New betta

[Alasse]

My son picked out his betta today...and he named him 'Longfin' *L*...but knowing my son that may change.

Longfin is currently residing in my tropical tank until we can find the correct size heater.....the smallest i've seen is 25W....and while the lfs staff assure me that will be ok...i'll just have a look at a few other places first....i'll try to get some pics of him later when he settles in

My son picked a plant for 'his' tank...so its in...he wants to pick out his own ornament for it. And as he's paying for it all himself (minus the tank), goodness knows what it could end up with *L*....prolly a skull or something...anyway he loves his new fishy

My son is not too keen on the pink/black gravel *L*...well that's what I had spare so in it went. Once he proves to me that he will care for 'Longfin' properly, I'll buy a larger tank for him and he can choose the gravel himself *L*

He bought a live plant for the tank...so it has something in there...i'll add more pics as he adds things to it

 

[Phloxface]

How big is the tank? It looks like the Top Fin 5 gallon one you have there. If so I recommend either a Visi-therm Stealth 50 watt heater or an "All Glass Aquarium" 50 watt heater (this one is smaller in size and fits good in smaller tanks) Both are top of the line heaters with life-time warranty and have exact temp control knob. You don't want to get a cheap heater with a +/- control knob. It is hard to adjust the proper temp and they can break and overheat. Of all the tank equipment this is the one thing you don't want to skimp on. Don't worry that it's 50 watt. I have the All Glass Aquarium brand heaters in my 5 gallon tanks and they keep the temp a steady 82F (or whatever I set it to)
Congratulations to your son on his excellent choice of pet! Bettas are awesome fish! Tell him to make sure not to overfeed him. Bettas are VERY prone to constipation and it can kill them. They should be fed 2-3 times a day about 2 pellets each time (HikarI Betta Bio-Gold pellets are best and easy to find) Avoid the Wardleys Betta food as the pellets are too large. Flake food is usually not eaten by Bettas and will dirty the tank. Freeze-Dried Bloodworms can be given IN PLACE of pellets a couple times a week though not all the time as they are high in protein and can plug them up.
Please hang out here and read the posts and ask questions. We are a friendly bunch and always willing to help out. We'd love to see a pic of Longfin when you get him all set up!

 

[Alasse]

The tank hold approx 15 litres (which if converted right is near 4 gal US). I live in Australia...and i've never seen that brand here ...but I'll keep my eye out.

I've owned betta before...bred them for a while...but this is my sons first ever fish and he is soooo excited *L*

I can't offhand remember the brand of betta pellets I used to buy...i'll pick some pellets up this week...at present he is happily eating the flakes I feed my tropicals, which I presoak prior to feeding)...he'll also get some frozen bloodworms tomorrow...I feed my tropicals some every 2 days.

The feeding and tank care will be supervised...kids can well, tend to forget at times...so I can give a gentle nudge when things need doing he may have forgotten about All in all he'll enjoy his new little friend.

I had to laugh as we were walking through the fish shop...he stopped at a tank..a VERY large tank, and told me he wants to save up and get his new fish this one *LOL* (from a guess i'd put the tank at 5ft...I tell ya...that'd be one happy betta!!

 

[Phloxface]

LOL! Yeah, that would be some Betta mansion! He must really love his fishy to want to give him such a nice home!
A four gallon tank is a good size and you should have no trouble with a good quality 50 watt heater. If you can't find the brands mentioned where you are you can order them online. Seeing as you live in Australia it's probably warm enough to go without a heater for a few days until you order one.

 

[Alasse]

Some pics of 'Longfin'

 

[COBettaCouple]

Longfin is a handsome betta i'm sure he'll be happy in his 5 foot long aquarium. You've probably already heard this but Bettas get constipated pretty easy so you'll want to feed Longfin half of a frozen pea thawed out and minced small enough to feed him it like pellets. Your son's picked out a great pet.

 

[voiceless_kat]

Welcome Alasse/son & Longfin -- he is a beauty, and his fins are really long!! This is a great forum, welcome aboard!! Val & Neptune

 

[cherryrose]

Welcome to fishlore. Longfin is a very nice looking fellow. He is lucky to have you and your son to give him a happy and spacious home.

