5 Gallon Tank Can a betta survive in the container below for 2 weeks?

[Hobbyist]

I saw a beautiful betta fish in the store today and it was in a VERY good price, it was healthy and looked happy, and I don’t want to talk about how beautiful her colors was, it was a female.
My question is: can I keep the betta in the container below for maybe 2 weeks so I can make sure my 5g tank is cycled ( I am cycling it on the original way with fish food and 5 dead cherry shrimps - started 2nd of April )
The container is 2g and I have the heater ready and I have an air pump, I just need to buy an air stone from the store, I can also add instant bacteria from Srea ( they call it bio nitrivec )
I want to buy this betta before someone else buy it, so watch the pics below and tell me.

I saw a beautiful betta fish in the store today and it was in a VERY good price, it was healthy and looked happy, and I don’t want to talk about how beautiful her colors was, it was a female.
My question is: can I keep the betta in the container below for maybe 2 weeks so I can make sure my 5g tank is cycled ( I am cycling it on the original way with fish food and 5 dead cherry shrimps - started 2nd of April )
The container is 2g and I have the heater ready and I have an air pump, I just need to buy an air stone from the store, I can also add instant bacteria from Srea ( they call it bio nitrivec )
I want to buy this betta before someone else buy it, so watch the pics below and tell me.

I know the container isn’t made for that
But I don’t know if have any container with a suitable size other than this

 

[veggieshark]

A 2g container is probably OK for a couple weeks. However, you will have to deal with the very issue you are trying to address for its permanent tank, i.e., the uncycled container. In addition, I would be nervous about putting a heater in such a small container. At the least, test it and see it doesn't fluctuate. If the heater is stable and you undertake continuous water changes during the time the fish stays in, it could work. If you have a heated house, and the room temperature is tolerable, I would skip the heater altogether, until the permanent home is ready.

 

[BenjiBear]

Not sure how helpful but my quarentine "tank" is a clear compost tub that holds about 10-15 gallons (i havent measured properly yet) and it literally cost me about £6 which is around $7-8 i think. Its mega cheap and she'd have loads of room, even if you bought a clear storage container. Veggieshark is right tho about water changes. I kept my betta, Pippin, in a plastic 2 gallon tub in my room with no heater or filter since the lowest the room gets is 23c for a week. I think I did a water change every 2nd day and just made sure to clean up any food he dropped. I kept it bare bottom and added a few rocks and java fern for exploration and comfort really. So it can be done, but personally I would be hesitant about the container you pictured as I feel she'd just be going in circles, then theres the fact its not clear meaning no light can get in and even if you put her under a lamp, It might be a bit stark since it's white. I'll add a pic of my tub so you can see what I mean.

But i understand your pain for a beautiful betta. I missed a gorgeous one yesterday on this group thst breeds and sells bettas and someone got to him before me...man im not over it yet, he was true piece of art ;-;

 

[NotSoAggressiveAquatics]

you might as well finish off the cycle In Your main tank with a fish in cycle instead of still doing a fish In cycle in the tub

 

[Hobbyist]

A 2g container is probably OK for a couple weeks. However, you will have to deal with the very issue you are trying to address for its permanent tank, i.e., the uncycled container. In addition, I would be nervous about putting a heater in such a small container. At the least, test it and see it doesn't fluctuate. If the heater is stable and you undertake continuous water changes during the time the fish stays in, it could work. If you have a heated house, and the room temperature is tolerable, I would skip the heater altogether, until the permanent home is ready.

Ok I think after what you said , the heater isn’t necessary, I live in a hot area and its really starting to get hot here, but I should not open the AC so the water don’t get too cold, as for the container, any container I will get won’t be fully cycled, so either this or any other , I don’t have another fully cycled tank ( actually I have an apple snail in a small tank but I don’t now if it’s cycled nor can I remove the snail )
Anyway, do you think the material of this container is suitable? and do you think the betta would survive there with only this instant bacteria?

