Algae again?

So I seem to be having algae taking over my betta tanks again.  Indy's tank has something that looks like brown beard algae and Sumo's tank looks to have 2 or three different kinds of algae in it.  Not only that, but the food blocks that I left in there when I left for 10 days disintegrated all over the sand and neither the bettas nor the snails have disposed of it.  Last time I use that brand I guess.  I think it's getting bad enough that I need to do a complete cleaning so this is what I'm doing:

Step 1: transfer Sumo the betta to quarantine tank, put 5 ghost shrimp in Sumo's tank, change filter cartridge, and leave lights off for a while

Step 2: remove filter for 6-8 hrs, add Tetra Algae Control to tank, wait for algae to die

Step 3: remove decorations and lucky bamboo, clean off

Step 4: clean filter thoroughly; replace filter cartridge

Step 5: change 25-50% of water, carefully removing whatever remaining food waste the ghost shrimp haven't taken care of, dose with bacteria supplement

Step 6: remove most ghost shrimp, leave 1 to see if Sumo will coexist with it, transfer Sumo back to tank, repeat with Indy's tank

I'm not sure why I'm getting algae problems, but it's entirely possible I'm not changing the water frequently enough.  I used to change it more often but was afraid I was overdoing it so I probably went to the other extreme.  I guess it's time to start a chart again.

I'm considering downsizing once I get the tanks back in good order.  I think it would be much less hassle if I could just concentrate on the 36 gallon tank and one betta tank.  The glowfish and tetra tank is cool, but it's really getting to be a hassle maintaining 4 tanks.

Betta Jails

Rant alert: This is about the stupid things pet stores promote which aren't very nice to fish

This morning I went to Petco to get some new plants for my 36 gallon tank.  Now normally I like my local Petco.  They generally have nice fish and their tanks tend to be very clean and look better maintained than the local Petsmart.  They also have some fairly knowledgeable people in the fish department...sometimes.  Unfortunately, they also have a variety of the things I hate: fish tanks, especially betta tanks and "betta kits" that are WAY too small.  Here is one I found today:

Now this is just mean.  The water looked clean, so it had probably been changed quite recently, but still, there was only 2-4 cups of water in the whole "kit."  That is way too little water for even one betta let alone two, and there is hardly any room to swim around in there, in fact, the fish were barely moving at all.  There is a common saying that bettas like or need very small tanks.  This is simply not true.  They will survive for a while in small tanks because they are very hardy fish, but this does not mean they are happy or healthy.  In a small tank, bowl, vase, or cup without a filter, the ammonia in the water builds up extremely quickly, which burns their gills and shortens their lives.  Also, imagine living in a small jail cell with just enough room in it to turn around.  Would you be happy?  When I upgraded my betta tanks from 2.5 and 3 gallons to 5.5 gallon tanks, the fish became so much more active and happier looking.  They are not super fast swimmers like Glofish, but they do swim around and explore the whole tank, including the small enclosures I provide them with in case they ever want to hide.

And speaking of Glofish, there is another species that is often mistreated.  Have you ever seen those 2 or 3 gallon "Glofish kits?"  The pictures on the front usually have a whole bunch of Glofish swimming around.  This is very misleading.  Gofish are genetically modified zebra danios, and just like danios, they need a 10 gallon tank minimum to have a basic school of 5 or 6 fish.  Putting say, 15 fish in a 2-3 gallon tank will cause the same ammonia problems as keeping a betta fish in 2 cups of water.

So why do they even make all these little tanks and kits?  BECAUSE THEY SELL.  Having a tiny aquarium on your office desk seems like a great idea, and there are so many stylish and pretty looking kits that you can get for cheap, but it is cruel to the fish and NOT responsible fish keeping.

Please don't buy these betta jails.  Just don't.

Trial and Error with New 36 Gallon Tank

As soon as I moved in to my new place I went and bought the Aqueon 36 gallon bowfront tank and stand that I had been drooling over.  Getting it home and up to my new 3rd floor apartment was an adventure by itself.  Since the tank is made out of glass it is very heavy, almost more than I could lift.  I managed to get it about halfway between the 2nd and 3rd floors before a passing maintenance guy saw me struggling and ran up the stairs to take it the rest of the way for me.  The stand was also very heavy, surprising because it's particle board but I guess it's very dense in order to hold the over 400 pounds it's rated for, but at least I could take that up a few pieces at a time.  Once I assembled the stand and lifted the ridiculously heavy tank onto it, I proceeded to add substrate and water.  Since it's a planted tank I decided to layer the substrate with about 20 pounds of reddish flourite on the bottom and 40 pounds of black sand over it.  After rinsing and carefully layering the substrate I began to add water very slowly, scooping it from a bucket with a red solo cup and pouring it carefully onto a small plate I'd laid in the tank to avoid disturbing and mixing the substrate.  After 30 minutes or so I had added about 3 gallons and noticed a little problem - the tank was leaning forward away from the wall.  It turns out that the shape of the tank and stand makes it heavier in the front and since it was sitting on carpet, the front of the stand was driven deeper into the carpet than the back.  I immediately siphoned out as much water as I could from the tank and moved my dining room table directly in front of the stand - just in case.  There it remained for a month or so while I concentrated on moving the rest of my stuff and figuring out how to level the tank.  Then on the advice of an experienced aquarist I bought some door shims from Lowes and got a friend from work to help me place them under the front of the stand.  There is now a very slight lean toward the wall, only detectable with a level, but it seems to be perfectly level across the front so the tank isn't being twisted.

