Pretty New To Fish And Happy About A Forum!

[EllieJellyEllie]

Well guys. I have bad news. My mom says no until I have all the money, I cant buy anything off craigslist, and she doesnt want one anyway. I might still be able to get a set up for the holidays and birthdays though
 
My new plan is to ask for just fish stuff for the holidays, earn alot of money from petsitting, and do more research. I hope they dont throw the whole idea out of the window, like I wont.

Ellie, I keep my male Bettas in a 1-3 gal. tank and they are  fine and happy, In my opinion a 5 gal is to big for one betta. I have a 5 gal tank and have 6 Neons, 3 Dano's, 4 Platty,s and 1 Betta  they are doing great. 
I needed a new 10 gal. tank and went to Wal Mart and paid $30.00 for a kit, tank, hood, filter. light and you can get gravel there for around $7-8.00 to fill it. And please always use live plants
If you just want 1 Betta you can go to Pet Smart and get a Micro1 set up about $20.00 but I always go to Wal Mart for supplies if they have what I need. You can get small bags of gravel there too
I just bought 2 Micro1 set ups, they have filter, food and water conditioner with the set, hood with light. My Betta is doing great in it.
If you get a bigger tank don't forget a water test kit they run around $30.00 but last a long time and don't forget to cycle the tank before the fish. But with my Bettas I put in the water conditioner and waited a while and put them right in. I have 9 Male Bettas now
You don't have to spend a furtune to keep a few fish Oh and you know you can only have 1 male Betta in 1 tank

 
That 5 galon set up is WAY too small. And why cant I use fake plants? What if I dont want live plants?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Welcome to the TFF, you'll find some great advice from people here.

 
But I would ignore starangel............

Ellie, I keep my male Bettas in a 1-3 gal. tank and they are  fine and happy, In my opinion a 5 gal is to big for one betta. I have a 5 gal tank and have 6 Neons, 3 Dano's, 4 Platty,s and 1 Betta  they are doing great. 
I needed a new 10 gal. tank and went to Wal Mart and paid $30.00 for a kit, tank, hood, filter. light and you can get gravel there for around $7-8.00 to fill it. And please always use live plants
If you just want 1 Betta you can go to Pet Smart and get a Micro1 set up about $20.00 but I always go to Wal Mart for supplies if they have what I need. You can get small bags of gravel there too
I just bought 2 Micro1 set ups, they have filter, food and water conditioner with the set, hood with light. My Betta is doing great in it.
If you get a bigger tank don't forget a water test kit they run around $30.00 but last a long time and don't forget to cycle the tank before the fish. But with my Bettas I put in the water conditioner and waited a while and put them right in. I have 9 Male Bettas now
You don't have to spend a furtune to keep a few fish Oh and you know you can only have 1 male Betta in 1 tank

Very very overstocked that 5 gal tank!!
And some people want to use plastic plants rather than live plant, its absolutely not an necessity to have live plants.
1-3 gal for a betta IMO is too small. 5 gal minimum for a betta.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Dont worry. In my little time here I learned to ignore people like him. Our 5 gallon didnt have that many fish. It had 4 neons, 2 guppys, a catfish, and an algae eater. Not even all the time

 

[ncguppy830]

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sorry but even 4 neons or 2 guppys alone is overstocking a 5 gal tank too IMO.......

 
Ask anyone on this forum about what fish stocking would be good for whatever sized tank you want and we will be more than happy to advise. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Ellie, I'm sure you already know but please, for the sake of your fish, keep up the research so you can take care of them properly. Just because others don't doesn't mean you have to be like them.
 
Sorry that your mom said no! Hopefully they'll get you some stuff for christmas & your birthday. Keep researching! Even if you can't get anything now, you'll at least be well prepared when you can

 

[starangel]

I have been keeping fish for years and know what works for me. You all would have a fit if you saw my 10 gal guppy tank, but they are all happy and healthy and BEAUTIFUL. I keep 3 Bettas in a 10 gal. tank with dividers. I have 1 Betta in a 3 gal. cube with a Placo and Cory cat and they are fine. I also have a Betta in a 3 gal cube with a Placo as big as my hand and they are  perefictly fine. Had them there for a year now. I just moved a Betta to a Mate1 1 gal last night because it has a lighted hood and filter, before that he was in a 1/2 gal. As for my 5 gal tank, they are all happy and all my fish are healthy. I do water change of 25-50% almost weekly and use live plants and air stone and filters 
If you all want to follow the book it's up to you. I know what works for me. So don't say ignore Starangel, I do what works for me and am just passing this info along. 
Oh forgot, I have a Molly and she gave birth to 20 fry IN A 3 GAL. TANK and they are all still in there including the male. However I did go out and buy a 10 gal just for them and am waiting to put it all together and YES cycle it. She is due to have more babies in about 2 weeks. I think I'll use my feeder gold fish to cycle the tank like I did the others. Ya all have fun with putting me down for what I do.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Ok. My dad is going to sell some of my old stuff for me on Craigslist, and I know, Im NOT listening to him and getting my little betta a 5 gallon first. 
 
My mom actually said that if I come up with all the money I need, to show it to her and she will decide then. Knowing her I think she is just making sure Im serious about this.
 
