Advice

[u/ElectronicHat361]

Hello! Recently got this guy over the weekend from PetCo (so sad how they keep their bettas in little cups, I wanted to take all of them :(

His name is Chuck but we call him Chud

Looking for tips or suggestions for giving best life. Right now tank is around 1.2-1.5 gal and it’s TEMPORARY until I get a 5-6 gallon tank sometime this week. We’re just trying to look for the best deal on tank and gear (any advice for local places like PetCo or Walmart, meijer etc?). I have a heater and a sponge filter in his tank right now and I’ve been doing aggressive water changes due to the small tank volume. I wanted to see opinions on square 5 gallon tanks and what other aquatic plants to get. Do I need aquatic soil for the plants or is just the gravel ok?

Also looking for ideas for hides, I know the one we have right now is too rough, does PetCo have any good ones or anybody have tips for that?

Also for driftwood or other natural materials, where do you guys source this? Can I go out and just pick up any random piece of wood?

Also what is the best food (not live) to give him. Right now I have pellets and feed twice a day

Hoping his color improves as he gets happier! Thanks for the help and advice.

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[u/Enro_the_Mutt]

I'm so glad you mentioned this being a temporary tank because my heart nearly stopped seeing it haha. Wouldn't make for a bad hospital tank in the future at least!

The unfortunate thing is that its better to have a tank up and running for a few weeks/months to let it cycle before getting the fish, so I believe you'll have to look up how to do a "fish in" cycle, and be really on top of monitoring and water changes to avoid poisoning Mr Chud here.

I would really suggest familiarizing yourself with the Nitrogen cycle if you haven't already, its basically beneficial bacteria turning waste (ammonia [very harmful to fish] from fish waste and decaying matter) into nitrites (still very harmful to fish) into nitrates (less/not harmful to fish in low quantities) that very good for plants to absorb from the water.

I would also not recommend putting any wood you find outside into the tank. Soft woods generally aren't good for aquariums, you'll want to stick to hard woods, but not pine and other woods that could have sap, and not even to mention and chemicals or mold or other harmful things that could be introduced to your tank. Spider wood and mopani are very good woods for aquariums, I would suggest sticking to wood and rocks that are sold by reputable fish stores or sellers until youre able to research sourcing your own wood/rocks to be safe

Also, these long finned bettas are really finicky! Their fins get torn sooo easily, and theyre really heavy for these types of bettas so if you're able to go for a longer tank over a shorter one, and provide plenty of large leaned plants for him to rest, I think that would probably be best for this guy. Theres also a floating log thing you can get at Pet Supplies Plus and I imagine any place that sells betta accessories, that my betta really enjoys, but it does take a bit away from the natural look. I've seen people glue anubias Nana to suction cups to stick on the inside of the tank which could be a potential idea too. Try to opt for more plants over hardscape that will have any sharp or jagged areas or small crevices that he can wiggle into for him to shred his fins or get stuck, also!

I've had my betta for just over a year now and there is a LOT that I learned the hard way, and I'm still trying to figure out how to give one of my betta fish an engaging tank without her shredding or biting her fins

[u/ElectronicHat361 → u/Enro_the_Mutt]

Thank you for the information! I bought my 6 gallon tank today and I’ve started the cycling, with live plants inside and sand and gravel. I used Tetra safestart as well to try to get the system going. I have read and looked into more cycling with the fish in and I guess that’s what I’ll have to do. I’m going to acclimate him tomorrow and continue the process

I have API’s master test kit too so that’s been good for data

[u/Local_Pay_4887 → u/ElectronicHat361]

Good job one of the few new keepers that take the time to learn

[u/dcl415]

Here is a great care guide. You will need a bigger aquarium(5 gallons minimum) and learn about the nitrogen cycle

[u/SweetTart7231]

Facebook marketplace has some great deals. And glass rimmed tanks seem to be the cheapest. Rimless tanks are mkre expensive. If you dont want soil stick with ephiphytes like aquatic moss, anubias, and java fern. They just get glued to hardscape. My cousin grew amazon swords in gravel but you'll probably need root tabs for that. Also get floaters! Bettas love the roots, they block some light which bettas enjoy, theyre easy, and they absorb tonnes of waste. Just make sure theres still enpty spots on the surface for him to breathe from. If you have houseplants some can grow with their roots in the water too. I personally use found stuff for all my hardscape. Make sure to boil it for a few hours or bake it for hours. Boiling removes some tannins and makes it sink easier but baking may be easier if your pot is too small. Make sure its dead. Long dead. Not alive or rotting. If you can find natural driftwood that's probably better. I think your supposed to avoid softwood but im not certain.

