xXInkedPhoenixX

Hi @Tam I'm sorry about your Betta. Bloating can be so many issues that it may be at this point hard to figure out what it could have been. It can be anything from organ failure to cancer/tumors, dropsy (which IME you can reduce symptoms but but the time you see those it's pretty much too late and all you can do is try and keep them comfortable). You having possibly cross contaminating the tanks and the other fish not getting sick tells me one of 2 things- either Jupiter is just an extra healthy fish whose immune system helped him fight illness off OR whatever Lucien had was not illness but disease like organ failure. You wouldn't have been able to help him in this case. I want you to know, DESPITE the industry making it seem like otherwise- Betta fish ARE NOT easy fish to keep. They are prone to illness, fin rot, bacterial infections and etc- part of this is because they are bred for all these fancy long fins or markings and they are not bred for longevity or health. (This same thing happens in the pet industry all over). So please, I understand your pain entirely, but don't beat yourself up over it- just resolve to move forward and learn more. I agree with @Adam Swarbrick I'd leave the tank a month OR start the migration from that tank to the new tank with whatever you want to keep. This should be enough time for illness to clear. Know that all tanks have the illnesses lurking somwhere within but if we do our best to keep our stock healthy then they can easily fight all of that off. Two bits of advice from me and the learning curve I've had with Bettas. Look into bumping your aquarium temp to 80-82, Betta are air breathers but need the humidity in the air to live optimally- the heat helps that and keeps their little systems more comfortable. Make sure your lid fits tight so that you can build up the humidity. Because they prefer warmer tanks bacterial infections may happen more often so I'd also look into putting Catappa leaves aka Indian Almond Leaf into your Betta tanks- it is a natural anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial. The fish love the tannins. I use it in all my tanks now and I've had healthier tanks since.

Haha! Well really for me though I DIDN'T want another tank but you have to do what you have to do when you make a commitment to something- in this case some sick Bettas that are now better. So I may as well make it mutually bene-fish-al and do something I want to do while giving them a good home. 🙂 I was doing my very best to avoid TWO new tanks, thankfully I figured that part out!I really don't have MTS I just have this sense of commitment that bugs me from time to time. haha! Yes, -since I got the 4 sickies, for the last couple months, off and on all last week, all yesterday, all last night (I dreamt about fish all night too- but sadly nothing helpful for this project, ha!) and pretty much the vast majority of the day. This is very good to know, thank you. I figured I'd have at least 2 sides I could line up and easily cut the other two with the tank laying on its back- the tank is heavy due to that glass so I'm not worried about it being too difficult. I can use my cut side as the bottom as you pointed out. Exactly! Hoping to find some good hardscape for this. I have some pieces of Mopani to cut too. What kinds of crypts do you think might go good here? Suggestions for plants? Agreed, there's so many different cool things you can do with this tank plus because it's so small even little plants look huge. I had to get a lid- keeping the heat in the tank is essential but in my house a lid is a must anyway. (Yay Cats!) Thanks for the testimonials @TeeJayand @Chick-In-Of-TheSea I have a Hygger clip on and several of their other products but not one of these yet so it's nice to know. It did look like a good one!

This is happening over THERE: 12G Aquatop Bookshelf Tank build for a Betta, Guppies and CPD But there will be future posts about this tank here because it will be a permanent tank in my house. It's the circle of life folks.

