Proper Aquarium Size for a Betta

Often I find people wanting to put a betta fish in any type of tiny vase looking object around, and while you may be able to keep a betta fish alive in something like that, it may not be the healthiest of habitats for your betta. Now read closely as I am about to divulge to you my discovery on what size tank you should actually have for a betta fish. The minimum size tank you should have for a single betta fish is... 10 gallons! If you're thinking this is too big for a betta fish than hear me out.

If you have ever put a betta fish in a 20-gallon breeder tank (or perhaps larger) than monitor the betta's swim pattern by measuring its distance swam before it pauses. I found that a betta fish will swim close to half the length of a 20-gal breeder tank before it pauses briefly and continues swimming again at about this same distance every time. Which makes a 10-gal aquarium the ideal size in length for a betta fish. Now, this probably seems like it's a very roomy tank for a betta, but you can try adding a few smaller fish into this setup as well because let's not forget that a 10-gal tank also has width and height to it. While my betta was also in this bigger 20-gallon tank for over a month I also discovered its fins began to grow out more, which was not something I had ever seen happen before with a betta fish kept in these 3-gallon (or smaller) environments, and to myself that's even further reasoning as to why a betta shouldn't be kept in a tiny environment (a bigger environment will generally have more stable conditions as well).

Betta's I would say are close to 2-inches in length at adult size, which means you may be able to get away with adding several neon tetra's which are about 1-inch in length (be sure to do research on tank mates for your betta because they don't get along well with numerous types of other fish such as other betta fish, guppies, goldfish, etc.). There may be some exceptions to this rule of tank mates, but I prefer not to risk it as it can cause fish injury, death, or having to return tank mates. An aquarium should be fairly stress-free for all its inhabitants.

You should be able to find a 10-gallon aquarium for a mere $10 in-store at Petco (they have a $1 per gallon sale about twice a year and I found select Petco's may always carry the 10-gal's for $10), and it's money well spent for a healthy betta fish habitat. You can also find inexpensive secondhand aquariums from Craigslist, LetGo, local antique shops, and sometimes even yard sales. In terms of cost for aquariums, I generally stick with the $1 per gallon rule, and no more than $4 per gallon for larger used aquariums (if the aquarium has a lid, etc. than obviously, the cost will be a bit more).

Meet Momo

I was not really planning on getting another betta after Neptune passed away, but while I was in PETCO browsing the leftover stock from all the holiday shoppers this little male koi betta fish just spoke to me, and I absolutely adore him. This tri-colored betta fish has quickly become my favorite of all with his vibrant red color, white underside, and black markings. To me he combines all the fish I have kept for the past several years now as he has the markings of a koi (relation to a goldfish), the personality of a guppy (with his fin movements), and he's a betta... so to me he's like 3 awesome fish in 1.

Momo the male koi betta

I decided to name my new betta Momo to not only mimic a past favorite betta of mine Mr. Moto, but also because he has spots like that of a cow (moo moo). Momo is pretty relaxed for a betta but definitely seems to get quick bursts of energy. He is also a huge pig as he just loves to eat, and thus far he seems to interact well with people around his tank. There's just something about Momo that really just makes me happy and puts a smile on my face... I already love him so much.

ECR Contest and Review

My betta Neptune in my Halloween ECR contest tank.

I recently participated in the EastCoastRanchu Halloween Giveaway on Instagram where I was one of several runners-up which meant that I won a pet shop grade ranchu however, it was not stated that we would be having to pay shipping costs for a ranchu which according to ECR's owner Cynthia was going to be $41+. Below you'll see the ECR contest rules.

Click Image to Enlarge ECR's Contest Rules

Unfortunately, I didn't agree with that because for one thing I'm not spending that kind of money on a fish I'm not picking out, and secondly I have spent around $50 total (if I remember correctly) on 1 fish I picked out. The other issue now is I can get a pet shop grade ranchu for $8-20 at an LPS less than an hour from me (the same place I got my previous 3 ranchu from). While I was super excited to have won a ranchu from ECR I am now left feeling disappointed. If I totaled up the full value of my entire betta setup (as seen above), it is very easily more money than that of the ranchu's shipping cost. On just the new decorations I spent to decorate this tank for the contest was at least $30.

