Betta Max's Alaska Journal

[Youseph]

Last night I did the deed and cleaned out Betta Max's tank. It was the first time I have done it since I got him and I thought I would share what happened with everyone.

• PLANTS

On my way home from work last night I stopped at the local pet store and picked up two silk plants. I wish I had recorded their names, (if they had any) but alas I did not. I also spent way to much time looking over larger fish tanks for him, but still did not walk out with one. One day I will. soon I hope.

• COLANDER

I also stopped at the store and picked up a wire mess colander which I was thinking would help with washing the rocks and other smaller items in the tank.

• REMOVING THE WATER

I used the tubing from the gravity water pump I got to empty the tank almost all the way out of wafter. I than moved Betta Max over to his old cup he came home in. My gosh he was really not happy about it. He hated being in that cup.



I removed the remainder of the water my holding the tank over the colander to catch the rocks.



• CLEANING

Using hot water i cleaned off the rocks in the colander. I did the same with the old plant and statues and 20 sided dice. I then cleaned the new items i picked up.

• SETTING UP THE TANK

Next I put the red rocks back in the tank, along with the statues and plants. As soon as I did this Betta Max dubbled his efforts to get out of his cup and back into his tank. I think he new it was his home by the red rocks. He really wanted back in it. It was the strangest thing I ever saw.



• WATER

After everything was setup the way I liked it i filled the tank back up with water and added several drops of the water stabilizer. Once it was full i checked the temp. The temp read the same as it was before I emptied it. I still waited two hours before I put Max back in just to be safe.

• MAX's NEW HOME

Max was not easy to get back in his tank, but once he got back in you could see he was trilled! The little guy swam through all the new plants checking out his new hiding places and the new little castle peace I added. He was having a blast! He clearlly was happy with me and the new additions I have given him.

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I am shocked at how much personality this little guy has.

[SlinkyInk]

My fish is the same way when I do water changes. I have a tiny critter carrier I put him in and he just hates it. It's weird, tho. If I put my finger on the side of the critter carrier he calms down. It's almost like I'm petting him. Once I stop he goes frantic trying to jump out of the small holder. I feel so bad, but what can you do? He has to go somewhere when I empty the tank.

A wire mesh colander is what I use, too. It's perfect size. Even if some of the rocks go through my garbage disposal seems to handle it just fine.

Your tank looks great! I bet Betta Max was happy to be back in his home.

[Youseph]

Originally Posted by SlinkyInk

My fish is the same way when I do water changes. I have a tiny critter carrier I put him in and he just hates it. It's weird, tho. If I put my finger on the side of the critter carrier he calms down. It's almost like I'm petting him. Once I stop he goes frantic trying to jump out of the small holder. I feel so bad, but what can you do? He has to go somewhere when I empty the tank.

A wire mesh colander is what I use, too. It's perfect size. Even if some of the rocks go through my garbage disposal seems to handle it just fine.

Your tank looks great! I bet Betta Max was happy to be back in his home.

Betta Max really loves his home now with all the extra silk plants I have put in. He is just swims threw them like some kind of obstacle corse. I just want him to have a bigger tank now. Not sure how I am going to salve this first world problem right now.

I have a question. I see that a lot of betta owners are fasting there fish for one day a week. Can someone tell me why i should do this? What is the logic behind it?

[Tikibirds]

Nice tank setup

Some people fast their fish to help prevent them from getting bloated and keep their digestive system from getting plugged up. I used to fast them on Sundays when I had 23 bettas as some were kinda prone to getting swim bladder issues from eatting too much.

[Youseph]

The weekend went pretty smooth. Betta Max still loves his new digs.

• FEEDING

Betta Max had Blood warms on Saturday and enjoyed them very much.

• NEW TANK

It looks like today after work I will be picking up a new fish tank for max. Finally cleared a space to put it so I am going to pick up a new tank with some new silk plants to put in there with him with im sure other things i find at the pet store.

