Betta fish questions

[MadamPoofyBrow]

Also, do you have a PetSmart? I got a 5 gallon and it came with everything but the heater, and I got the heater, gravel, and even some plants, and it was a little over $100 for everything. It was only about $20 more for a 10 gallon. It probably depends on location too, though.

Edit to add I also got water test kits for nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia. If you ever want a spiel on the nitogen cycle (how and why to do it) let me know.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Thinking about it, I regularly see entire 10-30 gallon fish setups going for, like, $100-$150 on craigslist, complete with decor. Our local reptile rescue sells tanks for $0.50/gallon. Even if it leaks, if the glass is in tact you can fix it for like $10 of silica. If you do some asking around I bet you could put together a better used setup than new. I don't think I would buy new aquarium/reptile equipment again. It's so easy to just bleach it and make it safe too.

 

[black_cat]

You don't need a stand. (also wow the price. But it will last.)
You can also place it on the floor if you are okay with that but there is still a danger there because of other pets and it is less noticeable so something bad could happen. If you have a cat then it is best to put mesh over it or teach your cat that the fish is not food whether on the floor, countertop, bar, dresser, etc.

Just a warning if you want to get hermit crabs, they are nocturnal and will hide if you turn on the light. My cousin owned some, they stayed in one place for the entire day, the next day they were in a new place.

Hooray!!! I was worried because I realized that water is HEAVY!!

Crabbies are my other option of what I may get-I was doing some looking and apparently the lights help with the heat and the crabs don't mind? Idk.

 

[black_cat]

Thinking about it, I regularly see entire 10-30 gallon fish setups going for, like, $100-$150 on craigslist, complete with decor. Our local reptile rescue sells tanks for $0.50/gallon. Even if it leaks, if the glass is in tact you can fix it for like $10 of silica. If you do some asking around I bet you could put together a better used setup than new. I don't think I would buy new aquarium/reptile equipment again. It's so easy to just bleach it and make it safe too.

I mean, I would.....but I just feel more comfortable getting stuff new, especially for the first time.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

If you wanna make that investment, that's fine. Just know that used glass is identical to new glass, and a toothbrush, dishsoap, and a bleach solution will sterilize everything.

 

[Halfpasthen]

Hooray!!! I was worried because I realized that water is HEAVY!!

Crabbies are my other option of what I may get-I was doing some looking and apparently the lights help with the heat and the crabs don't mind? Idk.

If you get LED lights they won't put off much heat at all.
Pretty much all crabs will predate on fish while they sleep. If they cant outright eat the fish they will do damage slowly over time until they succeed.

 

[Halfpasthen]

Also petco has a dollar per gallon sale a few times a year if you can wait another couple months. You have to buy the light and filter separately. Lid also. But all of those things can be found on amazon for way cheaper than In big box stores usually .
I think the sponge filters I like are about $3 each? The lights I have on my 20 longs are $30 each? For a good quality LED that's plenty strong for growing low light plants.

 

[Sadness Child]

A 10 gallon tank is perfect. You can never keep a fish in a tank that is too big.
Since bettas don't like a lot of flow in their tanks, you have to be careful with what filter you buy. The best type of filter is a Hang-on-back filter, or HOB. It's also good to find one where you can adjust the flow. Aquaclear filters are good, especially because you can fill them with your own filter media, and not waste money on useless cartridges.
You will also need a heater for the tank. A 50 Watt heater is best. The temperature should be set to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
You'll also need a thermometer to monitor the temperature in the tank.
The tank will also need a lid. Bettas are jumpers, so a secure lid is very important. If you buy a tank kit, it will come with a lid and a light. If you don't buy a kit, then you will have to get a lid and light separately.
The glass lids sold at petco are fine.
For lights, it depends on if you're going to grow live plants in the tank (which you really should as your betta will love them). The Nicrew lights are pretty cheap, and are very good.
You will also need an aquarium vacuum, to do your weekly water changes and vacuum the substrate.
You also need a dechlorinator to dechlorinate the water before putting it in your tank. This is not necessary if you are using well water.
For substrate, this again depends on if you want to grow plants, and what plants you want to grow. You can get a nutrient rich substrate if you want to grow plants like crypts, pearlweed, anything that takes the nutrients from the roots. If you want to grow things like anacharis, java fern, anubias, anything that takes its nutrients from the water column, you won't need nutritious substrate,
If you don't take nutritious substrate, you can get some gravel or sand from the pet store.
When you're aquascaping your tank (arranging your decorations, wood, rocks, etc.) keep in mind that bettas like things that they can hid in. They also like tight spaces. Don't put in anything so tight that your betta would get stuck, just something where he can feel nice and secure.
So, after you have set up your tank, you have to cycle it before adding a fish. You can look up how to cycle your aquarium using the fish-less cycle method.
Once your tank is cycled, you can get your fish.
Also, make sure that you get your fish a variety of good quality fish foods. Hikari, OmegaOne, New Life Spectrum, and Bug Bites are all good brands. Make sure you get the betta pellets, as bettas need a lot of protein in their diet, unlike most tropical fish species. You should also feed your fish some kind of frozen food, like bloodworms or brine shrimp.
Also, do you know the PH, KH, and GH of your water? The GH is the most important, as this will tell you how hard your water is. Bettas are soft water fish, and living in hard water will kill them.
I know this is a really long post, and I'm sure it's kind of daunting, but I want to make sure you know everything about betta care before you get your fish.

I absolutely LOVE this post. There are SO may misconceptions about Fish in general, but mainly Bettas. It has also been somewhat proven that people put bettas in small bowls and stuff, because they see that the bettas are living fine in a tiny cup.

I have been keeping fish since I was 7, I have a 46 planted tank, a 5 gallon planted tank, and a 10 gallon bachelor tank. I have been saving up to change the scape of my 46 gal tank for a long time now, and I am getting really close.

I will also put stocking tips for a 10 gal. betta tank. So first of all you want a betta which is a slow moving fish, so you do not want any fast fish, or fish that are known for nipping fins. You also want to avoid fish that look similar to a Betta otherwise the Betta might kill the other fish or vis versa. For algae control a nerite snail should be fine. I have had success in keeping neon tetras with a Betta, but all Bettas are different, so while mine never really attack yours may attack them, so you should watch for that if you do decide to keep a tetra.

 

[black_cat]

If you get LED lights they won't put off much heat at all.
Pretty much all crabs will predate on fish while they sleep. If they cant outright eat the fish they will do damage slowly over time until they succeed.

Crabs would not be kept with fish. One or the other.

 

[Halfpasthen]

Crabs would not be kept with fish. One or the other.

In that case, yes, crabs would be cool. Have you tested the parameters of your tap water yet?
I really recommend doing that so you can figure out what kind of fish or inverts will thrive in your water. I would love to keep some species of fish that require very acidic water and I just can't bc I have liquid rock from the tap. I can't be bothered to install an RO system and all of that jazz.