Vintage Metal Tank

[Dare2smile]

I'm thinking once I've let it sit and cycle (and stabilize temperature) for a week, I'd love to do a shrimp + betta combo. Of course, I'm concerned about space, but I'd rather have a betta than anything.

Does anyone have suggestions? I see RCS on eBay a lot (aquaticmagic is the seller I usually go to for plants and they have shrimp too), but would Amazon be better? Would 3-5 shrimp plus a betta be too much?
I live in St. Louis MO, and independent fishy stores are few and far between. I figured I'd get a betta from PetCo when the time came.

 

[Fresh2o]

You could do a fish-in (or shrimp-in) cycle as long as you keep up with the water changes. Test frequently.
I would check in the AA classified section for RCS and see who is selling them. You could put in a "I'm looking for RCS" post there as well.
I am wary about receiving livestock this time of year, but that's me.
I have had better success with RCS from AA members than the ones from the LFS. I cannot comment on the ones from eBay/Amazon.


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[absolutangel04]

I'm thinking once I've let it sit and cycle (and stabilize temperature) for a week, I'd love to do a shrimp + betta combo. Of course, I'm concerned about space, but I'd rather have a betta than anything.

Does anyone have suggestions? I see RCS on eBay a lot (aquaticmagic is the seller I usually go to for plants and they have shrimp too), but would Amazon be better? Would 3-5 shrimp plus a betta be too much?
I live in St. Louis MO, and independent fishy stores are few and far between. I figured I'd get a betta from PetCo when the time came.

Bioload-wise, it would be fine in my opinion. However, just as a heads up, many bettas don't coexist well with rcs. Especially not in smaller tanks. Bettas tend to hunt them down one by one. Sometimes it works, but from what I have seen, those times are the minority. I suggest all shrimp, or else just a betta. Maybe a betta and some ghost shrimp?

 

[Dare2smile]

Hmmm... Maybe I'll start with shrimp and then introduce the betta. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews online about it and it seems to just depend on the fish.

Has anyone had experience with the baby bettas at PetCo? I was considering them, figuring/hoping if it grows up with shrimp, it'll care less about them as food.

 

[Brookster123]

I had a baby betta in with rcs, he would ram them and they'd keel over and die.. it was like a game for him..

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[TheresaM]

Hmmm... Maybe I'll start with shrimp and then introduce the betta. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews online about it and it seems to just depend on the fish.

Has anyone had experience with the baby bettas at PetCo? I was considering them, figuring/hoping if it grows up with shrimp, it'll care less about them as food.

My last betta was a baby from PetCo. Didn't keep him with anything but he lived for almost 5 years.

 

[TheresaM]

I'm thinking once I've let it sit and cycle (and stabilize temperature) for a week, I'd love to do a shrimp + betta combo. Of course, I'm concerned about space, but I'd rather have a betta than anything.

Does anyone have suggestions? I see RCS on eBay a lot (aquaticmagic is the seller I usually go to for plants and they have shrimp too), but would Amazon be better? Would 3-5 shrimp plus a betta be too much?
I live in St. Louis MO, and independent fishy stores are few and far between. I figured I'd get a betta from PetCo when the time came.

I think the only seller on Amazon is InvertObsession, which is aquaticarts.com

I've ordered RCS from Bobs Tropical Plants, Shrimp USA, and a couple of different eBay sellers.

 

[Dare2smile]

Got it, thanks!!

 

[Angela1108]

A lot of people on here sell RCS. I got mine from majbarsalona and they are great.


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[Fresh2o]

Here is a link for aquarium clubs and societies in your state: http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aqauriumclubs/p/Missouri-Aquarium-Clubs.htm
MASI (Missouris Aquarium Society, Inc) is having an auction FEB 8th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (airport). You should check it out and/or check out the fish club. It may make up for the lack of LFS' in your area.
No, I don't belong to those clubs. Been to St Louis once many, many years ago.


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[Dare2smile]

Fresh, if I could "like" posts on here, I'd definitely like that one.
That's a fantastic restore, thank you!


On a different note.. Does anyone have any thoughts/recommendations/ideas about a slightly floating corner filter? I slid some nuts over the air tube and it worked perfectly.. Until I realized they were stainless steel and they started to corrode. It's driving me absolutely mental and it's half the reason I haven't put anyone in the tank yet. :/

 

[Fresh2o]

If the stainless steel started to corrode, then perhaps it had other metals mixed in.
Maybe you could try attaching a suction cup or two to the base of the filter with super glue.


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[Dare2smile]

Yea.. That's likely it, or it had a zinc coating. Super annoying.

Maybe I'll have to give the suction cup thing a try! I'm sure I've got a couple ransoms laying about.
Would superglue or silicon be better for attaching to the plastic?

 

[Fresh2o]

I would try super glue first. Won't have to wait as long as with silicone.


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[Dare2smile]

This is a good point. I'll report back when I've given it a go!

 

[Dare2smile]

(Two weeks later...)

Okay, so I had a different idea.

Silicone is waterproof right? Safe for Aqua use, right? What if I covered a bunch of metal weights in it?

So I did. Covered all the original nuts in silicone and then "disguised" it by packing gravel onto it.
Took forever because I did each side at least twice, but now I think it's pretty awesome - my filter is now mostly hidden behind a piece of driftwood and you can pretend it's a gravel mountain behind the driftwood!





I may have also been hard at work getting a bunch of pretty plants... I'm so in love with my tank. You folks are the absolute BEST.

(And no, I haven't gotten any better at silicone since I first started. I keep forgetting about fumes and I definitely keep getting it all over my hands haha)

 

[Fresh2o]

Tank looked nice and lush.
Very creative with the silicone and gravel. It should work although in hindsight I suppose you could have used a rock.
You and silicone...I envision kindergarteners and finger painting for some reason.


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[Dare2smile]

Tank looked nice and lush.
Very creative with the silicone and gravel. It should work although in hindsight I suppose you could have used a rock.
You and silicone...I envision kindergarteners and finger painting for some reason.


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The problem I was having with rocks is that I couldn't find any that would just sit there and be /heavy/, you know? There's not that much room between the air tube place and the wall. Trust me, I went digging for rocks in all my tanks looking haha

And no comment about the silicone. >_>

 

[Fresh2o]

The problem I was having with rocks is that I couldn't find any that would just sit there and be /heavy/, you know? There's not that much room between the air tube place and the wall. Trust me, I went digging for rocks in all my tanks looking haha

And no comment about the silicone. >_>

Gotcha about the rock and limited space.
Ha ha too late!!!

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[Hobbiest]

Your tank looks great and plants look wonderful! My husband looked and said "Hey I recognize those plants"

I had to reseal my 30 gal aquarium and I totally understand what you went through, but luckily my hubby is a carpenter and even though he knows nothing about aquariums he knows how to reseal a tank because he knows how to caulk!

The little corner filter you have, I have along with a HOB in my 30 gal tank. I just use it for an extra bio filter, it wants to float anytime I take it completely out of tank to clean, but all I have to do is hold it down long enough for media inside of it to completely saturate and it will remain underwater. It does work great for a bio filter in a small tank.

What are you using for ferts? Your plants do look wonderful