Ermm?

[Truck]

OK i admit it , ive caught the betta bug. havent got one yet but ilreaddy get high seeing one..

so i bought a 3 uk gallon tank today with an air driven filter. i already have a light a clip on compact flourescent lamp, i gathered i dont need a heater as my bedroom has a constant temperature of 23oC.

i am going to seed the filters from my tank i have now to make the cycling process quicker, and i am going to transfer a 1.5 gallons of my fish water from my main tank, to put in this one and top it up with dechlorinated water.

i willbe adding live plants such as HC and some small leafy ones (not sure on species) and some floating riccia(incase he decides to build a bubble nest.)

i will be adding 2mm fine grade black gravel.

ive done a fair bt of research on bettas and their feeding habbits ive heard they dont particully like flake food, i have some hikari micro pellets do you think a male would take these?

one last question. is it pronounced (bet-a or bait-a) just curious as i dont want to look a fool in the LFS.

thanks

truck

 

[smegforbrains]

Pronounced BETTA


Personally, I would say 3 gallons is a bit small unless you get a juvenile and have plans to buy a larger aquarium.

I would recommend ideally a minimum of 27 litres (6 gallons). This will be roughly a one foot square cube.


Superfish do a tank this size, model is Aqua 40.I picked one of these up with a twin compact T5 in the hood and a basic internal filter as part of the package for £25 (should have been £30 ) If you have the money and space, I would really recommend it as the Betta will be so much happier.


I would also recommend a heater as you may experience extremely cold weather or your central heating (if you have it) may break down. You can pick up a 50w heater off eBay for a tenner delivered.


Hikari pellets should be fine. I've found my boys eat flake sometimes but much prefer pellets (even catfish pellets!). Don't be too surprised if he doesn't eat for the first day or two, it will take him some time to settle in to his new home and he will be a little stressed. Then just feed him a tiny pinch (four or five pellets) once a day, treating him once a week to a little brine shrimp or bloodworm.

 

[Honeythorn]

You NEED a heater. bettas need to be kept at a constant 27 degrees C . Your room, nor any room in a house is not remotely warm enough.

And I agree, if you have room for a bigger tank then get a bigger tank. You can never have too much space. 5-10 gallons is perfect for a betta.

It is pronounced Bet-a . Short hard sounding "bet" ( as in going to "bet" on a horse ) and the same for the a on the end.

 

[Truck]

i have a heater i just heard they dont do well in snall tanks, heaters that is

 

[Honeythorn]

So get a bigger tank. Don't compromise the health of the fish because you didn't get a big enough tank. A bog standard ten gallon can fit on a desk so I know for a fact a five gallon will fit pretty much anywhere. I have a 50watt heater in my five gallon betta tank and it works perfectly.

 

[Truck]

im on about the 3 uk gallon atm. have you any more advice besides the tank and heater

 

[smegforbrains]

Quite simply, the only further advice my conscience will allow me to give you is:


Please do not put a Betta into a 3 gallon tank. It really is too small.



Sorry if it's not what you want to hear mate, but a spade is a spade in my book, no point in beating round the bush where the fish's health and happiness are concerned.

 

[Truck]

im being given a juvinile and hell only be in there for a few weeks, he has a 16 gallon waiting for him i bought another /

 

[smegforbrains]

im being given a juvinile and hell only be in there for a few weeks, he has a 16 gallon waiting for him i bought another /

So why did you not say that in the first place?


If you read my OP you would have seen:

Personally, I would say 3 gallons is a bit small unless you get a juvenile and have plans to buy a larger aquarium.

Short term it would be OK providing you have a juvenile and it is only for a couple of weeks.



If you had stated this fact in the first place, you would have received more positive replies.

 

[Truck]

sorry my mistake. i wont do it again. its becuse ive read all over the net of people keeping them in 3gallons and saying its fine but i can see where your coming from.

 

[smegforbrains]

Please don't take it the wrong way mate, it wasn't meant to be a direct hit, but if you had put that in the original post, it would have been a lot easier for us to reply with to the point advice



Anyway, good luck with your first Betta (trust me, it won't end there )


Don't forget the pics

 

[Honeythorn]

If you already have a 16 gallon then just cycle the filter for it and put him in that. There's no point in keeping him in a tiny tank when you have another , larger one already. Just provide lots of thick clumps of soft plants like Cabomba, Elodia, Aponogentons, java moss and mossballs ect. A coconut cave may also be good if he wants somewhere dark to go and rest.

 

[Truck]

ok mate thanks for the advice every one. my friend is giving me the betta in 2 weeks, and the bigger tank wont have cycled by then because i have no spare media with bacteria,

 

[Netty]

From experience of owning many Bettas.....we've found that they do perfectly well in 3 gallons. In fact we have found that the males kept in 3 gallons have been more active and healthy than the ones kept in large tanks. We've had a couple of males in larger tanks that sulked for weeks on end until we moved them to smaller ones and then perked up dramatically. Obviously if you want tankmates such as Corys then you would need a larger tank.

In 3 gals a 25w heater is fine.....ours all have heaters and sponge filters.

 

[little_mermaid]

I keep one of my males in a 3-gallon too and he's happy as can be!