# My Bowl



## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

Hi everyone

Im a bit of a lurker here but finally mustered up the courage to throw out a post lol ( not many aussies on here,)

After seeing Jimbo205 s betta bowl (http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...no-2-gallon-betta-bowl-office.html#post207087)

i felt challenged to do my own.
My substrate is a little layer of laterite gathered locally,some well composted water lily compost topped with some boring brown gravel.
There is no filtration,just regular water changes.
Ok the pics.

















Hope that is all suitable for this forum

all the best
Graeme


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Wow !!! I love that !!!

The Bowl, the plants and the fish are all beautiful!

What are the names of the plants and the fish?


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## Chris S (Feb 27, 2006)

Awesome bowl. 
That 1st shot of it where it looks so full that it is about to overflow is a great effect!!


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## Tentacles (Jun 25, 2006)

I'm a bit worried about that, air-exchangewise, but it looks great.

Two bettas? How? Young siblings?


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Looks great. Keep us posted.


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

Thanks everyone for the very kind words, you made me blush..

Ok i better answer some questions.
The plants.

Hair grass
Glossostigma eli
Ludwigia arcuata
elintodies ( something or other a aussie native)
sagitaria ( broad leaf and thin leaf)
Java moss on the wood
a couple od crypts but they melted lol
I think thats it.

Lighting
the tank gets sunlight if the lady of the house opens the blinds.It also gets 35 watts of halogen once sun goes down( this also heats water)

The fish

I did have 3 imported guppies in there but killed them with a massive (mistake) dose of Excel.Now it is a lone Betta (called Brutus by my kids)
He eats like a pig, i thought bettas didnt eat much? he loves the live daphnia.
The daphnia were breeding in there but i think he is eating faster than they breed now...


As for gas exchange i dont know how the tank goes but the plants do pearl so water should have enough oxygen?

I will try and get a new picture up in the next day or so( showing Brutus lol)

Graeme


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## Inquisitive (Nov 7, 2003)

oooohhhhhhhhh...i want that in my house!!!

Kudos really, i think its perfect!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> I did have 3 imported guppies in there but killed them with a massive (mistake) dose of Excel.


Yeah, I did that recently too. Doesn't that suck!
There is actually too much of a good thing! I killed my son's Betta. Was depressed about that for a day or two. Luckily, when I came home from work late at night, both home tanks looked just beautiful with the moonlights, everything (plants, fish & snails) all looking healthy and happy and I found myself staring at the snails thinking how cool even they looked!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Graedog, 
if we use our Nanos to breed really cool plants 
with Seachem's Daily Dosage Schedule (or anything else that works);
how long do you think it would take to have enough plants to densely plant a bigger tank like Bert H. recommends in his sticky? 
(It is so good, I printed it out and stuck it in my book by Wolfgang.)


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*how long*

I dont know how long it would take to grow enough plants to fill a larger tank.

Im lucky the bowl is just a offshout for me.
have aq hightech tank and a few breeding style tanks about as well.Can always find some extra plants.

In saying that the glosso and hair grass have grown pretty quick.As did the Hygro .Basamica ( spelling?) faster than other tanks.

Graeme


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## czado (May 26, 2005)

Very attractive tank.


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## onemyndseye (May 12, 2006)

graedog -

Thats a great looking nano  Good Job! Those cypts will most probably come back - crypts tend to melt away when first planted or their conditions change... 

I have a 2.5 Gal nano that I use in a similar manner ... it has a 13Watt PC over it and some yeast driven CO2.. I use this tank to grow small cuttins that I get from other hobbyist 

Nice Job!
-Justin
One Mynds Eye


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Introducing Brutus*

I told you about Brutus the Betta so i thought i better show him to you.
I also turned the tank slightly to get a little different view.
Kids are now looking for a "wife" for him ( must be red as she will be called "Ruby"
















Hope you enjoy this as much as i do
Graeme


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## schaadrak (Aug 18, 2006)

Great looking bowl. Should turn into betta heaven once it fills in, too.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

What type of camera do you use to take such great photos?

I have a Kodak EasyShare C330 and I was motivated to go to the photo forum tonight. I find it vey hard with my camera to get the extremely close up, extremely tiny details shots. 

