New to Bettas...

**dtn23** · 08-03-2012, 9:33 PM

Ok so for about a year now, my girlfriend has kept a single male betta in about a 1 gallon bowl and after getting quite interested in fish keeping, I decided to upgrade him a little bit. Nothing too fancy due to space, but he now has a 2.5 gallon rectangle with much nicer decorations. I plan on getting him a mini heater to keep his water warmer and maybe a sponge filter too. But I have a few questions about keeping bettas that maybe you folks could answer:

1. In a 2.5 gallon, would my tiny little 10 gallon HOB filter off an old 15 gallon starter kit be too much movement? It doesn't move much water and I may try to block the trickle with a floating plant but I could stray away from that if it'd be too much current.

2. With such a small tank, is there any compatible tank-mate we could safely put with him? I'm afraid there wouldn't be space. Maybe a shrimp or two or would he have those for lunch? Would prefer fish but anything that works would be nice.

3. Is there a good, reliable small heater I could use for his tank? Room temp is around 72-75 most of the time which is too cold for him, but those non-adjustable heater discs seem too inconsistent.

And before you guys even say it, I know a 2.5 could even be called a bit small but its still a huge upgrade from a 1g. I may look into a 5 or 10 for him with some danios or tetras some day but for now the 2.5 is all we're gonna have. Thanks in advance for any help

**Rbishop** · 08-04-2012, 9:08 AM

Bettas can handle more water movement than most folks think. Just ensure there is a spot or two they can rest when needed. The out put could also be minimized a bit with a sponge attached to the discharge and hanging into the water. Bettas can be picky sometimes, you will have to ry a shrimp or snail..some will be okay, others won't.

Try a 25w heater..

PennPlax Cascade 25w heaters

**dtn23** · 08-04-2012, 12:15 PM

Good to know, thank you

Once my AC30 arrives for the 15g I have I'll probably try and move the little 10g filter to the 2.5. I'll definitely look into one of those little heaters. I'm assuming snail or shrimp means 2.5 is too small to have any other fish? I kind of figured as much.