Aquarius's Wonderland

[LadyVictorian]

Alright so last night while playing Alice, Madness Returns and running through the Asian lands it hit me. My theme for Aquaman's tank was going to be Asian but then I thought...why not make it Dark Wonderland themed? So...I am making his tank a Wonderland, an Asian Betta Wonderland based off the game Alice Madness Returns. I have a check list of things i'll be looking into and updating this thread with questions and pictures of the progress. I'm thinking it may take a lot of time to get it all done but when it is finished if it is anything like in my mind it shall be amazing.

Alright first things first. Tea cups, would they be okay to use for a shelter? Like how some people use a plant pot I was thinking of having a teacup turned on it's side or perhaps those tiny tea cup sets that you could get as a child. I am not sure if what they use to paint them would be toxic to fish.

I don't have anymore questions just yet but as I build the tank up I just might.

checklist:

[s]5 gal tank[/s]
[s]Colorful rocks[/s]
[s]filter[/s]
[s]heater[/s]
4 colorful plants ranging purple, blue, red, and bright green
One java moss
moss ball
2 cherry shrimp
1 blue tiger shrimp (Cheshire)
One small snail
2 Green plants
1 sideways teacup
One colorful hide or cave
Fake mushrooms
Miniature teacup set
Fake lilypad with flower
Asian shrine
Smaller Asian fish decor
Wonderland figurine

And here is sort of an idea of what I am going for in this video. It promises to be epic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR8wXsvUrBg

[ChoclateBetta]

No teacup fish safe and human safe are completaly different. What is safe for humans may not be safe for fish. Do not forget I would do frequint water changes.

[Kitty Whiskers]

Wow yeah that would be a great theme if you can get all that stuff. I know of people who use coffee cups as caves. so wouldn't a tea cup be the same as a coffee cup in the tank? Maybe a glass tea cup?? I have some glass tea cups with etched designs on it so it is opaque looking. That would be cool too.

Good idea and good luck!

[maycausedeath]

You have good taste in games! Have you played Alice before or is this your first time? I think this is a really neat idea, but you might get even more ideas when you finish the game (if this is your first time) so watch out

I'm not sure about the proportions of the 5g you plan on getting, but my vote is for a long and shallow tank, I think it would be easier to make it look like the game. Have you thought about using black sand as substrate?

I agree with the suggestion about glass teacups, unless you can somehow verify that normal ones wouldn't leach anything into the water. I would also say that kid's teacups are probably even less safe than normal ones, because they aren't specifically designed to be used and go through the dishwasher.

One note about the blue tiger shrimp, I've heard they're really expensive and delicate, just something to keep in mind.

I'm really excited to see the results of this, especially the mushrooms!

[kfryman]

Aren't tiger shrimp very easy to kill and require RO water?

I don't like the theme just cause it is gonna be so bright and unnatural lol. But what ever floats your boat doesn't make my boat sink. It sounds like a nice theme though!

[Bettanewbie60]

Great idea for a theme..I can't wait to see it!

[LadyVictorian]

No I have finished the whole game once before. I was trying to stick with the more beautiful and colorful landscape like Veild of Tears and the Japanese Garden. Hybrid those two looks so it's partly oriental which was going to be his original theme and partly mystical and magical.

As for the tea cup I was thinking a white unpainted one, sort of the more modern ones they have in stores so that it would be all glass and nothing would really bleed into the water from it.

As for the tiger shrimp I am going to have just the cherry shrimp for a while to make sure Aquarius isn't going to be aggressive with them. I know tigers are more expensive, I have checked the price and harder to care for so I am testing with cheaper cherry shrimp to be certain I can keep them alive. I hope with the java moss, a moss ball, and maybe some other hardy plants they will have plenty of hiding places. Plus the Asian temple I found is a nice small place Aquarius couldn't get into so they would be able to hide there. I would an aquarium log with fake mushrooms on it and hidy holes. Just need to go to the store and measure it against my tank and test it for fin tearing factors. A friend of mine even said it would be cool to try and grow java moss on a floating log and have it cascade down.

Still looking at fish stuff to see what i can make work in a wonderland theme. I def think after this my other themes will remain simple, maybe sunken city and Asian but boy when this tank is finished it will be something special. I might also get the Alice figurine from the game and have her standing outside of the tank off to the side and get the Cheshire cat and stand him on the opposite side of Alice. OR put them behind the tank and make it look like they are inside the tank but in the backdrop. Hmmm...

[LadyVictorian]

OH

Also lava rock. Does it come in a dark black and is it fish safe? If so I would LOVE to use it to grow some of the moss on it and make it look like the dead chunks of Wonderland that crumbled and float around aimlessly. Also glass marbles. Are they fish safe? I know in the game there were marbles floating around and I thought about getting one cool cats eye marble or maybe a few pretty blue ones and putting them around the tank in the pebbles. I need to get some tiny drift wood too that can fit in a 5 gal, I would really love at least one smaller piece of driftwood but don't want to crowd it either.

[Kitty Whiskers]

Hmmm I don't know if I have ever seen dark black colored lava rock. It IS fish safe because I seen it for sale in pet stores...BUT I don't think it would be too good on Male Betta fins because it is rough and sharp. I'm not really experianced with lave rock in tanks however. Glass marbles would be safe. Just don't have too many or use them for just the bottom cover alone. My LPS has very pretty marbles for use in tanks!

[LadyVictorian]

Hmmmm, those flat glossy looking stones made from glass...thinking of getting them and making a path through the tank/forest of plants with it to the home/teacup or log with mushrooms. :P going to petco today to pick some stuff up for his tank.