Overjoyed

[Skylar]

Hehe. Yes! I can finally pull a 'Betta Momma'. Mum has given me permission to buy a 2-3 gallon tank and split it for some sick betta boys. =) Only downside is, Wal-mart has absolutely NO sick or dying bettas and I have to wait to get the tank until I get back from vacation so that they don't die while I'm away.

This is the tank I am going to get as it can house two betta boys with sufficient room. Then eventually, I will upgrade their tanks.

I am not exactly sure how much it holds but seems about half gallon to a gallon each? Im not very good with measuring liquids.

So, I have a couple questions.

1) If I buy two sick fish or one sick, one healthy, will the sickness go through the divider to the other side? I really don't want both dying on me.

2) Is this large enough? I realize bettas can live in small amounts of water (although they shouldn't have to), but is 1 gallon humane?

3) Will an undergravel filter be sufficient with 50% water changes every 4 days? There is this plug on the bottom of the tank which you open and water slowly pours out so you don't need to move the betta. I thought this would be ideal for a betta if it was sick or had swimbladder problems, etc.?

4) How would I go about making this divider solid? It is transparent and the box says it promotes flaring but I don't want to wear them out?

Thanks alot,
Skylar

 

[Synirr]

I am not exactly sure how much it holds but seems about half gallon to a gallon each? Im not very good with measuring liquids. 

More like a cup. That tank is exactly the size it looks in the photo... the bettas can barely turn around in it. I'd definitely go for something bigger, because those tiny tanks are downright cruel. I wish they'd stop making them (Edit: Ok, actually I wish they'd keep making them but make them a lot bigger. They've got a good design, they're just too darn small)

As for the questions:

1) It's really better to isolate a sick betta while it is being medicated so the illness doesn't spread, but if both the ones you buy are ill, I suppose you can go ahead and put them in a divided tank and just medicate the whole tank.

2) In my opinion, 1 gallon is humane. A lot of my boys live very happily in 1 gallons
Walmart sells some 1 gallon glass bowls for extremely cheap, so you might even consider buying each boy a separate bowl all to himself. I think the bowls have a sticker on the bottom that tells the size.

3) As I said, the tank you planned on is too small I'm afraid... but if you get a bigger one, then yes, an undergravel filter and 50% water changes should work. You could also go with no filtration and do 100% water changes at least once weekly.

4) You can get a good cheap do-it-yourself divider from Walmart's craft center... it's called plastic canvas, and it's basically like a plastic mesh. It allows water through, but is opaque enough that the bettas won't be flaring constantly . You can easily attach it to the tank with aquarium sealant, also sold at Walmart.

Oh, and good luck!! I'm sure two lucky bettas will be very thankful!

 

[Skylar]

Is it that small? They had one open on the shelf and it seemed roomier than on the picture. I don't think it is the exact tank shown in the photo, because this one was much roomier and such. The reason I don't want to buy seperate bowls is because I will have to buy heater's and gravel and plants. I would rather buy a kit that comes with everything so I wouldn't have the extra cost of buying it. The whole kit is $8 Canadian at my Wal-mart. They do have larger ones, but with no gravel and filter (and they are almost $16 and only 2 inches wider).

Skylar.

 

[Synirr]

That tank doesn't come with a heater, and here's why: in a tank that size, you'd either cook the fish or melt the tank itself. Check the package and see if it says how much water it holds. I promise you that it's not enough, whatever the exact amount is . I've seen these things everywhere, and because of my hatred for them, I'm quite familiar with their size *lol*
Walmart has some 5 gallon kits that would be a good choice, but they can be rather pricey. They also have a 10 gallon starter kit for about $30, I think, that would be an excellent choice.

 

[BettaMomma]

LOL
I laughed when I read the title of your post.

You can get, for about 25$, a minibow 2.5G tank with a betta divider in it at WalMart or just about any local pet store. They'd be great. Then you can also get a heater - something like a Neptune 25 watt heater to go in it too.

Yep, the sickness will go right on thru to the other one so you don't wanna be putting 2 sickies together - or even one sicky in w/ a healthy one. I would get a tank, get it set up and ready and put in 1 betta boy, and nurse him back to health. Then, pick up a cheapy fishbowl type of thing - like a 1G tank and nurse the 2nd one back to health. Then you can put them together down the road.

The whole minibow and heater might be more than you're expecting to spend right now, but I have to agree - I've seen those little betta divided kits and I probably wouldn't even put a betta in it to live by himself, undivided.

I feel guilty about the 2 boys I have in 1 gallon containers - I think that's plenty, but as I move some of them into tanks like 2.5G tanks, they seem to really like that size.

