New To Betta Keeping

[Honeythorn]

You can use that tank for shrimp. Even though it was a gift the giver has no say as to what you have to put in it. Just explain it is too small for fish and get a nice 5 gallon tank.

I notice you're in Birmingham, I'm in Stourbridge so I'm not too far from you, there are still plenty of car boots going on, and all my tanks have come from them. All are 5 gallons and over, and all except my 30 gallon cost me under £10 . I got a 12 gallon for £1 and that came with an excellent filter.

Seriously, you can get a much bigger tank for very little money indeed and it will be vastly easier to care for than anything under 5 gals with regards to water chemistry. The betta will enjoy the space and you ca also have some carefully chosen fish tankmates such as cories if the tank is bigger than 5 gals, and anything under 10 gals you could keep shrimp and snails with him

 

[jennybugs]

Good idea there! Carboot sales. Hmmmm... gets me thinking

 

[veedub565]

That sounds like my best bet.

 

[Honeythorn]

The one on the left ( 12 gallons ) was a fiver, the one on the right ( bought last week ) was eight quid ( 5 gallons)

<a href="http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon...-09-09_1437.jpg" target="_blank">http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon...-09-09_1437.jpg

This was a fiver (5 gallons)

<a href="http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon.../Claires156.jpg" target="_blank">http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon.../Claires156.jpg

This was a fiver (5 gallons)

<a href="http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon.../Claires022.jpg" target="_blank">http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon.../Claires022.jpg

This is the £1 tank (12 gallons)

<a href="http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon...bilepics131.jpg" target="_blank">http/i71.photobucket.com/albums/i148/hon...bilepics131.jpg

No need to waste money on tiny or brand new tanks ( which are very often over £10 and come with no equipment for the price ) when you can keep your eyeballs peeled for a few weeks and end up with something like those for less money.

They often come with bits of equipment, ornaments or gravel ect, and even when they don't, you've paid so little for them that getting a basic cheap heater and sponge filter off Ebay ( I have seen both costing under a tenner on there ) still ends up saving you money!

 

[Assaye]

7 litres is half of my personal minimum for a betta and my personal minimum is a lot lower than many people's.

In 7 litres the fish won't have enough space to swim and keep fit (which is super important for the slow swimming betta), you won't have enough space for enough decor and plants to keep your betta stimulated and fitting a heater and filter in as well takes out more of the swimming space. I'd really consider upgrading to a 14 litre tank at a minimum. You can find them cheaply enough and places like Ebay will have absolute bargains. You could also use a large tub, as long as it is strong enough to handle the water volume, and then you could have a much bigger tank for a much lower price. Just make sure that any tank you have has a lid.

You could always use the tank you have now for shrimp or even just plant it up. As long as you fertilise the plants and still use water conditioner (basicly treat it as if it was a big planted tropical tank), it could look stunning and you could use cuttings from the plants in your betta tank if you had the right lighting. It doesn't have to go to waste =)

It is very important that you read up on cycling. It could take a while to get your head around it but it is so important. The waste products produced by fish are lethal to them (imagine living your life covered in poo and wee) and in a small tank they will be very concentrated. Cycling provides your filter with the right bacteria to remove these toxins.

At the very least you need to buy a kit that tests for ammonia and nitrites, and test the water everyday. Change 50% of the water everytime you get a result above 0.25 for either (although changing it when it is above 0 is best, but your filter won't cycle if there are NO toxins to feed the bacteria). Test after each water change and do another water change immediately if the levels are still too high. By doing this your filter will very slowly cycle and you'll minimise the damage to your betta.

You'll probably want to by an industial sized bottle of water conditioner if you are doing a fish-in cycle ^^ in fact, often the bigger the bottle the cheaper it is per squirt so it'd be a good idea anyway.

Good luck!