E.S. Raye

I don’t usually talk too much about my hobbies here (last week’s post on my upcoming dieselpunk PC build notwithstanding), but something happened this morning that has turned my mind back to one of my hobbies: aquascaping.

What is Aquascaping?

Aquascaping is basically a cross between a building a terrarium and having a fish tank. It’s a bit more than just having live plants in a fish tank–there’s purpose and effort in molding the environment to your liking.

I have two 10 gallon aquascaped tanks. One in our living room I call R’occoli that has a few tetras and a thriving shrimp colony I call The Esoteric Order of Cauliflower:

And one in my office I call Carrotcosa, home to The King In Cobalt:

What Happened This Morning?

My office tank, Carrotcosa, has been home to my betta fish–The King in Cobalt–for nearly three years. But for the past week or so, he hasn’t been looking good. He’s lacked his usual energy and didn’t want to eat. His water parameters have not changed and nothing new had been introduced to the tank, so I wasn’t sure what to do.

But this morning, when I came down to feed him and work, I found he had passed.

It’s sad that he is gone–if you’ve never had fish, betta are almost puppy-like–they recognize you when you come into the room, go to the same place for feeding every day, and their personalities make them generally more interactive than most fish. But, bettas only live 3-5 years (although some people have kept them as long as 7 or 8, though I think these are more rare), and they don’t get to pet store shelves until they are 6 months to a year.

I’d had The King for nearly three years now, so he was well into the middle of that life expectancy. Maybe even closer to the end of it, depending on how long he was at the store before I got him.

What’s Next

As sad as it is to lose The King, I am excited at the prospect of starting Carrotcosa all over again.

While it was a great environment for The King, offering lots of places to explore and hide in, as a fish tank enthusiast, it’s been one headache after another.

First, the plants refused to grow. Then there was the explosion of hair algae that took a year to get under control without the use of chemicals that could harm The King or the snails I wanted. Then there was the trumpet snail infestation that came in on plants I ordered online. And lastly, a new infestation of hydra.

But now, with the principle occupant no longer in residence, I will retrieve the two nerite snails I want to keep, and put them in their own small tank while I rip Carrotcosa up by the roots.

The plan is to completely empty the tank and sanitize it. Once that’s done, it’s time for the aquascaping magic to begin!

I’ll start with soil, sand, rocks, and maybe a little driftwood, depending on the scene I decide to create–I’ve already got an idea I quite like. Then I’ll fill it, add some bacteria to get the cycling process started, and wait.

Cycling a new tank this size usually takes about a month, but I’m hoping to speed the process along a bit by swapping filter mediums from R’occoli into Carrotcosa’s filter. Since that’s where a lot of the important bacteria live, hopefully I can transplant some and get the ball rolling a little faster.

Once the tank is cycled, I can plant and add fish.

Many people plant before they add water and cycle, but I prefer to do it after. I don’t know if there is a big difference, but I’ve done it three times now and had a lot of success.

And as for what I’m going to put in it, I’ve thought a lot about it, and I think I’m not going to get another betta. They are great fish, but they benefit from having their tanks in higher-traffic areas. Don’t get me wrong, The King was a happy boy (bettas make bubble nests when they are happy and healthy, and Carrotcosa was always very bubbly), but I don’t come down to my office on the weekends much, and during the week I’m occupied by working.

So, instead, I’m going to do a small school of little fish, maybe guppies or rasboras, and transplant some of the shrimp from R’occoli.

I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to start, but hopefully it will be in the next week or so. If there is any interest in it, I’ll share the progress both here and on my social media platforms.

So to end…

The King is dead. Long live The King.