Betta fish beginner

[Oli]

Hi guys, I currently have a 30 litre Biorb housing 5 Cherry Barbs. They seem to be thriving and consistently reading 0 & 0 on ammonia and nitrite but I have been persuaded that it’s for the best to give them away. Therefore I am thinking about a Male

So I have a number of questions following that. First of all it seems that the decor I have in the tank would be too sharp to house a male Betta as it may snag on them. (I will attach pictures for you all to see). If that is the case then I am stuck with a couple options. I can get new decor, maybe real plants or some silk plants. Or I can get a new tank. I have attached a picture of the kind of tank I would go for.

An important thing for me is that these tanks look really good (obviously second to the fish welfare! No lectures please!) So if I were to buy a tank like the one pictured, I am clueless where to begin with a filter and heater that ideally would be quite discreet as I only have experience with Biorbs own brand filter.

To summarise can I make this Biorb work with a Male Betta? If not some advice on a new Betta set up. (And do I definitely need to get rid of my cherries)

Thanks for the help!

 

[carligraceee]

Hi guys, I currently have a 30 litre Biorb housing 5 Cherry Barbs. They seem to be thriving and consistently reading 0 & 0 on ammonia and nitrite but I have been persuaded that it’s for the best to give them away. Therefore I am thinking about a Male

So I have a number of questions following that. First of all it seems that the decor I have in the tank would be too sharp to house a male Betta as it may snag on them. (I will attach pictures for you all to see). If that is the case then I am stuck with a couple options. I can get new decor, maybe real plants or some silk plants. Or I can get a new tank. I have attached a picture of the kind of tank I would go for.

An important thing for me is that these tanks look really good (obviously second to the fish welfare! No lectures please!) So if I were to buy a tank like the one pictured, I am clueless where to begin with a filter and heater that ideally would be quite discreet as I only have experience with Biorbs own brand filter.

To summarise can I make this Biorb work with a Male Betta? If not some advice on a new Betta set up. (And do I definitely need to get rid of my cherries)

Thanks for the help!

I would invest in real plants. The decor you have should be fine. Bettas are not fools and will not go too close to something that might hurt them.

If you are planning to get any breed of Orchid, Koi, or Veiltail bettas, get rid of your Cherries. Those species are of the most aggressive. I would go for something like a Butterfly betta, who is still aggressive but not nearly as much as the others.

I personally have a Pink Orchid Betta who cornered and jabbed at a tank mate for about 30 minutes before I got home to stop it. Not good at all. Do not worry, tank mate was taken back and Kevin is all stress free.

 

[Sgooosh]

I would invest in real plants. The decor you have should be fine. Bettas are not fools and will not go too close to something that might hurt them.

If you are planning to get any breed of Orchid, Koi, or Veiltail bettas, get rid of your Cherries. Those species are of the most aggressive. I would go for something like a Butterfly betta, who is still aggressive but not nearly as much as the others.

I personally have a Pink Orchid Betta who cornered and jabbed at a tank mate for about 30 minutes before I got home to stop it. Not good at all. Do not worry, tank mate was taken back and Kevin is all stress free.

agree.. those beautiful white skeleton things are gonna get covered with algae unless u get plants
i think some nice java moss or christmas moss would be nice

also i have seen some instances where a betta accidentally has its fin ripped from a sharp rock or deco....
they are not used to having such big fins naturally i think

 

[NannaLou]

The conversation about the white decor not being suitable has been raised in another thread. I have a male Betta in a tank with the same capacity as the 4th image you show and he seems very happy. My tank is rectangular, so the water is shallower and there is more surface area.

 

[Essjay]

In the biorb, you would need to use floating plants or plants attached to decor if you were to use live plants. The rocks on the bottom, which are the biomedium of the filter, are too large for most plants which are rooted in the substrate.


For a different tank, sponge filters powered by an air pump is one option for a filter, as they don't create much current.
If you do opt for a different tank, you will need to cycle it first, either a fishless cycle with ammonia or a plant cycle if you choose live plants.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Hi guys, I currently have a 30 litre Biorb housing 5 Cherry Barbs. They seem to be thriving and consistently reading 0 & 0 on ammonia and nitrite but I have been persuaded that it’s for the best to give them away. Therefore I am thinking about a Male

So I have a number of questions following that. First of all it seems that the decor I have in the tank would be too sharp to house a male Betta as it may snag on them. (I will attach pictures for you all to see). If that is the case then I am stuck with a couple options. I can get new decor, maybe real plants or some silk plants. Or I can get a new tank. I have attached a picture of the kind of tank I would go for.

An important thing for me is that these tanks look really good (obviously second to the fish welfare! No lectures please!) So if I were to buy a tank like the one pictured, I am clueless where to begin with a filter and heater that ideally would be quite discreet as I only have experience with Biorbs own brand filter.

To summarise can I make this Biorb work with a Male Betta? If not some advice on a new Betta set up. (And do I definitely need to get rid of my cherries)

Thanks for the help!

The reasons for the unsuitability of your biorb for your Cherry Barbs was discussed at length in your previous post. Those reasons remain.
I get the impression that you're unwilling to part with your biorb. Please understand that I strongly believe these things were created not with fish welfare in mind, but as a means to exploit those who wanted something small and pretty to look at and were sold as 'Easy to look after'.
Getting a 'proper' tank is just so much of a better idea...if you actually do get into this hobby, at sometime in the future, you'll be wanting a bigger and better tank and this smaller tank will always come in useful.

Of course, you would still have to cycle your new tank properly and carefully, so as not to re-visit your previous mistakes.

IF you were to stick a Betta in that biorb, then those artificial decorations are unsuitable. Most Bettas have been bred to have large fins and these are prone to damage. They hinder the fish when it wants to swim and some even try to eat away their own flowing appendages!
Real plants are always a bonus, for so many reasons that I won't reiterate here, but if you don't want the bother of having to look after them, then the silk ones would be a better alternative than plastic...and, as @Essjay said, the biorb isn't really designed for housing real plants. (Remember my comment about it being intended as a simple, pretty object).