Not sure how helpful but my quarentine "tank" is a clear compost tub that holds about 10-15 gallons (i havent measured properly yet) and it literally cost me about £6 which is around $7-8 i think. Its mega cheap and she'd have loads of room, even if you bought a clear storage container. Veggieshark is right tho about water changes. I kept my betta, Pippin, in a plastic 2 gallon tub in my room with no heater or filter since the lowest the room gets is 23c for a week. I think I did a water change every 2nd day and just made sure to clean up any food he dropped. I kept it bare bottom and added a few rocks and java fern for exploration and comfort really. So it can be done, but personally I would be hesitant about the container you pictured as I feel she'd just be going in circles, then theres the fact its not clear meaning no light can get in and even if you put her under a lamp, It might be a bit stark since it's white. I'll add a pic of my tub so you can see what I mean.

But i understand your pain for a beautiful betta. I missed a gorgeous one yesterday on this group thst breeds and sells bettas and someone got to him before me...man im not over it yet, he was true piece of art ;-;

View attachment 785477

Ok I got you, if the problem is that the container isn’t clear, I have another one, its a bit smaller, but I think it would do , I will post two pics to show you, tell me if you think it’s suitable

you might as well finish off the cycle In Your main tank with a fish in cycle instead of still doing a fish In cycle in the tub

Won’t that be stressful for the betta? I also want to put a nerite snail and some cherry shrimps in there ( I know it’s risky )

 

[veggieshark]

Ok I think after what you said , the heater isn’t necessary, I live in a hot area and its really starting to get hot here, but I should not open the AC so the water don’t get too cold, as for the container, any container I will get won’t be fully cycled, so either this or any other , I don’t have another fully cycled tank ( actually I have an apple snail in a small tank but I don’t now if it’s cycled nor can I remove the snail )
Anyway, you think the material of this container is suitable, and you think the betta would survive there with only this instant bacteria?

I don't know how good the instant bacteria stuff is. I always have tanks ongoing and I pull out a sponge or few other things from one to get the other going.

AggressiveAquatics has a good point though. You might as well do all this in your main tank with the fish in it.

If you must use the container you have for some reason, I think it will be OK temporarily, with all the caveats mentioned already.

 

[Hobbyist]

I don't know how good the instant bacteria stuff is. I always have tanks ongoing and I pull out a sponge or few other things from one to get the other going.

AggressiveAquatics has a good point though. You might as well do all this in your main tank with the fish in it.

If you must use the container you have for some reason, I think it will be OK temporarily, with all the caveats mentioned already.

So you think the betta will be safer in the tank than the container? I think you are not wrong, but I want to add some invertebrates before adding the betta so I think I must wait at least another week , I also posted another container maybe its better, have a look on it if you want and tell me your opinion

 

[BenjiBear]

Ok I think after what you said , the heater isn’t necessary, I live in a hot area and its really starting to get hot here, but I should not open the AC so the water don’t get too cold, as for the container, any container I will get won’t be fully cycled, so either this or any other , I don’t have another fully cycled tank ( actually I have an apple snail in a small tank but I don’t now if it’s cycled nor can I remove the snail )
Anyway, do you think the material of this container is suitable? and do you think the betta would survive there with only this instant bacteria?

Ok I got you, if the problem is that the container isn’t clear, I have another one, its a bit smaller, but I think it would do , I will post two pics to show you, tell me if you think it’s suitable

Won’t that be stressful for the betta? I also want to put a nerite snail and some cherry shrimps in there ( I know it’s risky )

To me the new tub looks way better but theres no scale to go off. I use this site to check stocking but mostly volume of a tank or container just by measuring so that might help you too!

You can change the measures to cm or inch and the volume to us gallons or litres which is helpful too i think

 

[Hobbyist]

To me the new tub looks way better but theres no scale to go off. I use this site to check stocking but mostly volume of a tank or container just by measuring so that might help you too!

You can change the measures to cm or inch and the volume to us gallons or litres which is helpful too i think

Thanks for the link, but whats the least amount of gallon should I go with? I think 1 is the bare minimum right?

 

[NotSoAggressiveAquatics]

Won’t that be stressful for the betta? I also want to put a nerite snail and some cherry shrimps in there ( I know it’s risky )

Well it’s basically the same as the tub either way you’ll need to be doing daily water changes to keep ammonia down

 

[Hobbyist]

To me the new tub looks way better but theres no scale to go off. I use this site to check stocking but mostly volume of a tank or container just by measuring so that might help you too!

