Office Betta?

Hi I'm new here. I've been thinking about getting a betta for my desk at work, having seen them set up in other offices. So I decided to do a little research and found out that the vase and betta hex set ups are big no no's, So I tried to come up with something better. However, it's been really hard since pretty much every bit of info I get on one website is contradicted on another.

So I'm here asking for help. I was looking at getting a 2.5 mini bow tank, but I can't have a filter because I share my office with someone else (who might not like hearing the constant humming all day.) I also know I have to clean the tank, I'm in an office and I don't know how practical carrying that big a tank to the bathroom every week would be.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could make this work?

Thanks

Hey there! Firstly glad to here you're getting into this wonderful hobby! Now my suggestion would be, since its a 2.5 gallon, to do a 50% water change once a week, that way you won't need to move mr. betta at all or carry the heavy tank, and thats all that will really be needed. Just find a container you can scoop the water in and out with and do it that way

feeding:
bettas are carnavores but you can buy pellets and flakes.

try to once a week feed him blood worm or brine shrimp

daily: feed 2-3 times a day

feed him as much as he can in 5 mins for pellets best to give 4

Playing: good to have mirror for him to flare at its good exersise and has fun watching him but dont leave all day or hell wont care about it any more. Bettas love live plants and hidey hole, my sister got one for salem and he goes crazy with it.

thats all i can think to say right now
(dont need to right about cleaning

P.S. this is very important DO NOT PUT TO BETTAS TOGETHER! THEY ARE ALSO CALLED SIEMEASE FIGHTING FRIENDS (woops fighting fish lol)

have fun with your betta

Yep, or you can get a little girl and put her in a 1 gallon bowl. Scooping the water out is a great idea but sometimes (or maybe its just me) things sink to the bottom so you may eventually have to change the whole thing out. I'm actually thinking about doing the same thing in my office and am probably going to bring my little girl up here in a 1 gallon. Yes, a 2.5 or larger is much preferred but I personally think a 1 gallon is just fine, as long as the betta isn't too large and you don't overfill it with too many plants.

The tank wouldn't need to be filtered as long as you keep up on your water changes and get the debris from the bottom. If you do just scoop out the water with your water change, don't forget to siphon the rocks at the bottom.

The fish world is a lovely thing to get in to but if youre office is quite cool it is best to have a little mini heater but i hope it all works out for you good luck.

Thanks for all the help! My office is actually warm and I'm in a enclosed office with no windows so the temp should be stable. Any tips from other working fish owners on how to do water changes in an office environment.


Thanks!

(PS) one quick question, should you buy the betta's at Petco? Or would a local tropical fish store be better?

Hi there! First off, you will love having a betta at work with you. Mine give me soooo much enjoyment at work, it's sooo nice.

I started out with a 1 gallon tank from Walmart on my desk. We have a kitchen in our office, so it made it fairly easy for me to do water changes on a regular basis. I kept his wee cup he came in, and I actually just put the cup in his tank, he now knows the drill, swims in, and we get on with his water change.

I now have a 2.5 gal on my desk (it's a simple 12x6x8 tank, with a glass lid) that he is in. He loves it, I love it. Very easy to clean.

I also have a 10 gal in the "lobby" area, that is split and houses another two bettas, a CT male and a CT female. I'm glad they are here, but anything bigger and I'd have issues with cleaning it in our sink.

My advice to you would be to measure the sink you have to use to clean it, and plan around getting a tank that fits in it LOL

All 3 office bettas are fasted over the weekend, and boy are they happy to see me Monday morning! I do take them home with me on longer weekends (4 day ones) and over Christmas holidays and my summer holidays, so that I am sure they are getting proper care. I don't trust anyone else I work with to feed them properly or do regular water changes. In fact, I have to hide their food cause one of the ladies in here likes to feed them when I am at lunch, and I was finding alot of waste from that, plus, I like to know how much they are eating in a day so I can keep an eye on their health, etc. You might want to do the same.

Have fun!! You're going to love it!

I thought I would add (since I think everyone has covered all the other bases) that I bought an Eclipse 3 for my Betta at home. It's filtered, heated (had to buy the heater separately) and fits nicely right next to my monitor.
If you'd like to get a filter, I would recommend the Eclipse tanks, the filter is so quiet I can't even hear it aside from the water trickling into the tank, which both my honey and I find very peaceful. My computer is FAR louder than the filter, but you will probably have to use some method to slow down the current if you go that route. The pop bottle over the filter works amazingly well for my little Darby.

I have an office betta (and actually only work up the road a ways from tangerinefizz lol!!) Anyway, it is a 5 gallon Hex tank (EC Hexa 5) the filter makes no noise, and the light and filter plug into the hood which has one cord to plug into the electric socket. And my boy loves his home! The water changes are no problem, i have a bucket that i scopp the water from the tank into and then repalce (about 50%)

here is photos!









One thing to keep in mind, make sure that the tank won't leak. I found out just before I was leaving that night (friday) that there was a leak at the bottom, there wasn't a fish in it yet, but eek!

Oh, another suggestion! Get a little eye dropper thing (ok forgot the name of it, but I hope you know what I'm talking about) to suck out the stuff at the bottom, along with frequent water changes. That should do the trick, maybe I will do the same....

You could always have the filter running at night and not while you are at work. That way you wouldn't have to do water changes as often as without a filter, and keep from annoying your coworkers with the hum of a filter.

YE sounds a good idea when you leave start up a filter when you get back turn off.
Good Luck.