of GBRs, actually- just give them enough room and it's usually OK to keep males together.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

now i *really* want some.
lol, too bad they dont play nice with shrimp.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, unfortunately most of the bettas love shrimp.

They're leaving the Amanos alone, though. Of course, several of my Amanos are larger than the bettas... lol


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well I'm surprised (and a little relieved) to find that none of the males appear to be holding just yet. The 2 largest M and F are still inseparable, though, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Both probably need a bit of conditioning first. Tried feeding frozen mysis shrimp today, but they weren't so hot on it- from what I can tell it mostly got spit back out. That's OK, the live shrimp and snails will be more than happy to take care of the leftovers... lol

The real "problem" may be that they're stuffed with RCS. I'm looking at the tank now with not a red shrimp in sight... LOL


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

On the agenda for tomorrow- figure out why my 2217 is farting.

Seriously, that's exactly the noise, it's hysterical.

I cleaned it a week or two ago so there must be air getting in somewhere... I'll disassemble it and put it back together and see if that fixes it.

I hope it's not the O-ring. Though I MIGHT have a spare around here someplace...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

We have Betta simplex spawnage!










































































Once the paparazzi showed up the pair moved to the back of the tank where I really can't see well, though. It didn't look like the embraces I was able to see were producing any eggs, and I haven't seen the male take anything into his mouth... but they may still be working things out. This was them going "Um, hello!!... Some privacy please?!!"









Looks like my filter burping project is going on hold for a bit LOL

Went ahead and snapped a few other pics while I was there

This is male #2

















And the other female









I wouldn't be surprised if these 2 end up hooking up, too









HM is growing much more quickly than I'd ever though it would in a low light tank









Tried to get a decent pic of my big female amano but she wouldn't hold still and kept flashing me her butt instead- women! :hihi:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

They're still embracing and I saw some eggs a few minutes ago.

Meanwhile, Male #2 (I need to name these guys soon lol) has also discovered some live worms down in my substrate... IDK what they are since I don't feed tubifex, but it was reddish so maybe I've got some live bloodworms? You can see the tip of a worm against the glass in this photo; it's not where he's looking, it's diagonally to the right down from the tip of his anal fin, in the substrate right at the top of the smear of brown algae


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Realized that since my RCS are now all fish poop I could remove the sponge prefilter from my 2217 and *WALA* no more burping.

Guess it needed cleaning. Whoops. 

On the spawn front- the FEMALE is holding some eggs, but IDK about the male. I see her mouthing them from time to time, but I suspect the male may be eating them...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

As of this afternoon, both the male and female are holding. The male's mouth is so full his gills are sticking out- I don't think he can hold any more! lol

The two are sticking really close together, though, and the female is the one now who chases away any other fish that get to close.

The female's belly is finally back to normal size, so I think they're done with the actual spawning. IDK if they were at it through the night, but I did see an embrace this morning.

Neither of them ate today.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The happy couple agreed to make an appearance for the paparazzi... probably tired of being constantly stalked... 

(Peeping out of the plants to watch me watching them)


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## hurley0816 (Sep 18, 2005)

all i can say is awesome!


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

grats laura, hopefully you have tons of fry in no time .


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Nice how many do you have in there?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks all!

There's 2 females and 3 males. The alpha male is the one now holding, and I suspect the Beta male will end up pairing up with the other female if she eggs up while the alpha is still holding... we'll see.

The 3rd male is still a juvie (he's 1/2 the size of the alpha male) so it will probably be a while before he does any spawning. I'd originally planned 2 reverse trios but the breeder I got them from didn't have enough adult males, so I may look for one or two more... we'll see how it goes. B. simplex I hear aren't quite so bad about letting themselves get bred to death like some of the other mouthbrooders.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

These bettas are simply stunning! It sucks about the RCS, but hey it probably helped with the spawning.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well as of this morning the eggs have been swallowed. The male voractiously attacked the bloodworms I fed them LOL

No worries, though- the 2nd female is showing the initial signs of egging up so we may have another go at this in the next week or two. I'll be interested to see which male she choses... though I suspect it will be the alpha again. I've been feeding this tank 2x/day just to make sure everyone stays well-nourished especially with all the breeding fasting going on.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

He wasn't ready to be a father.... Sorry to hear about it, but like you said it'll happen again soon enough.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Whoops I guess I missed updating this thread!

