To Big?

[BettaFish123]

My brothers poor first Betta has been through a lot. Last night when we first brought him home he jumped out of the packet and onto the floor and so we had to pick him up with our hands and into a tank with a totally different water temperature. Fortunately he was unharmed. We fed him a pellet for the night but when we woke up this morning, despite having left the tank out for 2 days to distill the water and let the water conditioner set in without any leaks, the floor was wet and half the water in his small 2 gallon tank was emptied and emptying fast. By coincidence I had my own brand new 12 gallon tank set up for tropical fish. I'm not planning on getting the fish for another 2 weeks ( so that the cycle has started ) but there is no where for my brothers poor Betta to go. Is the tank a little too big for him (he'll need to be there for at least 2 weeks until my brother can get another tank)? I heard Betta's need surface air to breathe but would it be too tiring to rise to the surface back up and down? Does he need to get a new tank ASAP or can Betta stay for a while? I think the length is the same as the height of the tank. Also do Betta's need a filter running?
Thanks,
BettaFish123

[dukie1346]

No way! That will be fine, make sure to have a cave in there at the least to keep him safe, but that's fine! I keep mine in a 10g tank. I've even heard of someone who had a 30g tank just dedicated to one betta! He'll love the room

[lilyrazen]

well, since it would be one fish in the twelve you could probably go with out the filter if you can't get one, just change the water a little each week. He should be fine!
Welcome to the forum! Many people have bettas in large tanks, you could even get your own and put some cories adfs otos or any compatible schooling fish.

[BettaFish123]

Phew, what a relief, thanks, I'm sure he'll be happy, he was in a small plastic cup when I brought him

(even though he's my brothers I'm guessing I'll have to feed him most of the time, I don't think my brother takes fish seriously. Sorry if I refer to him as my fish sometimes.)

[kelly528]

Yupp, the 'bettas hating big spaces' myth is a load of BS (betta sh%^ :p). What they like or even need regardless of tank size is lots of plants... I mean, they do live in flooded fields! For a bigger tank he should be fine to reach the surface (give the current is slowed). Bettas also breathe through their gills so as long as the water is oxygenated this is a non-issue.

For comfort, however I would suggest you invest in a broad-leaved plant on which he can rest near the surface. It can be real or fake. Zoo-med also sells a floating log and a little betta-hammock to serve this purpose. You can view them here: Search Results: Products

[vaygirl]

I have mine in a planted 16 gallon and he does fine. I have a big water wisteria that he rests on when he needs to but honestly he doesn't do that very much. He's super active and always 'hunting' through the plants and such.

[Jayy]

you could divide it if you want