Betta Mutts....

[OohFeeshy]

Hi! I went to the LPS today to get some bloodworm and a test kit. I was looking around the fish when I noticed a very sad looking male betta. He was in a tank of neon tetras! Poor thing, he looked like he'd had his fins nipped and was hiding in a tube in the tank.... I am hopefully going to rescue him. I have a 5 gallon tank. If the nitrites have gone down sufficiently and he is still there, well, betta time for me! The only thing is they are £5 each, for a VT, but he looks so sad.....

 

[ral]

Maybe you could put in the betta now. If you are cycling the plant, a Betta is a nice hardy fish to cycle with.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I didn't think they were that hardy.... For cycling I mean. Hmm.. I shal see But I really want him. He shouldn't be bought, you can hardly see him.

 

[Joby]

Bettas are quite often kept in unfiltered/cycled bowls or tanks with frequent water changes. You could get it now and keep up the water changes till your filter cycles the tank.

£5 for a male betta is the going rate around here whether it be VT or CT or whatever. The exception being the male mustard gas plakat that was sold to me for £1.25 because they thought it was a female!

 

[Nuttygal! :0)]

 

[OohFeeshy]

Hehehe... well, went to the shop..... Betta gone!!!! But hopefully I will get to a shop at the weeked and get one- I know one often has red ones and another does mainly females.... Descisions, descisions...

 

[OohFeeshy]

Ooh, they had another cutie today.... He was a mutt but more purpley than most I've seen.... And he was pretty active..... Grr... I just did a test and I have 0.5-1 mg/l ammonia and I think I'm on a nitrite spike..... Why can't it cycle quicker?
And I'm happy for food- The shop just got a frozen 'tropical quintet' with dapnia, bloodworms, mosquito larvae and some other stuff... If I get that betta I'll get that too and hope mum doesn't mind it in the freezer.

 

[ral]

Dont wait for the tank to cycle. My Betta's cycled their own tanks with 10% water changes very other day.

A Betta would be fine in that 5G for a week or two without a filter or a water change.

 

[OohFeeshy]

It has a filter Well, I might see about one tomorrow. The only thing is, mum and dad will want me to take a water sample to another shop to get it tested (They know b*gger-all about fish), and if the shop says something is too high then they probably won't let me get one. Or they'll make me buy platys BTW, how well do bettas deal with temperature fluncs?

 

[SRC]

Just because betta's can handle going thru a cycle, doesn't really mean they should, does it? Everything I've read about fish that are used to cycle...says that it significantly shortens their lifetime expectation.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Yes, I thought that.... It depends if we do go tomorrow though, I will hint as much as possible, even i can only mange to go to pets at home hopefully the betta will still be there... And I can say, oh how cute... My evil plan could just work.

 

[SRC]

From personal experience and from what I've read and seen others post...Betta's do not care for temp fluctuation very much. Especially from cooler to warmer in a short period of time. They much prefer their water stay a constant temp.

 

[ral]

Just because betta's can handle going thru a cycle, doesn't really mean they should, does it? Everything I've read about fish that are used to cycle...says that it significantly shortens their lifetime expectation.

Well, yes, ideally. But most Betta's don't even ever get to live in a cycled tank. So if you keep up the water changes like Joby suggested, he will effectivly live in smaller and smaller concentrations of ammonia.

A betta used to cycle his own tank would still seem to be better off than one who is kept in a tank without a filter.