Great shot. Just saved it as my Wallpaper on my home computer. 
Really nice and very motivational. 

I should have taken photos of my new Betta Bowl when I first replaced it at the office. It was perfect the first 2 weeks. Now it is under reconstruction - again with Seachem Daily Dosage Schedule. 

Just fantastic! Keep it coming. I love it!


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*camera*

Hi again everyone

I got a lady friend for Brutus and yes she is called Ruby lol

I am using a early model Canon ixus Jimbo.
I am looking to update to a DSLR soon.
Aquascaping can be hard and i want to be able to pic up all the little extra points i can in some competitions.

Thanks again for all the kind words and i will try to get a new picture up soon.

Graeme


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Wow! That's a nice looking betta! I've been dying to get my hands on a pure red betta. Does he not have any blue at all?

Oh wait, this is a planted tank forum! Heheh, seriously, I love the bowl... best looking bowl I've ever seen.

-ricardo


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> I am using a early model Canon ixus Jimbo.
> I am looking to update to a DSLR soon.


 Why update? It looks like it is working great!

Did you do this naturally? 
How did you do it?


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Looks great!!! I'd love hear some details about how you did it too.


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*I cheated !!!*

I'm really sorry everyone.
I admit I do cheat a little....

I use Seachem excel ,flourish and flourish iron in the bowl.
Thats it.

Some of the plants are heavy feeders and need that extra boost.I also have a fair amount of light on the tank.

I am still waiting on my copy of Diana's book( 6 months now, keeps getting sold on me).Apart from the added ferts i think my bowl would fit into the "el natural " bracket.

Hope i don't offend anyone with my slightly misleading? post?

As for Brutus the Betta, he has a touch of blue/purple ( I'm slightly colour blind) just off of his body near the tail area.
He also has a lady friend now.They seem to be getting along OK.

Graeme


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## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

The bowl looks great! I have three 2.5gal betta tanks that I'd love to plant up, but I need some money first 

Is the female in the bowl with him?


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Bettas*

Hi abnormalsanon

yes the girl is in with him.
I debated to try it or not but gave it a go.
I think because of the bowl being heavily planted and lots of other distractions it will be ok.
Brutus spends most of his time chasing daphnia and wrigglers.
Im doing little reading on bettas now.
hope Im doing ok?

Graeme


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## TAM (Aug 21, 2005)

What a lovely bowl. Did I miss where it was said how big the bowl is? I really like it and Brutus too. Looking forward to seeing a picture with Ruby featured.

TAM


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

graedog said:


> Hi abnormalsanon
> 
> yes the girl is in with him.
> I debated to try it or not but gave it a go.
> ...


In general, keeping male and female bettas in small tanks (or in your case, containers?) is not a good idea. Granted, it's not as bad as keeping two males together... I'd make sure to keep a careful eye on that female betta to make sure the male is not beating her up. If they breed, then you'll def. have to remove the female as the male could very easily kill her. So long as they're getting along though, you might be ok.

-ricardo


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Ricardo, please tell us more about this. 
I have a female Betta in my 10 Gallon tank and a Male Betta in my 9 cup Betta Bowl. 
My son would love someday to put the two together.


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Well, like I said, in general it's not a good idea to keep more than one betta together, altough, it certainly can be done. The main thing is to provide plenty of hiding places for the other fish. It's even possible to keep more than one male together, but again, lots of hiding places need to be provided along with a large tank.

Since yours seem to be getting along, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure you keep an eye on the female to be sure that she isn't being picked on by the male. If you notice lots of torn fins, etc, then it's def. wise to remove her. Also, if they breed, then males can get even more aggressive, so I would remove the female if they do breed. And, if you want to keep any of the babies, then you'll have to remove the male after the fry become free-swimming.

Here're some excellent links on betta information:

learn about bettas

on breeding bettas:

breeding bettas

caring for bettas:

betta care

And well, you can just check out her site overall, I suppse at betttatalk.com She also sells bettas... I'm getting (as part of my wedding present from my fiance) a pair of her cardinal red crowntails!!! Woo hoo!

