5 Gallon tanks are pretty good for bettas, but 10 would be best for a single betta IMO. I use Aquarium Pharm Splendid Betta Water Conditioner 1.25oz for my tank, this is what the girl at petco suggested i buy. She seemed very intelligent and i trust what she sold me. It is a little bit pricey so i dont know if that was what she was getting at, but i havent had any problems with it. If you have a small tank, that bottle should last you a while any ways.
this a link to it:
http://www.petsr4u.com/proddetail.asp?prod=AP91B
If you want to, get real plants. I have 2 small betta silk plants cause i liked them, they were small, but you can get some other small live plants that will do just fine on their own. Make sure you dont get ones with razor leaves. Bettas dont like too much current but filtration will be alot better than constant water changes and you can have an established tank. Get a HOB bilter with adjustable flow control like whisper or aquaclear. I had a marineland penguin and i returned it same night because too much current and no flow control. Plants and rocks or castles can also break up current flow within the tank so this is another good reason to get live plants. Live plants also dont require that periodic cleaning that silk plants and other decor need.
(note on the terta whispers, i have one and im not too fond of it to be honest. I think it is working fin but i think that i would much rather and aquaclear if i had to do it again. Canisters would be best overall, but this can get expensive kinda quick. It all depends on how all out you want to go.)
Make sure you get a heater as well. Bettas may be able to live in cooler water, but as it was stated in an earlier post, 77 degrees is a good temp for bettas. I keep mine around 79-81, trying for 80 as much as possible and zip seems to be happiest in that range.
My betta has a castle and he is sure king of it. he sleeps in it actually and comes out during the day. He must like the no current in there and its small and safe for him.
You can honestly do a beautiful 10 gallon tank for your betta and he/she will be soooo happy. 10 gals really gives them room to swim around. Im very avid of the 10 gal because i think that no fish deserves to be in a tank smaller than that. Let them spread their fins and swim!!!!!!!
Check out that petsr4u.com website. I find that they have a great selection of items well priced as far as tanks go. They have a large selection of other things as well but def not the place to have a good canister filter selection.