Too bad you don't live around here. There are always plenty of sickies to go around.
Good luck with your rescue - take your time and find one that really needs you. The healthy ones will be bought much faster than the sickies.
Can't wait to hear what you bring home.

 

[50000_tears]

i used to keep my bettas in those i had one live for a year in a un-divided doublei recomend 2 1 gallon aquaview its 10 dollars for one at walmart i think and they include a undergravel filter a air pump and a light its pretty good i used 3 one gallons and 1 and 1/2 gallon

 

[Skylar]

I'd love to go out and buy a 10 gallon but sadly, the prices at Wal-mart in my town are ridiculously high. My 10 gallon kit cost me $60 and that was not including the fish, the gravel and the heater. It came to about $130!

I really want to buy a 5 gallon, and divide it off for two betta boys but even a small 5 gallon costs about $30 canadian. Which is quite alot for me to pay at the moment. They have larger betta condo types there for $25.00 and they each have a gallon. I can keep them in this until my birthday, when I will probably get a 5 gallon tank and I can split the tank?


I really can't afford much at the moment, my budget is about $35. I have to buy some sort of divided tank because Mum doesn't want another 2 tanks, and I still wanna rescue two bettas.

Sigh..

Skylar.


EDIT: Is this the 1 gallon aquaview you were referring to? Click Here

 

[BettaMomma]

Yep, that's the one!
Get 2 of those - they're 10 bucks a piece. Set them side by side and you'll sort of have a divided tank. That's how I currently keep Six and Lucky - just haven't upgraded them yet.
You'll just need one small bag of gravel - the 2 tanks can share it. Get one small silk plant and you don't need a heater or filter, provided that you have relatively steady room temps and the temps are somewhat warm.

If you can't afford to get the 2 of them now, just get one - the tank is about 10$, the fish is about 4$, the plant is only a couple bucks, and the gravel (which you'll have plenty left over for your second tank when you get it later) is also only a couple of bucks.

You'll ahve to do water changes every couple of days, but everyone comments on the tanks and how cute they are.
Also, if you did get these tanks, you'd never have to worry about them passing sicknesses back and forth to each other like you would in a divided tank.

 

[eudielynn]

That's the tank my son got me for Hunter. It is a nice little tank for the price. I had thought about getting a 2.5 gal divided minibow for the office (did I say that ), but I may wind up getting another one of these instead.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Don't forget that those aren't real bettas in the pics With a 5 second cut out job you can make a cup of water look like a 50g tank.

EDIT- I've never seen one of these in real life so can't comment on the actual size.

 

[Raechal]

I bought one of those at walmart as it looked bigger than it actually is and it was only like $5.00 at walmart. I ended up breeding snails in it and after I failed at that, it is now sitting in my room doing nothing. I wouldn't recommend that tank at all. It holds maybe one cup of water each. It is way too small for a betta.

I agree with the 1 gallon aquaview, I was going to use it for a betta, but I decided to breed ghost shrimp in it.

 

[50000_tears]

hehe i love my 4 aquaviews they are pluses

 

[Dorkhedeos]

you can go to petsmart and get a 10 gallon for 10 dollars, a heater for 17, and a filter for 10. costs about 40 all together

 

[Skylar]

I guess I should start by telling you about my town. Don't worry, it'll make sense at the end, I hope. Hehe.

I live in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. We are a city of about 45 000 people and about two-thirds of those are temporary. Our city is based on the Oil Sands (Ever hear of Syncrude or Suncor? Those are our main oil companies).

Because our residents are mainly temporary, travelling back and forth from other cities or provinces to earn money here, there is no point in large Pet store chains or department store chains moving here because they won't make much money, as most people don't own pets because of late work shifts. Long sentence.

We don't have a Petsmart, a Petco or any other big brand store. It was only 3 or 4 years ago we got a Wal-mart!

Prices are ridiculously high and there is absolutely NO way I would be able to be able to get a 10 gallon for 10 dollars Canadian! I only have Wal-mart's limited pet section and a local LFS called Northstar Pet Centre to get stuff from and neither sells just plain old 10 gallons. They sell them in kits only with everything you need except a heater and gravel. So, if I were to get another 10 gallon kit, it would be around $60-90 Canadian.

My choices are really limited..Really really limited.

Skylar

 

[OrkyBetta]

Might I make a suggestion? You COULD, (If you are ambitious) make your own tanks. It takes a lot of work, but my neighbors do it. Also, this is risky, but you could go to a carft store or department store and find large, one or more gallon bowls, wash them out REAL good with no soap, or put them in the dishwasher with no soap a few times, and fix that up into a betta bowl.

EDIT: if you are patient, Ebay usually has good deals. Keep your eyes open.