-ricardo


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Thank you*

Thank you Ricardo

I know it does take time to type up links and it is appreciated.

I did some reading and am now keeping a VERY close eye on my fighters.

I am sure the female will be upset if i take her from her planted home to the plain old jar style but thats life!!! Better than domestic violence.

The sagittaria has broke the surface now, i dont know to leave it be or cut those leaves out.Will have to wait anyway, i did damage to my fingers at work today.

Graeme


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> The sagittaria has broke the surface now, i dont know to leave it be or cut those leaves out.Will have to wait anyway, i did damage to my fingers at work today.


 There is a good story to be shared here....

And don't cut the sagittaria. (or at least not for a little bit..)
Diana Walstad says that if you let an aquatic plant grow out of the water it will be able to absorb the CO2 from the air much easier than get from the water. Try it, and tell us if this works for you. (I am curious, myself.)


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Male and females get along fine, and multiple females are fine, you just can not have two males together because they will fight until one is dead. I have six females in a 55. They are the most docile fish I have ever seen. I can actually "pet" them while they are near the water surface.

I love this bowl. Great job! It will be interesting to see the glosso fill in. More pictures!!



> Diana Walstad says that if you let an aquatic plant grow out of the water it will be able to absorb the CO2 from the air much easier than get from the water. Try it, and tell us if this works for you. (I am curious, myself.)


Thats true, but the growth that is underwater will die off and be only bare stems. Question is do you really want plants growing above the water in this case blocking light to the plants below? All you will be left with is a bowl full of roots and bare stems.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> Thats true, but the growth that is underwater will die off and be only bare stems. Question is do you really want plants growing above the water in this case blocking light to the plants below? All you will be left with is a bowl full of roots and bare stems.


 Robert, thank you! That would explain what happened with my 'experiments' in my bowl/vases this summer! I had thought that I had done something terribly wrong. I never would have expected what you just described. You just possibly saved a lot of head ache. Much appreciated.

Robert, why would anyone ever want a plant to grow 'emersed' out of the water then?


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

> The sagittaria has broke the surface now, i dont know to leave it be or cut those leaves out.Will have to wait anyway, i did damage to my fingers at work today.


The aerial leaves may look better if they are in a high humidity environment.
With regards to growing aerial leaves, the problem that I have seen is that these leaves tend to look dried out if the tank is not covered.

Generally, the aerial leaves are usually due to a large amount of underwater growth (e.g Hygro corymbosa) and loss of leaves and shading was not a problem.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I have noticed this in my shop where I have rows of plastic tubs, and when I let plants like Bacopa and Wisteria grow out of the water, when I go to pull them out I find the stems from the water surface down are all barren of leaves.

There is nothing wrong with experimenting though. I think it is cool to allow plants to grow above water and flower. You just have to limit the amount and where it is doing it otherwise it will block all the light.


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

OK I'm getting Bowl and Betta Fever! Graedog your bowl looks great! On a side note I kept a male and female betta together and she jumped out in less than a week, I guess the arranged marriage wasn't working for her. And don’t tell but I cheated a little on my first El Natural which I just set up two weeks ago. I added some Excell the first day but I have been clean since I swear! 
I agree with Jimbo you take great pics.
-Errin


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> she jumped out in less than a week


 Errin, Morbida had told me about Bettas jumping out of tanks and bowls. With my male Bettas I never had an issue. With my first female Betta (which I fell in love with quickly) she disappeared after the first week. My son then found her on the opposite side of the room all dried up while he was cleaning and vaccumming. She looked like a plastic toy she was dried up so much. The space between my filter and glass top was only about 1/2 inch by 4 inches. 
Do female Bettas as a tendency jump more than Male Bettas? (Robert, do you know?)

Errin, We would love to see photos of your Bowl!


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

> She looked like a plastic toy she was dried up so much.


We call this Potato Chip Fish Syndrome in our house. It usually hits the fish you love the most. My last fish to come down with a case of Potato Fish was the most beautiful and hugely pregnant female guppy I have ever seen. 



> Errin, We would love to see photos of your Bowl!