You can change the measures to cm or inch and the volume to us gallons or litres which is helpful too i think

Oh I just remembered, can I put the betta in my 2.5g? It contains an apple snail but I can remove him and put him in that container then put the betta in his tank, I don’t know if the tank is cycled but I should do a huge water change to make sure there is no ammonia in the water , and I would also add some instant bacteria, would that work ? Or there is a possibility that there will be some ammonia that would harm the fish?

 

[BenjiBear]

Oh I just remembered, can I put the betta in my 2.5g? It contains an apple snail but I can remove him and put him in that container then put the betta in his tank, I don’t know if the tank is cycled but I should do a huge water change to make sure there is no ammonia in the water , and I would also add some instant bacteria, would that work ? Or there is a possibility that there will be some ammonia that would harm the fish?

hold on, sorry im at a loss

So youve got a 2.4g tank AS WELL as the clear tub and the cooler thingy? Just so im on the right page here

 

[Hobbyist]

hold on, sorry im at a loss

So youve got a 2.4g tank AS WELL as the clear tub and the cooler thingy? Just so im on the right page here

Yes, the tank is here as well as the tubs I showed in the pics, the only problem here is the cycle

 

[BenjiBear]

Yes, the tank is here as well as the tubs I showed in the pics, the only problem here is the cycle

Oh, okay! Do you have a test kit where you'd be able to test the water in the 2.5g? I would reccomend a water change anyway just so it's nice and clean. You could remove the snail if you like, unfortunately Apple snails are banned here in the UK so I dont know anything about them but I keep 2 of my bettas with nerite snails, 1 with assassins and 1 with a huge pond snail (hes like the godzilla of pond snails for some reason ) so i think bettas are generally okay with snails as long as they dont nip their little antennae. I think you should check out the parameters on the 2.5 if you can and get back to us

 

[Hobbyist]

Oh, okay! Do you have a test kit where you'd be able to test the water in the 2.5g? I would reccomend a water change anyway just so it's nice and clean. You could remove the snail if you like, unfortunately Apple snails are banned here in the UK so I dont know anything about them but I keep 2 of my bettas with nerite snails, 1 with assassins and 1 with a huge pond snail (hes like the godzilla of pond snails for some reason ) so i think bettas are generally okay with snails as long as they dont nip their little antennae. I think you should check out the parameters on the 2.5 if you can and get back to us

Unfortunately I don’t have a test kit , I know how important is it but I still can’t afford one, As for the snail he would probably be removed temporarily because he makes a lot of miss, like a little baby lol , but his tank has its water from maybe 1 month or so, maybe less maybe more, anyway I think I would just put the betta there and the snail in that tub, and change water every two days maybe, I still don’t know if I should change daily or every other day.
Anyway thanks fir the help

 

[BenjiBear]

Unfortunately I don’t have a test kit , I know how important is it but I still can’t afford one, As for the snail he would probably be removed temporarily because he makes a lot of miss, like a little baby lol , but his tank has its water from maybe 1 month or so, maybe less maybe more, anyway I think I would just put the betta there and the snail in that tub, and change water every two days maybe, I still don’t know if I should change daily or every other day.
Anyway thanks fir the help

Thats okay! You've got the right idea anyway! Here's what i'd do;

put the snail in the tub and empty most of the water in the 2.5g and add fresh water into it. You can get your betta girl. The best way to run with a set up like this is as follows;

Day 1; let her settle, do not feed her
Day 2: feed her
Day 3: do a 50% water change
Day 4: feed her
Day 5: do a 50% water change
Day 6: feed her
Day 7: 50% water change

And so fourth, just following the pattern back and fourth minus the day one as I believe you should never feed fish on their first day in the tank. This alternating way means that A. she wont get stressed with daily water changes in such a small space and B. there still isnt enough time for ammonia to build. As long as you dont over feed her, bettas poop very little, maybe even once or twice a day i think. If the tank is bare bottom, you can take uneaten/dropped food out with a siphon or turkey baster!

