3 Rookie Questions

[rikkitiger]

I recently aqquired a BEAUTIFUL crowntail male betta. I am keeping him in a five gallon mason jar with a submersile heater and a new thermometer. Hs temp. Is 78-83 degrees F and stays that most of the time. He is eating and healthy and his fin rot from walmart cleared up so he is beautiful with full fins now. I have had him for a couple months after i inherited a ten gallon aquarium from my neighbor and got a male betta and a snail, i moved the submersile heater from the ten gallon into the jar because it was too cold and he was sluggish. So what kind of heater is better for a ten gallon? I need one that i can get at walmart. My question is should i get another 2-10 gallon or get the 10-30 gallon heater?

And another two questions, so i guess three.

Is it worth it to get a filter for the jar? I change the water 1-2 times during the week.

Is there any way i can make a piece of decoration that fits in the jar that i wont have to buy? Since im buying a heater i wont have that much left. Im thirteen and dont get the biggest allowance.

And do i have to do a full water change for the ten gallon every week or can i get away with like a 50% one?

Thanks for helping!

 

[SmexxyNick]

I'd say use the 10 gallon, buy a heater for 10-20 gallon prob a 50w heater. And you'd be good to go

 

[Shelster]

If you don't get a filter, I would be inclined to do 80% water change every other day. But that's me!

Cheap decoration ideas:

http/www.instructables.com/id/Coconut-Cave/?ALLSTEPS - you will need a grown up to help with tools though.

 

[Llegmore]

I'm from the UK, so I don't know what kind of heaters they sell at Walmart, sorry. If you get any fake plants for decoration, remember not to get anything with sharp, plastic edges as betta fins are very easily torn. There's always the possibility of finding things; a pretty stone from the park or garden or some driftwood from a river are cheap and natural decorations.(As long as you remember to clean and sterilize them properly).
 
There's no need to do a 100% water change on your 10 gallon weekly. 50 is more than enough.
 
I personally prefer to keep my bettas with filters, but if there really isn't room for one then make sure that you change the water frequently.

 

[rikkitiger]

Thank you so much for the help!! I love the coconut cave idea and will ask my mom if she can pick one up as i really like coconut anyways!! In the meantime does anyone else have any diy decorations for the mason jar?

I have another thing. I was inspecting by new crowntail swimmy and noticed that he has a brown area, kind of light brown on the underside of his belly, face, and the root of his bottom fin. He is shiny blue and green so it looks really wierd. Possibly a disease?

And his belly also looks a bit big. I feed him 2 pellets a night is that too much? I will cut back to one a night

 

[biggerfish]

could be ammonia burns, but it could also just be natural color changing if hes young. Check your water to see if ammonia's high, and if not then it shouldn't be anything. i have had a Betta go from pink to purple whithen a year of buying him.

 

[AlitaConejita]

Walmart is a great place to get low priced items (I got a 10 gal there for $13.98) but it also has some limited supplies. Have you considered some other online resources, like Amazon? You can get the API ammonia tester for $5-$10 and they have a wide selection of heaters. Then you don't have to depend on your parents to drive you to walmart either (I remember you said it was a far drive).

 

[wrightt3]

A 5 gallon mason jar is not big enough for any fish. This unproven theory that bettas prefer small spaces is ball poo to say the least.
I'd get another 10 gallon tank TBH.
In a small, unfiltered tank you should be doing large water changes (50%+) daily! 1-2 times a week is by no means good enough.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Online fish supplies:
http/www.kensfish.com/
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/default.cfm
http/www.petsolutions.com/
http/www.bigalsonline.com/
http/www.thatpetplace.com/

 

[Wildbetta]

I would go for a heater that is at least 50 watts for the 10 gallon.  My suggestion is to see if you can afford the supplies to divide the 10 gallon in half and then both of your bettas will be in better housing.  Bigger amounts of water make it easier to keep the correct temp and a good cycle which reduces chances of illness and amount/frequency of water changes.  I posted some pics of what is needed and how to do it on this thread:  http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/425161-diy-betta-tank-divider/
 
I would do 50% water changes on your 10 gallon until it is fully cycled and keep doing every other day 50% water changes on the jar if you keep your boy in there.

 

[rikkitiger]

how do i know when it's cycled?
 
i have very sad news. my fish squishy is dead. i dont know what happened. i am looking up ammonia burns as i didn't change water in a couple days. i feel really bad if it wa my fault so i am not going to get another until i know what happened.
 
i am sorry sir i wish i could just go out and buy another ten gallon but right now i do not have more than 5$ and my next allowance is next week for 24$ more.
 
 i will get a good heater for the ten gallon if the one i have proves not to work. its wierd because the light indicator turns on for a bit, then turns off and i dont see it come on for a while.
 
anyways, i dont have a water test kit, but my family does have an amazon account so i will ask my mom if there is anything she needs to order so we can get free 25$ shipping.
 
thank you for your help.

 

[wrightt3]

Cycling is a long and complicated process. It is basically when you manually add pure ammonia to the tank so that a beneficial bacteria colony forms in your filter. This usually takes 3-4 weeks but it is worth it because you won't need to do daily water changes or worry about losing fish to ammonia. I believe there is a section on this forum that explains the process in more detail so I'd take a look at that.
You will obviously need your test kit before cycling though so you know whether the ammonia you are adding is being removed by the bacteria.
 
As for your heater, don't worry about it.It's not broken, all heaters do that.
When the water reaches the set temperature, the heater shuts off. When the water temperature starts to drop, the heater comes back on again.