Furthermore, I had other people on IG reach out to me about the shipping issue (since Cynthia made an issue about my ordeal with her shipping "mechanics" over social media which went as far as to say that we should have read her shipping mechanics on Facebook, and never once were we directed on IG to do as such for the competition). This person also sent me screenshots of their e-mail conversation and apparently if you didn't win a ranchu and you won a Python vacuum than you did not have to pay anything for shipping. Last I checked a gravel vacuum does not fit into an envelope which means it costs something to ship and therefore it seems to people in this contest that it was a better deal to not be a winner or runner-up. So this now becomes a bit confusing because on one hand we were to assume that a fish meant you paid for shipping while a non-fish prize meant you paid for nothing.

On top of everything I get a really rude e-mail response from East Coast Ranchu's owner Cynthia, and now I will no longer be doing or recommending future business there (you can read our email exchange below as to why). I really can't even believe that someone running a business would say that "my name is worth more than your $42" and suggesting that I am "poor" when I have purchased fish through her before. Nor was I ever "ungrateful", I was excited to win (you can tell from my email) just as much as when I was excited and appreciative in my unboxing ranchu video I did about 2 years back. She made a lot of weird rude assumptions about everything that I said, I really just don't even understand this aggressive type of behavior. I could easily say a lot of things right now about this but I'm going to let you decide for yourself what to make of it. All she ever had to say to my response about not wanting the fish was that she respects my decision and leave it at that, or she could have offered me the completely free gravel vacuum instead and offer my fish to someone else. If this was some great pet shop grade fish than why not just sell it like she does normally, or tell me that if I'm willing to spend an extra $8 or so more that she'll let me pick out whatever fish I want (this is a business after all, right?). I don't see how I am really inconveniencing her here (it's one less fish she has to send out after all), and she made this ordeal feel like a scam. This whole situation turned into a nightmare experience (fitting for Halloween).

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There are other fish places online that offer $29.99-$35 for 1 to 2 day shipping of fish, or even free shipping when you spend $175. There are also plenty of other people selling quality fish online (cost is not an issue for me. I work on this blog in my free time between working a full time job and going to college). For me I am currently in fish keeping for the enjoyment of the fish not their show or breeding qualities. I have bred fish before and I know all the work that goes into caring/raising any type of fish, which is basically why I created this blog to begin with. I am here to try and better the fish community, and not to act as if I am above everyone else that is into this hobby as well.

New Betta

Originally I was uncertain I would get another betta, but as I tend to follow a lot of betta forums and such.. I couldn't resist the urge to get another.

Hi, I'm Neptune!

Meet Neptune, a seemingly young male rose petal (AKA rose tail) betta. I got Neptune a few weeks ago from Petco and have put him through a mild quarantine, since he has surpassed that I decided it's now time to share my new fishy friend on here. Neptune doesn't seem to have a huge appetite (nor is an aggressive eater) thus far although a heater may change that, and what he currently lacks in body size (which may change overtime) he makes up for with his huge fin spread. Neptune flairs with a black background and has a big curiosity of the bubbles coming from the sponge filter in his tank. As far as betta personality's go he is just a curious mellow fellow.

So Long Meko

Back in 2013 I got my 3rd betta fish Meko, whom was a great fishy friend and was most like my beloved Mr. Moto. Sadly this week he caught 'dropsy' and didn't make it through the week during treatment. It has become apparent to myself that most adult sized betta fish from pet stores tend to live about 2 years (give or take). Several months back I had cured Meko from another illness and now in this case I do feel that his age had been catching up to him. I'm not sure if I will be getting another betta as I had been thinking of doing something else with his 2.5gal tank, but only time will tell. Much love Meko and hope you enjoy the big fish bowl in the sky.

Ranchu Mishap

For those that follow me on Twitter here you probably read that my two adorable ranchu (Bumblez and Oakki) have since passed away, which is partially why I have had a bit of a hiatus on here lately. There are a few possibilities which I feel may have contributed to the death of my ranchu which I am going to share with you now...

#1 The first issue being that the hardwood floors got refinished downstairs (which is why I have some unknowns as to what happened in my ranchu aquarium while I wasn't home), and although my bedroom upstairs where my fish reside were left with a closed bedroom door the dust from the downstairs floor still managed to seep into my room... hence wood dust getting into the aquarium. Not to mention the fumes throughout the house from the staining process and such may have also been a contributing factor.

#2 The power had apparently gone out at some point during this process... for how long exactly I am uncertain but I believe this may have contributed to problem #3.

#3 Filter failure which may have happened due to the power going out and it's honestly the first time this unit has failed in my tank. For goldfish, having water movement and constant filtration is basically a total must have since goldfish create a lot of waste, but wait... I have an air filter as well, which brings me to issue #4.

