# Betta Tank (New kid on the block)



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

Normally, I keep a saltwater nano reef. However, I would like to try my hand at a 10 gallon freshwater planted tank. I am open to all suggestions. The picture attached shows what I have collected: 

Aqueon 10 Gallon 
Aqueon Live Planted Aqaurium Clip-On LED Fixture
Tetra Whisper 5-10
Cobalt Neo-Therm Super Flat 50 Watt Heater
Malaysian Driftwood and Dragon Stone

What substrate should I use? What plants should I plant? How many plants should I plant? Do I need a CO2 system?

I will add only one (1) Betta. Is there a good site to purchase a Betta?

HELP!

Bump: Front View:


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Sadly I'm not sure that light will grow anything except some super low light plants like Anubias, Java fern, Java moss and a few crypt plants, some marimo balls. With those type plants you certainly don't have to have CO2. 

Substrate not big deal in that type of tank. Caribsea Peace River is my favorite plain gravel. 









You can also go the safeTsorb route its dirt cheap and good at growing plants and also looks nice. Heres one of pics from another member here. You'll need way more light grow plants like this though









As far as finding a betta, just visit local stores and find one, even Petco etc. Look for young healthy specimen that you like the color of and is active rambunctious. This guy came from Petco. Id rather see them in person and watch how they swim and act. You don't want a lazy ass betta who just lays there and hardly ever swims.


----------



## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Quick question: Is that carved piece with the lion made of wood or plastic? Hopefully plastic.

As DaveKS noted your light is going to limit plants quite a bit. I would stick with Java Moss which grows pretty much anywhere. Buy a bunch and spread it out on that piece of driftwood with super glue or cotton thread and it will fluff up in a month or two and cover the whole thing. 

Substrate can be whatever you find aesthetically pleasing. You won't be growing much if anything in the way of rooted plants with that light so don't spend money on an active substrate that contains fertilizers. 

Your local fish store will sell bettas so you can buy from there. If you must buy online then you have options. I bought my betta on e bay. Aquabid is also popular and I have heard good things about spacecityfishandcoral.com but have never used them.

If you change up the light to get access to more plants then let us know. A good option for a tank that size is the Asta 20 Freshwater. But there are a lot of options in this dept. Good luck!


----------



## Frank158 (Oct 1, 2013)

Low light tanks can be really nice and a great way to get experience in keeping a planted tank. Here is a is a list of low light plants:

https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/100-low-tech-forum/56042-excellent-list-low-light-plants.html

I have a low light 15 gallon betta tank and keep java fern, cryp parva, java moss, and other unidentified crypts and it looks great. For substrate I have pool filter sand. Best of all because the light is low I have no algae issues at all.....but it is very slow growing.

Enjoy!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

DaveKS, thanks! After reading your comments, I plan to use three or four different kinds of anubias plants. Once again, THANKS!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

minorhero and Frank158, I also thank you! minorhero, the lion is my backdrop. I am a photographer; I shot a fountain with my Nikon and Tamron 45mm lens. Then, I had the photo custom made to the size of my tank. I may purchase the Astra 20 Freshwater for another tank down the road. Nonetheless, I will use cheaper substrate. Finally, I may try some java moss on my wood. (I really like the anubias!)


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

I just discovered wetplants.com has eight variations of anubias!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

I went with Flourite Red for my substrate. I plan to add some plants this weekend.


----------



## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

I'm fond of Java fern var Windelov myself - the trident tips on the leaves make it much more decorative than the standard variant and just as easy to grow, in my opinion! That can attach to your driftwood the same as the anubias. 

Bear in mind that a lot of anubias species get quite big, although they grow slowly so it will take a long time. I just pulled what I am pretty sure was Anubias barteri from my tank yesterday - it was taking up a full half of a 20 long!

You could consider some floating plants as well - I like salvinia and water sprite myself, although the latter gets big as well.


----------



## sittinglynx (Feb 18, 2019)

@Haggai1.5 [/I]I will add only one (1) Betta. Is there a good site to purchase a Betta?[/I]

I would try Upscale Aquatics at 110 N. Statesville Road, Huntersville, NC 28078

According to your profile, looks like that's close & from their website, they have a very nice selection of freshwater fish, including a betta section all to it's self. Even if what you want is _"Out of Stock" _ on their website, chances are they deal with a distributor that stocks them with what they have listed. If you're only getting one fish, I'd just tell them what you want and tell they you can wait a while (you'll need to cycle your tank anyway) , until they get in a good one.


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Get something besides just Anubias so there will be contrast in form and color. 

