jen82

I blame all of you hehe. But since Ive been on this forum I now want a betta. I have an unused 7 gal (US) lying around doing nothing. Would this be suitable for a betta. It came with a filter and i have a heater for it. Any advice much appreciated. J

KonaBoy

That would probably work very well for a Betta. One thing to watch for when putting in plants/gravel, make sure the edges aren't too sharp as the fins may rip if they get caught. Good luck on getting a Betta

Cory

sirdarksol

7g is pretty good for a betta. (10g is better, in my opinion, but 7g is a ton better than what many bettas get)
If we haven't referred you to the articles on the Nitrogen Cycle, go to the main Fishlore Page and click on the Beginners button. In there, you should find an article that details how to cycle your tank without fish. Your betta will love you for introducing him/her into a pre-cycled home.
Other than that, you've already got a leg up on a lot of new betta owners, in that you will have a filter and a heater from the beginning.

jen82

cool. Yeah i am aware of cycling so would do that first. Would also make sure i got smooth gravel for bottom. Or what is best? And a cave or something like that. The 7 gal is my old hospital tank is there anything special i should do it before using it again. Thanks.

sirdarksol

Rinse the tank very well (especially if you used any meds). Don't use any soap.
I have heard that marbles are a good betta substrate. Smooth gravel works, too. I have had luck with sand, but there are some concerns that a betta might eat the sand (I've never seen this).

chickadee

I have had a betta eat small substrate the size of sand (EcoComplete). Pea sized gravel or marbles or tumbled river rock are excellent choices for substrate for bettas.

Rose

King_Snuggles

any smooth gravel and non sharp decorations and your good to go

sirdarksol

Well, there you go. There are bettas out there that will eat substrate. Must be a function of personality. Mine is barely ever that far down in the tank, and when he is, he's resting on a mat of low-growing water wysteria.

jen82

i think wanting a betta has now changed to needing a betta. Just got get the tank cycling now.

King_Snuggles

take your time on the cycling process

jen82

i would make sure everything was perfect before adding a betta. Is there any way of quickening the cycle using my community tank. Dont want to use the substrate as it may be too sharp for a betta

Shaina

if you can put a piece of the filter media from your established tank in your new tank's filter, that's supposed to seed the filter and speed up the process. You could also add Bio-Spira (if you can get it), or do the ammonia-addition method described in the Nitrogen Cycling article

And I'm jealous, I'd like to get a betta too! Ah well my day will come...

sirdarksol

You can take filter media from the community tank and put it in the betta's filter. Make sure it stays wet the entire time. If the betta's filter is smaller, you can cut a swatch of the material to fit. This is the method I use to cycle my tanks.

chickadee

I would simply get a small sponge filter and run it in the community tank in the back corner for about 10 days and it will become a cycled filter then it will be the filter for the new tank and bettas do very well with sponge filters as they do not have a lot of current in the tank for them to contend with right away. Then it will help to seed the other filter should you choose to ever use any other type in the tank at a later date but it would not be necessary. The sponge filter would be adequate for the betta if you made sure you got one big enough for the size of the tank. A small one would do for a 7 gallon tank. It would not take long and they are easy to seed and take the function of not only the filter but the airstone as well as it oxygenates the water and provides bubbling as well as filtering too. My bettas always have them bubbling away in the background even with the bio-wheels going too.

Rose

ShaynaB

HA! This community got me started on bettas, too.

They're quite good at it...

I had one tank when I started looking at this forum, then I joined it and now I'm into MTS like crazy!

Good luck with your betta! Keep us posted!

COBettaCouple

Welcome to the Betta clan! They're such great little fish and I'd recommend a female for your first Betta.

I definitely recommend flat glass marbles for the substrate. For plants, either silk or real plants - no plastic ones, they can tear the Betta fins. Water lettuce, water sprite, java moss and java fern are all good choices for a Betta tank.

They do like caves and other things they can swim in and out of and sleep in at night. Just check anything you buy inside and out for any spots that would snag/tear stockings. Also check any openings to see if your thumb doesn't get stuck. Bettas love to explore and get into tight spots so they need to be able to get out.

I'd also recommend an aeration device with a gang valve to control the flow of air from the air pump. While it's not 100% necessary, it is a nice thing for the tank and another thing for your Betta to play with.
You can put gravel or substrate from a cycled tank in the sock of a stocking and tie it off with a knot, then set that in the tank that you're cycling for a week or so. Also, running aeration and turning the heater to maximum can help with cycling faster - just remember to get the heater back to 78-80F before buying your Betta.

jen82

all your great advice just leaves me with more questions sorry. 1 can u lot recommend any good plants. 2 why would u say get a female first. 3 i will put sponge of tank in my big tank. Should i bury it in the gravel. Thanks everybody. This place is great for me and fish.

chickadee

No what I recommended was a sponge filter like these:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...54&pcatid=3954

You hook them to an airpump and let them bubble away on top of the gravel or substrate. The sponge is a natural breeding ground for the beneficial bacteria and makes the home of the bacteria that will protect the tank from ammonia.

It can be the filter on its own for the new tank if you buy the correct size for the new tank (they come in all types of sizes so check the correct size of filter) or you can use it to simply help out and be a back-up type help out type of filter or get them just to use in hospital or quarantine tanks when needed. I always keep a few bubbling in my bigger tanks for the hospital tanks or quarantine purposes. They take the place of airstones and have a second purpose too. Replacement sponges can be purchased for next to nothing if you need to use them for sick fish and do not want to reuse the sponge. Just pop them back into the main tank after a quick sterilization of the main filter part and throwing away the old sponge and replacing with a new sponge and in a couple of weeks it is recycled from the community tank and ready to use again.

Plants for the new tank should be the easier ones to deal with like Dave mentioned. He listed some very nice ones and I would perhaps only mention a couple of additional ones. My bettas like Sword Plants as they like the leaves for beds more than their caves. You have to be careful not to bury anything but the roots or else just tie them to a piece of driftwood with a piece of nylon thread. If you bury them too deep they rot away. But the Water Sprite and Java Moss and Java Fern are lovely and easy to care for and Bettas love them. Most bettas seriously adore Java Moss and will make it their little pillow but you have to find something to anchor it to or it gets all over the place.

Rose

If you have put a regular sponge in your tank please do remove it and do a water change as they are harmful to the tank and I am so sorry I did not make myself clear. I do need to remember to show links to what I am speaking of.