Mts Setting In Well And Now Got My First Betta!

[Ami]

Happy new year guys!

There always seems to be so much going on in this forum so I thought I'd get myself a betta and join in! Will post a pic of him as soon as I find the rechargable batteries for my camera and get them recharged.

I have a gorgeous little veilteil and he's currently living in my 3g spare tank. I've given him some sand substrate and a couple of small vallis plants and a crypt to swim through, but he doesn't yet have a heater poor thing so he's living in a warm bedroom where he gets lots of sunlight through the day.


I remember reading months ago where someone in the UK had found betta tanks, complete with heat and filter for around £20 - any one remember this as I figure I might as well get a full tank so I can keep my 3g as the quaratine tank?

I'm still a bit worried about the cold in the meantime, so considered sticking him in with my FW community until I get my hands on a small heater for him, but am worried that my neons will nip his beautiful fins.

Oh, I'm presuming that he'll like having plants to swim through becuase of what his natural environment is like, but have I chosen plants that he'll be okay with?

Thank you in advance for your replies!

Ami

 

[Joby]

Hi Ami and welcome to the betta forum

Sounds like your new guy has a lovely tank but yes the addition of a heater would be more benefitial for him as they are more active in warmer waters. I don't know if your house is like mine but the temps can go pretty low when the central heating goes off at night.

He should enjoy having some live plants in his tank, I have them in with most of my guys.

If you are worried and want to add him to your community tank until you can sort out a heater then maybe do that only if you have a floating breeding trap or a divider which will isolate and protect him from the other tankmates and vice versa.

Look forward to seeing pics

 

[Durbkat]

None of those fish in your freshwater community is compatible with the betta all those fish will the fins of the betta and possibly kill the betta. The shrimp and the corys would be the only fish that wouldn't kill the betta. All my bettas are in unheated tanks and they are perfectly fine I just leave the tank light on all day and I take towels and wrap there tanks up every night.

 

[Ami]

Hi Ami and welcome to the betta forum

Sounds like your new guy has a lovely tank but yes the addition of a heater would be more benefitial for him as they are more active in warmer waters. I don't know if your house is like mine but the temps can go pretty low when the central heating goes off at night.

He should enjoy having some live plants in his tank, I have them in with most of my guys.

If you are worried and want to add him to your community tank until you can sort out a heater then maybe do that only if you have a floating breeding trap or a divider which will isolate and protect him from the other tankmates and vice versa.

Look forward to seeing pics

Thanks for your reply Joby

We've been a bit naughty lately and kept the central heating on most of the night! It's been cold although it's milder now, so will probably risk turning it off.

You don't have any idea about the little betta tanks I mentioned before do you?

Ami

None of those fish in your freshwater community is compatible with the betta all those fish will the fins of the betta and possibly kill the betta. The shrimp and the corys would be the only fish that wouldn't kill the betta. All my bettas are in unheated tanks and they are perfectly fine I just leave the tank light on all day and I take towels and wrap there tanks up every night.

Cheers Durbkat - I thought it would be a bad idea, that's why I didn't wan to risk it!

Will give the towel tip a go though before the heating turns off, as I don't want anything to happen to ickle dudley!


Ami

 

[soritan]

He must be digging the 3g space and live plants with sand.

Before we go crazy with the heat lectures, do you have a thermometer in there to tell you what it actually is?

 

[OohFeeshy]

I don't want anything to happen to ickle dudley!

Get a plakat and call him Ting-tong, closest you'll get to a betta ladyboy

 

[Ami]

Soritan - yes, I have a thermometer in his tank. Currently 20c with the heating off so I know it's too cold for him. That's why I considered putting him in the community tank until I could get a heater for him, but that's not viable as he'll likely get hurt. Although, I do have a very small breeding trap I could put him in to keep him safe, I think moving him back and forth would be more stressful for the lil guy.



We're at 25c with the heating on and that's the lower range of the temp scale for him, so I think he'll be fine if we keep the heating on until I sort something out!

Thanks for your help,
Ami

Get a plakat and call him Ting-tong, closest you'll get to a betta ladyboy

Lol! Hubbie wanted to call this one Ting-Tong till I pointed out it was male, didn't even think of the lady-boy connection though!

 

[Ami]

I ordered a 50w heater (£8.49) from Surrey Pets thingie website on Monday and a thermometer for (£1.15) and paid £7.25 for courier postage, thinking I'd get them Wednesday, but just discovered their delivery time is 5 working days!

When I got home it was pretty cold and Dudley's water had dropped to almost 15c and he wasn't swimming very much.

I was so worried that I've borrowed one of the heaters from another tank (I had 2 small ones instead of a large one). I figured that he was more in need in his little tank and that the other guys can cope with one heater!

It's now up at a steady 25c and he's swimming around very happily. I was concerned that he would get a shock going from 15c to 25c in a couple of hours so I've kept an eye on him. For a little while he was kinda darting around, but he seems okay now.

I felt I had to take the risk rather than lose him because he's soooooo beautiful.

This is him:

Isn't he gorgeous? Such a lovely bright colour. Just wish he would stay still long enough for me to take a proper pic! Plus there's the equipment in the way, the towel at the back which has been used to wrap his tank.....well, you get the picture anyways!


Ami

 

[Ami]

Just called Surrey Pets to check they'd actually sent my heater. Apparently the warehouse is completely separate and doesn't open again until 9.30 am Monday.


Think I'll just go today and buy a small heater because I can also do with having a spare.


Am gonna try and make a little sponge filter for the tank too, using a small plastic drinks bottle, sponge filter material that I already have, some aquarium stones I have to weight it down and the air pump, which I already have. Should be easy and cheap seeing as the only cost will be for the drinks bottle!

I will make sure it's cleaned fully before I use it to and will steal a little filter material from my FW to seed it. In the meantime, off to do a 50% water change on the little fella!

Ami