Now for THEMES: I have 2 potential themes for this tank. I have ordered all of the items for either theme so that I can see them in person and play with them in the real environment. What you should know is that either theme will contain an item I've had on hand for some time- a piece of Spiderwood I've been wanting to do something with. I sadly don't have a pic on hand at the moment and am not near it. However, it looks like a very nice spindley tree. It is perfect for this if it works in the way I want it to because it's not deep just wide. You will see its basic shape in my drawings below. First theme: ZEN For this theme I was looking for what appeared to be an old statue like the Angry Man without repeating a Mayan theme and going with a more Asian feel. I saw several- most of which have been on the market for years some of which I've owned before. I settled on this Buddha Hand: At approximately 6 inches tall this will be a nice focal point. I love statuary that either has shelter for the fish or something for the fish to swim through and this fits that 2nd bill. I will bury the statue's bottom with substrate and I will pull the fake plants and glue Java to it. I also bought a couple of items that can go with this theme and/or in the 4 gallon cube when I reap some of the plants and other objects out of it. This will depend on how they look as I play around with the environment: These are not large. The tallest is just over 4" and less than 3" wide. The smaller is under 3" and just under 4" wide. So lots of options for them. I could use one or both in the tank- and there's always the option to use none! I am thinking of either going with EcoComplete which is black or finding something like Peace River gravel, something light colored but smooth. Then I would use LOTS of Anubias Nana. I might try Moss but I've never been great at it- but I think in this theme it would look great on my Spiderwood "Tree". So this is my basic outline for the Zen tank (note this is withhout any of the plants or other items- rocks or wood- that I would add): Second theme: MEDIEVAL For this theme I found an Arch I particularly loved: Again it's not a shelter but it's a cool place fish can swim in and out. From what I could tell it's 6" tall 2.5" deep and 7.25" wide. Though I know how big that is in my mind it never translates until you actually have it in hand. My idea here is go half and half with substrate. The Arch would be about 1/3 of the way in from one side of the tank, I was thinking of putting black substrate "behind" the Archway, as if the building fell down and left it's floor OR that you are stepping into a different world. The other option is just all black substrate and I'd create a path starting at the arch and going behind in a different color like red- again creating that "other world" look. This is the general outline of the Medieval tank: In the next couple of weeks I should have all the materials and will begin playing with the set up of this tank and gathering more materials as needed when ideas start to flesh out more. Either way I believe either choice is a good one but I am leaning towards Medieval because it's on my bookshelf and I enjoy very much fantasy books most- and my book nook is medieval themed. I also think either theme will be great with the fish involved. I can already see the little CPD zooming around the bottom and the 6 white Guppies going from one side to the other- with whichever Betta reigning the tank!

Yes very. As I go along I will modify as needed but I don't plan to put a lot of substrate in this tank because it's so short. So I anticipate using a lot of my favorites: Anubias Nana, Java Fern of all types but particularly Windelov. Lots of plants glued to things. ...anything with a reptutation for growing slowly will be considered.

THE FISH: So as stated in the title and earlier in this post CPDs (Celestial Pearl Danios) are moving into this tank. I've had around 10 in my 4.12 gallon cube since I started it along with a baby (the only one I'm aware of). Because it's such a jungle now I rarely see them so I'm looking forward to seeing them more often in a longer tank zipping about. I will give them plenty of plants to hide in but they'll have to come out from cover from time to time. It's like playing Where's Waldo for them now: So as mentioned in the title of this thread: Guppies. This last weekend I went out with the Better Half (B.H.) to the LFS to pick up some frozen food and to kill some time/get inspired. B.H. named Koianu the Betta and happens to really like the Guppies I have because of their high level of activity and lets face it Guppies are beautiful little fish. We looked through the whole LFS for fun saw some neat fish and plants. I was personally struck by the "Assorted Guppies" tank. There were lots of beautiful Guppies- but weirdly enough for me my favorites were all white. So ethereal swimming around with their other Guppy friends. I was enamoured. So was B.H.. - but I rarely buy fish on impulse. We left and went about the rest of our weekend. However yesterday as I sat thinking and ordering for this tank and its possible themes I kept thinking about how good these Guppies would look. How they would go with either of the potential Betta and be a stark contrast to a black background and their CPD bottom dwelling partners. They would also be very easy to spot. After work yesterday I drove straight to the LFS knowing their Guppy supply, it being a small store, would likely be greatly depleted from Saturday. I was right but thankfully (and of course since they're not "colorful") there were plenty of white ones left. at 3 for 10 I got 6 last night: I felt this was the perfect time to get them anyway. They'll have to be in QT for at least 3-4 weeks and that should be just in time to be put in the new tank. I set up one of my temporary critter keepers and they are doing well. One of them is less active than the others so a little Aquarium Salt and Kanaplex was put in the water. They all seemed to eat well this morning. Sorry- Guppies are IMPOSSIBLE to get good pics of after many last night this is as good as it got: Last but certainly not least the candidates for the 12G tank Betta: Koianu is my resident Betta, he's in the Oto grow out which is a 10G rimmed tank. It's bare bottom and currently divided for near future baby Otos to grow out- but when I have no babies there will be no divider and he has the run of the place. This is a warm tank and he fits in well. He's very large so stands out and is super active. My only concern is whether or not he'd tolerate super active Guppies but they'd go well with his look because he also has shocks of bright white in his markings: This is his current set up with the divider wall: Then we have candidate 2, White Twintail Halfmoon, he is recently recovered from the Colossal Idiot thread and since he had no takers on the local aquarium club buy/sell/swap forum he gets to stay with me. If Koianu moves to the 12G then White will move into the above tank, but White may also move into the 12G. Currently he's number one choice for this because he has a very mellow personality and I doubt he'll have issue with tankmates- I've never seen him flare. BUT- I do have to be concerned about his long fins and Guppies possibly nipping, but maybe they'll be more concerned with each other as Guppies often are. This as some of you know is White:

