Considering Betta For 5 Gal

[kimmers318]

I have often seen beautiful bettas but have stayed away from them since I don't know enough about their compatibility. Tonight I have been researching quite a bit and although I would love to have a gorgeous male in my large com. tank, I don't think it would work (tank contains cory's, sm. clown loaches, gold, white skirt and rummynose tetras, 3 danios and sparkling gourami) but my daughter bought a 5 gal with her xmas $ and the neons she has don't seem like they care for the small space. So, I am thinking about when I find the perfect betta for me moving her tetras to my big tank and giving a betta a 5 gal tank. It is an eclipse corner tank so it has a filter in the hood...the only water current would be from the water rolling off of the biofilter. I read quite a bit about bettas not liking strong currents and want to make sure this wouldn't be too much. The light keeps the tank water around 76-78 all day, with a small drop during the night. Even in the winter her room is the warmest so I haven't seen much temp change. There is a ghost shrimp in there, which doesn't matter if he becomes a snack because he was purchased for the dwarfpuffer who was there for a short time when she had to be removed from com. tank and was waiting for her own 10g. The only other inhabitants are the small snails I allow to breed for the above mentioned dwarfpuffer.
Does this sound like a doable plan? Betta, 5 gal tank, low current filter, heat source is light on top, and the snail population?

 

[oneponygirl]

Yup, I've done something very similar. I had a five gallon hex with a betta, ghost shrimp and a bigger snail. I've heard that some more aggressive bettas can harras a snail but I didn't have a problem.

I have two of my bettas in Eclipse tanks and they are the two with the most finnage, the current doesn't bother them. If it seems to bother yours there are ways you can cut the current. You can see how he does first.

 

[wendywc]

Sounds absolutely perfect! My betta loves his Eclipse 6 gallon. And just to let you know, he also ate a ghost shrimp last month.

 

[kimmers318]

How would you cut out the current? I don't know if you are familiar with it, but the filter is built into the hood, intake sucks the water in, allows it to flow over a horizontal filter media pad, and then it flows to the next station where the biowheel is. As it turns it just rolls off the biowheel into the water. It would be more of a dropping current than a flow. I guess I will keep it in mind and when I see the betta I fall in love with I will convince my 4 yr old her neons need to come and live with my other tetras in community tank! Bettas also seem more interactive so it may be more fun for her too if she gets a fish in her room with a personality!
Thanks for the information

 

[kimmers318]

Any suggestions on what to look for to get a personable fish? I plan on staying away from the cup bettas I see at most places...we have a store about 30min away that has a whole wall of bettas in small cube tanks so at least this way I know they have been given some type of decent place to live. As much as I would love to rescue all of the cup bettas I see, just can't do it!

 

[White Whale]

Choose the inquisitive one. The one that does not shy away from you. Inquisitiveness is very cute and since they are not shy they may interact with you more so than any other.

 

[oneponygirl]

You can sometimes cut the current with a cut up plastic water bottle attched at where the water comes out. Somewhere on here there was a thread with pics and directions on how to make it, you might try doing a search. You may not need to do it at all though. Neither of the fish I have in Eclipse tanks are bothered by the current. But I have one fish who is so he's in a tank with no filter at all.

 

[kimmers318]

Thanks for the tips. I showed my daughter a page with pics of different tail styles and she is totally in love! Forgot all about the neons....so I guess we may go shopping tomorrow!
The other thing I have noticed is some of the websites I searched on mentioned that most stores only carry the veil tail ( I believe ) and she has decided she wants a fan tail, is this going to be difficult to find in your experiences?

 

[wendywc]

Personally, I have only seen veiltails, crowntails, and plakats at stores. But I bet when you take her to the stores, she'll fall in love with almost any betta.

 

[SnowyzMom]

Just wanted to add that having had two Bettas now in 5 gallon tanks I can't concieve of ever putting one in something smaller---they just love cruising around. The wild ones live in ditches so yeah, they're not fond of currents. But boy they've got personality and Tropico gets as excited as my dog when he sees me. It maybe all "cupboard love" as my mom called it, just knowing I feed him, but it's cool. I bet your daughter really enjoys having one. Let us know what she gets okay?

A friend of my son was in a group of University students who actually taught their Betta to jump through a hoop, I'm guessing for food. I'm NOT recommending that, nor do I think it was a veiltail(tail too long), but it does point out they're pretty smart. Mine's taught me to hand feed him, the spoilt little superstar!

I rescued Tropico from a cup on a shelf--he literally didn't know how to swim in a straight line when I got him, he swam in tight circles and sank to the bottom if he stopped...boy did he EVER need rescuing!

 

[soritan]

I enjoy watching a betta swim in a 5g. My older man is too slow to really frisk about 'em anymore, but my young guy is enjoying his new home. When I got him, he'd been living in a .5g bowl for about 2 months. After that, I upgraded him to a 3.3g, and now he's in a 5.3. He's acting like the world is his oyster, and he's the pearl.

I advocate 5g tanks where possible.

5g tanks are large enough to accomadate dialed 25watt heaters, 5g tanks can use a filter if you like, 5g tanks are easier to keep clean, 5g tanks maintain parmaters with greater ease.

Oh, sure, I can keep my bettas in 1g tanks with success, but it's much more work and much less play, for the both of us. But I, personally, put my guys into 5g tanks for exactly 2 reasons:

I'm lazy, and they're easier to maintain.
They're active, and it's a lot of space for them to enjoy.



As far as the fantail availability goes, you most likely won't find 'em on the shelf. You can either talk her into getting one that's available, for the ever-grand immediate satisfaction, or buy a more expensive one online.

 

[kimmers318]

I don't know, maybe I am weird, but I hate the idea of trying to pick a great betta by looking at all those guys in cups! Online purchase will be my second choice, my first choice is hoping to find a local breeder that will allow us to come by and look at his/her bettas for sale and pick one out. I know it is a long shot, but hoping. So, does anyone know of any betta breeders in the NE Ohio area? We are located between Cleveland and Akron, giving us quite a distance of options for traveling.

 

[Taridan]

International Betta Congress

You could look here and see if any of this site is helpful

Tri State Bettas - Ohio - District 3
Dyane Kirkland [email protected]


Not sure how close District 3 is to where you live though.

 

[kimmers318]

International Betta Congress

You could look here and see if any of this site is helpful

Tri State Bettas - Ohio - District 3
Dyane Kirkland [email protected]


Not sure how close District 3 is to where you live though.

did look thru IBC, didn't have much luck finding a local breeder. Can't find anything on tri state bettas. Looks like I won't have much luck unless I want to order.

 

[oneponygirl]

Maybe try looking for a smaller aquarium only store instead of the bigger chain stores. The ones that were in my community both maintained only a small selection of bettas and one of them would also make a request to the breeder for a particular tail type if they were available.