Banasophia's Fresh Start: The IM Nuvo 12 g Atoll

[A.m.P]

Getting something imported isn't as awful as it sounds, but letting someone else handle the transshipping is always great lol

[DevilDuck]

Starting to look great! 

 

I think you are fine with the soil depth now as you do not have a lot of deep rooting plants.

Put the betta in last, they can be aggressive, especially with the chilis as they are extremely tiny fish.

 

I don't think a planted tank is complete without some shrimp! 

[banasophia]

56 minutes ago, DevilDuck said:

Starting to look great! 

 

I think you are fine with the soil depth now as you do not have a lot of deep rooting plants.

Put the betta in last, they can be aggressive, especially with the chilis as they are extremely tiny fish.

 

I don't think a planted tank is complete without some shrimp! 

 

Thanks!

 

But shoot, I paid the guy for the betta today. I decided on the opal one, which is local. He agreed to keep it in his own planted tank for me for now and I’m paying an extra fee for him to hold it for me for a while while I get the tank ready since he said usually he doesn’t hold fish for people. 
 

I was thinking I would add the betta first because my understanding is that they are pretty hardy and I want to choose the rest of the fish based on the appearance of the betta and where it swims in the tank. I am also a little worried the flow may be too much for the betta so I thought it would give me a chance to adjust the tank to make the betta happy before adding tank mates. The betta is definitely the main and most important fish to me.
 

I think we may skip the chili rasboras based on input here… looking at green neon tetras or ember tetras, and salt & pepper corydoras. Would love to also have shrimp, dwarf African frogs, and/or snails if possible.

[banasophia]

I could just skip the other fish… or I also have my Evo 5 empty that I could potentially use in the process somehow. 

[banasophia]

Okay, and now I’m thinking I have identified my next tactical error: will the dragonstone rocks be too sharp and injure the bettas long flowing fins? 😩😩😩 

[banasophia]

Here’s a video showing a method that seems like it could work for introducing a school of small non-aggressive fish to a tank that already has a betta. What do you guys think? 

 

 

[banasophia]

The flow seems to have settled down in the tank… I didn’t change anything, but the floating plants have stopped swirling around the surface. 

 

I added a small media bag with some Seachem Matrix Media this evening, a bottle of Dr Tim’s One and Only for freshwater tanks, and a bit of betta food. The ghostwood is still soaking in a bin… I change the water out daily and the bigger piece still floats when I remove the rock that’s holding it down. 

[banasophia]

What to do…?  So, I ordered the Opal from my local guy and he is holding it for me until I’m ready for it. It’s not this exact fish, but it sounds like it will look very similar to one of these. He said that this type of fish is kinda like clownfish where they all look extremely similar to each other.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnWWip2NE1G/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

But here’s the dilemma… I also really love this fish below that’s still available from Indonesia. It’s a red koi galaxy. I like this fish in particular because it has the prettiest face and markings. He said it is $30 plus $40 for shipping.
 

Am I crazy that I’m thinking about getting it too… I have my Evo 5, Biocube 16, and a 5 gallon quarantine tank sitting around empty. I’m thinking I could set the Evo back up in my office for it. I think I still have an additional spare heater and thermometer lying around. I’d probably need to buy a different light… want to talk some sense into me?

 

 

 

[banasophia]

Just got the green light from the hubby that I could potentially set a tank back up in my home office, which would probably be the Evo 5. 🚦

[debbeach13]

OK I play. Since you already paid for one and he is holding for you. Why not wait and see how it goes. I think that a fish similar to the fish of your dreams, will be available when you are ready. Then you can take your time and concentrate on one new tank at a time. 

[banasophia]

16 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

OK I play. Since you already paid for one and he is holding for you. Why not wait and see how it goes. I think that a fish similar to the fish of your dreams, will be available when you are ready. Then you can take your time and concentrate on one new tank at a time. 

Thank you… I really appreciate you chiming in so I can think this through, it’s very helpful… that is definitely the rational and sensible route to take… I will totally consider it. The Indonesian guy said the next transshipment is on 4/30, so I have a bit of time to think it over, which is good.
 

Here are my further thoughts:

• My mom used to keep bettas and she just kept it really simple, I could just add a couple plants and keep it very basic for this extra tank.
• This fish reminds me of two beloved pets: Hank, and a German shepherd named Thunder that we only had for a week and adored but he had a really extreme prey drive and we couldn’t keep him with our cat. 
• I’ve been thinking about what makes this fish, Hank, and Thunder different from other pets I’ve kept, and I think it’s their sweet faces and an innate attachment type of reaction like you get with puppies and babies. 
• We think about and talk about Thunder all the time, even though we only had him a week like 5 years ago. 
• Also I think the fish reminds me of my childhood calico cat, Patches.

[TheKleinReef]

i recently had a bad out break of this black/grey goo on all my plants, from what i think was just too stagnant of water. I gutted it cleaned all the plants and got HOB filter until i can figure out why  my sicce whale took a dump.

 

doing that and this thread make me wanna start a larger fw tank. i've never had one bigger than 20g.

[banasophia]

7 hours ago, TheKleinReef said:

i recently had a bad out break of this black/grey goo on all my plants, from what i think was just too stagnant of water. I gutted it cleaned all the plants and got HOB filter until i can figure out why  my sicce whale took a dump.

