Poll Suitable Tank Size For 1 Betta

[marieukxx]

I recently bought a 21.6 litre tank for one male Betta after taking advice from a Betta breeder. I needed ssomething small due to space restrictions and was gonna go for 15 litre but the 21.6 would fit where I wanted it to go so I got it.

My personal opinion is 15 litres is the minimum really for a Betta. That's just my own view. Some people believe that 1.5 gallons which is about 5 litres is suitable. I am new to fishkeeping and Bettas but I thought that was pretty small.

For people who see these Betta boxes available and wonder if they are suitable like I did when browsing ebay can experienced Betta keepers advise on what is a suitable tank size.

 

[lilfishie]

Marie i am very much like you on this, in my opinion anything less than 15l is unsuitable as a perminate home, however as i am planning on breeding the males once seperated would have a few litres each until sold, so on a temperary basis smaller is ok but not perminant

 

[hanny93]

Marie i am very much like you on this, in my opinion anything less than 15l is unsuitable as a perminate home, however as i am planning on breeding the males once seperated would have a few litres each until sold, so on a temperary basis smaller is ok but not perminant

Yes, permamnent homes need to be bigger.

 

[marieukxx]

Yes I agree breeders can keeps them in small tanks as a temporary measure but It's not a home for years in my opinion

 

[lljdma06]

I keep my bettas in unfiltered, unheated bowls ranging in size from .5g (for a very small fish that really had trouble swimming in anything larger), to almost 3g for a very large male. My eldest betta lived to be 4.5 years old. I'm very diligent about tank maintenance, I live in a subtropical climate, and I use Pothos sprigs to remove ammonia. I don't breed them and only keep them as pets. The average lifespan is usually over 2 years for one of my fish. I did have one jump, but that was an accident (he jumped while I was changing the water and the cat got him before I did, happened soooo fast).

So a 1.5g for me is perfectly fine. Infact, the one that lived for 4.5 years was in a bowl that was only a little bigger than that. Not that I wouldn't keep them in filtered tanks, I've got a female in my 17g ADA scape right now... The male's in a bowl. Both are doing very well and getting quite conditioned. I may breed the pair, in which case, the grow out tank is a unfiltered large plastic tub in my back yard with Salvinia and moss.

EDIT (Off-topic): If you have an issue with a post or member, take it up with admin, or simpy hit the report button on the bottom left of a post. What you're doing by addressing the behavior in a public setting is techincally flaming; a punishable offense. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just stating the rules for your benefit.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Liz

 

[StandbySetting]

For me 5L is fine also, I've kept a Betta in a 1 Gallon before, I rarely did water changes, the plants did everything for me, I did at some trace elements every now and then purely for the fish's health, lived for 3.5 years.

 

[Chloeluvspuffas]

My little sister has a betta in a 1 gal I have mine in a 12 gal community tank. My sisters betta has hardly any room to move so it's fins look amazing mine has alot of room to move in so it's fins arnt perfect. I think the small tanks are crewel just because a fish can survive in one doesn't mean it should be kept in one

 

[lljdma06]

I think the wording of the poll needs correction, if you don't mind me pointing that out. Obviously there are people here who have happy, healthy bettas in less that what the OP is advising. I think the third poll choice implies that fish-keepers, such as myself, are being cruel to our livestock by keeping them in setups that don't meet with the requirements advocated by the OP. That isn't particularly fair. You profess to being all-inclusive with regard to the demographics of the advice given in this forum, yet the wording in the third choice has rendered the way I keep my fish cruel, when obviously the excellent health of my fish would tell you otherwise. After 22 years in the hobby, "cruel" is a word I would never use to describe my fish-keeping skills. I think rewording the third option to...

"Yes, provided that there is proper maintenance" would drive home what we are all essentially saying, whether we keep bettas in a 15l tank or in a 2g bowl. Or perhaps, not have a third option at all and allow posters to qualify their "yes" or "no" response.

Thank you.

Liz

 

[Mikaila31]

Yes size isn't everything. IMO a bare 5 gallon tank would be more 'cruel' to the fish then what I would consider a properly done 1 gallon. I'm with lljdma06 on the use of natural filtration and minimal to no water movement. Is any 1.5 gallon suitable for a betta... NO. If done properly then yes.

