Betta tank questions

[Rava]

Looking around the forums always inspires me with bigger tank sizes, so I had a couple questions about my current betta's tank size. My sister has one male betta in a 2.5 gallon, rectangle-shaped, tank. I have 1 female in a 2.5 gallon hexagon-shaped tank. I'm also currently looking for a 2.5 or 5 gallon tank for my friend's single male betta. Is this considered an acceptable size for one betta?

Lately, for some reason, I've been wondering if my female is bored all by herself in there. My sister's male keeps busy, swimming back and forth, and generally looking like he's entertaining himself. My little girl doesn't do much, except when she's hungry she flutters up and down in front. She's about a year old now (I got her as a baby, and have had her for a year this past Feb.). Is it stupid to wonder if adding another small fish would help her mood at all? Her tank doesn't have a filter going (I have a filter for it, but it's not being used), so I don't know if two fish would be too much as far as that goes, either. I'm not sure if thinking a fish is lonely is projecting human emotion on the fish, but I just couldn't help but wonder!

I suddenly had an idea while looking through the forums too... I have a class cup of broken pieces of glass sitting in my windowsill. The glass is hard to keep clean, but it's very pretty when it is clean, and I wondered if that would be acceptable to put in the bottom of the tank. Some of it is sharp, and I don't know if (even laying it flat) that would be okay.

Thanks for any help! Looking around, I can't believe how knowledgeable y'all are about tanks and fish. It's amazing, in the most wonderful way! Fish people are good people.

 

[kikuchiyo]

Standard I'm newb disclaimer in effect:
2.5 gallons is okay for a betta, 5 gallons is plenty. A betta in 5 gallons alone is a lot less work (keeping a constant temp, a lot less waste for the water) than one is at 2.5. You could even add some other life to a 5, like snails, african dwarf frogs, shrimp, or maybe cory catfish.

I'm not animal behaviorlist or anything, but I don't think bettas really care who else in their tank, unless they want to flare at them or are getting picked on. Honestly I don't think bettas get lonely and another fish isn't going to help much - most bettas I've seen that aren't flaring at other fish just simply see them as being around (or as competition at feeding time). For a female betta, adding just one female would cause some serious dominance issue (one would always be picked on) so that's no good. Even adding a small group, one will be at the bottom of the ladder and will need a lot of hiding spots. I've noticed that bettas are usually pretty chill, preferring to lay around on a plant to being hyper around a tank (which is something of a shock to me; before I got a betta I assume that most healthy fish moved around almost constantly, like male guppies). It seems like that is pretty normal betta behavior. However, a sick-ish lethargic fish might indicate the water's not up to snuff. Does she perk up after water changes?

Sharp edges are bad. They'd probably be less harmful to your female than to a full finned male, but fish can easily cut themselves or hurt themselves in new and interesting ways given the chance. I have a small clay flower pot at the bottom of my bettas tank and he seems to enjoy going in there. Real plants or silk ones are also good, as bettas like to rest in or on the leaves. My male betta will do so, but he seems to like resting on the heater (I guess since it's highest up) most of all.

 

[Egyptdragon]

It seems more likely that you feel lonely looking at the tank with just the one fish!

In seriousness though, the 2.5 can handle 1 betta, not much more. Alternatively a 2.5 might make a good home for say 3 white cloud minnows.

I have heard of people having great success with unfiltered 1.5-2.5g bowls/aquariums with 1 betta, 1 Mystery snail and 1-2 ghost shrimp to help with clean-up. You might look into that road if you want to add more to the tank.

My female betta is in an 18gallon tank along with 5 sparkling gouramis, 3 harlequin rasboras, 3 cory cats and 4-6 ghost shrimp. It's a planted tank and she spends all day exploring the ins and outs of the stems. She is very inquisitive so given the opportunity, yours may be as well.

Do you have a light that would sustain some plants? Java ferns are pretty indestructable (I know someone with a 50g tank with a 60watt incandescent bulb and they grow like weeds!) and your fish might appreciate the vegetation.

 

[aquariumfishguy]

The problem with 2.5 gallon containers is that trying to find a good lighting and filtration system for this size is nearly impossible. A 5 gallon allows for (POSSIBLY) a few other small fish, and you can also find a ton of heaters and filters for this size aquarium.