#4 Some where along the lines of doing regular tank maintenance (honestly this next part is a total mystery) but some how my air check valve was going in the wrong direction and hence no oxygen was actually going into the tank from the air pump (which explains the lack of bubbles being produced after I cleaned the decor).

#5 It could also be that once all the filtration had failed it caused the water parameters to drastically change, which in itself could have eliminated the ranchu. However I did perform a 50% water change before I left the fish to fend for themselves for 2 days (they did have an auto-feeder so food was not an issue, and there was uneaten food in this gravel-less setup when I did return), but it's a little hard to believe that even with the filter failure the fish didn't survive those short few days (I mean they did survive being shipped to my house in breathable bags for a few days).

So while my ranchu have passed on to the big fish bowl in the sky... my albino bristlenose pleco 'Eval' that also lived in the aquarium with them... had survived. I already knew why it survived and that's because pleco's have an additional set of lungs allowing them to breathe differently than say... ranchu. My betta whom is kept in a smaller tank in my room had also survived but betta's also breathe differently than say... ranchu, as betta's are labyrinth breathers which allows them to breathe out of water for a period of time.

Meet Meko

Sadly while I had taken an unexpected week long trip my fish sitter had informed me that Ebo was not looking so good, a few days later he passed on to the big fish bowl in the sky. However, I now have a very awesome new veil-tail betta I got from PetSmart this past weekend and his name is Meko. I picked that name because my betta's seem to follow a pattern of their names ending in 'o', the 'k' is his own unique letter, the 'e' is to carry on Ebo's memory, and the 'm' is to carry on the beloved Mr. Moto's memory. While Ebo was a green-blue color, and Moto was a blue-black color, Meko is a blue-red color... I wish I could have found a betta that wasn't so blue but ultimately I picked him over the rest regardless. Meko does seem to have one flaw currently... his right fin-side gill seems to always be flared out slightly so I am currently trying to treat him to see if it changes.

Meko

Unlike my past betta's Meko seems to be a picky eater as he does not care for the usual Aqueon floating pellets. I had yet to find a betta that didn't like bloodworms, that did seem to catch his interest and get him eating. BTW I don't recommend the Aqueon Betta Treat Bloodworms, they're a bit too big for betta's in comparison to the Hikari brand which has smaller and redder colored bloodworms (I do recommend those ones as they seem better quality in my opinion). I even tried to pass the Aqueon pellets onto my hungry mollies but they too didn't care for them.

It was by chance that I tried out some new goldfish pellets which I just bought for my expecting ranchu, the New Life Spectrum 1mm goldfish pellets. Not only were the NLS pellets about half the size (probably a bit more than that even) of Aqueons but they were actually a better size for the small mouth of my betta. Shockingly, Meko LOVES them (his gills even flare open at times and he quickly gobbles them up, two at a time if he can)... although he refuses to eat the ones that sink to the bottom, fair enough. He even prefers the NLS pellets over the Aqueon bloodworms, he just goes crazy for the NLS pellets, it's awesome to see (I kind of feel bad for my past betta's seeing how happy Meko is with this new food). I had never seen a betta fish eat so much, so now I'm buying Meko the NLS for betta's (the cheapest I found for this food was on eBay for $8.99), and while this may be a bit pricey for betta food it will last a very long time as betta fish do not eat that much (eh, normally).

I also did some research on NLS for betta's online and was surprised to find that so many people and betta breeders were highly recommending it. I also found it interesting that people were mentioning that it may not have the highest amount of protein compared to other betta foods, but they were saying that it's actually a higher quality of protein and food that the betta is getting that matters more, which ultimately seems to make this NLS great for betta's.

*I will try to update this post later down the road when my NLS betta food arrives and let you know what Meko thinks of that. In the mean time here's a good video I found on the NLS food.

R.I.P. Ebo

Fish Photo Post

I mentioned in my last post that I'd get up some new pictures of my fish that you've probably read so much about on this blog. I'm still trying to get the hang of my new camera so hopefully my photos start getting better overtime but, I can definitely say these pics are a major improvement over older ones you may have seen on here prior to this post. Let me know what you think or anything else you'd like to see a photo of in the future.

Male tuxedo guppy "Peppermint" and some of his fry

Closeup of Peppermint

Female tuxedo guppies: Freckles and Rudder

Male Betta: Ebo

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Caring for Betta's

Today I'll be sharing what I have learned about betta fish over the years so, if you have any questions or comments feel free to drop me a message in the comment section below.

