First Actual Aquarium

[Aamber_02]

Hello,
I have had my betta in a one gallon for quite a while. He had a lite and some decorations and I have had goldfish before but I just bought my first real aquarium. It was on sale for $40. It is a 5 gallon and it comes with a whisper filter, hood and lightbulb, water conditioner and some fish food. I am currently just letting the water settle and run through the filter, how long should i wait to put my betta in? In a 5 gallon how many other fish could I have (mollies, tetras or i'm hoping angelfish even though Ive heard some bad stories about bettas and angelfish). Thanks for reading. . .Ill have many questions to come. Oh, also, I bought new gravel for the bottom and it seems to be leaving sparkly residue on the surface of the water. . .it sais non-toxic and that it will not hurt my fish and all, but should I worry about the residue (I rinsed the gravel a few times before putting it in just in case).
Amber

 

[golfboy444]

i have myself a 10 gallon tank and i am planing on getting a 4 fancy guppies for cycling and some corys after cycling is done in my 2 gallon tank a Betta for cycling and 1 cory and that is my starting out set up

 

[Aamber_02]

Could I Put My Betta In Now? It's Been Cycling For About 3 Hours. Im Excited I Can't Wait To See My Little Guy In That Big Tank

 

[semper fi]

sorry but to properly cycle the tank it will take about 6 weeks if done properly and without fish to give it a jump start. if you look in the beginner section there are quite a few posts about cycling.

semper fi

 

[wuvmybetta]

yes semper's right it will take about 6 weeks to cycle your tank and make it ready for additional fish, but you've gotta start somewhere and a betta is a great choice. I'd say go ahead and put him in, ONLY him though for now, add most of his old water and his gravel from the 1 gallon if possible...that will give your bacteria a head start. DON'T add tetras though, they're nippers and they'll bug the pee out of your betta. Leave him and only him in the tank for 6 weeks or so....you'll need a test kit so you know when your waters cycled but you can always take it to your lfs and they'll test it. Angels aren't a good choice,they're high maintainence fish and not suitable for such a small tank( plus the betta/angel problems so forget them).
skim the scum off of the top with a cup but that's really typical in a new set up and will eventually disappear

congrats on your 1st "actual" aquarium , there's lots to learn about keeping tank's healthy & this is the place to do it, I learn something new every day

 

[Aamber_02]

Turns out that the people at walmart like to sell kits that contain a 10-20 gallon filter for a 5 gallon aquarium. I have heard that bettas don't like much current in there water and this filter nearly killed him. As soon as I plugged it in I could see the weater moving pretty fast but I didn't think much of it, I have never owned an aquarium with a fliter before. After putting my betta in I watched him for about 2 minuites then took him out, he was so distressed and the filter was so strong it was just pulling him in. Aftyer moving him back to his old aquarium I read the filters instructions and everything very carefully, then I noticed that on the box it announced that it was a 10-20 gallon aquarium filter. I'm returning it and buying a new aquarium, I'm thinking I'll buy the filter seperate or buy another kit making sure that it has all the proper accesories.

 

[sandyd]

Sorry about the trouble, but looks like you have it under control. I have 2 bettas, and my red one is on the side with the filter. He kept wrapping himself around the intake and it was eating his tail. I put a nylon on it so that there was not so much pull on him and put a plant in front of it so he could not have as much access to it. If you notice he starts losing tail pieces after up fist put him in, check your filter. Just a thought in case yours likes the intake as much as mine. Sandy