Water lilies and fish

Question
QUESTION: Hey! (^__^)
I've been keeping fish for like 4 years and I'm only 14 now...
I haven't kept any fish for months and since it's christmas vacation I want to restart again and do something new... I have a 5 gallon tank an air stone and air pump and lots of pebbles and marbles... I was wondering what to put in it with water lilies to add decoration and would it help clean the water? I want to make
a wonderful habitat (without buying too much) for the fish I was wondering if a betta is good but i don't think i want just one fish... can i add a ghost shrimp or two? what can it do? any precautions? I am so confused bec. there's alot of choices... I can buy pregnant mollies or something like that but can i raise them there? I am totally confused.

ANSWER: Hi Laura,

A couple ghost shrimp, and a betta would be perfect for a five gallon tank.

With water lillies, one thing you can add to make it nicer is some rockwork.  :)

Mollies will prefer saltwater to fresh and although others sell them as freshwater, they live naturally in brackish conditions.  Without salt, they don't seem to live as long and catch more diseases/parasites.

Happy fish-keeping and happy holidays.
Renee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok, I figured I want a betta but how many ghost shrimps can i put in it? actually, what can ghost shrimp do and what do they eat... i've been planning to add two lilies, but can i place an air stone connected to an air pump for a nice water effect? or an air pump is not necessary at all. would the plants and fish get affected by the current? and I live in the philippines and a heater is not necessary. :) tnx for answering the first one. :)

ANSWER: Well, hi again Laura!

Happy holidays, first of all. :)

Secondly, ghost shrimp eat debris, so they are wonderful at keeping the bottom of the tank nice and clean.  Want to see some?  I just put up a video of one of mine, in HD (choose HD from the type of feeds offered and it will be in HD format), and you can see him turning something over and examining it for food in the beginning, and you can see his insides through him.  They are very interesting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSHkOjZTM0k is my shrimp.

These range in size from very small to about 1.5".  You could easily keep four to keep your tank clean, and they only cost fifty cents at our store, each.

The airstone would be great looking but I question its benefit alongside lillies.  Lillies, as you know, don't need flow and don't do so well with it, so if you do use a stone, please put the lillies on one side, and it on the other.

One more plant you may have access to, over there, is Java Moss?  Or any type of moss...they love that.

Good luck!

Renee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you!
Well now i just bought a brilliant blue crown tail betta three days ago (hehe..i named him Violet) so i tried to buy the most healthy and active one then when i got home i didn't notice before but i definitely see there's something wrong with his mouth bec. it's kindda swollen like fungus but it's just the same color as his mouth is it doesn't have whitish stuff... i don't have medications much and i read in some articles that salt might help (???) salt? i don't get it. he wont eat the pellets i give him today but he looks more aggressive he keeps opening his gills and he's making a bubble nest... what do i do about his mouth?

Answer
Hi, he can't eat the pellets because of the swelling.

Get him into another fish bowl.  Put in a teaspoon of marine salt per gallon.  If it's a one gallon bowl, add a teaspoon of salt.  Tomorrow, add another.  Dissolve it well.  Watch him for a few days and if he doesn't improve, he may perish.  Bettas often get a mouth disease like this one and it's common, but the fish store should have seen it.  You can alternatively return him to the store for an exchange.  Tell them he's sick.

If the salt doesn't work, consider getting a product for fungus and adding it to the salted bowl as well.  Usually, it won't hurt to use the salt product alongside the anti-fungal product.

This disease is usually caused by bad water conditions.  The store must not have kept his little bowl very clean. :(

I hope he improves.  Please feel free to email me back for a further followup.

Renee