So I decided to step it up a notch with my 2.5 gallon unfiltered fish tank. Some of you have seen me around a ton with various questions and whatnot since I got my blue and red crowntail, Shif. I have a filter coming in the mail any day now that I am setting up the tank with once I start my Fall semester of school, which is August 18th.
Today, I went to the pet store to return the PH 7.0 stuff since it was like 11.99 and I got a medium sized critter keeper to use for water changes, siphons, a QT tank, storage when not used, and the tank he is going to be in while his tank is cycling. It appears to be between 2.0 and 2.5 gallons. I also bought some nice clear pebbles to accent his rainbow gravel.
Aaaand, I got a new plant. I got tired of the fake silk looking things so I decided to try something new. I picked up a java fern from petsmart, Top Fin "Brand" and it claims to be snail free. It looked pretty, so I picked it up, 1.99 so I figured if I kill it then it won't be too bad :p Rinsed the plant, did a 100% water change, and now fishy is adapting to water change and whatnot, floating in his cup.
My question: Plant care. I have no light on this tank so it'll be in INDIRECT sunlight for its lighting. Second question, needs aeration? Will my plant die without a filter? Any other suggestions? I picked java fern because I've read they are quite hardy. I thought about wisteria or a moss ball. Discuss? :)
I don't THINK plants need filtration, but I'm not 100% on that since all my tanks are filtered. I know they need fresh water, but you will take care of that with your water changes for your betta.
As far as the indirect light for the java fern goes, again, I don't know.
It's all right, Lion Mom. :) Although, would you know if dust/lint in a fish tank is dangerous? I know there are probably risks like parasites or something that could be IN the dust but I found it hard during the water change to keep dust out of the tank -.- I even cleaned earlier and still, a little bit of lint and dust on the surface. Any thoughts?
Oh criminy - I get dust in mine also. Heck, we used to have cats (they have all passed away now, sadly) and I used to get cat hair in my tanks - no harm, no foul as they say! :)
Just try to keep it to a minimum, ok? You will NEVER, EVER have a "sterile" tank - and I don't really think it would be good if you did!
Phew, okay! That's a relief! I was looking at the dust in the water and twitching, trying to get the dang dust out was probably worse just because of my hands continuously in the water. Ha ha! Glad to know these fish aren't TOO delicate. :p
I get so much cat hair in my tanks that if it were bad for fish I'd probably have opted to keep reptiles by now, lol.
Java ferns can tolerate a lot, they don't need aeration and they don't need any kind of filtration, either. :) If there is no light on the tank, you might consider putting a lamp near the tank that has a fluorescent bulb in it. I have some unlit tanks with transparent tops--the way I deal with it is that I have a lot of floor lamps that look something like this: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31kltDsLOnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (except that the heads on mine aren't so tacky colored, lol). Lamps of this kind are only about $25 at Target, surprisingly. I put a 60 watt CFL in each head and point them at the tanks I want to light. Keep in mind that you shouldn't put the head too close to the tank, of course.
Are there any other low-maintenance plants? How does wisteria do? or the moss balls? His tank is looking a little bar since I took the fake plants out, they just weren't working anymore. lol
If you can point a decent fluorescent light at the tank for at least eight hours a day, I would go with anubias and rotala rotundifolia. I haven't had much experience with moss balls, and I only have a tiny sprig of wisteria growing out in my high light tank, so I couldn't really tell you about those. But the rotala will adjust to most conditions, and is quite pretty. The more light it gets, the more colorful it will be. If you get multiple plants, they will all compete with each other for the small amount of nitrate and nutrients in the tank, you might want to think about a supplement or two to keep them healthy. I would recommend Seachem Flourish Comprehensive.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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