The pair did spawn again immediately after the alpha male swallowed the eggs, and that spawn may have already hatched or the male is holding some fry- I can't quite tell, but his mouth is still a little poufy and he's still not eating...

And I think the female is spawning with the beta male as I type this; they've been hiding back behind the crypts doing alot of flirting, at any rate... lol

The plants have all been growing in really well. There's still a bit of a bare spot at the front, but there's some little leaves finally starting to poke out of the substrate there, too. The HC has been going great guns! The Ranunculus inudatus all of a sudden has hit a growth spurt, too. 

I still haven't put the driftwood back in the tank, I want to replace the wall first. The little bricks I bought online from a doll supply a while back aren't going to work- they're too small plus they're just plaster- but I've got another idea, just need to get by Home Depot to check a few things out. Might do that this weekend.

Got a few pics









You looking at ME? (This is the juvie male)









Female and beta male


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

jjlin78 said:


> looks good so far laura, i have a question about the hydor heater. does the heater slow down the flow considerably or just a little. i've been searching this site for 2 hours now and can't really seem to find the answer. thanks.


IME slowdown from Hydor inline heaters is minimal to none. roud:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I just saw the beta male, and he's holding eggs! Woot! :biggrin:


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

Your bettas rule, wilds are awesome  good luck with the spawn!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Found some Sidthimunki loaches at TFD for $5 each! So I ordered 7x of those and also decided on a school of 15x Fireline Danios (Devario sondhii) for the tank. They should be here and go into QT sometime this week!

Sidthimunkis









Fireline Danios


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Wow been awhile since I updated this...

The shipment didn't go well. The box wasn't insulated, no cold pack, no breather bag for the danios, so most were DOA.

The Sidthimunkis were the sole exception- all 7 of them graduated from QT about 2 weeks ago and are loving the tank. Only one of the Fireline Danios made it, however, and I'll have to get the poor fish some companions once I've saved up some more $$.

But..... I managed to snag a pic of a Betta simplex fry today! The crazy thing took on a bloodworm bigger than itself and managed to have it almost all the way down by the time I grabbed my camera! :help:



















Juvie male has really grown




























The female is looking ready to spawn again, and is pursuing the Beta male in these pics. None of the males are holding right now, so IDK who she'll end up spawning with.



















This is one of those "this would have been SUCH a nice pic if only..." :rofl: 










Sidthimunki loaches with their bellies all full!



















Fighting over a bloodworm lol










Alpha male is hunting through the grass for any bloodworms that may have escaped



















Beta male


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Tank is looking great! Those are great pictures of the fish too!!! The bettas and loaches are gorgeous!  Looks like everyone is happy! 

Sorry to hear about the danios though


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hi Laura. These are really cool pictures. I like the effect that the flash created. And you have such cool fish. I gotta look into those betta simplex.


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## The Plantman (May 5, 2010)

What happened to all the Cardinals?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks Devin and Kara! 

I love sitting and watching this tank, there's always something interesting going on. The Bettas are fascinating to watch as they swim around and interact with each other. Their colors and patterns change constantly. I'm still trying to get some good pictures of them displaying at each other, so far I just got that little video...

