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Ruutah

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
134
Location
Tampa Bay Area
Evening,

Been lurking for a bit now, thought I would say hi. Had a few tanks over the years they've just never lasted long. Fast forward 13 years since my last tank and my wife has a new job teaching that took us from FL to the mountains of WV. Needless to say... I'm bored out of my skull.

Wife decided she wanted an aquarium for her classroom. So we purchased a "pretty betta" and a 5 gallon tank, which we then decided the 5 was to small and snagged a 10 gallon starter kit. Recently on a trip home to FL I grabbed another 10 gallon, and a 30 hex we had in storage. And sucker me stopped into the LFS down there and found another sick looking betta to bring home and "rescue"

So I've now got a pair of 10's, a 5, and a 30. Oh and while recently at my LFS (an hour away is local for me) I snagged a tall 15 setup for basically gas money in my wife's Sentra.

Rewind a bit, and the 5 has been setup and running for almost 3 months with a HOB for a 20gal and a sponge filter, sand substrate, moderately planted, using root tabs, and low light. Until recently it had a Betta, and a pair of peppered cory cats. In anticipation of setting up the other 10 gallon I picked up in FL I grabbed 10 Neon Tetra from one of those places I won't buy fish from again. Quarantined them for a week or so in the empty 10, then acclimated them to the 5 so I could start setting up the 10. After a few days the betta decided he'd had enough of them, and started stalking them and picking them off. If I hadn't seen it I'm not sure I would have believed he was doing it. He flat killed 4, and injured 2 others. pulled them out, and put them back in the 10 after dumping my work in it back out. and quarantined them again. Eventually due either to injury or stress, I had to euthanize the others, as the last four I found swimming straight up and down one morning. (BTW I run dual filters in all my tanks, so I can pull one out to help cycle a spare tank. And backup never hurts)

Anyway, the next morning I watched the Betta go after one of the Cories at feeding time, so he's now in a 2 gallon glass tea/lemonade dispenser with a plant of his own, and a sponge filter while I get the other 10 put together. Changing ~40% or so of his water twice a week. I hate using the small container for him, but I love my Cories to death. Funny thing is they spawned right after I pulled the Betta from the tank.

Right now the decision is sitting at both Betta's in a 10 with a divider, I'm planning on setting up the other 10 as a planted Cory/shrimp tank, the 15 is going to school, likely with guppies/mollies/platties or some other smaller shoaling group for the classroom. The hex is up in the air as to what to do with it.

So anyway, I don't want to write a book for a hello post. So to put it mildly... yeah I jumped back into the hobby, with both feet in the deep end, and already have a serious case of MTS.. as payday is Tuesday, and I'm already looking at a 60gallon setup I found on CL. Wife wants a community tank with gourami's and other schooling fish, and I'm thinking that the 30 hex would make a cool marine tank with some rock, a few corals, a clown or two, maybe a cleaner shrimp and a flame angel. The wife thinks it would make a killer Poison Dart Frog tank in her Library.


So yeah... My name is Gene and I'm an addict. :ROFLMAO:

'night!
 
Hi Gene, welcome to the forum :)

55 gallon elephant nose tank.
30 gallon boraras ,bamboo shrimp, crs,rcs and different snails.
 
Wow your betta is a serial killer! I have read stories about this happening but so far all of mine have been pretty chill. Maybe because they were added last to a tank and hadn't decided that they owned the whole space.

Howdy Gene. You'll get nothing but support for your addiction here. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Lots of activity. Spent yesterday building a "shelf" for the tanks. Mounting the TV on a wall in the corner so I have more horizontal space for more tanks etc. LONG, crazy day. I was seriously pissed when my last battery pack died @ 1:30AM, as that meant I had to stop. Oh well, I needed to be up for work @ 7.
 
Wow your betta is a serial killer! I have read stories about this happening but so far all of mine have been pretty chill. Maybe because they were added last to a tank and hadn't decided that they owned the whole space.

Howdy Gene. You'll get nothing but support for your addiction here. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice


Freaking enablers! :eek:

I'm wondering if the lack of space, combined with the Betta having been in there for a few months contributing to the sudden change in demeanor. He's usually a pretty lazy fish, laying around in the sand, or on a plant. There have been times I've wondered if he was dead, and reached in to give him a poke before he reacted to anything. He'll be last to go into anything else I try to put him in just in case.
 
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