Some Betta Questions

Alright I know I just got the 55G and yesterday I got the 30G but I saw this really pretty betta and had some questions. If I got it I would get a 5 or 6 gallon. Do they prefer sand or gravel? What plants do they prefer?

Also here is the betta I am talking about. It is a red butterfly halfmoon:

 

HI Cory
WOW That red and white halfmoon is gorgeous!! Good luck on that bid!
The five or six gallon tank will be fine for the betta. I prefer 10 gallon tanks for the males, as they get much bigger than females tho. But they can do fine in the five or six.
I wouldnt use sand, I have read that the sand is not good for them.
You can use any kind of plants, but what kind depend on your lighting. It may be easier in a betta tank to use silk or plastic plants. If you go with plastic, don't get anything with sharp edges, as it may tear those beautiful fins on that betta. They still need a heater, filter and not necessary but a lot of folks do use the air stone in the tank as well.
Good luck on your bid! ;D

~ kate

 

That is a VERY pretty betta, but do realize that the cost of transshipping can be more than some are willing to pay. It only cost us $5 per fish to get the bettas we ordered from Thailand to Atlanta (our nearest large airport w/ transshipper nearby), but then the transshipper charged us $25-$40 for shipping from Atlanta to us. So if you pay 20 for the fish, 30-45 for shipping that is a 50-65 dollar fish... I think it is definitely worth that, but it is up to you on that one.

Oh and the fish will probably look bad when it gets in but a week or two in a good cycled tank with some high protein foods and it'll come around, usually. You can see the difference in our betta in my gallery.

*hums innocently* So... that'll make... 4 fishtanks since the first of December when you got into this? And your mom still wants one... That's not multiple tank syndrome at all, no way.

 

you could keep it in the 10G and save the hassle of buying and cycling a new tank

 

On the substrate, be careful not to get anything they can fit in their mouth and swallow. Bettas are little piggies and will eat anything they can! If they swallow something too big, it often times leads to death

Good luck with that beatta, he's a beauty!

 

He's a beauty! We use flat glass marbles for ours. Too big to swallow and smooth on their fins when they drag them on the bottom.

 

Or, you can divide your 10 gallon and get TWO bettas!


I have black sand in one of my betta tanks, black gravel in two others, and very pretty quartz smooth stones in another. I like them all.

Bettas like real plants, but you can use silk - no plastic.

 

Haha I wish I could divide the 10 and get 2 but then I would be SOL when a fish got sick in the 55 hehe. I will ask my mom. She thinks bettas are boring and plain! I can't believe that.

 

I don't really understand the transhipper thing. Can someone explain? On the bid it says 6.50 for shipping and then you have to pay directly to transhipper. How would one go about doing so.

 

WOW that is a GORGEOUS Betta!!!! I hope you get him.

The transhipper is someone who the breeder sends their fish to, and then you pay the transshipper to ship the fish to you. The shipping price refers to the price of shipping from breeder to transhipper, but you also have to pay the transshipper to ship to your home (the price varies depending on where you live).

Don't use sand in a betta tank cause they can swallow it which can kill them...use smooth gravel (marbles or a bare bottom work too).

 

When they ship fish over to the US, they'll send a huge number of them to defray shipping costs. They have to ship it to a city with an airport that the fish can go through customs and be picked up by someone with the necessary licenses and all to accept them (the transshipper). Then they're unboxed and put into boxes for the individual customers and shipped overnight. That's where the major shipping expense comes in.

 

Don't mean to hijack, but where is this information coming from that sand is harmful to bettas?

They're certainly among the pickiest of eaters and I can't imagine them chowing down on sand. I had a hard time getting them to eat pellets and peas!

 

He is a beauty. Good luck!

 

Don't mean to hijack, but where is this information coming from that sand is harmful to bettas?

They're certainly among the pickiest of eaters and I can't imagine them chowing down on sand. I had a hard time getting them to eat pellets and peas!

I'd like the answer to this, too, please! I've got a tank nearly cycled, almost ready to go for two small Cory Cats and after it adjusts a little later, hopefully a betta. Spent about $25 on black sand for it (can't believe it was so expensive) knowing the Corys and thinking the betta would love it. It so far has made a great substrate for live plants.

I, too, find it hard to believe our smart, picky bettas would be stupid and non-picky enough to eat sand. Is there any substantial evidence this actually happens? If so, I'll be really disappointed, as I thought I have been in the process of making a very nice, lushly landscaped home for Her (the yet-to-be-met betta)!

Coryd55, that is one of the most spectacular bettas I've ever seen! Love his white-tipped scales with the matching fins. Totally cool. Uhhh, "Decorator/Designer, Dude." Good luck with the auction!

 

We've got a betta in a 3 gallon tank with pool filter sand and he does fine.

We've got a female betta in a tank with pea-sized white gravel and she does fine.

We've got 3 bettas in 3 separate tanks with no substrate and 1 heavily planted with very dense plants the other 2 lightly planted, all three do just fine.

I'm sure there are incidents where a betta may have choked on gravel or eatten some sand, but that certainly is not our experience with them. So some people may have experienced that, and probably did, but it won't happen to everyone, and in my opinion is a small risk that Dino and I are willing to take.

So to clarify for the ladies with the question(s): It is a small risk you take with any fish that they may eat some of their substrate, but honestly it is a small risk, in my opinion.

 

I've kept lots of kinds of fish with sand substrates and one of my bettas has had sand for the last 3 months with no problems.

I know goldfish will suck up rocks small enough to fit in their mouths, but never heard of bettas (or most other fish) doing it.

 

When I feed peas, they sink; if it drops all the way down Ripley will get it out of the gravel. Could this be how some Bettas might have ingested sand?

I bought a clear glass 1/2 " high candle holder from the dollar store and if I'm going to feed something that sinks, like the peas or the algae wafers for the otos, it goes in there.

 

On the sand issue, Rose had a betta die after accidentally swallowing some of the substrate which was either sand or very fine gravel. I don't know how common this is but I personally wouldn't try it, just to be on the safe side.