Britny
- #1
Hello everyone,
My name is Britny. I recently inherited a male betta from a friend who moved to another state. He was being kept in a small "fish clock" that was very dirty and bare, without a heater or filter. I have been considering getting a betta for some time now, so I decided to go all-in and get him a proper tank. I am hoping I can give folks a quick run-down of what I have done so far, so that I can get some advice and constructive criticism. I used to have a 10-gallon tank with guppies and mollies as a poorly-informed teenager, but I am totally new to betta care.
I am limited on space, so I decided on the 3-gallon Tetra cube aquarium. It is currently furnished with a very coarse sand substrate (size is somewhere between traditional gravel and beach sand), the Whisper filter that came with the tank, a Hydor Theo 25w heater set to 79 degrees Fahrenheit, a small ceramic hideaway hut, four Marimo moss balls, a moss cactus sculpture that I purchased from Etsy, and a few of those floating lilypad-looking plants.
I allowed the tank to cycle for about 10 days before adding Mister Smish (which he has been affectionately named by my boyfriend). I added the appropriate amounts of water neutralizer and discus buffer, as well as the "special blend" brand of bacteria as directed by my LFS owner. The pH of the tank never quite came down past 7.6, and the clock water was 6.8, so at the advice of the LFS owner, I floated him in a ziploc bag clipped to the side of the aquarium and gradually added tank water over a period of about 3 hours until he was acclimated, then dumped him into the new tank. He seemed to get on just fine, and swam around exploring actively for the first few days.
He is still doing well. He is eating, pooping, and active (which, as a veterinary technician, I know are the important three!). I just want someone else to virtually "look over" my setup to make sure I haven't made any unforgivable mistakes. Thanks everyone!
My name is Britny. I recently inherited a male betta from a friend who moved to another state. He was being kept in a small "fish clock" that was very dirty and bare, without a heater or filter. I have been considering getting a betta for some time now, so I decided to go all-in and get him a proper tank. I am hoping I can give folks a quick run-down of what I have done so far, so that I can get some advice and constructive criticism. I used to have a 10-gallon tank with guppies and mollies as a poorly-informed teenager, but I am totally new to betta care.
I am limited on space, so I decided on the 3-gallon Tetra cube aquarium. It is currently furnished with a very coarse sand substrate (size is somewhere between traditional gravel and beach sand), the Whisper filter that came with the tank, a Hydor Theo 25w heater set to 79 degrees Fahrenheit, a small ceramic hideaway hut, four Marimo moss balls, a moss cactus sculpture that I purchased from Etsy, and a few of those floating lilypad-looking plants.
I allowed the tank to cycle for about 10 days before adding Mister Smish (which he has been affectionately named by my boyfriend). I added the appropriate amounts of water neutralizer and discus buffer, as well as the "special blend" brand of bacteria as directed by my LFS owner. The pH of the tank never quite came down past 7.6, and the clock water was 6.8, so at the advice of the LFS owner, I floated him in a ziploc bag clipped to the side of the aquarium and gradually added tank water over a period of about 3 hours until he was acclimated, then dumped him into the new tank. He seemed to get on just fine, and swam around exploring actively for the first few days.
He is still doing well. He is eating, pooping, and active (which, as a veterinary technician, I know are the important three!). I just want someone else to virtually "look over" my setup to make sure I haven't made any unforgivable mistakes. Thanks everyone!