Jleem's 5.5 Gallon Tanks

[JLeeM]

So I went to the store for ONE THING.....and lost all self control.

I lost it over another betta of all things. I can't really get a picture in his cup because his water is mostly blue, and he's pretty much solid white twin tail.

I splurged, and got all the stuff for him a 5.5 gallon home. About to set it all up. Pictures will eventually be posted.

I can not let this happen again. Lol.

EDIT: The beginning of page 7 starts the second 5.5 gallon build for those wondering why the title says tanks plural.

 

[Lunnietic]

This is why I am not allowed to go into pet stores alone LOL.

Luckily I have two empty tanks at my disposal.

Good luck!

 

[JLeeM]

This is why I am not allowed to go into pet stores alone LOL.

Luckily I have two empty tanks at my disposal.

Good luck!

I always do really good when I go. Like the most I splurge for is a snail or something. Not this time. I had to get a whole new tank.

 

[Lunnietic]

I always do really good when I go. Like the most I splurge for is a snail or something. Not this time. I had to get a whole new tank.

I wish mine was just a snail. My other half has to talk me out of basically anything living that I see. Snakes, turtles, guppies...the list goes on. I can spend hours inside a pet store. We are lucky if I leave with *a* plant. Or *a* toy.

 

[JLeeM]

Well, it took a bit but I got it set up. I even lucked up with a really nice looking filter that has an adjustable flow! As you can see, he's temp acclimating right now. You can probably tell how blue his water is too. I'm not sure if I'm going to slowly pH acclimate him or not. I literally bought him 5 minutes away from home.

 

[Lunnietic]

Oh wow! He is a very pretty boy! I wish I knew why they kept them in blue water cups...it only makes it harder to see them.

 

[Cheesewoman]

Oh he's just stunning, and so lucky look at his lovely new home!

I do exactly the same thing, splurge whenever I see an animal in need... but I haven't seen Bettas kept in cups here in the UK, I wonder if it's just done like that in USA?

There's a Betta I have my eyes on in my LFS... he's been there for months now and is a stark white, but his tail fins are really tattered so I don't think a anyone wants him. I've already named him Barry, just need to get my tank cycled so I can bring him home... COME ON TANK!!!

 

[Bry]

I accidentally got my first Betta back in March. He started in a 2.5 gallon tank with a plastic plant. Within a week he was upgraded to a five gallon with five live plants and a snail friend.
Then I went to my local shop to buy things for my ball python and accidentally bought another Betta! He now lives in my 20 gallon with some Neons and a snail.

 

[JLeeM]

Oh wow! He is a very pretty boy! I wish I knew why they kept them in blue water cups...it only makes it harder to see them.

I can't wait to actually get a good shot of him. I've wondered before if the blue water is something like methylene blue, but figured they wouldn't "waste" that on the bettas in cups. It does make them a lot harder to see though.

Oh he's just stunning, and so lucky look at his lovely new home!

I do exactly the same thing, splurge whenever I see an animal in need... but I haven't seen Bettas kept in cups here in the UK, I wonder if it's just done like that in USA?

There's a Betta I have my eyes on in my LFS... he's been there for months now and is a stark white, but his tail fins are really tattered so I don't think a anyone wants him. I've already named him Barry, just need to get my tank cycled so I can bring him home... COME ON TANK!!!

Like I said, I completely lost control yesterday. I've left behind bettas I wanted a lot more than this one, but for some reason......

I wish I knew somewhere that doesn't keep bettas in cups. Well, besides the one place I've been too that doesn't. It doesn't really matter that much there because it seems like a horrible store. Oh, and he was trying to pass off a solid red crowntail as "rare", and wanted $20 for him.

I accidentally got my first Betta back in March. He started in a 2.5 gallon tank with a plastic plant. Within a week he was upgraded to a five gallon with five live plants and a snail friend.
Then I went to my local shop to buy things for my ball python and accidentally bought another Betta! He now lives in my 20 gallon with some Neons and a snail.

This whole hobby started when my girlfriend and I bought a betta and a 0.75 gallon cube in February of 2017. Sadly, we lost him after a few months and upgrades (0.75, 1.5, 10, 20 long). We found another betta though that now shares the 20 long with some harlequin rasboras, corys, and a couple snails.

In addition, that little betta caused me to also have,

10 Gallon
40 Gallon Breeder
this new 5.5
and I already want a 75 when we move
Lol

 

[Fanatic]

Great! Not so great for the loss of self-control
Haha, who cares right?

