New To The Betta World!

[Cobblepot]

Hello everyone!

I'm new on the site here, as my Fiancee and I just took home a beautiful Betta!

We had talked about getting a fish for a while, and found a beautiful teal/green/blue betta at the pet store. We named him "biscuit" (I know, ridiculous) and built him a temporary little home in a 1/2 gallon bowl until we can decide what to put him in for good. He seems to be very happy - as he is very active and curious. We added a silk plant into the bowl with some gravel substrate and a funny little easter island statue.

We have already had a ton of fun with him. He made a bubblenest the first night we brought him home, and likes to nibble on my finger when we feed him. He also got a chance to eat some live food today, as i found a very small ant crawling near his bowl today and dropped it in. Within moments of that poor little guy struggling on the water, Biscuit gobbled him up.


We currently have him up on a shelf in our living room, but it is close to a surround sound speaker. Is the sound coming from the speaker going to bother him?

Hope to have some pics up soon, I'd like to know what kind of tail type he is. (think he is a VT, but not sure)

 

[aimsley_87]

Welcome!

Has he got a filter and heater in that tank? Becasue if he hasnt i would reccommend doing water changes at least once a day due to ammonia build up. Also, he needs a heater to keep warm, other wise he will become inactive and all sorts of problems can arise.

Anyway, congrats on your new betta. Once you have one, you wont be able to resist more!!!

I now have 5! I started off with one, Midnight, then got the betta bug and ended up with 4 more! hehe.

 

[Forestpisces]

Welcome!!

And yes aimsley is right i got my first-Radish and now have two both bought on the same day!! Although my other half will be coming to pick up The Captain at somepoint this week (he was a rescue).

Anyway as aimsley said you must have a filter and heater to keep the temperature stable and the water clean, also how big will the tank be that you are going to get him? 5gallons is typically recomended for an active betta but many keep them in 3gals. The Captain is old and likes to rest and is in a 3.3g of his own. Radish however has a whole 9.1g to himself and uses every inch of it!! But he will soon be joined by 3 khuli loaches.

So obviousely bigger is better. Get the biggest tank for him you can but remember they do prefer to be alone with some accepting the company of bottom dwellers or ADF's, some have them with snails but many people say they have come to find there snails shell with no snail in the morning

I would move him from the speaker area as the vibrations in the water may stress him out

Have fun with biscuit and keep us posted

 

[xweeqtx]

Bettas are great little characters. You might notice him sulking within the next few days, most but not all do it after being purchased. So try not to worry if he doesn't seem as active soon. He'll bounce back though

As has been said, you do need to look at something 3 gallons+ for him, with 5 gallons being ideal. He needs a filter with a low output strength, as they don't like a fast current. And he needs a heater too, despite what shops try to tell you. Water too cold leads to infections and in general an unhappy fishy! No sharp objects to snag or rip his fins on, silk plants/live plants for resting on and something he can retreat to when he wants to

And welcome to the VERY addictive world of bettas!

 

[Cobblepot]

Thanks for the input everyone!

I am currently thinking about a 5 gallon tank. I saw this model online:

5 Gallon Mini Bow

There is also a 2 1/2 gallon version of that for only 20 bucks, and it has a light and filter as well. Any input on these items?

And it seemed to get some good reviews from betta owners as a great, inexpensive beginner kit. I'm also awaiting an email back from someone in my area who posted a hexagonal 5 gallon on craigslist, lightly used for around 25 bucks with all the necessary items save for a heater, which may be a good option as well if it is in good shape.

He is definitely happier than the awful little 4 oz cup they had him in at the pet store. We put the silk plant in for him yesterday, (He originally only had the little statue and the gravel.) and he was immediately very curious about it, and now spends a lot of time in it. He was actually hiding from me last night, as I tried to get some pictures of him, but made the mistake of not turning the flash off. Now if he even sees the camera, he runs and hides behind the plant. Guess it may take some coaxing, or a new camera to get some good shots of him.

Until we get the bigger tank, I am doing partial water changes every day, and a full cleaning every weekend. (But I am pretty sure we are going to get the new aquarium soon.)

We also moved him away from the speaker, and put him on top of the dresser in our bedroom. I've been reading about keeping a steady natural light cycle for him, and I think we can accomplish this best in that room.

