Please Help A Very Very New Beginner

[saviour]

Last year I bought a 16 litre tank for a goldfish I had rescued, this was the size recommended to me in the shop and here is a picture of it:

http/www.uda.co.uk/lifespace.htm

However, the poor thing only survived a few months. I was going to put tropical fish in the tank but since reading these forums I now know that this will be totally cruel and impractical as it is not big enough. The said tank actually has the word "Betta" on the top of it so I am presuming that I would be able to put one of these beautiful fish in it. They are very beautiful and I would like one. The man sold me a 50w heater which he said was sutable for this tank. So the first of many questions I am asking is will this tank be suitable?

 

[dave_gray2077]

14 litres is about 3 gallons so its should do.

Most People say 2.5 to 5 gallons for a betta.

Have you checked out the basics link [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Bettas/32461/Betta-Basics/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Bettas/32461/Betta-Basics/[/URL]

Worth a read through if you havnt and the heater will easly keep a 14l tank warm. you should have about 1-2 watts of heater per litre of tank.

 

[ibbledibble]

simply put. yes it would. i have a tank of approx 16L which one of my bettas was kept in before i got my divided tank (he's back in it now for treatment) and he has always been very happy in there, blowing bubblenests etc.

ideally tanks for bettas are long rather than tall, but as the actual water height in that tank is only about 10 inch it should be perfectly fine.
add some real or silk plants and a/some cave/s for your betta to hide in and explore around and he should be happy as larry.

a 50w heater is probably all you would need for a tank that size so no problems there. and it has a filter built in, so you just need to decide if you want to run that, or do regular 100% water changes.

welcome to the wonderful world of bettas

the tanks not totally impractical for other tropical fish, you just have to choose very carefully and go for small fish only. for example a few guppies would probably be fine in there (but not with a betta)

the word betta on it is probably just the make of tank, as there is a company producing aquarium items called betta. doesn't mean that they are all just used for bettas.

 

[saviour]

The tank is actually called a "Lifespace". Thanks for directing me to the article about bettas it was very informative and interesting. Next lot of questions are:

What do I put in bottom of the tank?
Do I need the pump/filter to run?
What kind of plants/ornaments can I put in?
Are they dirty and smelly like the goldfish I had?
What should the temperature be?
Do I need to cycle the tank?
What sort of levels do I check before it can be used for the fish?
Where can I buy them in Scotland or reliably online?

Sorry for all the questions but I just want to get it right. I am really a newbie to all this, when I rescued the goldfish which had been in an empty house and had not had food for 8 weeks I just thought it was a case of sticking it in a clean tank and voila. Having said that it did last more than a year in its new tank. I reaaly do like these bettas and want it to be happy in its new home.

 

[onlinebug]

What do I put in bottom of the tank? Bettas arnt fussy as far as im aware, any substrate will do, gravel is good
Do I need the pump/filter to run? For any tropical setup it is recommended/needed as the ammonia can kill fish.
What kind of plants/ornaments can I put in? Lots of plants and rocks/bog wood.
Are they dirty and smelly like the goldfish I had? Only because you wasent using the filter/doing enough water changes.
What should the temperature be? For bettas 25C is a good temp.
Do I need to cycle the tank? To help the filter build up a natural bacteria to fight off ammonia yes.
What sort of levels do I check before it can be used for the fish? Levels of what? Ammonia, you want the bacteria to kill it all!.. Check some of the pinned threads.
Where can I buy them in Scotland or reliably online? http/www.aquaticlifedirect.co.uk/ seems to be good, i'd recommend using your LFS though.


No dout some of that is slightly off, I did alot of research into bettas as I was hoping to get one but my tank was large enough otherwise.

 

[Bubblenester]

What do I put in bottom of the tank? Doesn't matter.

Do I need the pump/filter to run? Bettas don't have to have their water aerated because they actually take breaths from the atmosphere, and sometimes they get really irritated with filters because they get blown around easily. However, a filter or even just an air stone will help keep the water cleaner, so it's up to you. I would recommend a small sponge filter... see my answer for "cycling"

What kind of plants/ornaments can I put in? Avoid plastic plants as they can tear a betta's fins easily, or anything else with sharp edges. Otherwise, any decorations designed for an aquarium are fine. If you can find live java ferns, they are super easy to keep alive without any special care.

Are they dirty and smelly like the goldfish I had? Not even close. The tank will get dirty and smelly eventually if you're not cleaning it enough, but not nearly as quickly as with a goldfish. They are dirty, dirty fish.

What should the temperature be? Ideally around 78 degrees F, I have no idea what that is in Celsius.

Do I need to cycle the tank? A tank that small is hard to cycle. You can try, maybe by doing frequent small water changes. A sponge filter would help too; it makes a great home for bacteria.

What sort of levels do I check before it can be used for the fish? You can't cycle a tank without a fish anyway -well, unless you put in live plants or add ammonia- just make sure you dechlorinate the water and it's good to go.

Where can I buy them in Scotland or reliably online? I have no idea.


Oh, and that size tank is perfect for a betta!

 

[liz2]

bettas are the easiest fish to keep IMO. I have fancy goldfish and they are dirty little devils, my tropical tank was horrendous. My little bettas are in their own little tanks and I clean them out about once a week. No filters, glass pebbles on bottom of tanks and one silk plant each. Some have heaters, every other tank, and that keeps the others warm as well. easey peasey!

 

[blue_betta]

i have this same tank, and have used it for betta in the past. i would recomend placing a peice if flat plastic in the outflow of the filter, i fint that if the flow is not dispersed a bit its too strong for a betta and will blow them about a bit and stress them. i did this useing a peice of plastic 3" X 6" with two small holes drilled into it and a small peice of wire threaded thru the holes and "hooked" onto the holes of the filter outlet. angle it so it sits at a 45 degree anngle to the back pane of the tank, this will reduce the flow enough to create a nice calm water for your betta.

also, you tank will likely have a blue fluresant bulb in it..... remove and replace with a white or yellow one... the blue causes intense algae growth which i found difficult to control. switching the bulb helped enormously.

as for substrate, i uses a mix of blue and black sand and severl small pebbles i got from the local river (washed of course) and for plants i found that if you set the heater to a lower temprature (24 /25) comboba will grow wonderfuly in it.

as for an air pump... not needed realy but it could add asthetic value.

hope ive helped

oh btw.. where in scotland are you?

 

[cheehoo62]

the tank size is good for a betta.. you should be fine with that.. i wont reiterate too much on what everyone else said but make sure you have a filter! i cant stress that enough as people who keep bettas tend not to use any filtration which is sad. im even surprised that when i got a tank with 2 bettas in it for my birthday, the LFS didnt even recommend a filter to go with .