Betta Tank 13l

[loubega]

Hi all,

Just aquired a 13l tank with a little 50w heater and a sponge filter driven by an air pump. I was planning to get a bit of mature media from one of my other tanks and wrap it around the sponge filter or maybe lodge it somewhere close to clone the media, would this work? i have done this before on biggere tanks but was curoius about doing it for a smaller tank.

Once i have done this was going to maybe create a Betta tank. Was thinking of black gravel with perhaps 2 or 3 live plants....and a bit of slate with java moss i have been growing...

What are suitable housemates, i know they are very happy being solitary but was thinking about maybe a few shrimps? would these be ok?

any advice would be great

 

[loubega]

Hi all,

Just aquired a 13l tank with a little 50w heater and a sponge filter driven by an air pump. I was planning to get a bit of mature media from one of my other tanks and wrap it around the sponge filter or maybe lodge it somewhere close to clone the media, would this work? i have done this before on biggere tanks but was curoius about doing it for a smaller tank.

Once i have done this was going to maybe create a Betta tank. Was thinking of black gravel with perhaps 2 or 3 live plants....and a bit of slate with java moss i have been growing...

What are suitable housemates, i know they are very happy being solitary but was thinking about maybe a few shrimps? would these be ok?

any advice would be great

bump bump?

any advice on how other people got their small tanks started and also how they decided on decor and tank mates?

 

[smegforbrains]

13 litres, hmmmm.


Maybe 4 Pygmy Corys? You won't fit in much more than that. Not sure about shrimp, never dealt with them.

You need to allow 6cm for an adult Betta and 2cm for each Pygmy. Although, considering the low strain on the bio culture that Pygmies are, you should be OK with six. Just not for a few weeks.


As far as cycling goes, when I started up Mango's tank (27 litre), I used 60% mature water from my bow front tank and 40% fresh. The sponge filter was running in the bow front for 48 hours to give it a kick start. 50w heater set at 27 degrees and 2 mixed bunches of live plants from the LFS.

Also got him a nice cave coming courtesy of modaz

 

[loubega]

13 litres, hmmmm.


Maybe 4 Pygmy Corys? You won't fit in much more than that. Not sure about shrimp, never dealt with them.

You need to allow 6cm for an adult Betta and 2cm for each Pygmy. Although, considering the low strain on the bio culture that Pygmies are, you should be OK with six. Just not for a few weeks.


As far as cycling goes, when I started up Mango's tank (27 litre), I used 60% mature water from my bow front tank and 40% fresh. The sponge filter was running in the bow front for 48 hours to give it a kick start. 50w heater set at 27 degrees and 2 mixed bunches of live plants from the LFS.

Also got him a nice cave coming courtesy of modaz

Cheers,

Yea will do the same with the mature water, but will also put in a small bit of mature media..to kick start it.

will have to find out about shrimps for the tank too, although i like the idea of corys...do you have a light as well?

was thinking of just a sport light or something...?

 

[smegforbrains]

Yes, mine came with a twin colour compact T5 built in to the hood.


Only issue I have is the fact that it gets rather warm so I've had to leave the food flap open with a bit of muslim cloth over it.

 

[loubega]

Yes, mine came with a twin colour compact T5 built in to the hood.


Only issue I have is the fact that it gets rather warm so I've had to leave the food flap open with a bit of muslim cloth over it.

ok mine is has no in built light unit at all, just has a plastic hood, dont really want to fork out for a lighting unit for such a small tank, could i just use a spot light etc....?

what plants do you have in there?

 

[smegforbrains]

You could just use a clip on desk lamp from Wilkinsons or something like that. Just don't use a 60w or 100w bulb though.



The mixed bunches in Mango's tank have strands of Camboba, Elodea and a couple of other common aquatic plants I'm not sure of the name of. Nothing fancy but he enjoys them.

 

[loubega]

You could just use a clip on desk lamp from Wilkinsons or something like that. Just don't use a 60w or 100w bulb though.



The mixed bunches in Mango's tank have strands of Camboba, Elodea and a couple of other common aquatic plants I'm not sure of the name of. Nothing fancy but he enjoys them.

awesome was thinking about a cheap lamp....i was thinking about perhaps a java fern then maybe a floaty plant that can provide a bit of shade and cover but not totally inihibt all light...

also food.....what do you feed on a daily basis? any specific brands or treats..etc...