This, in my opinion, is the absolute safest way of having a betta with no filter. You already mentioned the heater and where you live so follow what you already said.

If you need any extra help just ask! I hope you can still get her! Good luck!

 

[Hobbyist]

Thats okay! You've got the right idea anyway! Here's what i'd do;

put the snail in the tub and empty most of the water in the 2.5g and add fresh water into it. You can get your betta girl. The best way to run with a set up like this is as follows;

Day 1; let her settle, do not feed her
Day 2: feed her
Day 3: do a 50% water change
Day 4: feed her
Day 5: do a 50% water change
Day 6: feed her
Day 7: 50% water change

And so fourth, just following the pattern back and fourth minus the day one as I believe you should never feed fish on their first day in the tank. This alternating way means that A. she wont get stressed with daily water changes in such a small space and B. there still isnt enough time for ammonia to build. As long as you dont over feed her, bettas poop very little, maybe even once or twice a day i think. If the tank is bare bottom, you can take uneaten/dropped food out with a siphon or turkey baster!

This, in my opinion, is the absolute safest way of having a betta with no filter. You already mentioned the heater and where you live so follow what you already said.

If you need any extra help just ask! I hope you can still get her! Good luck!

Thank you , I should make sure to stay on the table you mentioned , it seems to be the safest strategy
I know I asked a lot but this is the last two questions ( I hope lol ) :
When I transfer the fish to its main tank ( the 5g which is cycling right now) should I also change the water that much? Or 50% every week is good?
the last question is that you mentioned the heater in the last sentence, did you mean its not necessary in such a small size? Because I think a heater would be recommended from 2.5g and above

 

[BenjiBear]

Thank you , I should make sure to stay on the table you mentioned , it seems to be the safest strategy
I know I asked a lot but this is the last two questions ( I hope lol ) :
When I transfer the fish to its main tank ( the 5g which is cycling right now) should I also change the water that much? Or 50% every week is good?
the last question is that you mentioned the heater in the last sentence, did you mean its not necessary in such a small size? Because I think a heater would be recommended from 2.5g and above

Ask as many as you need

Once you transfer her to the 5g you only have to do 50% once a week

Due to you mentioning that you live in a hot place, your room temperature may have been enough for the 2.5 but if you have a heater feel free to use it in both the 2.5g then transfer it along with your girl to her 5g when its ready! Its always better to have a stable temperature in my opinion, my only reason for doing the same thing as you with one of my fish but WITHOUT a heater was purely because i didnt have a spare one at the time. Heater is always better i think

 

[GuppyGal7]

Why not just cycle the tank with her in it? The water quality will still be a lot better than a coffee cup.

 

[FoldedCheese]

I agree with others, and imo the best option would be to do a fish-in cycle given the circumstances, although you would need a test kit to monitor the progress of the cycle. You would still need to test your water if you are doing a fishless cycle with the tank too though. I noticed you mentioned you did not have a test kit, so I was wondering how were you going to determine when it was cycled and ready for your betta?

 

[Hobbyist]

I agree with others, and imo the best option would be to do a fish-in cycle given the circumstances, although you would need a test kit to monitor the progress of the cycle. You would still need to test your water if you are doing a fishless cycle with the tank too though. I noticed you mentioned you did not have a test kit, so I was wondering how were you going to determine when it was cycled and ready for your betta?

Test kit is really important, and I recommend buying it whenever you can afford it.
But in my situation I can’t afford one in the present time, as for how to cycle without a test kit ( which I don’t recommend doing if you can buy one ) I just do it simple as if I know the parameters, I drop some fish food, next week I drop less but at some day I drop more than usual, I do this because ammonia usually takes a week to be eliminated and nitrite starts to develop, but I am not 100% sure that this process took a week , that’s why I sometimes drop more in the second week, also algae growth, worms, tiny creatures and odor for couple of days all of these things are signs that your tank is developing life, but it doesn’t necessarily mean its cycled so I wait at least a month then I change the water , maybe 50% separated by two days, then I put a nerite snail in there , these snail are sensitive to water quality as I know , so if everything goes well I put some cherry shrimps, these guys are also extra sensitive to water quality, if all of them survived then I am pretty sure a betta would, even if the cycle wasn’t complete it would be near complete and the betta would help completing it, also water changes schedule should be strict in the first few months of the aquarium age, I cycled my 10g with a similar method, I started cycling it in April 2020.
I repeat again: if you can afford a test kit, you shouldn’t use my method, If have one I would’ve used it

Why not just cycle the tank with her in it? The water quality will still be a lot better than a coffee cup.

