Myself, I'm a 3-2-1 kinda guy. 3-bark, 2-Turface, 1-pumice, this is what I use in my outside containers. It still drains well but gives me some cushion from the pores holding capacity so that if I'm laid up with back issues they'll survive till I get to them. We're not that hot here but the daily breeze really dries things out, so the extra water retention was good for me and the mix would hold up longer by not using peat. Veggies are in a 5-2-1. Actually not using the peat for the veggies was a big accident, after making all the Gritty mix for the plants I forgot that peat was part of a 5-1-1 mix and left it out by mistake, everything grew so well I've stuck with that formula for my veggies. Jerry

Yeah, I can relate. Container drainage staining decks can be a problem. Fortunately my deck is not new so it's not a big problem. Although my wife wants me to redo our deck this year in a blue stain :-/ I'm already thinking about the container drainage. I guess necessity is the mother of invention.

Have to agree with birdwillow... Having rescued many a betta, like all fish they need a proper environment, and the more the water the more stable the water chemistry. "Anybody who thinks a fish floating around all it's life doing nothing in a small bowl is the best home has clearly never seen one in a larger aquarium." Betta site (not sourced) You need at least 2.5 with a small filter such as a penn plax and being small change once a week (filter that is) even with partial water changes (valve to reduce flow) and high quality heater or stable room temperature (but I would not recommend heater for such a small tank but heat the room, see why below) (that is why even larger tank is better, smaller heaters are prone to overheating) - as a betta needs stable temps. Like all fish they need plants for not only the filtration, sense of security, but it provides micro bugs for them to pick on. A five gallon would be much much better. (ten fantastic, you will see a different fish, with plants, rocks, caves) Some suggestions for plants would be (bare bottom as it helps to maintain such a small space) Anubias which can be tied to rock or just floated (never bury rhizome)... low light. Betta care: They are sold in small (usually dirty cold bowls which is harmful to them) as no one could stock them in bulk otherwise). Even if you did more water changes that alone is stressful to fish, never allowing for proper cycling and maturation of the tank and the stress of the disturbance itself (I drain water off bottom, and slowly dribble back in (bucket with aged same temp water with small air tube tied in knot over mesh grid so he/she cant jump out). (and always better to scoop bettas with bowl rather then net them if when you do need to move them - clear Chinese soup container works well - they canÂt see end and donÂt panic as with white or colored container - then use lid with hole towel over top for dark and set aside while you do tank maintenance = less stress) Air stones/filters esp for smaller spaces (ie larger areas can have a slow water movement area) need valved to reduce air flow so betta won't be tossed about. Fins are like flags whipped in wind - they get micro tears which exposes them to bacterial infections Breeders which often house hundreds of Bettas for short periods of time (until sold) have to do so, but they have the experience to care for them properly and often have assistants and systems set up to assist with this care. It is really a joy to see a betta swimming all over a well situated tank with plants filter, light so on... There true beauty and character comes out. ................... All fish or any living creature needs care and usually lots more then one thinks. Betta fins are one cell thin and esp prone to bacteria which becomes fin rot, which goes into septicemia. They along with goldfish are the most mistreated and Âmyth informed fish around. The 'mulm' on the bottom of tanks can turn deadly after just one hour if they tank chemistry is off - the less water esp sans filter the faster this occurs. Again, bettas need the same care as all fish, proper water chemistry - just because they CAN breathe from the surface in emergancies does not mean they can tolerate ammonia, nitrates and other toxins which build up fast (within 1/2 hour) in such small spaces. Bettatalk is a great resource (betta breeder) for information on how to care for bettas. Please consider at least one of those longer 2.5 gallon tanks with glass lid light. (leave 1/2 inch space from top for lower water for jumping and breathing space). A small penplax filter, and one or two Anubius with some java moss would be a finer environment then a one gallon. (But five would be fantastic) He/she would really come alive! xxxhttp://www.bettatalk.com/ xxxxxxxxhttp://www.flippersandfins.net/faq.htm ............................................................ (common misconcetion... "Bettas can live without filtration because they breathe from the surface but they will drown if they can't get to the top" (This person is mixing up water chemistry/quality with oxygen parts per million (ppm). ......................... Great book? Betta - a complete pet owner's manual by Barrons - ( donÂt be fooled by the title fantastic book, esp if you are interested in the many wild types (beautiful, and some are mouth brooders, not bubble nesters) lots of genetic information for developing breeding strains. Goes into long history and natural environments.) ..................................... "The labyrinth enables them to breathe air when the water is low in oxygen. Labyrinth fishes (paradise another example) swallow air and use its oxygen. Air is 21 percent oxygen. Fresh water might hold oxygen at up to 8 parts per million. Swamp water in the hot summer might have an oxygen concentration of only 2-3 ppm. The labyrinth enables anabantoids to survive this oxygen deficient water by swallowing air, while other fishes die of anoxia". To continue: Air Breathing: Anabantoids evolved during the Devonian Era or Age of Fishes some 60 million years ago. (goes into gill evolution to labyrinthine) .... Modern anabantoids vary in the complexity of the labyrinth. It is most convoluted in snakeheads and large gouramies, and least convoluted in bettas, where it is little more then a hollow tube and sac. Dr. Gen Lucas has published photomicrographs showing that the labyrinth might even be connected to the swim bladder, which would complement its otherwise reduced surface area (lacking convolutions). (with time, this convoluted (labyrinthine( gill arch with its dense capillary tissue became as important as the gills and gill cover filaments and enabled anabantoids to exploit swamps unsuitable for other fishes. It goes on to say how other areas of the fish (the gill arch, developed its own capillaries) - making it able to exchange gasses as well as the gill would in other fish. (because this was close to its throat it 'convoluted' back in on itself and even arch bone became vascularized - able to exchange gasses). (in other non anabantoids the gill arch is simple bone which houses the gill filaments. Which means that a betta (and other anabantoids to differing degrees) has areas that exchange gasses which are not found in non anabantoids. Which enables them to live in anaerobic environments whereas other types of fish would die. Anaerobic means less oxygen not dirty or toxic. (You can boil water and drive off gasses, but doesnÂt mean it is dirty unless it was dirty to begin with of course, lol). And the books mentions that these 'episodes' are often cyclic in nature, ie short periods of drought, (some actually live in leafs when the river runs dry but the air humidity is almost 100 percent saturated!) Then the weather changes and fresh rains (often from elsewhere) freshen the stagnate areas. But ONE thing can be stated. NO fish including the betta lives in a one gallon in nature (or even less for some poor souls). The bigger the better. (Some do not do well in really large tanks, males for instance just do to tail size which can tear as they swim about.. Again depends on individual, but a minimum for thriving not just surviving is at least five). Page50.. Water quality. (from book sited) The many species of Betta come from hatitats ranging from cool, clear, sandy hill streams to hot, muddy forest floors flooded with black, acidic water. Where a fish is found in nature, however, should not be your guide to its care. Natural habitats are impossible to duplicate in captivity and simultaneously keep clean. No matter where fish come from in the wild, they will do well in clean, neutral ph water devoid of POLLUTANTS. (fish poo and pee and food and natural breakdown of water chemistry) To continue - all fish produce ammonia and urea that are converted to nitrites and nitrates by bacteria in the tank. These waste are growth inhibitors (and this means cell growth, tissue replacement growth not just size). (this book mentions rasing betta babys in 55 gallon then at least 10 - 15 gallon for each adult)... (my non rescues are in huge tanks with schools of other non agressive fish (schools they tend to leave alone as seen as one big fish) .......................... Page 50. Filtration cannot replace water changes. Filter floss removes particles, activated carbon removes colors and dissolved gases, and ion-exchange resins removes ammonia and other compounds. But they all become saturated and stop working and none removes growth inhibiting nitrates... Commercial hatcheries do regular massive water changes... re