1 gallon tank useless??

I have a little tank and I think it makes a great hospital tank. It was originally purchased for a betta, but it I didn’t think it was big enough for him. :dive2:
I have a platy with ick now and that little tank lets me give him his meds, crank up the temp, and put in some salt without affecting any of the other fish.
 
Small tanks don't cycle........you have to do 2-50% water changes a week for one gallon tanks. Filters aren't necessary as long as you keep up on the regular maintenance. You do need to keep the tank in an area where the temps do not fluctuate too much and where

I have some one gallon betta tanks that do quite well actually. Here is my "system" for keeping them clean....

Twice a week I syphon out half the water and replace it with clean aged dechlorinated water. At least once a month, but usually more often, I cup the betta and dump everything in a colendar/strainer....rinsing out the gravel using the old water, rinse and wipe down the inside of the tank and clean up any plants/decorations I have in there as well and then replace everything with 100% clean water.

I have one planted one gallon that all I do is syphon out half the water regularly....twice a week.......and once a month or so syphon out almost all the water, but not all. Because of the substrate and plants I can't and actually don't need....to clean off anything in the bottom, though I do occassionally wipe down the sides. This tank is almost trouble free...the live plants have alot to do with that I believe. I have one water sprite and a small amazon sword in there.

You can keep one betta and a shrimp or two in a tank that small. The bettas may end up eating the shrimp eventually, but I have a betta in a 2 gallon with a shrimp that's been in there for quite some time now. I don't even know if the betta realizes it's in there !

YOu have to be very good about keeping the water and the tank clean if you are going to put any fish or anything in there Crazy.......I enjoy cleaning out my tanks so it's not an awful chore for me. If you think you will be good about keeping up with it, I'd say try one betta OR two ADFs with a few live plants. Java fern or water sprite are a nice looking plant and very easy to keep.
 
I have two 1 gallon tanks. They both have 1 male betta in them , or you maybe could put 1 male betta with a female.. I did that and they were fine!
 
Emg said:
Small tanks don't cycle........you have to do 2-50% water changes a week for one gallon tanks.

Amazingly they do cycle. When I got my gold fish from my neighbor they were in a 1 gallon tank without a filter. When I tested the water the readings were:
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates off the charts.

Thats not to say that the water changes aren't necessary, they still are just like with any other tank.
 
male and female betta don't share quarters well- if you had success with this arrangement it was a lucky fluke- they will fight- the male doesn't always win either

ask the mighty pixie queen she's has told us that some breeding pairs get too beat up and she has to separate them before they've gotten the job done

besides the behavioral problems the bioload would be rediculously high with 2 bettas male or female in 1 gallon. don't do it--


plus while 1 betta can tough it out in a 1 gal. the difference in activity, color and enthusiasm for life when you put them in a larger tank is huge-- if you love bettas get a larger tank for one- you'll love these guys when taken care of well they can live for 7-8 years
 
We just found ourselves in this situation today! Went to walmart and saw the most Beautiful royal blue female betta--all alone in one of those little cups. Naturally she came home with us along with a gold mystery snail? think that's the name.

Anyhoo- they are now in the 1 gallon tank. She is MUCH happier than being in the cup. And since that was the tank we used for 2 years until Mr. Fish passed on :sad: we are already in the groove of weekly water changes! That was the only thing with the small tank--you really have to do a good job changing the water. But, on the plus side it's so small that it only takes a few minutes once a week.

I think you will enjoy a nice betta & snail in your small tank!

Good luck! Berta
 
My first betta was given to me in a 1.5 gal.

He was a whole new fish when I got him into a heated 5 gal--more active and colourful.

If you haven't kept a betta in a larger heated tank you don't know what you (and your betta) are missing.
 
One gallon planted betta tank. NO filter, no heater....water changes once or twice a week. I keep this tank in a cubby on my puter desk. There is another 1 gallon betta tank on either side of this one. It stays fairly warm in that spot because they are surrounded on 3 sides along with the shelf just above them. The heat from the lights keeps it warm and our house is set at 70F all the time.

This tank has done extremely well.......never did have an algae issue in it and the rocks are now completely clean and tidy since the tank has settled. It's been setup for almost a year now...with this same betta and plants in it. I dose with florish excel every day..but nothing else. It's in a low light situation too.

The betta I have in here is a very brilliant white color with red and blue in a butterfly sort of pattern on his fins. I saw him sitting in the petstore week after week...but no one ever took him home...so I did, he was too pretty to be sitting there in that place. Luckily they had him in a nano tank with a filter (display tank)...otherwise he would have perished for sure..he was there so long !

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EDIT: I replaced the older pics of the ones I had, with more recent pics taken just this morning.
 
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