Beginner Aquarium Hobbyist

mlolm

Small Fish
Jul 25, 2016
11
3
3
#1
Hi Everyone,

Thought I'd introduce myself as I just signed up and may have questions for the experts.

My girlfriend and I wanted a pet for awhile but we both work and live on the 4th floor in the middle of a city so decided against a dog for now. I thought: hey what about a fish, they can be fun and are pretty easy. So i started looking around and researching a bit and came upon aquascaping with aquatic plants. I thought that looks pretty fun so I decided maybe I can experiment a bit and get a new pet too.

So I settled on starting very simple with a small tank, a betta, and a little fresh-water plants.

So far I have the tank, the plants (just moss for now), and will get the betta when I am back from vacation end of August.

Looking forward to getting some feedback and tips on fishkeeping.

Cheers!
 

Jul 4, 2016
26
7
3
#3
Hello! Got a few questions for your;)
What size tank
Do you know the nitrogen Cycle
Do you have a liquid test kit
Do you have a filter
Do you have a heater
Do you know how to do waterchanges
 

Likes: arcab4

mlolm

Small Fish
Jul 25, 2016
11
3
3
#4
Hello! Got a few questions for your;)
What size tank
Do you know the nitrogen Cycle
Do you have a liquid test kit
Do you have a filter
Do you have a heater
Do you know how to do waterchanges
Hi Platy, good questions. I'm trying to learn this stuff now. Also why i registered here.

What size tank

10L (this is my tank), it came with a filter and some other things. https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B001CTNQKE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Do you know the nitrogen Cycle
No I have not cycled my tank yet, i am going on vacation until end of August so have not bought the fish and have not treated the water in any way yet.
Do you have a liquid test kit
No, i need to buy some, any reccomendations?
Do you have a filter
Yes, came with the tank.
Do you have a heater
Not yet, plan to buy a betta heater.
Do you know how to do waterchanges
No, only looked at some youtube vids, so any guides or reccomendations would be helpful. I was going to just do 50% water changes every 2 weeks or so and see how that goes, but what I'm not sure about is if I can use purified bottled water, as the new water, or if i need to treat it first before adding it to the tank.
 

Jul 4, 2016
26
7
3
#5
Size of tank
Congrats! You have the min tank size for a betta that's great!:D most beginners start of with a bowl/1g. The only concern is have with that tank is that it's open topped so a betta could jump out. But I imagine if you add floating plants(live) it should help discourage jumping.
Nitrogen cycle
This is a most to know(glad your planning to learn how to cycle a tank.:)) here's a good link-
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
Please don't do a fish in cycle as it can cause a lot of stress on a fish and cause illness. Although it's painful for us to wait, we have to for the well being for the fish.
Liquid test
API master test kit is great. It's a bit expensive the first time you get it, but it's readings are much better than the test strips. The test strips are very inaccurate. This isn't a must, but is good to have, GH and KH which tell you how stable your ph is.
Heater
Bettas ideal temp is 78-80F, so make sure your heater gets up there. You'll also need a thermometer to measure it.
Waterchanges
They are easy, especially for your size tank. Are you using sand or gravel? Either way you'll need a gravel vac or tubing for a gravel vac. For gravel you'll need to clean it by sticking the vac in it, don't use just tubing for this though. For sand you'll need to hover it over the sand and collect the debris. For frequency, I suggest doing a 25-50% weekly. Test every week. Just so you know, API Nitrate you have to shake very hard to get accurate readings. As for the water, I would still add dechlorinator, but that's just my over caution way. A lot of people use RO water without treating it. But why not just use your tap? You'll have to treat it, but it's easier access and I imagine it'll save you overtime. Just make sure the readings are good on just the tap first.
Tips

Acclimating
DO NOT dump the Betta in, this causes stress and shock to the fish, you should also never add store water to a tank. Drip accliamtion is great, what you do it get some airline tubing, tie knots in it and start a siphon from your tank to your Bettas bowl. Wait for the bowl to fill up, then poor half of it out(not in your tank) then restart. Another way is to every I 15 minutes for 45+ minutes add 1/4 a cup of water to the bowl while its floating in your tank.

Plants and decor
No fake plants unless they pass the pantyhose test, I still don't like to use them though... Live plants are much better as they help with nitrates as well, Bettas live Anubis. For decor same goes for them, if it doesn't pass the panty hose test don't use it.