 

[Spishkey]

i think a betta would eat the shrimp if you had those as a tank mate

just a quick note too, if you are going to have corys in with a betta, get the corys first and add the betta after a few weeks. if you have the betta first, then add corys later, chances are the betta will not be happy and may attack or get stressed
i dont understand why people feel the need to give a betta tank mates. i think (just my opinion) that they'd be happier alone

 

[smegforbrains]

I may have been lucky with my Bettas so far but I've not had any problems adding small amounts of stock at a time into their tanks.

My guys don't tend to bother about newcomers. Whether it is because they are in large community tanks or that they are so chilled out, I don't know.


Don't know about Mango yet though as he is in his own bachelor pad. I may try a few Pygmy Corys in a few weeks. If he doesn't like them, they can go in with my other Pygmies.


As for feeding, I use a mixture of Aqua Betta Pellets (really small pellets ideal for the juvenile girls), Tetra Betta Flake and Tetra Sinking Catfish Pellets (Brinn and Spence love them!). I feed very sparingly in Mango's tank because he's on his own atm. The others I can be a little less frugal because of the number of other fish to clean up after them. However, I feed a tiny pinch in the mornings just after lights on and then another tiny pinch around 6-30pm.

I water change three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Tuesday & Thursday evening changes mean no evening meals those days. Sunday change is done either morning or early afternoon. Whenever I do a water change, all media is rinsed in tank water and replaced when necessary.

I do occasionally (fortnightly or thereabouts) treat my guys to either live Brine Shrimp (if I can source any),live Bloodworm or live Daphina. This is in place of their normal meal.

Of all treats, without doubt the Shrimp is their favourite. It's so funny watching them chase the tiny Shrimp around the tank.

 

[loubega]

I may have been lucky with my Bettas so far but I've not had any problems adding small amounts of stock at a time into their tanks.

My guys don't tend to bother about newcomers. Whether it is because they are in large community tanks or that they are so chilled out, I don't know.


Don't know about Mango yet though as he is in his own bachelor pad. I may try a few Pygmy Corys in a few weeks. If he doesn't like them, they can go in with my other Pygmies.


As for feeding, I use a mixture of Aqua Betta Pellets (really small pellets ideal for the juvenile girls), Tetra Betta Flake and Tetra Sinking Catfish Pellets (Brinn and Spence love them!). I feed very sparingly in Mango's tank because he's on his own atm. The others I can be a little less frugal because of the number of other fish to clean up after them. However, I feed a tiny pinch in the mornings just after lights on and then another tiny pinch around 6-30pm.

I water change three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Tuesday & Thursday evening changes mean no evening meals those days. Sunday change is done either morning or early afternoon. Whenever I do a water change, all media is rinsed in tank water and replaced when necessary.

I do occasionally (fortnightly or thereabouts) treat my guys to either live Brine Shrimp (if I can source any),live Bloodworm or live Daphina. This is in place of their normal meal.

Of all treats, without doubt the Shrimp is their favourite. It's so funny watching them chase the tiny Shrimp around the tank.

ok thanks for that,

just been to my lfs, bought some nice black gravel and few live plants, gonna set up the tank this evening after work, add the mature media and water too, then add the latest addition to my fish stock next week!

guy at fish shop said that tetra pro colour is good for bettas can u confirm this? i have loadsa of this as i feed my cichlids this too, also have flake and pellets and dried bloodworm and daphina as well as frosen daphina

 

[MakkyFillet]

Lew I found some pics of my betta that we kept in that tank in first year, also a few more of him in the breeding tank I had with *the* female:

(Note bubble nest in these pics)

 

[AJ Tudor]

ok mine is has no in built light unit at all, just has a plastic hood, dont really want to fork out for a lighting unit for such a small tank, could i just use a spot light etc....?

There's the option of using clip on aquarium LED's, they're not too expensive and they give out a nice light.

 

[loubega]

Lew I found some pics of my betta that we kept in that tank in first year, also a few more of him in the breeding tank I had with *the* female:

(Note bubble nest in these pics)

hahaha cheers for that, i do remember it now...

tank is almost set up now, got a spotlight on it now, how the carp

 

[MakkyFillet]

Lew I found some pics of my betta that we kept in that tank in first year, also a few more of him in the breeding tank I had with *the* female:

(Note bubble nest in these pics)

hahaha cheers for that, i do remember it now...

tank is almost set up now, got a spotlight on it now, how the carp

Not bad. They are settling in still also abit skittish because of the tank location, I'll get some pics done with the SLR when I'm back from spain