# Planning a Tank (6gal) + Possible Beta Fish Rescue



## Shade (Dec 15, 2007)

An odd subject message perhaps, haha... sorry.

I've just moved into a new apartment in a new city, and the place is kind of lonely, so I'm thinking about setting up a small aquarium.

As far as the tank goes, I'm looking at the Eclipse 6 (six gallon), mostly because I like the idea of everything being built in. I'd like to have live plants (some threads here are saying to take out the biowheel because plants serve the role of biological filter?), and a few fish.

For fish, what I'd like to keep (once the tank is cycled/settled) are:
1 beta fish
2-3 neon tetras
1 kuhli loach (I had one of these guys a long time ago, he used to dance up and down the glass at feeding time).

I'm still working my way through the plant tutorials, and I haven't purchased anything yet. I plan to make a list of plants that have been previously suggested as good for small tanks, and I'm not sure yet if I'll have to get a different bulb.

Does this setup sound like it would be alright? From what I've been reading, it ought to be okay (though the loach might be pushing the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule), but I'd like to make sure.

My second question is: I am going home for Christmas. It is a 1 hour flight + airport time, and a Canadian winter. At home, there is a very sad beta fish in a small container that used to belong to my younger brother. It seems like, in -theory- it would be possible to take him back with me, but would it be safe/worthwhile? I can only bring 100ml of water onto the plane, and a fish in a ziplock bag is going to get looks for sure. If not, I'm going to try and setup something cheaply there.

Thanks very much, for any help/advice.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Welcome to APC :-D 

I believe that unit has a full spectrum compact flourescent bulb. Depending on the wattage it might be ok for low light plants. 

I would skip on the neon's & Khuli, because these fish like to be kept in groups. A 6 gallon is not large enough to keep these fish in large enough groups to be happy. A betta would work well however. I would check with the airlines first to see if it is legal to fly with a fish before attempting to bring one with you.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

trenac said:


> Welcome to APC :-D
> I would check with the airlines first to see if it is legal to fly with a fish before attempting to bring one with you.


Just as long as it removes its shoes before boarding the plane, and keeps its seat belt fastened, and of course doesn't smoke........


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Some good points, Hoppy


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## FrostyNYC (Dec 16, 2007)

I'm surprised you can fly with a fish in Canada. In the US, to my knowledge, you couldn't carry on more than 4 oz of liquid in a single container.


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## Amazon_Replica (Nov 24, 2007)

I hope it works out for you shade, its a touching story lol


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## Shade (Dec 15, 2007)

Thanks all...!

Well, I guess I am not going to rescue the betta after all. Apparantly my brother "loves that fish!" so it's gonna stay. I -am- going to set up something more appropriate for it over Christmas though. 

I guess my question becomes- for a lone betta fish, in terms of living conditions, would having some sort of real plants be an improvement also? It would have to be fairly easy to take care of (since I wont be doing it), but plants act as a sort of natural filter (take in waste products + give off oxygen)...right? I havent had a planted tank before.


Frosty- I know we can bring 100ml, Im not sure what that works out to in oz. ^^; With enough air in the bag and access to it, an air breathing betta -could- live in that much for a short time, but it wouldnt be ideal. 

Trenac- Thanks! My friend suggested White cloud minnows, amano shrimp, and dwarf catfish. The aquarium store by my apartment had none of these, but did suggest tiger snails which admittedly, looked pretty cool... for snails.



Thanks again.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

For the lone betta having real plants does improve the environment. Not just water quality, but having something to explore and hide in tends to make the betta happier and healthier. Low light, hardy plants like java fern (regular tends to get large, but lace leaf stays small, even narrow leaf is smaller than the regular), Anubias - especially Anubias nana petite, and Cryptocornes once they adjust to the tank would all be good candidates.


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## Shade (Dec 15, 2007)

*nods* Ok, that sounds good.

So if I'm understanding the NPT method correctly.... 
I could set up the bigger bowl/tank, then partially add the water he's in now, and the rest tap water (that's sat out 24hr). Test the PH in a few days, if it isnt some crazy result, go ahead and put the beta in?


Thanks much. 
I get to set up two tanks now... Im excited!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

That's about it. You can treat the water with a conditioner for chlorine instead of letting it sit, but either way should work. If it's possible to do a bottle test with the soil beforehand you'd know whether it would skew your water quality. It isn't necessary though, and a small tank/bowl is easy to redo if something goes wrong. I've used a 10 gallon tank as a test before, then left it running as a shrimp tank when everything settled in nicely.


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## Shade (Dec 15, 2007)

Yeah, I'm thinking it sounds like it should be okay... I'll try and find some super generic topsoil, and air it out.

Thanks.


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## Shade (Dec 15, 2007)

New betta "bowl" is set up!










It's a fairly large glass candle holder, I think.
For substrate I have a layer of laterite/gravel, then a layer of gravel on top.
3x Wisteria 
3x Hygrophilia Polysperma
1x Cryptocoryne

We also bought a very small air pump with a diffuser, but that's not in there atm.

Question! Can I chop off the bottoms of the Wisteria?

They turned out to be slightly larger than I thought they'd be, so they're kind of all bending and bunching at the top of the container.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Shade said:


> .Question! Can I chop off the bottoms of the Wisteria?


Yes... Cutting off the tops & replanting is usally how it is done.


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

Shade said:


> An odd subject message perhaps, haha... sorry.
> 
> As far as the tank goes, I'm looking at the Eclipse 6 (six gallon), mostly because I like the idea of everything being built in. I'd like to have live plants (some threads here are saying to take out the biowheel because plants serve the role of biological filter?), and a few fish.


I have several Eclipse tanks well planted and I leave the biowheel in as any tank can use the extra
filtration no matter how good it looks.

As for taking fish on any plane I'd say don't try as it will probably get confiscated as a pet. It would
be better for the fish if you packed it with a heater pack and mailed it to yourself as that would be
less stressful than a plane ride without the styrofoam and cardboard boxes.

- Brad


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## Shade (Dec 15, 2007)

thanks for the reply.
I had decided not to take the betta, and when I left, he seemed very happy in his new larger well planted container.

New question... today I purchased my Eclipse 6, and some "natural sand" style gravel. It's mixed in with laterite on the bottom, then just gravel on top. I rinsed both of those out pretty well, but now I've got about an inch of water in the tank, and it's kind of murky still... :neutral: Think I can toss more water into it and then get the tank filters to clean it up? Or should I attempt to dump all the gravel and wash it again? No plants or anything are in the tank yet.

Thanks!


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

That's normal for substrates it will be murky for about 24 hours to a few days depending on how well you rinsed it. I wouldn't re-rinse it as it will always be a bit murky when you first put it in because of the fine particles in the substrate.

What I would do is put a plate on top of the gravel and then put a cup on that and slowly poor the rest of your water into the cup so that the incoming water column is inside the cup and that the plate catches the falling water. That way your substrate isn't hit by the incoming water column which is the main cause of the cloudy tank. That won't stop all of it but it will clear up within 24 hours this way.

Once the tank is half full take out the cup and plate and plant the tank. Then hold the cup in the center of the tank so it's a bit more than half submerged and poor the rest of your water slowing into the cup. Once the tank is full hook up the heater and filtration and get them running that will help clear the tank faster. Once it's clear do a 30% water change and change the filter material and test your water. If everything looks good it's ready to add fish.

That's a bit of a pain but it will get your tank finished faster and the plants will do better in the substrate than with just gravel and ferts.

- Brad


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