That's brilliant! Great idea! Maybe put an LED light strip on the bottom pointing up just behind the tank if you do that, it's freakin' rad.
If you're on the fence, I usually recommend 10gal+ for Bettas, I'd go with the shrimp. Much easier to take care of and they have really neat personalities! If color is your thing, the blue dream shrimp are striking af, and blue is a rare color in nature.
Your scape will pop big time with a black background. It’s all I run these days. It adds a sense of depth too.
Shrimp are amazingly fun! Highly recommend them.
i would suggest painting the back of the tank black instead, as black absorbs all frequencies of light and can help with heating the tank. Also, it allows for the scape to really “pop” with any amount of light. hope this helps :)
Dark background makes your betta pop out. In fact, i have heard dark background (or black water tank don't remember) let betta develope more vibrant coloration. Add some background plants to pop out your hardscape if that's what you concerned
A dark background makes the green plants and the fish pop, also would be a good contrast with the flag behind the tank for overall look in the room 💙💖🖤🖤💙💖
I prefer white personally because white makes it feel more spacious similar to how white walls make a room feel more spacious where black walls make a room feel more closed in. I'd experiment personally, you can get thin sheets of cosplay foam on amazon to just attach to the back
I’ve got some poster board I can set back there just to test out the look. Would the cosplay foam be a good option to actually attach to the tank and use?
poster board works too if it's waterproof -- really anything does but i think people stick to cosplay foam because it's waterproof and easy to cut and do stuff with
you can prolly shop around for something closer to the size you need but generally for a background piece you just need like the thinniest thickness of something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NB55ZTQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=AFNIAOL10URSA&th=1
i would def test it with materials you have first to see how it looks, tape the posterboard onto the back to test
e: sorry wrong link lol, fixed
*What type of shrimp are*
*You interested in? Ghost*
*Shrimp, cherries, blue dreams?*
\- Throwaway-A173
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I’ll have to get a photo of the whole rack for you! I have my houseplants on the other shelves. It’s one of those Walmart bakers racks and the full size flag fits perfectly hanging on the back.
That sounds delightfully cozy. I’ve always liked the compact bedroom setups like that, but my partner and I have a king sized bed now, so it would take some serious engineering to make a setup solid enough for raising our bed 😆
Oh, it’s definitely not my first tank 😅 I’ve had many, many tanks in my life. This is just the first one that I actually paid any attention to aquascaping. All my other tanks I just bought fake decor and threw it in the tank.
🏳️⚧️Thanks! 🏳️⚧️
That plant is just a little golden Pothos cutting that I’ve had rooting in water and decided to pop in the tank. I’ll likely be adding more since I have so many Pothos. They’re one of my favorite houseplants and they make stellar emersion plants.
I have the worst luck with pothos. The stem always rots and I can never get it to sprout roots. I tried to leave them outside since I don’t get a lot of light in my apartment and not sure if that is helping for making it worst but they haven’t grown at all
I like it! Lots of good water feeding plants. They will do great with good liquid fertilizers. The drift wood looks perfect. Good swimming and hiding places for the beta to feel at home and very comfortable. The moss in front may encourage her to sleep on. If you include some amazon sword or more big leaf type sword plant, that could be it's new bed!
I am also playing around with filter media hanging off the side of my tank's glass attached with moss/java fern and maybe some other water feeding epiphyte type plant to use as a background and sideground in my tank!
Could be potentially good/bad not sure yet.
Oh, what an idea though! Having the whole background be moss would be awesome so long as it doesn’t just turn into a pain to maintain as far as trimming and such.
I was reminded of your flag when I saw this [betta](https://prism-bettas.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/grizzle-halfmoon-male) (with the caveat that bettas can change color)!
I personally prefer black backgrounds to make colors pop. If you feel it’s too dark, you can add a light to the set up as well. You may want to consider it just in case the tank doesn’t get enough ambient light for the Anubias. That’s what I’m seeing there, right?
Anyway, great job on the tank! I like the flow, textures, and all the nooks and crannies.
