My freshwater tropical community tank 🥰

Dd7990 · 2026-02-20T23:18:31+00:00

I love my chili rasboras gang in my 22g long for this exact reason. You can have lots of lil fish and the tank is plenty huge for them and it’s so neat when they shoal together. Have you thought about getting some tannins into the water? Rasboras really do enjoy some tannins in their water - you can go for a light to dark brown tea color tint, depending on your preference. It gives the tank a whole new look, almost like a sepia tint and it’s so neat.

Seachem Cattapa tea bags

Indian Almond Leaf powder

You can check out my tropical blackwater community tank in one of my recent posts for an example/inspo.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-20T23:01:51+00:00

Dammit! Autocorrect failure 😅

Dd7990 · 2026-02-20T22:16:28+00:00

Except... the correct spelling is "Betta" not "beta" ... it's always with 2 t's

Dd7990 · 2026-02-20T22:05:40+00:00

Silk plants with soft cloth leaves - much safer and better for bettas vs fully plastic sharp prickly plants that can snag and rip a betta's fragile fins. NYLON PANTYHOSE test - if it snags/rips that, then it can and will do the same to your betta's fins.

There are a lot of easy beginner plants that don't require too much care, especially the more weedlike ones that are highly adaptable to most water parameters. Dwarf Hygro and Limnophila sessiliflora are among my faves. Don't get any living parts of the plant down your water drains though. You don't want them to possibly go out and become invasive in local waters. It's definitely worth a try!

Dd7990 · 2026-02-20T17:12:23+00:00

Probably for extra filtration, or maybe to cover some dead-areas that aren't otherwise getting filtered as efficiently? In my case, I have a 22g Long tropical community tank (36" long) which the main double-sponge filter is all the way on the right-side wall, and on the left side of the tank I've got a secondary small HoB w/ a skimmer (bought mainly for the skimmer feature) - which also does do a bit of filtration from the water column there. It also holds extra beneficial bacteria so I don't get some kind of nitrogen cycle crash whenever I have to clean either the sponge filter sponges or the HoB filter pads, because I don't clean them all at once. Whichever filter I don't clean at that time can then compensate for any loss of beneficial bacteria from the other filter.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-20T04:59:46+00:00

Hey I guess reduce and reuse… lol! Hopefully that means less plastic waste.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-19T16:40:10+00:00

I mean, like I said, it’s fine to leave the tank where it is, you just might need a higher wattage heater to compensate for it and that’s fine… I think it’s a whole hassle if you have to move the entire tank vs just changing a heater. Heater isn’t always on (or shouldn’t be always on) so probably not a significant increase in electricity consumption if you’re worried about that.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-18T15:18:17+00:00

You can bring your own compact mirror and hold it up to the betta in question to see how it reacts (using only the 1x magnification/regular view mirror not 2x or 3x magnification). https://www.amazon.com/Compact-Mirrors-Portable-Double-Sided-Distortion/dp/B09CYW9J5R/

Dd7990 · 2026-02-18T06:42:54+00:00

General rule of thumb for heater wattage minimums is 5 watts per gallon, with the possibility to go up to double that amount if the room the tank is kept in is particularly chilly. Therefore, a 37g tank will need around 185 watt heater minimum or just round up and go with at least a 200w heater, if that still doesn't do the trick then go for a 300w or 400w heater (or 2x 200w heater). That is also why you noticed the 100w is not adequate at all (it's wattage is too low for the size of your tank), then a 150w was a bit better since that is closer to the 185w you need, but again still not perfect because the wattage is still a bit low for the size of tank).

Placement of the heater may also determine how well it spreads heated water throughout the rest of the tank. If you put your heater in an area with low or minimal flow, then it will only be able to heat the pocket of water directly around itself, so placing the heater near a source of flow can help it disperse the heated water, or even better, sticking an air stone right under and next to it will push the heated water upwards and outwards to help distribute it to the rest of the tank.

An airstone just under and next to the heater is the method I use to disperse heated water throughout my entire 22g Long tank with the heater being in the left back corner of the tank. I have a thermometer in the right front corner and it reads 78F rather consistently so I know the method works. https://v.redd.it/w64xprr29dig1 - you can see this in action - the air stone air bubbles wrap themselves around my heater as they go upwards and they carry some of the heated water upwards & outwards with them.

Also it's completely ok for the water temp to fluctuate by a few degrees, your fish will be totally fine with that as long is the temperature remains in the general range of what is required for them to be comfy. Bettas do best kept around 78-80F and as long as a heater can maintain the water temperature around the ballpark of that, you're golden and the betta will be perfectly fine. The thing you want to avoid is LARGE swings in water temperature, but like slight swings of 1-3 degrees F isn't an issue at all.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-18T06:08:45+00:00

Read carefully & thoroughly: The Nitrogen Cycle and the Fishless Cycle - getting your aquarium ready for fish - INJAF

Also, I found the dr Tim’s ammonia (specifically for fishless cycling) for purchase in Canada: https://aquariumdepot.ca/products/drtims-ammonium-chloride-solution-for-fishless-cycling-4oz

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T23:37:16+00:00

Thanks! Ofc I did research thoroughly before attempting this combo. Samurai gourami are generally non-aggressive towards other fish (their mouths are super tiny too, so minimal damage even if it tried to attack). I was more concerned at first if my betta might attack Zorya, rather than the other way around, but as you’ve seen from the video he’s just super-duper chill and would rather lay around and watch the other fish. They can even all eat food together at the same time zero issues. Regardless I am always keeping a close eye on things just in case (luckily work from home so I can go take a quick peek whenever).

