Mini plant tank build

[Jacobsal91]

Yeah i have florish, its wisteria for sure ill see how it goes overnight then decide if floating is a good idea

 

[maxwellag]

Found an old 5.5gal tank with a standard
Light hood and was thinking of getting some javamoss and driftwood with 3 cardinal tetras and a male betta. Unsure if the betta will do well but i plan on having a filter and heater. Any advice/input?

Three cardinals will do although I've had experiences where a tank too small may cause aggression. They can grow up to two inches and would appreciate a much bigger aquarium though. You could pull it off though, depending on how much swimming room there is despite the displacement because of the driftwood. Try looking into some nano fish like celestial pearl danios or shrimp (if you choose to have no betta).

Cardinal tetras (or any tetra) should not be in a 5g because they need more room. I would put cardinals in a 20g long at minimum. The betta would likely not get along with the tetras either. A betta would be perfect for a tank that size, if it is alone. You might be able to have some ghost shrimp in with it. Some bettas eat shrimp, but their personalities vary by individual, so you may get lucky.

 

[maxwellag]

Like a carpet? Unfortunatetly carpet plants require co2, good lighting and ferts. You could do a moss carpet, or staurago repens (cant spell the name) but even that requires med light and ferts.
Bbuut if your not talking about a carpet than hairgrass is a "grass" but you will probably have to trim it daily. Maybe dwarf hairgrass

Not all carpet plants require co2. In fact, most can be grown without it if given the right conditions. Marsilea Minuta and hydrocotyle tripartita both grow very well under medium light without co2, all though when I tried to grow it without a weekly seachem flourish dosing, they didn't grow very well.

 

[Jacobsal91]

Yeah i bought seachem flourish today and put
Some in there. The betta seems happy i may try some shrimp i know of a LFS that sells them for $0.25 as feeders! I also work at a different LFS and out goldfish tank has a bunch of baby snails in the sump that just randomly appeared probably from plants or reproduced, i may snag a bunch lol
I might just do some driftwood wraped with javamoss and find some small swords and/or anubias. I feel a carpet will get annoying to maintain. Lol

 

[smomus]

Beautiful betta!
An option that hasn't been mentioned is African dwarf frogs. I have 4 of them in my 10g betta tank.

 

[Jacobsal91]

Beautiful betta!
An option that hasn't been mentioned is African dwarf frogs. I have 4 of them in my 10g betta tank.

Those are basically
Small african clawed frogs right?

 

[shellieca]

Beautiful Betta, I have a total of 5. My 2 males are in individual 10g tanks that each share with a Mystery Snail & it seems to be plenty. One thing I haven't noticed in reading through this thread is if your tank is cycled. Since you work at an LFS I'm assuming you know about testing your water & making sure to do lots of water changes, just thought I'd mention it to make sure. if your Betta is anything like mine he'll LOVE lots of plants & some caves & if you can have some kind of floating plant he might like that too. Just a word to the wise, Bettas are addictive!!

 

[tropicalmackdaddy]

Not all carpet plants require co2. In fact, most can be grown without it if given the right conditions. Marsilea Minuta and hydrocotyle tripartita both grow very well under medium light without co2, all though when I tried to grow it without a weekly seachem flourish dosing, they didn't grow very well.

Ya, i suppose hydrocotyles and moss, but hc, ug, dhg sp.belem.....

 

[maxwellag]

Ya, i suppose hydrocotyles and moss, but hc, ug, dhg sp.belem.....

I have grown HC and DHG without co2. It wasn't very fast compared to co2, but I was still able to see new growth about once a week.

 

[tropicalmackdaddy]

I have grown HC and DHG without co2. It wasn't very fast compared to co2, but I was still able to see new growth about once a week.

Would it grow densely/with horizontal growth? Because then i need to try it lol

 

[maxwellag]

Would it grow densely/with horizontal growth? Because then i need to try it lol

Yes, I had a few pics of it growing without co2. I will try to find them.

 

[Jacobsal91]

Beautiful Betta, I have a total of 5. My 2 males are in individual 10g tanks that each share with a Mystery Snail & it seems to be plenty. One thing I haven't noticed in reading through this thread is if your tank is cycled. Since you work at an LFS I'm assuming you know about testing your water & making sure to do lots of water changes, just thought I'd mention it to make sure. if your Betta is anything like mine he'll LOVE lots of plants & some caves & if you can have some kind of floating plant he might like that too. Just a word to the wise, Bettas are addictive!!

Yeah i know all about what i need to do. Personally i dont specialize in aquatic plants. But i seem to be doing ok. Might just cover some driftwood with a little anubias plant and javamoss also on the driftwood and just call it a day lol
Its fully cycled and i use seachem florish once weekly. (realllly small amount)

 

[maxwellag]

Would it grow densely/with horizontal growth? Because then i need to try it lol

Here are some pics of it growing without co2. The algae in the 2nd pic is because I was leaving the lights on too long. Sadly it got taken over by algae and died.

 

[tropicalmackdaddy]

Here are some pics of it growing without co2. The algae in the 2nd pic is because I was leaving the lights on too long. Sadly it got taken over by algae and died.

Well, i stand corrected
To bad it got taken over by algae