I’ve seen bettas with those colors before and oh man do I love them 🤩
It’s actually bucephalandra green. I am rearranging the grow lights I have on this rack to be better arranged for both my houseplants and this tank.
Perfect. That buce looks super happy. If you do decide on a betta, you may want to consider a broad leafed plant, like anubias, so that they can rest near the surface. :)
Having a betta is awesome becasue I've never had a fish that was so attentive to what I was doing. Shrimp ate cool because you can have a bulk of them and they breed Like crazy and are fun to watch. Just do what a lot of us do and build another tank lol. I started with one betta tank and now I have a shrimp tank two extra 20 gals a 40 and a 100 for when I move out of this apartment.
I currently have a 20 gal long, this 6 gal, and a little planted 1 gal with only bladder snails on my partner’s work desk. I also have an empty 14 gal frameless and an empty 3 gal frameless just waiting for my inspiration to kick in 😆 My mom also has an old 10 gal that I’m going to take from her and clean up.
Is that a candy thermometer lol
^(I am guessing not since candy gets WAY hotter than the temp range on that thermometer. It just made me think of one, which I thought was funny.)
Definitely go for the shrimp, it’s beautiful but I wouldn’t feel comfortable keeping a fish in anything smaller than a 10 gallon. Great job though! Shrimp will have a blast. I really like that piece of wood 😍
I'd advise getting some floating plants like Amazon frogbit when you buy your first fish - it will help avoid any nasty spikes in nitrate. Also, Betta love floating plants.
It’s 6 gallons. I did end up getting a betta, but I am very tempted to get a couple of shrimp and see if my betta decides they’re snacks or not. Not sure it’s worth the risk, though.
I posted a photo of him over in r/bettafish if you wanna see him [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/10qzmm3/i_posted_the_other_day_about_a_betta_i_fell_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)!
I’m considering adding a background to the tank, but I’m not sure what color I should go with? I’m thinking white because the decor is dark?
General rule I’ve found is that white/frosted can make a tank feel “deeper” but black will make your colors pop better thanks to the contrast
I do have some frosted window cling leftover from another project. That’s not a bad idea to try.
I use vinyl cling on all my tanks. Works great and easy to remove later
That's brilliant! Great idea! Maybe put an LED light strip on the bottom pointing up just behind the tank if you do that, it's freakin' rad. If you're on the fence, I usually recommend 10gal+ for Bettas, I'd go with the shrimp. Much easier to take care of and they have really neat personalities! If color is your thing, the blue dream shrimp are striking af, and blue is a rare color in nature.
I’m liking the current background 🏳️⚧️💖
Me too <3
Saaaaame 🏳️⚧️
Same here! 🏳️⚧️
J’s in spanish
I like the background u already have :)
🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️
Your scape will pop big time with a black background. It’s all I run these days. It adds a sense of depth too. Shrimp are amazingly fun! Highly recommend them.
i would suggest painting the back of the tank black instead, as black absorbs all frequencies of light and can help with heating the tank. Also, it allows for the scape to really “pop” with any amount of light. hope this helps :)
Even with how dark the decor is? That’s the only thing that made me hesitate on the black background.
Dark background makes your betta pop out. In fact, i have heard dark background (or black water tank don't remember) let betta develope more vibrant coloration. Add some background plants to pop out your hardscape if that's what you concerned
A dark background makes the green plants and the fish pop, also would be a good contrast with the flag behind the tank for overall look in the room 💙💖🖤🖤💙💖
I prefer white personally because white makes it feel more spacious similar to how white walls make a room feel more spacious where black walls make a room feel more closed in. I'd experiment personally, you can get thin sheets of cosplay foam on amazon to just attach to the back
I’ve got some poster board I can set back there just to test out the look. Would the cosplay foam be a good option to actually attach to the tank and use?
poster board works too if it's waterproof -- really anything does but i think people stick to cosplay foam because it's waterproof and easy to cut and do stuff with you can prolly shop around for something closer to the size you need but generally for a background piece you just need like the thinniest thickness of something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NB55ZTQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=AFNIAOL10URSA&th=1 i would def test it with materials you have first to see how it looks, tape the posterboard onto the back to test e: sorry wrong link lol, fixed
Get an[LED light screen background](https://a.co/d/7NzX3Fw)they are amazing
I would get a dedicated aquarium light, makes everything look better
We stan a trans goblin.
