anpa1019

Hi everyone,

This is my third thread and everyone on this site has been so helpful. I have a male Betta fish named Bubble who is in a one gallon tank with some marbles, small real plants, and a larger plastic plant. I want to upgrade him to a 5 gallon tank but I am not sure of all the equipment I need. I was going to buy a tank kit from walmart that comes with the filter and a light but I wanted suggestions on whether these are ok and what kind of heater I should buy as well. Also, should he be ok to put in right away or do I really need to the do the whole nitrate cycle for a betta? He is pretty sick with fin rot right now so I was hoping to move him asap and the cycle might take awhile. Also for a hospital tank, is it ok for him to not have any plants/gravel in there to decrease the amount of surfaces that could carry bacteria or should I really keep all that stuff there to make him more comfortable?

Thanks guys!

HatchetHaven

The 1gal is uncycled right now anyway - with no filter it can't take place! So, it will be better for him in a 5gal - because either way it's still uncycled.

A good heater that many people here like is the Visi therem Stealth.

fishrule101

I wouldn't add him while your tank is cycling. You said he had fin rot so putting him though the cycling period might stress him more and worsen the fin rot. As for the hospital tank I would at least put plants or something to let him hide and decrase the stress. A hospital tank doesn't have to be very nice but make sure you at least have a heater and filter. I don't know any good heaters for a five gallon cuase I never had a tank smaller than ten gallons. Walmart fish supplies aren't as good as they seem. When I bought a ten gallon kit the filter was really cheap and the didn't move the water good enough. But if you buy the eclipse kits they seem to have better filtration. Well I hope i've helped you and hope your betta gets well.

MissMTS

I would go with the 6.5 gallon bookshelf kits that they carry at Petco. They are the best homes that bettas could ask for because they provide so much swimming room. The 5 gallon bow front tank would be fine too. Just don't get a hex tank because the reflections stress out the bettas. I would put him in the new tank right away. Add the gravel and plants from the bowl to keep some of the bacteria. You will need to do daily 50 percent water changes until the tank is cycled. It will probably take a while for your tank to cycle itself so you will have to be patient. If you can afford it, I would pick up some bio-spira and it will have your tank cycled within a couple of days. This will minimize the stress on your betta. Some LFS carry it, but you can order off of Dr. Foster and Smiths website.

Lucy

I have 2 10g kits from Walmart, I've been happy with them. I did have to decrease the outflow with a wad of filter media for my betta, but other than that they've been fine for me.

I just bought a 5g mini bow kit for my frog. So far, I'm happy with it and the filter flow is adjustable.

I would add him to the tank right away too and do 50% water changes daily using prime as my water conditioner. No matter what he's in, he's going to create ammonia and you'll be doing water changes anyway so he might as well be in a filtered heated tank.
I know Dave (COBettaCouple) would recommend garlic guard, I use minced garlic in a jar. He also recommends Vita-Chem and Fish Protector.

Good luck and let us know how he's doing.

anpa1019

Just bought my trouble maker the 6.6 gallon bookshelf tank from PETCO. Filled it up with conditioned water, gravel, some fake plants, and a cave today. I want to move him as soon as possible so he can be in new heated/filtred water. Any tips/suggestions? I want to buy him a new friend and maybe a snail or something to help keep the water clean. This is my first realy tank so any help would be really appreciated.

Alessa

what you need to do right now (if your tank isnt cycled) to keep your little friend from danger is 50% daily water changes until your tank is cycled... (in whatever tank you have your fish).

Do you have a test kit?