 

[micko]

I think one persons "cruel" is another persons good by what's been said so far. I really am not anywhere near knowledgeable enough on betta's to be an expert, maybe not even a novice. I'd always though that bigger the tank, the happier the fish. Maybe this isn't the case with betta's but as I said, I'm not an expert.

 

[marieukxx]

It seems opinions are split on this. It's very interresting to hear both sides of the story. I suppose in the end it boils down to personal choice. As long as regular maintence is kept up the betta should be fine.

I will stick to no less than 15 litres but for those who have smaller tanks at least they know that experienced people have had no problems keeping them in these tanks and have had healthy happy long lived Bettas.

Out of interest as it's been bugging me as I'm cycling my betta tank. If you don't have a filter obviously you don't have to cycle so can I add my betta now? What happens amonia and nitrite wise in a small unfiltered tank. This is a serious question not a dig or anything lol. I wanna know because I have reserved a betta and amting for the tank to cycle. If I add him would he be ok?

I think one persons "cruel" is another persons good by what's been said so far. I really am not anywhere near knowledgeable enough on betta's to be an expert, maybe not even a novice. I'd always though that bigger the tank, the happier the fish. Maybe this isn't the case with betta's but as I said, I'm not an expert.

Totally agreed I am animal mad so am a bit of a crusader lol. But experienced people have shown another side to the story which is good.

 

[fuzzynicki]

My personal preference is to give my betta boys a minimum of 15 litres per fish. I personally would never keep them in anything smaller than that. I have read (on forum) of so many people who keep their bettas in much, much smaller bowls and their fish do thrive. It's just personal choice to me. I've always thought that with any pet the more room they have to move around in the happier they will be. That is just me though. People who keep fish in smaller tanks/bowls would be of a different opinion as I'm sure they would all say that their fish are perfectly happy and healthy.

 

[lljdma06]

It seems opinions are split on this. It's very interresting to hear both sides of the story. I suppose in the end it boils down to personal choice. As long as regular maintence is kept up the betta should be fine.

I will stick to no less than 15 litres but for those who have smaller tanks at least they know that experienced people have had no problems keeping them in these tanks and have had healthy happy long lived Bettas.

Out of interest as it's been bugging me as I'm cycling my betta tank. If you don't have a filter obviously you don't have to cycle so can I add my betta now? What happens amonia and nitrite wise in a small unfiltered tank. This is a serious question not a dig or anything lol. I wanna know because I have reserved a betta and amting for the tank to cycle. If I add him would he be ok?

I think one persons "cruel" is another persons good by what's been said so far. I really am not anywhere near knowledgeable enough on betta's to be an expert, maybe not even a novice. I'd always though that bigger the tank, the happier the fish. Maybe this isn't the case with betta's but as I said, I'm not an expert.

Totally agreed I am animal mad so am a bit of a crusader lol. But experienced people have shown another side to the story which is good.

You asked, I shall answer. When I keep bettas in bowls, I utilize sprigs of the Pothos plant (Epipremnum aureum). As long as the leaves are not submerged, stems of the plant can be submerged in water indefinitely. I've had sprigs submerged for years. Ammonia is uitilized by plants very quickly. Because the plant's leaves are above the surface, it can process a great deal of carbon dioxide, you have a plant with a higher metabolism for removing waste from the water. The sprigs grow roots and the environment becomes very clean actually. My male betta just got through a month of me being on holiday with only top-offs because he had pothos sprigs and free-floating moss in his bowl. A huge plant mass to accomodate any ammonia build up. He's doing great.

By the way, saw you edited the poll. I can't win this one, can I? Oh, just make it yes or no... It's so much nicer. See, I even answered your question, despite you thinking me cruel...

Liz

 

[marieukxx]

It seems opinions are split on this. It's very interresting to hear both sides of the story. I suppose in the end it boils down to personal choice. As long as regular maintence is kept up the betta should be fine.

I will stick to no less than 15 litres but for those who have smaller tanks at least they know that experienced people have had no problems keeping them in these tanks and have had healthy happy long lived Bettas.

