How Many Litres

[chesterscot]

hi ppl can anyone tell me what size tank is best to keep a betta in with a few shrimp cheers
scot

 

[ALW]

20L min

 

[chesterscot]

cheers again is there a maximum size?
scot

 

[Honeythorn]

No. You can never ever have too much water as long as you have plenty of hiding places. The more water the better! Just don't put the betta in a community tank of the usual sort. If you want any bottom feeders, then add those BEFORE the betta. Otherwise he may see them as a threat to his territory and attack even if they are not brightly coloured fish.

 

[chesterscot]

cheers honeythorn already have communitys this is going to be a dedicated betta setup plus the shrimps
thanx again scot

 

[Honeythorn]

So what size tank were you thinking of getting? Basically the bigger the better is great. I wish I had the space for something really grand in a betta setup . My 30 gal may become such a thing when all my current fish eventually pass on.

 

[Phoenixbaby]

Hello, it depends on what your looking to do?

Will you possibly be upgrading the set up, or just keeping it as 1 male betta and shrimps?

If just the shrimps and betta, I would say 10gallon would work rather well, as a HUGE tank is a waste for what you have in mind, the betta would look lost, and some dont like big open spaces, and again, total waste of a tank

If im gonna have a HUGE tank, i wouldnt just keep 1 male and shrimp, imo

Keep us updated

 

[Honeythorn]

I would. I'd do the nearest thing to a biotope. Certainly not a waste. Indeed, a heavily planted tank with very few fish can actually be more effective and stunning than a tankfull of different species.

As for some not liking big spaces, well you would be rather agrophobic if you'd spent a great part of your early life in a very small container no doubt. Keeping the betta for the first week or so in a heavily planted area of the tank containing tall plants to surround him ( real or fake plants ) inside a cheap large guppy breeding trap, should help him to acclimatise to a larger space. He's in the plants, with the smaller space he's used to, being provided by the trap , but can see the rest of the tank and become used to it without having to navigate it from the very beginning.

Being plopped into a great big space after being in a small one is bound to be frightening and stressful.

 

[ReMz]

^^ just preference . A betta and a few shrimp would do well in either scenario. The more water the better for any fish..... but bettas can be a bit tricky as far as proper filtration and providing hiding spaces in a large area.

 

[Honeythorn]

Tricky as to proper filtration? How??? Bigger tanks are easier to filter if anything. If the betta and a few bottom dwellers ( community of cories or shrimp for example ) are all that is in a larger tank of say..20 gals and upwards, you really only need a fluval 2 at most. And with heavy planting to help soak up some of the nitrates it's even better. Hiding spaces are solved by heavy planting and a lot of tall plants like Cabomba, Vallis, Onion plants, Aponogentons, Hygrophilla, all sorts. Some coconut caves descreetly placed amongst plants if the Betta wants an enclosed dark space to hide, or even a typical ornament if you're given to such things ( I rarely am though ) .

 

[Phoenixbaby]

Maybe honeythorne hes talking from experience

I really dont like ur tone and attitude in ur posts, you come across like a know it all, and if its not your way then its wrong

We are all entitled to our opinions, and I stand by mine that anything bigger that a 10gallon for ONE MALE BETTA ALONE is a waste, because thats how I feel about it

All we are doing is giving the original poster feedback on personal experiences and how we feel, after all he did ask all of us, not just you

with regards to remz comment about filtration, i know what he means, NO WAY would i run a fluval 2 in a tank that size, its not near enough effective to keep that water clean, i have a fluval 2 on my 7gallon

Before my 20gallon became home to my gecko, it was running a fluval external AND an internal, because you can just expect one little filter to cope with those masses of water

 

[Honeythorn]

Wether or not you like my tone is of no consequence to me.

 

[ReMz]

... filtration as far as keeping current down and still properly filtering that amount of water efficiently.

I would never have a large tank for just a single betta unless it was a pretty heavily stocked community tank with smaller fish..... and as far as i'm concerned, bettas dont prosper in community tanks like that.

shmeh

... and *cheers*