$50 Dollars To Blow For Christmas!

[Aleydis]

I currently have 1 Betta in a 1 gallon tank with a light... The tank was given to me by my teacher after all of her fish died (Huge goldfish were so squished they had no room to open their mouths... Poor things)

I found out that I could have $50 for Christmas spending money, so the first thing I thought of was: MORE FISH FISH FISH.

But of course I'd need a tank or so to go with it. I'd really like a few more male Bettas, and am still pondering if I should get some females too. I don't necessarily want to breed them yet, since they'd have no where to go....

I have AN ENTIRE BASEMENT TO MYSELF!!! MY HOUSE IS HUGE! My parents were all like "The basement hasn't been renovated, and probably never will... Why don't you put your fish in there?" And I FREAKED, because I can even grow live food in there- no one ever looks at it!

I know all of you totally freak out over keeping fish in small spaces... So how do I do it so I don't go over budget, and meet all the needs of the Bettas? I'm looking to get about 3 or so more Bettas...

What should I do? =O

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

-There are no sinks or water sources in the basement... So when I have to do a water change, I have to walk all the way up 30 stairs and back down with water.
-I did see a very nice 10 gallon tank at Petsmart for $14.
-I'd really like to have a few dollars left over if possible...
-I CANNOT buy over the internet.

 

[Joshy]

Well $50 is not a lot by any means, your best looking second hand for anything and everything.
If you want to slowly turn your basement into a fish room, it takes a lot of time, and of course money.

 

[AmberLynn]

Well theres always the option of buying a 10 gal and dividing it, though it would be hard to do that and stay in budget but thats the cheapest way I can think of to get proper homes for new fish

 

[Aleydis]

Well theres always the option of buying a 10 gal and dividing it, though it would be hard to do that and stay in budget but thats the cheapest way I can think of to get proper homes for new fish

Good idea- but how would that work? Like with the water changes and gravel vaccing? =O And what if there was an illness? If all the tanks were connected, wouldn't illness spread like REALLY fast? Unless they're NOT?

That's actually a great idea- I can even decorate the tank a bit that way. Maybe even a 20 gallon would be possible.

 

[newfishy]

look in the paper and online on craigs list. all my betta tanks....2 tens, 2 fives, 20 long and 2 twos were all gotten for free....with a good amount of the equipment with them.

 

[spicynoodle116]

Turning your basement into a fish room takes lots of money and a load of work. Plus you don't have water sources in your basement so it'll be more inconvenient... So lets scratch that idea off lol.

If I were you, I'd get a 10+ tank and add things to it when I have money. Think about it, if you're already keeping a Betta in a 1gal without filter/heater, why not put him in a 10+ gallon with more space to move around then add the necessary equipments in the future? You can divide it up too if you wanna house 2 Bettas in there or throw in some tropical fishes to keep him company.

I dont suggest getting anymore Bettas though if you dont plan to divide the tank. More tanks = more maintenance, more equipment to buy, takes up more space, overall more frustrations. They look awesome and all, but do you truely want more Bettas that cant be kept together?

 

[Aleydis]

Turning your basement into a fish room takes lots of money and a load of work. Plus you don't have water sources in your basement so it'll be more inconvenient... So lets scratch that idea off lol.

If I were you, I'd get a 10+ tank and add things to it when I have money. Think about it, if you're already keeping a Betta in a 1gal without filter/heater, why not put him in a 10+ gallon with more space to move around then add the necessary equipments in the future? You can divide it up too if you wanna house 2 Bettas in there or throw in some tropical fishes to keep him company.

I dont suggest getting anymore Bettas though if you dont plan to divide the tank. More tanks = more maintenance, more equipment to buy, takes up more space, overall more frustrations. They look awesome and all, but do you truely want more Bettas that cant be kept together?

Thanks for your input.
Dividing the tank is definitely a good option. I can even maybe go for a 20 gallon if I can find one, and divide that one. I'm REALLY desperate for a few more Bettas...

And I'm pretty sure I can lug down water... But the problem is- how do I clean a divided tank? Would I have to take all the pieces out everytime I change the water?