Good old crypt wendtti brown or red









Maybe some taller crypt undulata along back

Then give some red root floaters a try, Betta be lov’n that stuff and easy to keep. Floating plants are extremely good water cleaners, they have access to all light and CO2 they want at water surface, they can really keep the phosphate and nitrate and organics levels in aquarium in check and cut down on your needs for water changes.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

Frank158 said:


> Low light tanks can be really nice and a great way to get experience in keeping a planted tank. Here is a is a list of low light plants:
> 
> https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/100-low-tech-forum/56042-excellent-list-low-light-plants.html
> 
> ...


Frank, may you please post a picture of your 15 gallon Betta Tank?

Bump:


Frank158 said:


> Low light tanks can be really nice and a great way to get experience in keeping a planted tank. Here is a is a list of low light plants:
> 
> https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/100-low-tech-forum/56042-excellent-list-low-light-plants.html
> 
> ...





germanblueramlover said:


> I'm fond of Java fern var Windelov myself - the trident tips on the leaves make it much more decorative than the standard variant and just as easy to grow, in my opinion! That can attach to your driftwood the same as the anubias.
> 
> Bear in mind that a lot of anubias species get quite big, although they grow slowly so it will take a long time. I just pulled what I am pretty sure was Anubias barteri from my tank yesterday - it was taking up a full half of a 20 long!
> 
> You could consider some floating plants as well - I like salvinia and water sprite myself, although the latter gets big as well.


Thanks for the advice! After I finish with the ground crew, I will add floaters to cap my tank off! :grin2:

Bump: Thanks for the tip! I will reach out to them this weekend.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

Sittinglynx, thanks for the tip! I will reach out too them this weekend.

Dave you are the best! I ordered some crypts for wetplants to be placed in the left corner.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Background Design . . .*

Today, I purchased tickets for CATS. (My wife wanted to see the play.) As such, I could only afford plants for the background. I ordered four (4) plants from wetplants.com.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Judah!*

Today, at 1820, I added Judah to my tank! Judah is a beautiful Red Veiltail Male Betta I purchased from Petsmart. Judah is very happy, swimming from one side of the tank to the other!


----------



## sittinglynx (Feb 18, 2019)

I never thought of doing a blown up photo for the tank's background, thank pretty cool. Did you just laminate it to keep it as waterproof as possible, or a special printing paper? 

Also, DaveKS is the best. He's helped me with plant suggestions on my journal as well


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

No, I just used double-sided tape. It seems to be working.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*First group of plants . . .*

On Saturday, I planted Anubias Nana, Cryptocorynes Retrospiralis, Cryptocorynes Wendtii Red, and Cryptocorynes Wendtii Brown from Wet Plant. I would like to thank DaveKS, Minorhero, Frank158, Germanblueramiover, and Sittinglynx for their helpful inputs! Next week, I will work on ground cover for the foreground.


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

See how easy it is to find a totally awesome Betta. He looks like a flame swimming around tank. Plants look great, that retrospiralis will look nice when it throws up some taller leaves. Hopefully you won’t get any melt but if you do they should grow some new leaves in a couple months. 

Don’t not forget you’ll need to do some light dosing with a good balanced fert, I’d recommend standard Thrive at 1/3 strength. A bottle in this type of tank should last you a couple years at least.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

Thanks for the advice! I will work on the foreground this weekend. I will also begin dosing . . .


----------



## evil8 (Aug 7, 2018)

DaveKS said:


> Good old crypt wendtti brown or red


I have a large patch of the green gecko and some brown in there would look stellar, but both buce.com and h2oplants are sold out.


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

evil8 said:


> I have a large patch of the green gecko and some brown in there would look stellar, but both buce.com and h2oplants are sold out.


You can get wendtii red on amazon.


----------



## sittinglynx (Feb 18, 2019)

@Haggai1.5 "On Saturday, I planted Anubias Nana, Cryptocorynes Retrospiralis, Cryptocorynes Wendtii Red, and Cryptocorynes Wendtii Brown from Wet Plant"

From the limited knowledge I have about plants, that list looks like a good bet to start with. I set up an undergravel system in my tank (not thinking I would what plants), now that I'm on this forum, I'm changing my mind. With @DaveKS 's advise, I started with Frogbit to help with my high nitrates. After seeing how cool they are, I thought "what would survive under them (ijn low light) and with water flow under 3" of gravel. Crypts kept coming up with my UTube watching, Ha! Anyway, looks like a good start & that Betta is beautiful! 