Now came the fun part: adding plants, decor, and fish.  I started by installing a bubble wall on the back wall, then added various plants, making sure the roots reached all the way down through the flourite level.  I don't know what the names of all the plants are, but they include coconut, amazon sword, anubias, java fern, corkscrew val, and mondo grass.  For decor I added a lava rock, a piece of driftwood, a large balinese lantern from Petsmart, and a fake rock arch with a bubble wall behind it.  I attached an anubias plant to the driftwood with a rubber band, hopefully the plant will attach itself to the wood in time and I can remove the rubber band.

When I first added water and decor last night, the water was fairly clear, but now it looks cloudy, I'm not sure why.  It could be that I stirred up sand particles when I added more plants this morning, or it could be because I cut a piece out of a filter cartridge from my 10 gallon tank and popped it in the filter for the new tank.  I added some water clarifier so hopefully this will help.  I tried turning off the bubblers, but that didn;t seem to help much.  I may need to use a weaker pump though since the one I got seems quite strong - it's for up to a 40 gallon tank.  The only other things I've added to the water is water conditioner, Aqueon aquarium plant food, and Tetra Start Zyme, which is supposed to add bacteria to the water so you can immediately add fish.

Now comes the best part of all: adding the fishies!  It may be a bit early, but with the combination of plants, Start Zyme, and the old filter media I think it'll be ok.  I installed the heater and thermometers and made sure the temperature was correct, and tested the water to make sure it was conditioned properly.  Everything checked out so I went and bought 3 beautiful cherry barbs from Petsmart and added them to the tank.  They pretty much alternate swimming around exploring and hiding in the plants right now.  I also transferred one of the assassin snails from the 10 gallon tank, just in case they got any ideas about procreating.  Here are the cherry barbs:

They are such little fish, it'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the ammonia spike to hit in such a large tank.

Lost another one

Today I found the mostly consumed remains of one of my albino cory cats.  I'm not sure what killed him, there was no ammonia reading in the tank, though I forgot to check the other levels before I did a water change.  In any event, the baby snails in the tank are starting to become a real problem - they're getting big enough to clearly see what color their shells are, especially the ones that were feeding off the dead fish before I removed him from the tank.  Perhaps it is the competition for food that lost me a cory cat?  I ordered a couple of assassin snails online today, assuming they arrive ok, I shall put one in the tank and see if it takes care of the over-population

Sumo's New Tank

Yesterday I set up a new tank for Sumo the betta.  It's a 5.5 gallon kit from Petsmart with a power filter and incandescent light in the hood.  I added Super Naturals sand substrate, bamboo, marimo moss balls, the Balinese lantern "house" from his original tank, and a Buddha statue.  One of the bamboo curls was from his original tank, and I also used some of his water to set up the tank.  Once it was all set up, I popped an old filter cartridge from the other betta's tank behind the new filter and put in a small 10 watt heater that I had.  It's supposedly too small for a 5 gallon tank but the tank still reached 80 degrees overnight and went up to 82 today once I had the light on for awhile.  Today I removed the old filter as the water had become a bit cloudy and added some water clarifier.  A few hours later I used a floating magnet tank cleaner to sweep off sand particles from the front of the glass.  Then I turned off the heater and added Sumo to the tank, carefully floating him in a bag for a while to get used to the warmer temperature.  I've never seen a betta swim so much!  Whether it's the warmer temp, the more room, or just a new space to explore, he seems to really like his new home.  I will definitely be getting a 5.5 gallon tank for Indy as well when I move.

The Downside of Apple Snails

Last night I found the two apple snails in Indy's tank stuck together as in the picture above.  According to similar pictures and descriptions I found online, it seems the snails decided to be fruitful and multiply.  This is a real problem in a 2.5 gallon tank because there's just not enough room for tons of snail babies.  I separated them and put the smaller one, I guess it's a female, in Sumo's 3 gallon tank.  I will just have to watch carefully for egg clusters and hope I can catch and remove any before they hatch.

Unfortunately when I had two snails in my 10 gallon, I did not know the snails decided to reproduce until one day (surprise!) I found 10-20 little white dots, about the size of tapioca, that turned out to be baby snails.  The amount of salt in the tank now has proved insufficient to kill them, and the cory cats don't seem to eat them.  I think it's time to get an assassin snail and see if that will solve the problem before they overrun the tank.

Is a puzzlement

Sumo is still not eating much.  The petsmart lady told me last week that he may need to get used having the exercise space and being fed more often, but its seems odd that after almost 2 weeks in the tank he's still only eating 1 or 2 betta bits or blood worms at a time.  He acts like he's hungry but it's almost like he can't see the food, or just loses interest or isn't sure what it is.  I think he needs to be in a bigger tank with more horizontal room and overhead lighting that will warm the water as well - his tank is only 76 degrees.  Tomorrow I'm going to get him a 5.5 gallon and start getting it set up, perhaps that will help.  He seems happy still at least, keeping up with his bubble nest and swimming quickly around looking at me whenever I get near the tank.