betta bowl or tank

LMOUTHBASS

LMOUTHBASS

My hypocrisy goes only so far
Jun 17, 2003
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Boston , MA
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Mark
I picked up a betta from petsmart the other day - he looked so depressed sitting in his cup, i felt bad for him - i figured i'd take him to work - i had a spare bowl there i cold use - it's prob between 1/2 gal to a 1 gal - since i put him in here his whole character has changed ! he is happy, swims around, and even contructed a bubble nest! hahaha - i know hardcore betta ppl will say they need a filtered aquarium at least a few gallons - i admit i'm not an expert betta keeper so i could use some help here -


I'm thinking of picking up one of those small aquariums between 1 to 3 gallons that include a UGF - is this more suitable? - also if i get a 3 gal could i keep maybe 3 dwarf cories in there? I was thinking of getting some ghost shrimp and tossing in some pesty snails from my main tank if not
 
You should be congratuled on making such a quick transition to a better home for your new betta. :bowing: I was a complete newbie when I got my betta about a year ago. I put him in the traditional gallon bowl and thought I was doing the right thing. Fed him well, and made the water changes, etc. Months later, I decided he deserved a full fledged 20 gallon--but after I bought the tank, to my horror, he developed an awful fungus infection. I've been treating him with aq salt and jungle fungus eliminator. It took awhile, months actually, but he is almost completely cleared up now. A sure sign of him being sick was no bubble nest making since October. Well, my 20 gallon is stocked and I'm still too afraid to put the betta in there, since I think he had a few different types of fungal infections. So I got him a 5 gallon w/heater. It's like he changed into another fish! Swimming back and forth, and making the mother lode of bubble nests! I can't tell you how happy I am when I come home and see him wriggling his little body all over cuz he sees me. I feel SO GUILTY that I kept him in a 1 gallon tank for so long. Thanks to forums like this, I learned how to care for our precious fishies! Good luck with your new betta!
 
A tank with a UGF is better than a bowl with no filter at all. I'm glad you put him in the bowl as opposed to keeping him isolated to a little container. Bettas and cories get along fine in my experience. Enjoy your new betta :)
 
I think the combo would be good too, but if I may suggest... I bought a 2.5 gallon kit for around 25 dollars and for that amount of money you could probably easily find a 10-20 gallon tank and you could then get a bigger school of corys which will make them very happy. I have mine in the 2.5 gallon and he seems very happy, so any size than a tiny bowl is better! He will eat the snails though if they are small enough for him. At least that is what I have been told!
Good luck, let us know what you decide!
 
Make sure there's no immature people that will harass the fish, ie. tap on the glass. Make sure cleaning supplies are not sprayed/used near the tank. Make sure the tank doesn't get too much lighting and is well looked-after. Theres more but I'm having an off-day :)
 
I think it is great that you want to get him a larger tank. If you could get a 5 gallon I think that would be best. I wouln't add any corys though. Especially to anything under 5 gallons. They are very active fish and that would just be too small for them.
 
MikeO said:
a betta in the office, what a wondul idea, I just might do that myself, my question is, what consurns do you have to have if you have a fish in a work place enviorment other then not having the janiors clean the tank.
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I'm not sure what your trying to say MikeO?


Anyhow - I'm keeping him on my desk in my cube in the back of my office area - there aren't any chemicals being sprayed and no one will harass him - i got lucky and have a cube to myself in the back by the windows - i have a nice cube area - anyhow since it's in a cube the biggest i can go will be a 2.5g - i think i will go that route i want something with some filtration -still i can see how happy he is for now just to have some room he is in a huge bowl at the moment
 
What I am asking LMOUTHBASS you ansered nicely, when I read your post about your betta at work, it made me think maybe I would like to be a copycat of you and do the same!! so I am asking if I do this what do I need to be conserned with. Chances are at the end of march I will be getting my own cube, and I might want to start a fishless cycle of a small tank for a betta now, at home, and when we move to the new building and I get my own private cube take it in and get a betta.
 
Lmouth, I'd say go for it with the Betta and nix the cories.

From my experience with them, they are very active and would seem very couped up in a tank that small, especially when shared with a Betta. My cories swim up and down and side to side so I would suspect that all of that activity may upset, to some degree, the Betta. Not saying the Betta would retaliate or show aggression, but they may become a nuisance to to him.

Congrats on being able to have a small tank at work. I was fortunate enough to have my own (small) building for my office and was able to keep a breeding pair of Convicts in a 20g. It was nice to come into the office each morning and know you had something there waiting on you that was a pleasure to tend to.

My only piece of advise is to make sure you have something compact and handy to assist you with the tank maintenance. Perhaps maybe a small piece of tubing you could use for a gravel vacuum and a spare (always clean) cup or butter tub for doing water changes. Whatever you decide to fashion up, just make sure you scale it down in size to something that will suit your needs and something you can easily store.

If they weren't such a pain to clean and maintain, Id have little 1 to 3 gallon Eclipse type setups all over my house.
 
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