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Splody's Riparium Adventure: It's Not Easy Being Green

6K views 58 replies 7 participants last post by  myexplodingcat 
#1 · (Edited)
I keep posting questions in the Planted Tanks forum, but I feel like I'm spamming them with this one project, so I figured I'd just put it all here instead. I'm going to warn you now: this first post is gonna be long.

So, you're probably asking: what's a riparium? It's basically a semi-aquatic NPT--or, at least that's a good enough description for my purposes. I've no idea how far the definition extends, since it's not nearly so common a hobby as fully-aquatic NPT keeping. I'm pretty sure the word can be used to describe what I'm doing, so I'm using it.

I'm including a badly-drawn sketch of what I'm planning, since that's easier than describing everything.

Basically, I stupidly bought a semi-aquatic plant (a peacock fern) for Felix's tank, and this whole plan is a result of trying to figure out what to do with it. Currently, the cuttings are sitting in a little vase of old tank water and they seem pretty happy.

I have a 5-gallon off-brand Kritter Keeper on the way. It's coming on Wednesday.

Oh, and speaking of which! Something that made my day was reading the reviews on the different Kritter Keeper-like tanks and seeing that there are several people who rescued bettas and put them in 3+ gallon KKs. ^u^

I myself am not going to put fish in this thing for a while... once it's established, I'll try putting Felix in it for a week and see if it's okay. That way, I have his other tank on hand so that if it doesn't work out, he has somewhere safe to be put back.

In order to cycle the thing, I'm probably going to put his nerite snail in there. The snail's a bit of an overload on his little 1.5g even with my conservative water changes anyway...

I have a feeling that Felix is not going to be terribly thrilled about a tank without a filter. He loves his filter. In fact, he's kind of obsessed with it. But I think he could stand to test drive this riparium for a while... he loves plants. :p

So, as of right now:

1. Tank: check.

2. Organic potting soil/topsoil: probably check. I'll have to see what kind we have.

3. Plants: got the first few... the peacock ferns, a lucky bamboo cutting, and the crazy number of extra java ferns in Felix's tank. I also have some spearmint rooting in a glass of water that I could probably put in the semiaquatic part.

4. Light: a west window. But I can put a CFL in one of my octopus lamp's light sockets and aim it at the tank if I need extra light. (Which I probably will.)

5. Livestock: got 'em. I may put one of Chard's lovely yellow bettas in the new one--they're really tempting. It depends on how Felix takes the riparium, I guess.

6. Sand: I'll probably steal some from Felix's tank. It's nice white sand. Might not be enough though, so I may have to go back to PetSmart and get more.

7. Cycling: Felix's tank is probably cycled, so I'll just bring over a couple rocks or something from that tank.

8. Testing: Don't have a test kit. Gotta fix that. Are koi pond test kits the same thing? Are they cheaper? I'm gonna have to do some research.

9. Lid: I'm going to get rid of the Kritter Keeper lid once I can replace it with one I'm making. I'm going to use clear plastic "fabric" from Jo-Ann's and see if I can't stitch something together. I'm thinking maybe a triangular sort of top to go over it, and I'll have to figure out a way to hook it down securely so my snail doesn't go for a walk.

10. Heating: Felix's tank stays at 80F unheated, at least in the warm months. It's because of the temperature of my room and the small size of his tank. The 5gal Kritter Keeper is bigger, but it'll be in the sun. I'll have to see if that's enough. If it's not, I have two small-tank heaters ready to go, and I have black rocks that can help to hold in some heat.

I have some trial and error to go through, but I think this'll be fun.
 

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#33 ·
I've got some good news and some bad news...

Bad news first. Felix bit his fins again! This time he went for his giant, lush anal fin and trimmed it really close to his body! The chunk of fin he cut loose is still attached to the rest of his fin, but I wonder if he'll trim it away. It seems sometimes like he wants to be a plakat or something instead of a HM!

I thought I'd broken him of his fin biting when I got him his snail. Maybe the new tank *is* stressing him out, and he needs to go back into the old one. It's not like he's bored and it's probably not the water quality, because he's acting pretty normal otherwise.

I'll probably do a partial water change just to be safe. I know that's probably not the best for the plants, but there is a sort of film of--algae? Tank debris?--forming at the surface, so I think it might be time to get rid of that. The plants are flourishing, though.