CherryRose

 

[Alasse]

Thank you all

My son is hoping to have enough to go pick up a heater for the Betta tank soon (until the Longfin will live in my community tank...in a net as I have tiger barbs)

Now filtration....I wasn't going to filter the water as I don't believe it neccessary

1. when the tank has ample surface area
2. the fact that betta come to the surface to 'breathe' also
3. water changes will be carried out every 2 days to keep water quality high
4. live plant in the tank to assist with removing nasties inbetween water changes

So at present the tank will have none...what are your thoughts?

 

[Phloxface]

I still think it better to have some kind of filter. You will need one to help keep the tank cycled. Also, although Bettas come to the surface to breathe they do need some aeration in the water as warmer water does not hold oxygen well. Live plants NEED an airstone as well. You could use at least a small Whisper 3I internal filter (very cheap) which uses an air hose to push water through the intake tube up to the filter.  Everything is included such as filter, airpump and hose. It would help with both filtertration and aeration. I use one in my five gallon and it works well. I just bought a bag of cheap filter floss to stuff inside to avoid buying the expensive pre-made filters all the time. You could just use those once in a while when you want to run carbon through the filter.
Too many water changes can stress the fish. You really only need to do one 25-30% water change once per week. A filter will keep it clean the rest of the time.

 

[Alasse]

I have noted your points...thank you.

For cycled water I was just going to use some water out of my filtered community tank to top up the betta tank with. When I was breeding them and keeping them in smaller jars that worked successfully. I did this every 2 days for them....so in reality the tank could go 3-4 days between water changes. I have seen small filters here...but not in complete kits like that...I will see about the filter...I keep an eye on water quality and if it doesn't look good I'll certainly buy some type of filter to put in it

Aeration is no problem...I have many spare pumps...including a small one which would be suitable for this size tank....i'll pull it out tomorrow and set up an airstone....that will also assist with moving the water around the heater

 

[COBettaCouple]

I think our Bettas like their filters as a sort of game to them - they enjoy riding the current like a water slide and playing in it. LOL

We have airstones in all the betta tanks now after researching the benefits of doing that - for a long time we didn't run them but now the Bettas seem to like them, they play with the bubbles just like they play in the filter current.

I've also recently read about putting a ping pong ball in the tank with a betta as a toy for him/her to play with & can't wait to try that out. I love watching our Bettas play. Isn't it funny, the things Bettas find amusing?

 

[chickadee]

Just a note about the ping-pong balls. They take a while to begin to play with them so don't get discouraged. Mine were real wimps at first and scared to death of them as they were the "big white thing that would EAT little fishies" but when they did NOT get eaten they got braver. Eventually they got used to it and now they like them for a while and then they get tired and won't do any more playing but when they do it is cute.

Rose

 

[genie]

hmmm-- going to have to try this ping pong ball thing out.

 

[COBettaCouple]

Just a note about the ping-pong balls. They take a while to begin to play with them so don't get discouraged. Mine were real wimps at first and scared to death of them as they were the "big white thing that would EAT little fishies" but when they did NOT get eaten they got braver. Eventually they got used to it and now they like them for a while and then they get tired and won't do any more playing but when they do it is cute.

Rose

Maybe they saw that British show "The Prisoner" and thought the roaring bubble was after them! Ask one of our British members about that show - it was very unique.

 

[chickadee]

I actuallly saw that show on the BBC. It was UNIQUE indeed.

Rose

 

[COBettaCouple]

I actuallly saw that show on the BBC. It was UNIQUE indeed.

Rose

LOL.. my best friend in college introduced me to it - he was the only one in his family who even half understood it.. he told me even a lot of Brits didn't get that show.

Back on topic - would you recommend sticking to white ping-pong balls? Do you think Bettas would find colored ones fun to play with or threatening?

 

[chickadee]

I do not think it matters. All I had was the white ones but I see no reason they would be any different with the colored ones. It was something I stumbled on by reading a post about someone who let them play with popsicle sticks. (clean ones of course) I tried it and it did nothing for mine so I tried to find something light enough to float and came up with the ping pong balls. They have to be in a good mood though. If they are being testy it does not work at all.

Rose

 

[COBettaCouple]

I do not think it matters. All I had was the white ones but I see no reason they would be any different with the colored ones. It was something I stumbled on by reading a post about someone who let them play with popsicle sticks. (clean ones of course) I tried it and it did nothing for mine so I tried to find something light enough to float and came up with the ping pong balls. They have to be in a good mood though. If they are being testy it does not work at all.

Rose

Thanks, Rose We'll be picking up a pack of them next trip to wally world.