Cheap Way To Set Up Betta Tank?

[eggy]

i am planing to set up a large amount of water for a betta since i'm siack of all the poor bettas in the pet shops being housed in not even an quarter of an gallon somtimes!

I JUST MUST GIVE THEM A BETTER HOME!!!!
CARE TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE THERE LIFE PERFECT WOULD BE APRECIATED!

 

[Mikaila31]

well if you put two males together they will fight. It is also not suggested to keep a male w/ a female unless you are breeding. That said you can keep females together. Large rubbermaid bins work quite well for keeping fish. When picking one out keep in mind that you might need to put a filter on it. Local hobbiests around me use 200-500 gallon livestock troughs outside in the summer to raise tropical fish. I've used 10-40gal bins inside with no problem.

 

[Night61]

i have learned the hard way to try and plan ahead on saving a betta. make sure you have water ready, you can only keep one betta per container unless they are sisters but even then that doesn't always work. i have kept betta's in a minimum one gallon tank. the ideal minimum for these fish are 2.5 and you can get a small heater. but the reality is for rescue on fish usally ends up costing me some where in the range of 60 dollers, between fish tank heater and decorations and that at walmart.
also you need to think about space too, i have gotten into trouble there. at this point the fish outnumber me in my bedroom.
it is a nice thought though about saving bettas though, just know your limitaions and make sure you have the basic meds too. .

 

[Mikaila31]

Females don't need to be sister to get allong. You should have at least 5 to spread out aggression. $60 is alot for a small tank! I only spend $10 on mine. But I go w/ the bare necessities. A large 3gal food container and a $7 heater + a fake plant. Gravel is optional, I only use it if I have extra on hand.

 

[eggy]

so what are good conditions for breeding bettas?

 

[Honeythorn]

I thought you wanted to save bettas, not breed them?

Look in local classifieds and Ebay for used/secondhand tanks. Length is more important than height/depth. Get a 4 foot long tank and divide it into 5 gallon sections. You will take up less space and power points/plugs if you get a long tank and divide it than if you get loads of little containers.

If a long tank is not a viable option for you due to space, then go to a hardware store or something similar, and pick up a few clear plastic storage boxes of the sort you can slide under the bed or stack. You can find them easily enough and they are usually pretty cheap. They need to be at least 12 INCHES all around , and at least 8-10 inches deep/high.

You can set those up as individual tanks, but you will need extension plugs in order to be able to plug in the filters and heaters, which are essential ( having a labyrinth organ does not excuse these fish from requiring filtration )

Sponge filters are perfect for bettas, as they produce no current. They require air pumps to power them . Breeders use them in fry tanks when breeding so they are perfectly safe for weak swimmers like bettas.

You will need heaters for all the tubs to keep the temperature constant.

 

[eggy]

well the reason i said i wanted to breed them is cuase i will probably house more than one fish together so i wanted to know what to do if thay breed.

 

[Truck]

you cant house M+F's together, when breeding the female is place inside a jar or something in the males tank to generate interrest then shes released, the male may ffight her, or they may breed, bear in mind, breeding is not for beginners (in the betta side of the hobby)

 

[pippoodle]

you can only house males and females together in a very large tank

400l+ this way they can have their own territories

there are a few members that do keep them this way

 

[Honeythorn]

Female bettas can be kept in groups, but you need at least 10 gallons for around 5 females to be comfortable. Males are best and easiest kept alone/separated.

 

[juanveldez]

my wife used the Plastic critter cages or what ever they were had probably I bet about 75 of them up and going at one time. and around me anyways 10 gal tanks are fairly cheap so with proper hiding spots and such you could probably get away with putting a couple females in there or dividing it into thirds and putting one male per third in there.

 

[eggy]

plastic critter cages sound good, but i quite like the idea of big plastic tanks
but what is with the whole "place them under your bed" idea, i mean don't they need alot of sunlight?

 

[newfishy]

please do not put bettas in the roll under the bed storage containers.

 

[Talius]

I think the "Place it under your bed" was more of a description of the primary use of the storage container.

 

[juanveldez]

the whole under the bed thing as I read it in this thread was the result of discribing a type of tub. such as a rubber maid tub.