My obsession has caused me to start off with my 2.5 gallon bowfront, and upgrade.
I currently have my 55 gallon, 31 gallon, 26 gallon, 20 gallon, 10 gallon, 5.5 gallon, and my 2.5 gallon.

 

[JLeeM]

So, little guy is hard to take pictures of for two reasons.

1. He's either very curious or threatened by people looking at him because he'll rush to the front glass, look a second, and then dart away.

2. He's close to solid white so the light glares off of him, practically making him glow.

Anyway, this is the best picture so far.

 

[Bogart16]

He's very pretty. I'm sure he'll be even more colorful once he's had a few weeks to adjust to his new home.

I always look at the bettas when I go to the store too. And then have to remind myself I can't justify a 4th tank.

Did you manage to sink one of those floating betta logs on the left side?

 

[JLeeM]

He's very pretty. I'm sure he'll be even more colorful once he's had a few weeks to adjust to his new home.

I always look at the bettas when I go to the store too. And then have to remind myself I can't justify a 4th tank.

Did you manage to sink one of those floating betta logs on the left side?

No it's just a little log decoration from PetSmart. I've got three of those all in different tanks because I've had several fish like them, including a betta. Same deal with the tower. I've got two of those. Lol.

 

[JLeeM]

Okay, sorry to sound like a broken record player, but I got a shot quite a bit better. Still not the greatest, but I'm working with an Android mobile camera.

I'm hoping he colors up a lot to where you can't see his spine, organs, and veins. Lol. I'd even be okay with his gray streaks growing some.

Something I've noticed already is that he seems a lot more aggressive than my other bettas. While trying to get this picture, he kept flaring at and chasing his own reflection. Neither of my other bettas ever did that very much, if at all. Should I try to do anything about this to prevent stress? Or let him have at it for exercise?

Trying to decide when to try feeding him the first time too.

 

[JLeeM]

Hey guys.

Actually looking for a little advice this time.

So, for this betta, I just went with the 5.5 gallon kit. It being on sale really helped with that decision. Also, I really like the looks of the filter. It's a TopFin Silentstream 10 Power Filter. It even has an adjustable flow rate (good for bettas). Full gph though is 85, and I only need like 55 for this small tank.

Well, obviously, it didn't come with the best media. It came with the standard carbon/floss cartridge and a blue plastic thing that's supposedly supposed to grow bacteria on it. I don't see that happening very well though.

I thought about getting a small media bag, putting some established clay biomax from another tank in it, and trying to slide it down in place of the blue thing. Thoughts, opinions, ideas? Here's a picture to better show how it looks, and what space I have to work with.

 

[Fanatic]

Hey guys.

Actually looking for a little advice this time.

So, for this betta, I just went with the 5.5 gallon kit. It being on sale really helped with that decision. Also, I really like the looks of the filter. It's a TopFin Silentstream 10 Power Filter. It even has an adjustable flow rate (good for bettas). Full gph though is 85, and I only need like 55 for this small tank.

Well, obviously, it didn't come with the best media. It came with the standard carbon/floss cartridge and a blue plastic thing that's supposedly supposed to grow bacteria on it. I don't see that happening very well though.

I thought about getting a small media bag, putting some established clay biomax from another tank in it, and trying to slide it down in place of the blue thing. Thoughts, opinions, ideas? Here's a picture to better show how it looks, and what space I have to work with.
View attachment 441787

Certainly, that should work!
I would suppose it will fit in that space unless you pack the bag too tightly.

 

[JLeeM]

Certainly, that should work!
I would suppose it will fit in that space unless you pack the bag too tightly.

I'd like to eventually find something to replace the carbon pack with too. Can't put anything too thick though or it'll take up water space, which cuts down on the gph.

 

[JLeeM]

Two things in this post.

1. How long should it take a brand new 5.5 gallon tank and filter, with one betta to show ammonia?

2. Any name ideas for the little guy? So far we have,
Sephiroth
Ghost
Casper

 

[midna]

sephiroth l o l... i like casper! i'm thinking about getting a white/pale betta if one calls out to me

 

[Fanatic]

Two things in this post.

1. How long should it take a brand new 5.5 gallon tank and filter, with one betta to show ammonia?

2. Any name ideas for the little guy? So far we have,
Sephiroth
Ghost
Casper

View attachment 442443

Well, saying this in the place that the tank isn’t cycled, then I would expect ammonia to show up within a day or two. It shouldn’t take too long for it to spike up, but of yoy have the tank cycled, nothing to worry about.

Here’s a list of named for you to try

Casper
Prism
Emanuel
Ghost
Sephiroth
Perót
Jacques
Alver