# zeldar's 2.5 gallon



## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Time to set up a journal for my other tank. Its a standard 2.5 gallon. I've actually had the tank for a while but it just recently got planted. Its been my bettas home for a while and now hes got some plants to enjoy.

tank: 2.5 gallon
lighting: 13watt Ott-lite on timer for 8hrs a day
filter: red sea nano filter (in the picture is a nasty tetra filter but i ditched it)
co2: daily dose of excel but I'll soon add DIY co2
ferts: right now just flourish but if plants need it I'll add NPK
substrate: eco complete
hardscape: twigs and leftover crumbs from ryuoh rock
plants: marsilea minuta and mm dwarf, HC, dwarf hairgrass, fissidens, anubias petite
fauna: betta, I'll add in a nerite and eventually RCS once they become adults

FTS, please ignore ugly eyesore filter


















my betta in his old stomping grounds


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## Bonefish (Mar 14, 2009)

I love the twig tree! The scape should look great once the foreground fills in.

Warning on mixing bettas and RCS (or shrimp of any kind): if your betta is at all inclined to be nippy or aggressive, you may lose all your RCS and end up with a very fat, very happy betta. I tried a few RCS in two different betta tanks, and both times the bettas ate them. 

A nerite or ramshorn snail should be fine, though; I've kept both successfully with bettas. Hard shells help deter ever-curious, ever-nippy fish.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

actually my betta seems to be pretty tame. In the last setup there were some ghost shrimp in with him, and some were super tiny, and he never bothered them. My RCS in the other tank just lost her eggs so its gonna be a while before I have some babies large enough to add to this tank. Hopefully the plants will fill in before then which will give some shelter to the shrimp.


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## Strick (Apr 6, 2009)

Looks great! Love the moss tree.

I have to second Tsu Ryuu's opinion that any shrimp will eventually end up as expensive snacks. I've had some very mellow bettas and none of them could resist.


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## april_tanks (Jul 21, 2009)

Hey I was wondering, how does your betta do with the red sea nano filter? I was wondering because I was thinking about getting one for my betta that I'm going to be putting in a 2 gallon hex tank. Does it give off too much current or no?


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

its been great so far, its only been on the tank for like 4 days. Its great because there is a knob so you can control how much current comes out. My betta doesn't get thrown around like he did with an old filter i had.


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## april_tanks (Jul 21, 2009)

its been great so far, its only been on the tank for like 4 days. Its great because there is a knob so you can control how much current comes out. My betta doesn't get thrown around like he did with an old filter i had.

Okay thanks. I have the your old filter in my closet and it was so annoying! bc it is on a pump it is so loud!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

yea the red sea filter is completley silent. I got mine at Petco for $15 if you are wondering where to get one without ordering online.


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## april_tanks (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks, but I already knew that, but if I didn't now I would know xD 

But yeah I'm going to this road by my house that has Petco, Petsupermarket, and Petsmart all across the street from each other so I will be able to get the filter a Petco, fish at petsupermarket, and then some other stuff if I need it, at Petsmart xD 

I would get one from Big Al's because I live right by the only one is the US and they are only $8.99, but I think that is only an online thing and it is father then the Petsmart etc. xD


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## Bonefish (Mar 14, 2009)

If he left the ghosts alone, he might actually ignore the cherries. And yeah, the plants could protect them. I'd give it a trial run with one or two shrimp and see how they fare. Good luck!


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

I added a patch of mini pellia in the back left corner. This is the first time I was able to get my hands on this plant, as I've been wanting some for awhile now. I'll get a picture of the tank posted this weekend.

Also added an assassin snail since the pest ramshorn snails are starting to bother me. I have been picking the ones off the glass every day, put of course the number rises daily.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

got some new pics up.

I got some Hydrocotyle verticillata and Ranunculus inundatus from *Crispino Ramos *for my 10gallon and had some left overs so I put like 4 nodes of the hydro in this tank. I also added the mini pellia mentioned in the last post.

fts









closeup of hydro









mini pellia kinda blurry









betta man


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## deleted_user_9 (Feb 28, 2009)

Looks awesome! That's really filling in nicely.


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## zeldar (Jun 24, 2009)

Its been awhile and I haven't looked at the last time I posted pictures. A lot has grown in it looks like. First of all, I took the hydrocotyle out. I added some windelov java fern by the mini pellia. 

The HC is spreading nicely and the MM is slowly but surely getting there. The fissidens is growing much more than I ever expected. Its about ready for a trim. I actually am about to take the twigs out because I got some small manzanita branches to replace them with. I just need to figure out a good setup for it and then attach the fissidens.

My only complaint with this tank is the amount of snails. They are absolutely everywhere, especially in the fissidens. There has to be thousands in there. My lone assassin snail isn't making a dent.haha I may order 5 or 6 more to see if they can slow the population. Anybody out there have a good method for removing these pests?


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

looks awsome.


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## doggyhog (Oct 7, 2009)

LOVE it!!! Beautiful betta too.


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

I'm really liking this tank! Keep up the good work!!


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

what is growing on the twigs? i love it!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

AlexXx said:


> what is growing on the twigs? i love it!


It looks like_ Fissidens fontanus_

Great work so far! I love the twigs.


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## matthew.shelly (Dec 1, 2009)

where did you get the twigs? they look great


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