New betta

[Loboto-Me]

Well you guys did me in... Went to pay some money on my 130 gal tank at the LFS today... and just had to get my boy. He's the most gorgeous fellah! He's a pretty as most of the ones I see on here.... just couldn't resist him. He's royal blue, turquoise, red and has a splash of green in his tail. He seems so happy to be in the little tank I got him. He's swimming around investigating his new home. I also bought him a banana plant as well.
I was appauled at the prices they were trying to ask for a plain old fishbowl! 29.00!!! I went instead to Walmart and picked him up a little "AquaView Plus". Yeah I know it's only one gallon, but it also has a light and an undergravel filter as well as an aeration tube. I know that's got to be a bit better than a glass fish bowl.

Now, I still can't figure out how the undergravel "filter" works! Theres' no technology to it at all... It fits at the bottom of the tank.. you put the tube in the middle and the rocks on top... the bubbles don't seem to be going into the gravel... they float to the top of the tank... Can you really call this a filter?

Also, How can you tell what kind of betta you have? My boy's fins are like little strings almost like the pics of non flaring crowntails. My nameless boy (my daughter wants me to call him Tatsumi) hasn't flared yet as he's too busy checking out the mansion he just moved into.

 

[55gallondude]

put a mirror by it to see him flare i do that to my betta as the way u describe him he seems to be a crowntail put a mirror in front but only put it to see him dont put as a backround or nothing or he will get stressed

 

[st.cichlid]

pm itty bitty betta hes the betta master

 

[wuvmybetta]

The ug filter that comes with the AquaViews are....pretty useless. They supply air, that's just about it. They also trap debris underneath the bottom piece and make the gravel hard to clean. Since bettas have a labyrinth organ they don't need the high oxygen content in their water that other tropicals need, so if the surface disturbance bothers him too much just chunk it to the side

 

[Loboto-Me]

Thank you for the replies.

Tatsumi or Tsunami (we haven't decided yet) has been flaring at his reflection in the acrylic tank... but he's not doing a full flare, just enlarging his gills.

Last night I used water from my 29 gal to fill his tank but I find it a bit cloudy this morning... so I'll be doing a water change. and removing the UG filter and bubbler.

The water temp stays pretty well even except at night... woke up this morning and his water was really chilly... Would it be unhealthy for him to keep the light on all night to keep his water warm? I realize that the aerator probably helped cool off his tank and taking it away might help, but what else can I do other than keeping his light on?