 

[Peter99]

The way I see it, the cost of a 5 gallon is too close to the cost of a 10 gallon tank. If you have enough space for a 10 gallon tank, get it instead.

 

[kikuchiyo]

The problem with 2.5 gallon containers is that trying to find a good lighting and filtration system for this size is nearly impossible. A 5 gallon allows for (POSSIBLY) a few other small fish, and you can also find a ton of heaters and filters for this size aquarium.

It is a bit of a pain, but for the 2 gallon Explorer the included filtration is great and a flourescent lamp makes a great light.

the 2.5 gallon minibow has a decent hood. The whisper filter included is too powerful for a betta, but the azoo palm filter works well, from what I understand.

I'm using the Hagen 6" submersiable heater and am liking it a lot.

 

[Rava]

Originally posted by kikuchiyo
However, a sick-ish lethargic fish might indicate the water's not up to snuff. Does she perk up after water changes?

Yes she does perk up after. I don't think I'd describe her as sick or lethargic, though. What would that indicate is exactly wrong with the water, and how do I change/monitor that?

I have a small clay flower pot at the bottom of my bettas tank and he seems to enjoy going in there. Real plants or silk ones are also good, as bettas like to rest in or on the leaves.

Does that affect the water quality at all? I just bought a little flower pot, so I can easily do that! And she does have some (fake) foliage in there. My sister's male seems to rest in the plants and use them alot more than Vitara does, though. She usually just chills at the very top or very botoom of her tank.

It seems more likely that you feel lonely looking at the tank with just the one fish!

That's exactly the problem right there, actually! lol I don't know if I want to go the live plant route, as that adds some difficulty for myself and fish-sitters when I'm away, what with them actually growing and all. lol I don't know what light I have, as it creates algae in the tank whenever I use it (or so someone told me was the cause of my algae, and since I stopped using the light, it has stopped appearing!). It's the bulb and hood that came with the tank. If she would enjoy more vegetation, I'd be willing to try that, though.

Is there a certain light you can use that wouldn't cause algae? I do enjoy being able to see her at night, as it's very relaxing. I don't worry about filtration, as the one little girl doesn't produce much waste, and I haven't had any problems without it thus far. Does filtration affect water quality?

I wish I could just have my own 10 gal. setup, but I don't really have resources for that right now, nor appropriate space. I'm a rodent enthusiast, so I have their tanks squeezed into every space I have available.

Do I need to worry about a heater? I've never used one with bettas, but I do have one that I've used in the 2.5 hex before. My room stays the warmest in the house, and the temperature is almost always very stable as well.

Thank you so much for all your help! As you can tell, I've gotten as far as plopping the fish in the tank, and that's about it! I do want to learn more, especially if it'll perk my little girl up. Thanks so much!

 

[Rava]

Here's a picture of Vitara, too. Isn't she pretty?

 

[cattlegrid_79]

If you got some live plants that would help with your algae problems. The plants would feed on the phosphates that would otherwise cause algae to grow. With live plants, you would be able to use the light, as your live plants would need the light. There are plenty of low-light plants that take very little looking after.

I wouldn't use the glass. The sharp pieces are sure to cause some damage at some point.

The filter will certainly do no harm to your tank and will deifintely improve the water conditions. However, it's difficult to say how much of a difference it will make (and whether you really need to do it) without knowing your water parameters / test results.

 

[brookelyn]

Vitara is indeed lovely.

2.5 and 5 gallon tanks are just fine for bettas. I have my one female in a 3 gallon, and then I have two males bettas in a divided five gallon hex. All are happy and healthy.

A heater is not really needed unless you are not able to keep the tank temperature stable. I live where it gets rather chilly in the winters, so a heater is a good investment for me.

Filters are really optional. As mentioned, they can improve the water condition some, and of course, they can remove a bit of the smell, but are not necessary for a betta tank. The azoo palm filter would be a good one to look at if you want a filter.

As for the glass, I would not use it. Bettas care rather curious, and it would be too easy for them to move the glass enough that they might end up cutting themselves. You might want to consider glass marbles instead. I have a few of these in my tank, and my bettas love to look at them, as well as move them around the tank.

Also, if you want a live plant bettas will love, and requires little light or maintenance, purchases some java moss. It should work well in your tanks.