ThePlantman- those Cardinal tetras were just in this tank temporarily for quarantine, since I didn't have another tank free that was large enough to hold them all. The first batch (out of which 15 survived) are in the 29gal at my hubby's office, and the last batch of 50+ are all now in the 90gal.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Surprisingly to me, despite no feedings for over a week while my hubby and I were both out of town on different trips, I still have at least 3 juvies in the tank! So apparently there's still enough microfauna in the tank to keep them going. One of them appears to have a very light line across his anal fin, so that one is probably a male. I'm hoping the other 2 are females, though.

The alpha male was holding when I left, but does not appear to be now- my guess is the other males harassed him when they got hungry and he either swallowed or spit early.

The males are all really colored up and I don't think it will be long before the female spawns with one of them again.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Apparently the juvie male managed somehow to spawn with the female, and the other 2 males are none too happy- he's looking rather beat up right now, with quite a few scales missing around his head, so I'm keeping a close eye on things in case I need to pull him out and into my QT tank.

I did quite a bit of work on the tank this evening. Trimmed down and replanted the Hygro angustifolia and I also pulled out all the paver blocks. I found some resin hollow logs at Petsmart this weekend and replaced the pavers with those. I'm hoping that these will provide some additional hiding spots in the tank for all the fish. They look a little stark right now, but I think with a patina of algae they'll look nice very soon. I'd oroginally planned to coat them with Fissidens fontanus, but I forgot to refill my holding container before I went on vacation last week, and they dried out. :icon_redf

Did a 50% water change and I'll get some pics afer the bubble clear up; probably tomorrow.

The fry are growing like weeds. I've no idea how many I have, but at least 3.


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## Lycosa (Oct 16, 2006)

Very interesting Laura. I get so wrapped up in growing plants sometimes that I forget how interesting the fish are. lol

This thread and your updates are a nice reminder that interesting fish choices can really add that much more to the hobby.

Thanks for sharing.. I'll be sure to watch this thread develop.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks, Lycosa. My first love is always the fish, though over the past few years I've come to love the plants as well. But it's the fish that I just sit and stare at for hours on end- they completely fascinate me!

And the newest development this morning is that the alpha male is ALSO holding now. IDK how the female managed to spawn again so soon, but it's a good thing for the youngest male, as now he only has to hide from the beta male. The small male is still holding, though he looks rather stressed so I'm still keeping a close eye on things.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Got some updated pics.

Before replacing the wall:









The new logs. I think they'll look better wish some algae growth on them- shouldn't take long LOL









After









Here's pics of both of the egg-holding boys

















I've seen most of the fish at least peek into the new caves, but so far the Amanos are the only ones that spend any time in there. I'm surprised, but I haven't seen the loaches inside even once!









And pics of 3 of the fry (there's at least 4 fry in the tank!) Can you find this one?

























One last FTS


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Oh I just got some good fry pics!
I think these 2 are from different spawns. The big one is definitely a male, though


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Tank is looking really nice and lush! I love it!  

And again, GREAT fish pictures, the babies are SO cute!!! :biggrin:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Good grief- she's now spawning with beta male- the only male in the tank that isn't currently holding! She's spawning at least once a week!









I'm not sure eggs are coming out of their embraces yet, though. We'll see.

I'm gonna have Betta simplex coming out my ears...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

My best guess is that there are about a dozen juveniles in the tank now, ranging from about 1/2" to 1.5." They're highly active and now are big enough to not be in danger of being eaten, so move much more freely about the tank. There may be some fry in the tank as well- I haven't seen any really small ones in a while, but there may be some in there well hidden.

It's fun watching them interact with each other. Occasionally I'll catch a few flaring at each other- presumably males.

There's also a little one-eyed male in there. Probably lost his eye to one of the other fish, but best I cn tell he looks healthy otherwise, is active, eats, and nothing looks infected. Couldn't get a pic of him, though- his little "territory" is on the other side of the log so I don't see him as often.

Baby pics!





































This little guy is all 'tude- flaring at one of the Big Boys!





































And I also caught a few pics of the boys flaring at each other




























Always ends in a chase... lol


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Wow, had I really not updated this thread since last July???

