I am getting really annoyed at my current betta housing. There were no 1-3 gallon tanks in my LFS so I went to Zellers and got a large mason jar which looks to me to be about 6x6x6 inches cube and holds 0.8 gallons practically (could hold 1 gallon if I filled it up).
I just have one fish, and I don't want a larger tank separated. Here's my situation: I'm in a dorm, and sometimes I want to bring my fish around like to bring him home. Most of the time he sits on my desk behind my laptop which spews warm air out the back so I can keep the jar at about 80 degrees most of the time. A large tank is impractical for me.
Now, I saw these really awesome ideal betta blocks on aquabid: http
/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...s005&1141518343 which looked perfectly IDEAL for me but the thing is, I'm in Canada and the shipping would be 25 dollars! They are already a bit expensive; I can't afford that. But they are sooo niiiiiice, with a nice lid with spot for an air line, made of acrylic so they are light, not too big, just about right for a betta (1.2 gallon capacity) and not so big that I can't bring it home.
So then I looked at the DIY forum and found the threads on how to make a tank and thought, hmm, I could do that for my betta. But the more I looked, the more impractical it seemed, and I don't even know where to get any glass/acrylic. And making it myself would probably cost more than buy one, and I don't know how to make a lid, which I really want. I want a lid with a hinge, just like that one on aquabid.
It doesn't have to be exactly like it, but the things that annoy me about my glass jar are: it's hard to reach in. I have to use a tiny tiny tiny cup to scoop water and/or fish because the top is kinda narrow. I would like a box. A nice clear box, ideally acrylic because it's lighter than glass. But sufficiently sturdy. Not about to break on me.
I don't want a bowl or anything else funny shaped.. just a box.... I don't want it taller than it is wide because I think bettas should have room to swim sideways and it's best that they don't have to swim too far to get to the surface anyway.
The beanie baby boxes would be just perfect if they were BIGGER and not so tall. But I really am not willing to trade my ugly jar for a smaller, less practical home just because it's a box.
The BIGGEST problem trying to find a roomy betta box is that I'm in CANADA, and if places even ship to canada, it costs tons and tons in shipping, which I am not willin to pay.
Anybody have any advise? Either someplace canadian that will send me sized cut acrylic or glass so I can make a mini-tank myself, or someplace that doesn't have exorborant shipping charges to Canada that has a box that is similar to the one on aquabid?
I'm sorry if I'm hard to follow. If you didn't get all that, here's it all summed up: I want a more spacious betta tank than my current setup but it needs to be 2.5 gallons or less, ideally box-shaped looking a lot like a mini-tank, just like a small version of the large 10-55 gallons, and I'm in CANADA which makes a lot of shipping options impractical.
Oh and no funny backing colours.. please... I saw some red ones, no way. Preferrably no backing colour but if there is one, well, should be either white black or silver or wood...
I just have one fish, and I don't want a larger tank separated. Here's my situation: I'm in a dorm, and sometimes I want to bring my fish around like to bring him home. Most of the time he sits on my desk behind my laptop which spews warm air out the back so I can keep the jar at about 80 degrees most of the time. A large tank is impractical for me.
Now, I saw these really awesome ideal betta blocks on aquabid: http
/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...s005&1141518343 which looked perfectly IDEAL for me but the thing is, I'm in Canada and the shipping would be 25 dollars! They are already a bit expensive; I can't afford that. But they are sooo niiiiiice, with a nice lid with spot for an air line, made of acrylic so they are light, not too big, just about right for a betta (1.2 gallon capacity) and not so big that I can't bring it home.So then I looked at the DIY forum and found the threads on how to make a tank and thought, hmm, I could do that for my betta. But the more I looked, the more impractical it seemed, and I don't even know where to get any glass/acrylic. And making it myself would probably cost more than buy one, and I don't know how to make a lid, which I really want. I want a lid with a hinge, just like that one on aquabid.
It doesn't have to be exactly like it, but the things that annoy me about my glass jar are: it's hard to reach in. I have to use a tiny tiny tiny cup to scoop water and/or fish because the top is kinda narrow. I would like a box. A nice clear box, ideally acrylic because it's lighter than glass. But sufficiently sturdy. Not about to break on me.
I don't want a bowl or anything else funny shaped.. just a box.... I don't want it taller than it is wide because I think bettas should have room to swim sideways and it's best that they don't have to swim too far to get to the surface anyway.
The beanie baby boxes would be just perfect if they were BIGGER and not so tall. But I really am not willing to trade my ugly jar for a smaller, less practical home just because it's a box.
The BIGGEST problem trying to find a roomy betta box is that I'm in CANADA, and if places even ship to canada, it costs tons and tons in shipping, which I am not willin to pay.
Anybody have any advise? Either someplace canadian that will send me sized cut acrylic or glass so I can make a mini-tank myself, or someplace that doesn't have exorborant shipping charges to Canada that has a box that is similar to the one on aquabid?
I'm sorry if I'm hard to follow. If you didn't get all that, here's it all summed up: I want a more spacious betta tank than my current setup but it needs to be 2.5 gallons or less, ideally box-shaped looking a lot like a mini-tank, just like a small version of the large 10-55 gallons, and I'm in CANADA which makes a lot of shipping options impractical.
Oh and no funny backing colours.. please... I saw some red ones,
no way. Preferrably no backing colour but if there is one, well, should be either white black or silver or wood...
Well, I'll check again. Thanks a lot! 
yeah, that really makes me trust you.... I basically ignored all their advise since it was pretty unreliable. It was clear I knew more about keeping a betta than he did. He thought they were happy in the tiny bowls that don't even afford them the ability to turn around. 
So here I am, in my room, with a brand new ROOMY 3.5 gallon tank for my pet betta 
Duh! Where do they get these clerks from? Anything for a sale. I was gonna say reptile cages have those screen tops but then........you can go to a hardware store, get a roll of screen like you have on your windows and have your dad make a little DIY top. I used screen rubber banded onto the top of this glass fishbowl I have. 
