New Female Betta, No Safe Home For Her!

[kcalbat]

I came across this female betta. She was my manager's girl, but my manager is moving to hawaii and wanted me to have her. She was in a 5 gallon tank, then moved to a small bowl for a while before i got her.

I have a newly cycled 44 gallon with 5 harlequin rasboras. Im actually only assuming its just cycled because during the past weeks i had a testing kit that had been expired and wasnt getting reliable readings, so i JUST bought a brand new testing kit and get readings of 0 in everything. I get a barely noticable reading in nitrates. So i think i just missed the cycle. The tank has been set up for a tad bit under a month.

So anyhow, about two days ago I bought a 10 gallon fish tank. I have a second filter running on my 44 gallon tank (for two days now) that i will switch back to the ten gallon in a few short weeks.

So i have the 10 gallon set up with a heater. I really am unsure where to put my female betta! I want her to go into the 10 gallon (i think the 44 gal has to much water flow and plastic plants, the 10 gal has clothe plants. But the 10 gallon has no filter and is completely uncycled. What should i do?

thanks for your help!

 

[catxx]

girls don't have QUITE the same problems with plastic plants and water flow as long-tailed boys do. they have shorter fins and less to get snagged on plastic plants. how well "planted" is it? if it has lots of caves or if you switched to silk plants, silk looks more natural than plastic anyway.

 

[kcalbat]

oh thats good news! The 44 gal has no caves but ALOT of plants. about 6 or 7 long tall ones in the back in, 4 the back, 5 or so medium ones, and then a couple small plants up front.

None of my local fish stores have silk plants. The closest store does have plants that are clothe like. I have a few of those and 1 cave in my 10 gallon. Im going to go check out another fish store that is quite a drive from my home, but i just want to see of they carry silk plants.

Should i move her to my 44 gal then?

or maybe to the 10 gallon with daily water changes?

EDIT: another question. I bought some hikari betta bio gold food for her. IS this an ok food for her? Do i have to soak the pellets before i feed her? Also, i like to feed my fish a variety of foods. My harlequins eat brine shrimp, daphnia, flake food, bloodworms, and spiraluna flake. When i stock my tank more i will get some frozen food. (too much waste on a packeage so big for 5 tiny fish) Most of those foods (besides the flakes) are freeze dried which i have been reading on here are not good for bettas. What about the daphnia, which to me are actullay pretty soft and seem to wet quickly? any other suggestions?

 

[kcalbat]

yep im bumping this! I need to put her somewhere fast! Shes in a little cup right now and i know she is NOT happy! Its cold in the house and i know her water is cold too. Where do i put her? Ill be back in an hour. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

 

[schrader3649]

i'd throw her in the ten and get a filter on it sooner or later. an uncylced tank has got to be better than a cold cup of poop water. hikari is good food. its mostly all my fish will eat. i dont soak them just chunk em in there

 

[catxx]

ease her into the 44 and watch her carefully for a few hours. maybe invest in some coconut caves or similar for her.

 

[kcalbat]

uh oh, two opinions!

Ok...

if i place her in the 10 gallon. How often to i do water changes and how much to keep her healthy, keeping in mind im not trying to cycle the tank (lack of filter) yet.

In the 44 gal, do you think she will be ok since she is slow moving, I know she doesnt have long fins but all the plants are plastic AND there are two HOB filters and a 5 inch bubble stone, so there is ALOT of movement in the tank. Also, the tank is high. It is about 25 inches high. Is that good for a fish that needs to reach the top to breath. She will also have to go through a decently active school of rasboras. But i heard they are friendly little buggers
.

thank you bunches for your help.

 

[DarkEntity]

i'd throw her in the ten and get a filter on it sooner or later. an uncylced tank has got to be better than a cold cup of poop water. hikari is good food. its mostly all my fish will eat. i dont soak them just chunk em in there

Dont ever just throw a fish in an uncycled tank, thats possibly the daftest thing ive heard.

Put her in the 40, she will be fine and much happier in a cycled tank than water that will soon spike in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and possibly kill her.

