willowgirl

Hi,

First of all, I want to thank this community for all the awesome information I have been able to gather regarding caring for our new betta, Alfonso. He is such a cool dude... We are in love with him.

I am in the process of upgrading his tank, as he was given to us in a small tank ( not a betta tank - thanks God) but we don't have a filter, heater e.t.c.

We are looking for suggestions regarding which equipment and supplies we should buy. We are not having any additional fish with him as we want him to be the "king of his castle" .

Can someone please refer us to a basic list of supplies and equipment we could buy with a limited budget? Thank you

Lucy

Hi willowgirl, Welcome To Fish Lore

Congrats on your betta boy. What's his name?
This link will help you get set up, it's very thorough.
But if you have any other questions, just ask. There are a lot of friendly helpful people here.

http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/bet...care-guide.htm

Good luck.

Oh, and we love pics, so post some soon.

willowgirl

Thanks for your reply. His name is Alfonso but we call him alfie for short. He is very active. The most shocking thing is that he seems to recognize us. I have never seen a fish doing that.

I was browsing through some basic all - in -one tanks and this one seems pretty good. Will the filtration system be gentle enough for him? Here is the link. It seems that I might need a heater and bubble wand as well. Correct ? I appreciate your thoughts.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3635550

willowgirl

another contender
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3635107

Which one is better?

Lucy

I think alfie would love the tank, it's a good size for him. Yes, you'll need a heater. I had a 50w in my 5g, but I think you can get away with the 25w. A lot of people, myself included prefer the visi-therm stealth heater.
Some betta like to play in bubbles, some don't, so sure, give it a try.
I can't comment on the filtration, but I'm sure someone else will come along shortly and be able to advise you on that.

Edit: I don't know which is better, again, I'm sure someone else will come along and can comment. I think both are nice.

Martinismommy

I have 3 of these tanks...They are on sale right now and they are a very good tank...The lighting is excellent and it comes with a bio wheel filter....It is a very quiet unit...For $29.00 you won't find a more complete set up..
http://www.petco.com/product/12788/M...ipse5-_-053008

Barbrella

I have 4 of those Minibow tanks in various colours. I just love them! They're very pretty and my bettas are quite happy in them.

I use a the 25 watt Stealth heater, although you can use 50 watts if you like.

I've had to use filter floss and elastic bands to cut down on the filter flow on all of them. If I don't, my male bettas get tossed around by the current.

As for what else you need - frozen bloodworms are a must!!

ShaynaB

Welcome to FishLore, Willowgirl!

I have both the Eclipse and the Minibow... Personally, I like the Minibow better but I think they're both fabulous! It's purely about looks for me because they both work great!

I have an algae scraper. That may be useful too... Also, things for your betta to play with might be nice for him. One of mine uses a ping pong ball and pushes it around with his nose. On the other hand, my other betta ignores them. I think it's all about personality!

With that heater, you'll want a thermometer too!

willowgirl

Thank you for your responses... That $29.00 tank is a steal. I love the colors on the minibow... I just gotta figure out what Alfie would like better.

willowgirl

A Ping Pong ball... That is the cutest thing I've ever heard.

ShaynaB

I thought it was cute when I first heard it too... I believe it was here that I got the idea. (These people are enablers! haha) It's even cuter to see it in person. One of these days I'll have to get a video of it and post it.

ara

I have that Eclipse 6 from Walmart. Very happy with it. Minibow tanks are cute but their filters were way too noisy for me. Eclipse is almost silent. Bookshelf tank from Petco is a good choice too (I have one). I have 50 Watt Marineland Visi-Therm Stealth Submersible Aquarium Heaters in both of my tanks. http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=2754055

willowgirl

I will have alfie in my bedroom. Is the Eclipse a better choice then, since it seems quieter?

Shayna, yes you definitely have to share a video of your cutie in full acrobatics mode.

I hope you guys can please suggest some water testing kits. Also, are live plants safe to have in the tank? I don't want to run the risk of getting my guy poisoned.

Here is my list of the immediate things I need so far:

Either Eclipse or Minibow

50 watt heater (Stealth) - Anything wrong with the automatic one here?
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3635560

Thermometer - This one caught my eye. Is it any good?
https://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...=23469&catid=3

Water testing kit - No idea which one is good.

Gravel and decor.

Also, I would like to have some sort of first aid kit. What items should I get in case Alfie gets sick ?

Thank you for all the help and I'm sorry for asking so many questions.

ara

Here the test you need:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3635493
Are you going to make a purchse from drsfostersmith? Look at my Bargain Page post for a coupon. Also stealth heaters at drs. 25W AGL-18709 $13.49, 50W AGL-18710 $13.49, API test AEL-110706 $15.99. Get Garlic Guard AGL-18858 - $3.99, Prime, Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets, Atison's Betta food pellets, Vita-Chem from drs. website as well.

COBettaCouple

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...tank-setup.htm - please read this too.

Lucy

I agree, I'd love to see that. Mine ignored the ping pong ball. lol


Definitely get the API master test kit. It's very reliable and pretty easy to use.
The visi therm automatic is made of glass. Personally, I didn't want to take the chance of it breaking in the tank.

chickadee

Willowgirl,

That thermometer is the exact one I use on all my tanks and I love it. You can purchase replacement batteries for it at http://www.batterybob.com in 10 packs for a very small amount of money and they last for a long time. and are sent through the mail for a small fee. They are definitely worth the money. I love them.

I would not order both the Betta bio-gold and the Atison's pellets as they come in good sized containers and should not be kept longer than 6 months and you will not use them that fast. I would get the Atison's to start with and at the end of the first 6 months when your betta is older get the Betta bio-gold pellets as they are a lot larger. Get the Atison's Betta Pro in the Pink Lid container for the younger betta formula to start with so if your betta is a young one it will have a good food for it.

Definitely get the other items on the list. You may want to get the Eclipse tank and a Whisper air pump with either an airstone or sponge filter to provide aeration to the tank to put extra oxygen in the water and give your little betta some bubble to play in. this would mean you will need a little airline tubing and a check valve and a air control valve.
If you buy a airstone instead of the sponge filter I would suggest you get a wooden one as the bubbles put out by them are very small and very nice.

Rose

willowgirl

Thank you for all of your suggestions. Alfie is expecting a shipment of goodies anyday now. I am just nervous waiting for all the stuff. I hope he keeps in good health until then.
I have been reading about fishless cycling - is this needed for bettas as well? I was thinking on buying bio-spira... Any thoughts? I thank you for shedding some light on this one.