 

[ReMz]

Hmmmmm... not having a water source in the basement is the biggest problem. $50 is not a lot to work with either for your aspirations.

You can get a nice 10 gallon setup for around $40 at petsmart (piecing it together yourself).... you would have to make sure that the filter had very minimal current if you were to divide the tank. You would then need a 5 gallon bucket and a syphon to change the water weekly. If you set up a stand next to the tank (but higher), you could syphon the water back into the tank (as pouring a 5 gallon bucket back into a small tank is not very feasible).

I would honestly stick to a single 10 gallon with one betta. Then you could add some otos or something else compatible and decorate the tank nicely.

For $50, you would have a really hard time affording multiple tanks. That isn't even considering the work you would have to do to keep them maintained.

Turning your basement into a fish room takes lots of money and a load of work. Plus you don't have water sources in your basement so it'll be more inconvenient... So lets scratch that idea off lol.

If I were you, I'd get a 10+ tank and add things to it when I have money. Think about it, if you're already keeping a Betta in a 1gal without filter/heater, why not put him in a 10+ gallon with more space to move around then add the necessary equipments in the future? You can divide it up too if you wanna house 2 Bettas in there or throw in some tropical fishes to keep him company.

I dont suggest getting anymore Bettas though if you dont plan to divide the tank. More tanks = more maintenance, more equipment to buy, takes up more space, overall more frustrations. They look awesome and all, but do you truely want more Bettas that cant be kept together?

Thanks for your input.
Dividing the tank is definitely a good option. I can even maybe go for a 20 gallon if I can find one, and divide that one. I'm REALLY desperate for a few more Bettas...

And I'm pretty sure I can lug down water... But the problem is- how do I clean a divided tank? Would I have to take all the pieces out everytime I change the water?

no no no. the dividers are perforated. All you need to do is syphon the water out and then refill with treated water.

 

[Aleydis]

*Sigh*

And I suppose jars are an absolute NO, eh? Even if I keep the water clean? D:

You see, I'm GREEDY. Even though I love Levi very much <3 I feel like I should have MORE MORE MORE. O_O Those of you bitten by the Betta bug should know what I'm talking about... Yet I feel so horrible about not being able to give them proper care. So what exactly can I do so that I can get maybe like 3 more males at least? I'd really like some females too... But males will have to do.

I can throw in $20 myself if I have to. So that's like $70. D:

NOTE:

My friend is giving me a heater and thermometer. So those are off the list. =)

 

[Netty]

You seriously can't be thinking of keeping more Bettas and putting them all in jars Why not just have a couple that you can keep in the correct way and enjoy them.

Believe me.....we have to do water changes everyday on our jarred babies and it's not fun after a while especially if you have a day when you're not well and the last thing you want to do is clean out jars but you have to, to keep them healthy.

 

[Syphoniera]

Aleydis, newfishy had a great suggestion.
Even if you can't buy off of the internet, there are still newspapers, garage sales, fish clubs - second-hand tanks are much cheaper and sometimes come with equipment as well.
Just check the sealant to be sure it looks good, and make sure that it doesn't leak prior to set-up.

So maybe you could get and section off a nice long 20 for several bettas, as you wanted, if all went well.
Tons of (relatively) inexpensive DIY suggestions on the subject - and experts right here - although you'd have to cost things out rather carefully on a 50 dollar budget.
Aquarium-safe glue costs a fortune, apart from anything else...
But there's always the rather-to-very slim chance of coming across one partitioned off for bettas, and maybe even cheaper as a result.
After all, people do that, and the tank generally isn't useful as a community tank anymore afterward.

