Betta newbie

[gbeauvin]

Hello! We have a little 2.5gallon tank set up with a wee internal air-driven filter (the package claimed it was for up to 3 gallons). It's had 4 nickel-sized mystery snails in it for a couple of weeks, I've been feeding them vegetables and siphoning out the snail poop with a turkey baster.

My daughter wanted a fishtank in her room, so on her birthday (yesterday) we brought home a male betta (Indigo), a little package of hikari gold betta pellets, and a 10 gallon tank.

Indigo went into the 2.5gallon, and he seemed much happier than he was in his cup. He was swimming around, checking out his new home.

I have a bit of confusion since the little cup that Indigo came in said to feed him 2-3 times per week, but the hikari gold betta food package said to feed him 2-3 times per day! Quite a difference there...

Also, what size heater would Indigo need for a 10gallon tank, or for the little 2.5 if we wanted to keep it set up and get him a girlfriend? I'm planning to make a little wooden hood with a spiral CF bulb or two so we can keep some plants. I figured I'd just move the filter to the 10 when we moved indigo (of course the snails would need to go with if I moved the filter).

Living in arizona our house stays pretty warm, but I'm planning to pick up a wee heater ASAP just as soon as I figure out how many watts I need!

If I upgrade the filter, is there a point where it's too big for Indigo to build a bubble nest? It's a little too soon to be planning for a girlfriend, but I think my daughter would really enjoy seeing him build a nest once he gets settled into the 10gallon tank.

Finally, what sort of buddies would be appropriate to keep in the 10 gallon tank? I wouldn't want anything that would bother the Betta, since he's the main attraction.

-Rick

[Chicklet]

I feed mine once sometimes twice a day, and skip one day a week,

Anything that breaks up the surface water will destroy a bubble nest, If you want to save the nest make sure the air flow is extremely low & has very little surface disturbance
When a Male betta is happy he will let you know by building a bubble nest, No female needed.

Betta's were not named fighting fish for nothing, Put a male and female together and most likely you will have a fight that will ultimately end in ones death without intervention, It may take several days but it will happen.

A bubble wall is good, or a airstone,
I prefer the sponge filters,
You will need to adjust the airflow to fit your betta's needs,

[gbeauvin]

Thanks, Chicklet. right now I have the filter situated such that the "overflow" of the internal filter is just above the waterline. I can scoot it down further so that it's just under the surface, and it will probably create less disturbance that way (though really, the water is pretty flat on the opposite end of the tank).

Good to know on the bubble-nest front! I was thinking we might end up needing to get a girl and put her in the 2.5gallon next to Indigo's 10 (once we get him moved to his new home).

We picked up a 50 watt heater (which fits in the 2.5, barely) with the intention of putting it in the 10gallon once we get it set up. We also got some new hikari betta-gold (since I can't find the first package we bought) and I showed my daughter how to feed Indigo... one pellet at a time until he doesn't eat one, then put the fish-food away.

We also got some hornwort (moneywort and hornwort were the only two "moderate light" plants they had at the petsmart)... the bunch didn't look that huge in the baggie, but it takes up practically half the 2.5gallon tank! I figure it will fit better in the 10gallon, I still need to make the light hood though.

Right now the 2.5gal has a bare bottom... is there any advantage to gravel vs. sand vs. bare bottom?

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, who likes sand, but it's pretty easy to turkey-baste the poop out of the bare bottomed 2.5g)

[Chicklet]

For a lone male betta in a 10 gallon tank, Gravel is really a personal preference,
Some likes the looks of gravel others don't,
If you plan on cycling the tank, Gravel helps maintain your cycle,
Power outages can mess with some filters, thus causing a loss cycle, gravel helps prevent this,

I like Bare bottoms for all my younger fry and betta's in smaller tanks,, Makes it easier to see how much junk accumulates, thus easier to keep spotlessly clean, A bare bottom is also very good for a hospital tank.