Introducing "Brad Pitt"

[MSG]

I was looking at those resin mopani decorations yesterday. There were no holes for fish to get trapped in, but I found the edges of those decorations very rough & jagged.

You may want to inspect them just in case you agree.

$30 wasn't worth the price to me if I had to spend 2 weeks healing ripped fins.

I could have bought all the pieces of mopani wood & interlocked them together to make a giant natural jungle gym for the price of that single resin piece.

[Armyguy03]

Originally Posted by MSG

I was looking at those resin mopani decorations yesterday. There were no holes for fish to get trapped in, but I found the edges of those decorations very rough & jagged.

You may want to inspect them just in case you agree.

$30 wasn't worth the price to me if I had to spend 2 weeks healing ripped fins.

I could have bought all the pieces of mopani wood & interlocked them together to make a giant natural jungle gym for the price of that single resin piece.

I felt for ruff edges on them thoroughly, actually, those were the only things in Petco that didn't have jagged edges.

[isochronism]

Armyguy, Thank you for your service to our country!!!
Btw, your guy is way more handsome than his namesake. :)

[MSG]

I looked @ 6 of those identical resins & all basically had the same issue.

Next time you do a water change, run some fine mesh over the decorations.
It might change your mind.

Here's some of the real mopani pieces I came across after I put down the resins, but I couldn't decide between the 2 pieces in the middle.



What did you end up doing with the original filter on your 10G?

[Armyguy03]

Originally Posted by MSG

I looked @ 6 of those identical resins & all basically had the same issue.

Next time you do a water change, run some fine mesh over the decorations.
It might change your mind.

Here's some of the real mopani pieces I came across after I put down the resins, but I couldn't decide between the 2 pieces in the middle.



What did you end up doing with the original filter on your 10G?

I still have the original filter, however, since I went to the AquaClear 20, I'm never going back, LOL. I do have a 5G tank still that has all the essentials for another betta, however, I couldn't stand looking at one in a 10, and another in a 5. I def will run some fine mesh over the decor just to be sure, will let you know what I find out. Those are def much better looking because they are real. When I have trouble deciding, I usually go with the first one that caught my eye, like its calling my name.

[MSG]

• Mopani has a reputation for growing white fungus like mold/tannins for the first month or two while submerged in water.
  
• To counter this, you can boil the wood for several hours or even for an ENTIRE day.
  
• The biggest problems with the natural wood is all the little weird crevices & holes the bettas like to explore & stick their inquisitive heads in.
  
• Any hole the size of AAA battery can pose a safety hazard & bettas can manage to wedge themselves inside & get trapped.

As for the crappy stock filter, I would keep it running in the back in case you ever decide to buy another betta. I looked at over 100 different bettas yesterday. 2 of the baby bettas caught my attention, but I left the store empty handed anyway.

• Filters use like 3-4 watts of electricity. You can always wrap filter floss around the intake to slow down the water flow. I just stuff extra filter floss where the water comes out to slow it down. It's safer & better than the plastic baffle because you can grow additional b-bacteria that consumes ammonia.

Also just noticed you mentioned the betta log is due to arrive in the mail. Those things are somewhat cheaply made & have paint that peels off into the water.

[Armyguy03]

Originally Posted by MSG

• Mopani has a reputation for growing white fungus like mold/tannins for the first month or two while submerged in water.
  
• To counter this, you can boil the wood for several hours or even for an ENTIRE day.
  
• The biggest problems with the natural wood is all the little weird crevices & holes the bettas like to explore & stick their inquisitive heads in.
  
• Any hole the size of AAA battery can pose a safety hazard & bettas can manage to wedge themselves inside & get trapped.

As for the crappy stock filter, I would keep it running in the back in case you ever decide to buy another betta. I looked at over 100 different bettas yesterday. 2 of the baby bettas caught my attention, but I left the store empty handed anyway.

• Filters use like 3-4 watts of electricity. You can always wrap filter floss around the intake to slow down the water flow. I just stuff extra filter floss where the water comes out to slow it down. It's safer & better than the plastic baffle because you can grow additional b-bacteria that consumes ammonia.

Also just noticed you mentioned the betta log is due to arrive in the mail. Those things are somewhat cheaply made & have paint that peels off into the water.

The filter floss sounds like an excellent idea and I will give it a shot. I have also seen people modify a sponge to hang just below the lip to slow down the flow. The logs I have a fake, not real, and are really smooth, and have been positioned to where all the holes that he can swim through pose no threat of fin damage. I read tons of reviews on the betta log and some have mentioned the "cheap paint" concern. When I get it in my hands if it looks poorly made, I wont put it in. I appreciate the advice.

[LittleBlueFishlets]

Beautiful tank!

[IshyNbibbit]

Hi! Welcome! Brad is a handsome fish!