My New Betta Setup- Under $70 (Aud)

[Matt1977]

Hey All!

I thought id share a photo (attached) of my new Betta setup, I used to keep Bettas when I was in high school and quickly graduated to a large tropical fish tank, now I have a wall-mounted 85gallon reef tank as well.
I wanted to go back to old school and try bettas again and was given a challenge by my firend to set up a tank under $100 AUD.

So the image is attached.

Setup
- The tank is a rectagular vase from IKEA and hold about a half-gallon on water = $17
- Gravel and plants are from my existing tropical fish set up (a good transfer of nitrifying bacteria)
- Light is an LED cabinet light from ikea ( water proofed ) =$15
- Treated pine base, back and cover = $5
- Air driven filter (DIY filter, using a plastic bottle, ceramic filter medium from my tropical tank, filter sponge) =$9 (small air pump)
- 5 watt heater (preset thermostat @ 26c (78F) =( $22)

I know a half gallon tank is a bit small for a betta, but I think its ok as long as you set it up right and be pedantic with the water chemistry. My betta is very inquisitive and swims around so much in this tank... I think he is a happy fella.
I feed him pellets, little pieces of meat(beef), tubifex and glassworms (if I can get it)...

It feel great setting up a tank again..

Matt

 

[sausagewinkle]

half a gallon is far to small in my opinion

 

[fidjet2]

+1

i can't see the picutre

 

[pablothebetta]

+1 and also cannot see the picture. I personally wouldn't ever put a betta in anything under 3 gals and 5 is what I seem to class as my normal minimum. I'm glad to see you've got a filter

 

[Cazgar]

Half a gallon is very small, & although you see Bettas in small containers, they really are happier with at least 3 gallons, 5 is better.
I'm sure you could've got something bigger with your budget

 

[Fishy friend2]

i only spent 40 on my 5 gallon setup

 

[Cazgar]

My 25 litre cube set up probably only cost me £35 all in, but I did already have sand & a spare heater.
It came with it's own filter which helped

 

[Matt1977]

Thanks all.. We did the numbers again and it looks like we only spent $45 aud for the whole set up.
I completely agree with everyone about the bigger tanks for betas. What I forgot to mention was that the challenge was to set up an acceptable beta display for my friend's Aquarium shop!
I was very disappointed to see betas in cups... At least this set up is acceptable for a short amount of time...

My link

 

[Fishball7]

I don't suggest feeding beef. I think it's very hard to digest for a betta, hard in perhaps as too complex a protein, not literally, and can potentially cause problems in the future. Betta eat mosquito larvae in the wild, lots and lots of them, which is so different to beef.

 

[Matt1977]

Thanks for the heads up Fishball7. The beef heart feed is on occasions.. I got the trick from a betta farmer I met in Thailand. He was raising about 100-200 bettas for shipment and he was feeding them beef heart once a week... apparently it makes them "show quality".
Also Almond Tea... never tried it.