5 gallon betta tank!

[megastealer]

I have a friend of mine with a roommate who bought a betta and then didn't feel like taking care of it... the poor thing has been in a small betta "house" (about 1 gallon) for nearly 4 months now without even a water change. The water is nearly all evaporated... the poor creature... I literally cringed when I saw it.

So that being said, its obvious that a rescue is needed. Why it isn't dead yet... I have no idea...

I have another friend who is more responsible and actually would like a fish, so I would like to set up this tank for them and they can maintain it.

My idea is to get a 5 gallon tank from walmart if they sell them, which I am pretty sure they do.

I would also like to plant it. I am absolutely in love with some of the little shrimp tanks and other small tanks in the aquarium journal section, so I would like to do something along those lines... especially MCHRKiller's shrimp tank. For those of you who haven't seen it, check it out: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]


Does anywhere sell plant substrate in a small quantity? Since I am building the tank for them, I am wary about cost. They will pay me back but I don't want to go out and spend more than $25 or so on this.

I already have the fish in mind, so that is free.
I already have a filter, so that is taken care of.
I already have betta food as well.

I need a tank.
I need substrate.
I need plants.
I need enough lighting for a tank that size with a few plants.
I need decorations such as wood, rocks, etc.

Do you guys have any good suggestions from what you have seen at Petsmart, Walmart, etc? Ill check out the LFS here too, but I don't expect LFS to have better prices on supplies. So I am mainly relying on stuff from stores you have all probably been to and analyzed the products.

[Deleted User]

Maybe you could do some stuff now, and "upgrade" (like to real plants, etc.) later?

I do know our local Walmarts sell 5g tank kits with hood, light & filter for $29. I do not think they include a heater, though, and cold as I keep my house, our bettas need that here.

Might find some inexpensive silk plants at Michaels or another craft store? For bettas, a lot of the plastic plants, I think, can be too abrassive on their fins.

Good luck with your project. That fish is going to be so happy!!!

[VoidParadigm]

My five gallon's cost, so far:
Wal-mart -> $30 for 5g tank w/ filter, $15 for heater, $5 for gravel.
I still need to buy plants, which here is about $5-$8 per plant.

Unless you go on Craigslist or such I haven't heard of any better deals than the above.

[megastealer]

Does anyone know what kind of plants would grow in a 5-10 gallon tank with the lights that come with it? I am planning on either root tabs or straight up plant substrate, but I don't plan on buying extra lighting for it.

[VoidParadigm]

Hornwort or java fern/moss is probably your best bet.
Pull the light out and take a look at it. Many bulbs have the wattage displayed right on it. For example my pathetic little lighting operation was much higher than I thought it would be in my five gallon. It's almost 2.5 wpg.

[Lolita]

Anubias should be okay too, right? I have anubias in my 10 gallon with only a 15 watt light (the one it came with) and they're doing great!

I bought this tank at walmart for my best friend: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

You will need to buy a heater as well, but she loves the tank.

[megastealer]

Well I went to walmart, they only had the 1 gallon "tanks" which are really just relabeled bug barns, and then 1.5 gallon "aquarium kits" which were $30 each, and then 14 gallon or bigger aquarium kits which ranged from $40 to $200.

So I have no idea where to go to just buy a 5 gallon tank.. like a common 10 gallon tank but half the size.. Any ideas? :S

[jaysee]

Eclipse tanks are the way to go for a small setup. I have a 5 corner and love it - my gf has a 5 hex and she loves hers. The 3 gallon one would be acceptable for a betta as well. Petsmart sells them for about $50.

[iZinedane]

Well I went to walmart, they only had the 1 gallon "tanks" which are really just relabeled bug barns, and then 1.5 gallon "aquarium kits" which were $30 each, and then 14 gallon or bigger aquarium kits which ranged from $40 to $200.

So I have no idea where to go to just buy a 5 gallon tank.. like a common 10 gallon tank but half the size.. Any ideas? :S

craigslist around your area perhaps?

[Sarkazmo]

Yeah, with the Eclipse tanks all you have to add (hardware wise) is a heater. Lighting and filtration are built into the hood.

Eco-Complete is the best plant substrate that's readily available IMO.

If you go with a 5Gal Kit that comes with an incandescent hood just replace the bulb with a Lights of America 10W CFL. It's 6500K so it's nearly perfect for growing plants in a small tank.

Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss (or just about any of the mosses) would be excellent plants for that tank. Hornwort would be great as well. Betta love soft plants they can burrow in to and lay on.

Sark

[Dixie]

Maybe that Walmart was just out of small tanks at that time? Can you try another Walmart? Some do have better pet departments than others. I don't know about 5g. tanks but I've bought two 10g. setups from them & they also have just the 10g. tanks for about $15.00. Craigslist is also a good source, like someone else mentioned. So is "freecycle.org.". I got super lucky on freecycle and got a 29g. tank, stand, hood w/light, Fluval filter, white gravel, & 4 nice feather rocks...all for free. Man you can't beat that with a stick! haha

[cyrix]

Maybe that Walmart was just out of small tanks at that time? Can you try another Walmart? Some do have better pet departments than others. I don't know about 5g. tanks but I've bought two 10g. setups from them & they also have just the 10g. tanks for about $15.00. Craigslist is also a good source, like someone else mentioned. So is "freecycle.org.". I got super lucky on freecycle and got a 29g. tank, stand, hood w/light, Fluval filter, white gravel, & 4 nice feather rocks...all for free. Man you can't beat that with a stick! haha

I second freecycle. I got a 20G and 30G tall with matching stand, and filtration, heaters, and hoods for both for free.