Planted 5.5 for Tristan (Pics!)

[Fishybitty]

Wow! stunning. Your betta is beautiful and so is your tank. Great job.

[imsunflwr1]

Thanks Firefly85 and Fishybitty!

[carbonxxkidd]

I love your tank and your betta is gorgous! I am starting a 5.5g NPT this week (hopefully). Can I ask how much soil/sand you have? I was thinking 1 inch soil and 1/2 inch sand based on OFL's sticky but wanted to get some advice from someone who has done this...I just want to do it right! Thanks :D

[imsunflwr1]

Thanks! I aimed for what OFL recommended... but ended up with 1-1/2" dirt with about 3/4" sand. So far, so good... plants are doing well and so is Tristan. Unfortunately the shrimp didn't make it... at least 2 of them didn't anyway. Don't know why. :(

[carbonxxkidd]

Did you just use ghost shrimp? I've heard that they can be pretty fragile...

Did you wet down the soil before you put the sand on top? I just bought some black sand at Petco and plan on rinsing it before I put it in there. The biggest thing I'm worried about now is planting and trying to keep the layers from mixing! I don't have those fancy planting tweezers so I plan on just using my fingers :/ I'm really excited about it though, I hope my tank looks as good as yours!

[5150wicd4fish]

I love your set up, and your betta is sooo beautiful...made my heart pitter patter..LOL... :D

[MattsBettas]

Any fish would love that tank!

[registereduser]

That is a gorgeous fish! His fins remind me of my Irving's fins, very long and fluffy! But recently he has started to bite his tail, I sure hope Tristan doesn't do that

[imsunflwr1]

Originally Posted by carbonxxkidd

Did you just use ghost shrimp? I've heard that they can be pretty fragile...

Did you wet down the soil before you put the sand on top? I just bought some black sand at Petco and plan on rinsing it before I put it in there. The biggest thing I'm worried about now is planting and trying to keep the layers from mixing! I don't have those fancy planting tweezers so I plan on just using my fingers :/ I'm really excited about it though, I hope my tank looks as good as yours!

I'm not sure about the shrimp. I asked for Amanos at my LFS, but they didn't have any. They just said these were algae eating shrimp. I do have Red Cherry Shrimp, but just don't have the heart to add them to my Betta tanks for fear they'll become a snack, but they are in a NPT and doing great!

I found this advice from another OFL post and this is what I followed...

"When I set one up-
I add my dirt-then add just enough water to cover-then I add my sand-I don't rinse my sand-I like to use everything dry. Then I add water-drain and repeat until clear. Then I add about 2-3 inches of water and start to plant-I already have my hard scape placed, filter, heater and check the hood for placement if one is used.Once I have everything planted-I fill with water and drain and re-fill if needed until clear."

I just barely coverd the soil with water. I also used Petco Sand... the black one and really like the way it looks. I wouldn't rinse, just do as OFL says.

I have short and long tweezers and love them. Got them on Ebay and consider them worth the investment. Also got the long curved scissors and they are wonderful for trimming.
Best of luck!

5150wicd4fish and MattsBettas... Thanks so much!

[imsunflwr1]

Originally Posted by registereduser

That is a gorgeous fish! His fins remind me of my Irving's fins, very long and fluffy! But recently he has started to bite his tail, I sure hope Tristan doesn't do that

Thanks! I hope he doesn't, but I can tell the weight of those fins are a burden for him. I usually find him resting on a plant, filter, heater or on the bottom. Ahhh... the price of beauty.