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Betta Archive Storing old Betta posts that have had no activity in past 6 months - Betta Profile, Betta Fish Care Guide, Breeding Bettas and the Betta Tank Setup article.

 

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Old December 26th, 2007  
Fish Helper
 
Betta happiness

My daughter got a dreaded small tank for Christmas she was happy since she could have a Betta now since I won't let her in the big tank. I seeded the tank with gravel, water and filter material from my other tank. We went & got a beautiful dark blue fantail. The store we got him from of course has them in tiny bowls so this 2 gallon has to be better. we bought an LED to stick on the outside of the tank so there is light, there is an UG filter (bleh) and a bubbler but no heater. All of the heaters I looked at the LFS are way to large for this tank. How important is heat for a Betta? I can maybe get a small one from from DFS if they will ship to Canada, other then that I may have to get a different tank.

What should I do? Heat the one I have? I have no clue to the temp that it is at, but feels cool to the touch, or scrap the Christmas gift and get a bigger more easier to heat tank?
choochiegirl is offline  
Old December 27th, 2007  
Fish Master
 
I would definately get a bigger tank. The Betta will be much happier and so will you since it will be a lot easier to care for. Go for 5-10 gals.

Heat is one of the most vital things for a Betta's health. The temp should stay up around 80. If it gets much lower than that they will be a lot more susceptible to disease and have a lowered metabolism which contributes to constipation. However the tank you have is too small to heat safely.

Trash the UGF too...the things are high maintenance and have a tendency to crash eventually, killing your bio filter and possibly the fish as well.

I don't know much about lighting but I think LED lights have a tendency to overheat small tanks. I'd go for a fluorescent.

Good luck with your new Betta.
0morrokh is offline  
Old December 27th, 2007  
Fish Helper
 
Look online to mops.com or mops.ca They have the small heaters for a 2-5 gallon tank. I was just on there. They are only about 15 bucks.
janoue is offline  
Old December 27th, 2007  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
I'd definitely get rid of the UGF. Bettas LOVE to swim around the bottom of their tanks, dragging those delicate fins. They also tend to 'sleep' on the bottom.
You could get a little HOB filter like:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...004+22768+2032
We have about a dozen of these and they work pretty good. If you get one, just get the filter media 4-pk and get:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113808
just one of the uncut pads will last you the lifetime of the Betta. You can cut the pad to the size of the white part those things use and use it instead. The white part isn't that great and tends to fall apart easily. Those pads can be swished around in clean treated tap water once a week and used for months and months at a time. They really hold up and we use that for all of our filters instead of bags or cartridges.
A whisper 3i would be another filter that could work, but you'll have more room inside the tank for the betta with that palm filter.

A heater is a must with a Betta. 78-82 is what they are most comfortable at, which will feel slightly cool to the touch since we run at 98. I find the 25w Visitherm Stealth heaters to work fine in tanks that size: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113767

You might want to consider changing the gravel out for the small flat glass marbles that you can find in the crafts area or walmart or Dollar Tree. They're easier on the Betta fins and your little girl can match her bettas colors (like my wife did with ours). She'll enjoy how they look.
Food can slip down easier, but we clean ours by scooping the marbles out once a week into a container with enough tank water to keep them covered. Then I use a turkey baster to clean the bottom, put the marbles back and add clean treated tap water to the tank to make up for what I took out. It's a little more work, but our tanks stay cycled with clear water and we've had no finrot on any betta that just had the marbles for substrata.

A bigger tank would make the betta happier and give you more room for betta-safe decorations. The tank that we buy now for our bettas is a 6.6g bookshelf tank at petco. it comes with the filter and is just perfect for a betta, being long and shallow. $50 though. (You can see pictures of them on our tanks page, we have 2 bettas left to move into them and 1 betta who already had a 10g so we won't downsize him).

We get the Tetra wonders plants for the bettas. They look pretty good for artificial plants and the base can be covered in the marbles. Safer for their fins than regular plastic plants. Caves, bridges and hamster tubing (yea, they love it. lol) are fun for them, just look for any rough spots inside or out that could snag pantyhose (or betta fins).

They don't NEED aeration, but it seems to make them happier and ours love to play in the bubbles. Petsmart has these little walls with a small air tube on the back. One of those hooked to an air pump with a gang valve will give you air bubbles and a fun toy for your betta. The gang valve lets you control the flow so it's just how your betta is happiest with. We get the wall that looks like it's mostly brown stones.

I did links to DFS, but if they don't ship to Canada, you could also try Pet Mountain and although I don't like them - Big Al's ships to Canada I think.

LED lighting should be the lowest-heat generating lighting.

Have you gotten food yet? I'd recommend the Hikari frozen bloodworms cubes, frozen peas and Ocean Nutrition Betta Pro Pellets. We feed our Bettas 3 pieces of thawed & peeled pea am & pm on mondays, 3 pellets am & pm tues-fri and 3 thawed frozen bloodworms am & pm sat with a fast on sundays.

Quote:
Originally Posted by choochiegirl View Post
My daughter got a dreaded small tank for Christmas she was happy since she could have a Betta now since I won't let her in the big tank. I seeded the tank with gravel, water and filter material from my other tank. We went & got a beautiful dark blue fantail. The store we got him from of course has them in tiny bowls so this 2 gallon has to be better. we bought an LED to stick on the outside of the tank so there is light, there is an UG filter (bleh) and a bubbler but no heater. All of the heaters I looked at the LFS are way to large for this tank. How important is heat for a Betta? I can maybe get a small one from from DFS if they will ship to Canada, other then that I may have to get a different tank.

