Making Plans For A Small Betta Bowl!

[NeonBlueLeon]

Just kidding.  Definitely not gonna use a bowl.
 
Want to know a dark secret about me?  When I was a kid, my dad bought one of those tiny betta tanks, probably around 1/2 a gallon, with a divider.  Tiny.  He bought two male bettas, and one day lifted the divider to let them fight.  I asked him, "Isn't that bad?"  He said, "No, it's good exercise for them."  Fins were torn, and one died soon after. 

 
Anyway, I'm looking to get a tank setup for a betta, because they seem like they have a lot character and probably as repentance.  I've got some items planned out, and I'm looking for anyone to give me feedback and/or suggestions on what else I can do to make him happy.
 
Here's a list of the stuff I'm planning on getting so far:
- A 5 gallon kit.  Supposedly includes a small filter, light, and built-in cover.  Link to Amazon: http/www.amazon.com/Aquarius-Aq15005-Rounded-5-Gallon-Aquarium/dp/B007KKU8QE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367281596&sr=8-1&keywords=hawkeye+aquarius+5
I've got an Azoo Mignon 60 for back-up in case the built in one fails.  Very, very light and controllable flow.
- 25 watt heater
- Leaf hammock
- Small silk plants (how many should I get?)
- A small gazebo decoration.  Link to Amazon: http/www.amazon.com/Petco-Asian-Gazebo-Aquatic-Decor/dp/B003NWPEJE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367282229&sr=8-1&keywords=asian+gazebo+aquarium
- Betta food (what brand do you think is best?)
- Betta water conditioner
- Some kind of substrate
 
In terms of decor, how much does a betta enjoy?  Heavy, moderate, light decorations?  What kind of substrate do you think is best?  I was thinking a natural, light-brown blend of pea-sized gravel.  And what brand of betta food seems to be of best quality?
 
I was also thinking a snail or two would be good for company (besides a looming, irritating owner).  He won't chomp on it right?
 
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

My betta likes going into the weirdest places like behind the small filter, through tight plants, through holes in the decorations. As long as he can explore he should be good .

 

[attibones]

They also enjoy resting on plants, so be sure to get some of different sizes. They tend to enjoy hiding spaces, like pieces of wood with holes, stone caves, etc. My newest likes to sit in the mouth of his dragon center-piece. 
 
As for food, I have aqueon betta pellets, but lately I've been feeding thawed brine shrimp and beef heart three or four times a week. They all really love it, and I feel it is better quality than the pellet stuff. 
 
You don't need "betta water conditioner," just regular conditioner will do. If you can, add some Indian almond leaves to the tank, as betta fish really benefit from this. 
 
The number of plants you get is up to you, but my happiest betta has the most plants (all live). What I do in my rectangular tanks is make a thick plant section, one that's a little lighter on the plants, and then one section of a grass sort of plant which makes a nice bed for the fish. 
 
He likely will not injure any snails. All of mine have a few. They'll look at them curiously but they pay them no mind.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

My betta likes going into the weirdest places like behind the small filter, through tight plants, through holes in the decorations. As long as he can explore he should be good

.

 
Awesome.  I've just heard they don't like to be too cramped by decor, but I didn't know what to think of that.  Has your betta ever ripped his fins on your decor?  I'm afraid of that, but I'm also paranoid about my fish.  Haha.
 
 

They also enjoy resting on plants, so be sure to get some of different sizes. They tend to enjoy hiding spaces, like pieces of wood with holes, stone caves, etc. My newest likes to sit in the mouth of his dragon center-piece. 
 
As for food, I have aqueon betta pellets, but lately I've been feeding thawed brine shrimp and beef heart three or four times a week. They all really love it, and I feel it is better quality than the pellet stuff. 
 
You don't need "betta water conditioner," just regular conditioner will do. If you can, add some Indian almond leaves to the tank, as betta fish really benefit from this. 
 
The number of plants you get is up to you, but my happiest betta has the most plants (all live). What I do in my rectangular tanks is make a thick plant section, one that's a little lighter on the plants, and then one section of a grass sort of plant which makes a nice bed for the fish. 
 