Do I need live plants for my betta?
No, you don't need to add live aquarium plants for a betta fish. Although I do recommend getting atleast a fake aquarium plant that is a bit bushy (probably a non-snagging variety because most betta's have long fins that could tear/rip) and reaches the top of the aquariums waterline because betta's do seem to like resting on top plant leaves (they may even sleep partially out of the water at times and are capable of doing so unlike most fish since betta are 'labyrinth breathers'). Without this type of plant, your betta will probably spend a good amount of time resting at the bottom of the tank. The best fake plant I have found for a betta is the Exo Terra Jungle Plant Amapallo which you can latch onto the top of your aquarium.

Do I need aquarium ornaments or filtration for my betta?
Some betta seem to like aquarium decor that has some type of cave/opening, but it's important a betta can get in and out of it easily or it may get stuck.

I suggest using a slow flowing filter system for betta fish (betta don't do well in turbulent water conditions), I recommend the Marina S10 Power Filter for small betta setups or a sponge filter for bigger setups (as these can take up a lot of room in smaller tanks). These fish tend to be more active when there is a little water movement at the surface, especially during feeding time as I have found these fish to be very visual and prefer food when it's moving at the surface. A filter also helps provide some surface agitation which I find is needed as betta can excrete a mucus-like film on top the waters surface, which can affect the water's oxygen level.

How often should I do water changes for my betta?
Water changes depend on how often you want to clean your tank (I recommend testing your aquarium water to help you better determine that). Betta's are generally not messy fish, but if you have a slow cycling filter (as you don't want a powerful turbulent filter for a betta) then once or twice a month is probably suffice. Keep in mind that betta's are sensitive to rapid temperature changes and it could cause them to get things like 'ich', so be sure the new water you put in the tank is within 4F or less of its current temperature.

How much light does my betta need?
Aquarium lighting is optional, although in a room with natural window lighting coming in it's probably suffice enough (just don't keep the tank directly in front of a window or under air ducts). Some people suggest that lighting can help a betta's coloring, but I don't really notice changes in the ones I've kept personally. If your betta is in a live planted tank then you may need enough lighting to sustain the plant rather than the fish.

How much do I feed my betta, and what do I feed it?
As for betta food I recommend small floating betta pellets (flakes often come out their gills when fed it, and betta aren't typically substrate foragers so sinking pellets aren't a good option for them). I highly recommend using New Life Spectrum's Betta Formula (feed betta's as much as they can consume in about 3 minutes time, or when they begin spitting out and/or avoiding food), this is great for betta's that are picky eaters. As an occasional treat, you can feed your betta a tiny bit of bloodworms, I like Hikari FD Blood Worms (I have not had much success with other freeze-dried varieties) or frozen bloodworms which are probably the best option. Betta's do seem to have a diet that requires a high amount of protein (which may be why they're a bit on the aggressive side).

Are there any water additives my betta habitat requires?
If your tap water contains chlorine than you'll need to add a water de-chlorinator into the water before adding your betta into the tank or new tap water. I don't recommend using aquarium salt just because there is a lot of online talk stating that it's not good for labyrinth breathers like betta's, and it may cause them to leave more of a mucus-like film at the water's surface. I personally like NutraFin Betta Plus Water Conditioner because it contains 'tropical almond leaf extract' and almond leaves are supposed to be beneficial to them. Betta in the wild tend to live in 'blackwater' conditions and thus almond leaves help to recreate that natural environment for them (you could also try using Tetra's Blackwater Extract). Male betta may even create 'bubble nests' under dried almond leaves (or at the waters surface). The NutraFin product does not help with ammonia so you may want to use something like Hikari Ultimate to help combat that (which is also water de-chlorinator). If your betta does get sick with 'ich' or a white fungus I do have another post on trying to remedy that.

Does my betta need an aquarium heater?
If your house is kept around 70°F indoors than your betta is probably fine without an aquarium heater. If your betta does get sick some people say having an aquarium heater may help, more so when trying to treat 'fin rot' (although I'm not making any guarantees on that). An aquarium thermometer is optional but may be a good idea if you're a beginner, or if you want to know the water temperature of your aquarium water at any given time. I do feel betta are a bit sensitive to dramatic temperature changes, and I actually prefer not using an aquarium heater for my betta since I like having my water at room temperature in a separate container/bucket for 24-48 hours. Just like with aquarium lighting people also say that a heater can help betta coloration (however, I have not really noticed any significant changes with one and some small betta heaters I've found can cause more harm to bettas than good).

