Ideas for a betta tank

[missy_4]

So I have an old tank and I want to put a betta in it but im not sure if it is big enough. I want to say its about 3 gallons and I know that everyone says to put it in at least five but its going to be the only fish in there (other than maybe shrimp or a frog). Is that going to be big enough for him? It comes with a filter but im not sure if it is the right size. What is too much current and that for a betta? How do you know? Plus can you put a heater in there? I was also thinking of putting him in a 7 gal hex tank but i want to put other fish in that one. Any suggestions or ideas for my betta? (I dont have him yet i will only get him after the tank has been cycled). And for cycling the tank i dont want to keep the fish i get to cycle the tank to stay with the betta because i dont think thats enough room. What would i do with those fish? I dont want to throw them out or put them in the other 7 gal tank. Ugh so many questions and i dont know where to start!

[Malbri]

a 3 gal should be fine, just with nothing else in there

[ChilDawg]

Hi, Missy. Sounds like you have a lot of questions. I have some for you, too.

First of all, can you tolerate a betta being completely alone in that tank? That's probably what will have to happen.

Can you also stand doing 25% water changes at least twice a week?

What are the actual dimensions of the tank? What shape is it in (e.g. hexagon, bowfront, rectangular prism, etc.)?

Can you turn a knob on the filtration to turn it down to a point where the current doesn't encompass the entire surface of the tank?

I don't honestly recommend a 3g tank, but it can work with a lot of extra effort on your part.

As for cycling, we don't tend to recommend fishy cycling here. I'm glad you made a point of cycling it before getting your betta, but can I recommend another method of doing that? There are many articles on fishlessly cycling that you can find on AC--I'd recommend reading one of them and then asking questions if you need to do so.

You can put a small heater in there--I don't personally have a recommendation for miniature heaters, but I know that www.drsfosterandsmith.com have some available. If one isn't mentioned to you here, perhaps you can ask about a suitable one for that size tank in out Freshwater Equipment section.

Hope this helps!

Matthew

[Malbri]

Oh ya with the filtration make sure its not real strong

[missy_4]

o i didnt know you dont add the danios!! Wow thanks for saving some fishy lives!! Ugh im so happy now that i dont have to add fish with the cycle!! I taking up this hobby so i will do whatever is neccesary to make my new pets happy! I want to say the tank is a bow front (sorry tank is at my parents). So I cant add the shrimp or anything else? Would it be better to put him in my other tank (eclipse hex-7)? Could i add more fish than?

[fishcatch22]

a 3G is fine for a betta, and some shrimp or a ADF. yours is a bowfront, I know the model. you would be able to get more fish if you got the 7G, but i'd only get 2-3 otos.

it's very nice to see someone trying to start out right in this hobby, and not just strolling down to walmart, buying the tank, putting about 5 goldfish in there without cycling, and asking us why they all died.

[ChilDawg]

It would be better to put him in the 7g, yes, but your range of fishes is still fairly limited. Unfortunately, fishcatch22's suggestion of Otos is probably not the best--they do best in fully mature tanks with lots of diatomaceous algae to snack on or if they're given veggies to munch on--but you have to be very careful not to let the veggies rot even a little in such a small tank or it will throw it out of balance. I would more confidently recommend some ghost shrimp for tankmates for a betta in a 7g.

[fishcatch22]

It would be better to put him in the 7g, yes, but your range of fishes is still fairly limited. Unfortunately, fishcatch22's suggestion of Otos is probably not the best--they do best in fully mature tanks with lots of diatomaceous algae to snack on or if they're given veggies to munch on--but you have to be very careful not to let the veggies rot even a little in such a small tank or it will throw it out of balance. I would more confidently recommend some ghost shrimp for tankmates for a betta in a 7g.he is right about them needing mature tanks with algae, but I still think they are the best if you want more than just the betta. most bettas will kill shrimp, mine is a murderer, but you can try it and the otos.

[missy_4]

darn so nothing other than OTOs??? alright thanks!

[fishcatch22]

no no no you can do more than otos, they're just the only fish IMO you can do. you might be able to swing an apple snail.

[ChilDawg]

Like the thinking, but maybe we could recommend a different type of snail? I'd hate to have her get one at her LPS and have it turn out to be one that gets to be huge...of course, there are people here who have guaranteed smaller apples. If you cannot get them shipped, though, go with a ramshorn snail instead...I think you can even get those at Wal-Mart IIRC.

[fishcatch22]

yeah... there is one type that does get awful huge, but they aren;t too common so don't worry about it too much.
so, you can get, in order of placement into the tank,
1 betta
1 apple snail
2 otos

[missy_4]

Awesome! Thanks!

[GirlieGirl8521]

Otos are really sensitive to water parameters and small tanks are not very stable. I personally wouldn't keep Otos in a 3g tank. I've heard 5g per Oto and thats about right. They are social fish so shouldn't be kept alone, so IMO a 10g would be the minimum for 2-3 otos. You can try it, but I personally would not. ;)

[fishcatch22]

Otos are really sensitive to water parameters and small tanks are not very stable. I personally wouldn't keep Otos in a 3g tank. I've heard 5g per Oto and thats about right. They are social fish so shouldn't be kept alone, so IMO a 10g would be the minimum for 2-3 otos. You can try it, but I personally would not. ;)we're talking about her 7G tank.

[Cory Lover]

Hi,

For a 7 gallon, you could get a betta and five Pygmy Cories IMO.

Cory Lover

[fishcatch22]

Hi,

For a 7 gallon, you could get a betta and five Pygmy Cories IMO.

Cory Loveryeah, but it's a hex, so there isn't enough bottom space for cories.

[NinjaPirate]

Yeah. on a 7 hex oto's are probably the only thing that would fit the space. Usually you can do small tetras also with bettas (except neons, generally), but with tall 7G, there would spacial issues.

[missy_4]

so i just keep the betta and thats it? As cheesy as it sounds i dont want him to get lonely if they even can be lonely i have no idea.

[ChilDawg]

I think you're anthropomorphizing a bit--it won't be lonely as a singleton fish.

[fishcatch22]

like I said, you can get 2 otos if you get the 7G tank.

[missy_4]

Awesome so cycle 2-6 weeks later betta, than otos a couple weeks later?? And i will go looking at some live plants. Just how much and how many live plants? Any forums on those? lol thanks for all the ideas and suggestions.

[fishcatch22]

add the betta right after you cycle, and the otos as soon as you have enough algae to support them.

java moss is an excellent cycling plant.

[missy_4]

java moss is an excellent cycling plant.[/QUOTE]

Should i add just the java moss or can i add the other two you mentioned to me (java fern and anubias)?

[Reframer]

Personally, I think the 3 gallon is fine, make sure to buy an appropriate sized heater that will not overheat. Bettas need it around 80. I had to put a samll apple snail in with mine and he was just fine with it, although gave it dirty looks at first. Make sure you are getting Pomacea Bridgesii, which is the smaller one that won't eat plants. I would not recommend the Otos because they need a lot of algae and only eat certain kinds, they are hard to supplement because they often won't eat algae wafers.

[ChilDawg]

I was trying to recall when I responded to a post with this title, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

This is a good reminder to all--please check the dates before replying to threads.