New to Bettas

[OohFeeshy]

Hi!
I want to start a tropical fish tank. The tank I want (well, can afford at the moment anyway) is 11l, which is about 4.5 gallons. I was wondering which fish, if any, would go with a betta and also, how much do bettas and heaters (25 watt) usually cost?
Thankee very much!

 

[cutechic]

You could divide the 4.5g and keep 2 bettas, or leave it separated and keep one betta and 1 or 2 african dwarf frogs. Some people say you can keep corys in 4.5g's... I like mine to have more swimming room, but some corys look happy living in a smaller tank. Petstore bettas are usually around $3, and 25W heaters are between $15 and $30 around here.

Edit: BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Where can you get African Dwarf frogs from and are they expensive? I'd rather not divide it, although, now I have some more money, I will get a bigger tank so maybe.... Also, are there any schooling fish that will go well with bettas? In the LFS, they keep bettas in with a shoal, and I have seen no injured ones, so is this OK? Obviously I need to check on the breeds of ickle fish...... I take it is is much better for me to opt for a tropical fish rather than a goldfish in that tank? I need to persuade my Mum its better...

 

[gale]

that size tank isn't big enough for any school of fish.

eta: I would not get goldfish. The first one needs at minimum 10 gallons and 20 is better.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Hmm... My mother still remains ignorant. She will not believe goldfish do not grow to the tank size. And she thinks a heater is unsuitable for a plastic tank..... I don't claim to be an expert, but some people..... Can anyone reccomend a website that tells WHY goldfish can't be kept in a tank that small? Yes, it says the tank's a goldfish tank, and the fish in the LFS are ickle, and the picture on the front of the box shows 4-5 goldfish in that tank, but come on.... It's not that big really.
Rant over.

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Heaters are fine for acrilic (sp) tanks. They don't get hot enought to melt them. Have you tried a google search on goldfish? There should be a lot of info out there for them. But I can tell you this. Bettas are tropical fish. Gold fish are cold water fish. It woud greatly reduce the gold fish's life span (which I have read (don't remember where) can be from 10-20 years!) if you keep them in the wrong water temp. I have also read (also don't remember where) that they grow to be 6 or more inches, and you should have at least 10 gallons for each gold fish cause they don't have a stomach, so they are constantly eating, then about 5 minutes later thay are pooping it out. That means that they are constantly creating waste every 5 minutes. This would mean that they need very heavy filtration, and a lot of attention to their water quality and water changes.

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

i have a pic of a 'goldfish' i can show you that shows there size given the right living environment

Note: i think this is the same type as you would see in the cheap feeder goldfish tanks