Does my betta require a substrate?
In my opinion it's not totally necessary, but if you have a tank that gives off a lot of light reflection I would recommend it because reflective surfaces in a betta habitat can cause the betta to think his reflection is another betta fish and this causes male betta's to act a bit aggressive (you'll probably see his gills puff out and he'll possibly attack things if this is the case). I also wouldn't recommend marble/glass substrate either, just some basic solid colored gravel sand or pea gravel in the color of your choosing (I prefer the sand gravel). If you're thinking about using aquarium gems as your substrate than take caution using those as some betta like resting on the bottom of their habitat and it could injure them.

Can I have multiple betta fish living together?
Betta fish are also known as 'Siamese Fighting Fish' due to their aggressive nature with one another. Male fish should not be kept with other males as they can harm one another, resulting in death. I have read that male betta fish may be kept with at least two female fish, but I have not personally tried that out. I have also heard that betta fish that were bred and raised with other betta fish for most of their lives may be able to co-habitat together. You may be able to keep female betta fish together, but again I have not attempted that for myself. You can put a betta with some small non-aggressive varieties of tropical fish (I have been at a fish store when I overheard a lady mention her betta did not get along with her guppies), but you may want to avoid colorful fish varieties as well (in general do plenty of research before attempting to put a betta with other tank mates).

What size habitat does a betta fish require?
I find this is probably the most sensitive subject when it comes to keeping betta fish, especially when you see them being sold in tiny cups with very little water at pet stores. Those tiny cups are definitely not ideal for a betta to live out the remainder of its life, it is a very sad situation and a lot of betta fish will come with some amount of health problems (fin rot is probably the most common problem). Honestly, I have found that an adult betta could probably get away with living in something smaller than a gallon of water. Betta aren't overly active compared to a lot of other fish so a lot of water really doesn't seem to be required for their survival, but this does not necessarily mean that it is great for their overall health. I would probably just suggest that for every 1-inch length of a betta, they should have 1 to 2 gallons of water. The betta I have are generally kept in a 2.5 gallon and overall the single betta's I've kept in it seem happy and active. If you plan to try and breed a pair of betta fish then you will probably want 5-20 gallons to use just for breeding purposes. A lot of people seem to suggest the minimum tank size for one betta is 5-10 gallons but the more water you can provide any fish is obviously going to be more beneficial. From my experience most adult sized betta generally live around 2 years (although there are apparent records showing betta have lived 9-10 years, and the highest age I've seen mentioned is 15 years).

Personally, I feel a 10-gallon tank is an optimal size for a single betta fish and this is simply based on viewing the fishes overall swim pattern in a larger tank. I do feel you could probably add in a 2nd betta to this 10-gallon tank if they are compatible and you don't have to add in a divider because adding a divider really defeats the point of the fish having the adequate space to move freely in that a 10-gallon non-divided tank can provide for it.

Aside from aggression do betta fish have other personality characteristics?
Betta can have their own unique personalities in general, some of which can be more aggressive, playful, lazy, shy, active, etc... and some may be all of the above at times. I also feel like they're a fish that can also get depressed, which I feel is generally due to their habitat. If you take a betta from a larger tank and move it to a smaller tank, the fish can suddenly become less active. Even if you change a betta's decor I feel it can affect their mood and activity level as well.

So long Mr. Moto

Mr. Moto and I have had lots of memories and learning experiences together as he taught me so much about betta fish for close to 2 years. Mr. Moto was practically an adult when I brought him home from the pet-store and I feel blessed to have had him for as long as I did but, I could tell as time passed he was growing older and his time was drawing to an end. Thank you Moto for helping to teach myself and others more about betta's and how you somehow managed to become known to so many people through the web and in my life. R.I.P. we will all miss you.

Aqueon Mini 10W Heater - Review

I have owned the Aqueon Mini Heater for awhile now so, I decided being winter months now that it was a good time to give a 'mini' review on it.

Just to answer a few quick questions you may have...

Does it work? Yes.
Does it use suction cup/s? Yes.
Wireless? No.
Indicator Light? No.
Adjustable temperature? No.
Fully Submersible? Yes.
Size and Color: I'd say it's around 4in x 1in with a 1/2in depth, color is black.

