# New Natural Betta tank plan - Need Advice



## boet (Feb 24, 2007)

I am looking at using my available 12 gallon Eclipse as a el natural Betta home. I have never had a Betta before but after reading a TFH article I am intrigued and they are so pretty!

This time of year it is hard to find the kind of soil that is suggested. Until spring this is my plan:

- 12 gallon Eclipse using cycled sponge that has been sitting as second in my 29 Planted aquarium. I could use the Eclipse hood as well without the bioWheel but I am afraid this might make too much current for a Betta?

- 1" Tahitian Moon Sand (this would be temporary until I can get my hands ob the right kind of soil and then I would put 1" soil with 1 1/2" gravel on top)

- Java Fern, Anubias and Wisteria and small driftwood

- Existing Fluorescent light 13 watt with some light from a side south window

- 1 Golden Mystery snail ( added first to see if this arrangement works)

Does this look OK? Is it considered El Natural using the sponge? And how often would I need to do W/C in this arrangement? I do WC and test PH, NH2, NH3 and Ammonia weekly on my 29 gallon.

Thank you,

Kathy


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

With a el natural, you can pretty much ignore it once it's up and running. You change the water when you remember to. This is considering you don't have an algae outbreak etc...

The betta might pick on the mystery snail.

And you can still get top soil from home depot or something.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Check my link.
2.5g for a betta.
Never really had too much of an outbreak.
Actually too much light, but didn't seem to be too much of a problem.
Remember Duckweed is your friend 
Matter of opinion on that one.

I don't use a filter on the 2.5g nor on the 20g.
The betta has now been 8 months in the tank and no real problem.
Belly gets a little big but I think he's eating the snails (had to take the overflow from the 20g into the 2.5g).
His finnage is still nice. Best looking betta for the time period in a tank. And the betta is a crowntail which I assume is a little more frail then normal bettas.

Any the most time consumption is just pruning. How much and where. Always worried about taking too much out.

Fast growers are the key that most can attest too.


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## Viettxboii (Oct 25, 2007)

Crowntail bettas i believe are less frail.
Veiltails are more inbred and heavily mass produced leading to poorer genes.
Crowntails aren't as heavily put out out as VT"S thus having perhaps higher quality.


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## boet (Feb 24, 2007)

Thank you all for your advise. I will check at our local True Value to see if they carry Top Soil this time of year. A Home Depot is at least an 80 mile drive. There are not too many shopping options where I live. A Crown Tail is in my original plans and it is nice to know they are not as in-bred and frail. I have read that if well taken care of they can live longer then 2 years....


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

CT are often more active. Their finnage is lighter.

I had a betta who loved to torture the snail's tentacles. Another betta didn't even know the snail was there. Its always worth a try with a betta's personality to see what he/she play nice with. Just be sure to have a backup plan in case there is infighting.


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## Viettxboii (Oct 25, 2007)

My betta is a 2.5g algae hell.
Still he loves his jungle of hygro roots moss and hair algae. But hey hes happy atm at least!
He ignores the pond snail and the mts, and leaves the 2 guppy fry alone (he used to pick on them but now they're twice the size they were originally placed in the tank.
A 12g eclipse would do great. Also you could try shapagum(wrong spelling?) / pure peat moss
i'm new to npt myself, i haven't even started one yet.
Also remember bettas are all different in personality as stated above


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## mommyeireanne (Oct 24, 2007)

Well I have kept 5 Beta. I have two now, and this is the first time I've ever been able to keep anything with any of them. I kept trying because others here were having success. One Beta will allow a large (queen) ghost shrimp. She's as big as he is and there's plenty of plant foliage. The same Beta won't accept a apple snail, and eats smaller snails. I spent the weekend trying a new apple snail in both Beta tanks. No luck. They harassed it. The ghost shrimp got removed to the Beta tank in desperation. I saw both my large Queen ghosts stalking the Red Cherry Shrimp babies, which was strange (I thought), but they were clearly doing it all day. So they each went into a Beta tank. One queen jumped out. The other has been fine for weeks now. I really feel like they need snails (there's no filter or water movement at all), but what I have to do is remove Betas and put an apple snail in to clean plants for awhile. It's a hassle. I've only done that twice.


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