@TheSwissAquarist that's just a good old Spider Plant.

THE TANK: Yesterday I started the tank part ordering, including the tank: For those of you unfamiliar with this tank it is 35.4" wide/viewing space, 9.5" high and 8.25" deep. Lots of length, and after measuring last night when I got home this tank will take up the near entirety of my bookshelf top. What? You might say- you ordered the tank before measuring?? Yep. I'm a master eyeballer- I just wanted to see how much wiggle space on either side I had- which was about a couple inches total. Trust me. Of course I got the lid- I'm not a fan of tanks without them. I don't have many pics of my bookshelf as it is often dark when I think to take a pic- however this is an older one (has my Scapes from Scraps vase on it which has long since moved but a terrarium is in it's place now which will also have to move) everying on top of the bookshelf clearly needs new homes- and some of the stuff on the wall will need to move up or off to the side in order to clear the aquarium. There will be better pics in the future of course, this is the long dark bookcase: The bookshelf is filled with my book collection which having an aquarium on top makes me a bit nervous about. I will have to consider moving some of my more precious books, including a signed copy of Tim Burton's The Art of Tim Burton. I would likely shrivel if anything ever happened to that book. THE LIGHT: Anyhow, tank ordered. Now on to the equipment. I originally wanted clip on lights but this is a very long tank and I am limited on outlets even with a power strip- plus most clip ons that i like don't have a timer so I'd have to plug 3-4 clip ons- into some sort of timer so that unfortunately for now isn't going to work- plus it would be pricey). I live in a very old home so outlets are a constant consideration AND I also don't have wifi so the hi-tech stuff is out of the question- I like low tech anyway. So unfortunately I did have to order a typical bracket light. I also needed a way for the light to turn on/off on its own so the Hygger light I got (for 30-36" tanks) has a DIY inline switch I can choose time, light intensity and color. This is great since I am limited on plug space I also like that it has an inline remote so I don't have to worry about losing that: THE HEATER: If you follow any of my regular posts you'll know not only am I not a fan of high-tech I'm also not a huge fan of heaters- unfortunately having Betta makes a heater a necessity. The other issue is I live in a house full of micro-climates and the living room is much colder than where the other 5 tanks are. While I'm sure what I plan on putting in the tank besides the Betta would be fine- the Betta would not. So I searched around- I have one very similar to the ACO heater- I'll be honest I don't like it because it's bulky- especially for a tank this size. Lots of maneuvering would have to happen to cover it. I wanted either a flat heater or a typical wand type heater. I have the ACO look alike (I got a long while ago prior to ACO even having a heater) and a couple of others on standby if this one doesn't work. What I liked about it is that it's small (4"!!) and has adjustable heat: THE FILTER: Thought for about 5 minutes on an HOB (even the Aquatop one) but I love me a sponge and I like their reliablity. I already have a lithium battery backed air pump with 2 airline ports so as long as this tank is I'll likely need two sponges. I wanted compact and off the floor of the aquarium. I already have this small one on hand: ....and this will help one side of the tank and be easy to hide but as you can see only for a 5 gallon tank. So I got another Hygger filter that I've used before (in my Mum's tank I put the double version of this one) and have had good experience with. It handles up to 15 gallons and is very nicely adjustable: MISCELLANEOUS: For once I'm going to do a black background. You'll figure out why as this thread continues because with either theme I choose that I have in mind will benefit from black and you'll see it will also with my fish choices. I absolutely abhor the idea of painting the back of this beautiful tank. So I'm going with my typical move: Static Cling Window treatment. Found the perfect black that even has an easy to use/cut grid: Also, If you've ever had an Aquatop or similar with a lid- they are IMO hard to get the lid off and with a glass lid this makes me nervous. I found the best solution for me in the 3M Command Aisle for my 4.12 gallon back when I started it. So I'm going to do it again. Note: for me the command strip eventually failed so I no longer trust it. I've got double sided super sticky siliicone strips that work like a champ. I'm getting two for this tank- one on each side: All of this is on its way to my house while I continue to plan. More on fish next.