Any advice on Tanks or water filters would be greatly appreciated.

[Youseph]

I am going into the local pet store to pick up this 6.6 gallon bookshelf tank for Betta Max.

Bookshelf Freshwater Fish Aquarium

Thoughts?

[mardi]

VERY nice choice! I only had to read about three pages of the reviews to know that I want this (reading good stuff about the filter sold me, lol).

Please post about how you and Betta Max like it.

Originally Posted by Youseph

I am going into the local pet store to pick up this 6.6 gallon bookshelf tank for Betta Max.

Bookshelf Freshwater Fish Aquarium

Thoughts?

[Youseph]

Originally Posted by mardi

VERY nice choice! I only had to read about three pages of the reviews to know that I want this (reading good stuff about the filter sold me, lol).

Please post about how you and Betta Max like it.

I will. I am just waiting for my local pet store to get some in stock again.

[Youseph]

Last night Betta Max moved into his new home. His second new home since he moved in with my wife and I. I think i might be spoiling him, but I get just as much enjoyment out of this as I think he does so it can't be all that bad, right?

So yesterday on my way home from work I stopped at the local pet store and picked up the Bookshelf Freshwater Fish Aquarium and a few more plants. I guess with the plants i am trying to create an environment that is something kind of like a rice patty. I basically want Betta Max to be able to hide if he chooses to.

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When I got home I unpacked everything. This bookshelf Aquarium ended up just being the perfect size for me. I rinsed it out and filled it with washed off plants and rocks. Added the water and the water neutralizer. Then I setup the filter, rinsed off the filter part, and let it run on high for an hour. The tank temperature said it was ok to add Betta Max right from the start, but I felt better letting it run for and hour first.

I turned down the filter speed before I put Betta Max in the tank. You could really tell he was trilled! He swam over to his new plants and bobbed and weaved through them all. Then he swam as fast as he could to the other side of his tank to check out his old castle. He repeated this for maybe an hour just getting a kick out of all his new space.

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Then he became obsessed with the filter. With the filter on low flow it makes a lot of noise. Like an air noise is the only way I know how to describe it. (If someone has a solution for this I would love to hear it) Well Betta Max started getting mad at the motor part of the filter. He was flare up at it and attack it. He eventually stopped. But this morning when I woke up he was being pretty active and I can't help but wonder if the filter kept him up all night. I honestly think I am going to have to buy a new filter that i hope will be quieter than the current one. Again if anyone has any Ideas or advice I would love to hear it.

• SIDE NOTES
1. [FEEDING] I fed Betta Max in his old tank before I moved him to his new tank. Betta Max ate this morning in his new tank.
2. [FILTER] Betta Max likes to swim up to the filter and swim against the filtered water coming out. I think he has made this a little game for himself.
3. [AQUARIUM ITEMS] I would like to get more but I have no clue what else to pick up.

• BOOKSHELF AQUARIUM PROS & CONS

-=PROS=-
1. Love The Size
2. The Packaging Was Great

-=CONS=-
1. Poor Instruction Manual (don't know what kind of filter to buy in the future)
2. Filter is noisy but may be my fault?
3. it's Plastic/Acrylic
4. A few scratches on the back that no one can see unless you where the one setting it up

[Youseph]

I came home from work last night with a new filter to install because the one that came with my BOOKSHELF AQUARIUM is loud and driving me insane slightly. But anyway, when I got home I looked in Betta Max's Aquarium and discovered that he built himself a little bubble next in the plant section of his Aquarium.

• SIDE NOTE ON PLANT SECTION
I think doing something like this is a really good idea for a Betta. I have picked up several silk plants and clustered them together tightly to provide a hiding place that might resemble the rice patties where these kind of fish are from. Betta Max loves his cluster of plants and is often seen playing in them.

So with this new found bubble next i took it as a sign that Mr. Max was happy and I am a little worried about changed the filter on him if he is so content. Also, does this mean He needs a mate now?

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Photos taken with an iPhone 4s