Not again!! Another unexpected betta fish!!

[PattyCakes81]

Omggggg! Once again my brother decided to buy a Betta for my niece.

At the moment I have no tank setup. (All my fishes didnt survive the move to another apartment) So it's in one of those little cups, SMH

I have a spare 2.5 gallon rectangular tank, small filter, and heater [I was planning my own Betta tank (In case the betta didn't do well in a planned future community tank)].

Besides daily water changes and monitoring water parameters.

What else can I do to make sure the betta is a stress free and less chance of ammonia poisoning?

P.S.
Keep in mind I am going to keep up on water changes, But do any bacterial additives actually help?

Patty

 

[Aquaticfrog32]

IMO, that tank is a little too small for a Betta. He should be okay though. You could consider some live plants to help reduce the nitrites. Make sure he has a good environment to keep him amused. Also, what heater do you have? If it doesn't have a thermostat or anything like that he could wind up overheating, stressing him out. It would be a good Idea to keep a little thermometer.

 

[PattyCakes81]

IMO, that tank is a little too small for a Betta. He should be okay though. You could consider some live plants to help reduce the nitrites. Make sure he has a good environment to keep him amused. Also, what heater do you have? If it doesn't have a thermostat or anything like that he could wind up overheating, stressing him out. It would be a good Idea to keep a little thermometer.

Thanks for the respond AquaticFrog32! The 2.5 gallon is temporary until I setup my community tank. But if he doesn't work out in a community setup I'm going to upgrade to a 5.5 gallon. I'm also going to have some wood and live plants in the 2.5 gallon tank and if need be the 5.5 gallon.

The filter is a Marina Slim10 filter modified with Aquaclear sponge and biomax (I like this filter because you can control the flow a lot from a little to full flow).

The heater is a Hydor 25w aquarium heater:


It says it rated for 2 to 7 gallons.

The thing is I know, it would have been different if it was me who bought the betta fish. I would have done a fishless cycle before adding him to either the community tank or a 5.5 gallon (at least) tank.

Should I even consider a bacterial additive?

Patty

 

[Aquaticfrog32]

Oh, perfect! Just temporary, good. I've even kept a betta in a temporary half gallon so that should be fine. The heater looks just great too, I did a quick Google search and it appears that you can set the temperature. Your setup sounds great. As for the Bacterial additive, well, it depends. I have used it for when I first started cycling my half gallon. It seemed to jump start the cycle, because it cycled quickly. It depends what brands you use.

 

[Kannan Fodder]

I use SafeStart when I set up new tanks, but it doesn't instantly cycle. Just gives the bacteria a jump start. I've kept bettas in planted and filtered 2 gallon tanks, but my favorite small tank is a 3.7 with a built in filter compartment and a LED light. I usually fall for the Halfmoon double tails or rose petal bettas, so want to keep them away from my nippy gambusia.

If it helps, Petco is having a $1 a gallon sale right now.

 

[PattyCakes81]

Oh, perfect! Just temporary, good. I've even kept a betta in a temporary half gallon so that should be fine. The heater looks just great too, I did a quick Google search and it appears that you can set the temperature. Your setup sounds great. As for the Bacterial additive, well, it depends. I have used it for when I first started cycling my half gallon. It seemed to jump start the cycle, because it cycled quickly. It depends what brands you use.

I use SafeStart when I set up new tanks, but it doesn't instantly cycle. Just gives the bacteria a jump start. I've kept bettas in planted and filtered 2 gallon tanks, but my favorite small tank is a 3.7 with a built in filter compartment and a LED light. I usually fall for the Halfmoon double tails or rose petal bettas, so want to keep them away from my nippy gambusia.

If it helps, Petco is having a $1 a gallon sale right now.

Thanks for your help! For being a small, the Marina Slim s10 filter is huge on this tank. Will a

Azoo palm filter 60 be good on this tank? If so, how's the biological filtration on this filter?

Patty

 

[Aquaticfrog32]

I'm not sure, never tried it, but if you are looking for a good small filter I would recommend the Tetra whisper 1-3i power filter. Got it fairly recently, and it works great!

 

[Kannan Fodder]

The tank I was referring to is Petco's Cubic 3.7, which is now being made by Imaginarium. It has a built in filtration system with replaceable filter cartridges and an LED light with day/night modes. It's glass, and has a glass lid, which makes it difficult for my more creative cats to get into.

With the $1 per gallon sale at Petco, you can pick up a 5.5 gallon for only $5.50 if you prefer more room. My store has limited filter options, because it's smaller than most of the newer stores, so I'm not familiar with the two filters you mentioned.