My Tank

[justjon]

Finally got some pics, first without flash - second with.

I am now a bit concerned about the rocks at the bottom, the fake plant and even the gravel, so a few questions..

1) What temparature in Celcius should betta's be kept in?

2) Shall I replace the gravel with sand? And if so, Could I hook the gravel out with the current water in and just pour the sand in ?

3) Is the rock and fake plant ok, or shall I definately remove the plastic plant (could probably cut it off the rock, as I quite like the rock itself) and replace with 2 live ones? (one each side of tank?)

Opinions on tank also welcome, thanks in advance!

 

[Netty]

Finally got some pics, first without flash - second with.

I am now a bit concerned about the rocks at the bottom, the fake plant and even the gravel, so a few questions..

1) What temparature in Celcius should betta's be kept in? We keep ours at around 27c

2) Shall I replace the gravel with sand? And if so, Could I hook the gravel out with the current water in and just pour the sand in ? You can use whichever you prefer although if you keep the gravel make sure those other pieces of stone don't have sharp edges....maybe use some smooth pebbles instead. You can replace your substrate that way but will take a while for the sand to settle.

3) Is the rock and fake plant ok, or shall I definately remove the plastic plant (could probably cut it off the rock, as I quite like the rock itself) and replace with 2 live ones? (one each side of tank?) Live or silk plants are best as plastic ones can rip their delicate fins.

Opinions on tank also welcome, thanks in advance!

Your tank looks great.......you could also try finding a little cave or coconut cave....ours love them and quite often sleep in them at night

 

[justjon]

Thanks! I'll check out the LFS tommorow at lunch-break, How big do betta's get as I need to know what sort of size i'm looking at, and about my questions above, can you help out with those?

Also a bit concerned about the little red rocks as I am unsure if they'll be a bit sharp or not.

 

[Netty]

My answers are in red in your post

 

[tibby25731]

Hiya Jon

Bettas like it pretty warm. I keep mine at 26/27 celcius

You can have either gravel or sand, personal preference really! I find sand a nightmare so use gravel. Word of warning though - white gravel is a nightmare! I have some in one of my tanks and it gets dirty quick - I mixed in some natural colour gravel with it though and now it looks much better! If you decide to remove the gravel, get something to scoop it out with, and if you are putting sand in, pour it straight in - make sure it is well washed first, and expect it to take a while to settle though!

Plastic plants are not great for bettas as they can snag their beautiful tails on them. Silk plants are good though, especially ones with broad leaves - bettas like to rest on them! Personally, I think live plants are too much trouble I'd put a few plants in though, whether silk or live - make it more interesting, give the betta something to swim in and out of!

You might wanna put a coconut cave in too, some bettas like to sleep in caves And they look nice anyway, whether your betta uses it or not!

My opinion? I would personally take out the small red stones, but that's just my preference. I am no great tank decorator!

When are you getting your betta? Are you fishless cycling the tank? Or cloning media?

damn you netty, you typed faster than me!

 

[Netty]

Adults males get to around 2 and 2.5 inches including tail.

Sorry Tibby.....but you've added some good points too

 

[justjon]

Doh! Sorry Thanks a lot.

I have some smooth white/grey pebbles from an old tank out in the garden, If i grab them, do I put them in boiling water and leave overnight to sterilise? Will replace the red rocks.

I will also remove the fake plant (cut it off I guess) and get some sort of cave or something.

I am getting the lil guy Saturday morning, so if I pick the sand up tommorow, grab the gravel out with a net and pour it in, will it settle down? I believe my LFS has white sand. I've always wanted a tank with sand in (not got that in my main community tank! - guess I can keep the white gravel for another day....

Thanks for the reply tibb, i'm just doing a standard fishless cycle at the moment, it's been running since last saturday (with filter, no heater atm)..

I would love to get sand as it looks great, with 1 male in there, surely it wont get dirty too quick? and can I use my current "hoover" with say, a pair of tights over the end to clean through the sand?

OH! Also, what about taking half the gravel out, and covering over with sand too, so a mix, would that work? (saves money on getting sand)

 

[justjon]

Bump?

Anyone?.... quiet forum!.....

 

[ReMz]

To be completely honest, I think your setup would workout just fine.

I've kept bettas with both silk and plastic plants with no problem. The plant you have in there doesn't look like it has sharp/snaggy edges anyways. Gravel is the most common substrate people use with bettas. Sand just gets dirty really fast (not a problem if you like keeping a really clean tank).

Even my white gravel stays pretty clean in my divided tank....

As I said, I don't really see any problems with you tank at all.

My only concern would be the type of filter you are using. In a tank that size, a current can reallllly bother your betta (as they like still water). If you have quite a bit of flow in there, you can always reduce it. So, no worries.

keep us updated

 

[justjon]

Thank you remz I have sterilised some white pebbles from an old tank and will be putting them in shortly along with a heater, the filter is very small and the current isn't too massive, its a very tiny one without an adjustment, so I need to find something I can cover over it (rubber band be ok?)

As for an update, well. Turns out my LFS is not getting the new ones in this week, but they had a few little guys in the shop. Unfortunately not great condition, one poor thing was in one of the side compartments with quite a current and looked very unhappy/stressed - so i've put a payment down and will be collecting the little fella tommorow and putting him in his new home.

I've tried to get hold of a cocunut-cave or some sort of cave, but the lfs down the road didn't have anything, so i'll just pick up a few live plants and hope the guys ok for a few days without one (could I order one anywhere? (UK) ? )

Shall I leave him bobbing for the usual 20-25minutes in the tank? I'm picking him up in my lunch hour and dropping him in then going to work for 3 hours before coming back.

Any hints/tips or comments appreciated!

 

[Ficious]

outline the perimeter with the red rocks

 

[justjon]

My highly technological filter-blocker to slow current, check it out!

 

[tibby25731]

I'd leave him floating and then start adding water to the bag when i got back from work. Better than doing it too fast. Just keep the room he is in dark.
For my filters, i cut off the toe of a pair of tights, wrap it over the outlet and secure with an elastic band. Works great for me!
Don't worry too much about a cave, he'll be fine without one. But we tend to make our own - buy a coconut, saw it in half, scoop out the flesh, then boil it for a few hours, keep changing the water as it's gonna become brown! Then cut a hole in for a door, and sand off the hairs on the surface. Give it another boil for good measure! And you're done

 

[justjon]

Thanks tibby I'll have to see if I can find a coconut maybe.

I have now done the work I can do for tonight, taken the red rocks out - removed the plastic plant with a lot of brute force and pair of scissors, and put white pebbles in corner/heater in etc. I'm going to grab a pair of tights and put them over instead of just cling film when I can!

Piccies:

 

[justjon]

So anyone got any more tips? Glad that i've managed to rescue the little guy! And thoughts on re-done tank