Tank build coming but decided to separate the post from this thread: 12G Aquatop Bookshelf Tank build for a Betta, Guppies and CPD

Hello all! I thought I'd put up a tank build as I know some people enjoy them. I had not planned on building another tank. I have 5 and that's enough- it would be even cooler if I could consolidate my tanks but at least for now the 5 tank house was working for me. At some point you become the crazy fish person and while I don't care if someone labels me- I'm more concerned about how much workload to enjoyment I get. HOWEVER, when I took home 4 sick Betta from this thread here: A COLOSSAL IDIOT walks into a pet store....(an illustrated tail - intentional misspelling- of woe) Those of you who have been following the above thread know most of this. I was prepared to keep them if I could not find homes. My Mum (as I'd planned) was happy to take one- but I had to have plans for the other 3. One was easy enough and she's living life finely in my Flex9. I have 2 males left. One still in treatment. So as mentioned in the above thread recently- I had a ligthbulb moment- I am going to build this dream tank of mine- a 12G Aquatop Bookshelf Tank. I have a 4.12 gallon cube from Aquatop and their low iron glass is gorgeous and their quality is impeccable. I ALWAYS admire bookshelf style nano tanks when I see them- but until now didn't have an excuse to build one. Now is the time. I'm moving the 10 CPD I have from the cube to this tank, along with one of 3 possible male Betta options- but it's really between Koianu, my resident Betta or my soon to be permanent resident Betta, White Twintail Halfmoon (name still TBA). Now I have to say I know the vast majority of the tank keepers here love a planted tank- and this tank will have plenty of plants- however I also know most of us aren't into themed tanks- which of course- to each their own. However, this tank is LITERALLY going on a bookshelf and everyone's favorite tank in my house is affectionately dubbed "The Angry Man" tank- which has a Mayan temple head and I think he's lovely: So since everyone (read: in my personal life) loves the Angry Man (and I do too clearly or I wouldn't have done it this way) I decided bookshelf tank is going to get its own theme. Generally 1 focal decoration, maybe some secondary stuff but not much. And I'm choosy when it comes to decor, I like things that can look like rock/stone "the real thing" in miniature. At least I'd like to think so. Tank build under way! Equipment/basics first in next post!

I have my original 10 with 10 Black Neons and a Bolivian Ram (3 Horned Nerites and hundreds of bladder snails). They previously lived with my Otocinclus and Mystery Snails when I had them. Very peaceful, very lovely fish, one of my favorites the Harlequins!

Ooo yes! Jump on that opportunity! She'll love the guppies anyway, they are loveable fish.

@SC Fish well that's actually great that you know someone- finding a home is often the hardest part.

@Minanora yep that's the one. Been in love with it for a while because I love my 4 gallon so much. It's very well made and the glass is so beautiful/clear. I got the glass top to go with it, cause, gotta have a top! @TheSwissAquarist, yep almost there.

