Eclipe System Three

[jaywings19]

Hi There. I just came across these message boards last week and this is my first time posting.

I'm new to the aquarium hobby. I have an Eclipse System 3 along with a small heater. Last night, I set up the tank with treated tap water and let it begin to "run."

I'm interested in getting a male betta for my tank. From what I'm reading, it's not required to have a filter for bettas. So my question is how soon can I bring my betta home and introduce him to the new tank?

I've read about the tank cycling, but thought that betta could help cycle the tank.

Sorry if I come across novice, but just trying to get some tips here without doing harm to an innocent betta.

Your help and feedback will be greatly appreciated.

 

[wuvmybetta]

your betta should be perfect for cycling, they're very hardy. I have several that live in small aquariums with no filter (just clean the water more often) and several with filters, but bettas are clean fish (most of them,I have a couple messy boys ) and they produce little waste and eat all that you feed them.
As far as tank introduction.....I say just pour him in to it, dump most of his old cup water out and add a little tank water into his cup for a few minutes then plop him in.

Make sure none of the decor is sharp enough to snag a pair of panty hose because if they are they'll snag his finnage and cause problems for you & him.

Have fun!!!!!

 

[jaywings19]

Thank you for the helpful information.

Right now, I just have one of those short pagoda decorations. I am going to get a few fake plants as well... I've been reading here that I should look for "silk" plants instead of plastic.

Any idea how much "free" swim space I need to leave my betta? I don't want to plop too much extra stuff in the tank and restrict him, but don't want it to seem empty either.

 

[wuvmybetta]

if you want to heavily plant it with silks he'll love that, he'll find a way to weave in between all of the branches and leaves to get to his destination

Some of mine love their little hidey holes such as clay pots and stuff, others don't even acknowledge them at all and prefer to hang out under plants and such. You'll get to know him and he'll let you know what he likes in his own little betta way

they're all so different, all of mine are in little 1 or 2 gallon tanks I have 1 male that lives in a gallon and a half bowl and he hates it when I fill his bowl...he prefers the water to be very shallow, no more than half full . But the body language says it all, they're amazing little fish. I just added a large silk plant to my betta who resides in a 10 gallon by himself, and rearranged his live plants and he's over there throwing a FIT as I type...guess I better go put his stuff back the way he likes it

 

[jaywings19]

Well, I brought Mr. Betta home today... haven't named him yet. He has a small pagoda and a couple of small silk plants.

Trying to monitor his behavior since putting him in. Seems "normal" to me... swimming around checking out every nook and crannie of the tank. Heck, he is in a mansion compared to the pee-sample cup he came from at Petco. I put two Betta Bio-Gold pellets in and he munched away on one, so at least he's eating.

Glad I didn't get a heater for my Eclipse System 3. Lady at the store said even a small heater would overheat the small acrylic tank. Besides, it seems the tank at room temperature is about 80F degrees. Is that good conditions or on the high side? Any thoughts how to keep my water slightly cooler?

 

[SneakBetta]

I have an eclipse six and my betta never made it through cycling. I had to wait 4 weeks before adding fish. I had my bettas in a bowl before but they always died without a filter. So, I would recommend waiting before adding fish, or find some cycled water and put it in the tank before you add fish.

 

[SneakBetta]

sorry my last post was a little late. if he's eating, then he's ok. if he's active, that's even better. I did have a heater but we aren't using it because sometimes it gets stuck and frys the fish. Also it kicked on when the water was perfect temp. I recemend not using a heater unless it's a bigger tank. I know it's hard to cool the tank down, but the only way I know (it doens't work that well) is to turn on your fan and keep the fish tank light off.

 

[wuvmybetta]

he should be fine...none of mine have heaters and their water seems plenty warm,when winter comes it may be a different story,we'll see

I'm glad he's doing great , I bet he just loves his mansion & you for giving it to him
as far as names go...most of mine are un-named and some of them are, but apparently they all answer to "hey there you"

so what color is he?

 

[jaywings19]

Mr. Betta has a dark blue body, and fins that start out royal blue then primarily turn maroonish... he's a "typical pet store" veil tail. Not sure if this is good or not, but he has two separated underbelly fins... instead of one long fin as I see in most pictures on websites... is that normal? I'll try to get a picture of him posted here soon.

