[LorRenee]

Afternoon lovely people!

This weekend I'm moving my betta from a 2.5 to a 5.5. At the moment my 2.5 consists of a heater, gravel, 3 giant rocks, a fake plant, a hammock and his log. Pretty bare, in my opinion.

To be honest, I'm not sure where to begin with my 5 to make it a suitable home. So I'd love to know what everyone has below, hopefully I can get some ideas! The 5.5 is a regular rectangular tank. Absolutely nothing special about it.

1. What kind of filter do you use? Have you done anything different with it to make the flow less, sound not so noisy, etc or is it as is?

2. What are a few aquatic plants you would suggest for a beginner dealing with live plants?

3. What light(s) do you use?

4. I really like the black gravel/sand look some of y'all have going on. What do you use if you have plants?

5. When it comes to cleaning the tank, what gravel/sand vacuum do you recommend?

Thanks everyone in advance!

Ps, sorry if anything looks funny grammar wise. Doing this from my iPhone and you know how sneaky it can be with its "autocorrect"

 

[LebronTheBetta]

Here are my Answers for You:
1. You could baffle the Filter, to make the current low.

2. Beginner Plants are like, Anubis, Duckweed, Moss Balls, Etc.

3. I don't use lights. For colors, LED Lights. You could use florescent, not sure.

4. I don't have plants. Just listed Beginner ones. I wish, though

5. I use Top Fin Gravel Vacuum. I have used it. Hard to use, kinda. Trying to learn better ways. Cleans Gravel, I guess. Did not see Debris so far...

 

[ao]

1. I have a DIY sponge filter

2. You can try Anubias the indestructible. Java moss, Java fern, water wisteria, water sprite, Guppy grass....duckweed, salvinia...banana lily (dont bury the roota of the javafern, Anubias, or the banana lily. You can tie those down to something like a piece of drift wood. And definitely dont bury the moss or floating plants.

3. The humble table lamp with a 100w equivlant cfl

4. I have sand...Not a big fan of gravel

5. I used to have a siphon for my 1 gallons, was too big so I switched to a turkey baster for vacumming. Siphon was saved for water changes

 

[Bombalurina]

Afternoon lovely people!
Hello.

This weekend I'm moving my betta from a 2.5 to a 5.5.
Yay for upgrades! He'll love it.

At the moment my 2.5 consists of a heater, gravel, 3 giant rocks, a fake plant, a hammock and his log. Pretty bare, in my opinion.

To be honest, I'm not sure where to begin with my 5 to make it a suitable home. So I'd love to know what everyone has below, hopefully I can get some ideas! The 5.5 is a regular rectangular tank. Absolutely nothing special about it.
A couple of tips, which may seem obvious, but I'll say them anyway. Slope the substrate so it is deeper at the back (makes the tank look deeper). Tall decor at the back, short at the front.

1. What kind of filter do you use? Have you done anything different with it to make the flow less, sound not so noisy, etc or is it as is?
In both of my 5 gals I have a wet/dry trickle filter that came with the tank. I would suggest an air-driven sponge filter for you. They are decelty quiet, the flow can be adjusted with a check valve in the air-line...they can make an annoying bubbly sound but I'm used to it. With the flow turned right down, it shouldn't be noisy.

2. What are a few aquatic plants you would suggest for a beginner dealing with live plants?
I love java fern. It looks gorgeous. You can tie it to things or let it float. Ditto with anubias, which bettas seem to love. Java moss makes a lovely betta-bed.
Some great plants that you can root in the substrate are anacharis, hornwort (can also be left to float), lacefern, ambulia (cabomba also works), rotala wallachi and ludwigia repens (these last two may need some Flourish Iron if you want to keep them red).
Some good floating plants are water sprite and duckweed.

3. What light(s) do you use?
A flourescent light, between 1 and 2 watts per gallon. Aim for a Kelvin rating between 5500 and 6500.

4. I really like the black gravel/sand look some of y'all have going on. What do you use if you have plants?
For all the plants I mentioned, gravel or sand will be fine. All of them take most of their nutrients from the water column rather than the substrate. If you choose sand, make sure you stir it regularly to prevent gas pockets from forming.

5. When it comes to cleaning the tank, what gravel/sand vacuum do you recommend?
Entirely your preference.

Thanks everyone in advance!

Ps, sorry if anything looks funny grammar wise. Doing this from my iPhone and you know how sneaky it can be with its "autocorrect"

Please post photos so we can see your tank and your fish!

 

[LorRenee]

Such thought out answers, wow!

Thank you everyone! I'll be doing the big shop on Saturday (crossing my fingers I won't come home with another betta for the 2.5 after Twpsyn upgrades. Oh the temptation. Lookit what you people have done to me)

 

[Liquid]

1. What kind of filter do you use? I've had 2 betta fish so far and 2 different filters. The fish got their fins caught in both, and died. I've had the Marina i25 internal filter and the Top Fin 10 Power Filter. Honestly, I recommend searching on Youtube "how to make a sponge filter." They literally don't have any suction and clean efficiently.

2. What are a few aquatic plants you would suggest for a beginner dealing with live plants? Java fern and Anacharis.

3. What light(s) do you use?
The standard light that comes with the tank. My one 5 gal doesn't have a hood, so I shine an LED lamp over it from about 9 am to 7 pm.

4. I really like the black gravel/sand look some of y'all have going on. What do you use if you have plants? Gravel works fine for live plants.

5. When it comes to cleaning the tank, what gravel/sand vacuum do you recommend?

 

[LorRenee]

Really starting to like the sponge filter idea. Thanks for the tip! Definitely going to hunt for some supplies.