This can be very sad to watch and there's not a whole lot you can do. If you have a big tank you can add more maybe larger guppies so maybe they'll "circle the wagons" so to speak and be safer- but this can cause more issues sometimes- then you have that many more fish to potentially rehome. You can add more places for fish to hide- plants, structures- this can help them get out of the way and rest. Sometimes rehoming is the best solution, sadly.

OK Betta friends Announcement. White Twintail Halfmoon had no takers on the local club board. I feel as though even if Red makes a full recovery he has even less of a chance of finding a new home via that channel. Lots of thinking was done- there was always a possibility of not findng them homes- this was in the back of my mind when I made the decision to try and help them. I kept tossing around divided tanks or adding 2 small tanks. I really didn't want to do either- both options weren't great to me for the fish or my workload when it comes to tanks. I finally had a light bulb moment. So this is the plan. This morning I ordered a 12 gallon bookshelf tank from Aquatop (with lid). I love Aquatop products and I've wanted this kind of tank for a long while so I was glad I got this idea. I will build that tank (theme/personality not finalized) and I will be putting my CPD from my 4.12 gallon Aquatop on my kitchen counter into that tank. this frees up the cube (and I might actually see my CPD more so this is a bonus) and it will have to be restyled as most of the plants will come out (and be put in the new tank) and maybe some of the substrate to give the cube more swimming space and be better for a Betta. I realize this isn't an entirely ideal size but it could be upgraded eventually. This is where Red Crowntail is going to go eventually. My resident Betta, Koinanu may move into the 12 gallon long- he's the biggest of all of the Betta and it's 2 more gallons than what he's in when the grow out divider isn't there. However, I may just move White Twintail into that long tank with the CPD because I'm not sure how Koianu will take the CPD and I'd like to maybe add a few Guppies. I think White has a very mellow personality- unlike Koianu who is constantly on the move, sometimes flares and seems like he'd be more aggressive with tankmates. White is super mellow, never seen him flare and just casually moves about the tank- like Serket the GloBetta and I knew she'd work where she is now and she is. So the ad was removed and we move forward.

Oh yes, I was with you there, but then my mind went straight to Jack Nicholson 😆

@Minanora it probably helps that my tanks are smaller- the Flex9 is probably only about 7 gallons of living space, an internal pump that likely gives off at least some heat, and a pretty good fitting lid (I also cover the feeder hold with a 3D printed door in the winter)- this keeps the temp up.

@Minanora actually the Flex9 is running at 79 today without a heater and in the summer it gets in the 80s. Koianu is the only Betta I run a heater for so far because I think little Serket is in a good temp tank without one, it may flux a degree or two down or up.

Actually @Odd Duck I was thinking more like: 😅

@Minanora my tanks range anywhere from 72 to 81 degrees depending on time of year and temp of my house. The only tank I have heated is where my Betta Koianu is. Keeps the tank at a minimum of 79, as Bettas I have learned require humidity to breath and heat to live optimally.

Was spending a little time with tanks today. Packed up 4 baby Oto I sold today (I posted it on my Accidental Oto Keeper page) so Koianu is solo again in his tank but I haven't removed the QT wall. Not sure if I want to. I have 20 Oto babies in a floating breeder and they're still too small to add to the grow out but it may only be 2 possible 3 weeks before I can add them. I'll be thinking on it. He's been a very good sport about it. One of 3 Nerite Nanny snails in the tank with Koianu on the front glass this afternoon....with some shameless photo bombing...yes, I know you have a nice rear Koianu.... Meanwhile in the Angry Man tank.... I spotted 2 of my 3 wonderful Horned Nerites (Lock, Shock & Barrel) plotting along with their bladder snail friends on the plants: My baby Black Neon is doing good still but wasn't around when I was taking pictures (saw them earlier though), however it looked like the Harlequins and the Neons were having a momentary standoff: While Punk the Bolivian Ram was singing "I''m so prettyyyyy....oh so prettyyyyyyy..." Or maybe he was being serious, I can never tell:

