Review on 🌱 Penn-Plax Aquaponic Betta Fish Tank: Cultivating a Flourishing Habitat for Plants and Fish by Sade Tucker

Key points to remember when keeping fish in these conditions: * Water needs to be changed and handled at least twice a week * The volume of the vase is about 40 ounces, like at a pet store. 10 oz cup* Fish must be placed in a heated (78-80 degrees) aquarium during winter* Spring water is a safe option with 1/8 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 1 gallon* Fish must be fed 4-5 times a week Plant roots are not enough* Adopt root plants, make sure the fish have a place to swim or discard the plant * Take a round fishnet, square fishnets are not suitable for this vase * This setup requires a lot of work, you need to yourself use to make it work. My Betta's name is Konrad and she feels very comfortable in her new home. The picture shows the shell it was in before it was placed in this large environment. I gave the plant a week to get used to life in this vase before moving Konrad in, I wanted to make sure the plant could survive in this arrangement. I treated tap water with Tetra BettaSafe drops before adding it to remove pollutants and make it safe for Konrad. I also bought Zoo Med's Betta Bed Leaf hammock which has great reviews from both Revain and pet stores and it fits so Conrad has fun swimming and can lie on it when he wants to rest. next to it is a bottle of water with the same room temperature; The water in the bottle has been treated with the right dose of BettaSafe, so I can add more water to the vase if needed without adding more drops or waiting for it to reach the right temperature. I decided to purchase this item because other people who do not own this product have given negative reviews and their reviews are based on my personal opinion. I love animals and would never harm them. I will continue to update my review on Conrad's condition. ***Day 10 UPDATE*** It's been a little over a week now and Conrad (Betta) is doing great. He is very active. I feed him Tetra BettaMin flakes twice a week (according to the pet store), mostly on Monday and again on Thursday after rinsing the vase. I clean it with a turkey rack to vacuum up feces, roots and bits of food on the bottom; I don't change the water because it doesn't seem dirty except at the bottom, but I pour more from a prepared bottle I have nearby. During the day Konrad bites and pulls on plant roots, I don't think he needs a hammock leaf because he often just floats up and gets tangled in the roots and uses them for support while resting. My only concern is the health of the plant, some of the leaves are dying and I'm not sure if this plant isn't suitable for this type of setup or if it's the BettaSafe drops I'm adding to the water. I trimmed the dead leaves as recommended by the office plant gurus. ***DAY 21 UPDATE*** At 21 days the fish is feeling very comfortable and very active; He really likes the BettaMin Tropical Medley Flakes that I feed him. Although the pet store said they only feed him twice a week, I'm not sure if that was enough. Now I feed him a small pinch Monday through Thursday, Friday through Saturday when I'm not in the office, he won't be fed. On Mondays I still use the turkey base to clear poo and stuff off the floor. On day 18 I dumped half the water and replaced it with a bottle of water I have nearby that was the same temperature and already treated with BettaSafe drops. This did not seem to bother the fish as the water was already at normal temperature and had been treated. I took it out and now I just put rocks on it until I get another plant. Interestingly, I found that these rocks float, so if they ever fall through the small holes, they don't fall to the bottom, they just float near the top. ***DAY 36 UPDATE*** I changed this to a four star rating because the water really does need to be changed more often than the instructions say. In fact, the instructions say nothing about cleaning. I change his water once a week on Thursdays and add marimo moss balls to clean the water. I removed the leafy hammock because it got in the way, but Konrad loves those moss balls. I've heard some males ignore them, but he lays on top of them and rubs them a bit (see pic, one of them is a bit blurrier than the others because he's been playing with it). Yellow gummy balls are great because they mix with water and are super soft. I ordered both from Revain and I believe the brand is called "Luffy". This is the most time I've ever spent reviewing a topic. I've gone beyond what I normally do when providing information, but I'm still getting "unhelpful" replies. I have to believe this is from people voting based on their personal opinion and not what is actually described in my review...anyway, I love animals and my fish is happier than all of its dying brothers and sisters who have it still are in the cup at the pet store =(***Day 65 UPDATE***Conrad is still a happy active fish. I'm also looking forward to seeing this guy a lot more every day, and in the 65 days that I Haven't called him Once sick I'm really looking forward to getting to work and seeing this little fella greet me for breakfast I still feed him BettaMin cereal, treat the water with BettaSafe drops and