Well... much has happened.

I didn't lose many fish during the move, but for some reason almost all of them were from this tank. I added a female Betta unimaculata some months ago, but then I lost her during the move (apparently she jumped out of the bin while I was reassembling the tank and I didn't find her till the next day :icon_cry. I lost the male BN pleco after he apparently attached himself into a crevice in the driftwood where I couldn't see him when I pulled it out of the tank. I found him several days later. I also lost one of the Simplex males about a week after that, don't know why, just found the body in the tank.

The rest of the fish are all fat and sassy. I can still tell the original adults from the babies (though they're not babies any more!) as there's a size difference, but they all have adult coloration now.

I pulled out all the HM and only kept the E. tenellus 'red' when I replanted the carpet.

I also re-did the substrate- the tank now has about 1-2" of Miracle Gro Organic potting soil capped with the old Flourite/Colorquartz mix (probably still some MTS mixed in, too).

The tank is in need of maintenance right now. Haven't trimmed since before the move, so the Hygro angustifolia is all overgrowing the surface, blocking light, so has gotten really leggy at the bottom and overall not shaped like I usually keep it. So this is a "Before" shot...


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

As usual your tanks make me really want to start a species tank (I'm becoming the crazy fish lady according to my friends, LOL!). Tank looks great!


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Looking great LauraLee!!! Sorry to hear about the losses during the move  But it's great to see that the fish that survived the move certainly DO look fat and sassy!!! LOVE IT!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I miss good old HM, I have been meaning to buy some but the only place who has it is plant specialty and I don't want to pay a bunch for it. Looks really good in there, I forget how much I love that plant until I see it. Love the tank, has really come along, I like the wood better than the wall.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Finally got around to the trim. Put a few Hygro angustifolia stems in my 90gal. Opened up a lot of space for the remaining ones to fill in.









Ever since the Betta unimaculata jumped, the B. simplex have started spawning again. There was a pair at it during the trim, and they practically embraced around my tweezers as I was working in the tank! LOL Here's a few fish pics:























































The alpha male is holding now (he's in the first pic), and I think at least one additional male is holding, too. 



















Lots and lots of territorial displays. Unfortunately the red pre-flash light on my camera tends to distract them, so I couldn't snag many pics in full flare.


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## plantedpufferfreak (Feb 2, 2010)

the bettas look great! i will have to trade you some Albi fry for some simplex eventually


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## Kratos (Apr 25, 2008)

Wow I love what you've done with it. The most recent FTS is breathtaking.

I don't believe I'm familar with these types of bettas... they seem far different than the ones I see in bowls at the local Pet Supermarket lol.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

These are one of the "wild" types. There are TONS of different kinds of betta out there (including the original wild splendens that has been selectively bred into what you see at your LFS). What I love most is the ability to keep them in a large species tank. When I’m ready to upgrade to a 33-Long, I’m going to pick one of the wild species and devote the tank to them.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks!

No, I've never seen any Betta simplex at any of the big chain stores either. The "wild types" are proving pretty easy to breed in captivity and so have really been growing in availability and popularity in the hobby over the past few years, though.

You can read up on different wild species at the International Betta Congress's Species Maintenance Program pages: http://www.ibcbettas.org/smp/

www.ultimatebettas.com also has lots of information. Many UB members keep and breed various species, and I got my Simplex colony from a fellow UB member.

I went with Betta simplex since they do well in hard water, and the water in my area is liquid rock. Most of the wild-type species do best in soft water, but there are a few that do well in hard water, and as they're bred more and more in captivity they're also becoming more adaptable to water parameters.

I'm still debating back and forth what schooling fish I'm going to put in this tank. Right now I'm leaning toward White Cloud Mountain Minnows...


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I second White Clouds!


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

wc's are nice fish and very hardy. Black neon tetras school very nicely and have a nice blueish color to them that's just amazing to watch when they swim together. Rasbora het would also be a good choice.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

This tank continues to look gorgeous LauraLee! I love it! 

