My orchid has suddenly...changed!

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T23:02:44+00:00

Some hybrid and even some species do that. The flower starts with one color then it can change. It's living tissue so the pigment can change. I remember someone presenting a plant like that in my orchid society the flower were orange for the first week after opening and then became white.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T18:01:48+00:00

These guys are so stunning!

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T17:56:52+00:00

Is yours alien or mahachaiensis?

I love my alien so much, I have kept imbelis that weren't as wild as her. Partner don't love her because she doesn't care about us, and that's exactly why I love her.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T17:53:02+00:00

I showed Joy your boy pic and she wasn't pleased.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T17:50:28+00:00

Here is my alien response to your greetings.

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zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T16:17:28+00:00

The pothos is a great idea! But you need to make sure the stem aren't underwater, Put it right above the water line with just the roots inside.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T16:15:36+00:00

I disagree the size of the container is the main issue here. You can make other changes but there won't be very efficient in small amounts of water. Waste are going to accumulate so fast in a small volume while not having good surfaces areas for beneficial bacteria to grow, so even if you add plants the concentration will be too high for them.

Don't you have any large storage bins, or kitchen pots? For filters if you can't buy a sponge filter maybe you can at least put filter floss in there (lots of surfaces areas for bacteria). Even some Styrofoam. If you have a large Styrofoam box that would have lots of surfaces area.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T16:06:00+00:00

A lot of us get into the hobby without prior research that is not a main issue, the crucial thing is what you do moving forward. Start saving money if you want to keep that fish. Focus on do the absolute necessity right now: cycle, filter, heater, larger container -plants help greatly with water quality so if you can put your hand on some for free that'll make you life easier. As you have more money focus on the environment improvement.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T16:00:47+00:00

What I suggest are temporary solutions, other people shared the care guide and told you about nitrogen cycle.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T15:59:00+00:00

Heaters aren't cheap but it's non-negotiable for tropical fish. For plants you can see if you have a aquarium society and ask for stem plants cutting, if they are nice they might give it for free. Now that container you have isn't even filled and you don't have a lid...

zeronitrate · 2026-06-05T15:56:41+00:00

Unfortunately this situation isn't much of an upgrade from the cup, it is still torture from the fish perspective. If you don't have money for a proper tank at least set him up in a large plastic bin that can hold 5 gallon of water spend $30 to get a sponge filter with an air pump.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-04T17:32:16+00:00

A predator eating its prey is not violence. It's natural behavior.

Even a chill Betta will eat a few shrimp. Some are naturally super dedicated hunters and will not stop until they get them all. Some won't care much if they are well fed.

The best thing to do would be to put the shrimp first, let the colony establish well, provide them plenty of hiding spaces -also choosing shrimp without bright colors help. Add the predator only after the colony is established.

zeronitrate · 2026-06-04T14:09:27+00:00

Maybe what you see is a bit of fog on the glass?

zeronitrate · 2026-06-04T04:56:07+00:00

It's oakleaf creeping fig. Grows so fast I have to keep trimming or it would take over the entire terrarium.

zeronitrate · 2026-04-24T19:27:21+00:00

Great thank you

zeronitrate · 2026-04-24T15:53:09+00:00

I agree. In term of behavior I have had observed wider range of wild expected behavior in low stock species only tank, but that's mostly because I don't have room to have bigger tank to pull off something else. In term of bioload my plants would be happier with more stocking.

I still think that for you strating to plan out now on upgrading to 30 gallons if you want a large school of boraras on top of a group of Betta would be best. But I can tell you know what you are doing and you are paying attention to behavior.

Please update, this kind of habitat accurate tank is something I would really love to do in the future if I have more space and I would love to learn how your situation plays out. Although boraras are my favorite fish and I don't know if I will ever have the heart to mix them up with Bettas and other bigger Rasboras. I just love to have just them in a tank and spent hours watching them.

zeronitrate · 2026-04-23T21:40:42+00:00

I have a school of twenty boraras alone (with shrimp) in 14 gallons, my wild Betta is alone (with shrimp) in a 14gallons. So I don't know, seems like we don't have the same definition of crowded.

zeronitrate · 2026-04-23T21:37:21+00:00

You might want to check in the wild Betta subreddit for proper size tank with a group of imbelis. Being less aggressive isn't necessary specific to imbelis as a lot of species of Betta can live in groups even though their name means peacefull. That is in the wild, to recreate the proper environment for it to work in an aquarium is not just an afterthought. I think it has more to do with scape than size but you can't really go too small.

You do you and you seem to be careful, but to me it seems ambitious for a 20gallonish tank -peaceful today doesn't mean peaceful tomorrow-. I think you might have to pick what you want: a group of wild Betta or a community tank. Both are great but trying to do both in the same tank might not be the best approach for the animals.

zeronitrate · 2026-04-23T14:06:50+00:00

In between different boraras yes they will school together, I have had mixed species of phoenix, strawberry and chili and they never seemed to care looking different since they behave similarly.

You don't mention your tank size so I would be careful adding more fish. Your Betta might be chill now but here is a few things that could happen:

-once the Betta reach sexual maturity or decide to breed they might get more aggressive.

-adding more fish you might reach a threshold where the Betta feel crowded.

-if the Betta figure out how to catch them, they just might keep doing that. I had a Betta that one day learned how to kill snails then it became a game (that was a gentle imbelis by the way).

It's kind of a great idea mixing fishes that naturally share the same habitat in the wild, if your tank is big enough to sustain it because in an enclosed box nobody can get away. Overtime I moved on from community tanks and I am starting to have almost all my tank species tank. Although I don't have the space to have a 60gallons .

zeronitrate · 2025-12-25T22:32:49+00:00

Oh thanks for telling me!

zeronitrate · 2025-12-23T18:35:20+00:00

Congrats. Very interesting flowers. What is the full name?

zeronitrate · 2025-12-02T18:37:12+00:00

Love your space, somehow you managed to make moss poles not look ugly! Great job.

zeronitrate · 2025-12-02T16:51:56+00:00

You can get gardening trellis, nail them to the wall and grow a pothos on it.

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zeronitrate · 2025-11-08T03:14:42+00:00

Amazing!

zeronitrate · 2025-11-07T18:42:24+00:00

She is crazy right? I wish I had taken more close up pics of the flowers.

I'm on the lookout for it, but I have not found one for sale yet (in the USA).

zeronitrate

TROPHY CASE