Just wondering, what is your opinion on how much a betta would cost.

I do not know a lot about bettas, but I know one day I am going to get one. This thread was meant to see your opinions on how much the tank and stuff would cost.
this would include preferably a 5 gallon tank, a heater, I might want to try one live plant but probably not, a filter, gravel, and other decorations.
I would love to see your opinions!
I was also think about like a 10 gallon split tank might cost less?
Thanks

 

I don't have a number for you, but it's worth noting that since aquariums are the kind of thing that lots of people get really enthusiastic about and then lose interest in, you can save yourself an enormous amount of money by keeping an eye on your local second hand classifieds, garage sales, council cleanups and the like.

Often you'll find parts or entire setups cheap or free- you then just need to make sure that a) it still works/doesn't leak/etc, and b) to clean it appropriately if there's any risk of transmission of disease, chemical contamination, etc.

 

A brand new 10 gallon setup (without a divider) plus a heater, sponge filter, thermometer and gravel can run you about $60. And you would have an extra filter for when MTD sets in

Of course this estimate is without your betta. The betta depends on the tail type and where you purchase it

 

If you buy just the 5.5 gallon tank, it's around $12-$15ish, at least around here. Then you'll need a top for it unless you buy a kit which is roughly $10-$15.

If you do decide to get a live plant you'll need adequate lighting and depending on the type of plant(s), that may get pricey. For my 5.5 I am going to be spending almost $100 on a 16" LED light for low-medium lighting.

Heaters for small tanks in my experience are a little difficult to find, but I'd say maybe in the general range of $20-$50 for a nice quality one. I don't use heaters though as my house temperature is 76-78 degrees all the time and climate outside is in the 100's in the summer, so my price may be totally off on that one.

Gravel at Petco is $5 for 5 lbs.

Filter prices can really vary tremendously but you'd want one that is small and has a slow flow for a betta. I would recommend a sponge filter, I just got one for my betta and it's awesome. Very little flow but still adequate filtration. I got mine for $5, the airline tubing that connects to it is ~$2, and the air pump I got was $6 at Walmart.

Other decorations can also vary depending on what you get. I use terra cotta pots for little "houses" because they come in all different sizes and are cheap. I got four of them for like a dollar each at Walmart. Fake plants are probably a few dollars each. Remember to get the soft fabric ones because bettas have sensitive fins. There are some aquarium decorations that are not really "natural looking" that are just for fun or laughs and the prices on those vary quite a bit in my experience.

Total, if you wanted just the base aquarium and lid, heater, gravel, and filter, I'd say it would cost you somewhere around $85-$100+ if you add up the averages of the estimates I gave you. But that's if you bought everything brand new, plus my estimates may be a little off considering I guesstimated some of those numbers from my past experiences. Like someone else here mentioned, it's great to find used setups and it saves you a ton of money.

I don't really recommend splitting a 10 gallon for bettas. I almost did it once but decided against it just because (even if you've heard bettas like small spaces and naturally live in "mud puddles" or "small polluted areas" which is not true) I'd like to give my bettas the most space to roam as possible. I have a lone betta in a ten gallon and he is living the life. When I tell people that my betta lives in a ten gallon they always tell me "That must be one happy betta!" And he is. Also, if you wanted to start a brand new set up for a 10 gallon, I would imagine it would end up being more expensive, just because of all the little things you'd need more of. That's just my take on it.

I hope this helped give you a general idea at least of costs you'd need for a brand new setup. I've poured hundreds of dollars into my five tanks already and it's not a cheap hobby as I'm sure you already know, haha I'm sorry if any of my estimates were off! Feel free to correct me if necessary. I'm just trying to help. Good luck with your new fishie!

~Lovetuv

 

Cost depends on a lot of things, so many variables here. I'll break it down from what my own ten gallon betta setup.

Starting with the tank $10.00 (during dollar per gallon sale at petco)

API Freshwater liquid water test $21.00 (amazon)

Omega minI betta pellets: $6.99

frozen brine shrimp: $5.99

glass tank lid: $11.99

Flourite substrate $22.00

digital Thermometer $6.99 ( from amazon)

Heater Eheim Jagger: $20.25

Sponge filter + airline tube + air pump : $17.00

I do live low tech plants so I bought a finnex planted plus led light for $55.00 (on sale on amazon)

All my live plants around $35.00 (got many on sale, amazon, that pet place, peabodysparadise)

Driftwood: $15.00 (small size)

Now my betta I got online on ebay for $30 (includes shipping) because the local pet stores around me don't seem to keep healthy bettas. I'm really happy I went that route too, as she is a pretty cool betta. You'll probably find cheaper in a local store.

My total is = $258.21

I should add that I purchased things paycheck by paycheck. I also did fishless cycle so that gave me plenty of time to get things very slowly. I didn't spend all of this money at once lol.

 

I have a 5 gallon Betta tank and I spent $70. I will say that I do have nice deep sand bed and plenty of aquatic plants. Thankfully I found a good light in a garage sale for only $5. That's the place for me. In this case it was cheeper to get a set but for lighting and bigger projects I would definitely look around garage sales, eBay, Craigslist, and LFS for good deals.

 

I'm finding heaters for 18-25 for a ten gallon tank

My tank was used, 14.99, but a good starter kit by Top Fin has tank, top and filter for about 40. This is pretty good, as the average cost of a filter is 25-30, and a new tank is about 25.

My prices come from in-store at Walmart/petsmart/ pet value, which is where I often go

Substrate(gravel )was about 12 dollars I think.. I used pool filter sand instead, but I have live plants. Those run me about 3.99-7.99 each. I like water wisteria because it grows under the light that comes in a tank kit, and makes a great leaf-hammock for the Betta to sleep in

Since I already had a filter from an older tank, my setup was about 30dollars so far....for the fish and tank, plus food and a couple of plants

I still need a heater, but have set my house thermostat to keep a room temperature which holds water at 78....so I have time to look for one I like

I expect to spend about 50-60 by the time I have finished

 

It gets pricey fast. Oddly enough, the 5 gallon tanks cost more than the larger tanks at petsmart and petco. The cheapest bettas at the chain stores are around $5. If you have room, your best bet is to go on craigslist and find a 10 gallon setup cheap, or just a tank. Then go to the store and get what you don't have. In the end it will probably cost over $100 even for a 10 gallon, if you buy new.

Tank
Stand
Filter
Gravel
Decorations
Plants
fish net
API test kit
flourish (live plants)
Water conditioner
Fish
gravel vac

I'm sure I'm forget some things. Also, live plant your tank right away. Tropical java ferns survive just fine in low light. Don't do like me and spend about $30 on fake plants only to take them out and spend about another $30 on live plants a few months later. Once you have your tank fully stocked, you'll try to figure out something to add, or change. That's when you'll buy live plants to replace all of the fake ones you just spent money on.

 

Probably around $40-$80I know you can usually find cheap aquariums and aquarium supplies on Craigslist

 

Right now PetCo (I believe) is doing their dollar a gallon sale. So:
Tank (10 gallon): $10
Air Stone/Pump: $20.00
Heater (AquaTop on Amazon): $12.00 - 75 Watt is plenty for 10 Gallon
Substrate (Sand): $10-$15
A plant or two: $10-$15
Hood: $20
Lights:$20
Python: $15
Sponge: $4
Bucket for Water Change:$10
API Master Test Kit: $25 on Amazon.
Thermometer: $4
Filter: $20
Water Conditioner (Big Bottle of Aqueon: $13
Optional,but recommended, hiding spot:$20

I rounded some of this up a few dollars, but in all honesty that's what you are looking at. I even added the little things that people don't think about like cleaning supplies and water test supplies. I may have forgotten something, but I wanted to make sure you're fully prepared and not finding that you're spending a lot extra for small incidentals. Such as a bucket or sponge.

As for the Betta themselves the basic ones can go for $3.99. But some can get up to $25-$35 dollars. All depending on the tail, etc. me personally, I like raising baby fish into adults. When I do my Betta tank, I'll be raising a baby.

Fish keeping is expensive. But well worth it in my opinion. My 10 gallon in a dorm room is at about $250 right now. For investment. And that's without me buying a stand because I use a dorm dresser which is stable.

 

for a 5-10 gal betta tank without plants since you said 1 or no plants:

tank $10-15 (10 gal at $1 per gal, I found a 5.5 gal at a thrift store for $15)
heater $17
gravel $5
filter $15
glass top $14 or hood with built in light $21
light $30+
drift wood $10 (optional but they like it)
cave $1-10 (new tea light candle holders $1 at target, terra cotta pots $1.75 at craft store, betta log or cave at pet store $5 or many more choices)
fake silk plants $2-5 each (optional) I'd go with the silk ones as the leaves are softer and safer for a betta's delicate fins
total = $69-121

5 gallon kits that come with a hood and light and filter start at $30 and up
and you'd still need the gravel, decor, heater. Some of the better kits come with a heater.

Fluval makes a couple nice kits starting at $70+

Where I live we have a site called craigslist where people buy/sell/trade used stuff and I've seen complete small set ups go for $20

With this and everyone else's posts you can see you can spend as little or as much as you want. It all depends how hard you want to search for a deal, if you care if things are new etc. The $1 per gallon sale really is the best to me.

For the bettas themselves. I have one I paid about $5 for and one I paid $20 for and both are beautiful and healthy. again it's personal choice. I've never ordered live fish on line but I have heard others have had great success.

Good luck, have fun shopping!

Edit: actually I totally agree on the API master test kit so add $21, and a thermometer + $3

Edit again: I have to be honest here, I've bought way more for my bettas as I can't help myself. eventually I added plants and got them bigger tanks etc. But we're just talking "to start you out" here.

 

Right now PetCo (I believe) is doing their dollar a gallon sale. So:
Tank (10 gallon): $10
Air Stone/Pump: $20.00
Heater (AquaTop on Amazon): $12.00 - 75 Watt is plenty for 10 Gallon
Substrate (Sand): $10-$15
A plant or two: $10-$15
Hood: $20
Lights:$20
Python: $15
Sponge: $4
Bucket for Water Change:$10
API Master Test Kit: $25 on Amazon.
Thermometer: $4
Filter: $20
Water Conditioner (Big Bottle of Aqueon: $13
Optional,but recommended, hiding spot:$20

I rounded some of this up a few dollars, but in all honesty that's what you are looking at. I even added the little things that people don't think about like cleaning supplies and water test supplies. I may have forgotten something, but I wanted to make sure you're fully prepared and not finding that you're spending a lot extra for small incidentals. Such as a bucket or sponge.

As for the Betta themselves the basic ones can go for $3.99. But some can get up to $25-$35 dollars. All depending on the tail, etc. me personally, I like raising baby fish into adults. When I do my Betta tank, I'll be raising a baby.

Fish keeping is expensive. But well worth it in my opinion. My 10 gallon in a dorm room is at about $250 right now. For investment. And that's without me buying a stand because I use a dorm dresser which is stable.

Yeah I ended up spending over $400 setting up a 20 gallon high because I bought everything brand new. I should have went on craigslist though. The little things add up. Once you're setup though, a freshwater doesn't cost too much. I feed my fish once every other day and still haven't run out of the food I bought 2 years ago.