Best products from r/shittyaquariums

https://www.amazon.com/Newhouse-Lighting-NHGS-LED-BLK-Gooseneck-Charging/dp/B00FIYJXDS

this is the closest thing i found to mine but i have one for my 5 gallon betta tank with a max wattage of 17w. i'm growing some amazon sword, water lily, and multiplying duckweed

i didnt think it would work as well as it does but it provides a good coverage of lighting and has a low, medium, and intense setting.

i also have the tank and light one my drawer next to my bed so it charges my phone at same time and can light my room at night when i dont feel like getting up to flip the switch for my normal overhead lights

really a great light 10/10 would recommend for small tanks for it's multifunctionality and versatility

it will be fine for like a betta or guppys other wise it would not be too good also if you keep you a betta you need a different filter or to modified because its to strong for a betta what i would suggest is a sponge filter like this https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Medium-Cylinder-Sponge-XINYOU/dp/B009UY519M/ref=sr_1_10?rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1549603133&sr=8-10&keywords=sponge+filter&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011

i have them in all of my tanks

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Nah, never skimp out on airstones and filtration. Female bettas are solitary except in very large, heavily planted tanks, they are very aggressive fish too. High quality pellets like hikari pellets should be alternated with frozen food, my bettas usually took both. Flower pot is for a hiding cave, and ducky might be too bright and stress out the fish. Natural decor looks prettier imo than man made stuff anywho, especially if you do it right. Never use test strips, they're expensive and innacurate, liquid test kits are the better option. Basically add seachem stability to the water for as long as it says, and put fish food in to make ammonia for the bacteria to feed on. Once you hit 0 ammonia and nitrite you're good.

For filtration supplies my recommendations are:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NP8W84/ref=cm_cr_othr_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8#cm_cr_carousel_images_section
https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Aquariums-Flexible-Standard/dp/B0002563MW/ref=pd_aw_fbt_199_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T5060PXA17HMGYQ77ABQ&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Whisper-Easy-Aquariums-Non-UL/dp/B0009YJ4N6/ref=pd_aw_sim_199_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M73HJGY41F3HX940NJJG&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076S3D75C/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1539721622&sr=8-4&keywords=small+airstone&dpPl=1&dpID=41QZJrnKZZL&ref=plSrch
And of course seachem prime and stability

Hi there, it's lovely that you want to help this fish! It's sad that a school is willing to set such a poor example of animal care to kids.


Would your parents be willing to help? If so, a letter from them to the school saying something along the lines of "We feel it's important to teach our children compassion and responsibility when it comes to animal care, and the fish in the library doesn't have a proper set up for a betta fish. Please lead by example and use this as a teaching opportunity by setting up a proper small tank for the school fish. Thank you".


If they wouldn't want to get involved, then a Betta leaf hammock (link) would be more useful for him than a moss ball, and they only cost $3-4. If it's placed a few inches below the surface of the water, Bettas like to lie and rest and sleep on them, but also be close to the surface so they can breathe (Bettas can breathe oxygen from the surface, which is why people feel okay about keeping them in small bowls that would kill a fish that can't do that much more quickly).


https://www.amazon.co.uk/zoomed-Floating-Betta-Leaf-Hammock/dp/B0027IZ6KW/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3VIYPUOID4VKB&keywords=betta+leaf+hammock&qid=1566918613&s=gateway&sprefix=betta+leaf%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-2

Make sure you cycle your tank before adding the fish in. If you don't know what that is, read this guide: https://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles_51/fishless-cycling-article.htm

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As for the gravel issue, the problem with that coloured gravel is that the unnatural colours can stress out the fish, not that it is inert. Substrate is there to stop the fish from feeling stressed (it provides a more natural environment and doesn't reflect fish like the glass bottom does), to decorate the tank, to host beneficial bacteria that help with the nitrogen cycle, if you have bottom-feeding fish like corydoras to allow them to forage through it as they would in the wild and, if you have root-feeding plants, to provide nutrients for them. However, some plants feed through the water column instead, and if you do have root-feeding plants, you will probably want root tabs or a soil substrate to provide nutrients (this doesn't have to cover the whole tank). Gravel isn't normally what you would use to provide nutrients to plants, anyway, so it being inert doesn't make it useless.

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Shells and even some substrates can be used to add minerals to the water to harden it, but whether or not you will need this depends on what the water in your local area is like and the species of fish you are keeping. Bettas generally like quite soft water, so this probably wouldn't be necessary. You should be able to check how hard the water in your area is with a google search. If not, you can get testing kits for this such as this API one https://www.amazon.co.uk/API-CALCIUM-Saltwater-Aquarium-1-Count/dp/B003SNCHMA?th=1 You'll also want to research the preferred water hardness of whatever species of fish you are keeping. If you do need to raise it, you will be able to do it more accurately by using a product such as seachem equilibrium, or mixing magnesium and calcium yourself, but you will need to research how to do this. Shells and substrates that raise water hardness are normally used for fish that need extremely hard water, such as cichlids.

