friend got betta ,probably not ready for it

[Sgooosh]

soo he got a betta like a really nice one around $19-25 at a pet store, and i told him the basics. what else should i tell him in order for his betta to be happy. he uses normal reverse osmosis water tho. told him to get plants, basic water quality things.

 

[Geordie Paul]

What size is the tank? Tell him to use water conditioner if he's adding the fish right away. Hopefully he had the aquarium setup in advance though. If there is no filter or airstone or water movement the tank will get really gross fast especially under an LED.

 

[Colin_T]

Keep feeding down to a couple of times a week and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding. Continue doing this until the filter has finished cycling in about 6 weeks. Then he can feed the fish more often and do a 75% water change and gravel clean once a week.

Adding a live plant like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will help keep the water cleaner and give the fish somewhere to hang out.

 

[Guyb93]

Iv heard stories .. weather there is truth in them or not but keeping small tanks , which most Betta are kept in as a single fish iv found , are hard work in comparison to a large volume of water , again I don’t know how true it is and have just listened to advice from a breeder / kinda friend and his shop / shed nearly all his tanks under 10gallon has no filter , he reasoning is it’s a waste of filter ... makes little sense to me but he seems to find that the time it takes to change water every 48 hours is far less hassle than actually cycling the filter , maybe personal preference or just crazy I don’t know

 

[Colin_T]

Iv heard stories .. weather there is truth in them or not but keeping small tanks , which most Betta are kept in as a single fish iv found , are hard work in comparison to a large volume of water

It takes about the same amount of time to clean, water change and gravel clean a tiny tank as it does to clean a 3 foot tank, so yes there is some truth to it.

 

[Barry Tetra]

Iv heard stories .. weather there is truth in them or not but keeping small tanks , which most Betta are kept in as a single fish iv found , are hard work in comparison to a large volume of water , again I don’t know how true it is and have just listened to advice from a breeder / kinda friend and his shop / shed nearly all his tanks under 10gallon has no filter , he reasoning is it’s a waste of filter ... makes little sense to me but he seems to find that the time it takes to change water every 48 hours is far less hassle than actually cycling the filter , maybe personal preference or just crazy I don’t know

I do 100% daily water changes on my 5 gal betta tank and yes, there is no filter, only leaves litter.

I don’t see the point of adding filter to the betta tank really.

 

[Essjay]

Filters mean you only need to do a water change once a week. Though if the tank is heavily planted, you can get away without a filter and still do weekly water changes.

 

[Guyb93]

I do 100% daily water changes on my 5 gal betta tank and yes, there is no filter, only leaves litter.

I don’t see the point of adding filter to the betta tank really.

Makes sense , I’m guessing a small body of water even with a filter is looking at 2x 50% a week , I really don’t know t chemistry of small tanks

 

[Sgooosh]

Keep feeding down to a couple of times a week and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding. Continue doing this until the filter has finished cycling in about 6 weeks. Then he can feed the fish more often and do a 75% water change and gravel clean once a week.

Adding a live plant like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will help keep the water cleaner and give the fish somewhere to hang out.

No the tank is already cycled

 

[Sgooosh]

soo he got a betta like a really nice one around $19-25 at a pet store, and i told him the basics. what else should i tell him in order for his betta to be happy. he uses normal reverse osmosis water tho. told him to get plants, basic water quality things.

UPDATE 3.5 gallon tank probably already cycled filter and a wierd tree rthingy included

 

[Geordie Paul]

UPDATE 3.5 gallon tank probably already cycled filter and a wierd tree rthingy included

Good size for a Betta. Just make sure he has a filter if he doesn't want to change the water every 3 days. With a filter he could get away with a 50% water change every 10 days.

 

[Sgooosh]

Good size for a Betta. Just make sure he has a filter if he doesn't want to change the water every 3 days. With a filter he could get away with a 50% water change every 10 days.

whaaa? 3.5 is a good size? he has a basic filter and cool. i will tell him to get moss balls because they are good for water. i told him to get a 5 gal later on because his beta is pretty big already and its easier to maintain. im a livebearer person so i dont really know lol.

 

[Geordie Paul]

whaaa? 3.5 is a good size? he has a basic filter and cool. i will tell him to get moss balls because they are good for water. i told him to get a 5 gal later on because his beta is pretty big already and its easier to maintain. im a livebearer person so i dont really know lol.

Lots of people will say a betta needs 5, but you you take the proper care and tank matinence, they'll do just fine in a 3.

 

[Sgooosh]

Lots of people will say a betta needs 5, but you you take the proper care and tank matinence, they'll do just fine in a 3.

k nice i will tell him to get an anubias and some moss balls. or a betta plant instead of anubias

 

[Geordie Paul]

k nice i will tell him to get an anubias and some moss balls. or a betta plant instead of anubias

Ya Anubis or Java fern will be good!