Here's Viggo!

So I have become obsessed with checking out the bettas every time I enter a pet store, and I couldn't resist this little guy about a week and a half ago. He was in one of the teeny dishes at Petco and one of the least active fish there (maybe he was resting at the time?). He was so charming because he has this "baby face" thing going on with the head and eyes that seem so big compared to his body size. I wanted to get another Hex5 but ended up buying and returning 2 of them because they had noisy filters (whereas my other Hex5 is super quiet). I got frustrated with the Hex5 and decided to try a 2.5 g Mini-Bow because it would fit nicely on my desk where we could watch each other, although I had to buy a different filter for it because I didn't like the one it came with.

Well within a day after putting him in his new tank Viggo was charging all over the place! He is so curious and is always nudging around in his plants and tank decorations. He is so cute to watch when he gets his bursts of energy because he'll charge across the tank and almost do a "slip-n-slide" kind of thing where his body gets away from him and he is practically skidding vertically to a stop! And when I'm cleaning his tank and have to stick my hand in there to arrange his decor he almost tries to sit in my hand.

Since I didn't cycle the tank before I got him, I'm doing a lot of water changes and it'll be slow but I'm okay with that since it means getting him out of that little cup or potentially saving him from another person's "betta bowl." The 2.5 gallons actually seems to be working out very well so far because he acts so active and happy, but down the line I may have to upgrade to a 5 gallon if he starts to act confined. In that case, I guess I'd have a nice hospital tank.

Sorry for the blurriness! Isn't he handsome?

 

Very handsome!! Welcome to the forum Viggo!

 

Okay now that I keep reading more of other people's threads I'm worried that I'm not a good enough betta parent by having him in 2.5 gallons. On other forums people seem to think 2.5 g is a good betta home (but then again some of them buy the 1 gallon minI tanks) but now I can tell that this forum advocates at least 5 gallons. Should I exchange it for a 5 g? It wouldn't be too hard to clean it out really well and I think both sizes use the same filter so I could put the brand new filter cartridge into the box that I'm returning.

What should I do? He seems happy but maybe I'm being naive? Does anyone have experience with both sizes for comparison? I want the best for Viggo.

 

Vigo is one awesome betta.  Some people on here have bettas that actually prefer the somewhat smaller tanks.  a 2.5 gallon that is filtered and heated is fine.  If you want to get a bigger tank, that is fine too.  It really depends on the betta and you.

CherryRose

 

Welcome to the forum, Viggo!

 

The bigger the tank the better. While most of us don't advocate 2.5's, they are fine as long as you keep a careful eye on the temp and water quality. It is definitely agreed that the smaller tanks are more work to keep stable. I think if you can get a 5 that would be great, but if you can't he won't be unhappy.

 

It's definitely better than a cup or a betta bowl.

He's one gorgeous crowntail, I love how vibrant the red is.

 

Once I get an idea in my head it's hard to stop me... I already went out and bought a 5 gallon so now Viggo is checking out his new digs. See the before and after below. And you're probably thinking "where's the heater?" I'm picking it up tomorrow because Petsmart was out of the visi-therm stealth heater that I wanted last time. His tank has been 76-78 between the filter running, the light, and the fact that heat is included in my rent so I keep my apartment very warm But I will set it for 80 once I get the heater tomorrow.

I wish the filter was adjustable on this new tank! Viggo was get sucked in from the inflow so I had to sew some cloth around it, and the outflow was too turbulent so I'm breaking it up a little with a sponge. I still wish I could make it even gentler though...

I can't tell whether Viggo likes his new tank better yet. I think he's still overwhelmed.

 

Very nice tank. He'll like the extra swimming space once he settles in.

 

Very nice looking Super Red crowntail Betta. Welcome Vitto. I like your tank too. Natalie

 

Welcome, Viggo. I love the name and he is so HANDSOME. I love the color and I have the same decoration, but not in use at present. I love the tank and it looks like it has a Bio-wheel filter. He will get used to the flow as soon as he gets his swimming muscles built up. He will be okay. They are just not used to current and it takes a while.

Congratulations and welcome to you both.

Rose

 

Thanks everyone! I got his visi-therm stealth heater today but I haven't stuck it in there yet. His water temp has now been 80-81 in this new tank, even first thing in the morning after the light has been out for hours. Is it normal for the filter to make the water so warm? I wonder if I could be causing the motor to overheat because I have a thin cloth around the inflow and a sponge at the outflow so maybe it could burn out from the strain? I hope not. My Eclipse 12 came to me really noisy and after 2 weeks the motor burned out altogether, and the customer service person told me that the impeller probably didn't fit in there quite right and put so much strain on the motor that it overheated and died.

Rose, yup he's got a Bio-wheel filter. This is the same brand as the Hex5 except $10 more (which you probably know because I think we both like to hit up Walmart! I really like that tank ornament!) but I really like the shape of this tank because it gives him more back and forth swimming room. But for some reason this filter really seems stronger than the one in the Hex 5. I watched Viggo's fins get sucked into the slots twice before I sewed the cloth on and he had to swim furiously to free himself. I felt so bad! At first I was going to just buy the same purple mini-bow in the larger size but this tank seemed more worth the money.

Should I put more things in there for him to swim through, like a big leafy plant or something? One of his favorite things to do is "crawl" through small spaces like between the thermometer and the glass (well acrylic) and underneath that small plastic "bush" that is attached to the rock ornament. It's pretty funny to watch
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Edited to add: I just took the cloth off over the intake because I saw that not much water was going through and I guess the cloth probably blocked some particles from being filtered. I hope he learns to deal with it.

 

I find that different levels help, try sloping the gravel in certain areas, it gives him the illusion of depth.

 

Good idea with the gravel. I have seen people do that before and it looked really nice. I'll have to pick some more up.

 

Dory does the same thing with the thermometer and plants, trying to squeeze around everything I have a lot of tall leafy plants in the back of the tank that he adores... so I would probably advocate getting some of those.

Looks like a really nice tank though, an an absolutely adorable fish. I'm sure Viggo loves his new home

Whitney

 

I just bought my third Eclipse 12 and my guys that I put in there have learned to deal with the current in there and to love the tanks. The current is higher in there but the baffles I made out of perforated plastic canvas slows it down without putting strain on the filter. I love them as the bettas go completely crazy in them and the other fish have more room. I will eventually replace all my 5 gallon tanks with them.

Rose

 

Wow, bettas in 12 gallons = very lucky fishies!

 

He is an adorable little guy and so lucky to have such a caring betta mommy to get him his own 5 gal!

 

They have to share them with cories, loaches and otos and when it gets here a lovely Zebra Pleco that I got for Valentines Day. (NOT all in one tank)

Rose