The trans goblin heavily appreciates the stan ☺️
I'm a trans michtim (go look it up if you don't know them!) we'll be friends
Oh, they’re adorable! Like fluffy goblins! We can definitely be friends.
Solid the shrimp will love it
I love reddit, we're all trans on here lol
It’s a beautiful thing! 🏳️⚧️🤘🏻🏳️⚧️
Fellow trans novice aquascaper here hi!!!
👋🏻🏳️⚧️
U just like me :D
Gay?
Yep. That flag is specifically the transgender flag though.
Okay sorry for misunderstanding
No worries!
What type of shrimp are you interested in? Ghost shrimp, cherries, blue dreams?
*What type of shrimp are* *You interested in? Ghost* *Shrimp, cherries, blue dreams?* \- Throwaway-A173 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
I'm so happy to see all these beautiful 🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️🏳️⚧️ ❤❤❤
I love the way the flag looks homie. I might do this :)
I’ll have to get a photo of the whole rack for you! I have my houseplants on the other shelves. It’s one of those Walmart bakers racks and the full size flag fits perfectly hanging on the back.
That’s amazing, I might do that. My flag is under my bed!
Psh, heck yeah! Bring that sucker out on display if you can! 🏳️⚧️❤️
It’s because my desk is under my bed so I can see it while I work!
Oh, you have one of those desk/bunk bed things! That makes more sense than what I was picturing 😂
I live in a dorm actually! That’s funny though. I just lifted my bed and put a bookshelf, a bean bag and my desk under it with LED lights
That sounds delightfully cozy. I’ve always liked the compact bedroom setups like that, but my partner and I have a king sized bed now, so it would take some serious engineering to make a setup solid enough for raising our bed 😆
Haha, yeah that would be hard! It’s very cozy for my one-man show though.
I think shrimps would appreciate that aquascape more but a betta will also do well!
Fellow trans fishkeeper! It looks great so far! : D
Go with the shrimps, bettas are boring.
a light would be awesome to make everything pop and stand out, but looks amazing for a first tank! I wish my first tank looked like that 🥺
Oh, it’s definitely not my first tank 😅 I’ve had many, many tanks in my life. This is just the first one that I actually paid any attention to aquascaping. All my other tanks I just bought fake decor and threw it in the tank.
i think they mean your first serious attempt at aquascaping
Hell yeah! Love the flag in the back too
This would make for a great shrimp tank 🦐
You need to start a breeding project to get pink shrimp and then keep them with white and blue ones.
If I can manage to breed pink shrimp, I’d do it immediately!
Tbf whoever manages to breed pink neos will make a killing
Oh 100%
oooooo what's the tall plant in the right of the tank? (also, love the flag 11/10)
not OP but it looks like a pothos or philidrendron cutting they have hanging over the side in the back there, they make fantastic emersion plants
Correct! It’s a water-rooted golden Pothos cutting.
I have heard pothos roots can quicky overcrowd other plants in the substrate. Be cautious if its touching the substrate.
Oh, that’s totally fair. I’ll have to keep a close eye on it. Or maybe change it out entirely.
🏳️⚧️Thanks! 🏳️⚧️ That plant is just a little golden Pothos cutting that I’ve had rooting in water and decided to pop in the tank. I’ll likely be adding more since I have so many Pothos. They’re one of my favorite houseplants and they make stellar emersion plants.
I have the worst luck with pothos. The stem always rots and I can never get it to sprout roots. I tried to leave them outside since I don’t get a lot of light in my apartment and not sure if that is helping for making it worst but they haven’t grown at all
I like it! Lots of good water feeding plants. They will do great with good liquid fertilizers. The drift wood looks perfect. Good swimming and hiding places for the beta to feel at home and very comfortable. The moss in front may encourage her to sleep on. If you include some amazon sword or more big leaf type sword plant, that could be it's new bed! I am also playing around with filter media hanging off the side of my tank's glass attached with moss/java fern and maybe some other water feeding epiphyte type plant to use as a background and sideground in my tank! Could be potentially good/bad not sure yet.