 

[schrader3649]

yes a cycled tank is always better than uncycled but it wont kill one betta in a ten gallon. i've done it plenty of times and never had the slightest bit of a problem. if the other fish wont bother her put her in the 40. they dont have to breath at the surface i think, they do have gills

 

[RandomWiktor]

The overwhelming majority of betta keepers house bettas in uncycled, and even unfiltered tanks and perform partial-100% water changes with no adverse affects. Bettas tend to be less sensitive to changes in water quality than wild caught, farm bred, and otherwise undomesticated/unmodified fish. What's more, bettas often have difficulties handling the current produced by filters since they come from naturally stagnant waterways.
With weekly water changes, a single female betta properly fed in an ulfiltered 10g tank - and even in a 5g tank - will NOT cause any significant rise in ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite; I do 100% water changes every week on my five gallon tanks, and periodic tests of the water have never shown any degradation of water quality in the space of a week, despite the tanks being unfiltered and uncycled.
Obviously filtered and cycled will always be superior to unfiltered and uncycled, but hundreds of years of betta keeping overseas has shown that it simply isn't required of the species with proper cleaning. Suggesting to betta newbies that putting a territorial, aggressive, shallow-water species whose needs may be utterly different from the other species in her community tank (seeing as most other tropical fish need high-oxygen, moderate-high current, social environments) rather than keeping it alone, which is ALWAYS safest for bettas, is quite unsound advice if I do say so myself.
Now, that's not to say that the betta wouldn't do just fine in the 40g. I suggest reading up on compatible species to make sure everything is in check, and if the combination is acceptable, she would probably be fine in that tank - though I'd watch her like a hawk initially to make sure she isn't distressed by the current and tankmates. I'd be more concerned about a male, as they like to patroll, dislike other fish, and are easily exhausted by filter currents.

 

[Booboo puppy]

I've had Harlequin Rasboras with female bettas in a 44 gallon tank--they totally ignored each other.

 

[kcalbat]

hello,

its amazing how much i am attatched to this girl already. Shes got such a personality. I think its a betta addiction in the making!

i would love to put her into the 44 gal with my rasboras. I know they are very peaceful. My worries are more about the currents (there is ALOT of water flow going on) and also the tank is VERY deep compared to the shallow waters they are used to.


Ok this is what i think im going to do. For now i will try her out in the 44 gal and moniter her closely. The cave from the 10 gal, ill move to the bigger tank as well. In two to three weeks when the additional filter on the 44 has sufficient bacteria established i will mover her and the filter on the 10 gal. That sound good? I just think she will be happier in the calmer waters of the 10g.

Also, i kind of want the 10 gal as a quarantine tank (the original purpose) for when i begin to stock my bigger tank. Is it ok to move her into the 44 gal occassionally so i can hold my new fish for two weeks in quarantinee or will this be too stressful?

 

[starrynightxxi]

short finned bettas such as plakats and females should have no problem with a current. the long finned fish get in trouble with currents because their fins are long and too heavy for them so they get caught and pushed around. it works the same way as the sail of a sailboat filling with air and moving the boat.

 

[jfeld]

Also, you had asked about betta food, kcalbat - someone answered your question about hikari betta bio gold pellets (they are good and bettas love 'em) but you asked about some other things you have as well. Daphnia and bloodworm are also great betta treats - just not too much bloodworm or she'll get constipated.

My small female betta doesn't need her hikari pellets pre-soaked; when i first introduced them, it was hard for her to chew and swallow them, but after a little training and patience she has no trouble. hope that helps.

 

[kcalbat]

oh THANKS! i was still wondering about that! Great info.

Also, if i will be moving her to the 44 gal. How do i feed her. Can she eat the flakes i feed to the harlequins? Or can my harlequins eat the betta food and be ok? should i hold off on some foods until she is out, like the freeze dried brine shrimp?

and while im on food. I hear alot about peas and i was wondering. How do you cook them? Do you have to use frozen peas? how long can u keep it in the tank if it doesnt get eaten all the way?

thanks again!