Sharpchick
Aquarium Advice FINatic
So I debated for a couple of weeks about which fish I wanted as the top dweller in my 20 gallon planted tank. I have lovely little shoals of neon and black neon tetras, and cories. It's a very peaceful tank, and I can lay for hours on my bed watching it.
Got lots of really good suggestions for that centerpiece fish. But in the end, it came down to a choice between a dwarf honey gourami or a really pretty male betta. And the betta had the slight edge, because I knew I could rescue a fish from a horrible little plastic cup.
So off I went to one of the big boxes that seem to specialize in horrible little plastic cups.
And found a drop-dead-gorgeous halfmoon male - cream colored, with just a hint of slight gray stripes in his tail.
Brought him home, acclimated him in the cup, and after about an hour, set him free. He immediately went behind the HOB filter. I went back after about a half hour, and he was exploring the tank - kind of the equivalent of aquatic bar hopping.
Holy moses...after three hours, he had all the other fish rounded up, quivering in the back right corner of the tank, except for the lone cory hiding out in the anacharis cover of the opposite corner. He'd dart into the crowd and single out a victim to terrorize - even the cories with their armor.
I named him on the spot. Ivan the Terrible.
It took me 45 minutes to net him. Many of the plants (stems fortunately) were uprooted in the process, and floated on the surface, which he used to his advantage to avoid the net.
I had a 2 gallon glass bowl, and a smidge of fine gravel. Into the bowl he went, along with some stems of anacharis floating, and an airstone.
But glass goldfish bowls don't have heaters or filters. I have never kept bettas under those conditions for more than a day.
So the next day, I went back to the big box and got him his very own Aqueon Evolve4 so Ivan can be all matchy-matchy with Lucky on the only available horizontal surface I have left in the cottage that has an outlet and surge protector available. (I had to put a blue vinyl report cover between the two tanks, because these guys did not eat or sleep so they could flare at each other non-stop.)
I really like this dual reflection of Ivan, flaring at himself.
So my $14 lapse in judgment set me back another $60.
Such is life.
Got lots of really good suggestions for that centerpiece fish. But in the end, it came down to a choice between a dwarf honey gourami or a really pretty male betta. And the betta had the slight edge, because I knew I could rescue a fish from a horrible little plastic cup.
So off I went to one of the big boxes that seem to specialize in horrible little plastic cups.
And found a drop-dead-gorgeous halfmoon male - cream colored, with just a hint of slight gray stripes in his tail.
Brought him home, acclimated him in the cup, and after about an hour, set him free. He immediately went behind the HOB filter. I went back after about a half hour, and he was exploring the tank - kind of the equivalent of aquatic bar hopping.
Holy moses...after three hours, he had all the other fish rounded up, quivering in the back right corner of the tank, except for the lone cory hiding out in the anacharis cover of the opposite corner. He'd dart into the crowd and single out a victim to terrorize - even the cories with their armor.
I named him on the spot. Ivan the Terrible.
It took me 45 minutes to net him. Many of the plants (stems fortunately) were uprooted in the process, and floated on the surface, which he used to his advantage to avoid the net.
I had a 2 gallon glass bowl, and a smidge of fine gravel. Into the bowl he went, along with some stems of anacharis floating, and an airstone.
But glass goldfish bowls don't have heaters or filters. I have never kept bettas under those conditions for more than a day.
So the next day, I went back to the big box and got him his very own Aqueon Evolve4 so Ivan can be all matchy-matchy with Lucky on the only available horizontal surface I have left in the cottage that has an outlet and surge protector available. (I had to put a blue vinyl report cover between the two tanks, because these guys did not eat or sleep so they could flare at each other non-stop.)
I really like this dual reflection of Ivan, flaring at himself.
So my $14 lapse in judgment set me back another $60.
Such is life.