Out of interest as it's been bugging me as I'm cycling my betta tank. If you don't have a filter obviously you don't have to cycle so can I add my betta now? What happens amonia and nitrite wise in a small unfiltered tank. This is a serious question not a dig or anything lol. I wanna know because I have reserved a betta and amting for the tank to cycle. If I add him would he be ok?

I think one persons "cruel" is another persons good by what's been said so far. I really am not anywhere near knowledgeable enough on betta's to be an expert, maybe not even a novice. I'd always though that bigger the tank, the happier the fish. Maybe this isn't the case with betta's but as I said, I'm not an expert.

Totally agreed I am animal mad so am a bit of a crusader lol. But experienced people have shown another side to the story which is good.

You asked, I shall answer. When I keep bettas in bowls, I utilize sprigs of the Pothos plant (Epipremnum aureum). As long as the leaves are not submerged, stems of the plant can be submerged in water indefinitely. I've had sprigs submerged for years. Ammonia is uitilized by plants very quickly. Because the plant's leaves are above the surface, it can process a great deal of carbon dioxide, you have a plant with a higher metabolism for removing waste from the water. The sprigs grow roots and the environment becomes very clean actually. My male betta just got through a month of me being on holiday with only top-offs because he had pothos sprigs and free-floating moss in his bowl. A huge plant mass to accomodate any ammonia build up. He's doing great.

By the way, saw you edited the poll. I can't win this one, can I? Oh, just make it yes or no... It's so much nicer. See, I even answered your question, despite you thinking me cruel...

Liz

I don't think you're cruel at all Liz. I'm just animal mad and have strong views and I've been proved wrong. Thats something I didn't know about the plants I'm gonnna check that out now.

 

[lljdma06]

It seems opinions are split on this. It's very interresting to hear both sides of the story. I suppose in the end it boils down to personal choice. As long as regular maintence is kept up the betta should be fine.

I will stick to no less than 15 litres but for those who have smaller tanks at least they know that experienced people have had no problems keeping them in these tanks and have had healthy happy long lived Bettas.

Out of interest as it's been bugging me as I'm cycling my betta tank. If you don't have a filter obviously you don't have to cycle so can I add my betta now? What happens amonia and nitrite wise in a small unfiltered tank. This is a serious question not a dig or anything lol. I wanna know because I have reserved a betta and amting for the tank to cycle. If I add him would he be ok?

I think one persons "cruel" is another persons good by what's been said so far. I really am not anywhere near knowledgeable enough on betta's to be an expert, maybe not even a novice. I'd always though that bigger the tank, the happier the fish. Maybe this isn't the case with betta's but as I said, I'm not an expert.

Totally agreed I am animal mad so am a bit of a crusader lol. But experienced people have shown another side to the story which is good.

You asked, I shall answer. When I keep bettas in bowls, I utilize sprigs of the Pothos plant (Epipremnum aureum). As long as the leaves are not submerged, stems of the plant can be submerged in water indefinitely. I've had sprigs submerged for years. Ammonia is uitilized by plants very quickly. Because the plant's leaves are above the surface, it can process a great deal of carbon dioxide, you have a plant with a higher metabolism for removing waste from the water. The sprigs grow roots and the environment becomes very clean actually. My male betta just got through a month of me being on holiday with only top-offs because he had pothos sprigs and free-floating moss in his bowl. A huge plant mass to accomodate any ammonia build up. He's doing great.

By the way, saw you edited the poll. I can't win this one, can I? Oh, just make it yes or no... It's so much nicer. See, I even answered your question, despite you thinking me cruel...

Liz

I don't think you're cruel at all Liz. I'm just animal mad and have strong views and I've been proved wrong. Thats something I didn't know about the plants I'm gonnna check that out now.

Yet in your opinion, the way I keep my bettas is... You won't find the plant information readily. That's just something I did along the way as I practiced this hobby. Just applying something my family always did living in a sub tropical climate and then taking it a step further. Knowing a bit about plants helps too.

Liz

EDIT: LOL, saw you edited the poll yet again. This is better. I'm starting to get to you... I always say, more than one way to skin a cat. Not that I'd ever skin one. I like cats, I have two.