heaters: (from book sited) ... suggest to have a 25 watt for ten gallons.. A failed thermostat won't allow the heating element of the undersized heater to 'cook' the tank (one can also use a heated room as breeders do). They are relatively safe on large tanks and unsafe in small. The safest aquarium is your home thermostat... ................................................. Cory catfish: Cories have to be in a much larger tank and as mentioned in schools and they love to swim about esp after Âsun starts to set. In nature (for the most part)they are in gigantic schools of often hundreds swimming in river (tributary) systems. (see link below) Cories need the same care as other fish... Planet Catfish: Most people start keeping catfish for one or both of two reasons. The first is the misguided and widely perpetuated myth that they are all excellent scavengers and will compensate for over-feeding, under filtration, eat algae, eradicate snails and combat a multitude of aquatic evils. And they do gulp air from the surface due to their evolution to their natural muddy low oxygenated environment. Yes, some catfish, particularly Corydoras and most Loricariidae (plecos) are able to "gulp" air and use the oxygen in the air to help survive under low-oxygen periods. ...mechanism that allows Corydoras to ''breathe'' air and dissolve it into the bloodstream in the lower gut. ................ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corydoras_aeneus They are found in quiet, shallow waters with soft bottoms that can sometimes be heavily polluted (turbidity would be a better choice of words, silt is not the same as toxic) by clouds of disturbed mud from the bottom, but it also inhabits running waters.[1] In its native habitat, it inhabits waters with a temperature range of 25 °C to 28 °C (77 °F to 82 °F), pH 6.0-8.0, and hardness 5 to 19 DGH.[1] Like most members of the Corydoras genus, these catfish have a unique method of coping with the low oxygen content that prevails in such environments. Can they "drown"? In addition to utilizing their gills like any other fish, they can by come to the surface of the water and draw air in through their mouth. This air is then absorbed through the wall of the intestine and any surplus air is expelled through the vent.[1] It typically stays in schools of 20 to 30 individuals.[1] It feeds on worms, benthic crustaceans, insects, and plant matter.[1] They prefer being kept in groups of 5 or more, being sociable fish and are ideal fish for a community tank.[1] Other Corydoras species can be placed in the same aquarium, and despite the strong resemblance many species bear to one another, the species will tend to separate out and only move about among their own kind. The water should have no salt added to it.[5] (now many keep betta's with some salt, and I do (since 40 years).. but that would be a contradiction to the above statement. I have kept bettas with a school of cories, with some slight salt... (they are so bred commercially most can allow for some, but not as much as other fish. (wild caught wouldn't tolerate it at all). I have treated them when sick with increasing salt doses... but again, for instance a betta can tolerate much more and it is a great way to treat Flexibacter Columnaris bacteria (common in bettas - looks like fungus, esp after sitting in cold dirty store bowls). http://www.wetpetz.com/callichthyidae.htm Armoured catfish are endemic only to South America and live in a variety of different habitats, from small, swift, oxygen-rich creeks to big rivers and flooded areas, including swampy and muddy habitats where oxygen might be virtually absent. In order for callichthyids to survive in these habitats, it is necessary for them to perform air-breathing intestinally. The air is collected at the water surface and swallowed into their intestine, and is eventually expelled through the anus. A point to note is that they will breathe air in all of kinds of water conditions, regardless of the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, and must be able to reach the surface. The number of trips they make to the surface is dependent on the amount of oxygen in the water - less oxygen equals more trips. .............................. Since bacteria breed (the negative types we don't want) on gravel where they sit, that is why they often get sick or experience barbel erosion. (different things going on at different levels of the tank system). The water column needs to be circulated and filtered (due to different gasses near bottom from air surface which breeds negative types of bacteria). Even though these fish can tolerate 'poor' water quality relative to other types of fish this is in nature and we can not replicate nature (ie they are in huge systems where toxins are