Thank you so much for the reply. I’m looking though all of those sites right now. I have a little empty aquarium that I can use.
I have these wonder shells that I use in one of aquariums. Would these work for the calcium source?
Weco Wonder Shell Natural Minerals (3 Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003C5PUCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YjgNFbN5T242T
I figured it out guys thank you.
One of the reasons my gH was so high was because when I prep my water for water changes I use a wonder shell I keep one in the jug that I use to hold the water for water changes. I had one in there because the snails I've been keeping for years had been having really weak shell devlopment. Once I started doing the shell thing they're shells started getting better. This left me with a false sense of security so I stopped thinking about it. I'll start slowly bringing that gH down and getting rid of the shell
Yes, betta’s and mysteries can live together. Just try to get the pH as high as possible without harming the betta. I’ve added Wondershell (Weco Wonder Shell Natural Minerals (3 Pack), Small https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003C5PUCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3BB810C312FXR6ZAD7Y1) to my betta’s tank and he is fine and it’s really good for their shells.
Crab Cuisine is great, but you should also have a piece of cuttlebone (bird section in pet store) for him to eat. Just drop it in the tank and it’ll float there, you might not see him eat it but the calcium will still get into the water. I also feed mine fresh veggies like broccoli, zucchini, cucumber, etc. Canned unsalted green beans are their favorite!
You can also try “snello.” Many people make their own, or there is one by Repashy (Repashy Soilent Green 6 Oz JAR https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J17NKTG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_35C3D662C1BVBM6BP5XQ) or algae wafers.
I give fresh veggies once or twice a week, and on the other days I feed them algae wafers/snello & crab cuisine, to make sure they get enough protein and calcium.
Also, the algae on his shell won’t effect him at all so you can let it go or just try to gently scrub off as much as you can with a soft toothbrush.
Hi Everyone, I am very new to this hobby, and had questions regarding calcium for mystery snails, betta tankmates, fin healing, driftwood, and plants.
We got our betta Aang on July 3rd. So far he doesn't seem to be very aggressive. We've only seen him flare his gills a few times. He had a very frayed tail when we got him at the store, but we think it is healing. He is in a 20 gallon tank (here are pictures of him and the tank http://imgur.com/a/HYPgto1, and here's a picture soon after we got him, to compare the fins. http://imgur.com/a/c55lAf8 The difference we are seeing is good right? And the colors vary a lot by lighting). Sadly we didn't cycle the tank in advance, but we used the recommended additives and so far so good. The tank has a new penguin filter we put in so we could adjust the flow, and we have it on the lowest setting so he can swim easily. He has a heater as well.
We got a big tank so he could have some tank mates, bringing me to my main question. Originally I wanted to get mollies, but I saw on the betta subreddit wiki that they can be a bit nippy with betta fins. I'd heard platies are good from the same source I heard mollies were, but I saw no mention of them on the wiki. Ideally, we'd also like to get a catfish that doesn't need a group, since a 20 gallon won't be enough room for a betta, a school of catfish, and another school of fish. I was reading about clown plecos and thought they might work? I would need to get a bubbler for it right? And we would need to add driftwood? Should I worry about a small amount of driftwood affecting the pH? Do they eat through driftwood quickly so it needs to be replaced, or can I anchor my plants on it? We have gravel substrate, and I know many plecos prefer sand, so I don't know if it would be ok? Would this grouping of fish have any problems? Is 20 gallons big enough for a betta, 5 platies, a small pleco and a mystery snail? If we went this route, we were thinking that after we let the water cycle a few more weeks, we would add the pleco first, and see if they got along. Then two neutral colored platies, and if everything went well, 3 more so they feel comfortable, maybe in different colors if the neutral ones don't set Aang off.
Speaking of the mystery snail (Gary is currently Aang's only tankmate) I've been reading about their calcium needs. I know adding stuff to the water can mess with pH, and Gary wasn't interested in the egg shell I boiled for him. I've also heard of that killing fish. On a link in this thread, I saw they recommend adding reptile calcium, and said it doesn't hurt the fish. Would it alter the pH? Would a cuttlebone or something like these be a good choice? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003C5PUCS/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_glt_fabc_K4EED5XFZKHTTHK6S5GK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 The description also says it aerates and oxygenates. If I used that, would I still need a bubbler for the pleco?
Also, I keep seeing suggestions for "heavily planting" tanks, but I'm not sure how heavy that means. We have an anubias nana, a Java fern, a Java moss, and a soft (not sharp) plastic plant. Also various hidey holes. After seeing pictures on reddit, I'm thinking we need more, but are there any rules of thumb on how much coverage is needed? Particularly for the potential tankmates I mentioned?
Thanks so much for any advice!