Hello Betta friends! I know the updates are getting less frequent- mostly because there's not much to report. So you are aware GloBetta Serket is doing awesom in her new tank still, as well as Purple Dumbo girl Zaggi (saw her this week but the tank lights were off, Mum says she's great). White Twintail Halfmoon has had no takeers on the local aquarium club swap/buy forum. I'm not entirely surprised. I was talking to someone about the situation and I explained that shortly after I posted White another keeper (who had liked on my post) put up for sale a bunch of very beautiful wild-type Bettas. This forum has a lot of advanced aquarium keepers who are constantly swapping/buying and looking for breeding projects. No matter how pretty White is the fact remains that the advanced hobby has moved on from Betta like White and are more interesting in wild type and more exotic looking Betta (I think if I posted Koianu, my Koi Betta up, he would get sold- but that's not happenin'). So we're going to readjust and figure things out for White. Here is a pic of White today: Red Crowntail has had a week off the meds. No huge changes to report- as stated before he mostly stays up at the top of the tank but can motor around the surface fine and I haven't seen a lot of side floating. He has found his spot in the corner near a Betta leaf and some floaters. He eats well still and is able to hunt down his foods ont he surface- still reluctant to go below. @Odd Duck would you still recommend Prazi next? Here is Red today at rest in his corner, his color is looking pretty good and he might eventually have some nice blue irridescence on his scales:

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: A New Hope Good news today! So first a correction (I touched on it last post), my oldest babies, I thought I had 6 but because they are so fast and you never see them all at once (and my phone crashing and my aquarium app disappearing forever) didn't help my count. Ultimately I had 5. Sadly one of the little ones isn't doing great so I pulled them and put them in a small floating breeder back in the Parent Tank and hope they recover. They just don't seem to be swimming well and land upside down often- just as often as landing right side up. Belly looks full, no other visual issues so hopefully it's swim bladder that with time and fresher water in the Parent Tank will resolve. I'm hesitant to medicate them because they are so small but I might change my mind later. I'm treating a CPD for what I suspect is swim bladder issue so I could plop them in there at some point. Here's the little one that's being isolated: On to the GOOD NEWS! So I'd determined the four I had left were big enough and ready for a new home. I was going to sell them as a set. Yesterday I went onto the local aquarium club forum and posted them, saying I'd prefer them to go to a home where they had Otos or were planning to add Otos so we could see if they would spawn in other's tanks- I'm hopeful because this week I was helping a friend of mine with a sick Molly and they'd mentioned that they found an Oto baby (from some I'd given them!). I mentioned this in my post. Several people expressed interest. Within an hour (which included me going on a walk after posting- about 20 mins) I had them sold and arranged to meet the buyer this morning. They have a 125 gallon tank with 3 Otos (they lost a couple when they added them- which is not unheard of as we all know)- this is their new tank: They use ferts so that's ok my Otos are used to higher Nitrates (consistently 40ppm) and they don't use a heater which I think is especially helpful as I suspect the temp flux in an unheated tank is a spawning trigger. So off I went this morning to meet the new buyer- for those of you who also follow my Colossal Idiot thread I used Purple Dumbo Girl (now known as Zaggi)'s Betta cup to transport these 4 little ones: They sat in my cup holder for the 20 minute drive to their new, grateful keeper. They are excited to see if they will spawn in the 125 and asked to be notified later for more- they will keep me posted on their well-being and any spawning. Also sent me a message after the transaction to thank me again. So I'm really excited to find buyers that appreciate my little ones. I get it- I still don't know anyone who has successfully raised Oto babies- wouldn't it be cool to have my babies go out in the world and start a wave of Tank Bred Otocinclus- a small natural miracle. I got home to update my "pending sale" post to a "sold" post and found yet another message. So I advised the 6 people who expressed interest would get first dibs on the 20 up and coming babies- of course that includes my buyer. Woo hoo!

Old, modified wooden desk. Great to hold supplies, knobs clearly old my towel, lol. I have an organizer where you'd normally put a chair, and the pumps are behind it. It actually usually looks neater than this but I've got 2 hospital tanks going right now.