diluted). ...................... Basic care: They make no specific demand on pH or hardness (around neutral and moderate hardness is fine), and can tolerate low oxygen levels. Most are social catfish and do best in small groups (three or more). (I would add this is the minimum most think at least 5-6 as a minimum). However, like many catfish, they are sensitive to high nitrate levels. High nitrate can cause the barbels to rot and promotes bacterial diseases that develop under the armour, so regular partial water changes are essential. They can take a temperature range between 20 and 30oC. Some, such as Corydoras barbatus, do not tolerate higher temperatures and need to be kept at temperatures under 27oC. The Bronze Cory (Corydoras aeneus) can tolerate temperatures as low as 18oC, making them suitable for an unheated tank. The tank should have plenty of swimming room and some shelter. A planted tank works well with these catfish. A fine rounded gravel or sand substrate should be used so that they don't damage their barbels as they search for food in the substrate. The shape of the head means that they can dig quite a way into the gravel in search of food. ................................. One of best sources for catfish care and identification. http://www.planetcatfish.com/core/index.php (use fine mesh net so as not to catch spines "in the dorsal and pectoral fins. These spines can easily be caught in coarse nets, so corys should be netted with fine mesh to avoid damaging their fins".) (link below) ............................. While there are many types of corydoras here is link to common but pretty bronze cory. (good care advice for most). http://articles.gpasi.org/corydoras_aeneus.html In the aquarium trade, corys are sold as "scavengers" or worker fish, which will "clean up after other fish and cover up the aquarists mistakes". Nothing could be further from the truth! Corys are interesting fish in their own right, and deserve better than the table scraps of other fish. Feed them sinking pelleted food such as Brine Shrimp pellets, Tabi Min by Tetra, Hikari Sinking Wafers for Catfish (excellent!) and Trout Chow. They will also eat a variety of frozen foods, worms of all descriptions, and live baby brine shrimp. Corys have the habit of suddenly darting to the surface and gulping air, and then returning to the bottom. They sit still for a moment and then seem to wink at you. What they are actually doing is forcing the air into their gut where the oxygen will be extracted. Since corys live in murky water with a muddy bottom in the wild, local fishermen watch for surfacing to indicate where a school of corys may be. ...................................... Great site for natural habitats of (in this example) Amazonian river fish. (shows whitewater, blackwater and clearwater systems.) http://www.wetpetz.com/callichthyidae.htm The Families containing the greatest number of species are: Pimelodidae Loricaridae Callichthyidae Doradidae Catfish in these families make up about half of the known total number of freshwater and marine catfish in the world. Some of these, such as the Loricariids, are poorly classified. Other groups, such as Corydoras (family Callichthyidae) are still being divided using tools including DNA investigations. ............................................................ A vase is a bad idea for any fish as the surface area is reduced and that is where the gas exchange takes place. It is hard to house a filter, heater or anything suitable for the good care of fish. Also most fish swim well side to side not up and down, so you effectively commit them to living in a place where they canÂt function naturally. Sorry but too much experience and background in ocean/biochemistry studies to say otherwise. (For those who refer to the old adage of Âone inch of fish per gallon, think of it this way. Would a ten gallon tank be suitable for a ten inch pacu? (No, lol) Species such as danios need even more space esp lengthwise for the extra speedy swimming needs. ) (one person mentions this as a reminder of care needed. Imagine oneself in a bathroom, window closed, food shoved under the door, toilet flushed well....on occasion... Once in a while you are Ânetted and held underwater for a brief period of time, then Âflopped back into your tiney ÂspaceÂ.... how would you be doing?) ...................................................... Soultan, sorry to say this. Please don't take it the wrong way, but no fish is fine in a vase. (Unless it is a large wider then tall vase able to hold sufficient water, but certainly not for any gourami.) Even with modern air pumps so on, that gas exchange surface is important for many things. And again, most fish need swimming room from one length to other end. In nature they are