Tankscaping?

[Zoetrooper]

I was gifted a 25 gallon tank. I was quite happy because I thought it would be more room for bettas. Unfortunately it is almost as tall as it is wide and would likely be too far of a distance for a betta to swim every time it needs to breathe.

I concluded that my options are as follows:

1) Use it for some other type of fish. :/

2) Use it as a lizard terrarium. It looks kind of perfect for it.

3) Fill the tank half full, or maybe a bit more. Plant it but use some plants that grow higher than the water or driftwood or whathaveyou to make the negative space at the top more appealing.

4) Create a sort of shelf midway through the tank for the bettas. With lots of places for them to rest closer to the surface and use the bottom half for compatible bottom dwelling tank mates. Some sort of freshwater tank-scape.


Those are my ideas. Number 3 is probably more doable than Number 4.

Any suggestions? Anyone tried that sort of thing before?

Thanks for looking. :)

Oh, tank dimensions for those curious. 20 H x 24 L x 12 W

[Crowntails]

Number 3 is a great idea. That kind of setup is called a "Paldularium." I assume you are going to use live plants?

[Zoetrooper]

Originally Posted by Crowntails

Number 3 is a great idea. That kind of setup is called a "Paldularium." I assume you are going to use live plants?

Yes I want to use live plants and set up a sorority. Thank you for telling me what that is called. No I can go look up images for it and see what other people have done. :)

[sarahspins]

A paludarium is actually a tank with dry (or at least not submerged) land area in addition to water.. what you are talking about with #3 is a riparium, and I'd go with that idea.. I am making a riparium out of one of my tanks once I get all the supplies I need, and I'm exited about the project.. it's basically going to have a cascading water feature integrated into the background of the tank :) Lots of aquarium plants will grow very well emmersed, so it shouldn't be difficult at all to add some visual appeal to the upper parts of the tank.

[Crowntails]

Originally Posted by sarahspins

A paludarium is actually a tank with dry (or at least not submerged) land area in addition to water.. what you are talking about with #3 is a riparium, and I'd go with that idea.. I am making a riparium out of one of my tanks once I get all the supplies I need, and I'm exited about the project.. it's basically going to have a cascading water feature integrated into the background of the tank :) Lots of aquarium plants will grow very well emmersed, so it shouldn't be difficult at all to add some visual appeal to the upper parts of the tank.

Oops! Your right. I always get them confused ....

[Zoetrooper]

I looked up both and I like what I am seeing. :) I won't be able to do much yet because of my budget but I am definitely getting ideas for future plans.

[Oldfishlady]

Awesome...free tanks are always neat to get....lol.....If you haven't already-I would do a 24h leak test-even if it has never leaked-Sometimes just moving them can crack a seal-especially if anything was in it for added weight-like gravel. One wrong twist or if it was dry for a period of time and the seals dried-A leaking tank is not fun at all....lol.....

Also, how tall is it, it may not be problematic for Betta-especially females and PK's. In my 25gal- I use it for grow out with my Betta fry-Its a great tank for the taller rosette plants too...Mine has mass amounts of jungle vals and crypts.
When I kept the Long fin males in it-they didn't seem to have any problems regarding swimming to the surface, however, mine are reared in bigger/deeper tanks and have good muscle tone-plus I don't use a filter in it (except for the plants) and that helps-Often it is the current from the filter that can make it hard for the Long fin males. With that said, mature Long fin males can sometimes have problems in larger tanks in general-Not all of them, but some can have problems keeping fins intact due to use of the long delicate fins to swim.

Look forward to seeing pics once you get it setup....

[Zoetrooper]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Awesome...free tanks are always neat to get....lol.....If you haven't already-I would do a 24h leak test-even if it has never leaked-Sometimes just moving them can crack a seal-especially if anything was in it for added weight-like gravel. One wrong twist or if it was dry for a period of time and the seals dried-A leaking tank is not fun at all....lol.....

Also, how tall is it, it may not be problematic for Betta-especially females and PK's. In my 25gal- I use it for grow out with my Betta fry-Its a great tank for the taller rosette plants too...Mine has mass amounts of jungle vals and crypts.
When I kept the Long fin males in it-they didn't seem to have any problems regarding swimming to the surface, however, mine are reared in bigger/deeper tanks and have good muscle tone-plus I don't use a filter in it (except for the plants) and that helps-Often it is the current from the filter that can make it hard for the Long fin males. With that said, mature Long fin males can sometimes have problems in larger tanks in general-Not all of them, but some can have problems keeping fins intact due to use of the long delicate fins to swim.

Look forward to seeing pics once you get it setup....

I haven't placed any water in it yet because I'm simply not ready to take on the project at this time. I need to test the filter that came with it to. The people that gave it to me have no idea how it works, but I think it has flow adjustment, which is good. And I do have some sealant handy just in case it does leak.

The tank itself is 20" H x 24" L x 12" W

Oh! I didn't realize they could rip their fins just by swimming. My girlfriend just put her halfmoon with long billowy fins into a larger tank. He excitedly swam around for hours and in the morning a chunk of his tail was gone. She was pretty broken up about it, thought he had got it caught in the filter but on further inspection couldn't figure out how that could possibly happen.

[Oldfishlady]

Not all Long fin males will have problems-a lot is based on genetics, age, method used to rear and overall condition. Often, most of these long fin males have been kept in small containers without any water movement for good fin growth. Then when they go straight from small volume/still water- into a larger volume with water movement-They physically can't tolerate it-especially in the beginning. Sometimes this can stress them to the point that it compromises the immune response and then the delicate fins start to tatter and things snowball so-to-speak.
Sometimes it can cause neurotic behaviors like tail biting, glass surfing or they go off food...etc.... Often they will be fine for the first day to a week-then you will see them hiding, clamp, stop eating and/or get sick. Its not that they can't be kept in larger tanks with or without filters-But sometimes you have to gradually acclimate them to the space and water movement in step-giving them time to adjust and build strength...etc....
Some long fin males never have problems with large spaces with or without water movement from the start. Its just something to be aware of so you can fix it before things get too bad.