7 Gallon Tank Ideal Setup?

[Snake42490]

hey guys.. well im done with my 7 gallon hex fry tank and would like to put a beta in it.. i honestly have not had a beta so i would like to know exactly what i should do with the tank? its a 7 gallon tank.. cycled temp is set to 80 and has a slow carbon / sponge filter. what things should i put in the tank? just from reading it sounds like sand is better? if i were to do sand as the substrate what kind of sand is best / looks best? i think by the way it sounds pool filter sand? but if im wrong please tell me what kind to get! haha.. so yeah other then that any help or ideas would be great.. right now as of today the 7 gallon just has a ton of plants in it.. im trying to grow a bit.. so i might leave them in there if i can.. but yeah. Thanks Seth

 

[afishdude]

substrate isnt a big deal because bettas spend most of there time at the top of the tank.
make sure the plants are silk or live plants. plastic can tear there fins.
now you have to decide if you want a single male betta or a sarority of femails. if you go femails you can have around 3-4. if you decide on a male you can only have one. other than that your ready to go.

~kev.

wow dude i just noticed your from iowa also. where abouts?

 

[kingmed]

I think a betta would be a great fish for the tank, I'd get a male if I was you are maybe a female --I probably wouldn't put females together in anything less than 10 gallons. I have used pea gravel from Home-Depot or Lowes, it looks great and cost only about 4.00 for a huge bag, I think it's close to 30 lbs. I usually rinse out the gravel little by little and I personally will boil the amount that I put in my tank, probably not needed but I do anyways. If you don't want a betta some male or female guppies would work probably 4-5, or some dwarf platy's / I've had 2 in a 5 gallon and they look great. Also shrimp and some cory's might work--possibly 3-4 panda's but pygmy cory's would probably work better, also a few otto's would probably be nice also. Best wishes in your indevers.

 

[Snake42490]

right now i have a natural looking rock in the tank.. i thought sand might be some fun to try. i will most likely be getting a male.. i will see whats easeist.. so it makes no difference to the fish at all?? thanks seth.. im from Sioux City by the way haha

 

[joycould]

I use sand in some of my tanks and it works great. I know of several people that use pool sand and have live plants that seem to do pretty well. One thing you have to do is move the sand around once in awhile to help release some of the gases that seem to build up in it. I use a turkey baster to vacuum it since it is a little more precise than the regular vacuum.

 

[Snake42490]

just a question on my ph.. our city water is 8.0 and ive never had luck chaning it as it will go down then a day later be back to 8.. will a beta be fine in that water? what do you guys think?

 

[kingmed]

I like to use gravel mainly for how cheap it is, but I'm wanting to put some white sand eventually in my tanks and cycle them for my bettas. I think I'll probably go with pool filter sand cause I hear that it's alot easier to rinse and I think it looks good being white.

 

[afishdude]

just a question on my ph.. our city water is 8.0 and ive never had luck chaning it as it will go down then a day later be back to 8.. will a beta be fine in that water? what do you guys think?

lol same with me in the quad cities. our water is at 8.0 and thats all i have ever used for my fish. as long as it isnt rediculusy high like 9+ most fish can adapt to it for long periods of time.

 

[Snake42490]

haha well.. i think tomorrow im going to get my 7 gallon and my 20 gallon tank set up! now what should i be looking for in a beta just from getting one in a store? any ones that are better to get? i will be putting 1 male in the tank. my only options to go to are petsmart and pet co which kinda sucks.. i dont feel like doing aqua bid... otherwise i would do that. so yeah. and also where might i be able to find pool filter sand... i was thinking a pool store might have it.. but didnt want to call sounding stupid! thanks seth

 

[afishdude]

haha well.. i think tomorrow im going to get my 7 gallon and my 20 gallon tank set up! now what should i be looking for in a beta just from getting one in a store? any ones that are better to get? i will be putting 1 male in the tank. my only options to go to are petsmart and pet co which kinda sucks.. i dont feel like doing aqua bid... otherwise i would do that. so yeah. and also where might i be able to find pool filter sand... i was thinking a pool store might have it.. but didnt want to call sounding stupid! thanks seth

i would like you to get a VT from petco or petsmart just because theres alot of them there. if you were closer to me im having a spawn on sat and you would be welcome to one. aside from that you can get "playsand" from lows or home depot, for like $3.00 a bag. if you sift out the rocks and just leave the sand it looks awsome in tanks. just make sure you wash it for 15min under cold flowing water or you will regret it. oh and put the sand in before the water made that mistake once.

 

[Snake42490]

well.. haha. i decided to go crazy and get it done today. i got a 50 lb bag of pool filter sand for 10 bucks. the stuff looks GREAT in the tanks. my beta is now in his 7 gallon tank. he has yet to figure out its not the size of the cup haha.. but its a red and blue mix. looked really good. hopefully he will be ok. is there anything else i could put in the 7 gallon tank with him? shrimp or something? haha just thought might be fun to have.

 

[zoekin8yg]

You could put an apple snail in with him, I wouldnt put much else in (dont even think of guppies as suggested they will almost always fight) You could possibly divide the tank depending on its dimensions and add another betta (but do not add another without dividing the tank so they cant get to each other)

 

[Snake42490]

will the apple snail be ok in sand? so i take it a shrimp wont work? i dont know if its worth trying to divide.. i could look into it. its a hex tank.

 

[zoekin8yg]

I dont see why a snail wouldnt be ok with sand, I dont have any experience with shrimps, I cant stand them! I think some bettas will attack and eat them so I wouldnt do it myself, but a lot of people do.

 

[Snake42490]

haha.. well i will see if i can find a snail somewhere.. might be some fun.. some for the beta to be amused with! thanks for your help.. im sure ill have some more questions