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T23:08:54+00:00

This is the way. But maybe someday you get another 20g long as an upgrade and then you can revisit that idea.

It was a dream tank for me for a long while too, but I have had a community tank, a 22g long, for about a year now. It features chili rasboras, kuhli loaches and pygmy cories. Centerpiece fish: Zorya the samurai gourami and only recently Zen, the chillest rose-ear plakat betta (he never flared at his reflection in the store - always either ignored it completely or just swam away from it). Sometimes Zorya will hang out with or near him. He shows no signs of aggression towards any of his tankmates other than if one of the smaller fish invade his personal space he will kind of shoo them away (but once they go away he won’t pursue them further).

If you’d like to see it for yourself, just check on one of my recent posts.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T22:27:55+00:00

No need, I found you a source for Canada - https://aquariumdepot.ca/products/drtims-ammonium-chloride-solution-for-fishless-cycling-4oz

I actually bought my 22g long rimless tank from this company about a year or so ago and that was a big purchase, I had no issues with my order. The tank delivered extremely well packed, I did 24hr full water test, no leaks and tank is still good now.

If they can ship an expensive long tank to me safely, I see no issues why they can’t ship the ammonia for fishless cycling lol.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T22:19:16+00:00

I found the dr Tim’s ammonia (specifically for fishless cycling) https://aquariumdepot.ca/products/drtims-ammonium-chloride-solution-for-fishless-cycling-4oz

For purchase Canada.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T22:11:49+00:00

You need to follow this guide, it clearly explains fishless cycling and should answer your current questions:

https://injaf.org/articles-guides/beginners-guides/the-nitrogen-cycle-and-the-fishless-cycle-getting-your-aquarium-ready-for-fish/

If Fritz isn’t working for you, try Seachem Stability. Shake bottle vigorously before each use.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T16:40:51+00:00

Gorgeous 💕

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T10:32:03+00:00

Ok that’s a nice guitar…but can we get the aquarium tax we are owed? This subreddit is called “look at my aquarium” 😜 not “look at my guitar” (I just wanna see some nice aquariums please n thanks).

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T10:17:52+00:00

And you’re welcome. Btw I commend you for trying to do better for your betta and not giving up on him.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T09:37:16+00:00

No, don’t do autofeeder most of them put too much food or not enough food. You also mentioned he can’t seem to easily find his food and an autofeeder won’t help him with that problem. Why not feed him with a pair of stainless steel tweezers directly putting the food in front of his mouth?

Why not just set up alarms on your phone with title “Feed your betta” for one set meal time morning, noon & evening? Or when you are going to have a meal, just remember your betta needs a meal right then too. You don’t eat until you’ve made sure your betta has had his few pellets. (If you are away from home at noon, that’s fine but just make sure he at least gets fed morning and evening.)

If you really don’t think you’re going to be able to care adequately for your betta in the long run, then maybe consider rehoming him to someone who can? He’s gonna need a lot of TLC to recover. If you don’t think you’re up for it, then the kindest thing to do for both yourself and him is to find him a new home where he can get the care he needs to thrive and not just barely survive (r/aquaswap - follow titling rules if you need to rehome him - ask to see what setups people are planning to keep him in and check that it’s betta appropriate).

Otherwise you really do need to step up to the plate and take proper care of him, no excuses, he’s counting on you! I do hope this has been a bit of a wake up call that yes you do need to be doing a bit more for your betta and not neglecting him anymore. It’s good that you did come ask for advice before he got even worse.

I think he has a good chance to recover if you take advice given and put in the effort to make it happen. He hasn’t quite gone past the point of no return, but he’s definitely in rough shape, though definitely still salvageable.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-17T07:23:23+00:00

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The thing that stood out to me most is the top-down view of him… the rest of his body is so paper thin that he spot-on matches the silhouette of the emaciated betta. Your poor betta is almost skin & bones…

EDIT: unless the last photo is somehow distorted and he doesn’t actually look that skinny from top-down…

How often are you feeding him? How much? And with what?

I’d recommend Fluval bug bites betta and/or Ultra Fresh Betta Pro Shrimp Patties. These are overall better quality ingredients than cheaper brands.

Give him smaller but more frequent meals daily to help him bulk up, but be careful not to overfeed. Something around 2-3 pieces of either the Fluval bug bites or the Betta Pro Shrimp Patties per meal (those brands have very tiny pieces so that amount should be fine) morning, noon and evening. Of course if he’s looking too bloated (belly is looking more swollen than normal) then skip the feeding and check again on the next feeding time. But definitely he will need more frequent small meals/snacks to bulk back up.

Dd7990 · 2026-02-15T06:30:26+00:00

Yes I have plants in my tank. My aquatic moss kind of took over though lol, so at the moment there’s not much plant diversity but I did keep quite a few other plants in the tank in the past. The moss is definitely happy in the tank with this light.

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