New To Bettas

[tigger7]

Ive been reading this forum and have always liked bettas,
A few days ago we were at the LFS for some stuff for my tank and saw a fabby red betta he clearly wasnt happy as he was in with some tetras that were nipping at his tail, i asked would they might move him but they said no they couldnt!! I currently have a tropical juwel 180 litre set up with danios and minnows so I asked the salesperson and he said the betta would be ok with them so we got him.(his actual words were hes only £3.50 so if he dies youve lost nothing)
Since coming home 3 days ago He has spent the alot of time under the filter in the dark when the tank lights are on fully but does come out when the lights are lowered and swims about we have watched and the danios and minnows ignore him totally and vice versa. He is eating and loves swimming in the bubbles!!
Our parameters are amm 0, nitrite 0,nitrate 15 PH 7.6 and temp 79 degrees the water has a slight current to it.

But I currently have these 2 empty tanks

they are 2.5 gallon approx each and have lights,pump and a filter but no heater, would my betta do better in one of these? Where could i purchase a heater from (im in the UK) or would he be ok without one.
Id like some general advice on whats best for him water/decor wise if he moves to one of these. Sometime in the future id like to add neon tetras and guppies to my juwel so obviously I dont want any problems to start if he was to stay in the big community tank but if you think hed be ok in there id give guppies a miss.

Thanks Nichola
x

 

[stang1]

That tank would be fine for him but you will need a heater. Try the "buy and sell" forum on here, someone may have a heater for sale, failing that, you should be able to pick one up at any fish store.
Keep the filter so that it creates very little flow as Bettas prefer still water.
As for decor, a couple of plants would look nice. Bettas like to have somewhere to hide and sleep so adding plants or an ornament would be great. Obviously, you don't want to go overboard as they like to have somewhere to swim!
I think you are wise to move him to his own tank. Some Bettas do fine in a community but you don't know if that could change somewhere down the line. Danios are notorious fin nippers and they could end up having a go at your Betta.
Bettas are solitary fish so he would be more than happy in a tank on his own!

 

[lilfishie]

he'll be fine in there, i have my betta in a unheated tank but i leave a light behind his tank on most of the day which keeps him warm, im sure he'll love it in there

 

[tigger7]

Ok ill get one of them set up, should i cycle first or will he be ok going straight in (i use API stress coat to remove the nastys) should i 100% water change weekly or do partial like i do with the big tank?

He is a gorgeous fish hopefully i see more of him when hes on his own. Ill get some pics of him asap

Nichola
x

 

[stang1]

You are best cycling the tank first. You can speed this up by using some of the media out of the filter on your other tank for the new filter. Or you could run the new filter alongside the one in your main tank for a week or so, this will help the bacteria build up and the cycle won't take so long.
If the tank is filtered, then there is no need to do a 100% weekly water change. You only really need to do about a 20% one as there is very little waste being produced in the tank.

 

[tigger7]

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1

HI
Would this heater be ok its a 12v heater its 25 watt i belive
am i looking for 25 watts?
thanks
nichola

 

[stang1]

That looks as though it will be fine.

 

[zoekin8yg]

here are some small tank heaters: scroll to NeWattino Automatic Aquarium Heater and Hydor Mini Heater, I prefer the NeWattino plus http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...ting-cables.asp