constantly swimming and scouting about. Especially Gouramis which for the most part are territorial eventually going nuts in such a small space (you yourself mention this...."Though gouramis tend to eat way more than bettas, thus they tend to mess up their enclosure quicker. They are also often very excitable (jittery), so they run into the glass often, hurting themselves..." Even those less territorial need larger enclosures. My small moonlight (was the runt) is in a 20 long as a single gourami with a quiet school of Asian glass cats - also need lower lights heavily planted tank with swim space. (When any fish is jittery, something is drastically wrong with the environment provided) He comes to front and is very friendly and swims peacefully about inspecting plants, picking at things here and there. Tank is heavily planted with two outside filters and lights on dimmer (on low then up more during day, then down towards lights out!) Yours were jittery as they need huge amounts of space including planted areas for security. They ran into the glass because they were in the wrong environment and under a huge amount of stress. (Many fish get Âfrantic and glass bash when they are not secure. They are at the Âpanic state, almost a frenzy. It leads to internal hemorrhaging and eventual death.) (Fish need the security of plants - there instincts say to hide and with glass enclosure and exposure, sans plants they freak!) Some will go after cories and other fish as well if they do not have sufficient space. Especially if they look the same size as themselves will chase others (territorial) even if in larger tanks. (Again depends on species and individuals and often when cories for example are feeding) They don't eat "way more" unless you feed them way more (twice a day small amount is suitable), although I took it to mean bettas need esp small amounts of feed, but the problem is in addition to overfeeding, is the pellots (for all fish actually) swell in their small stomachs causing digestion problems. (Hence live or frozen foods, or soak dry first). I Âhand feed mine (blunt tweezers) a small bit each am, and early evening they get plant matter). All gouramies need plant matter to nibble on as well - they plant graze all day long (just like herbivores)). And most are larger then bettas. (Tails donÂt count) Gourami: (Another Anabantoid) (from general care sheet) Step1 Choose a tank for your gourami that is 20 gallons or larger for each fish. (I inject here that it is species specific - the giant gourami would need much more space per fish then the honey dwarf for example - and all need as least that amount if more then one for most species including dwarf due to territory reasons - there are always exceptions ie longer tanks, diff species... but jittery, running into glass means wrong environment and super stressed fish *can also be bad water where bacteria infects nervous system) Step2 Fill the tank with de-chlorinated fresh water and cover the bottom with a fine or medium neutral-colored substrate. Step3 Keep the water temperature around 74 to 79 degrees F and the pH between five and eight. If possible, keep the hardness of the water between 5 and 35 dGH. Step4 Plant the tank with cryptocoryne or other sturdy aquatic plants like vallisneria or java fern. Gourami prefer heavily planted and decorated tanks. Step5 Feed your gourami a combination of freeze dried, frozen and live foods, like brine shrimp, daphnia, tubifex worms or blood worms. Varying your gourami's diet ensures balanced nutrition. Step6 Clean the tank at least once a week, or whenever the water appears murky or becomes contaminated. Of course the above is general and BASIC. Most provide much more care then the above. Mixing with other fishes: In the home aquarium they may be housed with a variety of fish, although it's usually best to keep them with fish of similar size. Generally only one male should be kept per tank, as males are highly territorial. However if the tank is large enough, or there are enough other fish present, this natural tendency will be diminished. Best SL

Well, I'd be really impressed if you find a store that has all of those things! It took me a month to find just the 1:1:1 ingredients and of course they are at 3 different stores but well worth the effort. You'll find the gran i grit at a grain/feed store, the MVP Turface I found at an irrigation store (Ewing Irrigation - don't know if they have Houston stores), and I had to screen the Home Depot Sure Stay "Premium Pine Mulch" to get my fines. If you end up doing that, you can use the finest remaining particles in place of peat moss in the 5:1:1. Oh, and wall mart has perlite. Good luck to you on your quest, it is like a treasure hunt and so exciting when you actually find the stuff! Nik