B || 21+ || they/them || Lover of all fish, but Betta will always have a special place in my heart. I'm kind of awkward but feel free to ramble in my ask box if you want to! I love to hear stories about fish! || Current Fish: Firecracker (08/14/24) || S.I.P: Scout (07-15-21 -- 02-05-22) I follow from @universe-in-my-soul.
I'm kinda proud that this setup turned out well! It's my first time doing a backwater tank š!
It's been around 3.5 months (cycle, seasoning, and monitoring after adding my juvenile betta in) and I think everything is going great so far!
I think he's maturing well too cos his adult pattern is appearing/darkening š
(*coughs* I had issues at first cos I used the filter cartridge from my other betta tank to get the cycle going... not realising that there's activated carbon in it š
I kept adding almond leaves and wondering where my tannins were dissappearing to until I cut the cartridge open and was like "ooh..")
^ he's always begging for food š
He's a Betta macrostoma, a wild betta fish native to the region I live in (He's not wild caught, his parents were bred in captivity)
a reservoir, tank, or container for storing or holding water or other liquid.
Latest aquascape is a 5.5 gallon that has been functioning as both a quarantine and holding tank for fish and plants. It's sat next to Trickle on my partner's bureau for a few years, but ease of cleaning has always won over aesthetics. Now that I've set up a more devoted quarantine container, I can finally build its own aquascape.
Since they're the same aquarium make and model, Cistern's scape is to both complement and contrast its sister tank. Instead of black aquasoil, white sand. A piece of moss-covered spiderwood dominates Trickle, so any wood or stones would be subtle and small. Strong vertical lines from stems plants are the main feature. Trickle is a Nature Aquarium meant to evoke a forest path, Cistern is meant to be reminiscent of an underground cave or aquifer. Except instead of a source of clean water, it's going to be a source of plants I can trim for future builds.
Before I started I did take this one photo of the tank's tab. I've kvetched a few times about enshittifcation in the aquarium hobby, and I don't expect any of the tanks I buy now to be anywhere near the same quality.
I bought this 5.5 gallon in 1996. I was fourteen. This tank started as one of my breeding tanks, decades ago. Still holds with no leaks. Perfecto was bought by Marineland at some point, so these are irreplaceable in more ways than one.
I added sifted topsoil to feed the plants, then capped it with my chosen sand, banking it toward the back to add depth for bigger stems like the Hygrophila.
After waffling on whether to add any hardscape for weeks, I decided to forego it entirely, instead just scatter a few handfuls of gravel for additional surface area.
Then I spent additional days waffling on my choice of gravel, only to realize after putting some in that it's going to be mostly hidden by the plants anyway.
Carefully filling before putting in the stems. I love sand as a substrate, even if it flees en masse from the slightest current.
Planting at the back and working my way forward, based on expected size and growth rate. I ordered a bulk assortment of stem plants that got me a ton of bunches dirt cheap, but since none of them were labeled, I had to play Guess the Plant if it wasn't obvious.
Stay where I put you, you dicks.
View from above, slowly getting there.
Everything planted, just going to top the water off and let it cycle for a week. I wanted to give it a bit of time for the microfauna to establish before a voracious plakat starts hunting them. I'm pretty sure Booberry's already eaten all the scuds he was able to find in the neighboring tank. The filter media is mature so he can go in whenever.
A few days later and everything's straightened out. I'll have to trim and replant the tops in order to replace the glass cover.
After the first major trimming and once any melting is resolved, I'm going to install ledges around the surface, both to give Booberry a mossy spot to sleep, and to increase the effect of viewing an underwater cave.
I got new risers for my tank lights and I love how much better the illumination is of Vox Jr even when he's demanding food at the very front of the tank!
