Ideal environment for a Beta?

[dmk]

I was in Walmart looking at their fish stuff the other day and they had this shelf full of Betas in tiny little cups.

I felt kinda bad for them. I can't save them all, but I got to thinking maybe I could buy one and put it in a regular tank with a filter, heater, moving water, some plants, a place to hide, etc. Give it a nice home. (shame they're so unsocial or I'd buy a couple).

So what would be the ideal setup for a single Beta? These all looked like males. 10 gal tank with a HOB filter and gravel substrate?

Could I put a shrimp, snail or Pleco in there later or whould they be incompatible?

 

[kblane]

The less water movement the better with bettas. Clean water is one thing, turbulent water is quite another.

Plants are good. The shrimp will most likely become a snack *unelss they're too big to fit in his mouth*. A snail may be ok--depending on the type and what plants you're keeping.

As for the Pleco, no use to get one right away. Some species get HUGE, and there's no point in buying something you'll have to sell in two summers. I'm not big on the Pleco-predisposition. I'd rather have algae-eating shrimp or something of the sort.

10-gallons will be more than sufficient for your betta. They come from swampy areas, so as you put this together, try to recreate that: slow moving water, overgrowth of vegetation, driftwood, maybe some rocks . . .

Anyhow, that's just my suggestion. Have you kept other types of fish before?

K. Blane

 

[dmk]

The less water movement the better with bettas. Clean water is one thing, turbulent water is quite another.... They come from swampy areas, so as you put this together, try to recreate that: slow moving water, overgrowth of vegetation, driftwood, maybe some rocks . . .

Ah, yes I see. That sounds like a fun project. I just found the article in Wikipedia that mentioned they like slow moving water and where they come from.

I've been trying to find some info on keeping Bettas, but not finding that much on the basics (surprising, seeing as how they seem to be popular).

 

[Aries]

The less water movement the better with bettas. Clean water is one thing, turbulent water is quite another.

Agreed. Bettas find it very difficult to swim under turbulent water with their fins. Further, sometimes too turbulent water can mess with their swim bladders, cause stress and thus diseases.

10-gallons will be more than sufficient for your betta. They come from swampy areas, so as you put this together, try to recreate that: slow moving water, overgrowth of vegetation, driftwood, maybe some rocks . . .

This is a good option.

As for ideal situation - you will get a varied answer base. IMO, a gallon with heater/filter is min, if the only fish. Even I dont like this option, but they will survive (do you just want them to just survive?) My bettas like company to "play" with, so two are a 5.5G's (two seperate tanks). One set with 4 neons, heavily planted and minimal water movement (heated and filtered). The other set with two dwarf platies. Both are very happy and healthy. I have another in a 10 setup, with clown pleco, 5 other small tetras I cant think of thier name, heavily planted. All filters are HOB.

Make note not to have anything sharp (ie splintery wood) in your tank that could tear their long fins.

As for other fish, dont get the common pleco, as they will get huge 2'+. Check out the smaller species of plecos, if you want that route. Tetras do well as well as the platies. Ottos are a good alternative to plecos, but they can be aggressive. Of the many we have had with bettas, none of them bothered the bettas.

I have no experience with shrimp. The bettas could eat smaller snails, I have seen mine do so, but anything larger than your pinky nail they wont bother, unless you have an unusually aggressive/angry betta. Even then, if you keep them feed, the likelihood is small.

Have you kept other types of fish before?

Excellent question.

Good Luck

Aries

 

[dmk]

Have you kept other types of fish before?

I had a marine tank about ten years ago, unfortunately learned a lot of hard lessons with that one. I currently have a few Goldfish in a 55gal.

 

[Aries]

If this a brand new tank, I would read up on the cycling process - if you have not already. You can even jump start the tank from the filter media on your goldfish tank if you read up on how (many threads in this forum).

Bettas are quite sturdy fish. Plus it is fun to just fish watch them, until they start watching you, then it gets weird.

Aries

 

[Weezer]

Our beta is in a 29 gal. with other fish and looks quite happy....:dance2:

 

[Featherfin]

this is my take on it -

a 5 to 10 gallon tank. You'll need a filter, of course, and a heater - 80 F is the preferred and recommended temperature. Plants are a ust - anacharis or is good. they';ll need access to the surface, though, because they are labyrinth fish. slow moving water, no sharp rocks or decorations - river stones and driftwood are okay (driftwood is too soft to have splinters).
many people keep them alone - ots, cories are good companions. i keep mine with some hatchetfish, some algae eating shrimp, and some otos.

 

[Aries]

this is my take on it -

a 5 to 10 gallon tank. You'll need a filter, of course, and a heater - 80 F is the preferred and recommended temperature. Plants are a ust - anacharis or is good. they';ll need access to the surface, though, because they are labyrinth fish. slow moving water, no sharp rocks or decorations - river stones and driftwood are okay (driftwood is too soft to have splinters).
many people keep them alone - ots, cories are good companions. i keep mine with some hatchetfish, some algae eating shrimp, and some otos.

Good suggestion too.

In reference to splinters, the malaysian dw i have seen has sharp "splinters" which are "larger" section of the wood that is peeling off - all I meant by that.

Aries

 

[jm1212]

the filter should be putting out at least 100 gph on a ten gallon tank. this is not "to much" as some say because bettas come from"slow moving water." truth is, 99.9% of the bettas you will find at walmart are not even closely related to wild caught ancestors, much less from the "slow moving waters." the every day bettas found at comercial places are part of a very long line after the wild caught fish. the reason many of the bettas have trouble swiming around with adequate filtered tanks is because they have been living in stagnant water their entire lives and their muscles used for swimming have shrunk and are very weak.

angels come from a "soft water" habbitat, but does that mean they wont flourish in "hard" water? no.