Thinking Of Either 2-gallons Or A 5-gallon With A Partition

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Amberleaf

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It's unlikely that I'll even get these Bettas, like, at ALL, but I saw them at Pet Valu today.... And they were, like, absolutely BEAUTIFUL. :) I went all :drool: when I saw them. :lol: (Btw: They're both males.)

The first one was a delta tail: He was red (I believe), with a red tail and sort of a white fringe at the end.

The second one was a scissors tail (also called a double tail?), who was pink with sort of ghostly white fins.

And I REEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY want both of them. :)

But my Mom said that I'm not allowed to keep any more 5-gallons -- maybe a 2-gallon drumb bowl -- at the MAX. D:

But I was also thinking about, if I don't get the bowls (although I certainly have enough money for about two or three of them; I'll probably need three since I'm giving one of my Bettas (the aggressive female) to my little sister), about maybe having a 5-gallon tank with a divider? They have these tanks that they sell at PetSmart; it's just the tank, nothing else added, and it's for $20, so I'm assuming that that would be my best bet.

No matter if I keep a 2-gallon or a 5-gallon with partitions, it's not going to have a filter.... But I'm just wondering, what kind of heating could I use? I have one of those flimsy little heaters for 2- to 5-gallon tanks, soo.... And since it didn't work in my 5-gallon, I'm assuming that it might work in a 2-gallon, but then I'd have to buy a few more of *THEM* before I could set up and use the tanks.

Any opinions? Help? Advice? :unsure:
 
3 uk gallons is minimum for bettas so if you want 1 3 uk gallon for 2 6 uk gallons
NO SMALLER
 
Hi,

Two of my bettas are in 2-gallon bowls and I really wanted to keep them that way because it would be less expensive than upgrading and also bowls are more convenient. Unfortunetly, due to the small size, the ammonia levels go up quickly. I'm talking daily water changes to keep the fish healthy. You'll be experiencing the same problem with 2 fish in a 5-gallon because having two betta in a 5-gallon is like having 1 betta each in a 2.5. Oh, and I have another betta in a 3-gallon (who is a double tail) and he has a filter and a heater and also needs frequent water changes. His fins are so long and delicate that it's clear when he needs a water change. All the work gets tiring.

In your situation, I would get one betta for the 5 gallon. FWIW, the two bettas I have in the bowls are being moved into a 10-gallon with a divider so I can reduce the amount of work. They'll have a SMALL filter and a heater.
 
ultimately, it would be easier and cost less to have 2 males in one 5 gal divided (only need one heater, one therm., one filter tiny bit of substrate). youd have to test water carefully and frequently and do water changes as appropriate keeping in mind nitrate is ok for most fish species up to 80ppm (bettas included. folks get crazy about low nitrate in the 20 ppm range unnecessarily).
make sure you have lots of live plants so youll need a good light. and make sure to vac the substrate every time you do a waterchange. also do not overfeed!
cheers
 
UK gallons....? I'm speaking of US gallons here, and can you give me some comparisons....?

A UK gallon is 4.5 litres. So you're looking at about 14 litres for a 3 gallon tank.

I agree with Pip - this is the smallest size I would ever recommend for a betta.

If you look on Ebay you should be able to find some great, cheap tanks.

I would say that if you can't give your betta enough space then you shouldn't get one. If you wait a little while and gently bring your mum around you could have a much bigger tank (20 litres would be ideal, and you could go even bigger) and there will always be beautiful bettas out there for you to choose from.

You could also make a cheap filter with spare sponges and a fish food tub. You'd need an air-pump for it though. There are also loads of small filters on the market for not much at all. I picked up a great little filter the other day for £5.50! Why not have a filter? Even if you put the betta in right away and just rely on water changes, the filter will eventually be able to support the tank and you won't have to do so many water changes :good:

In only 2.5 gallons each, loads of space will be taken up by caves and plants (which are essential for proper betta keeping) so you'll actually have much less water in the end. Not good :crazy:

You should be able to find a much better deal than $20 for a 5 gallon tank.
 
thanks! :)
you can keep a healthy active betta in 2.5 gal, you just need to PLAN and minimize space constrains to maximize swimming area.
i have several bettas in 3 gal tanks. i use very minimal substrate (literally just enough to keep the plants down most of the time), find small, low volume decor and use tons of live, easy to grow (low tech) plants. 25 watt heaters (they are only 6 inches long and very narrow- and inexpensive) and i make my own sponge filters for my bettas chosing a container that will fit in one small corner (narrower/wider).
i absolutely swear by sponge filters. making your own is so easy and inexpensive (i bet most fishkeepers have most of the stuff laying around anyway) and their is more media/filter than the commercial brands that it keeps the small volume of water reallly stable (and the live plants help a lot with that too). i preform 40-60% water changes every week (usually sundays, DEFINATELY monday if something came up) vaccuming the substrate each time. i also test the water in every tank at every waterchange and have never seen nitrates above 10 ppm (and fish are not as intolerant of nitrates. 80ppm is perfectly acceptable, research it).
it is very important not to overfeed your fish in smaller tanks. more food=more waste. when i feed my bettas they get 3 pellets each (4-5 if they are still growing) once a day. for treats they get frozen bloodworm. live tubifex worms, live mosquito larvae (in the summer) or frozen brine shrimp. about once a week or so they get a chopped cooked pea and a starve day (or if they look like they might be getting bloated).
carefully plan the arrangement of things in the tank (plants/decore, etc) to make it interesting for the fish. bettas are prone to boredom, so give them something to do. lots of plants to swim thru, terracota pot on its side (or even half a one...you can easily find very small ones that the betta can rest in if he chooses...none of my boys ever used them so i took them out of each tank), some rock formation or bridge to swim through. also, they seem to like to watch snails, or mine do anyway. all my boys take interst from time to time in the goings on of snails in the tank. i think small snail are important in a planted tank. they clean the plants of algae which helps the plants grow better, and if you dont over feed your tank, the snails wont take over. i love my snails!
many people either get bad advice, dont have a lot of money, are in college on a REALLY tight budget (i remember that!) or HONESTLY dont have the space, whether it is in a small bedroom, office, dorm, or in a SMALL STUDIO apartment., etc find themselves with a betta in this circumstance of all they can "afford" is a 2.5 gal tank, and they should be reassured that their fish CAN and WILL live a healthy active life! it takes a bit more effort on the fishkeepers part but i honestly dont see a behavioral (or immune-compromised in the way of diseases) difference in my boys that are in 6+ gal and those in my smaller tanks. diligence and planning are key! 2.5 is personally as little volume id recommend. those little cubes and vases make me ANGRY! that actually is how i rescued my first betta (all my boys are rescues from people/circumstances that couldnt/wouldnt properly care for them, so i took them home). he was a "centerpiece" at awedding and no one would take the fish home. so i took them home on pity alone and researched researched...they both went into 6 gal/divided heated filtered PLANTED tanks. now ive got 4 rescues. one a friend was not caring for well, one that was so small at the fishstore that it had NO business being sold, one from an office, and one who was sold as a girl for a sorority.
it takes a lot of diligence and care, but all my fish are healthy and active.?
cheers
 
Okay. :D Thanks, loraxchick, and I read your post; I can't feed mine live foods, but for everything else, I guess I'll just see. :D

What I am thinking of doing is maybe a 5-gallon with a partition and heater on one side and filter on the other....? And then plants and maybe sand for substrate? What do you think? :D ^^;
 

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