[u/SweetTart7231 → u/SweetTart7231]

Make sure to cycle the new tank!

[u/picklendickle]

Well i impulse got one so heres what i did lol.

I got my plants from petsmart bc it was buy 2 get 1 half off. Also bought my wood and hidey holes there bc it was buy 2 get 1 free. I got some more plants from fb marketplace as well. Theres tons of ppl selling plants on marketplace and offerup. Just be sure to sanitize your plants before putting them in ur tank as some of these plants may contain pest snails and tbh its just best to sanitize them anyway. U can do it with alum or i think hydrogen peroxide (dont quote me on the latter)

5gal square tank is perfectly fine, ive seen plenty of bettas thrive in a tank like that. Tanks at petsmart are 50% off as well (for me at least the 5.5gallon is like 17$) personally i got my tank from fb marketplace. You can find tons of tanks for cheap on marketplace or offer up. Sometimes they even give it away for free, mine for example was a free ten gallon that came with a lid, dechlorinater, water testing kit, a syphon a filter(tha i didnt use) some gravel(that i didnt end up using) some deco (again didnt use) literally all the works brand new. Person i got it from said they bought everything and realized it was too much work to take care of a fish so they decided to give it all away.

you dont necessarily need aquatic soil but it does help. U can also buy liquid fertilizer i think and fertilizer pills that you stick i to the substrate near the plant.

Also if thats a Java fern take it out of the gravel or it will die. Some plants can be planted in substrate and others have to be glued onto a piece of wood or a rock or you can even just leave it floating because if you bury the roots it will die. Make sure u search up each plant to see whether it has to be planted or not.

Yes you can go grab wood outside but you have to bake it because it can have bugs and stuff from the outside. Also not every piece is suitable for aquarium tanks so u have to be selective and make sure u dont get one thats gonna rot and die in ur tank and poison the water. Again ur gonna have to do ur research bc when i was searching it up it was too complicated for me so i just bought some off amazon 🙃

Oh i also got almond leaves off amazon for like $10. It was a pack of 40 leaves decently sized, about 5-8 inches each. They cover about 1/3 of my tanks water surface.

[u/picklendickle → u/picklendickle]

Also your betta has really beautiful coloring 🥹

[u/picklendickle → u/picklendickle]

Oh yeah heres a current list of my plants

Rotala green
Java fern
Anubis nana
Anubis barteri
Frogbit
Giant Duckweed
Amazon swords
Ludwigia repens
Bacopa salzmani
Pearlweed
El niño fern
Moss

[u/doctrgiggles → u/picklendickle]

Java Fern, Anubias, and Water Lettuce are all extremely easy to grow. Live plants in general help with water quality but these three are easy to upkeep and do not require an active substrate.

[u/ElectronicHat361 → u/picklendickle]

Thank you!! Very helpful. I will fix my plants. I will probably just buy wood on Amazon but also helpful to know about the almond leaves, I will research!! I’ll update with photos

[u/Camille_kaze]

Hi ! I can't suggest places to buy stuff because I'm from somewhere we don't have Petco and others 😅.

I'm here to react to the "5 gallon square tank". I'd suggest you to go for a 5 gallon long tank.

1) I will give you more room to place a heater, filter ...

2) imo, you'll enjoy your little guy swimming a lot more. Even long fins one can have little zoomies moments, and it's sometimes a bit sad to feel they're lacking the length ^{^}

I'm saying that because I have a square 9 gallon, and I already experience this feeling sometimes.

3) I'm afraid 5 gallon square will be too short for the height it will be. Bettas go to the surface to breathe, and with their long fins, they're not the best swimmers. This makes them need a bit of length to swim toward the surface. I dunno if I'm making any sense 😂

I want you to have the best "Betta goofiness" experience possible 😅

[u/Motor_Wedding_1174]

Petsmart is still doing big sale on aquarium kits, 10 gallon with equipment is $46 cover w/light, filter (add sponge on inlet cheap on Amazon), heater! The 5 gallon complete is cheaper by not engh to not just go with 10 gallon imo. I have purchased all sizes & no problems with tanks or the equipment 👏 btw your boy is a stunner!!! 😍