Just curious, ever make it out to that aquarium store I googled? Since I set up 6 months ago, I think I've been to 6 mom & pop aquarium stores in my area. I like to go see what they have and meet others all "geeked out" on the hobby, lol! I guess I get a little over zealous


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

I plan to visit them this weekend.


----------



## Frank158 (Oct 1, 2013)

Hi

I am on vacation so been away. Judah is a lucky Betta, he looks great!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Betta's Budget*

Today, I ordered three more plants from Wetplant. With the help of those at The Planted Tank, I was able to stay under budget! THANKS!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Major Changes . . .*

Today, I made some major changes to my Betta Tank. First, I added seven (7) Neon Tetras. Then, I returned Judah to Petsmart for a Blue Mustard Male Betta. His name is Solomon! Lastly, I added one (1) water lettuce to said tank. Here's a shot from the top and Solomon being floated . . .


----------



## sittinglynx (Feb 18, 2019)

How is Solomon doing with those flashy Neons?


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Solomon/Neons*

Solomon and the Neons seem to being doing quite well. I hope it stays that way!:nerd:

Bump: I hope to have a peaceful community tank . . .


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

That’s exactly the kind of Betta I want next. Love the mustard colored ones. 

Poor, Judah, turns out you were the real Judah. Turning your back on him and taking him back to Petsmart to suffer in his little cup after he had tasted the good life.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

Judah and "Judas" were two different persons. Yet, I do feel bad. Moreover, the folks at Petsmart promised to give Judah a good home. On a positive note, I did rescue seven (7) Neon Tetras.


----------



## chicken.nublet (Mar 29, 2018)

Haggai1.5 said:


> Today, I made some major changes to my Betta Tank. First, I added seven (7) Neon Tetras. Then, I returned Judah to Petsmart for a Blue Mustard Male Betta. His name is Solomon! Lastly, I added one (1) water lettuce to said tank. Here's a shot from the top and Solomon being floated . . .


Solomon looks gorgeous! Love mustard gas bettas.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

chicken.nublet said:


> Solomon looks gorgeous! Love mustard gas bettas.


I am really digging' Solomon! Here's a picture I shot today (07 Sep 19).

Bump:


chicken.nublet said:


> Solomon looks gorgeous! Love mustard gas bettas.


I am really digging' Solomon! Here's a picture I shot today (07 Sep 19).

Bump:


chicken.nublet said:


> Solomon looks gorgeous! Love mustard gas bettas.


I am really digging' Solomon! Here's a picture I shot today (07 Sep 19).

Bump:

Bump:


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*New Additions to Solomon's Lair!*

Today, I made some new additions to my Betta tank (aka Solomon's Lair)! First, I added a Marineland Bio-Wheel Penguin 100. Then, I planted several Baby Teardrops (Monte Carlo) to the foreground. (I purchased the Baby Teardrops from WetPlants.). Lastly, I attached the Anubias Nana to the driftwood. Solomon and the Neons Tetras and living well together! Both Solomon and the Neon's seem to enjoy the extra plants. At present, I dose 1.0 ml of Flourish on Saturdays and Wednesdays.


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Your probably not going to have much luck with that foreground plant. Will need at least 6x amount of light your giving it and it prefers added CO2. You barely have enough light to grow Crypts and Anubias. 

Also by my estimates you probably only need .3ml of flourish twice a week.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Lighting/CO2 for Solomon's Lair?*

Thanks for the advice! I plan to upgrade my lighting, using a AI Prime Freshwater or Kessil A80 Tuna Sun. I use a Kessil on my nano reef. What CO2 setup do you recommend? Finally, do you mean 3.0 ml of Flourish and where can I purchase Thrive?


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Tearsdrops!!!!!*



DaveKS said:


> Your probably not going to have much luck with that foreground plant. Will need at least 6x amount of light your giving it and it prefers added CO2. You barely have enough light to grow Crypts and Anubias.
> 
> Also by my estimates you probably only need .3ml of flourish twice a week.


I had to trim the Baby Teardrops. They are growing like weeds!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Hairline Algae*

I am having a problem with hairline algae. What should I do?


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

I see very little horizontal spread on baby tears, it will grow up and stretch for light when it’s not getting enough light or co2. 

Looks like your completely overdosing to me. What and how much and how often are you dosing?


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Dosing/Hairline Algae*



DaveKS said:


> I see very little horizontal spread on baby tears, it will grow up and stretch for light when it’s not getting enough light or co2.
> 
> Looks like your completely overdosing to me. What and how much and how often are you dosing?