If I really need to, I can get a 1gal bowl to use as a safe spot for Felix. Or I can trim an empty distilled water gallon jug (fill it with ordinary water, though) and use that as a temporary hospital tank. Still don't have a test kit, but I read that the cycle's silent anyway and it wouldn't really give accurate readings.

I'm just concerned about the water parameters a bit because he hasn't bitten for a while, and I'm not sure why he is now.

And the good news!

He built a little bubble nest and it's adorable!
 

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#34 ·
I have this clear 1gal jug that used to hold apple cider. That's JUST apple juice, no preservatives or *anything.* Should I use that as a temp. tank? Right now I'm using it to help with water changes.

Unfortunately I had to wreck his bubble nest in the WC.

I'm just concerned... I know the cycle's started going because the tank water no longer smells at all. I know it sounds like I'm saying the cycle has started really early--but I have media from an established tank, plenty of plants, and a reliable source of ammonia. I'm pretty confident it's started--but ammonia levels may still be kind of high for a fish and causing Felix stress.

Anyway, I've got to finish this WC. It's difficult with half the water under rocks, and Felix is Not Happy with me.
 
#35 ·
Glad I did that water change, it seems nice and clean and Felix seems happy. Pretty quiet here!

Need to top up the old tank before the water current splashes through the cap. Can't right now because I have to leave soon; I have plans for today, and that's because it's my birthday! I'm 17 now.
 
#38 ·
Thanks, guys! It has been!

I have a ukulele I have to name now. :D

It's this one.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell-MU70-12-Fret-Concert-Ukulele-103815981-i1171408.gc

I name all my instruments and most of my electronics. (Technically I didn't name the piano I played when I was little, but I thought "Clavinova" was such a pretty name already.)

I almost named my guitar Ceridwen (which means "beautiful poetry") but ended up naming it Winaugusconey ("not afraid to travel"). Ceridwen is a little bit too heavy of a name for a uke, though. But I do think a feminine name for a ukulele is a little more fitting than a guy's name. So I'm going through my name book.

I used to like the name Millie until I started babysitting a couple of kids who are in love with the show Team UmiZoomi, and now it reminds me of an annoying, tiny, superpowered doll-like thing with a permanent insane smile and weird flat pigtails.

There are actually not that many names I haven't connected with something weird.

Ophelia sounds nice, but will always remind me of the crazy lovesick girl who gets a million "The Talk" conversations from her dad and brother in Hamlet... Nellie is nice but makes me think of punk rockers because of another book... Petra is a character in Ender's Game and she doesn't fit a ukulele (maybe a bass guitar though)... I think Penelope was a character in The Odyssey... I named one of my own characters Phoebe... Renee would have been nice except for that Twilight character with the weird long version of it (don't ask how I even know her name)...

I think I read too much.

Maybe Celia? Or Emily. I do like Emily. Stella? Faith? Faye? Gwen? Ida? Twila? Molly? Mabel? (Yes, a Gravity Falls reference.)

I think I'll sleep on it. Tell me what you think. :)
 
#39 ·
I kind of like Faye or maybe the other version of it Fae (my preference in spelling but I like both)
I also like faith as well

And you can never read to much :p
 
#40 ·
Going out of town for four days to a wedding, so I did a smallish water change on the tank and filled it up more than usual. More swimming space, ammonia better diluted, less stress for Felix.

I'm finding that the songs I learned on guitar just don't sound right on a uke, even though I'm using uke tabs. The strumming pattern on Ground Control to Major Tom definitely doesn't work, either. It really isn't just a tiny guitar--which is kind of what I expected, although it is easy to pick up after a guitar.

Lol. I turn 17, what do I ask for? A piece of art we found while shopping, and a ukulele. We saw How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Godzilla, and we ate montaditos (little Spanish sandwiches) and, later, frozen yogurt at Jujube. I'm weird.

Oh, and my mom had to make a quick statement beforehand that she wasn't buying me any more fish for my birthday.
 
#42 ·
It was, thank you!

