Betta novice

I am going to get a betta pretty soon, and this is the tank I am contemplating, could you please advise me as to whether it is suitable?
Also is it likely my lfs will sell bettas? Its just I have never seen them in there (not that I have been looking!) would there be any reason they don't stock them?

I hope I will be able to maintain a betta, I have done a fair bit of research now and have read all your articles on here which have been very helpfull. I obviously will have to cycle the tank althought I have some of the new tetra live bacteria stuff which I have found workd very well, but would it help if I filled the new tank with gravel from my current tank as I am planning on changing that to sand soon anyways.

Thanks for all your help!
Lucy

 

I did not see the picture you were trying to put up of the tank, but if it is like the one in the thumbnail under your name, it would be a very nice home for the Betta. The choice of tank mates may have to be thought over as some of the ones in your present tank are not suitable companions with Bettas for one reason or another. (notably the tetras will have the Bettas fins in tatters as they are little nippers) Yes the tank will have to be completely cycled and since you already have a tank I suppose you already know about the cycle process.

A lot of the bacteria lives in the gravel and on the decorations of the tank and a lot of owners use bags of gravel from established tanks to seed their new tanks to help hurry the process along faster. It is the fish waste and the unrinsed gravel that will keep things going. If you rinse it the benefits will be gone. As long as you do not have any disease or questionable things going on in the tank where you are taking the gravel from I would say that it is an excellent idea. If you could take a piece of the filter media and put into the new filter you could almost consider the tank a cycled tank to start with.


Welcome to Fishlore.com I do hope you enjoy it here as much as I have it is a wonderful place to learn about the fish we all love. I do hope this has been helpful.


Rose

 

HI sorry that is because I forgot to copy the link into the post (it had been a long day lol)
Sorry here is the tank I am thinking of:



PLease let me know ure thoughts, much appreciated!
Lucy

 

I think that tank would be super for a betta! Bettas do best in at least 5 gallons so they have plenty of room to swim around and show their pretty fins!

 

That tank is almost identical to the tank that houses my bettas so of course it meets my approval. The Betta should be quite happy in there with a little tankmate or even on his own. May I suggest though that if you plan to have tank mates for him that you buy them and get them established first so that he feels like they belong there when he comes into the tank. This way you may not have the territorial issues that do seem to arise when the Betta is the first one in the tank and feels that the whole tank belongs to him and the others are intruders. Just a thought.... You may want ro read some of the posts in the Betta Board about the issues that some of the owners have had getting their little friends to accept the new tankmates.. Of course there is not a thing wrong with keeping a Betta by himself and do not think he will be lonely, because bettas are not fish who relate well to other fish. You will find that your betta is going to need your company, not that of other fish.

I do hope you have found this helpful and that you enjoy your new fish when the tank is set up and ready to go.

Rose

 

I have never heard of a 5.7 gal hexagon before. As long as you give him some places to hide in I'm sure he will be happy.

 

I believe that Lucy is from the UK and their gallons and tanks are made a little different than ours. I think they are given a bit more to allow for adding their gravel and decorations. The 5.7 gallons UK would be roughly equal to 6.8 gallons US.

Rose

 

okaaaay that would explain a lot as I have led lots of people to believe I have too many fish in my Uk 10 gallon tank but I didnt think I did however maybe in Us gallons it would be too many fish?

What a joke lol, I'm not sure that makes sense?
Lucy

 

Yes, it may be a little of the problem as 10 gallons liquid UK is a little over 12 gallons liquid US and that would make a bit of a difference.

Rose