First Time Betta Owner

[auerinlambert]

Hi all!

I recently acquired a male Betta as an early Christmas present with a tiny, plastic 1 gallon cube. After really informing myself about Betta care, I figured out that my Betta, Gatsby, deserves much bigger and much better.

I think I found a good filter, has anyone tried the Tetra Whisper 10i?
Would this be suitable for a 5 gallon aquarium, or would it be too powerful?

Also, I'm having major trouble finding a reliable heater that has gotten good reviews. Does anyone have any suggestions for an affordable and reliable heater?

Thanks!

[aemaki09]

On the filter, betta's dont require a filter, but if you really want one I'd go get something adjustable just because with long-finned males sometimes the flow gets to be too much. I think a 10i in a 5 gallon would be that way unless its adjustable, but someone else would know better.
For a heater -- A hydor theo 25watt would be good. They are a little pricey but worth it because they can be ran outside of the water without breaking (just in case you forget to un-plug it when doing a water change on occasion) its gotten great reviews on here. If you decide not to go with this heater, Always get something adjustable, and 25watt will be perfect for a 5-10 gallon tank.
Also not sure if you already have them or not, but betta's prefer to have a lot of hiding spaces, so I'd add some silk or live plants and a cave or two - if you decide to get plastic plants instead make sure they are very soft and you should try to run a piece of panty hose over plastic to see if it tears, betta's have very delicate fins so if panty-hose will tear on decorations, so will your new boy's fins, and you should switch it out or get a different type.


Hope you enjoy your new betta!! They get to be sooo addicting!

[ChibreneyDragon]

I've noticed my Bettas dont really like the filters. They seemed stressed out over the water flow. But live plants are certainly a wonderful idea! And it's REALLY fun to accessorize with cute little fishie knick knacks, and personalize their "bedroom". My sorority tank has a ton of live plants surrounding a castle, with a dragon spitting fire in front of it.

[auerinlambert]

Thanks for the tip about the heater. I found a pretty affordable one online, and it gives me peace of mind to know it's gotten good reviews on here. I really only wanted the filter so that I didn't have to clean the tank as often, and I found a tank with one included that seems to have worked for Betta owners in the past. If Gatsby ends up being offended, I'll make a baffle for it! Thanks for your help!

[Viva]

Bettas do prefer calm, still water but a filter IMO is still worth it. You can always add some sponge on to the intake, outflow and even inside of the filter itself to baffle the flow. Also using an old 1 liter water bottle to baffle the filter works well too. If you're getting a 5 gallon, I would recommend a filter so you can cycle your tank. If you're getting <5 gallon tank, I would skip the filter and just do two water changes per week, ideally 1 50% and 1 100%. If you cycle your tank, you can cut it to 1 50% per week. If you add live plants, which is always recommended for bettas, you may need even less water changes. There is a lot of information on planted tanks in the Planted Betta Tank section, its really awesome! I have live plants in my 10 gallon and 5 gallon and both also have filters. I know nothing about the 3i filter, I have a Tetra Whisper 10 and a Top Fin filter that came with my Top Fin 5.5 gallon starter kit. Here are the sponges I put over the intakes of both: