Overview
A few years ago I had a betta fish briefly in a small aquarium. Let's build a natural tank that is nice and big, with plenty of room for a little guy to thrive!
The plan is to buy the equipment and get the tank set up with natural plants first, let it acclimate for a month or so, then add our Betta alongside some companions. Initially, I thought shrimp would be nice to have, but these are banned in New Zealand! In stead, I'll get some snails and maybe a Kuhli loach.
Planning
Tank
From reading around online, the general consensus seems to be that 5 gallons is the bare minimum and 10 gallons is at the larger end. So I've decided to go with 7 as the pragmatist's way out.
This Aqua One tank seems good. The main requirements that it adheres to is:
- My cat will hopefully not be able to infiltrate the tank.
- Dimensions are Size: 42W x 26D x 38H, Volume: 28L. The area I'm planning to place this on is at the kitchen counter, so this size seems good.
- Cost is quite low, comparable to second hand tanks on TradeMe.
Heater
I read from some random source on the internet that 5W/gallon is a good metric. Therefore this guy should be plenty good.
Additionally, this little thermometer will be helpful for heater readings.
Tank contents
Checking around online, Anubias sound like a good plant for bettas, so I'll get 2 of these. Java fern also looks great so I'll get one. Lastly, Amazon Sword is a really cool name, so I'll get one of these too.
Now for soil and decor. For decor, a nice centrepiece of driftwood would work great! For substrate, a bag of soil is needed for our plants to have a good basis. A lighter coloured sand would look great for topping.
Getting all of this set up, means also checking the chlorination of the water. Seachem Prime is industry standard. Then getting good bacteria to flourish with a bio starter helps us get to the right place.
Lastly, the gold standard for water quality testing is the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. This is super pricey, but works out much less expensive than test dip kits over time.
Fish and friends
I really love the look of this male doubletail betta:
The above picture is the pastel Turquoise Butterfly colour. From the website, their preferences are:
Betta ‘splendens’
pH range: 6.8-7.4
Temp range: 24-28°C
Approx. purchase size: 5-6cm
Max size: 6-8cm
Diet: Chiefly insectivorous but will take any animal-based proteins
This blue mystery snail is beautiful:
So getting two of these to start with should be good!
Lastly, I absolutely love Kuhli Loaches:
They have a cool name, work hard and are chill little guys. I'll get the tank acclimated first before I get one though.
Cost
New from store:
| Item | Price (NZD) | Running total (NZD) |
|---|---|---|
| Aqua One EcoStyle 42 Black 28L | $139.99 | $139.99 |
| Aqua One 55W Glass Heater | $29.99 | $169.98 |
| Glass Red Thermometer | $4.99 | $174.97 |
| Anubias Nana Live Plant (x2) | $39.98 | $214.95 |
| Amazon Sword Live Plant | $13.99 | $228.94 |
| Java Fern Live Plant | $16.99 | $245.93 |
| JBL Manado Planting Substrate | $32.99 | $278.92 |
| JBL Sansibar White 5KG | $36.99 | $315.91 |
| Aqua One Mixed White + Black Gravel 2kg | $4.99 | $320.90 |
| Seachem Prime | $16.99 | $337.89 |
| API Freshwater Master Test Kit | $79.99 | $417.88 |
| Blue Mystery Snail (x2) | $21.00 | $438.88 |
| Driftwood (est. mid-range) | $40.00 | $478.88 |
| Male Doubletail Betta | $49.99 | $528.87 |
| Kuhli Loach | $10.99 | $539.86 |
The above costing is quite high, but this will be a bit of a journey over time building a beautiful natural system.
I managed to find a really great deal on a second hand fishtank! It was $70 for a tank, heater and thermostat! Then I got some potting soil from bunnings, which has so far worked great for only $7. This has taken a significant chunk off of the total remaining cost of the project. I'd highly recommend looking at second hand tanks to get started with and save costs.
Second hand + Bunnings:
| Item | Price (NZD) | Running total (NZD) |
|---|---|---|
| Aqua One EcoStyle 47 39L + heater + thermometer (second hand) | $70.00 | $70.00 |
| Potting soil (Bunnings) | $7.00 | $77.00 |
Remaining to buy new:
| Item | Price (NZD) | Running total (NZD) |
|---|---|---|
| Anubias Nana Live Plant (x2) | $39.98 | $39.98 |
| Amazon Sword Live Plant | $13.99 | $53.97 |
| Java Fern Live Plant | $16.99 | $70.96 |
| PureAquarium Natural Sand Sandy Beige 2KG | $12.99 | $83.95 |
| Seachem Prime | $16.99 | $100.94 |
| Aqua One Bio Starter 150ml | $12.50 | $113.44 |
| API Freshwater Master Test Kit | $79.99 | $193.43 |
| Blue Mystery Snail (x2) | $21.00 | $214.43 |
| Driftwood (est. mid-range) | $40.00 | $254.43 |
| Male Doubletail Betta | $49.99 | $304.42 |
| Kuhli Loach | $10.99 | $315.41 |
Grand total: $392.41 vs $539.86 originally — saving $147.45!
Water testing
My best friend Claude made this little tool for me to chart the settling of my new tank! Thanks Claude!
The real deal
A simple start
I started my fish tank! So far I've put in a central driftwood piece and am very happy with it:
Alongside two mystery snails:
These little fellas are so active and incredibly entertaining. I've used Seachem Betta Basics to get the tank set up with. Additionally, I added Seachem Prime and Stability and am letting the tank cycle. I have 5 plants to start out with.
New friends
I decided to get Albino Pygmy Corydoras because they are absolutely adorable! I got two new rocks, some more plants and some java moss, which I stuck in the driftwood. For now, I am staying to 3 Pygmy Corydoras only because I wanted to make sure the tank is acclimated and cycled.
Before getting the fish, I did a full water quality test and everything looked good! Will hold and see how these little guys do.
