10g tank decoration ideas

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fishorama

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No, new healthy fin growth is often clear or whitish at first. That's normal. Don't panic! Keep the water very clean & the clear fin parts should turn into his pretty red normal in a few weeks. Patience is a virtue often with fish tanks...

dougall & I tease each other but we both offer good advice in different ways as to plants. He has much more experience with many plants, both high & low tech (he also goes to plant conventions all over sometimes; I've never been...) He's better at ferts...way, way better! but some plants don't care all that much. Either way you can have a pretty tank...even with Sponge Bob or Star Trek themes...tell us what you want we'll try help!...
 

autumm

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lol, i thought my betta was sick again, since i looked up a normal btta and they did not seem his color at all. but i forgot i got him at a store where they sell males at a younger age (under a year) and they make you wait for their colors. so the darker red stripes is just him getting older i guess.

currently his color is kinda faded (as normal wit younger bettas) and he is starting to regrow his tail. i was just freaked a little when i searched up pics of a healthy betta and why does my betta look like that and well, he seemed pale. but i found out it was just because he wasnt old enough to have fully matured colors.

the same applies for my tetras, they're still growing. i made them a few rock shelves.

as for my tank im thinking about somethign to make trimming the moss easier. maybe buy some acrylic sheets, cut them to the shape i want the moss to be, then punch holes and tie the moss that way? to keep it down maybe just add a few rocks so when i want to trim i just remove the rock and let it float up maybe? acrylic is aquarium safe, i know for a fact. so maybe that will work?
 

dougall

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That will work for moss, or you can also use craft mesh the same way which will likely allow more water to flow as well.

You don't just need to let it float, you dan completely take it out to trim too, just be careful it doesn't dry out completely or that any fish or other livestock is inside.


As for your betta, Fishorama is absolutely right it's not a problem and new growth will start off clear. Bettas will often change colors over their life too.
 

autumm

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ok, thanks for letting me know :)

for a sec i thought he was sick (again) and his color was fading but i realized his colors hadnt fully developed yet, they're kinda paler than an adult one. the tail freaked me out though. like, i just see this clear patch of fin on his tail and im like, oh shoot! is he sick? but just to be safe i added bettafix and he is in a tank all by himself right now.
 
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dougall

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The important thing is keeping the water clean so you avoid any further infections. the bettafix will promote the fins and everything to grow back.

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly; keep it up!
 
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autumm

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The important thing is keeping the water clean so you avoid any further infections. the bettafix will promote the fins and everything to grow back.

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly; keep it up!
lol
the first (and only) time my betta got fin rot was from the elodea in my tank melting, but im still kinda concerned.....he keeps on trying to eat the pebbles. they're not bite sized for him (he is small) but he keeps on trying to eat it anyway. im oncerned its going to give him issues later on.
 

autumm

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and from a certain angle i look at my betta he looks kinda....purple? he is a halfmoon so i dont know if that's just normal for him or something.
 

dougall

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I'm not a Betta guy by any means, but I don't think the elodea melting is the cause, but might have added up to water quality issues.

And the color doesn't have much to do with the finnage.. it may be normal coloring, or the reflection of something else.. not something to worry about.

The pebbles I might worry about if they will be small enough to fit in his mouth later, but even so he will likely grow out of it; he may just be looking for food.
 

autumm

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I'm not a Betta guy by any means, but I don't think the elodea melting is the cause, but might have added up to water quality issues.

And the color doesn't have much to do with the finnage.. it may be normal coloring, or the reflection of something else.. not something to worry about.

The pebbles I might worry about if they will be small enough to fit in his mouth later, but even so he will likely grow out of it; he may just be looking for food.
that works i guess... im going to be feeding them brine shrimp tonight :)
 

fishorama

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I agree w/dougall. IME elodea isn't an easy plant in most tropical tanks. There are a couple kinds, most prefer cool temps. Dying plants can cause water quality problems...& those can cause fish problems...especially in very small tanks, there isn't much "wiggle room"...

As for Japanese style, look up Amano "nature" tanks, that may likely be what you mean. They are works of art! But not necessarily for the long term. He (& his many helpers) created amazing aquascapes, there are videos of them setting them up...& of course the many, many finished products, Wow! These are not really what most of us can do but we can use some of his ideas about perspective, etc. His big thing is trying to recreate a slice of nature; a mountain top, a forest stream bed, etc. RIP Amano! He gave us a new way of thinking about our tanks.

I'm not really a fan of the little white river path of sand to nowhere...it's hard to make it look natural, & more importantly, to stay looking that way for too very long if you are cleaning your tank like I think we should...& you'll only have a 10g right? Hard to have room to do all Amano did in much larger tanks. Start smaller with your goals or just try to grow some plants & fish...& worry about fine tuning it into a "perfect scape"...There is no perfect scape!!! Just Amano-worthy?!?! You need to get photo moment...I want my tanks to look OK, more often, with less work, most of the time...

Yes, I'm lazy! I admit that. I will never have an Amano-worthy tank, that's not 1 of my goals...I want a pretty-ish tank, with plants I can grow without too much effort & fish I find attractive & compatible that I can provide for them without too much work. If they breed it's a bonus...a blessing? ...or maybe a curse...or maybe just snacks?

You need to have realistic objectives. We will help you get there in our different ways.

I'm very happy you have a young betta! You'll have much more time with him than if you got an older but longer finned, larger bodied betta. Younger fish can adapt to water conditions more easily than older fish. They often heal faster from injury. Yes, he may change but that's part of the joy of watching our fish grow up! Embrace the possibilities for him, he's a pretty boy!
 
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