The basement may not have a sink per se, but presumably it has electrical outlets?
How about laundry facilities and a floor drain?
Assuming there is, would there be any way of running a hose, ideally with a shut-off valve on the spray end, from the washer intake, or using the existing hose, for a basement water supply, dumping old water down the floor drain?
(Checking the drain prior to dumping anything, in case it's sealed off against radon or something.)
I've seen a split/doubled hose from a single connecter once, so they are, or were, around, although they might be hard to find.
And it might be very hard, or inadvisable, unscrewing the washer hose from the tap to fill buckets that way, I've no idea.
But if it worked, one way or another, buckets could be filled and left standing downstairs to warm with dechlor in, to be all ready for use.
If there was a problem with mulm or dead plant bits going down a floor drain, that would likely predominately settle to the bottom of the bucket, or could be picked out from the top in the case of floating dead leaves, so the top/middle part of the waste water could still be dumped downstairs and that lesser bit with the bulk of tank debris could be more easily carried up to the toilet for dumping.

I don't know, but there may be ways of making things a lot easier, although you'd might well need not only parental permission but help to achieve it.

Another issue to consider is, are you going to want to spend enough time down in the basement to make having bettas down there worthwhile?
Breeding might be a different story but I do know that in my possibly entirely different case, I probably could have a decent-sized tank down in a finished basement I never spend time in - so I don't.
Personally, I like my pets nearby.
And I hope to eventually make a little fishroom out of my closet, so as to squeeze more bettas in...

 

[Connor Rimmer]

You'd have 4-5 male bettas that are all dirty and hate their environment than the 1 betta who loves his?
My Thorn loves his tank, sure Id love to have more but, aside from having no space, Christmas is coming up so I dont have money to spend on more tanks etc!

I say you do up his home, or just have 1 more male. Greed is not something to be proud of! The betta bug has infected us all, just surpress it and make your little guy happy

 

[newfishy]

heck some of the free tanks I got the seals were shot or a pane of glass broken, if you find a tank that just needs a little fixing, feel free to pm me or ask on the DIY forums about tank repair. ive spent 4 bucks on aquarium sealent and fixed 3 tanks with it so far with a little sealent left over.

 

[Honeythorn]

A good quality second hand 20 gallon ( Long would be far more preferable than tall) would be excellent for a divided setup. You could divide it into 4 5 gallon sections, with a heater that spans all 4 sections ( you simply cut the divider carefully on the edge to allow the heater to slide through ) . As for filtration, you could have a small sponge filter in each section. You could get good deals for those on ebay.

Or even a small external cannister filter and spray bar, which can be directed against the back of the glass so the bettas are not disturbed by the current coming out of the holes . You could divide off a 4 inch section of tank ( either in the middle or at an end ) for the filter intake , so that none of the bettas gets sucked against it.

As long as you CYCLE the filter/s properly and are vigilant with weekly water changes, you should have no problem with disease occuring . Also, quarrantine all new fish to make sure they aren't bringing anything in.

 

[Aleydis]

OOohh oohh! I think I have a plan! Thanks everyone for putting out their thoughts, by the way. It's much appreciated. =)

I just got a 1 gal tank from my sister... So maybe I can buy like one more from the pet store.. There's a tank going for $13 or so and it looks like around 1 or 2 gals. Maybe I could get that... And buy a 10 gal for $14. In the 10 gal would be female bettas. The other 1 or 2 gal would be for a male. So in the end I'd have 3 males in 1 gallon tanks, and 6-ish females in the 10 gal.

This way I'd spend around 30, 35 dollars? My friend is going to donate a heater and a thermometer, so that'll be fine for the 10 gal. Maybe I can get a filter, too. I'll even throw in a few dollars for some plastic plants.

END RESULT:

3 male bettas, 6 females

How does that sound?

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ALTERNATE CHOICE:
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2 1 gallons= $30? With 1 10 gal divided into 2 sections =All together $44. All tanks will house male bettas. The heater and thermometer from my friend would go into the 10 gal. I'll throw in some money for a sponge filter and some plants.
That way there will be no females, which I suppose is a good thing, since I'm not too sure about breeding Bettas just yet.

END RESULT:

6 male bettas, 0 females

-x-

NOTE: Too many 10 gals would be too much work, plus there really isn't anywhere to put them besides in the basement, which has no water source. Changing 1 gal water would be easier considering my situation.
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I sort of prefer the second choice. What about you guys? Of course, Bettas will be bought with my own money... -Snifflesobsob-