Its just because I want to add some invertebrates, these guys should be in the aquariums before the betta gets in , otherwise the betta would think its a threat to its territory and would attack them , I know its not 100% safe to add shrimps with a betta but this method reduce the risk on them, I would add the betta as fast as I could

Ask as many as you need

Once you transfer her to the 5g you only have to do 50% once a week

Due to you mentioning that you live in a hot place, your room temperature may have been enough for the 2.5 but if you have a heater feel free to use it in both the 2.5g then transfer it along with your girl to her 5g when its ready! Its always better to have a stable temperature in my opinion, my only reason for doing the same thing as you with one of my fish but WITHOUT a heater was purely because i didnt have a spare one at the time. Heater is always better i think

Ok thanks for your time and your information

 

[GuppyGal7]

Test kit is really important, and I recommend buying it whenever you can afford it.
But in my situation I can’t afford one in the present time, as for how to cycle without a test kit ( which I don’t recommend doing if you can buy one ) I just do it simple as if I know the parameters, I drop some fish food, next week I drop less but at some day I drop more than usual, I do this because ammonia usually takes a week to be eliminated and nitrite starts to develop, but I am not 100% sure that this process took a week , that’s why I sometimes drop more in the second week, also algae growth, worms, tiny creatures and odor for couple of days all of these things are signs that your tank is developing life, but it doesn’t necessarily mean its cycled so I wait at least a month then I change the water , maybe 50% separated by two days, then I put a nerite snail in there , these snail are sensitive to water quality as I know , so if everything goes well I put some cherry shrimps, these guys are also extra sensitive to water quality, if all of them survived then I am pretty sure a betta would, even if the cycle wasn’t complete it would be near complete and the betta would help completing it, also water changes schedule should be strict in the first few months of the aquarium age, I cycled my 10g with a similar method, I started cycling it in April 2020.
I repeat again: if you can afford a test kit, you shouldn’t use my method, If have one I would’ve used it

Its just because I want to add some invertebrates, these guys should be in the aquariums before the betta gets in , otherwise the betta would think its a threat to its territory and would attack them , I know its not 100% safe to add shrimps with a betta but this method reduce the risk on them, I would add the betta as fast as I could

Ok thanks for your time and your information

Your bettas wellbeing should be more important. If shrimp end up not working out, try something else. I don't think it's worth keeping a Betta in such, frankly, inhumane conditions. If you wanted shrimp, you should have waited before getting a Betta. Now that you have one, you have to be responsible for her. You can't get a dog, decide you want a kitten as well and then lock the dog in the closet for two weeks so the kitten will be perceived as the older resident. My Betta has had shrimp added after her and she was fine. Some bettas immediately attack shrimp. Return her or take responsibility for her.

 

[Hobbyist]

Your bettas wellbeing should be more important. If shrimp end up not working out, try something else. I don't think it's worth keeping a Betta in such, frankly, inhumane conditions. If you wanted shrimp, you should have waited before getting a Betta. Now that you have one, you have to be responsible for her. You can't get a dog, decide you want a kitten as well and then lock the dog in the closet for two weeks so the kitten will be perceived as the older resident. My Betta has had shrimp added after her and she was fine. Some bettas immediately attack shrimp. Return her or take responsibility for her.

I appreciate your advice, but If could’ve been able to put the shrimp before the betta I wouldn’t wait , but the tank is still cycling, also I can have the tank without shrimps or even the nerite snail, but as you know I don’t have the test kit so I have to “test” the tank before adding the betta by the shrimps and the snail, its not about I want the shrimps that hard that I would harm my fish, but I will do my best to keep this betta “ happy “ in the 2.5g until I can make sure that the 5g is ready to host the fish.
thank you again for the advice