I have been using the Aqueon mini heater for Mr. Moto (my betta fish) in his 2.5 gallon mini bow aquarium (acrylic aquarium). Since Ebo (my newest betta) doesn't have a heater in his habitat it was reading at 70.2F, while Mr. Moto's aquarium with the mini heater was at 76.8F. That being said Aqueon's Mini Heater raised the temperature 6.6F, which seems to be a nice temperature for a small betta tank like Mr.Moto's. Keep in mind that if your tank water is colder/warmer (depending on the outside temp) or your aquarium size is bigger/smaller than the heater may not give the same readings as mine as their are many different variables to consider when using practically any aquarium heater. Their is also no adjustable dial on this device to lower or increase the heat so while it may work for some it may not work for others, but I find it's perfect for my 2.5 mini bow aquarium setup I have. I definitely recommend trying it if you do have a small aquarium setup such as 5 gallons or less.

As a side note this product claims that if you leave it outside of water and plugged in that it has a 'thermal safety shut-off' that will initiate, and the unit will then be rendered unusable after that. As always with aquarium heaters, give the device several days to work in your aquarium setup before judging its performance as heaters can take up to 48hrs to gradually heat the aquarium, this is done purposely as to not shock your fish and cause them to get ill.

Aquarium Updates

Lately I find myself being more focused on the outer setup of my aquarium... wanting to change up some of my wiring setup and so forth. I've been debating 'timers' and I think I will actually do a quick post on them to help anyone else looking to use timers for their aquarium setup. I'm still wanting to purchase a canister filter at some point and I'm also looking for another light fixture. I'm also becoming disappointed with one of my Zilla Digital Thermometers so I'll either exchange it or perhaps find something better (any suggestions?). I'm also working on creating my own DIY aquarium lid (if I can figure out what parts I'm in need of) which I think will be very cool so, for those of you out their that may not be fans of bulky aquarium hoods that want something a bit more invisible then you may also be interested in that as well.

As for new things I recently purchased one of Petco's "zebra stones" which I believe is just a chunk of granite, and I'm hoping to find some additional pieces of the stone in the future but each piece is different so it's only a matter of finding ones that appeal to my wants. Also big news, I finally caved and bought another Betta fish yesterday and he's a halfmoon double tail whom I have named Ebo. So, if you want to see pics of Ebo and know more about him then you'll have to come check him out in future posts to come as well... although I may actually be returning him because I noticed he has fin rot and I haven't yet found a decent fin rot remedy thus far.

I've also recently donated an old 10gal aquarium and Top Fin heater to a co-worker of mine who has got on the 'fish boat' with me, YEAH! haha. So now I have my new Aqueon heater in my female guppy tank and they are super happy with that, I even added an undergravel bubbler from Walmart to their tank. Also I think I may have posted before about my homes water system being changed out and my water went from 'Very Hard' to 'Soft', and has now turned 'Very Soft"... I'm not sure how this will affect my fish but I really wish the pH would go down on our tap water, eep. For now I believe that's it for my recent aquarium updates and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask :)

Betta Aquarium Makeover

I had been wanting to do a desert themed aquarium for some time now but I could never find anything at my local pet-stores of any true interest... until this past weekend at Petco. So, I decided to give Mr. Moto (my blue veil-tail betta) a Cubus aquarium makeover.

Petco now has some gravel-sand type substrate sold in-store (not just online) and it comes in really nice colors like the sienna shade that I bought. I also LOVE succulent plants so I just had to get Petco's light green desert bush, the product says it's not made for water use but... I never listen do I, hahah. For the background I cut out some skyblue colored foamboard which I already had on hand, I believe I got it from Michael's craft store. I think I might add some 1-2cm sized light colored pebbles around the base of the plant later-on, just to add a bit more interest to my design here.

If you've noticed how sparkling clean my Cubus aquarium is looking again I will also be doing another post soon which will be based on... how to remove calcium buildup.

Fish Updates

Here is a photo of one of the first batch of fry that my original female guppy (who recently passed away) and one of her sons reproduced, these fry are now 6 weeks old this week and in my opinion have been growing rapidly (they all basically look like this thus far) as they are about an inch in length now.

Here are the original female guppy's first offspring (to which the father is unknown and the mother is now deceased as mentioned before). These two males were the ones that reproduced this current batch of 6 week old fry and are the only 2 fully matured males I currently have. I don't plan on breeding these two again until the 6 week old female fry are mature. These two have also reproduced with there sisters in my other tank and those fry are around 3-4 weeks old now and seem a bit slow growing.

