Dwarf Hairgrass and suggestions
- Thread starter FlameTetra333
- Start date
God, everyone saying "do this" and "do that" is getting to my head. I don't even know what to do....I'd like to have just ONE person tell me a stocking idea.
What I do weekly: 20% water change + gravel cleaning.
What my plan is: What I already do know.
P.S.: Me talking about Silver Hatchetfish was completely fail. It relates to this "do this, do that" dilemma.
So, summing up, my only options are: Otos, shrimp, snails, and microfish?
What I do weekly: 20% water change + gravel cleaning.
What my plan is: What I already do know.
P.S.: Me talking about Silver Hatchetfish was completely fail. It relates to this "do this, do that" dilemma.
So, summing up, my only options are: Otos, shrimp, snails, and microfish?
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Neither of those quotes says anything about having a betta in the tank. It is my understanding the betta is already in the tank so it is now his territory. I have managed to add otos after wards, but probably only because they are small and hide quickly. The bettas in my larger community tanks were added after the other fish. Just a thought: you already have some neon and black tetras. If you are determined to add other fish, try them for a week or two and see how it works. I think it will be kind of crowded and you will need to test your water frequently because the tank is small for that many fish.
Perhaps PM that ONE person then?
I'm not sure what it means 'talking about Silver Hatchetfish was completely fail.' I take it by the rest of your statement that you are not planning on adding this fish to the Betta's tank.
In a 5.5 gallon tank, you will be limited on what you can keep healthy in my opinion. I've kept microrasbora (Boraras brigittae aka Chili Rasbora) and Celestichthys margaritatus (Celestial Pearl Danio aka CPD) in 5 gallon tanks. Both bred sucessfully in that sized tank.
The trouble with such a small tank is that its hard to get a 'variety' of different fish. The microrasboras are shoaling fish and need to be in larger numbers to be healthy. The CPD does not shoal, but does like its own company. I'm just not sure how any of these (wild caught mostly) mix with the Betta splenden, which is a human-altered fish bred in captivity for hundreds of years.
From what I understand from reading on other forums (more dedicated to Bettas), otos usually are ok. I've kept several Otocinclus species over the years, but never in a tank so small.
Just my 2cents.
OC
I'm not sure what it means 'talking about Silver Hatchetfish was completely fail.' I take it by the rest of your statement that you are not planning on adding this fish to the Betta's tank.
In a 5.5 gallon tank, you will be limited on what you can keep healthy in my opinion. I've kept microrasbora (Boraras brigittae aka Chili Rasbora) and Celestichthys margaritatus (Celestial Pearl Danio aka CPD) in 5 gallon tanks. Both bred sucessfully in that sized tank.
The trouble with such a small tank is that its hard to get a 'variety' of different fish. The microrasboras are shoaling fish and need to be in larger numbers to be healthy. The CPD does not shoal, but does like its own company. I'm just not sure how any of these (wild caught mostly) mix with the Betta splenden, which is a human-altered fish bred in captivity for hundreds of years.
From what I understand from reading on other forums (more dedicated to Bettas), otos usually are ok. I've kept several Otocinclus species over the years, but never in a tank so small.
Just my 2cents.
OC
This is your stocking plan since you asked for one
5.5 gallon
------------
1 Betta (Yours)
2-3 Oto's
1 Amazon Sword
1 Anacharis
-----------------------
Here is a picture of my Amazon sword, before and after liquid ferts were being added on a weekly basis, decide for yourself if you'd like some
the sword will "melt" away almost or perhaps all of its leaves, dont worry, thats natural, they will return a couple days later, the Anacharis needs liquid ferts to get it goin pretty well, mine died without liquid ferts. For the oto's your best bet would be buy some Zuchini and put a horizontal slice about 1/4 and inch in length in for them as food, im pretty sure you wont have enough algae alone to support them and they 98% wont eat Algae wafers. Hope thats what you wanted to see. Good Luck
5.5 gallon
------------
1 Betta (Yours)
2-3 Oto's
1 Amazon Sword
1 Anacharis
-----------------------
Here is a picture of my Amazon sword, before and after liquid ferts were being added on a weekly basis, decide for yourself if you'd like some
the sword will "melt" away almost or perhaps all of its leaves, dont worry, thats natural, they will return a couple days later, the Anacharis needs liquid ferts to get it goin pretty well, mine died without liquid ferts. For the oto's your best bet would be buy some Zuchini and put a horizontal slice about 1/4 and inch in length in for them as food, im pretty sure you wont have enough algae alone to support them and they 98% wont eat Algae wafers. Hope thats what you wanted to see. Good Luck
This is your stocking plan since you asked for one
5.5 gallon
------------
1 Betta (Yours)
2-3 Oto's
1 Amazon Sword
1 Anacharis
-----------------------
Here is a picture of my Amazon sword, before and after liquid ferts were being added on a weekly basis, decide for yourself if you'd like some the sword will "melt" away almost or perhaps all of its leaves, dont worry, thats natural, they will return a couple days later, the Anacharis needs liquid ferts to get it goin pretty well, mine died without liquid ferts. For the oto's your best bet would be buy some Zuchini and put a horizontal slice about 1/4 and inch in length in for them as food, im pretty sure you wont have enough algae alone to support them and they 98% wont eat Algae wafers. Hope thats what you wanted to see. Good Luck
View attachment 10669 View attachment 10670
5.5 gallon
------------
1 Betta (Yours)
2-3 Oto's
1 Amazon Sword
1 Anacharis
-----------------------
Here is a picture of my Amazon sword, before and after liquid ferts were being added on a weekly basis, decide for yourself if you'd like some
the sword will "melt" away almost or perhaps all of its leaves, dont worry, thats natural, they will return a couple days later, the Anacharis needs liquid ferts to get it goin pretty well, mine died without liquid ferts. For the oto's your best bet would be buy some Zuchini and put a horizontal slice about 1/4 and inch in length in for them as food, im pretty sure you wont have enough algae alone to support them and they 98% wont eat Algae wafers. Hope thats what you wanted to see. Good Luck View attachment 10669 View attachment 10670
Oh, I have amazon swords for my 20 gallon, and I thought they were dying because the tips are turning yellow & brown. Is that what you mean by "melt away"?
I already feed my otos zucchini.
So I'm pretty sure I'll just add my otos.
Yes, if you have any plants in a tank you still need to clean the substrate. In a case where you have a carpet plant, you can just hover the siphon tube over the substrate without actually pushing down into it. This way you can get the stuff on top without going deep enough to disturb the roots of the plants. HOWEVER, this also means you can't do a good deep cleaning of the tank so from the start it's best to not over feed, and be mindful of quality issues.
Adding plants is not a magic pill that lets you not get away with basic tank maintenance. They do improve water quality, but they don't fix it if it's already broke. And if you don't keep the plants in good condition, when they start killing over, that can cause more water quality issues than if you never had them to start with.
And IMHO, I would go with something other than dwarf hair grass. It seems to be very particular about growing into a carpet. If you want to try it, the only way I've got it to grow very well is with the Fluval Stratum substrate and decent lighting.
Adding plants is not a magic pill that lets you not get away with basic tank maintenance. They do improve water quality, but they don't fix it if it's already broke. And if you don't keep the plants in good condition, when they start killing over, that can cause more water quality issues than if you never had them to start with.
And IMHO, I would go with something other than dwarf hair grass. It seems to be very particular about growing into a carpet. If you want to try it, the only way I've got it to grow very well is with the Fluval Stratum substrate and decent lighting.