Feed me!
They need a varied diet to truely show their beauty. I feed mine 1-2 times a week frozen brine shrimp and occasionally banana worms. I suggest omega one pellets(Betta) for the staple food. Fast once a week. This helps clear out there system and helps prevent bloat and constipation. I feed mine a pea the next day as well, but this isn't neccesary. I use it to help clear out my Bettas system after the fast.

If you have any questions let me know.
 

Last edited:
Likes: arcab4

mlolm

Small Fish
Jul 25, 2016
11
3
3
#6
Size of tank
Congrats! You have the min tank size for a betta that's great!:D most beginners start of with a bowl/1g. The only concern is have with that tank is that it's open topped so a betta could jump out. But I imagine if you add floating plants(live) it should help discourage jumping.
Nitrogen cycle
This is a most to know(glad your planning to learn how to cycle a tank.:)) here's a good link-
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
Please don't do a fish in cycle as it can cause a lot of stress on a fish and cause illness. Although it's painful for us to wait, we have to for the well being for the fish.
Liquid test
API master test kit is great. It's a bit expensive the first time you get it, but it's readings are much better than the test strips. The test strips are very inaccurate. This isn't a must, but is good to have, GH and KH which tell you how stable your ph is.
Heater
Bettas ideal temp is 78-80F, so make sure your heater gets up there. You'll also need a thermometer to measure it.
Waterchanges
They are easy, especially for your size tank. Are you using sand or gravel? Either way you'll need a gravel vac or tubing for a gravel vac. For gravel you'll need to clean it by sticking the vac in it, don't use just tubing for this though. For sand you'll need to hover it over the sand and collect the debris. For frequency, I suggest doing a 25-50% weekly. Test every week. Just so you know, API Nitrate you have to shake very hard to get accurate readings. As for the water, I would still add dechlorinator, but that's just my over caution way. A lot of people use RO water without treating it. But why not just use your tap? You'll have to treat it, but it's easier access and I imagine it'll save you overtime. Just make sure the readings are good on just the tap first.
Tips

Acclimating
DO NOT dump the Betta in, this causes stress and shock to the fish, you should also never add store water to a tank. Drip accliamtion is great, what you do it get some airline tubing, tie knots in it and start a siphon from your tank to your Bettas bowl. Wait for the bowl to fill up, then poor half of it out(not in your tank) then restart. Another way is to every I 15 minutes for 45+ minutes add 1/4 a cup of water to the bowl while its floating in your tank.

Plants and decor
No fake plants unless they pass the pantyhose test, I still don't like to use them though... Live plants are much better as they help with nitrates as well, Bettas live Anubis. For decor same goes for them, if it doesn't pass the panty hose test don't use it.

Feed me!
They need a varied diet to truely show their beauty. I feed mine 1-2 times a week frozen brine shrimp and occasionally banana worms. I suggest omega one pellets(Betta) for the staple food. Fast once a week. This helps clear out there system and helps prevent bloat and constipation. I feed mine a pea the next day as well, but this isn't neccesary. I use it to help clear out my Bettas system after the fast.

If you have any questions let me know.

Awesome post. Thank you. Here is a picture of my tank. There is a lid, although there are gaps i wonder if the betta could jump through the gaps. I already have it setup with some moss. And a rock, black gravel. Filter is in there too. Not sure yet how the water is doing, i will get a test kit soon.
 

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Likes: Platy lover
Jul 4, 2016
26
7
3
#7
If there are a few gaps it should be fine. A few istances a betta as jumped through the feeding hole, but it's uncommon. Most of the time if you have a happy and healthy Betta, then it shouldn't be a problem. Nice aquascape. Keep us updated please.
 

mlolm

Small Fish
Jul 25, 2016
11
3
3
#8
OK i am back from vacation to the US and ready start prepping for my new betta. I bought the liquid test kit, a betta leaf hammock, and a betta heater (for winter months). This should be the happiest betta for miles. Now I cleaned the tank last night, did a water test, and added a small teabag full with some food in it to start getting the cycle going.

First water test showed near zero nitrate, nitrite, and amonia as expected. PH was 8.2 so water is quite hard. I will do another water test today or tomorrow. Here is a pic:

Happy to see moss looking really healthy compared to when i first planted it!
 

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Likes: Platy lover