Bettas And Fighting

[Bettarat0r]

I want to breed my betta aka the bettarat0r into a fighting machine. What kind of steroids would you recommend and what daily regimental workouts should it do?

Thanks.

 

[cuticom]

Please tell me your kidding? Although they are often called Siamese Fighters Bettas are ornamental fish, not fighting fish.

 

[Bettarat0r]

I was just kidding, just needed to get some attention for a few newbie questions .

Anyways, I got a tank and a betta. The lady at the pet store said it was fine for my beta to be in mildly cold weather [live in Washington]. I'm not sure what my room temperature is, but it gets cold like in the upper 50s to mid 60's in my room at night and in the mid 70s during the day.

I still need to get a few things before I put him in a tank: Heater [night time?], Thermometer. My tank is a bit small, so not sure what to do about the heat? Maybe wrap my tank at night or something?

This is the tank I have and I'm only going to have one beta. I'm going to buy a real small tiny plant for it tomorrow and some other things.

 

[Amerce]

That tank is for display purposes only, you cannot keep a betta for any length of time in that so please don't even think about it.

Minimum tank requirements at the very least would be a 2.5 gallon please don't keep your betta in that display coffin

 

[erk628]

That tank is for display purposes only, you cannot keep a betta for any length of time in that so please don't even think about it.

Minimum tank requirements at the very least would be a 2.5 gallon please don't keep your betta in that display coffin

I agree with you Amerce, go out and get you a 5 gallon tank he or she will be much happer.

 

[Bettarat0r]

Hmmm, what would be a good small tank? Mind you, I live in a college dorm.

 

[Gankutsuou]

yaaar. and again we get into the minimum tank arguement?

5? 2.5?

1 is just fine. I have a 1.5 that has a filter, and could have a heater, and I can put plants and suck in there and he's just fine and healthy as an ox.

I have another in a 1 gallon that is just fine too. no filter. I don't advocate it. Sure, get the best care you can. But I still say 1 i s fine with a water change every week or 3 days.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

most of the big chain petstores (PetCo, PetSmart, etc) carry 5g glass tanks. they cost $10 or less and are perfect for just one betta to live in. if money's tight, you can just get the 5g glass box and an appropriately sized heater (all of the heaters should say what size they are). you'll need to figure out something to cover the tank with, since bettas can and will jump. a cookie sheet set on there crooked or even saran wrap with holes poked in it will get the job done, but they also sell little mesh lids for reptile aquariums that should be ok. (i've gone the mesh lid route with my 10g badis tank.)

the beauty of getting a glass box instead of an aquarium kit is that it cost less to start with and really gives you more opportunities to upgrade. to say, a nice planted set-up like what fishkillernomore has going on for his betta

but there are some nice 2.5 minbow starter kits that Walmart and everybody else sells. they come with a lid, a light, and a filter in pretty rainbow colors. the kits are generally priced somewhere between $20 and $35 dollars.

 

[_cRaCkEr_]

Nice tank I only use 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 gallon for my bettas

 

[jenny6165]

im not getting into the whole tank size argument, but i personally wouldnt find it attractive to look at a betta in anything less than 2.5 gallons. I have a 5 gallon tank for mine and its nice to be able to heavily plant it and have a nice tank to look at, as well as provide my betta with plenty of space to explore.

i just find it more aesthetically pleasing jmo tho

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i also find the larger tanks easier to clean if they've been decorated. with a 1g, especially doing the 100% daily water changes that they need (despite what certain others might think ), it can be a real pain to get out all the water without seriously disrupting the decor. 2.5g tanks are not much better, although you don't have to clean as often. at least with a 5g you can use a regularly sized gravel vacuum and you only have to do a partial change once a week.

 

[Lead]

I've found that if you go with a small glass tank you end up paying close to the same amount as those complete acrylic kits. For example:

5 gallon glass tank $10
lid $5
filter $10
flourescent light $15

Total: $40

Acrylic is superior to glass but it needs better care to prevent scratches.

My tank is 2.5 gallons planted, heated, filtered and I NEVER vacuum the gravel. I only do weekly 35% water changes. If you have one little Betta in a filtered tank you will never need to vacuum the gravel..never unless you overfeed. Oh and (despite what certain others think), you don't need to do 100% water changes in a 1 gallon every week..50% is good enough even for a non-filtered tank.

 

[jfeld]

I keep my betta in a 2.5 gallon tank, nicely decorated (and heated, of course) but with no filter or gravel. I alternate between 50 and 100% water changes every week and because there's no gravel, i can just suck out poops/uneaten food with a turkey baster! I highly recommend this method for a smaller tank - the water stays sparkling clean with minimal effort.

 

[Bettarat0r]

If I get a 5 gallon tank ~$30 starter kit thing.

I was curious on the cleaning? I'll just have one Betta in there and nothing else. If I have anything else, not sure what I'd put in there.

How would I go about cleaning the tank? It'll have a filter and everything but not sure about the whole water changing. Do I completely take out the water and then clean the rocks and stuff or what do I do?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

you'd siphon out a gallon of water and muck once a week. you can use a gravel vacuum bought from the LFS or a length of quarter-inch vinyl tubing bought at the hardware store.

I've found that if you go with a small glass tank you end up paying close to the same amount as those complete acrylic kits. For example:

5 gallon glass tank $10
lid $5
filter $10
flourescent light $15

Total: $40

Acrylic is superior to glass but it needs better care to prevent scratches.

My tank is 2.5 gallons planted, heated, filtered and I NEVER vacuum the gravel. I only do weekly 35% water changes. If you have one little Betta in a filtered tank you will never need to vacuum the gravel..never unless you overfeed. Oh and (despite what certain others think), you don't need to do 100% water changes in a 1 gallon every week..50% is good enough even for a non-filtered tank.

i agree that if you're buying the equivalent of a kit, you end up spending more. but a betta-only tank doesn't need a filter and lights are optional if you don't keep live plants. but if you want lights and a filter, then definitely go for the kit.

but i stand firm that 1g tanks need a 100% water change more frequently than once a week. the nitrogen cycle in a tank that small is just not going to be stable enough to keep the ammonia level under control and there won't be enough volume to keep wastes dilluted to a safe level. a betta can live like that, but it won't be nearly as pretty and it'll be more prone to fin damage.

deep cleaning of the gravel is not necessary, but you will want to siphon off the top level of gunk every so often. as mentioned, bare-bottomed tanks are much easier to keep clean. in fact, it might be advisable that you forgoe gravel in the first few weeks so that you can get a sense of how messy things are. (some bettas are neater than others ) then you can decide for yourself about substrate and cleaning needs.