I like my WCMMs too, and I think their red and white fins would be a nice contrast in the tank, maybe even a mix of the "golden" and regular white clouds could look nice, or just a school of the golden white clouds would make a really nice contrast. 

Harlequin rasboras are another fish that comes to mind for making a nice contrast, but I've never had them so I don't know much about how they school.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Actually, all 3 of those (black neons, WCMMs, Rasporas) I've considered at one point or another! Also considered some of the nice "new" danios around, like Burmese...

My QT is going to be busy for the next few months restocking my 90gal, so I've got plenty of time to make up my mind, fortunately LOL

I found a dead Oto in the tank today while I was feeding, so I removed it and did a 50% water change (was overdue anyways). All the rest of the fish look fine best I can tell... but I'll keep a close eye on things.

The Helanthium tenellum 'red' has filled in really well in the past month. The Hygrophila angustifolia hasn't done as well, for whatever reason some of the stems I'd trimmed and replanted last month rotted away? So the background "forest" is looking a little sparse right now. There's some new plants growing in from bases, though, so it should fill back up in a few months.

I'll try and get some updated pics tonight.


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

really like this tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks nonconductive! It's doing really well. :icon_mrgr

It's very hard, however, to get decent pictures of fish that want to watch you rather than pose... lots of pictures of head on stares and nothing else... :angryfire

Sidthimunkis are fat little pigs.










Otos are pretty fat, too.









Subdominant female. I only have 2 females, and I think 6 or 7 males now... I probably should rehome some of the males, or trade for some more unrelated females.










Alpha male is really feeling his oats since the big water change today- chasing everyone all around the tank.










Alpha and Beta displaying for each other.



















FTS


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Now that I am seeing the tank again, I am thinking WCMM will look fabulous in this tank. Are the bettas more of a bottom dwelling fish? Or are they just following the camera around like my fish do? 

The hygro backdrop is sweet.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The bettas are following the camera around. 2 of the younger males especially are puppy-dog beggars- little rascals are always nipping at my fingers and arms any time I'm in the tank LOL.

There are a few who really like hanging out in the Hygro angustifolia leaves that float across the surface of the tank, so yes- they're all over the tank, though they do spend more time toward the bottom and middle of the tank. They're pretty territorial- so tend to stick to particular corners/areas in the tank for the most part, and will flare and chase each other around a bit if anyone ventures into someone else's territory. Several of them have staked out the log caves, too.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Trimmed up this tank again before I leave on vacation. Have one male holding and another pair spawning in the back corner. LOL


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Gorgeous, Laura. Is it normal for bettas to chill at the bottom like that? My new bettas are always stalking the bottom of the tank, laying around like they are bored. Now, did you get the cockroach out of the other tank?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Sort of- since he's holding eggs in his mouth till they hatch, he's in hiding from all the other fish. He won't eat until they hatch, either (if he's a good father and doesn't swallow them, that is... lol) IDK how far along the eggs are, but if they hatch while I'm gone there probably won't be much food for them in the tank since I'm only having a friend come over once or twice a weeks... we'll see if any make it.

And yes, the roach is gone... finally... :thumbsdow


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

People ask what's to love about low tech?

This tank IMO is a prime example. I've completely neglected this tank for the past six months- the fish got fed and that's it. One of the bulbs has been burnt out in the fixture for several months even. 

Result- plants definitely aren't looking great, but none have died. I just did a major hack job to get rid of the leggy stems on the Hygro angustifolia and a huge water change (moved the tank into another room), and below are the results. Also replaced the bulb (with a Home Depot bulb, I need to order a Colormax but haven't bothered to hunt one down...). In a few weeks, it will look nice and lush again just like I like it. :icon_smil


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## binbin9 (Jan 31, 2012)

Do you have any betta simplexes for sale?


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