My cat isn't happy that we're leaving. He gets really mad when we start packing up to go out of town because he knows I won't be around to give him attention for a few days. He's yelling at me and keeps laying on my suitcases... and on me.

ohmanhe'sgivingmethatstareagain
 
#45 ·
Got home safely! Felix wasn't eaten by our cats or anything, he's still happy. I found a uke tab for one of my favorite songs and I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. Yay!

On the way home, we ran into super stormy weather and the biggest lightning show I've ever seen. It was incredibly beautiful--starbursts and sideways lightning and sprites shooting upwards, so bright they were lavender-white... I wouldn't have wanted to drive in the blinding rain, and if I'd lived in the area we were in, I'd be terribly worried about tornadoes because there was a huge wall cloud. But being in the car and just watching it roll by was intense and enthralling and wonderful.

You know, I personally know the guy who invented lightning ;)

Ukulele is addicting. It's so easy to play with my little hands, and you don't need the finger strength required for guitar. My cat's still mad at me and isn't sleeping with me tonight, but he did spend some time frolicking in bubbles, so I think he's on his way to forgiving me for leaving him alone for a whole, like, three days.

Anyway, it's late (ahem... early) and I'd better get to bed.
 
#46 ·
Well, I'm glad to say that Felix has quite a nice bit of transparent regrowth in his fins, both on the anal fin and in his tail. Can't get a good look at his dorsal, but he has nibbled that too. He looks kind of rosetailish now because he just made little rips and didn't actually take out pieces of fin in his tail, and the new growth is "extra." It's funny looking. I'm just glad it's growing back.

It looks like he split one of his ventral fins somehow, and I've no idea how he could reach it. Unless he's talented enough to actually snag his fins on plants and smooth rocks, with a sand bottom, I don't know how he managed to do that. Literally the only other things in there are his little heater (smooth) and his thermometer (also smooth). It does look like a little fishy nibble mark, though...

The water in his tank does look nice and clean, but I'm going to do a bit of a WC anyway because there's that film on the top again.

I'm being stared at again. I think I'm being expected to make up three days' worth of cuddling, pestering, and cat treats. Jake really missed me. XD
 
#52 ·
Remember how I removed some filter media to free up the old tank's filter and to kickstart the cycle of the new one? Turns out I took too much. The old filter cartridge is useless now and has been spreading gunk all over the tank. I was at PetSmart in order to buy new filter cartridges, and I did... better get the tank cleaned up so New Fish can live there!

I haven't named him yet, we'll see what color he turns first. If he's blue and red it's definitely going to be Orion. All I can see of his color is the red on the ends of his fins--the rest is gray and stress stripes. He's pretty young too and kind of skinny. I fed him two OO pellets in his cup and he gobbled them straight up--yay!

Here are pictures of New Fish. I guess I'm doing some accidental advertising for a charity I volunteer for that helps refugees who are coming into America... kind of funny that it's under a rescue fish. :p NF is looking more colorful and active already. I replaced half his water with bottled water in the car, and like I said, I fed him. He doesn't seem sick, just stressed. I think I can see some iridescence coming into his fins.

The last pic is of the grime in the tank. :/ It'll be clean after I do a really small WC and stir things up, and let the filter clean stuff out. Time to go do that.
 

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#53 ·
Got a really nice shape to him, doesn't he? No spoon head, that's for sure. He's a VT, if it wasn't apparent.

I got the new filter cartridge running and it's cleared up the tank really nicely. New Fish has been acclimated, which didn't take much because my room's already that lovely temp that keeps everything toasty in tanks and cups. New Fish is busy exploring the tank now and all its plants and hidey-holes. It's super cute. :)
 
#54 ·
His color has already changed from the photos I posted. His red has spread into the rest of his fins, not just on the edge, and it's much brighter now. The stress stripes are still there, but much less so. There's extra water conditioner in the tank, and that's basically what Stress Guard is (minus the aloe), so I think it might help having extra in the water.

He's unclamped pretty well and is still hopefully nibbling at clumps of dirt. ...He'll figure it out. XD
 
#55 ·
Found this a bit ago. Took me some time to get a decent picture. Is New Fish developing some fin rot? Or is that just his natural coloring?

I'm sticking this in the Diseases section too, don't worry. If it is finrot, I want to catch it early... but I don't want to stress him out with salt unless I have to. I think I will do a partial WC, though.
 

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