Getting a Betta: Newbie Questions...bubbles, food, advice?

After going against the advice of many here (and overcrowding my 1 year old son's 3 gallon tank), I've finally seen the light and am getting him a Betta tomorrow.

I've got a couple 'Betta Newbie' questions if I may:

1) In my current tanks set up I have a curtain of bubbles that come on at 7:30 am and go off at 7:30 pm. I've used it to keep the water less stagnant and for the look. Should I continue to have that curtain of bubbles with the Betta in the tank?

2) Are the foods in the pet stores that say "Betta Food" or "Specifically Designed to Increase the Color of Your Betta", etc. OK to use or would you advise I use something else?

3) What other advice would you give this Betta newbie who is putting the Betta in a 3 gallon tank for his one year old son to enjoy?

Thanks for any and all advice.

TripleB

 

you already have a thread going about this don't you?? I'm sure some experienced betta owners will help you with it...double posts will have eyes

 

you already have a thread going about this don't you?? I'm sure some experienced betta owners will help you with it...double posts will have eyes

I do, but thought it might get a Betta specific response if it were put in an area for Betta enthusiast. Sorry about the double post.

TripleB

 

1) If you put a gang valve on the line so you can control the flow rate, the Betta would love the bubbles - even all the time. Bettas love to play with them, but each Betta has a rate that's comfortable for him/her.

2) HikarI frozen bloodworms and Ocean Nutrition Betta Pro pellets are what we'd recommend for a Betta.

3) Flat glass marbles for the substrata - maybe the rainbow colored ones in the crafts dept. of walmart. Silk or real plants. A cave or bridge with no rough spots inside or outside.

This tank does have a heater and filter currently, right?

 

This tank does have a heater and filter currently, right?

It does have a filter but currently doesn't have the heater in the tank. I ordered a heater previously (still have it) that goes under the gravel, but the water stayed between 76 and 81 without it so I remove it for the neons and guppies I previously had in the tank.

With the heater in the tank it raised the temperature to around 84 or 85 degrees, I believe. Should I put it back in?

I couldn't wait until tomorrow and got him a Betta tonight. I went through about 25 trying to pick out the most beautiful one. The one I got is a dark purplish/blue with dark red accents. Amazing. Dark so he can see it and slow enough so he can follow it. Perfect!!!!

Thanks again to everyone for your advice.

TripleB

 

How many watts is that heater? A heater is a must with a Betta.. you want to keep the temp as steady as possible and 78-80 is ideal. That heater might be too powerful for that small of a tank.

 

It does have a filter but currently doesn't have the heater in the tank. I ordered a heater previously (still have it) that goes under the gravel, but the water stayed between 76 and 81 without it so I remove it for the neons and guppies I previously had in the tank.

With the heater in the tank it raised the temperature to around 84 or 85 degrees, I believe. Should I put it back in?

I couldn't wait until tomorrow and got him a Betta tonight. I went through about 25 trying to pick out the most beautiful one. The one I got is a dark purplish/blue with dark red accents. Amazing. Dark so he can see it and slow enough so he can follow it. Perfect!!!!

Thanks again to everyone for your advice.

TripleB

your betta sounds handsome....but, he will need a heater...and what did u do with the neon?

 

For a 3 gallon tank the heater needs to be a 25 watt heater and the one under the gravel will have him too hot. A betta does well at a constant 78 to 80 degrees but not much variation from that. Less than that and he is going to be susceptible to the cool water diseases like Ich, Velvet and Finrot. More than that unless he is being treated temporarily for Ich and he is living at too fast a speed. Bettas lives are shortened when they are kept in too warm a water (over 80 degrees) for long periods of time. They are definitely tropical fish and have a very narrow allowable frame of optimum conditions to live in.

The heater I would recommend would be the Visi-therm Stealth heater in a 25 watt size as they are not more expensive than the others right now and are the most accurate and dependable heaters to my knowledge. They have lifetime warranties so keep the box and receipt if you purchase one to maintain your warranty.



The food that I recommend for the best in foods are the same ones for the most part. For baby fish I recommend:

3 pellets of this two times a day:



and

a sprinkle of this one time a day:

Freeze-dried Daphnia



Then for a little extra protection:



these are just vitamins for him and will give him a better immune system and better healing capability if he does get sick. (if you order be sure to purchase the Freshwater type)

Just my :. Welcome to Fishlore.com and hope this helps.

Rose

 

How many watts is that heater?

It is a 7.5 watt heater...this one here:

I may give it a shot again tonight until I can get something else. The water temperature this morning was all the way down to 73.8*

Thanks.

TripleB

 

For a 3 gallon tank the heater needs to be a 25 watt heater and the one under the gravel will have him too hot.
The heater I would recommend would be the Visi-therm Stealth heater in a 25 watt size as they are not more expensive than the others right now and are the most accurate and dependable heaters to my knowledge.



The food that I recommend for the best in foods are the same ones for the most part. For baby fish I recommend:

3 pellets of this two times a day:



and

a sprinkle of this one time a day:

Freeze-dried Daphnia



Then for a little extra protection:

The heater I currently have is a 7.5 watt heater: . So I really have not control over the temperature...just on and off.

With the one you recommend, do you set it to a certain temperature and then it cuts itself on and off to maintain that temperature?

Thanks for the links to the food. If I order the heater then I'm definitely going to add some more items to make my son's betta feel more at home and more comfortable.

TripleB

 

It's definitely best to have a heater that you can control the temp on. Those little heaters just keep heating and can cook fish.

 

Yes, the important thing with temperature is to keep a constant and sustained even temperature and the little heater you speak of will only heat depending on the temperature of the room air surrounding the tank. It fluctuates with the change in the room temperature from day to night and that is not good for your fish. When you have an adjustable heater like the one I mentioned, it works just like a small furnace and will keep the water at an even and steady temperature. This makes the chances of keeping the fish healthy much higher.

In a tank that small you will need to get a thermometer to keep track of the temperature as the heater may not be the most accurate with the numbers on the dial. I would suggest the following as they are easy to read and maintain and I use them on all my tanks and have not ever had a temperature problem with them. If the tank temperature is set so the thermometer says 78 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit the bettas do fine.



You may have to start the heater at a setting of 79 degrees and then raise or lower it a degree later. The important thing is to put the heater in the tank after you set the temperature but do not plug it in for at least 10 minutes to allow it to adjust to the water temperature before it starts to heat. I think you will be very pleased with the results if you want to do this.

Rose

 

Thanks for all the information. That's the exact thermometer I'm currently using...I think someone mentioned it about 4 months ago when I was asking about items I needed. It seems to be working great.

I'll probably order the heater you mentioned tonight or tomorrow along with any other supplies I need (see my latest post).

Thanks again for taking the time to respond in detail. I greatly appreciate it!!!

TripleB

 

The heater I would recommend would be the Visi-therm Stealth heater in a 25 watt size as they are not more expensive than the others right now and are the most accurate and dependable heaters to my knowledge. They have lifetime warranties so keep the box and receipt if you purchase one to maintain your warranty.

Do you know if this heater comes with the "holders" shown in the picture?

Thanks for all your help.

TripleB

 

Yes, the suction-cup holders come with the heater.