[emeraldsky]

I'm hoping to start a lovely sorority in my 50g tank and while I have enough to get the stuff I have to have, like heater and all that, I may be coming up a bit short on decorations/plants.

So I'm hoping there may be some cheaper alternatives, like I've seen people use coffee mugs and Terracotta pots, instead though pet store caves and stuff and I like the look of those, I've even heard of PVC pipe? Are there any other things I could use?

Also, how would one determine something is fish safe? I have a figurine I'd love to put in my tank but it wasn't originally made for fish so I dont know if it could be harmful.




I'd also heard live plant were amazing for tanks, though I've never had one before. Would this be a good thing to look into and what type of plant would be good for a plant newb?

 

[HatsuneMiku]

So I'm hoping there may be some cheaper alternatives, like I've seen people use coffee mugs and Terracotta pots, instead though pet store caves and stuff and I like the look of those, I've even heard of PVC pipe? Are there any other things I could use?

I've heard people use many things such as built legos .. hamster cage corners (those knob things that connect hamster tunnels).. i've used glass tea-light holders (that i turned upside down and it has 2 holes in it) .. some people use small glass vases turned sideways .. or built their own caves with rocks and aquarium silicon glue

Also, how would one determine something is fish safe? I have a figurine I'd love to put in my tank but it wasn't originally made for fish so I dont know if it could be harmful.

Aq safe items .. generally .. are glass, ceramic, bpa free plastics (food grade plastics), silk (flowers plants) .. do not have any dyes, paints, perfumes, small parts that could come off after being submerged or has small parts that could be eaten .. a good way to test this is to pre soak the item you want in de-chlorinated water for a few months and see how it withstands to being submerged .. no sharp or rough edges that could cut fishes (use the pantie hose test) .. and i'd stay away from metals .. even if it's stainless steal

figurines would be a tough call (depending on what kind of figurine it is .. solid inside .. hallow .. has moving parts .. etc) .. since it's hard to determine what paints were used .. and what kind of plastic it's made out of .. there are many variables to consider

I'd also heard live plant were amazing for tanks, though I've never had one before. Would this be a good thing to look into and what type of plant would be good for a plant newb?

i would agree live plants are great for tanks. i'd start with some low light plants like a moss ball (not a plant .. is an algae ball .. but is a great to have it's low maintenance) .. or anubius(sp?) .. or those lucky bamboo stalks (just make sure the leaves are outside of the tank) .. there are a few more .. refer to plant guide made by pewpewpew =D

^_^ good luck

 

[emeraldsky]

Thank you so much for all the information, I really appreciate it!


Wow, I had no idea you could use all that stuff, I look forward to getting creative since I have a lot of room to cover X)

I definitely will be staying away from metals, I was contemplating a metal like shelf to put plants on since everything I have is short and its covered in some sort of plastic so there isnt any exposed metal or sharp edges. Decided against it though, better safe than sorry.

I was looking at the moss balls, they seem perfect to start with
Especially since they move I guess?

I wanted to replant my bamboo in my tank since it's getting too tall for its pot but I dont think it's leaves are high enough. Oh well, guess I'll let it grow out some more

 

[HatsuneMiku]

it's defiantly a lot of fun when you DIY your aq toys and decos ^_^ .. i can't wait to see pictures of your creations !!

my moss balls never move =( .. it might be because i don't have any water current in my tanks at all .. but they are known to float sometimes .. maybe they do when i'm not looking @[email protected]

 

[emeraldsky]

I know, I cant wait to get it going, I hope to get everything set up today or tomorrow then get everything prepped and cycled before I got fish shopping.

Though I'm going to Petco today and it'll be my first time looking at girls so I hope none catch my eye before I get my tank set up I'll have to get her a temporary tank then LOL



ooooo sneaky moss ball! XD
I'm still unsure if I want one or if I'll break down and get a anubia since I think those are super pretty. I'll have to set my tank up first and see how it goes

 

[HatsuneMiku]

sounds like a good plan !! =D

good luck at petco!! *crosses fingers for you*

 

[MaggieLynn]

I didnt know how I would like the whole coffee cup thing but I actually think it looks kinda cool

Walmart has rainbow caves in different shapes for $2 I have 5, 4 in my sorority tank and one in two different males tanks, (one of the sorority caves isnt a rainbow walmart one) my girls love them and each one kinda takes over one as if it was their "house"

live plants can be pricey =/ it was 30 just to fill a 5 gallon for me.

 

[MaggieLynn]

Here are my tanks with the coffee cup just so you can see if you like it or not.

 

[emeraldsky]

@HatsuneMiku

thank you!
Im hoping to find a nice sale on plants or something thatll help with the costs X)


@MaggieLynn

that is expensive for plants, I was hoping to get fake plants and some real ones and hopefully take out the fake ones as the real ones grew some more. There's no way I can feasibly fill a 50 gallon tank of live plants right off the bat x.x

I actually really like to coffee cups, I collect tea cups myself so I might be adding those to my tank. Some of the cups are deep and I love the patterns on all of them so I think it'll look really nice c:



I love your tanks!
I hope I can find some natural looking or black substrate, I have some black gravel from my last tank but its mixed with rainbow rocks that I dont want now. Hope I dont have to go through and pick them all out LOL

 

[Thunderloon]

When looking for neat stuff to put in aquariums keep the newborn and baby hand toys in mind for ornamentation.

