general betta questions, i would like your input! :)

[lunawatsername]

hi :) new to the site, and new to fish in general :)))
so i just got my first betta fish about 4 days ago, and in the time that has past i have been doing a ridiculous amount of reading online (im an insomniac, so this is the rare times that pays off lol) and i just have some general things i would like to ask/ discuss with anyone who would care to comment :)

1. do you think it is cruel/wrong to keep a betta in a 2 gallon tank? (i have seen alot of differing opinions on this, but personally, i have my boy in a 2gal and he is perfectly happy) :)

2. how important do you think cycling a tank is? (i ask because prior to about 4 this morning, i had never even heard of it, and still dont fully understand how or when to do it)

3. how hard would you say it is to keep a plant alive in a tank that is not in direct sunlight, with a filter and lit by LED lights. (i would love to have real plants in my tank! i was thinking of java moss or java fern (i think their called) i really think Nahh, my sweet little veiltail, would like to have some live plants, even though he does love his silk one) :))

4. i have been thinking of getting a tankmate for Nahh, do you think an african dwarf frog would be a good match? or maybe a nerite snail? (i have read that it would be wise to wait a while before introducing any new friends to his tank, let him get established first. and ive also heard that petstores sometimes confuse ADFs for their bigger brotheren....is their some way to tell them from each other? (other than if it keeps growing, of course)

5. this is just for fun... what kind of personality would you say your betta has?? :)) (i know alot of people probably have more than one (i plan too) but you can just pick 1 or 3 of them f you want lol) :)
the reason i ask this is because their are actually people who think fish are just stupid and dont have a personality (ive actually been told that) well, i have only had mine for 4 days, and already i can tell you that he is really curious, sweet (he rubbed up against my thermometer when i first put it in his tank! lol!) and smart! in 4 days he has learned that when i tap 3 times on one side of his tank(the side with the feeding door by it) that i have food, and he'll come to that side. (and i havent even fed him that much! quick learner!) :))

ps sorry the post is on the longish side, but im excited to talk about my new found love of fish :) (and no one i know keeps fish, go figure lol)

[ilovebunnies]

1. No, I don't think 2 gallons is cruel to keep a betta in as long as you change the water often (if it doesn't have a filter) or do the necessary % of water changes (if it does have a filter). The most important thing in a small tank is making sure the water quality stays in a safe range.

2. I think cycling a tank is very important. The beneficial bacteria help keep good water quality.

3. You should be able to keep easy plants alive in a tank as long as you have a decent light. Lighting needs to have a decent wattage and a color rating from 5,000-7,000 K. I'm not too sure when it comes to LEDs but I think you would probably have luck with Java Moss, Java Fern, and Anubias. If you post what kind of light you have or a picture, someone could probably help you better :)

4. In a 2 gallon tank I wouldn't get any other fish or frog to put in with your betta. If you had a 10 gallon tank you could add tankmates, but sometimes bettas don't like the company. In my 2.5 gallon tank I have a betta and a snail. Because I added more to the tank's bioload, I change a bigger % of water during water changes.

ADFs (African Dwarf Frogs) are often confused with ACFs (African Claw Frogs). ADFs are passive, stay small, and make good tankmates with other peaceful fish while ACFs are very aggressive and get BIG and will attack a betta. If it's albino then it's definitely a ACF. ADFs have noticable webbing on their hands while ACFs don't (they have a more claw-like appearance). If you ever decide to get ADFs they are hard to feed since they have poor eyesight. This makes it difficult to feed them especially with tankmates such as bettas (cause bettas can be little piggies at times, lol).