Oh! And I got my first petsitting job. One of our neighbors, but I havent petsitted for them before. Not sure if Im getting paid.
 
How much should I save up? $60-$80?

 

[ncguppy830]

I have been keeping fish for years and know what works for me. You all would have a fit if you saw my 10 gal guppy tank, but they are all happy and healthy and BEAUTIFUL. I keep 3 Bettas in a 10 gal. tank with dividers. I have 1 Betta in a 3 gal. cube with a Placo and Cory cat and they are fine. I also have a Betta in a 3 gal cube with a Placo as big as my hand and they are  perefictly fine. Had them there for a year now. I just moved a Betta to a Mate1 1 gal last night because it has a lighted hood and filter, before that he was in a 1/2 gal. As for my 5 gal tank, they are all happy and all my fish are healthy. I do water change of 25-50% almost weekly and use live plants and air stone and filters 
If you all want to follow the book it's up to you. I know what works for me. So don't say ignore Starangel, I do what works for me and am just passing this info along. 
Oh forgot, I have a Molly and she gave birth to 20 fry IN A 3 GAL. TANK and they are all still in there including the male. However I did go out and buy a 10 gal just for them and am waiting to put it all together and YES cycle it. She is due to have more babies in about 2 weeks. I think I'll use my feeder gold fish to cycle the tank like I did the others. Ya all have fun with putting me down for what I do.

well what you do is inhumane maam and we wont condone it.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Im such a newbie and I EVEN know that mollies need bigger than a TEN gallon! Youre so cruel. What if I locked you in a closet with 20 kids? And made you live in it even though you needed a house? I come to feed you but thats it. And I pick up waste. Im not following your information at all. Newbies sometimes will follow the books and go and stray away from them. Im reporting you, and I hope you get banned.

 

[Wildbetta]

I have been keeping fish for years and know what works for me. You all would have a fit if you saw my 10 gal guppy tank, but they are all happy and healthy and BEAUTIFUL. I keep 3 Bettas in a 10 gal. tank with dividers. I have 1 Betta in a 3 gal. cube with a Placo and Cory cat and they are fine. I also have a Betta in a 3 gal cube with a Placo as big as my hand and they are  perefictly fine. Had them there for a year now. I just moved a Betta to a Mate1 1 gal last night because it has a lighted hood and filter, before that he was in a 1/2 gal. As for my 5 gal tank, they are all happy and all my fish are healthy. I do water change of 25-50% almost weekly and use live plants and air stone and filters 
If you all want to follow the book it's up to you. I know what works for me. So don't say ignore Starangel, I do what works for me and am just passing this info along. 
Oh forgot, I have a Molly and she gave birth to 20 fry IN A 3 GAL. TANK and they are all still in there including the male. However I did go out and buy a 10 gal just for them and am waiting to put it all together and YES cycle it. She is due to have more babies in about 2 weeks. I think I'll use my feeder gold fish to cycle the tank like I did the others. Ya all have fun with putting me down for what I do.

 
Unfortunately what you are doing and advising is not very humane for the fish involved.  I guarantee you that most of your fish are not happy and are just surviving. There is a big difference in surviving and actually thriving.  Keeping 3 bettas divided in a 10 gallon heated and filtered is the ONLY thing about your setups that is ok.  Keeping any fish in less than 2.5 gallons is cruel.  Keeping a pleco of any type in a tank less than 20 gallons is not advised as well and that is just for the smallest ones.  The big ones like the one that you have, need extremely large tanks and preferably a pond.  You have stunted your pleco, there is no other way around it.  Do you know what happens to stunted fish?  Their body stops growing but their insides continue to grow which is very painful for the fish.  there is a difference with "going by the book" and totally throwing the book to the wind and doing whatever you want whether it is good for the fish or not.  We have every right to advise a member looking for good information to ignore you since you are not giving good helpful information that is safe for the fish in question.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Can someone answer my questions? Perferably not starangel......
 
So how much should I save? My dad is putting my 2 ipods on ebay, and Im petsitting. So that might be maybe even up to forty. Im getting a 5 gallon betta tank set up first, with a low flow filter and a heater.

 

[Wildbetta]

Are you looking to buy new or used?  That makes a big difference in the amount you will need to save up.  If you buy a 5 gallon new -- it is more expensive than a 10 gallon so take that into consideration.  You can find some great deals on craigslist depending on what you are looking for.  I would say to shoot for at least $100 just to be able to have enough to get the tank, heater, filter, substrate, lid (necessary with bettas), plants (live or silk - plastic is bad for bettas), and decor you want to add.

 

[ncguppy830]

for cheap tanks check out rubbermaid containers they see through ones.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Dad said no to used.
 
I will get all my prices. No matter what the first thing Im doing is buying a five gallon with a lid. Then heater, then filter, then decor and substrate.
 
Can I file down plastic plants? I had two of them and you couldnt catch a peice of pantyhose on it and he hasnt caught his fins yet. But if I have to buy silk plants, I might just do some beginner real ones. Like a moss ball (I like moss balls, lol) and one that doesnt need to be rooted. Forgot what it was called.
 
What about for a 10 gallon tank? 150-200?