did i over plant my 5 gallon tank

[PaulO]

Eldiablo beautiful tank, I had the same decoration (large rock cave from pet smart) and after about a month when I was cleaning I happened to decide to remove the decoration. I happened to catch a whiff of the water that was spilling out of the decoration to empty it for storage and it was PUTRID. I would find a way to either seal off the decoration so no water can get in like sand and silicone, as the water can get stagnant and can become a cesspool of bacteria, also my silly mollies were constantly scratching their eyes on the "bushes". This decoration is one of the biggest reasons why I am moving all my tanks from hollow plastic decor to nice natural driftwood though slowly as it does lower ph. That was just my thought take it as you will but overall I gotta say you have a gorgeous tank and one happy betta.

[eldiablo2us]

Thanks... I did have one of my snail get stuck on the plastic plants which combines on the rocks before I planted it. Wouldn't mind changing it with a natural piece ad long as I can get one with lord of hiding spots . I think my betta might have eaten one of the shrimps since I can only find 3 out of four.

[kfryman]

When you trim your stem plants do not remove them out of the substrate, especially with dirt. The more often you take more and more plants out, you will have a nasty looking substrate as the dirt will be up on top, when I had to redo my tank there was dirt everywhere. Simply cut the stem plant where it leaves healthy leaves still on the plant and replant the clippings. Once you have no more space you can sell the trimmings as long as they are decent sized, like 4+ inches, and sell them in bunches (4+ stems) or you can just give them out for free as long as the other person pays for shipping.

Tank looks great though!