I managed to snag a couple http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?field-keywords=oball&url=search-alias%3Daps&x=0&y=0 at Walmart, they sink well and I have them in some boys' tanks as a place for them to sit in the flow. Goat has passed now but his way of telling my wife to play with him was to charge around the tank a couple times then sit in the middle of his while staring at her. (infant oball)

And this would be fun to poke into the bottom and spread the rings standing around the bottom of the tank: http://www.amazon.com/garanimals-te...1Y/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&qid=1317866935&sr=8-31 I'm very tempted to get one when I set up my next sorority, just to see if girls have color preferences. I know they can see color as I constantly have fights or friendships between girls of the same color.

 

[emeraldsky]

Oh those balls are super neat :O
I would love to have a few of those in my tank, I'll be sure to get some!


I never thought about getting different colored things such as those, I was hoping to go for a subtle toned tank so the girls can be shown off more, but it seems that colors might be better for them c:

 

[HatsuneMiku]

ooo those balls are cool !! ..

side note .. just make sure that the holes of the caves or whatever you put in there is at least a quarter size big .. so no one gets fin snagged or stuck =D

 

[MaggieLynn]

I wanted to get moss balls but they were expensive at my petco, I wanna say 14-17 bucks, im not sure which. Also i ended up getting ride of my live plants because this gross algae grew and so i took them out cleaned the whole tank with vinegar and aq salt and the algae is still there clouding the water =/ I would have to say in my tanks i love the all green plants with the blue cream pitcher thing. I know petsmart is where I go for plants because walmart has a scarce selection and petco is alil steep, but petco atleast mine is getting a huge selection of silk plants.
since you are starting a sorority I would say buy a cave for each female or something I have my girls in a 10 gallon and have 4 caves and a tone of plants I almost thought there was too much.

 

[emeraldsky]

@HatsuneMiku

Most definitely!
I'm being super paranoid about this since it's my first sorority, I dont want any major mistakes D:


@MaggieLynn
I didnt see the prices of the moss balls at my petsmart when I went today, but there was one that was bigger than my fist! :O I didnt know they could get that big!
Im still iffy about getting real plants, the guy at petsmart said I shouldnt mix real and fake plants together since the bettas will chew on the fake plants and get sick. Ive never heard of that happening but I'm still pretty newbish in this.

Course he also said I could put a male in with my sorority and I know you cant do that >.>


And I do plan on getting each girl a special cave, Im actually getting a different tank too! Im getting a 40g long tank since my 50g is a taller type so Ill have more swimming area for my girls 8D

 

[HatsuneMiku]

Im still iffy about getting real plants, the guy at petsmart said I shouldnt mix real and fake plants together since the bettas will chew on the fake plants and get sick. Ive never heard of that happening but I'm still pretty newbish in this.

i've never heard of a story of a betta chewing on a fake plant and getting sick .. @[email protected] .. my bettas don't eat the plants in their tanks or even see them as food .. even when i fast them .. they don't eat the plants ..

tho one of them did take a bite out of the betta bulb plant (i duno what the official name is on those) on accident .. cus i was feeding him and one of his pellets got to close to an leaf .. and he nom the pellet and the leaf .. and there was a nice bite mark on the plant .. lol .. nothing happened to him .. he didn't even notice he had ate the plant .. he didn't spit it out or anything .. just nom nom.. i'm sure he just got a mouthful of fibers and he's like bleah yuck LOL .. now i don't feed him at that corner where the plants are .. =D

 

[quyllur]

I don't really see how mixing live and fake plants would cause a carnivorous fish to attempt to eat plastic.... I think you're petsmart employee is just spreading misinformation. Lots of people have bettas with plastic plants without mishap, mixing in a few live ones shouldn't pose any problems.

 

[emeraldsky]

@HatsuneMiku

Thats pretty much what I was thinking, Ive been lurking this forum nonstop for the past week trying to get as much info as I can before starting and I assumed I would have seen SOMETHING about it beforehand.

lol XD
Ill have to be careful about where in the tank I feed them c:


@quyllur
Yes thats what I was thinking ^^

 

[dbockrath]

I have a enormous pothos in my living room window. I've read I can use cuttings from it in my aquarium. I'm not sure how to do that, though.

 

[Luimeril]

i'm pretty cheap when it comes to anything. all my plants are second-hand, and when it comes to caves, not many of my bettas like them. for the two that did, one was a fish bowl, turned on it's side. the other, is one of these:

the thing with the blue rocks in it. it's a Renuzit Crystal Elements thing. it held scented rocks. i sterilized it, washed it at least five times with scalding water, then a few more times with aq salt and scalding water. Ichi LOVES it, and is forever swimming around in it.

 

[MistersMom]

something i did thats super cheep was, i got a plastic cup and cut a hole in the bottom and on oppisite sides, i also am using a mug, but with the cup make surt that there are NO sharp edges because they can cut up your fins on your little cuties!!!!!!!! and i ike so scoop a tad of gravel into the mug to make it lookmore in place, like, set it in then scoop a tiny bit in there, i have gravel... for my 10 gal) i like the way the mugs look. i also went to walmart and got little cubbys, like the shark and funky fish, for my other bettas to use for when the want to hid in something. my mister sleeps in his lastic cup everynight, i put the rim down and stuck some fake grass in it, so when he's in there he has a place to hide, any way now that im done with my novel. lol. good luck.