He likely will not injure any snails. All of mine have a few. They'll look at them curiously but they pay them no mind.

 
Thanks for the suggestions, I will certainly try to arrange the tank like that.  Did you have to treat/prepare the Indian almond leaves before hand?  What kind of substrate do you use in your tanks, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[attibones]

You don't have to do anything to the almond leaves. Just add one or two to each tank and reap the benefits. However, they do contain tannins, which the betta fish love, so be aware they may tint your water a bit. It's perfectly healthy, though.
 
In one of my betta tanks, I have sand. In the others, I have gravel. I much prefer the way the sand looks, but because my fish don't spend much time on the lower level, I don't believe they really care. However, the sand does better for my plants. I use blue gravel in my cherry blossom tank. I use natural colored gravel in my Fluval Chi, which is more natural looking, but only has one live plant which is about to be moved into my cylindrical six gallon which is heavily planted with sand substrate. Pistol loves his plants. He can catch tid-bits of food in them, and he enjoys resting on the dwarf hair grass, as well as swimming through my anubias. 

 

[Essjay]

Betta's need smooth decor, no sharp edges, which is why live or silk plants are recommended over plastic ones with their sharp edges. For things like that gazebo, run a pair of old tights (pantihose) over it - if they snag it could tear a betta's fins.
Bettas like exploring and have been known to get stuck. Before putting any decor in, check if it has a betta sized hole one could get stuck in. I have a half terracotta plantpot cave in my betta's tank. I've siliconed a bit of plastic mesh over the hole in the bottom of the pot just in case.
I used to have pebbles on the bottom of the tank, but when I changed my other tanks to sand I did the betta's tank too. The terracotta cave has java fern on it, the other plants are silk - two that reach the surface and a small one. I also have a plastic tree root ornament.

 

[RCA]

Well done LeonBlueNeon for wanting to do the right thing by your Betta and sorry to hear of your experience as a child.  I am glad it has not put you off these entertaining fish.
 
Crafty, with your title getting us to take a look
 
Great to have the links too and I have viewed the tank you are considering, have you already ordered it?  It looks like a neat set up, and great to have the LEDs but it appears the filter is no good, so it is great you have a back up.  I would be tempted to use the better filter from the start as you do not want to cycle the tank only to have to start again.
 
Main thing with this tank is the curved corners which will distort your viewing pleasure, especially in such a small tank.
 
I note you punch out the holes you need for cables etc.  I would recommend that you keep this to a minimum to assist with evaporation and escapees if you plan to add any shrimp.  I have recently acquired Amano Shrimp to go in some of my Betta tanks and they are great workers, but also good escape artists, so all little nooks have to be covered!
 
I also have Assassin Snails in with my Bettas and these ensure all pest snails are dealt with promptly.
 
As already recommended IAL as well as Alder Cones are good for Bettas, plus ideally natural or silk plants.  They like the broad leaf variety to hang in, such as Amazon Sword.  Also have a plant that goes to the top of the tank as they often chill just popping their heads up to breathe.  I also find my boys like to snooze on the top of the internal filter or the heater.
 
Do you already have a Betta for the tank?
 
Look forward to

 and more on your journey.
 
Can you add your location to your profile as it assists with advising due to Country differences etc.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Thanks for the input.  You all have given me plenty of good info.
 
 

Main thing with this tank is the curved corners which will distort your viewing pleasure, especially in such a small tank.

 
Thanks for that tip.  What do you think of this: http/www.amazon.com/Marineland-Eclipse-Seamless-Integrated-Aquarium/dp/B001B8RQ66/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_3_X123
 
I was mostly looking at length, and of course height.  I don't want to get a tall hexagonal tank since bettas breathe and sleep at the top.

 

[Mumi]

Is the betta hammock the leaf shaped one by zoo med? If so, don't get it. Bettas love relaxing on it, but they are poorly made from a nasty plastic that give off a residue. This killed one of my bettas, and nearly killed another before I realized what was causing them to be sick.