What should I do? Heat the one I have? I have no clue to the temp that it is at, but feels cool to the touch, or scrap the Christmas gift and get a bigger more easier to heat tank?

Last edited by COBettaCouple; December 27th, 2007 at 03:28 AM.
COBettaCouple is offline  
Old December 27th, 2007  
Fish Helper
 
DFS mailed me back I can get a small heater http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...7&pcatid=12087 shipped, 10 $ plus shipping to Canada, so will be a small fortune LOL. I may just run to the LFS tomorrow, (we actually have a local Big Al's here) & replace the tank altogether. My daughter really likes the tank she was given, but since I'm not sure I can heat it, and he doesn't look too happy, I think I will just go get a 10 gallon, have her pick the marbles ( i have seen them in your tank pics and they look awesome) a deco and go from there. He's too pretty to lose.

This is the tank she was given http://www.unclemilton.com/products/...er_detail.html
garbage
choochiegirl is offline  
Old December 27th, 2007  
Fish Master
 
Getting a 10gal is a great idea. You'll have one very happy betta.
0morrokh is offline  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
Yea, that's one of those tanks to appeal to kids and keep the pet shops selling fish. He'll be worlds happier in a 10g.

Since he'll be going into (and is now) in an uncycled tank, please look for water conditioner called Prime. We buy those empty travel bottles meant for shampoo and such and use one of those to measure out the Prime. It's concentrated so 1 drop per gallon will treat the water. Prime will help him out by removing the chlorine, chloramines and other heavy metals plus enhance his slime coating and provide some protection from the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in the water.. very helpful, especially while cycling.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+112994

Quote:
Originally Posted by choochiegirl View Post
DFS mailed me back I can get a small heater http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...7&pcatid=12087 shipped, 10 $ plus shipping to Canada, so will be a small fortune LOL. I may just run to the LFS tomorrow, (we actually have a local Big Al's here) & replace the tank altogether. My daughter really likes the tank she was given, but since I'm not sure I can heat it, and he doesn't look too happy, I think I will just go get a 10 gallon, have her pick the marbles ( i have seen them in your tank pics and they look awesome) a deco and go from there. He's too pretty to lose.

This is the tank she was given http://www.unclemilton.com/products/...er_detail.html
garbage
COBettaCouple is offline  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Fish Helper
 
Don't worry I have lots of Prime, i tested the tank and it is ok, I seeded it with gravel & filter media from my established tank and will continue to test it regularly. with the new tank I will do that as well

I tried this morning to see how he would react with heat, i have a spare heater for my main tank that I stuck in his tank to warm the water up, while I was getting ready for work. He was much happier & more mobile, even with the water a few degrees warmer, so will definately hop to Big Al's tonight after work & get a bigger tank
choochiegirl is offline  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
Yea, as the temp gets lower, they slow down and get less active. That's why so often they just lie there in those dirty cups at the store in water averaging 72F. 78-82 is perfect for them.

That's great that you have an established tank to use for seeding his. You're all ready to make him a happy little Betta and the bigger tank will bring his personality out more. Don't be surprised if he bonds with your daughter and lives for her attention. A couple of our Bettas totally prefer my wife and will just about ignore me if they see her. lol. They're such little characters.

Best of luck with him. We look forward to pics of him & has she named him?
COBettaCouple is offline  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Fish Keeper
 
I emailed DrsFoster&Smith about sending a 10$ filter to Canada. They told me the shipping would be 92.00

Order the heater from Big Al's tonight. On Fridays, there is no shipping fee, and they'll take 5$ off the total price. Cheaper than even driving there

Here's what I use in my 2.5 gal:

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/...leheater25watt

Last edited by Barbrella; December 28th, 2007 at 02:12 PM.
Barbrella is online now  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Fish Helper
 
92!!! wow i bought a tank with a filter & light and a heater for 100 at big al's tonight! Got a rock and plant too for fun. He's sooo much happier, moving around looking out at us. She had named him Max. I will get her camera out at some point & take a picture.

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/...starterkitteal is the tank I got and the whisper filter is cool as that's what I have on my other tank

Last edited by choochiegirl; December 28th, 2007 at 10:03 PM.
choochiegirl is offline  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Fish Keeper
 
Awesome! So you got the 5$ discount and the free shipping.

I have two of those tanks. I really love them and so do my bettas. The colours make them very decorative. I have the Radical Red and the Punky Purple. You can even grow plants very well in them.

Which light did you get? One of the little compact flourescents? I should have mentioned before that you can get those lights at Dollarama for 1$
Barbrella is online now  
Old December 28th, 2007  
Fish Helper
 
I just went in & bought it, we are one of the few canadian cities that actually has a big al's store

I'm just using the light in the hood it came with
choochiegirl is offline  
Old December 29th, 2007  
Fish Keeper
 
Yes, I have a Big Al's here too.

The light that comes with the tank is incandescent, useless for growing plants and it will heat the water too much at the top of the tank.

Here's the ones I got at the Dollarama (pretty sure you have those!) and they're perfect.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg light.jpg (39.1 KB, 3 views)
Barbrella is online now  
Old December 29th, 2007  
Master Of Fish Poo!
 
Hmm.. I'll have to check Dollar Tree for those bulbs here in Denver.
COBettaCouple is offline  
 

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