Because of the hairline algae growth, I have not dosed since 07 Sep 19. :|


----------



## sittinglynx (Feb 18, 2019)

I'm sorry you are dealing with a mess. I would start with physically removing the algae as best you can & make sure to keep up with your water changes. What does your PH and water hardness look like? If you are working with hard water with high PH, some algae thrives in that environment more than some plants. 

Now, I'm a novice with plants as well, so I think you are in better hands with Dave KS as far as plant advice, but if you do have harder water with higher PH, you might want to consider Mollies or Endler's Livebearer instead of Neon Tetras, which like neutral PH (6.5 to 7.5). Some Mollies or Endler's Livebearer eat hairline algae. These are hard water / high PH fish. 

I myself have softer water and close to neutral PH, so tetras are pretty easy to keep, but I also have algae that popped up as soon as I added plants, but Brown algae, so I bought some nerite snails and they keep it at bay pretty good. 

Good luck!


----------



## mopani (Oct 29, 2013)

sittinglynx said:


> @Haggai1.5 [/I]I will add only one (1) Betta. Is there a good site to purchase a Betta?[/I]
> 
> I would try Upscale Aquatics at 110 N. Statesville Road, Huntersville, NC 28078
> 
> According to your profile, looks like that's close & from their website, they have a very nice selection of freshwater fish, including a betta section all to it's self. Even if what you want is _"Out of Stock" _ on their website, chances are they deal with a distributor that stocks them with what they have listed. If you're only getting one fish, I'd just tell them what you want and tell they you can wait a while (you'll need to cycle your tank anyway) , until they get in a good one.


Upscale and C macs Aquarium in Ballyntine( I know I am mispelling it, the nice part of Charlotte near Carowinds) They are some of the best Fish store around the NC area IMO


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

I will check my pH and hardness on Sunday. Moreover, I may switch to the Mollies.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Solution!!!*

My friends at Nemo's Reef suggested I add Mollies to attack the algae problem! Following their advice, I placed four Mollies in my tank and removed the Baby Teardrops. Lastly, I added two (2) more Anubias Nana and one (1) Windelow Java Fern. Now, look at my planted tank! I thank everyone on this thread for their advice! (I also added a Fluval Pressurized CO2 Kit!)


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*King Solomon*

King Solomon is growing and playing nice with his tank mates! I'm using Hikari's Betta Bio-Gold for his feed.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Winelov!*



germanblueramlover said:


> I'm fond of Java fern var Windelov myself - the trident tips on the leaves make it much more decorative than the standard variant and just as easy to grow, in my opinion! That can attach to your driftwood the same as the anubias.
> 
> Bear in mind that a lot of anubias species get quite big, although they grow slowly so it will take a long time. I just pulled what I am pretty sure was Anubias barteri from my tank yesterday - it was taking up a full half of a 20 long!
> 
> You could consider some floating plants as well - I like salvinia and water sprite myself, although the latter gets big as well.


I placed a Winelov in my tank! She looks marvelous!

Bump:


DaveKS said:


> Get something besides just Anubias so there will be contrast in form and color.
> 
> Good old crypt wendtti brown or red
> 
> ...


The Wendtti Browns and Reds are my wife's favorite! If the wife is happy, DADDY's happy!


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Babies!!!!*

:surprise: One of my Mollies had babies! Call me Grandpa Haggai!:surprise: I can see three little Mollies swimming in the plants!:surprise:


----------



## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

Bet the betta is gonna be happy.

Tank cleaned up nicely and great looking betta.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Mess to Masterpiece . . .*



Quint said:


> Bet the betta is gonna be happy.
> 
> Tank cleaned up nicely and great looking betta.


Thanks, Q! Your are right! My "mess" has become my "masterpiece." (I spending more time with my freshwater tank over my saltwater tank.) I have a very peaceful betta. My baby mollies are still alive and now I have baby snails! Lastly, I started using CO2.
:surprise:


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*26 Oct 19 (New Picture)*

Yesterday, I removed the cryptocorynes retrospiralis and added a marble queen radican sword.


----------



## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Sword really pops out colorwise. 

You need some giant willow moss or some fissiden attached to some of that wood to put a final touch on it.

Giant willow moss


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*Giant Willow Moss*



DaveKS said:


> Sword really pops out colorwise.
> 
> You need some giant willow moss or some fissiden attached to some of that wood to put a final touch on it.
> 
> Giant willow moss


Sounds good! Where can I find the Giant Willow Moss? I running CO2 at least three (3) times per week.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*November's Photo*

I can't believe how well the tank is doing with the cheap light. However, I may invest in better lighting.


----------



## Haggai1.5 (Jul 25, 2019)

*16 Nov 19 Picture*

Here's an updated picture of Solomon's Liar.


----------