Male guppies at 7.5 months old

Some people have asked me how Mr.Moto my blue veil-tail betta is doing and he's doing just fine although I think he has been wanting to breed for some time now, but I do not plan to breed betta's due to there general temperment and the amount of space it will ultimately consume for me. Today I placed him back into his smaller Cubus tank while I clean out his Mini-Bow. As you can see his coloring has changed yet again. Mr. Moto's head area has turned mostly black in color and he has odd white lines that run vertically between the mouth to gill area, which I think may be a breeding identifer as well as the white area running under his belly. The horizontal stripes along his sides though are what I call his "stress stripes" which didn't start to appear until I moved him back into his Cubus (the tank change and move can cause that to happen obviously but they will go away when he feels more at ease). I also have never noticed the tiny black line of dots on his lower under-belly fin, perhaps that's also a breeding sign.

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Betta Eating Behavior

Recently I've noticed that Mr. Moto (my blue veil-tail Betta) hasn't been eating the way he use to. His Cubus tank is also getting dirtier than normal lately as the flake food is gradually building along the gravel. So, I moved Mr. Moto into a clean MiniBow 2.5gal tank to monitor the issue. I saw that he'll eat a flake and a few seconds later spit it out. Some of the food is apparently breaking down in his mouth and going out through his gills, thus causing a cloud of flake food particles to come out.

I did some research where a few others stated having the same issue and I'm not convinced that this is normal behavior. Mr. Moto also seems to rest more on the bottom of the tank which also isn't like him as he usually rests on top of his plants. He is still occasionally active throughout the day, no signs of illness or fungus and he still attempts to eat.

So here's what I did which seems to have stopped the issue...

Step 1: Do a complete tank cleaning.
Step 2: Do not feed the fish for an entire day (24hrs).
Step 3: The next day only feed the Betta 4 big flakes (about 1 cm diameter) throughout the entire day. You should not see any food coming out through his gills.
Step 4: Only feed the Betta once a day (try to do this the same time every day), a very small pinch of food from here on out.

Keep in mind that Betta's love to eat, but you should never overfeed it. Although your Betta may look hungry and keep eating, I wouldn't feed it more than this. Your Betta more than likely will not starve either. Also, I still have not figured out why Mr. Moto keeps resting on the bottom of the tank but I will continue to closely monitor him.

Cat Cubus

Sometimes you can find inspiration in the oddest of items and today I found myself feeling inspired by a Japanese soap pump. I thought "how cute if this was a fish tank" (as it's really hard to find a kawaii looking aquarium on the net). So, I decided to re-create Mr. Moto's Marina Cubus into something kawaii/cute.

kawaii soap pump

What you'll need to achieve my design below is ...

Mr. Moto and Marimo

Paper (I printed out the online image I used)
Scissors
Clear Tape
Glue
Fun-Foam Board (I used white and pink)
Double-Sided Velcro Tape
Marina Cubus tank or similar (if you don't already have one)

The Background
I found the face image online and edited it to fit my aquarium however, you could always design your own or take a sheet of paper and draw your own by hand. Cut out the image to fit the backside of your aquarium, place it on the outside of the tank and adhere it with some clear tape. If you can't laminate your paper background then be careful not to get it wet.

The Foreground
I thought it'd be cute to create and cut out animal ears with some white fun-foam board that matched my background. I then cut out two pink triangles and glued them inside the ear cutout. I then adhered the ears to the tank using some double-sided velcro tape at the top of the tank and the bottom backside of my ear cutouts.

I love how the Cubus light looks like it's the cats tail. I think this came out looking really cute and I hope you enjoy it to! BTW, aquarium filter and gravel is optional but I personally prefer it.

Betta Fungus

I was recently out of town, only to come back home to my sick Betta Moto who had some type of patchy almost white fungus growing above his head (perhaps it's columnaris?). I decided to treat him with some Maracyn Two, it seemed to clear up almost immediately by the next day (I am very surprised this stuff actually worked!). I also cleaned out his Cubus tank and finished his Maracyn Two treatment per box instructions in a separate container. He is currently back in his clean tank after three days, a bit stressed (still eating though!) but I think he will be back to his normal happy-self in no time. I also decided to add a little PIMAFIX into his clean tank as well just to help aid his fungal issue a little bit more.

Moto's Fungal Patches

I also decided to add a small satchel of carbon to his filtration system to insure he is getting pristine water in his tank while he is still a bit "under the weather". I am also interested to see if the carbon is capable of removing the slimy topcoat that the Betta seems to leave along the top of its tank water, as I am still not sure why this seems to happen or be a common issue with Betta's.