I gave him two more Betta Bio-Gold baby pellets this morning, but he didn't bite. I see that the leftover pellet from last night has sunk to the bottom. Any idea on how many times / pellets I should feed him? The package says 1-3 pellets 2 or 3 times/day... however, my "care sheet" says feed no more than once a day.

I checked the ammonia level with my dipstick kit and it's at 0.25 after 12 hours. Do you think I can get him one roommate (fish, snail, shrimp) for the Eclipse 3 tank? Or should I let him own the entire place himself?

Sneakbetta - Funny you should mention it, but I did leave my desktop fan on pointed at the tank last night. This morning, the tank temperature is about 79-81F degrees, so it's cooled off some since last night.

 

[nene]

I HAVE 3 MINI BOW 2.5'S WITH A MALE BETTA IN EACH. I KEEP MY HOUSE AROUND 68 DEGREES IN THE WINTER SO I HAVE PUT A VISATHERM 25 WATT HEATER IN EACH. THEY FUNCTIONED WELL ALL LAST WINTER AND KEPT THE TANKS AT AROUND 76 DEGREES. I THINK YOU CAN USE HEATERS SAFELY IN SMALL TANKS BUT DON'T SKIMP ON THEM. BUY ONE OF THE BETTER KNOWN HEATER BRANDS WITH A GOOD REPUTATION BEHIND THEM AND CLOSELY MONITOR THEM FOR THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS.

 

[wuvmybetta]

he sounds pretty, his tail sounds like a double tail...I have one or 2 like that.

even if you do add more fish or anything the place will still be the bettas , but I would most definately wait until your cycles complete

as far as feeding him...that's strange that he didn't eat. Sometimes bettas have a hard time seeing the food from a distance and they take forever to feed, find the stillest corner in the tank and wiggle your finger over the surface until he notices you and comes over, then feed him one at a time, maybe that will work. But I think the bettas with more swim room such as yours have bigger appetites and burn more energy so small meals a couple of times a day are fine,in my opinion, but I have a bunch of fatties over here who do nothing but beg, and usually eat twice to 3 times a day so I'm only going by experience. If anything you can try live food like brine shrimp.

But the left over pellets will foul your water so you should try & net those out,they'll just cause more ammonia than necessary

 

[jaywings19]

Thanks for the tips so far. By the way, I've named him Dexter. He seems to like admiring his reflection in the sides of the tank... also playing hide-and-seek with me behind his pagoda/plants. He still seems timid when it comes to feeding time, though.

I can still see two leftover pellets (out of 4)... one from last night sunk... the other from this morning is still floating. I'll make sure to net them out if they're not eaten before his next feeding (either tonight or tomorrow morning).

I'll take your advice and look into getting him some live food this weekend. Maybe he'll be more inclined to eat if his "meal" swam right by his face.

Any suggestions on a specific tankmate (after cycling of course)? I don't want to add a tankmate just for the sake of adding... especially if it overloads my 3 gallon tank. Ideally, I'd like to get a Cory (to help keep my tank clean), but I've read that they do better in groups... which I don't have room to support.

 

[jaywings19]

Apparently, Dexter doesn't like the Hikari bio-gold pellets. He chews and spits them out.

So I went back to Petco today... got him a tube of dried bloodworms. Got home and gave them a try. Let me tell you... Dex sucked those things up like it was his last meal. Guess I found a good meal that he likes. Hopefully, he doesn't get tired of them.

Any other thoughts on a tankmate that I can get him? One cory... two small tetra... nothing?

 

[wuvmybetta]

that's good, the bloodworms are very fatty so keep offering the other stuff now & then

& noooo tetras,they're awful little nippers, especially if there's only a couple of them. Maybe try a little otocinclus (tiny algae eater), or maybe a mystery or apple snail,they're cool to watch,I have a few. Ghost shrimp are fun for bettas to chase around....and even catch 1 every once in awhile but don't get any shrimp bigger than a ghost shrimp (just a suggestion) but the larger ones grow HUGE and get really mean , if you have a divider you could always get a female ,most of my boys have a lady neighbor and they're just so cute when they flirt