Keeping Fish

[oldhenlikesdogs]

No bettas yet - not until I set up the tank properly
I don't want to breed them until I know I can handle bettas properly. But yes I know they make nests for their eggs and a breeder box would be bad for breeding them; I got it to put one or two males in(separated), and the females will swim freely in the tank.
The idea was from Oldhen who posted a pic of their tank with bettas^-^ thanks Oldhen! I don't mean to steal your idea, it's just a good setup idea for beginners like me.
In order to establish a successful betta sorority, I know I should buy more plants, hideouts, and get more than two females.
I'm afraid to use metal because I don't want it to put rust or toxins in the water or anything like that

the clips aren't in the water and they are made of aluminum, I have kept many females together, they occasionally chase each other but mostly get along and are nice fish with great colors.

 

[Shellybean02]

That's strange... at the bottom of the tank? If there is no top on it they will obviously get out; if there is a top, they won't be able to surface breathe. You mean the box I got is good for fish besides bettas, right?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

After further looking around at what's available, I think yours is meant to float at the surface, eBay has a lot of different ones.

 

[Shellybean02]

Is it okay for the box to just be floating and moving around? Or will it scare the fish(when I get them)?
I just remembered that I'm in no rush, so I can just get clips/suction cups when I buy the fish, or just experiment with it floating... I have the time

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I read the reviews on Amazon and people were talking about keeping bettas in them, so I guess I would see how much floating it does, I personally would try it out, it should be easy enough to tether it or as you said suction cups, I saw a lot that uses them. I will be looking forward to seeing your tank when it's all going, how many gallons?

 

[Shellybean02]

I thought it would be okay to start with a ten gal. What do you think?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's how I started, don't over stock, or overfeed, fire it up slowly as far as fish stocking, add bacteria, and do your water changes, did you get yourself a gravel siphon and a couple of buckets.

 

[Shellybean02]

Is a gravel siphon something to pick up nastiness settled in between the gravel pebbles? And would four or five bettas(three females and one or two males) be okay in a ten gal?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

A gravel siphon will suck the poop and debris out of the gravel and allow the gravel to fall back to the bottom, it takes a bit to get the hang of but once you do it's easy. It's recommended to change 10% of the water every week, I do bigger changes than that, for tropical I do 30-50, in my goldfish I will do 90%, start with 10-20% every 7-14 days and see how it goes, water changes remove nitrates, you will have to see what works for you. Recommended stocking rate is 1 inch of fish per gallon for tropical but I try to stock lower. So you can certainly keep that many bettas.

 

[Shellybean02]

Cool
I'm so excited to choose my bettas! There are a lot of bettas at petco but some don't look very healthy or attractive... I'll name the females Brooke, Lynn, and Penny(I love PA and Brooklyn). The males will be Monroe and Orlando (other places).