New Betta Set-Up

[Shifty1303]

Hi all,
 
Im looking to get a betta tank set up for my desk and would appreciate some advice
 
Currently got my eye on Aqua One AquaOpti 40 or 55 as i feel these are a respectable size for a happy betta without being too much for my desk etc. i plan to add a heater and a small sponge filter to keep current minimal while i will use plenty of live plants to assist the filter in keeping the water immaculate.
   1) Thoughts on this plan?
   2) any better tank suggestions?
   3) is a sponge filter a good bet?
 
   4) if anyone wants to/can recommend a good sponge filter that would be great too as I have no prior experience with them but have                been recommended them on various occasions for low current tanks.
 
Also I was considering keeping shrimp with the betta.
    5) are shrimp good tank-mates?
    6) will the betta eat them?
    7) and finally... will shrimp multiply rapidly and become a problem like snails do at any point?
 
Any and all answers appreciated! I numbered questions in the hope it would make replies easier and therefore encourage more responses
 
Kind Regards,

 

[HarpyFishLover]

Yes, I believe that this is a good tank for your betta. I have seen in places that bettas eat shrimp, but don't quote me on it, as I'm not sure. You'll have to ask somebody else for other tank mate options, if you want other fish and/or snails.

 

[NickAu]

 
6) will the betta eat them?

Maybe, maybe not, It depends on the Betta.
 

 
  7) and finally... will shrimp multiply rapidly and become a problem like snails do at any point?

If they are breeding it means your water is fine for your betta also. Will they become a problem? NO, Because even if they do they are easy to catch, then you can sell them.
 
This will be perfect.

 

[tunagirll]

It looks like a good setup Any small sponge filter will do, although I prefer one that is a HOB as I like to put plenty of media in there and a wad of cotton wool on top to filter.
 
I would only go for clear or chameleon shrimp as they tend to go for shrimp with any colour to them.

 

[NickAu]

 
I would only go for clear or chameleon shrimp as they tend to go for shrimp with any colour to them.

 
Not always.
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ2Mmz0ka2A

 

[Essjay]

I've got an Aqua One Filter Air 30 in my betta's tank. The chap in the shop recommended this one as it has a weighted base. He said he'd heard of the kind that attach to the side of the tank with suckers coming unstuck and floating, and then the filter didn't work properly.
It looks like NickAu's photo but with a base attached to the bottom.

 

[Shifty1303]

Thanks all for the responses.

Another few questions if you don't mind.

If using a sponge filter is there still adequate circulation to ensure even water heating/temperature?

Also I get very mixed opinions on tank mates for betta. Are they compatible with anything? I'm not fussed if he has to be on his own but I'd like to make the tank look less empty if I can.

Lastly.. What size are your betta tanks? I'm going in circles trying to decide the best volume for a betta where it has enough room to flourish but doesn't look too small in the tank if you know what I mean?

Cheers!

 

[Essjay]

My betta is in a 26 litre tank with just him and a small nerite snail. And some live plants. The sponge filter is powered by a JBL prosilent a 50 air pump, which it says is suitable for 10 to 50 litre tanks. I found that the current was too strong for a betta so I bought a splitter which is meant for running 2 devices off one pump, and the spare outlet just bleeds off some air so there is less going to the filter and the current isn't as strong.
Before the sponge filter I used a Maidenhead Aquatics internal filter, an aqua-internal filter 50. This was perfect as it comes with a spraybar and an adjustable outflow. It has a sponge inside with a hollow containing carbon, which I emptied out as I don't use carbon full time. The only problem I had with the internal was it kept becoming unstuck from the glass, possibly as the betta slept on it. This is why I changed it for the sponge filter. I fishless cycled the sponge filter in my quarantine tank as I couldn't figure out how to use the old media with it.

 

[Shifty1303]

Thanks again for replies.

I have always been interested in having shrimp so would larger varieties be suitable? Alternatively I love the idea of keeping dwarf frogs. Are they relatively easy to care for? I'm pretty experienced with fish so can handle a small challenge. Would they be compatible with a betta?

 

[Essjay]

Having had frogs with a betta, I would say don't do it.
 
Bettas are gluttons. They will find food wherever it is. And they are very bendy fish which can get into all sorts of small spaces. Frogs are hard to feed. They are almost blind and find their food by smell. It takes them a while to find food, by which time the betta has eaten the lot. I had to make a frog feeding station consisting of an upside down terracotta plant pot with holes cut in the rim and a stone over the hole in the bottom of the pot (which was now on top as the pot was upside down). I lifted the stone to drop the frogs' food inside. I had to make several of these feeding stations with ever decreasing hole sizes in the rim as you would be surprised how small a hole a betta can get through if he knows there is food on the other side.
 
Frogs are almost blind. If they can smell food and see something moving, they will assume it is food and lunge for it. If the moving shape happens to be a betta, they will grab the betta and hang on. The last straw for me was seeing a frog clamped on to my bettas tail, being towed round the tank as the betta frantically tried to dislodge it. I had to set up the quarantine tank and move the frogs into that.
 
Of course you could always set up a small frog tank with just frogs in it. There is some good information in the Amphibians and Aquatic Reptiles section of the forum. But don't fall into the trap of feeding just bloodworms to frogs. Like fish, they need a more varied diet. The best everyday food is a specific frog food. I used zoo med frog and tadpole food.

 

[tunagirll]

Personally I have 20 litre as a good size with a HOB that I've attached a piece of sponge over the intake and outlet, which smooths the flow considerably. Have had no problem with heat being well conveyed through the tank with this system
 
As essjay mentioned, they are hogs so nothing that is not as opportunistic. As bettas tend to stay up top, I like bottom dwellers like cories and gobies. I do love shrimp and my perfect tank would have both, but it just hasn't ended well for me sad to say! There are heaps of nano fish so do look around for rasboras, microrasboras, endlers, etc.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

 
I would only go for clear or chameleon shrimp as they tend to go for shrimp with any colour to them.

 
Not always.

Really pretty betta, you have there...
I remember when I had a betta, he seemed kind of lazy... just floating until we fed him.