Betta care

[Star]

A few weeks ago I got a fish tank from a friend. She had bought it, but never used it. The problem is, it's very small, only 10 liters (that's about 2,5-3 gallons).

Can I still use it for keeping fish, or maybe some other animal? What about those yellow snails? (I don't know their name but I've seen them in pet stores in small tanks.)

I'm a beginner, so I can't handle any "tricky" fishes. (But I guess they would need more space anyway.)

[ladyjai]

how about a single betta? you will still need a filter an heater.

You could do one of those snails, provided you had the filter, and if your house is colder than 74, then a heater as well. be prepared for many water changes

a different option would be 3 african dwarf frogs (not clawed).

[Star]

What's a betta?

[Star]

Oh, one more thing, how many water changes is "many"? Twice a week? More often? For ever, or just to get started?

[Komar]

I've got a single Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) in a 2.5-3 gallon tank. This small tank is probably my favourite, and it's extremely simple to maintain.

I added an air pump attachment filter, but this is optional; I wanted to prevent the water from getting scummy at the surface. Bettas, so I'm told, prefer still, unaerated water and smaller aquariums. (Not smaller than about a gallon, though.)

Bettas can also handle cooler temperatures, so I don't have a heater. Room temperature should be fine. My tank is usually around 22 C / 72 F, but it's dipped down to maybe 20 C / 68 F. In the summer, it might go up to 28 C / 82 F; this is not good for any of my fish, but I haven't had any casualties from the fluctuation so far... (I live in Winnipeg, Canada, so drastic seasonal temperature fluctuation is routine.)

There's a few small snails in the tank to take care of the algae. I recommend them; they don't require a heater, either.

I used to add one to three Ghost Shrimp to the tank, but my Betta is aggressive, and eats the shrimp. Add shrimp at your own discretion...

You'll need about a quarter-inch of gravel in your tank for the beneficial bacteria to grow. I've got about three inches of gravel, as I've got a fairly bizarre set-up and some live plants. (See my website for more details.)

Let the water and gravel sit for three days to get rid of the chlorine and to grow the bacteria. After three days, toss in a Betta and it should be good to go.

I change 20 percent of the water once a week. This is pretty standard for most tanks, but I think you can let it slide a bit with Bettas, as they have rudimentary lungs and can breathe from the surface. They also produce very little waste.

Finally, feed them sparingly. A container of Betta food will last for a very, very long time. Both my Bettas eat four tiny Betta pellets daily. Some people say only feed half this much, but if my Betta is still willing to eat a full-grown Ghost Shrimp, he's probably still hungry

I've also heard that a Betta can go two weeks without food, so this is plenty of leeway for weekend trips and holidays.

I know some of this info is contradictory to Ladyjai's post, but this is how I've dealt with my two Bettas (I have one in another tank), and they've been doing very well.

I've heard that aquatic frogs are tougher to keep, and are far messier. I'm thinking about getting some, but I have no experience with them to date. I highly recommend getting a Betta. They are really nice fish, and are super easy to care for. They're pretty cheap and widely available, too.

Hope this helps.

[Star]

Yes, it helps a lot.
I've never had any frogs, so I think I'll stick to your Betta suggestions. Does the Betta require hiding places?

[Komar]

You know, I never thought of that...

I haven't read any literature about it, but my Bettas like to hide in small rocky caves and in the live plants. I'd wager that it isn't crucial, but they sure appreciate it.

Sometimes, at night, when the Bettas cram themselves into little hiding spots, I think they're dead. Heads up if you plan to add some

[ladyjai]

i've found keeping bettas in temperatures under 76 is death for long term. (you will also find most of the literature and breeders support me :) )

heaters are really a necessity, even in a small container.

betta love filtered water, or heavily planted tanks or both. but they do like low/no currents. If you have no filtration, then you must have live plants, or be prepared to do 100% water changes every 3-5 days.

I would advise doing a google and seeing what the breeders recommend. I have only been keeping bettas for 6 years, so... *shrug*

[Komar]

As with all fish, plant, and aquarium information, there's plenty of contradiction out there. A quick online research indicated to me that websites quoting unheated water for Bettas yield a lifespan of two or three years, but this doubled for sites that dictated warmer water requirements. There you have it.

I rescind my statement about the low temperatures. Ladyjai is correct, which means that Bettas are often kept in water much cooler than they would prefer. (Now I gotta go buy a teenie tiny heater...)

However, Bettas are generally sold as adults and produce little waste, as they eat very little. There's not much chance that a Betta tank or bowl would get dirty enough to need cleaning more than 20% once a week, with or without plants or a filter, in my opinion. (This doesn't include the potential scrubbing of algae.)

100% water changes all at once are not a good idea (for any fish or tank), since this will upset the beneficial bacteria and other water conditions. I don't usually even treat my water when changing 20% or less, but more than 20% needs to be at least dechlorinated. (If you wanted to be extremely vigilant, you could use purified bottled water instead of tap water.)

So, a Betta in your tank with a thin layer of gravel, some hiding spots (even plastic plants work), and a heater of some sort should do fine with 20% weekly water changes. This is a *reasonable* accomodation, and is above and beyond what most people are willing to do.