This hobby is immediately addictive - we were at the store again last night, and there was a huge school of Black Neon Tetras - now I really want a bunch of those as well.....

 

[meguro]

Take the 5g bow or hex. You will need a second tank for the black neons but.

www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754539&ab=fish_fc1d

That's the link for the bow.

 

[Cobblepot]

So we have pretty much decided on the 5 Gallon Mini Bow kit.

But I am VERY confused on this whole tank cycling affair. Is this something I need to do if I am just keeping a single beta in the 5G tank?

Or can I simply purchase the new aquarium, fill with treated water, and start running the filter with my betta in it? If it is true that I need to cycle bacteria through the filter, can I take some of the used water from his current bowl and cycle that through - since it should have ammonia in it?

Should I be buying a test kit?

I'm not sure of all of the information I am reading applies to a small aquarium with one betta...

Someone out there help, I am lost in a sea of information!

 

[Forestpisces]

So we have pretty much decided on the 5 Gallon Mini Bow kit. Good choice

But I am VERY confused on this whole tank cycling affair. Is this something I need to do if I am just keeping a single beta in the 5G tank?I highly recomend you fishless cycle or you could end up with a very sick fish

Or can I simply purchase the new aquarium, fill with treated water, and start running the filter with my betta in it? If it is true that I need to cycle bacteria through the filter, can I take some of the used water from his current bowl and cycle that through - since it should have ammonia in it?Yes. But you should buy some ammonia from a pet or hardware store and use the ammonia calculator (located on this site)to work out how much you would need to dose. This bacteria feeds the filter bacteria which will develope, turning harmfull ammonia and nitrItes into less harmfull nitrAtes. Ammonia will burn your bettas gills and cause him some real damage if it is not kept at 0ppm(parts per million). It's confusing at first but beleive me it's unbeileivably simple when you come to doing it.

Baisicly:
.Buy pure ammonia from pet or hardware store.
.Use ammonia calculator to work out how much is required for your tank.
.Dose the tank every day WITHOUT FISH IN IT!!
.Buy a LIQUID test kit strip tests are useless. The API freshwater test master kit is readily available and lasts a very long time
.Test your water every few days untill your ammonia reads 0 your nitrItes read 0 and your nitrAtes are around 10-20.
.Continue adding ammonia for a few days to ensure the filter media can proccess it.
.After a few days of continuouse results add your betta

Make sure you acclimatise him and only ever wash your filter media in tank water and nothing else

Should I be buying a test kit?YES!! The API freshwaer test master kit as stated above is often sworn by for alot of people on this site

I'm not sure of all of the information I am reading applies to a small aquarium with one betta...Believe me it does.

Someone out there help, I am lost in a sea of information!Hopefully ive helped and if anyone has anything to add i'm sure they will. There a friendly and helpfull bunch, you have done everything right by coming and asking if you EVER have a question just ask
Good Luck

 

[Cobblepot]

Thank you for the information!

Based on some info that I got from another site - is doing a fish-in cycle really that dangerous, or do I just need to be prepared?

Basically, can I buy the test kit and cycle him in the tank now - replacing with treated water when the ammonia gets too high?

 

[meguro]

You need to replace the water before it gets too high not when. Fishless is far better than fish-in cycling, 3-6 weeks really isn't that long even if you're impatient. It's also far less trouble and much more forgiving.

 

[xweeqtx]

While I'm all for the cycling process, I'm assuming he's just been put into a 1/2 gallon bowl without filter etc. So, in theory you would be better doing a fish in cycle. He's not going to last in a 1/2 gallon bowl with no heater or filter.

 

[Cobblepot]

So then in the meantime, If i decide to do a fishless cycle, he will be fine in the 1/2 gallon bowl as long as we give him frequent water changes?

EDIT: Posted without seeing that last one. Perhaps I'll do a fish in cycle.

 

[xweeqtx]

I think you were posting as I had just posted, so read my post above. In my opinion, he's better in the larger tank with a cycling filter rather than left in a 1/2 gallon bowl with no filter and no heater.

 

[Forestpisces]

I'l have to say the same. You'l have to put himin but you MUST get a water testing kit and be prepared to change water at least every day.

 

[xweeqtx]

Yeah, you'll need to keep up on 10% water changes a day for that tank. If there's any spikes, up the percentage.