I've got a 10G tank that's stocked with 3 cories, 4 danios, and my Halfmoon Betta, who've all been living very peacefully for the last 4-5 months. I had some ghost shrimp stocked as well, but my betta's taken a liking to shrimp meat, and I have since stopped.

My main question is that my betta goes through color phases where he goes from a very striking dark blue, to the coloration that he has now, which is a more black/gray look near the top of his head.



I also wanted to change my tank into a more aquascaped look, and plan on going with the "Dutch style" but was hoping to do it with plants that are very hardy and low maintenance in terms of lighting, as I am using a regular fluorescent bulb at the moment. I've got anubias nana, java fern, indian fern, and some various crypts, but my echinodorus angustifolia and watersprite aren't growing / looking too good at the moment. Is high powered lighting a must?

Also, it looks like I'm starting to grow some algae along the walls of my aquarium, and along some of the plant leaves. I've been trying to get rid of it, but it just keeps coming back. The algae is brown, and I can only assume that it's a brown algae by the color and its hairy appearance. Tips on removing it?

Last question is on changing out my substrate/gravel. I've got black and white gravel at the moment that I want to change out to help my plants grow when I finally go dutch, as well as to give it a more natural look, and was wondering whether I had to remove my fish or if I could do it somehow with them still in it.

Any and all tips welcomed, as usual

Edit: Inserted pictures.

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Blue bettas will change the color by mood.When he is trying to impress a lady or defending his territory,he will go brilliant blue.When lax he will have a more dullish color,as he is just blending in the best he can.

If you have patience you can have a dutch style with easy plants.Almost every stem plant likes light.You can up your lights easily by adding a desk lamp that takes the natural daylight bulbs.If the current fixture takes the screw ins,you can place the CFLs in there and have great results.If you dont want to do that you can have a great scape with the plants listed and if you are in a hurry to get the growth,buy a large bunch of them and plant with those.

Algae comes from imbalances.I believe the brown is diatom and usually shows up in a mature tank.Its unsightly but harmless unless its engulfing the plants.It wipes off easy enough.I think if its hairy then its something else,possibly beard algae(not sure,never had it)But it can suffocate plants so you need to get it off.Someone more in the know will tell you about that.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Thanks Bev, I appreciate the fact that you respond so promptly every time that I post

I've just uploaded a picture, and figured I'd go to you since you're the betta queen of the forums. Does his coloration look alright? I've also noticed that he's gone and knocked one of his scales loose... it's not quite fallen off yet, but was wondering if there was anything I should/could do.

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Aww,Im blushing,lol.I wouldnt say Im the betta queen though as there are many more knowledgeable people.

But thanks for the compliment! :D

Keven,He looks great!His fins seem blown but I would imagine he is getting alot of exercise so it happens.As long as he is active,then no worries.I swear he looks like a mohan bloodline,lol.

They lose scales a good bit.Just watch for infection.If you are keeping him clean(and I can tell you are)then he should be fine.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

I haven't seen many dutch style tanks going low-tech. You'll defintiely need a good light/lights. Most stem plants require a pretty decent light, just depends on what plants you go with. DIY CO2 may be a good idea also.

Substrate change out with fish still in the tank is fairly easy if you take it slow scooping it out to not stir up too much. I would do a good gravel vacuum first and would get a bag of eco-complete. I would suggest just pulling out about half of your current gravel and pouring the eco on top and then mix a little. With the amount of fish you have, you could just as easily move to a temp container for a couple of hours. Using eco will cause the least amount of stir in your tank and doesn't require you to drain - a big advantage of using it. Doesn't even require rinsing.

What exactly determines good lighting in a 10 gallon though? I've got a 15 watt natural daylight that I got with the hood it came with, and was under the impression that it would provide decent lighting, but now I'm starting to get skeptical. Also, what would be considered a stem plant? I'm a little confused as to what the differences are between them, as they all have some sort of stem lol.

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Stem plants are like the rotalas,wisteria,ludwigia and so on.They grow tall,and you can clip them in half,and plant the top to grow some more.These may get a root or two on the stem,and will grow some under the substrate,but feed more through the water column than the substrate.Java ferns are a rhizome plant meaning the stem,or rhizom grows horizontal.Anubias nana is the same.These are usually tied to things and the rhizome creeps along it.The roots are more for them to attach to things like the driftwood.They feed through the rhizome which is why its not buried.rossettes are like the amazon swords and crypts.These form leaves at a base and spread out this way.They have roots under the subsrate in which they feed.

Good lighting is usually measured by the watts per gallon though I see less of this with certain bulbs.Yours would be 1.5 WPG as the bulb is most likely a T8.Its ok,but for stems it would need more light.I cant suggest a good light as the one i have is a high output light and I will be going into pressurized CO2 soon to make up for it.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

I would say somewhere in the 2-4wpg range (if you stayed with that type of light) would be good for just about anything. Stem plants are just that, a stem. They can stand alone as an individual plant. Different from rhizome (anubius, java fern, etc) or rosette type plants (swords, vals, etc). There are hundreds of varieties, if not thousands, of stem plants. Have any ambition to dwelve into the unlimited plant world of CO2?

Actually, yes, I've been thinking about getting a diy CO2 setup made sometime soon, but I'm just trying to layout/determine how I want my tank to be setup. I'm actually trying to attend a Southern California Aquatic Plants Enthusiasts (SCAPE) meeting to pick up some plants / tips on how to get a scaped look, but I'd love to get your 2 cents, or any tips on the matter on going dutch, or getting a more natural look. I saw your tank on this month's aquarium contest, and am absolutely amazed at how great it looks. How can I do the same on a smaller level, in say a 10G?

I actually bought a handful of plants from you in the past, and I'd love to buy from you again if you've still got some up for offer.

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My best advice would be to go to the ADA competition site and look at the tanks submitted for that. It has entrants from the last 10 years. Some are really out there, but can be inspirational. After that, I'd go to plantedtank.net and look through all the tank pics there. You can narrow down what you look at by tank size on both sites. But, don't let the size of your tank limit you. You can always scale down anybodies setup. You'll find some dutch-type setups and some that just look really natural. The ADA site will have the layout of the tank a lot of the time. TPT will usually list the plants they have in the tank, but no diagram. There is also an aquascaping forum out there also. That would be the place to ask for tips on going dutch. I really suck at placing plants. I know a few basics, maybe.

Thanks for the compliments on my tank. It is definitely not a dutch setup. I used to use the whole tank as a grow tank for my other 125g....and now it looks much better than the other one. I still have one area that I use to grow stuff out to put in other tanks. I don't really have many plants for sale right now unless you need some java fern, java moss, or Wisteria. I'm done buying for a little while and got a lot of holes to fill in my other tanks.

I put two 13 watt screw in CLF's into my cheap old hood on the first of my "ReStart" tanks, 10g, and I have to trim and groom plants all the time. I am keeping it on 10 hours per day on a timer. I set it to come on while we are home so that we can enjoy the tank more.

I did the same thing with Molly fry 10g except I run the lights 16 hours a day to encourage algae for them to eat. I started planting that tank and as the plants took hold, the algae has now just about disappeared. Proof that plants will keep algae under control, at least in my mind.

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.