I want a Betta for my work desk

[MissClaire]

Hi all, I was down at the shops yesterday looking at all the lovely Bettas, and I just fell in love with one of them. I was wondering if I bought a slightly 'bigger' home (not those coffee mug sized tanks ) to put here at my desk at work. But my concern is our office is air conditioned would this make him unhappy and sick? Wouldnt he need a heater and can you get ones small enough?
I just dont think those homes they put them in are right Im sure it's a long debate....but IF I was to get one and IF he was to live in a small home what is the best way I can look after him?

 

[D Chia]

Bettas require a temperature of 75-86 F (24-30 C). So, if the air-conditioned offices in Sunny Gold Coast is not lower than 75 F (24 C), the temperature should be okay. It would be good if you could have a 2nd tank in the office for the same betta to allow the water to reach the same temperature as the 1st tank, so the betta can be transferred from a dirty tank to a clean tank of the same temperature.

Do ensure that the water is frequently changed and conditioned (to remove the chlorine and chloramine); have a variety of food e.g. Bio-gold pellets and freeze-dried blood worms / brine shrimps at the office.

If you intend to keep a betta in a small tank, I would recommend a water surface area of at least 6"x6" for long/fancy tail bettas (e.g. crown tails and half-moons) and at least 4"x4" for plakats (short tail bettas).

A water depth of 6" would be ideal. Do cover the tank to prevent the betta from leaping out and landing in your coffee mug or the shredder.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

You could put him in a 1 gallon tank. They don't take up much room, and even though they are still small, it would be enough room for 1 betta. Here is a pic of the 1 gallon that I have my female in. Excuse the dirty glass. It's about time for another cleaning.....

If you decide to go without a filter, which you probably will with it being on your desk, you might want to think about puting a plant in there with him. It will help keep the nitrite levels down. A 2 gallon would be better for a male though as they tend to get bigger than the females. They don't take up too much room either. The 2 gallon that I have is 8 inches high, 6 inches wide, and a foot long. It is a good thing though that you have thought it out, and unlike so many other people in the world, realised that those little cups they like to call good enough for bettas isn't good enough after all. About the A/C, they do make heaters small enough for 2 gallon tanks. The one I have is made by Jr. Aquarium and is good for tank sizes of 2-5 gallons. Our awesome fish do best in temps between 76-86F I think. I don't remember exactly. Hopefully someone else will correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, sorry for the long post, and good luck with your new friend!

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Dang, I was typing all that, and D Chia beat me while I was doing it......, but an idea that came from his 2 tank idea, if you don't want to have 2 tanks in the office, you could keep a couple gallon jugs of de-chlornated water in the office so when you do water changes, it is all the same temp. That and moving him from tank to tank might get kinda stressful for him. Oh, one more thing, if you go non filtered, you should do a 50% water change at least 2 times a week.

 

[jacblades]

if you do opt for something small (ie-1 gallon) then you could get a reptile heat mat to set under it and it would make a nice toasty home for your friend

 

[mandi]

I wanted to do that too ... but then I got thinking about it ... Who's going to feed him on the weekends? (Especially if its a long 3-day weekend or something) and is it going to be a good idea to haul him home over longer vacations (like Christmas)? I opted not to do it because no one is in the office Sat. or Sun. so he'd go hungry, and its really cold here in the winter, so when we have a week off at Christmas, I'd hate to have to pack him up and bring him home in the bitter cold. Anyway -- just some food for thought. Hope it works out for you. Bettas make the nicest little desk-buddies!!

 

[shrks1fan]

Actually Bettas do just fine without food for a couple days at a time, in fact it's probably good for them, as long as they're well fed the rest of the week.

Linda

 

[D Chia]

It would be good if you could have a 2nd tank in the office for the same betta to allow the water to reach the same temperature as the 1st tank, so the betta can be transferred from a dirty tank to a clean tank of the same temperature.

I'd like to share that the Thais use the "krabuey" (a hand-crafted betta scoop) to transfer their bettas from one tank to another, in the comfort of the fish's own old water.

This useful piece of equipment (made using non-permeable cloth, a piece of metal wire, needle & thread, and a long wooden stick) can be purchased from Siam's Best Bettas.

It may be a good idea to create your own "krabuey" or purchase one for occasions when a 100% water change is required and the betta needs to be shifted from one tank to another.

Additional Info: The Siamese Cyber Aquarium produces and sells "krabuey" that are made using materials like dried palm leaf and coconut shell (refer to items S4 to S7).

The "krabuey" is definitely the right equipment to use if one needs to shift a long fin / fancy tail betta because it makes the transfer a lot less stressful for the fish (and prevents damage to the rays).

If the shipping of organic items to one's country is a problem (e.g. Australia), one could modify any fish net by replacing the netting with non-permeable cloth or suitable plastic material.