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Expecting a fish sibling for Jo and Sim!

alandsim

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I was given one of these tanks for my birthday: Water Garden 2.0 (by my parents who know me all too well!)

and I'm preparing to adopt a betta! It's a 3 gallon tank and it comes with a pump and this garden thing on the top is supposed to filter the water but I call BS and will probably be cleaning it! The kit comes with a dechlorinator, some gravel and fish food in addition to all the stuff for the planter.

I want to really trick out this aquarium and make it the best habitat possible. So far I think I'll be needing:
  • a heater,
  • a thermometer,

  • some kind of creature to help clean and live with my betta like a shrimp or plecko, -- recommendations? I think a marimo moss ball would be really nice and do you think I could also fit any type of catfish or shrimp? or is the tank too small at 3 gallons? Otherwise, maybe a snail?

  • and I would LIKE a little underwater plant too. -- recommendations? if I get a moss ball that may be enough plantish life for me. I don't want to crowd anybody.

Am I missing anything?

I was thinking introduce all of the above, let it marinate, and then go buy my betta. Good idea? @Sheldon13 looking at you! :p

I've had only a short amount of time to research but also... all I'm doing is researching so don't worry, I'm not in a hurry and I won't go out and get all these creatures until I know it's likely to work!
 

Yoda mom

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@alandsim ah! I had a feeling we woukd b seeing s fish post from you ! Yah!

I have two Betta set ups ..
one experiment - a two gallon thar came with pump , I don’t use .
I added decor , gravel and dechlorinated water with seachem Prime - I use 2 drops per gallon with a Walmart eye dropper ( I keep a 5 gallon dechlor, water on hand for weekly water changes . Put the Betta right in it ... he has been around now around forever :) with no pump and weekly water changes .

The other is a 6 gallon round tank . With pump , gravel decor cave , moss ball .
It was cycled , added panda Cory’s then my Betta .
They recommend Betta out in last .

*I do not recommend a pleco! Cute but get huge! Check out the fish stores and pics on Line.
Betta s will often eat their tank mates too.

I have always had no issies with a Betta amd Cory catfish . But the tank must be cycled before adding if it’s a tank that is not a Betta only tank .

(oh the moss ball , be sure to make sure it’s a real moss ball ,,, many fakes that are styrofoam filled sold as floaters on a fishing line )

@Sheldon13 has experience that will definitely help as well as live plant info.

How exciting ! Will be interesting to see what Sim thinks!
Mine sit on top of the larger tank and try to help during water changes !

I love seachem Prime .. you can add a few drops to the tank if you are tight for time amd need an extra day or two to get to the water change . Using it for years .

Can’t wait for your review of your tank! I know the one you have .. neat!

Keep us updated !
My Betta follows the cat’s tail amd acts like. Puppy dog begging for food !
They are much different and full of personality once you get them home out of that little cup!

I do keep the cup to put him in during water changes on the small tank I don’t use the filter with ( no power outlet here he is at )

I like the digital thermometer
But I found in Florida I didn’t need a heater even with AC on 75

The small flat Heater I bought for the tank size over heats the water ! So I took it out !
 

Sheldon13

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Yes be very careful what heater you get. My advice is to get one with an internal thermostat so it shuts off when it gets to a certain temperature.

On the plants, definitely get the moss ball. Most bettas love them. I would also recommend Java moss to carpet the floor if you like, and a slow growing plant like anubias to complement the tank.

For tank buddies my first recommendation would be a little tiger nerite snail. They stay small and will clean off any diatoms or algae that tries to make a home on the walls or other surfaces. You can certainly try shrimp, but I would start with ghost shrimp as they are cheap because he may eat them. After he proves this won’t be the case you can get 3-5 cherry shrimp in different colors and that would be a good add. aquaticarts.com has excellent selection for whatever color you want.


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alandsim

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Thank you! Yes, I am going to keep a close eye on my heater. The above one is supposed to work like you described so you can set the temperature and it turns itself off once it reaches that. It's tough to find an adjustable heater for such a small tank but that's one of the few out there! I live in MI, so once it turns cold I'm definitely going to need it!

And thank you @Sheldon13 for giving me the name of a good plant and snail! I wrote these down I'm going to check out my local pet store and see what they have in the way of tiger nerite snails and anubias plants!

I'm thinking my goal will be to just get one beta, moss ball(s) depending on how big the ones at the pet store are, one snail and a plant and they can have their own little ecosystem and it won't be too crowded.

For cycling, the kit just came with a dechlorinator and Zym Bac (which I thought was more for the plants but apparently it's one of those bacteria in a bottle things) "Zym Bac™ Nitrifying Bacteria consists of beneficial organisms that establish the biological filtration in your tank. They kickstart nutrient cycling and help correct for ammonia and nitrite levels that might otherwise be harmful to your fish. In fact, they convert those compounds into nitrates - the nutrients that your plants need to grow!" so I put some in as directed yesterday and I will add a plant and some more rocks and get a little aquarium test kit and a thermometer and that way I can make sure it's cycled before I go out and get my betta, moss and snail!
 
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Sheldon13

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Yes good to get a test kit. The nitrogen cycle takes a minimum of 3 weeks, even with added bacteria in a bottle. Make sure you feed the bacteria with a few drops of pure ammonia (you can find it at hardware stores) or you can put a little fish food in to decompose. Pure ammonia is the easiest way and you can control the level of ammonia. The goal is to put enough in to keep the ammonia at 2.0ppm (you’ll see on the test kit). Once the bacteria can clear the ammonia in 24 hrs, the nitrite eating bacteria will be on their way. Keep feeding with ammonia until you get 0 readings of both ammonia and nitrites in 24 hrs. Then you are good to add animals (after a 100% water change to dump the nitrates). Remember, the bacteria are going to live in your filter and the surfaces in your tank, not in the water. So it doesn’t hurt to change it as often as you like. Once the tank is established try to change the water often enough that the nitrates stay less than 40ppm. The lower the better, but you will always have a little bit and in small amounts it’s not harmful.


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Sheldon13

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Also I remembered that another nerite, the horned nerite, also stays small. So you have a couple options. Zebras get big, as do blacks so no go on those.


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alandsim

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Also I remembered that another nerite, the horned nerite, also stays small. So you have a couple options. Zebras get big, as do blacks so no go on those.


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You are the best! I actually just was looking at the snails this evening to see what kind they had and saw the striped horned nerite (if I remember correctly) but no tiger and I was like “have to look those up later!”

I got a little moss ball and plants, added a thermometer and am letting it run with the filter in it! I might have to try to take a plant or two out and throw it in a vase. Sim is already looking for trouble!
 

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Sheldon13

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These are pretty cool looking too. Never had one but the description says they stay small. This is on aquaticarts.com

00f56c2cfbdb6b96a3cd0219d3f30a61.jpg



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Sheldon13

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I’ve always wanted one of these. Just don’t have a tank for it right now. They stay less than 1 inch
d703f504cd15a1bb7f6b07f33ef5771f.jpg



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