5. I currently have 2 bettas (I really need to post their pictures up). My one is a black and blue/green double tail. He always starts dancing when I walk up to his tank and never stays still. He barely flares when I show him his reflection but it probably because he is too busy dancing, lol. He is nosy and loves to follow the snail around but is nice and doesn't attack the snail. My other betta I have no idea if it's a boy or girl. He/she has a small tail but was in pretty bad shape when I got him/her. I think he/she might be a he but he doesn't flare or make bubblenest so I still really don't know (I'll just refer to he/she as a he for now). He is a multicolor crowntail. His body is white with a light purple iridescence. His fins are blue and red and white where there is new growth on his fins (recovering from finrot from petstore). He has solid black eyes that follow me around when I move in my bed. Always friendly and swims up to me when I wake up or put my finger on the glass and is very mellow (never flares or dances like my other betta).

And I also hate when people say fish are stupid. I find it disrespectful and dismissive of another living creature. My sister will say cruel things when I get upset over a fish dieing. I just ignore it cause she is bitter and if she can't understand their specialness than it's her loss. (And she says cruel things over any pet I have, fish/cat/bunny cause she tries to hurt me by verbally attacking my pets) She can be nasty :(

[lunawatsername]

i will definitely stay on top of the water quality, and i have a filter too which should help. yeah, i think im going to read up on cycling... i already have my fish in the tank but i hope its not too late to do at least something in the way of cycling... we'll see :) you know, i ahve looked all over the box to the setup i bought (it was a tank, light and filter combo) and i cant find any particulars on the light anywhere in their... i guess ill post a link to the one o bought, in case someone wants to have a guess... lol (i also have pictures of my tank in my aquariums, if that helps at all) yeah, i know i would have to more/more frequent changes to the water if i added anything to the tank, but i think it would be worth it. i was also planning to buy a small carrier type tank, so if my betta decided that he didnt want to share, i could hopefully get the frog or snail out before any damage was done. i definitely would be watching them as closely as possible for the first few weeks or so, and would introduce them super slow, just to be safe...you betas sound adorable :) mine likes to play in the filter, he'll either try to swim against it or he'll float next to it and it looks like he enjoys the water flowing on his fins :) and im sorry your sister is like that. :/ some people just dont understand i guess i dont know why, but a couple of my bros are the same way. anyway, thank you for replying! i really enjoyed your take on things

[tracyalexa]

I am still confused on cycling too...don't feel bad!

1. a 2 gal is good, keep up w/ water changes and you will be fine.
2. ditto to the frog comment, I have a snail in my 3 gal. Fish follows it around.
3. I have java moss in a few tanks & anaubius in others. I hardly ever turn the lights on, we get plenty of sunlight during the day and I mostly keep the shades down so only some peeks through and all the plants are good.
4. All of the fish I have are characters. Some are a lot more laid back but most are wiggling and flashing all over the place as soon as I come near the tanks, they want food. :) One named Billy just wants attention so I talk to him. lol

[PewPewPew]

If You want a step by step on how to cycle, I can forward what I've sent to other members about it.

A two gallon is very hard to cycle, you might be better off not. Also, any filter in a two gallon is not strong enough to handle a bio load for an adf. Keep only the betta in the tank. A nerite snail needs 2.5 gallons.

Led lights will not grow plants. If you can, replace with cfl or daylight flouresant bulbs. Led and incandescant will do nothing. If you do get the fern, do not bury the rhizome, our it will die. Anacharis might work well too.

[Lion Mom]

I have 3 of my boys in 2 gallons (2 in 2 gal. drum bowls & 1 in a 2 gal. hex w/LED lights) and they are perfectly fine. I have small submersible filters & 25 watt submersible heaters in them. I do large water changes twice a week.

In the hex with LED lights I have some java fern & some moss and all is well with them.

I agree with others that 2 gals. is not enough for anything else, but if you want to try it, that is up to you.

Hope that helps & welcome to the wonderful world of bettas & to the forum!! :)

[LolaQuigs]

Cycling is basically establishing a colony of beneficial bacteria. Some smaller tanks won't hold a full cycle, but as long as your tank is filtered you will end up with some of these bacteria. That's why you only want to do 50% or so water changes on a filtered tank-you don't want to take out too many of those bacteria.

You could try some ghost shrimp, they don't have much bio load and will eat any food your betta misses. There is the possibility that your betta could eat them though.