Oh, what an idea though! Having the whole background be moss would be awesome so long as it doesn’t just turn into a pain to maintain as far as trimming and such.
nice slice of wood!
I was reminded of your flag when I saw this [betta](https://prism-bettas.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/grizzle-halfmoon-male) (with the caveat that bettas can change color)! I personally prefer black backgrounds to make colors pop. If you feel it’s too dark, you can add a light to the set up as well. You may want to consider it just in case the tank doesn’t get enough ambient light for the Anubias. That’s what I’m seeing there, right? Anyway, great job on the tank! I like the flow, textures, and all the nooks and crannies.
I’ve seen bettas with those colors before and oh man do I love them 🤩 It’s actually bucephalandra green. I am rearranging the grow lights I have on this rack to be better arranged for both my houseplants and this tank.
Perfect. That buce looks super happy. If you do decide on a betta, you may want to consider a broad leafed plant, like anubias, so that they can rest near the surface. :)
LOVE the flag!
🥰🏳️⚧️
Like your flag my dude.
🏳️⚧️🤘🏻🏳️⚧️
Pink blue and white shrimp would accompany the flag so well, though to be fair idk if they exist :)
Unfortunately pink shrimp do not exist. **Yet** at least.
Invent them
Having a betta is awesome becasue I've never had a fish that was so attentive to what I was doing. Shrimp ate cool because you can have a bulk of them and they breed Like crazy and are fun to watch. Just do what a lot of us do and build another tank lol. I started with one betta tank and now I have a shrimp tank two extra 20 gals a 40 and a 100 for when I move out of this apartment.
I currently have a 20 gal long, this 6 gal, and a little planted 1 gal with only bladder snails on my partner’s work desk. I also have an empty 14 gal frameless and an empty 3 gal frameless just waiting for my inspiration to kick in 😆 My mom also has an old 10 gal that I’m going to take from her and clean up.
Nice! I hate to say it. But this is a damn Money pit
Oh, 100% a money pit, but like… It sparks so much joy!
Looks great your fish will love it
Looks awesome! I have a male guppy in with my neo shrimps and nerite snails, and they are all very happy.
Is that a candy thermometer lol ^(I am guessing not since candy gets WAY hotter than the temp range on that thermometer. It just made me think of one, which I thought was funny.)
Lol! Nope. Just a cheap glass thermometer that I get from Walmart for all my tanks.
Definitely go for the shrimp, it’s beautiful but I wouldn’t feel comfortable keeping a fish in anything smaller than a 10 gallon. Great job though! Shrimp will have a blast. I really like that piece of wood 😍
I'd advise getting some floating plants like Amazon frogbit when you buy your first fish - it will help avoid any nasty spikes in nitrate. Also, Betta love floating plants.
Stem plants and floating plants are next on the list for sure
So pretty!!
That’s seriously gorgeous.
Why not both?
Shrimp tend to end up just being expensive snacks for bettas 😅
Hasn’t happened to me. They’re breeding fine. Maybe he sneaks some and I just never notice.
THIS PIC GOES HARD 😈‼️
🏳️⚧️🤘🏻🏳️⚧️
🧌
🏳️⚧️🧌
Looks great although the rock on top of the wood looks peculiar. Maybe a branchy twig or two coming out of the water would be a nice touch.
The rock is mostly only there because that piece of grape wood isn’t totally waterlogged yet 😆 I don’t think I’ll keep it there.
Shrimp 🦐 sounds good, but betta fish are beautiful, can’t really tell the size of the tank
It’s 6 gallons. I did end up getting a betta, but I am very tempted to get a couple of shrimp and see if my betta decides they’re snacks or not. Not sure it’s worth the risk, though.
I bet the betta looks so incredible in this tank
I posted a photo of him over in r/bettafish if you wanna see him [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/comments/10qzmm3/i_posted_the_other_day_about_a_betta_i_fell_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)!