Hello from York, South Central Pennsylvania USA

[dcphifer7]

Hello Cory and Fellow Members. This is my Betta named Taylor.  He is a DoubleTail. He is my 70th Birthday Present to myself. I bought an aquarium kit, along with Taylor on 10/27/2022.  I am now looking for a larger tank where I can buy everything separately because I learned so much why buying the kit was not such a wise decision now.  But, considering that I am still recovering from spinal and a Post-Concussion Traumatic Brain Injury... I wanted to start really small to see if I could physically care for Taylor and his home.  Now, like 2 months later after watching some of your videos... I learned a lot and have a better idea of what makes a more successful aquarium home for Taylor... including tank size, filters, lighting, water test kit, and how to do a less stressful water change.  I definitely need a less stiff tubing on this existing siphon because my hand strength needs more work.

This is Taylor.

[Fish Folk]

Welcome aboard! Nice looking aquarium set up. I love all of the nice plants. Hope your recovery goes well. From my own experience, having too many aquariums / fish to properly care for is a real challenge during recovery. One advantage of a large tank with greater water volume is the tendency for better chemical stability.

[Levi_Aquatics]

Welcome to the forum! Your aquarium looks great! All the live plants look amazing too! I’m from western Maryland, so we’re basically neighbors. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

Welcome to the forum! 

[Tonyp814]

I love all the plants in your tank. It looks very natural and enjoyable for your Betta. My green thumb for aquarium plants is a black thumb of death, I don't do well. Welcome to the forum and I hope you recover well from surgery. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Very nice looking tank!  I have a blue betta as well; he's a veiltail.  I'm originally from Shamokin, PA - the gool ol' coal region.  LOL    I have since migrated south. ☀️   I cannot tell what size tank you have, but for water changes on smaller tanks, I just take the rigid part of the gravel siphon off and just use the hose part.  That helps me get in between things better.

@Guppysnail

Edited January 18, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Guppysnail]

Welcome neighbor!  I’m in Dover. Taylor is stunning. Very nice tank. I empathize with recovering from serious health issue. Glad you are here. 

[smm333]

Welcome! He's a beautiful boy and that's a beautiful aquarium! I love that aquariums let you garden even when the weather isn't cooperative!

[sankaz]

I agree with all of the above, beautiful boy and a nice tank. My Grizm is a blue grizzle and I love him lots. I have him in a 10 gallon and find it's much easier to maintain the tank with just him and some otocinclus with a LOT of pink ramshorn and pond snails. As you have experienced this is a great place to get information specific to your tank to go with all the great knowledge from Cory and the other AOC presenters. Welcome to this fishy/snaily loving group!

[JJenna]

Welcome to the group! Contact one of the OTs you liked from your rehab and pick their brain about accommodations you can make for fish keeping. One of the best parts of being a rehab therapist is helping people with injuries either get back into or begin new leisure activities. Your tank is so serene and Taylor is such a handsome fish. 

[ScandiDefense]

That is a handsome looking betta! Welcome aboard! Don't over strain yourself and hope you have a smooth recovery!

[CJhilljack]

Welcome! Taylor is a beautiful boy & I love all the plants you put in your tank. I hope you're recovery goes well.

 

[FLFishChik]

Welcome! Taylor is a beautiful boy! He looks a lot like my Betta, Leo who is a double tail! The tank is beautiful!

I , too, started my aquarium hobby with aquarium kits. I initially bought a 5g, then another, then a 29g( I bought 3 in total), all are still doing well and serving their purpose, but am now purchasing my equipment separately. Kits are great for beginners who aren’t yet knowledgeable about all the “pieces/parts”. Equipment can be overwhelming to a newbie (it was for me, at least) and kits are great for taking a bit of the stress out of purchasing what’s needed in the beginning. I have since learned about all the different types of filtration, lighting, heaters and so on and it’s become just as fun picking out equipment as it is the Fish and decor!

[Schuyler]

Nice tank! Especially for a first!

Welcome aboard!