 I haven't done up a bowl yet but I did plant a 10 gallon El Natural and posted pics in the El Natural forum but NO ONE HAS LOOKED AT MY POST YET! I have been on the look out for a nice bowl. I'm not too excited about the look of the standard goldfish bowl I like how Jimbos and Graedog's are completely round.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

> We call this Potato Chip Fish Syndrome in our house. It usually hits the fish you love the most. My last fish to come down with a case of Potato Fish was the most beautiful and hugely pregnant female guppy I have ever seen


Ewww! I had two large catfish jump out recently. They were both acting very irradicallyfor a couple days before, so I think they were sick. It was extremely strange. I had them both for about three years in the same tank.

Jimbo, I don't know, I have never had a betta jump before. I have never heard it being a problem with these fish. I guess any fish can jump though. It is often from stress.


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*bad news*

I bring bad news

last night i was late home from work and Ruby didnt lool well
Brutus hasnt bothered her at all.I took her out and placed her into my crypt tank.She looked bloated and was swiming in a vertical position.
Today when i got home she was dead.
Kids are upset but i told them that we wont replace her just incase Brutus did it.( i do listen to advice)
Brutus looks ok, water is well within acceptable limits
And plants are going crazy

Graeme


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## schaadrak (Aug 18, 2006)

Sorry to hear that, man. If she was bloated, it could have been parasites. I'd keep an eye on Brutus just to be safe.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> We call this Potato Chip Fish Syndrome in our house. It usually hits the fish you love the most. My last fish to come down with a case of Potato Fish was the most beautiful and hugely pregnant female guppy I have ever seen


 Errin, Potato Fish Syndrom - I haven't laughed like that in quite awhile. THANK YOU. (I am sorry to hear about your pregnant guppy though.)



> Ewww! I had two large catfish jump out recently. They were both acting very irradicallyfor a couple days before, so I think they were sick. It was extremely strange. I had them both for about three years in the same tank.


 Robert I am sorry to hear about that. The longer you have a fish. The harder it is. Sorry.



> Kids are upset but i told them that we wont replace her just incase Brutus did it.( i do listen to advice)


 Graedog, that is so me. I can relate.

Schaadrak, Schaadrak as in Abendigo and MeeshaK? ??? I LOVE YOUR USERNAME!


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

> Today when i got home she was dead.


Sad news  I bet it is harder when you have kids too. Right now at 9 months Penelope dosen't get too attached to the fish but I'm sure soon enough they will all have names, be well loved and sadly missed when they pass.


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## onemyndseye (May 12, 2006)

As hard as it can be... one must think of the tank as a pet.... not its inhabitants. 

Good Luck! 
-Justin
One Mynds Eye


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## schaadrak (Aug 18, 2006)

That is a great philosophy, Justin. I didn't even realize that's basically what we do until you mentioned it.
Hope you don't mind me quoting that in my sig


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## onemyndseye (May 12, 2006)

Nope... I dont mind a bit


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

That is one nice bowl. can you post the dimensions of the bowl. it's hard to tell in the photo's how big it is.


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Size*

Thanks for all the kind words
great to se wee are all thinking outside the square......

anyway my bowl is roughly
280mm across and 240mm high.

Graeme


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*trim time*

I thought id share a last picture before i do some trimming
The hairgrass is long
the java moss is too thick
the sagataria is too big and so is the Hygro balsamica.










Will take some more pics after trimming

Graeme


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Maybe your bowl actually helps act like a magnifying glass, that just looks so beautiful and I can see every detail. That is something that I don't feel I can achieve currently with my camera and tanks. 

I am tempted to get another bowl in this shape again, just to assist in taking great photos. Trimming and scaping at times seems so hard to me. 

I just love to soak in the beauty.


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

If you could take a step back and put a can of coke beside it for size comparison. I am with bpimm in that I cant realy tell how big it is. That beta looks huge.


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Pepsi*

By popular demand
i took a pic for you Dale
Sorry no Coke in the house just now.Hope a Pepsi will do?









(can is l/h side)

Graeme


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

where I am from Coke is synonyms with soda pop. So, yes a pepsi will do.

Thanks for the pic. That really puts the whole thing in prospective.
dale


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Graeme, what is the name of the plant sticking out of the top of the bowl?