As far as good goes (this might have been mentioned before), my favorite is pelleted food and not flakes. Makes less mess and my betta is more active with it. Also supplement with frozen or freeze dried brine shrimp or blood worms. The running favorite is frozen blood worms. Give just a little once a week. Overdoing it can lead to constipation and eventual death of a betta.

Lastly, you don't need a filter for a betta with regular water changes. If you really want the filter, be sure to put a plant or decoration or some thing under the filter flow to disrupt it. Bettas like still water and the flow from a filter can disturb them.

 

[Wildbetta]

 

Lastly, you don't need a filter for a betta with regular water changes. If you really want the filter, be sure to put a plant or decoration or some thing under the filter flow to disrupt it. Bettas like still water and the flow from a filter can disturb them.

 
This is not totally true.  In a tank of 5 gallons or so, I would say a filter is much better than all the water changes you would have to do per week to keep it up.  With a cycled filter, only a 25% water change a week is necessary.  Some bettas actually like current and will play in it so saying that bettas like still water is not always true.  A sponge filter is the best for bettas because it does have very little current but a baffled filter is just as efficient.  Some filters actually have a way to lower the flow rate which is helpful in these situations.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Do you guys think a betta would prefer a longer (rectangular) tank or a shorter (hexagonal) tank, provided both tanks are the same height?

 

[attibones]

The rectangle would have a greater foot print, meaning the fish could have more horizontal swimming space as opposed to nearly circular. Most rectangle tanks are also larger in volume.

 

[Wildbetta]

A longer lower tank is always the best choice for a betta because it gives the them more access to the surface air.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

The rectangle would have a greater foot print, meaning the fish could have more horizontal swimming space as opposed to nearly circular. Most rectangle tanks are also larger in volume.

A longer lower tank is always the best choice for a betta because it gives the them more access to the surface air.

 
Thanks for that.  I think I might go with the longer tank.
I was trying to decide between these two tanks:  (Links to Amazon.com)
Hexagonal: http/www.amazon.com/Marineland-Eclipse-Seamless-Integrated-Aquarium/dp/B000260GEC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367449574&sr=8-1&keywords=marineland+hex+5
More or less rectangular: http/www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dpets&field-keywords=marineland%20eclipse&sprefix=marineland+ecl%2Cpets%2C290&rh=i%3Apets%2Ck%3Amarineland%20eclipse&ajr=2
 
Both tanks are five gallons.

 

[RCA]

The rectangular one as Wildbetta says is probably best, that said I have just got a Hex one to move a Betta into, it is larger than his current tank and fits where I need it to.  So, really in choosing a tank think of its location as well.  Can you tell us why you are choosing between these tanks?
 
When I was looking at them I also found these:
Tetra Crescent Acrylic Aquarium Kit (5 gallon version) - which seems popular apart from the filter, plus I prefer glass to Acrylic.
 
Marina Style Aquarium Kit - seems a better filter but the lighting seems to not be as good.  LED lights are better by far generally speaking.
 
This is an interesting small tank I had not seen before, Hagen Fluval View Aquarium, 4-Gallon, I would be put off by it as it is plastic and a gallon smaller than what you ideally want, but it has good reviews overall.
 
I personally like the clean lines of some of the cube all glass aquariums, like these I located:
Radius 5 Gallon Glass Aquarium - just need to check that the curved corners do not distort your fish, plus not done enough research on them ala the filter, it is just to give you more ideas.
 
Hagen have some good stuff and there is the Fluval Spec, although this is not very wide it is 5 gallons and allows a fair length of swimming.
 
Shelster has a nice all glass aquarium for her boy, so take a look at this post, 22 Litre Betta Tank, just not sure if you can get them in the US?  What is neat about this sort of tank is all the hardware is hidden behind the background, it has a nice clean look that does not distract from viewing the fish.
 
Do you want to keep any Amano Shrimp with your Betta?  If so make sure the lid is tight fitting as they can escape!
 
Hope these help your search.
 
Happy hunting ...