6 gallon betta comm: rescaped

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
For someone who is quick to jump on peoples nuts about their stocking levels, you really should take a leaf out of your own book with regards to your tank! That loach should have at least 3-4 other loaches to school with, and a 4' long tank as they are active fish that need space to move. I believe the glass cars are also schooling, so two of them isn't really ideal either. And while small, the ancistrus will still be messy especially in a tank that isn't much bigger than a water-change bucket. You say you have more flow, yet I understand bettas prefer still water. I hope your filtration provides sufficient oxygen for your loach too. I'd also suggest adding a bit more cover for it, like a cave or two, even if it is just a piece of pvc pipe.

I hope you're going to sort this out before offering people with tanks nearly 100 times the volume of yours advice about how big their monster fish will get...


As for the gravel, the red stuff was hideous, and the white stuff isn't really much better as it is way too chunky for the size tank, IMO. Finer sand would be a much better, more natural looking option. And with small tanks (again IMO) big obvious bits of equipment like that thermometer really kill the look for me. If you can't hide it or replace it with a digital one with a little probe then it would be wise to take it out for the photos.

If you're still waiting on more plants and wood why post up pics of your "rescaped" tank when you haven't actually finished rescaping it?
 
David R said:
For someone who is quick to jump on peoples nuts about their stocking levels, you really should take a leaf out of your own book with regards to your tank! That loach should have at least 3-4 other loaches to school with, and a 4' long tank as they are active fish that need space to move. I believe the glass cars are also schooling, so two of them isn't really ideal either. And while small, the ancistrus will still be messy especially in a tank that isn't much bigger than a water-change bucket. You say you have more flow, yet I understand bettas prefer still water. I hope your filtration provides sufficient oxygen for your loach too. I'd also suggest adding a bit more cover for it, like a cave or two, even if it is just a piece of pvc pipe.

I hope you're going to sort this out before offering people with tanks nearly 100 times the volume of yours advice about how big their monster fish will get...


As for the gravel, the red stuff was hideous, and the white stuff isn't really much better as it is way too chunky for the size tank, IMO. Finer sand would be a much better, more natural looking option. And with small tanks (again IMO) big obvious bits of equipment like that thermometer really kill the look for me. If you can't hide it or replace it with a digital one with a little probe then it would be wise to take it out for the photos.

If you're still waiting on more plants and wood why post up pics of your "rescaped" tank when you haven't actually finished rescaping it?
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All of your points are very valid and I am doing something about it. The loach was added to help my major snail problem, I was being overrun with 50+ snails, they were producing so much waist there was a whole layer of gunk forming in there. The glass cats are in a pair as they were the only two left in stock. Like I said, I am fully aware of this problem and an upgrade is coming in the near future. I appreciate your concerns in regards to everything, and I appreciate you have taken the time to post on here. The ancirstus is of course messy, but I administer large water changes, plant the tank heavily, and I increase flow for increased filtration. Bettas can find still water in that floating plant clump, and I find they act much healthier.
 
Going back to my original suggestion, why don't you set up that 17 gal that you supposably have in your sig? It would give more room for your fish to swim in and would help make keeping the params. down.

Also adding more flow does little for filtering. It all comes down to what kind of media you have, if you are running purigen, carbon, chemi pure, whatever, and how often you clean your media. You are stressing out your male betta BY ADDING FLOW. Bettas are naturally found in rice paddies and slow moving streams, not in the colorado river. Either figure out a way to make a baffle for your filter or move your male into his own tank.
 
big54bob said:
Going back to my original suggestion, why don't you set up that 17 gal that you supposably have in your sig? It would give more room for your fish to swim in and would help make keeping the params. down.

Also adding more flow does little for filtering. It all comes down to what kind of media you have, if you are running purigen, carbon, chemi pure, whatever, and how often you clean your media. You are stressing out your male betta BY ADDING FLOW. Bettas are naturally found in rice paddies and slow moving streams, not in the colorado river. Either figure out a way to make a baffle for your filter or move your male into his own tank.
Click to expand...

the 17 gallon is stored back in Poland, and I use large clumps of plants for the bettas to swim in. The flow isn't TOO fast, only around 420L p/hour


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well it seems the females are losing stress stripes. the blue female seems to display them a couple of times, but rarely. the third female whose true colour i never saw displays a light lavender colour, however it still seems to display those stripes quite a lot, however it's displaying them less and less every time, so they are settling in well.


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At first I liked the red gravel but the mix is growing on me.

I see a few problems in your tank though. First of all size, for 4 bettas a 6 gallon is just fine but once you start adding more fish it can get crowded fast. If I where you, I'd put the loach, glass cats, and tetra in a seperate tank. In another thread I saw that you wanted to spawn your bettas, it would be easiest to spawn them without tankmates so having just the bettas (and maybe a dither fish) would be best. But, if your not having problems with amonia or nitrate I think the fish will continue to thrive.

The second is that your loach, glass cats, and tetra all should be kept in schools of at least 3, prefferabely 6. But as you probably know, 6 glass cats, 6 loaches, and 6 tetras would not do well in a 6 gallon for long. The loach also needs at least a 10 gallon tank. Loaches swim allot -as you've probably noticed- so they need lots of room. Especially when keeping multiple loaches wich you might end up needing to do.

I'm also 12 and I know how hard it can sometimes be to have people say bad things about your tank especially when you've put allot of work into it (wich I'm sure you have). But anyway, I love the tank, I love that you started out in the hobby at such a young age, and I wish you best of luck with your tank.
 
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