These look like some kinda tetra I would stick to water changes every other day until the parameters get back to normal (0, ammonia and nitrites, 20-30 nitrates) feed them as much as they can eat in a 30ish second period. Don’t leave left over food tho! Also I would recommend an api master test kit to help track the water reading https://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWATER-800-Test-Freshwater-Aquarium/dp/B000255NCI

My first betta was bought with one of these pieces of absolute shite. https://www.amazon.ca/Marina-Betta-Pals-Kit-Green/dp/B0002AQO5S

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Still embarrassed about it. I had that newbie idea of "well this is what the pet store recommends, plus it's like three TIMES the size of the cup, right!?" Luckily I upgraded to a 3 gallon aquarium within the year, but these days 5 is my absolute minimum.

I think when your a kid you just dont understand. I had 4 of those betta marine box things (.5 gallons at best) each with a betta, sitting in the sun, and I didn't get why they kept jumping out.

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I wish pet stores wouldn't even sell these kinds of aquariums.

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https://www.amazon.com/Marina-Betta-Aquarium-Starter-Flora/dp/B008SBE02M/ref=sr_1_42?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1540229898&sr=1-42&keywords=betta+tank These were the tanks I had.

I used this uv sterilizer on my 29 planted and along with a big water change it cleared up very quickly.

Quite literally.

I knew someone that had one of these above his toilet. Didn't talk to him again.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquaneat-Aquarium-Driven-Corner-Accessories/dp/B079M732S6/ref=sr_1_7?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1539720139&sr=1-7&keywords=sponge+filter+20+gallon

Is this a good choice? It says it comes with air stones so i thought it might be what you were talking about.

I found a tetra whisper air pump, but not a filter by that brand.

Cycling is the whole "set up the tank and feed it fish food, but don't add fish until the test strips say its good water" process, right? I still need to do more research into how to do that, but its on the list of "things to get done before bringing home a fish". Is it okay to add the plants during the cycling process, or should I hold off until my water is good?

I fed my previous bettas frozen blood worms and brine shrimp, are there other frozen foods they need? I did have pellets for them, but they were MUCH more interested in the worms and shrimp as I recall.

Re: Female Bettas: Are they solitary or will they live together? I'm not sure why but something in the back of my mind says females won't fight each other. I do not want to find out I am wrong the hard way.

And no plecto then! Not gonna put a fish who needed 40 gallons in a 10-20 for sure!

also the flower pot... what is that for? Is it supposed to be a hidey spot, is it for the plants? I'm confused and don't want to do anything wrong.

Stupidest question: If I weight down a rubber duckie, seal it with aquarium safe seal (I think that's a thing, I seem to remember my stepdad using it on a little stone statue he bought for our community tank) is that gonna bother the fish? Its a rounded soft thing, so I wouldn't think it would tear fins, but if a yellow duck is somehow bothersome to the little fellow (or little lady) I can live without a duckie for decoration.

Thanks. There's a ton of them, but here are a few:

https://smile.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Deluxe-Aquarium-0-7-Gallon/dp/B00B71K00G
https://smile.amazon.com/Aqueon-Betta-Starter-Gallon-Black/dp/B009ETLXT0

So much misinformation. When I got my first betta the PetSmart worker told me that bettas are made "anxious" by big tanks, so a 1 gallon is ideal. Crazy. But yeah, Amazon needs to be pressured to stop. Even worse are the shelves of dozens of bettas at fish stores in those tiny cups. Just awful.

While I'm no expert on different kinds of aquariums, this looks like a Fluval Edge 2.0, putting its size at about 6 gallons.

Firstly, that tank size is too small for any pleco, not enough space, not enough volume to buffer out its massive waste output, and definitely not enough cover for a pleco.

Also that Kuhli loach is also being kept in awful conditions. They require at least some kind of soft substrate, not necessarily sand, but definitely not that jagged white rocky gravel. You can even see from the video some of its barbels are missing. It also does not have any cover at all, so it is trying to use the pleco itself as a hiding space, which it normally never would do. Not to mention I would never keep them in a tank this has an area less than of 24x12in, and in groups of no less than 3. They are also scaleless, so any water quality issues caused by said pleco and other stocking would affect them even more as they are mostly scaleless, and are one of the first species to die if water quality is degraded.


Finally, for that amano shrimp, I do not see any algae growth for it to eat, or hell any food. Given that the tank owner probably bought it as an "algae eater" since "algae is bad" and she heard amano shrimp eat algae, it will probably die a slow and painful death of starvation.

TLDR; Too small, too many fish, and owner doesn't accommodate the fishes individual needs at all.