I do recommend live plants, but make sure you know how to take care of them before you put them in. Decaying vegetation won't help your fish much...

I also do recommend a filter, though the only thing suitable for a tank this small is an air pump attachment, and these don't do much actual filtering, unfortunately. (I think the active carbon is really the only part of the filter doing any work.) A bigger filter will certainly clean the small amount of water very well, but your poor fish will be living in a veritable whirlpool.

The logistics of a small tank are sometimes a bit tougher to work around (due to the lack of tiny or efficient heaters and filters, namely), but it isn't that hard to get a suitable tank for a Betta set up. (Nothing says you can't perfect the set-up as you learn more about it. )

On the bright side, even an unfiltered, unheated, unplanted 3 gallon tank with water changes maybe every other week is probably still significantly better than what the Bettas face at the pet shop.

[ladyjai]

hehe, well...

using bottled water isn't very good for bettas, unless you get something like RO right, or some other additive which will add the things back into the water the fish need. pure water isn't very good for fish, as it is lacking mineral content which is necessary for proper metabolism, which is why it is advised to use either tap or some combo of tap and RO/bottled water.
then using a simple declorinator to remove the chlorine.

those who have great sucess with unheated aquariums, how many had them placed in positions in the house where the temperature never fell too low? I know that in my bedroom, it rarely gets below 73 in the evenings, and in the day its up at 76/78, simply because of my computers and all the lights on the fishtanks.
if you can find an undrafty place, where the temperature doesn't drop below 74 too often it should be ok.

as to the bacteria in the aquarium. bacteria only lives in the gravel if you have a UGF with some form of airpump. so having a deep substrate is actually impractical and dangerous. a thin one will have the same benefit. bacteria in an unfiltered aquarium will live on the water and on the sides of the aquarium and on the decorations. in that sense, if you choose to not do many large water changes, you will find that you better NOT clean the sides and everything in there. pick one side to clean algae off, and leave the rest, as algae is a powerful ammonia eater.
of course, the fact that if you follow the recommended feeding, it shouldn't be an issue, but (if you look at my sig).

as to doing 100% water changes, it is not going to destroy the bacteria unless you clean out the tank or let it dry out, or have the water not the same temperature. with bettas, it is better to have the water aged a day before adding (will also illiminate chlorines, but not chloramines). however, you fill find that for the fish it isn't as big of an issue. have you ever heard of the ancient chinese method for keeping goldfish, which involved 7 tanks? they moved the fish every day. most fish in the wild do have water that moved at high rates. even bettas have access to huge gallons of water. at least the splendids that most people keep.

for anything in a filtered aquarium, i perform 50-70% water changes at least once a week. for a year i was doing it two times a week, without fish loss. however, i have slacked back from that because of time constraints. (and the fact it takes me a couple hours to do all my tanks). this works quite nicely. however, if you never do any significant amount of water changes and suddenly do a big one or a 100%, then it is bad for the fish, as they are not accustomed to it. this is why people think it is bad, but when fish are accustomed to having their water changed several to hundreds of times a day.... a weekly 50% is a pitiful offering. as long as you do it regularly. doing a 50% every 2 months is BAD. Chris, in your tanks, do a test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If your readings are 0, 0, and <20, then you are doing enough water changes, if they are not, then you are not. I'd still do 50% weekly, as freshwater fish love freshwater. Actually, even for planted tanks, 50% weekly is advised, have you heard of Tom Barr? the guy who has his PhD in the aquatic plant field? the guru of it all, lol. he recommends 50% weekly for planted tanks to remove excess nutrients.

so, do those tests. to be honest, nitrates are more harmful than people let on, i prefer to have them less than 5, and even at 0. (of course, for planted tanks, there are other issues, but with a fish focus, this is good)

if you keep your nitates in the above fields, (you will find some fish require under 5 nitrates, bettas, i've seen a requirement for under 10, as over usually leads to frayed fins.) but if they are there, then you are doing the minimum tank maintenance.

gotta love pythons, lol.

So, a Betta in your tank with a thin layer of gravel, some hiding spots (even plastic plants work), and a heater of some sort should do fine with 20% weekly water changes. This is a *reasonable* accomodation, and is above and beyond what most people are willing to do.

very true. but because most people keep them in sub conditions, does that mean we should recommend it? Star, you can do either method, many fish survive in the quoted tank conditions. They will not thrive. It comes down to you and your wishes with fish. I would assume, since you are asking, you are looking for the proper keeping, not the easier . true, keeping them in that is giving them infinitely more than 90% of bettas will ever have.

and live plants, while they may seem more of a hassle, they actually make things easier in the long run. they eat the wastes the fish produce, if you feed your fish properly, you don't have to go high tech, get a decent light, put it on a timer, cover the top with duckweed and the bottom with java moss, and your little fishie will be safe and sound, and then, should something happen and you forget to do a weekly water change, then your fish will still be just fine. There are actually those who can keep bettas, etc alive for years with no water changes, just top-offs, but the live plants are a MUST for this :). I still recommend 50% weekly water changes.


william, you may want to sticky this with a name change to betta care, as chris and i have had a good discussion and (likely still have a few more, lol) which will be good for other readers :).

btw, walmart sells heaters which will heat 2-5 gallons to 78 evenly. it costs about $6 US