keep marimo moss balls in a vase to help clean up .These luffy jelly balls i bought for him are shrinking and slowly dissolving, i may or may not buy more of them and he doesn't seem like them March noticing imo balls. Now I have bamboo growing in a vase. the same chlorine-free water that Conrad needs, so I hope the BettaSafe drops are harmful to BambooSafe as well. My number one priority is Conrad's safety, so if anything goes wrong with this bamboo, it's going to blow out! *** UPDATE Day 90 *** Both Conrad and Bamboo are doing very well. BettaSafe Drops are also BambooSafe and help remove chlorine from the water. I keep a bottle of Betta Revive on hand with only half the cycle, it was recommended to add a little to the water during the change to prevent mucus build up. I didn't notice any slime or discoloration on the Conrad, I don't know if it was because the Betta Revive prevented it or if my frequent water changes (once a week) prevented it. My next purchase will be a round net, a square net doesn't fit well in a round vase. an active betta they saw. He is always swimming around but never panics or nervous just peaceful with a nice flow to his tail and fins. ***Day 120 UPDATE*** Conrad and I have been cabin buddies for four months now. He has decided he doesn't like BettaMin Flakes anymore and now prefers Betta Bio-Gold Granules. I agree as they aren't that messy and don't leave a pink residue like flakes. I noticed that the bamboo roots were getting a little rough and actually caused a small tear in Conrad's cock. Now I scrape the rough roots with my fingernail to make sure all the roughness is removed and the roots stay smooth. I check the roots for stiffness once a week during a water change. You can test this by using a nylon sock or panty hose. If the nylon tears when rubbed, it is too rough and will break the tail of the tail. You'll notice in the picture that the water looks a bit blue because I'm treating it with Betta Revive to heal the small tear in its tail. ***Day 180 UPDATE*** Conrad is still a happy Pisces and very active, he never seems bored or lethargic. It's very easy to get his attention by raising the plant; He knows it's feeding time, but even if I wave the end of a pencil and eraser in front of him, he'll flare up and react like a healthy rooster. Its fins and tail are always loose; He doesn't hold her close like he did when he was in a mug at the pet store. This vase is about 40 ounces which is almost four times the size of the cup he was in so he has enough room to spread his cock and float up and down, side to side or in circles =) I noticed a few tears in its fin from what I thought was a bamboo plant, so I took the plant out for a while and treated the water with less than 1/8 teaspoon aquarium salt and did 100% water changes 3 days in a row. This has been suggested by several Betta experts I've found on the internet and the snapping seems to have stopped. I'll be keeping a close eye on him and will update you over the next 30-60 days if anything changes. he does that more often if i have a plant with roots and leaves for him to lie on. The original bamboo plant came out because the roots have grown too long and I want to make sure it has enough room to float without getting tangled. I added a smaller batch of bamboo. I'm so glad he's building a nest, even my males at home in large aquariums rarely build a nest. It is very important to check your ammonia levels and I have found that the water needs to be changed at least once a week. I strongly recommend purchasing pure ammonia test strips; The strips that test everything are sometimes not as accurate when measuring ammonia. You want the ammonia level to be 0, even 0.25 is too high. I use Kordon's AmQuel ammonia remover, it also removes chlorine and chloramines. I buy a gallon of spring water and purify it; a liter jug is enough for two complete water changes. Walmart sells spring water for 88 cents a gallon (in California). *** LATEST UPDATE *** I moved Conrad to a heated pool over the winter because he was getting too cold in my office. In the spring when it gets warmer I can put it back to work to put in a vase or I can just leave it in the tank as it's easier. This vase needs a lot of work, I changed the water twice a week to keep the ammonia down; I also had to change the bamboo 3 times because the roots were getting too big and taking up too much space. Towards the end I didn't have a single plant, with or without a plant, I still had to change the water twice a week so I'm not sure how well the plant actually did the benefits. I would like to rate 3.5; After keeping it in this vase for almost a year, I got tired of changing the water so often. Even when I treated the water, it still had to be changed twice a week. I am leaving my 4 star rating because I genuinely think there is a better life for a rooster than a little cup at a pet store and as I have said many times unadopted roosters die in their little cup at a pet store. Ultimately, the 5 gallon heated tank I currently have would be ideal for bettas, but this option might be fine for those who are dedicated and don't mind frequent water changes. Thanks to those who followed my review. I promise to keep taking care of Conrad =)