Moving Betta to Larger Tank

Hello, I started keeping fish in February of this year, and through the ups and downs, I found that I very much like betta fish over the guppies and platies that I've been keeping. I've had at least three die in two month periods each time, and I ended up taking out the filter in my current one's tank (thinking it was stress-related from the current) and he's been doing great. However, I've been having thoughts of upgrading him from his 5 gallon to a new 14 gallon, and I already have it set up and cycled. I put all the water from my 10 gallon guppy tank in there and all new gravel, but same filter and such. I have a few questions before I go about moving him:

1. I don't have many guppies left (I believe 2, maybe a few whiteclouds) but should he be okay with them?
2. Is having a filter going in the 14 gallon going to be safe for him? The tank is a cube so it's a little taller than my last one, so I wasn't sure how much it would affect him. (for reference, I'm using the Aqueon 10 filter)
3. Somewhat different from the previous questions, but how would you go about transferring a betta (or any fish, really) to another tank safely so that they may properly adjust the different levels?

 

Hello, I started keeping fish in February of this year, and through the ups and downs, I found that I very much like betta fish over the guppies and platies that I've been keeping. I've had at least three die in two month periods each time, and I ended up taking out the filter in my current one's tank (thinking it was stress-related from the current) and he's been doing great. However, I've been having thoughts of upgrading him from his 5 gallon to a new 14 gallon, and I already have it set up and cycled. I put all the water from my 10 gallon guppy tank in there and all new gravel, but same filter and such. I have a few questions before I go about moving him:

1. I don't have many guppies left (I believe 2, maybe a few whiteclouds) but should he be okay with them?
2. Is having a filter going in the 14 gallon going to be safe for him? The tank is a cube so it's a little taller than my last one, so I wasn't sure how much it would affect him. (for reference, I'm using the Aqueon 10 filter)
3. Somewhat different from the previous questions, but how would you go about transferring a betta (or any fish, really) to another tank safely so that they may properly adjust the different levels?

1. If the Betta is a male he more than likely will kill the guppies, if you're worried about the guppies harming the Betta, that's near impossible. Females still can have decent aggression as well, really depends on the fish.
2. As long as the filter doesn't have a lot of flow (Bettas hate any flow), and it's fully cycled, it should be more than safe for him.
3. Make sure the temperatures are as identical as possible, it's dechlorinated as usual if it's from the tap and you should be good to go. As for transporting the fish, siphon out some water from the tank he's currently in and put him in there. The fish will be fine as long as it's not too long, then you can pour the water from the container/bucket that he's in into the new tank. As long as the water source is the same he won't have anything else to adjust to, as long as you don't use Ph additives or anything.

 

1. If the Betta is a male he more than likely will kill the guppies, if you're worried about the guppies harming the Betta, that's near impossible. Females still can have decent aggression as well, really depends on the fish.
2. As long as the filter doesn't have a lot of flow (Bettas hate any flow), and it's fully cycled, it should be more than safe for him.
3. Make sure the temperatures are as identical as possible, it's dechlorinated as usual if it's from the tap and you should be good to go. As for transporting the fish, siphon out some water from the tank he's currently in and put him in there. The fish will be fine as long as it's not too long, then you can pour the water from the container/bucket that he's in into the new tank. As long as the water source is the same he won't have anything else to adjust to, as long as you don't use Ph additives or anything.

The filter has a decent flow, but do you think I would be able to get away with taking out the filter all together? I had a hard time cleaning my 5 gallon after taking the filter out, but I'm thinking that with the larger area it will be easier to clean? I think I may eventually get a sponge filter but seeing as I just upgraded, I've spent quite a bit of money already and I'd like to save where I can if possible.

And I feel a bit silly having asked the last question. Both tanks use the same water source so they're very similar to one another. I'm just afraid of it being a shock to his system.

 

do not keep guppies with bettas, especially if they are colourful, or have longer fins, because bettas can mistake them for a betta fish, and they can both nip at each others' fins.

 

The filter has a decent flow, but do you think I would be able to get away with taking out the filter all together? I had a hard time cleaning my 5 gallon after taking the filter out, but I'm thinking that with the larger area it will be easier to clean? I think I may eventually get a sponge filter but seeing as I just upgraded, I've spent quite a bit of money already and I'd like to save where I can if possible.

And I feel a bit silly having asked the last question. Both tanks use the same water source so they're very similar to one another. I'm just afraid of it being a shock to his system.

What do you mean take the filter out, like having no filter? Also, the two main priorities of acclimating a fish to avoid shock is just Ph and temperature, so the Ph is the same and just make sure you have a thermometer or something so there's no shock there.

 

Thank you guys for the info about the water. I guess I'm just afraid of shock because I've had fish die shortly after getting them, although that could be a rough acclimation rather than something actually being wrong with the water.

I ended up browsing the pet store I work at and picked out a few of the more docile female bettas, and they are great in my tank. They haven't messed with the guppies and whiteclouds and one of them actually swims alongside them sometimes. Haven't had any problems with them and my filter, although I've been monitoring that closely and might still end up switching to a sponge filter.

 

I use sponge filters in all my tanks and recommend them highly. IMO the only reason to not use a sponge filter in a Betta tank is if you really dislike how they look and have no way to hide it (though a Betta tank really should be planted so you can put plants around the black part of the sponge).

If you decide to switch you will need to run both filters for six weeks or so in order to get the sponge properly cycled, which won't solve your immediate problem.

If you are having issues with shock and acclimation, you should try doing a drip acclimation next time. I've never found it to be necessary for a Betta but there could be an issue with your local tap water that could be causing your problems.

 

Is there a specific light I will be needing for the live plants? I've been wanting to switch over to live for a while but I haven't had the proper set up and I'd rather not have to spend a bunch of money if I don't have to due to lack of knowledge.

I actually did the drip acclimation on my most recent two female bettas. Not exactly the same thing, as I don't have the tools necessary to do it easily, but I did manage to scoop out and replace the water over a short period of time, and I really think it helped them and I think I will continue to do it this way (regardless of the type of fish).

 

The specific light you need depends on which plants and what your goals are- plenty of people do just fine with a cheap Nicrew light or even a shop light! My first tank light when I got into plants was a €20 LED clamp lamp hooked up to a timer and my plants did great.