Bettas in a jar?

[MattD]

So have you made your choice? I'm glad to hear you may be leaning towards a larger tank. My first tank was indeed on top of my dresser. Your dresser will more than likely be able to support the weight of a 5 - 10g setup. Also, with a 10g, you can have other species in there too! It's going to be great fun for you I think.

Update us, and try to post pics when you get your setup! 8) 8)

[Zakura]

Yeah, I'm leaning towards at least a 5g tank. My parents are afraid of letting me get a tank in case I don't properly take care of the fish and it dies on me, but I believe I've read enough in order to properly take care of a Betta, at least. Even if I can't start off with a larger tank, though, I'll be sure to take great care of my fish. That way even if I start with a smaller tank, I may be able to convince my parents that I'm able to take care of a whole tank.

My mom has had a twenty-gallon tank in which we've housed goldfish for years, but I don't believe she's ever cycled the tank. Some of the fish have lived for over ten years in it. Is this because goldfish are hardy? Would not cycling a tank first kill my Betta? If cycling is in fact necessary, what would be the quickest way to do it?

Thanks again everyone for the help. I'm also so glad you have convinced me to try and get a bigger tank. Now I feel so bad for ever wanting to put my Betta in a gallon jar.

[Zakura]

I was gonna edit my post, but I didn't realize that their was a limit on the amount of time you could. Sorry if double-posting isn't allowed.

One of my friends has around an 8 or 10 gallon tank that she'd be willing to give me for free. However, I'm sure a tank of this size needs filtration. But Bettas don't like moving water, do they? Is there any kind of filter that you'd recommend if I got a tank of this size?

Edit: My parents want me to start with the Betta in a jar for a while to make sure I'll take care of it, because as you can imagine, it's much more costly to buy the things necessary for a tank rather than a jar. At this point, I really want the tank, but it seems the only way I can get it is if I first start with the Betta in a jar. I have confidence that I'll take good care of my pet fish, as I'll be keeping it in my room. My parent's are iffy after my last incident with a Betta fish, I was only 11 or 12 and didn't know how to properly care for it. The poor Betta...but anyway, please wish me luck! I may not post too much here on FishForum outside of this topic, but I'm sure I'll usually be lurking if you ever want to PM me or anything. :D