What Other Supplies Do I Need?

Hello. I'm a new fish owner and this is my first post on Fishlore.

What I have:

Fish: 1 Betta aka Franklin (from the county fair on 8/11/17, yes, stupid and impulsive)

Tank: Tetra Waterfall Globe 1.8 gallon tank which comes with a built in water pump, filter and light. (I now know that my betta needs at least a 5 gallon tank, but this will have to make do.)

Live plant: Elodea, free floating on surface

Water heater, 50 watt (Tetra HT)... prob too high of a wattage but seems to be working fine, maybe even a bit too cold (fixed temperature at 77.8 or so, cannot adjust)

Hammock leaf thingy

Aquarium thermometer

API Stress Coat+

Turkey baster (to pick out Franklin's poop)

Soft brush (feels foamy like neoprene)

Betta food (flakes)

Dedicated bucket

automatic

Way too many replacement filters (10) because I thought you were suppose to change it every 3 to 4 weeks. I've read up on this and learned I can just wash it in the fish's tank water and put it back in to maintain the good bacteria. Only switch when it's near falling apart.

So what else do I need? I'm thinking a siphon because water changes have been difficult and probably super stressful for Franklin. I have this set up at work, which isn't close to the kitchen sink. I plan on doing 25% PWC Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I've tried using a cup to do the PWC, turkey baster, but all these methods are slow, sloppy, etc. It's a tiny tank with an even tinier opening at the top because of the shape, waterfall and placement of the pump. There are so many choices out there. Can someone recommend one from Amazon, Petflow or chewy?

Should I buy water testing kits? If so, which one? I've read to stay away from testing strips.

I'm thinking I need to buy Prime too? (I've been refilling Franklin's PWC with drinking water.)

I'm getting a custom lid made for the tank.

 

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Maybe use airline tubing as a siphon for the tank? That's what I do for my 5 gallon fry growout tank.

For a water conditioner, any dechlorinator will work, but just make sure to add a little bit at a time to acclimate him from the bottled water to tap water.

 

ApI test kit is always recommended

 

Stress Coat is a water conditioner so you really don't need Prime. I've been using it for years (30+) to dechlorinate tap water and when adding new fish.

I would recommend freeze dried bloodworms over flake food. It keeps the tank cleaner and more protein.

You should be ok with 1 weekly water change since your tank has a filter and pump. I really don't think you need a water tester for such a small tank and a Betta.

 

Small tanks are actually harder to keep parameters stable in, and bettas are also quite sensitive to water quality, but it's your call

 

First thing I would get is a bigger tank. Keeping water conditions safe in that will require daily work.

 

Maybe use airline tubing as a siphon for the tank? That's what I do for my 5 gallon fry growout tank.

For a water conditioner, any dechlorinator will work, but just make sure to add a little bit at a time to acclimate him from the bottled water to tap water.

I don't ever use tap water. Do I still need a water conditioner?

 

I don't ever use tap water. Do I still need a water conditioner?

Nope. If you did have to use it, the fish would have already been dead.

 

Stress Coat is a water conditioner so you really don't need Prime. I've been using it for years (30+) to dechlorinate tap water and when adding new fish.

I would recommend freeze dried bloodworms over flake food. It keeps the tank cleaner and more protein.

You should be ok with 1 weekly water change since your tank has a filter and pump. I really don't think you need a water tester for such a small tank and a Betta.

Awesome to hear! I'll buy some freeze dried bloodworms soon. I've read they like that better but it's more of a treat?

 

I've considered getting a Betta, they sure are beautiful!
Rather than more supplies or a custom lid, maybe you want to upgrade to a larger tank for Franklin? It would be easier to maintain in the long run, you can add more plants and be more assured of parameters staying safe without as frequently changing water... It also means Franklin can be undisturbed longer between cleanings.
Just my first thought... I'm not experienced with Betta but I believed they prefer less movement in the water which has always confused me as to why the waterfall tanks are marketed as Betta tanks.

 

They dony mind water movement as much as having a current however they do actually swim around if given the chance.

 

Nope. If you did have to use it, the fish would have already been dead.

Haha Well, he's not dead yet, but I feel like he might be sick. I got his water tested from Petsmart. They said all the readings are fine except nitrite is close to the unsafe range. (I asked for numbers but I don't think the strip the employee used had any actual numbers.)

It looks like Franklin has clamped fins and just recently some fin rot. I'm thinking the clamped fins can be from my initial poor water change and the stress he goes through when I'm doing PWC recently. I'm hoping that once I've done more 25% PWC and get the nitrite to a safe level, he'll be okay.