Betta Color Change

Today I noticed that Mr. Moto (my blue veil-tail Betta) seems to change body color/pattern almost instantaneously and I began to wonder why this was happening.

Mr. Moto's bright coloring (left) & stripes and dull coloring (right)

The Analysis

I am pretty certain this change is not due to any drastic water changes since that has not really changed at all and his coloring changes so rapidly depending on him it seems. Sure a Betta or any fish for that matter could change colors due to poor water conditions and such but this does not seem to be Mr. Moto's case.

I also have not changed his diet, he loves to eat the Aqueon Color Enhancing Tropical Flakes and he will really make a pig of himself. He also prefers to eat flakes while they are still floating on top the water, which makes me wonder why Betta pellets are generally what is given to them via pet-store Betta food since they tend to sink to the bottom quickly.

Other people have suggested that these horizontal stripes are "stress stripes" but I really don't see that being the case because he'll change back and forth randomly which seems more mood based than anything. To me signals of fish stress would be...gasping for air, clamped or rapid movement of fins, irregular swim pattern, loss of appetite, pale coloring, etc.

I do wonder if it is either a mating or defense mechanism of camouflage that spikes these color changes. Or perhaps it is just a characteristic only shown in some Betta's as I have read that this is more likely to happen in iridescent colored Betta's. However, I'm not sure Mr. Moto is considered "iridescent". I am not sure why this would be mating related in his case as there are no other Betta's around for him to compete with or for.

The Answer
This color change seems to happen from when he gets excited to when he is in a sleeping stage. He turns a vibrant blue shade when he knows I am paying him attention and he may be getting food (his excited stage). However, when he is in a deep sleep his colors tone down and he develops a dull body color with dark stripes. He also has an in-between color variation of both during these mood changes where the top half of his body will be blue but there will be some dark striping coming through the middle lower half of his body. This would more than likely come in handy during mating courtship where the colors would be bright and vibrant (excitement stage again), and as a defense mechanism to camflouge when he is at a more vulnerable stage (ie. sleeping) and the colors would dull into his stripe stage.

My Marina Cubus Setup

It's not often that I share an entire tank setup however, I had so much fun putting this adorable tiny tank together that I wanted to share it and also share my new pet Betta that I have named Moto!

What I used...
Marina Cubus Glass Betta Kit (0.9L)
White Aquarium Gravel (5LB Bag, used about a cup of gravel)
Blue Male Veiltail Betta
Red Sea Deco Art Nano Filter
RockGarden Tufa Rock Aquarium Plant (Small, I believe all these look different)
Reversible Aquarium Background in Blue/Amazon Waters (Used the blue side and cut it to fit)
Marimo Ball

My Tap Water Additives...
Kordon AmQuel Plus Ammonia Detoxifier
Kordon Fish Protector

P.S. Moto loves napping on the soft Marimo Ball, so cute!

More = Merrier

I found a recent news article which states that fish in groups of 10 or more are less stressed and happier than just a single lonely fish, a pair or even 5 kept together. Fish are more likely to demonstrate natural behaviors when kept in larger numbers.To answer this articles question "how many fish you should put in an aquarium to create the best environment for them" it's usually 1 inch length of a single fish is equal to 1 gallon of water. So if you have 2 fish in your tank that are each 2 inches in length, you'll need at least 4 gallons of water, perhaps more if the fish aren't full grown (my personal suggestion). So if both your 2 inch fish grow up to 5 inches each, you'll need at least 10 gallons of water in order to provide a healthier fish environment.

Now you ask "why are Betta's often sold in small amounts of water", I've yet to discover this answer fully but I do find it slightly inhumane myself. It's no wonder why Betta's AKA Japanese Fighting Fish are aggressive when together after reading the above article and why they seem so sad when living alone. The same question should be asked to pet stores that keep too many fish stocked in a single tank at one time. You could debate that pet stores do this because there selling rate and providing a big selection for buyers, or you could debate that the fish you're getting from these fish stores aren't as healthy as they may appear. I believe if you want healthier fish that are kept in these conditions then go to a store where people actually come and purchase the fish and if you see dead fish in the tank with them at the time of purchase, chances are they may not be THAT healthy.

On the other hand I somewhat feel schooling fish or more non-active fish will do okay in a tank that may perhaps be a tad too tiny for them. Just insure your fish have plenty of room to swim and they're not living fin to fin.

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