 

doing that and this thread make me wanna start a larger fw tank. i've never had one bigger than 20g.

Oh no… black/grey goo does not sound good. A larger freshwater tank sounds fun and maybe less expensive than a larger saltwater tank? I could see waiting for one of those dollar per gallon petco deals… 

[banasophia]

Talk about petite, check out my tiny little plant that just arrived. It’s a variegated/white anubia nana petite:

 

 

 

Also just got my Asian water moss, which I think is the same as salvinia cucullata:

 

[banasophia]

Here’s a video of the Opal that is being reserved for us that he sent me tonight so I could see the actual fish, not just a similar one. Looks like he has a small black spot on his face… I think it’s a marking, not a sign of illness, what do you guys think? 

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

I know nothing about beta fish but it looks and acts healthy to me. 

[growsomething]

I've kept bettas in tanks with small fish with no problems.  They were so much slower due to their fins they didn't even try to bother tetras.  They were interested in fish similar in size and/or plumage, but were still too slow.  They will find lower flow areas to hang out in, and your dither fish will take the other areas I think.

[Lebowski_]

Variegated petite white Anubis’s are so beautiful. It will take a long time to grow but it will be an eye catching plant. 
 

This tank is exciting.

 

Edit: Berta looks healthy to me. No clamped fins, no redness around gills, no cloudy eye. They are glass surfers until they settle into a healthy well planted tank. The key is the find extension looks great.

 

edit 2: Betta not Berta lol

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

Harlequin Rasboras are from the same habitats as wild bettas and make good tank mates, but most kinds tetras will be okay too. 
 

Looks like a solid betta to me! White dumbo types are one of my favorites. High quality foods really go a long way to help keep them healthy. I had a red veil tail betta in a backyard pond. It lived off of mosquito larve and other little bugs it found; I don’t think I have ever seen a deeper shade of red since. 

[banasophia]

3 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

I know nothing about beta fish but it looks and acts healthy to me. 

 

3 hours ago, growsomething said:

I've kept bettas in tanks with small fish with no problems.  They were so much slower due to their fins they didn't even try to bother tetras.  They were interested in fish similar in size and/or plumage, but were still too slow.  They will find lower flow areas to hang out in, and your dither fish will take the other areas I think.

 

2 hours ago, Lebowski_ said:

Variegated petite white Anubis’s are so beautiful. It will take a long time to grow but it will be an eye catching plant. 
 

This tank is exciting.

 

Edit: Berta looks healthy to me. No clamped fins, no redness around gills, no cloudy eye. They are glass surfers until they settle into a healthy well planted tank. The key is the find extension looks great.

 

edit 2: Betta not Berta lol

 

2 hours ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said:

Harlequin Rasboras are from the same habitats as wild bettas and make good tank mates, but most kinds tetras will be okay too. 
 

Looks like a solid betta to me! White dumbo types are one of my favorites. High quality foods really go a long way to help keep them healthy. I had a red veil tail betta in a backyard pond. It lived off of mosquito larve and other little bugs it found; I don’t think I have ever seen a deeper shade of red since. 

Thanks so much, guys! Can’t say much at the moment as I have a big meeting to get ready for, but I really appreciate your replies!!

[banasophia]

Check out my new 'betta' - isn't he stunning? 😍😁 Actually, he's an anniversary gift from the hubby. He knows how much I love my tanks, and seems pretty interested in this build, which great since it’s right by his home office. Can't wait to get some real fish in here soon! 🐠💕
 

[debbeach13]

Happy Anniversary.

[Lebowski_]

Wow, nice one hubby. Slam dunk!

 

 

edit - as for adding the Betta first, I agree with the advice given that it’s not ideal. I’ve found if I change the decor all around before adding the new fish, then adding the betta back to the new design tank with the new fish already there, you usually can reset the aggression. Bettas aren’t super dexterous so if you have a lot of plant cover, I think you will be alright. Good luck! You won’t know for sure until you get the betta and learn it’s personality. I’ve had some that were worse than Niger triggers and I’ve had some that were peaceful as a coral goby.

 

I wouldn’t worry about the rock catching the Betta personally. I guess it depends on risk tolerance…I think he will be okay.

[banasophia]

3 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Happy Anniversary.

Thank you! The fact that it’s on 4/20 makes it easy to remember haha.

 

53 minutes ago, Lebowski_ said:

Wow, nice one hubby. Slam dunk!

 

 

edit - as for adding the Betts first, I agree with the advice given that it’s not ideal, but I’ve found if I change the decor all around before adding the new fish, the. Adding the betta back to the new design tank with the new fish already there, you usually can reset the aggression. Bettas aren’t super dexterous so if you have a lot of plant cover, I think you will be alright. Good luck! You won’t know for sure until you get the betta and learn it’s personality. I’ve had some that were worse than Niger triggers and I’ve had some that were peaceful as a coral goby.

Thanks! 

 

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to try as far as adding the fish. In the video I posted above, the woman takes her betta out of the tank for a while while she adds the other new fish, then puts the betta back in. 

[banasophia]

The bigger piece of ghostwood is finally starting to sink. 😅