Hi From the Prairies!

[Rue]

Hi!!!

I'm a bit of an animal fanatic! Have, or have had, just about all of the common pets.

I've also had a 25 gallon aquarium up and running for some 25 years...sometimes housing an easy-care tropical community...or a couple of goldfish...

At the moment the 25 gallon tank is set up for the easy-care tropicals, and I have two goldfish enjoying the basement family room...it's nice and cold downstairs and they're enjoying it much more than when I had them upstairs...

I have two questions for the pros though!

1. Last Thursday I caved and bought 4 bettas to add to the community tank. One male and three females. Everyone in the tank is getting along fine...no signs of any aggression. However, one female has some fungus on her tail, so I've put her in a little isolation tank within the big tank...

Should I medicate her myself, or take her back? How well/easily do they treat? She's otherwise active, alert and eating.

2. I'd FINALLY like to get a larger tank...I was thinking a 55 gallon pentagon for an unused, well-situated corner in our dining room. However, I can't find any info. on the pros and cons of corner aquariums...I was hoping you'd be able to help!

Looking forward to meeting you and hearing your replies! Thanks :D

[Nautilus29]

I think you should just take the betta back. its alot easier to take her back then mess with medications which could mess up your cycle and cost you money.

as for the 55g hex the problem with corner tanks and hex tanks is they have small surface area for how big they are so you cant fit as many fish in them as you could with a 55g regular tank. But they are perfect for angel fish.

[cocoa_pleco]

yes. take er back and the store should take care of 'er

[Glasstapper]

Fungus is pretty easy to treat as long as you catch it early. However, that's up to you if you want to go through the cost of medicine or if you would rather just go trade her in for a healthy one.

Corner tanks are usually a lot higher than regular rectangular tanks, so fish that grow tall rather than long (like angels) typically do better in those. If you want a 55 gallon corner, may I suggest the following stock:

-6 angelfish
-6 cory catfish - albino looks best on dark gravel, others with dark coloring look best on light colored gravel. Just be aware that their little barbels are sensitive, so a smooth (coated, maybe) gravel works best with those cute little guys.


OR

since you have the room, you could do about 3 or 4 of the smaller loach species instead of the cory cats.

For decorations, some very tall plants along the back and a couple medium sized ones in the middle will be appreciated by the angels. Maybe a couple pieces of wood or other on the bottom to provide little hiding places for your corys or loaches.

This is an easy setup requiring minimal maintenance, but you do have more options. I just think angels and corys are awesome together.

[Rue]

Thanks guys!

I could take her back...

I'll have to keep considering the corner tank...I don't necessarily want/need more fish...but I was really wanting to have more plants...I saw a beautiful set up where they heavily planted half the tank (rectangular) and left the other half open...

I thought I could plant the back of the pent. tank heavily and leave the front 2/3rds open for swimming and have a similar effect...

I have 5 corys at the moment...love 'em...so cute!!!

Love the angels too...but since I just added the bettas I'd better hold off and see how they adjust to life here first...plus I don't want to jump the gun...need to decide which tank to get and then get it up and running...

I'm still in the process of enjoying the research and shopping around!!! :D

[Drumachine09]

Welcome to the A.C.

[Rue]

Thanks!!! I can see that you guys are gonna be a wealth of information! :D

[Abbeys_Mom]

Welcome to the forum :)

[Lady Hobbs]

Wecome to AC.

[jeffs99dime]

welcome to a.c.

[Severus]

Welcome to AC

[Rue]

Thanks everyone! :D

Well...although I should likely have taken the female betta back, I thought I'd try medicating her instead...she's quite lively despite the fungus...

I'll let you guys know if she makes it...the hard part was taking a 10g dose of powder and figuring how much goes in a small isolation 'cup'...hopefully I eyeballed correctly! It's a 5 day course of treatment...if it doesn't work, the store will take her back...I checked...

[AquaQueen]

Hello Rue, welcome to AC...Good luck with your Betta hope she turns out just fine.:thumb:

[Rue]

Thank you! I just gave her her 2nd dose of the fungicide...she's still peppy, but fuzzier than yesterday...

Wonder how long before I notice the fuzz dying? Thankfully she seems to be the only one with it...the other 3 are fine...(*knockonwood*)...

[crackatinny]

Welcome to AC:thumb: