Keeping a betta in a 20 gal...

I am currently reading up on bettas and I must say, I've taken an interest in the breed. I'm considering a male betta and maybe one apple or mystery snail as his tank mate. There are bigger fish I want to get first but in the future I'm considering keeping just a blue male betta by himself (or perhaps with a large snail) in a 20 gal. It seems standard to give a betta a 5-10 gal tank but does anyone keep one by itself in an even larger tank? If possible, I'd rather not buy a 10 (unless it's a quarantine tank) and would like to give him a lot of space.

 

I'm sure the Betta would LOVE a 20 gallon tank. Just give him lots of plants and a large cave to hide in and explore. You could put some cories in there with him and some Otos if you have an algae problem (just make sure you feed them if there is not much algae) as they are among the very few fish that are definitely compatible with a Betta. I'm sure he would be a very happy boy cruising around his big tank like a KING!

 

Alright sounds good!  ;D That's what I was hoping. I'll start with just a blue betta and snail and if I think he's getting bored (which hopefully he won't with that amount of space just for him) then I might add some corries or an oto. I'll probably just put him and the large snail in it though.

 

Sounds like you will make one lucky betta very VERY happy!

 

Sounds great! If you're looking for a great Betta go to [/b][/url]. I've heard nothing but good about them and they probably can set you up with a healthy blue betta full of attitude.

 

Wow.. that is going to be one lucky betta! 20 gallons is so huge for just a single fish.. even though it's awesome.. MAN.. I'd be tempted to get a whole mess of cories lol..
Post pics when you have it all set up!
Are you planning on getting a betta from a local petstore? Or a large chain store like Petsmart?

If you have the funds, you should check out aquabid... there are some VERY gorgeous bettas being sold if you're willing to spend a bit more $$... but then again you have to worry about them being shipped and all that stuff... and yeah.. I'm rambling lol...

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! And don't forget... photos photos photos!! hehe

 

While you definitely can get a show quality Betta online, I prefer to rescue a Betta from a cup at a store. They just NEED good homes so badly and most will end up dying in the store or going to live in a tiny bowl or child's nightlight and suffering a miserable existance until they die from disease and neglect. Your choice though. Any Betta will be lucky to have such a large nice home.
I so wish I could win a lottery and have a whole room full of 10-20 gallon tanks filled with rescued Bettas. Taking care of them would be my fulltime job.

 

I might get one from Pet Supermarket since it's closer, we don't have a PetSmart near us. If not then I'll go to my LFS called Wet Pets and rescue one out of a tiny bowl. I'd like to have the luxury of possibly keeping more than one but I just wouldn't at this time.

 

We all started with just one, but soon found out Bettas are like potato chips, you can't have just one!   

 

I only really have space for a 10 gallon but a 20 gallon would be a betta estate pretty much. In a 5 gallon or 10 gallon they are very curious, active and happy. In a 20 gallon I think that you might want to make sure you have taller plants or decorations in case the betta wants to rest near the surface--they need to come up for air now and then.

 

We only have 3 Bettas now, but are going to get more.. it's true, you can't have just 1. There are so many Bettas to be rescued at places like petsmart and the even worse petco. Even though we want to get Bettas from Miami Aquariums because of their reputation and love of Bettas, we still are going to rescue the worst-off Bettas from petco (that are sure to die in the store because they look so bad off & people will pass them by), do our best to nurse them back to health and then find them good homes (making sure they get nice tanks). I wish the manager of our petco wasn't so cheap that he won't discount sick or almost-dead bettas any, but it will be worth it to save the ones that we can.

You could get a good tank divider for the 20 gallon and have room for 2 Bettas.. just be sure they can't get over the top of it if you do.

 

I suggest if you have room for it that you get the 20 gallon long tank instead of the regular high tank. Bettas don't care much for deep water anyways and he'd have lots of space to swim back and forth. 

I am planning on reducing the number of tanks I have by buying a 20 gallon long tank and dividing it into four 5 gallon sections so I can keep 4 fish in one tank. Then I can keep one 10 gallon divided and one 5 gallon for a total of 3 tanks and 7 fish. Right now 5 tanks is getting ridiculous!

Should you ever decide to get another Betta the 20 gallon long can easily be split into two large 10 gallon sections.