Senior Citizen Mom Bought Betta Last Night/questions

[Will91]

The MiniBow should come with a filter. All filters I am familiar with cause some turbulence. Water and air turbulence are part of the operation and increase the nitrifying, etc., bacterial load which are part of the nitrogen cycle that breaks down the harmful ammonia and nitrates which poison the fish. Filters do more than filter out sediments in the water.

Whisper is recommended for fish that want less turbulence. The Jr filter that comes with the MinBow tanks may be a bit smaller than the Whisper 10i. An internal filter, of course, takes up more room than an external filter. No way I know of yet to get around the fact that filters cause water disturbance and take up some room somewhere. . There is some kind of filter I have seen mentioned in the forum that can be adjusted down. I am not familiar with it. You can try asking in the hardware forum, if no one offers the information here.

With the five gallon square tank you could more easily deflect the water flow, even putting in a divider to separate it off. But actually that is a lot of diy to start with and a simple set up might be more reasonable to start, unless you are the project do it yourselfer.

I do have smaller Bettas in 2 usg bowls. They require frequent water changes to be healthful. And the heater and lights are a whole other question then.

Sorry I missed the part about the 5 gallon MiniBow. My MiniBows are 2.5 and 3 gallons. Whatever filter comes with the MiniBow of whatever gallons is no doubt sufficient, and I would not look to get one different--unless it is undergravel. Then I would go for the 5 gallon square regular tank and customize it--put the various parts together.

Thank you. I just heard back from the MiniBow manufacturer and the MiniBow 5 comes with a Tetra MicroFilter. I looked at a picture of it on the internet and can't tell if the top part will be above the surface of the water and still create the waterfall effect, or if it is completely immersed in the water and might be less turbulent. I guess I will have to wait and see unless anyone has seen the Tetra Micro Filter in operation.

 

[Nevergone815]

<<<Thanks, Nevergone.

You're very welcome Sue

As for the filter. I don't about Tetra MicroFilters, but I do know, don't use the filter in this thread...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=168790

... unless you plan to deflect it. The filter has a strong current. Nice tank and filter, you just have ot add additional plants to the tank to deflect it. Thanks to Sue (who told me in the thread what she does to do that), my fish is happy in a filtered tank. By the way, the tnak in the pic is really nice. It's a Marina Goldfish Starter Kit. I wouldn't recommend putting goldfish in it, but it is perect for bettas. My girlfreind said it cost about $20 US for the setup. You would just need to add an aditional plant or two to deflect the current.

I don't know much about the other tanks, but I plan to get a MiniBow or an Eclipse system in the future. Please keep us updated on what you decide to do. I have learned a few things from this thread also about the different tanks.

As others have said, soem fish enjoy te current while some don't. You have to plan ahead for each outcome. Size also has to do with it as well. If the betta looks miserable in the little cup, chances are he would like cleaner water and more of it (i.e. a bigger tank), If they are happy and perky, they may like the lesser water volume. I once had a betta that litterally got all stressed (pale and horizontal bar), listless and sulky, and actually refused to eat, if he was in anything bigger than that cup he came in fro mthe petstore. so we met in the middle as he didn't like the 2.5 gallon tank and we settled for a 1 gallon.

Hmm... enough of my ranting and stories lol. I hope everything works out for you, your mom and with the fish and tank. You will find that they are very personable and enjoyable.

 

[jollysue]

Lower it in the water level and you will get less current; raise it and you will get more waterfall.

 

[ileopard]

I'd say, get a 5 gallon Mini-Bow. (The other systems come with other filters, and in my experience, Tetra makes the best ones.) In my opinion, for a single betta, any tank under 5 USG is bad, unless the betta specifically wants a smaller tank. (Actually, it is technically "okay" to have a betta in a tank under 5 USG, but I find that my bettas are more active in tanks over 5 USG.)

As an example, I had one betta in a bowl (my first one - this was WAY before I knew anything about bettas, all I knew was "feed it twice a week (the LFS told me that, but now I realize they need to be fed twice a day and I feed them twice a day) and change the water every week"). It was under 1 gallon. He didn't do much in it. After I started to get into bettas more, I found that the bowl was not sufficient. He's now in a 10 gallon divided tank (for a total of 5 gallons for him) and he swims around A LOT and really enjoys his tank.

Anyway, if you want to use a heater, you will run into a hard time finding a Tetra heater. I found out that Tetra recently discontinued many of their heaters. I tried another brand (Aquatic Gardens) which is a 50 watt for my new 10 gallon and it did not work out well. However, an LFS had some leftovers, so check with a few LFSs.

In a 5 gallon, 50 watts should be sufficient. (In a 10 gallon, I have not been able to heat it very well with 50 watts, so if you use a 10 gallon, I recommend a 100 watt heater.)

Note that, with my Tetra filters, I had one smaller fish (about 3 months old) that kept getting stuck at the filter. This was in my divided tank. I finally put the filter on the other side and it works well, since the older (2 yrs. old) one is faster. So yes, the Tetra Whisper Internal 10i seems to be very strong, but it should be okay for most pet store bettas (which are usually at least a year old when you get them). The girls which are not as old are also okay with the filter, and I don't deflect it.

 

[jollysue]

A Stealth 50 watt will more than heat a 10 usg. A Stealth 25 watt will heat a 5 usg just fine. Different heaters are more or less effective. Actually in a nondrafty heated house a 25 watt Stealth is sufficient for a ten probably. The Marineland Visi-Therm Stealth Heater is submersible, unbreakable (shatterproof thermal plastic), adjustable with temp numbers....

I am sure there are others that are good or better, but this is affordable and efficient. It is also a little more streamlined than some. I use them in 2.5 usgs, and it leaves lots of room for the micro filters and my mini Synirr plakads. A good heater is a good investment for a fish hobbiest.

 

[Nevergone815]

Lower it in the water level and you will get less current; raise it and you will get more waterfall.

See I told you she had all the answers .

As for the tank, get a heater, whatever is best for you and your wallet. 25 watts is more than enough for anthing 5 gallons or under. as fo the filter, do the same thing. if you find that the current is a bit to strong than deflect it a bit. and it will work out.

i really can't wait to see the little guy, please post pictures when you get him or her (probably a boy).

good luck

 

[jollysue]

Yes Yes Pics!!!!!

Every Betta must have a digital picture taker!