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*plant name*

I looked and saw two plants
the Sagataria and the Hygro Balsamica.

That help Jimbo?

Graeme


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Wow, that looks great! I'd love to have a bowl like that, but I'm afraid my cats would think I'm opening a gourmet restaurant - fresh sushi!  Have to keep a cover on everything.

Truly a beautiful setup! Please keep us posted on how its doing.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> I looked and saw two plants
> the Sagataria and the Hygro Balsamica.


 Which one is the huge big green stem sticking out of the top like a tulip stem or some such big plant?


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Nice bowl*

What a lovely bowl Jimbo

oh its mine lol

The tall plant is the sagataria.Weird isnt it?
I was meant to trim out but have left them all in a little longer.

Graeme


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Sad News*

Its been so long till i could get on here and when i do i have to give out bad news.
Brutus has gone.

Funny how a pretty simple little fish can affect us all so much.
My daughter cried,my son the same.

What happened was real unusual.He seemed too bloat up but managed to "squeeze" the blockage out.The only bad part was his feaces looked like a balloon.It trailed around him for days.I didn't want to interfere too much.
Then i noticed he was getting straggly fins.I treated him with Melafix and that seemed to help.
And the next day he was swimming much better.
And then he died.

Apart from that the bowl is going great.
The daphnia are now breeding again and look great.
I checked the water parameters whilst Brutus was still with us and all was perfect.Haven't checked since.

Thanks everyone for your time and comments
Graeme


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Graeme, I am sorry to hear about Brutus.

Are you able with your camera to get a picture of the daphnia? 
(Is that possible?)



> The tall plant is the sagataria


 Is that what they mean by emergent plants? Have you noticed it helping or effecting the bowl in one way or another?


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## lildark185 (Jul 7, 2006)

Your betta might have had dropsy.I have had many a bettas and very few of them got dropsy. But once they got it, it was pretty fatal and disgusting to look at.  Nice looking bowl by the way. Hope everything turns out better.


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## treesmcdonald (Mar 14, 2006)

Sorry to hear about Brutus. He was a very pretty little fish. But at least the bowl lives on! Maybe you can try some white cloud minnows. I have never had them myself but I hear they are very hardy.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

graedog said:


> Brutus has gone.
> What happened was real unusual.He seemed too bloat up but managed to "squeeze" the blockage out.The only bad part was his feaces looked like a balloon.It trailed around him for days.I didn't want to interfere too much.
> Then i noticed he was getting straggly fins.I treated him with Melafix and that seemed to help.
> And the next day he was swimming much better.
> ...


Dear Graeme,

Sorry to hear about your fish dying.

Dropsy is one symptom of mycobacteriosis (a bacterial infection that is often called Fish TB). This disease is very common in the hobby. One study of 70 dead aquarium fish showed that 50% probably died of mycobacteriosis.

Here's a website with more information. Main thing is. Don't blame yourself.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fish-for-the-planted-aquarium/16750-diseased-fish.html


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*daphnia pic*

Hi everyone

First thanks for the very kind things you all said about my losing Brutus.
( was a bad couple of weeks,lost 2 M.Preacox rainbows and a triple red A. cacatuidies )

Anyway i was asked by Jimbo for a daphnia pic.
I tried mate i really did but i havent got a decent one recently just too hard lol.
Here is one from the earlier days of the bowl.Its not great but best i can do without macro lenses.( waiting on new cam still !!)









ok im off to view others tanks
Oh yes Ty DWalstad im reading that link as soon as i post this.

Graeme


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## graedog (Jul 10, 2004)

*Pruning*

I took the plunge
Felt a little down about this tank after losing Brutus.
So I took it outside today and did a bit of a rescape.
Pruned the hairgrass.
Removed the giant Sagataria
Planted some small crypts

Think thats it.I havent taken pics yet as it looks pretty soupy still
Maybe tomorrow.

Graeme


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Graeme, that photo of the daphnia is great. Thank you. 

I just got my camera back from my son's school and tried to take some pictures. I tried the magnifying glass and it just did not work out yet. I don't know how you did it. But for me and my digital camera, it is a lot of work. 

I now have a newfound appreciation for great macro shots. Nicely done!


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