It's nuts how much money, time and stressed I've poured into Franklin... considering I got him from the county fair. Smh.

 

Bettas are hardy. He'll be fine in that tank if that's all you can manage.

I would suggest adding a few more live plants if you can, to help keep ammonia and nitrite in check. One that will do the job and won't require anything special is the Peace Lily. You can get a bigish pot of them at Walmart or they have small ones at Petco most of the time. Just clean off any and all soil from the roots and put the roots in the tank with the leaves growing out of the water. Pothos will work too and is sometimes prettier (there are marbled varieties)

I would use a bit of airline tubing to siphon water out for water changes, and change water (most of the water in the tank) at least once a week. You can use the airline tubing to put water back in the tank as well, to avoid spilling on your desk.

Can you post a picture of your guy? If he has fin rot, it's usually easily fixable with a large water change or two and maintaining clean water.

You might also consider adding some filter foam to the filter instead of the cartridges. Frankly the cartridges are pretty useless by themselves and if that's all that's in there, you're losing any good bacteria you've been growing on them any time you change them out. The carbon in them is only good for a few weeks, then stops working. But if you add some biomedia you might get a cycle going and that will be the best thing you can do for the little dude in this small tank.

Also, be careful not to overfeed him. One or two small crushed flakes per day is more than enough.

Another note: Bloodworms (especially freeze-dried ones) should not be his staple diet. The are mostly fat, not enough protein. And if you're going to feed a "live" food like that, rather than a prepared food, frozen is better for the fish and for your pocketbook. I would personally use daphnia, which is readily available at most Petco/petsmart stores. So you would cut a small piece (very small) off the frozen block, defrost it in a baggy or cup on your way to work, and put it in when the lights come on.

 

Thank you very much junebug and everyone else for sound advice. I've been doing a lot of reading but I'm still confused on what exactly a foam filter is, where to buy it, how to find the right size, etc. I've also heard "media" used many times but for a beginner, I can't seem to make sense of what it means.

I definitely overfed Franklin when I just got him. I'm doing better with that now. He gets two small meals Monday through Friday (excluding federal holidays).

I'm having trouble uploading Franklin's picture (file too big. Then I tried putting it in word document but that's not an acceptable file type). I'll work on figuring it out...

This is Franklin!

 

I agree that Bettas are hardy fish. They can handle stagnant water for short periods of time. They can breathe air if the water is really bad to survive and a sign there's something wrong with your tank/water.

Stress Coat is good if your fish is stressed . 2-3ml when you change your water (25%) in your 1.8g tank should help with stress and light fin rot. Since your tank is 2+ months old, it should've gone thru a cycle.

Flakes are the worst food for bettas. I had to look up foods for bettas because it's been years since I owned one (have one in a 20 gallon tank now) and I was going on what I knew about them 30yrs ago. Bloodworms is one of the better foods for bettas, just behind brine shrimp and mosquito larvae, live, frozen and freeze dried in that order. My container of freeze dried bloodworms show minimum of 55% crude protein and 3% crude fat. My bettas from years ago thrived on freeze dried bloodworms. I also fed them live brine shrimp a few times per month too. I've also used HikarI betta bio-gold pellets and those brought out the colors of my previous bettas. I'm also reading that you should skip a day of feeding every week to give their digestive system a rest.

 

"Media" is what we call the stuff that goes inside the filter. Be it sponge or carbon or floss etc Newbie123

 

this is foam filter media

 

Foam is basically just a sponge no chemicals added, no anti-mold stuff.

 

I would definitely get a test kit. Live plants are also really nice!

 

Awesome to hear! I'll buy some freeze dried bloodworms soon. I've read they like that better but it's more of a treat?

freeze dried is more of a treat so it shouldnt be fed all the time, if it was frozen or live then it would be different. pellets would be a better option since its a lot less messy, tend to float better and is more nutritional then flakes

he would probably love some live plants like java moss or a moss ball to lounge on and to help with the water quality until you get get something bigger

 

Hmm, I would not spend much. Around here, a 5 gallon tank is cheaper than an API test kit, and a hundred times more useful. So I would save my money and consider an upgrade when I could manage it. If it's a filtration system that can be moved, you would be well set up for little money.

I disagree that freeze dried is a treat, it has always been a staple here, with frozen foods, live foods and occasional flake. Whatever you feed, protein and fibre are important to insect eating Bettas.