Lincoln

[dakski]

Congrats on your nice little betta, dakski! He's a very pretty boy

Yeah, Lincoln's definitely a plakat (that more traditional short-finned variety), and it looks like he's something called a marble color-wise. Marbles can go through a bit of a color change throughout their life, so don't be surprised if his various spots and color patches start shifting around. A marble male I had went and turned completely blue after a few years!

It's nice to see that Lincoln's in a heated, filtered set-up. I'm actually planning on bumping the two betta I have now into similar setups sometime soon - they're both getting older and have had fin rot issues pop up recently, so I think they need something a little more stable/controlled than the planted 2.5 gallon setups they're in now. Maybe I'll post some photos of them once they're settled in to new digs.

Cool and good to know on the color change possibility.

He's a good guy and I think, as with reptiles, many people do not know how to properly care for Betta's. They like heat and filtration, etc.

I would love to see some pics of your tanks and Betta's if you want to post.

Thank you for the info Wrongpython!

[dakski]

If anyone is interested, and as mentioned earlier, I am using Seed to help establish Lincoln's tank quickly (speeding up the Nitrogen Cycle). I am also using Prime to treat the water and remove Chlorine etc. These product also apparently binds to ammonia and makes it easier for the tank to process. Unless the levels get dangerous and I am doing regular water changes to keep Lincoln safe, I do not plan to use Prime except as a water decontaminator and not to reduce ammonia.

Tested his water tonight and there are about .25+/- PPM of ammonia, right on schedule. There were no nitrites and no nitrates to be found.

I will be testing his water again tomorrow but only plan to update as we progress through the cycle and I can report on how well Seed works.

Overall, I am pleased with the tank progression and I am happy with how well Lincoln is doing. There is always a risk cycling a tank with a fish you like, or any fish that you don't want to die, but Betta's are pretty tough and this isn't my first rodeo. I have cycled a lot of tanks and I know I am not overloading the tank fish wise or food wise.

Lincoln is in good hands, but I wanted to be clear there is risk involved.

Of course Katie already loves him and I think he's a cool buddy. So, I am as on top of it as I can be.