4.4G Flat Back Hex FW Planted Build Thread

[daileene]

Okay, because of the power outage, my halfmoon doubletail betta, Spidey, didn't make it. :-( I am so crushed coz he was the healthiest of all of my fish. He was so happy in this tank and when I got home last Tuesday, I found him in the bottom of the tank all pale and dead. :-( For now, this tank is empty as well. I changed the look of this tank and put all the plants in here to my 20G long tank. The thing left here is the spongebob deco and then I put the "parthenon" like temple from the 10G I salvaged. I am planning on making this tank a coldwater tank and maybe put some java moss and java ferns only here later on and put 5 rosy reds after. I know they are not the prettiest fish and they are feeder fish. But I want my fish alive just in case power outage will be back.

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

 

[toddnbecka]

Betta's only live a couple years, I doubt the power outage was what did him in. I keep a betta in an unheated, unfiltered glass vase full of green water with Najas and Salvinia.
Rosy reds are a bit too large and active for such a small tank. Another betta or shrimp would be a better fit. Cherry, yellow, or snowball shrimp would breed and grow well in that size tank, and have such a small bioload it could eventually support several hundred of them w/out any problems.

 

[daileene]

Hi todd. Thanks. How many shrimps should I start with if I will go in that route? Do they need plants to hide in?

Have you heard about a white cloud mountain minnows? They grows up to 1.5" and can tolerate temp as low as 41 degrees. Are they okay to be in a smaller size tanks?

 

[daileene]

I still do like bettas, so maybe I will still consider getting another one again...but since the outage, I have been looking for other coldwater fish aside from goldfish that I can get. And I came across that certain kind of minnows. I haven't seen them in any of my LFS so I was wondering if they are available here in the US.

 

[toddnbecka]

You can start with a dozen or two shrimp, and there are also various species of gourami and paradise fish as alternatives to the betta.
Shrimp don't need plants to hide in, just a cycled tank with little water flow. They aren't suited to strong water circulation, and normally walk more than they swim. An air-driven sponge filter suits them well, they'll pick food off the sponge as well as the substrate.
White clouds are also an active fish, better suited to the 20L than a small tank.

 

[daileene]

ahhhh okay....I do have the 20G Long. Good to know. Okay...I am a little excited with the shrimps now. I will look in my LFS what shrimps they carry. Also, I will look into that paradise fish. That's the first time I heard of it. What kind of gourami do you think is good in here if ever? And how many?

 

[toddnbecka]

The sparkling or croaking gouramis are small enough for a nano tank, though they do prefer the water a little warmer than room temp. Not likely to die if the water cools down a bit short-term, but wouldn't be happy long-term.
Paradise fish are fine with cooler temps/no heater, definitely not more than 1 in that size tank though. They're in the same family as gouramis and bettas, and generally more aggressive than the rest of the clan.
Red cherry shrimp or yellow shrimp (don't mix them, they'd cross breed and produce colorless offspring) are surprisingly interesting little critters IME. I had a 10 gallon tank loaded with them a few years back. Had an infestation of hydra, so I moved the shrimp and snails out of the tank and dosed it with copper sulfate. Didn't realize the silicone would absorb some of the copper ions and gradually leach them back out. The snails were fine, but the shrimp stopped reproducing, and died off. I tried adding new stock a couple times, same result, so I gave up on them. Sometime later I learned about the copper sulfate, going to try them again in the 20 high with Sewellia and LDA-08's shortly.

 

[daileene]

Hi todd. I just researched the paradise fish and they are beautiful. Like you said, they are aggressive so only one is good. I am considering it actually.


I am sorry to hear about your shrimps. I am still considering them too. Well see. Thank you for all your input. Greatly appreciated.