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10 gallon for one betta

2K views 28 replies 6 participants last post by  purplemuffin 
#1 ·
Hello! Figured I'd get this out of the way now!

As soon as the week is over, my boyfriend's little brother is surrendering his poor sweet 'school project' betta(I mentioned this in another thread) and he will finally get a decent home!

We have a ten gallon, previously housed a young leopard gecko. Currently in the process of cleaning(What's the best method? We're worried, even though he had paper towel substrate, sometimes his feces hit the bottom of the tank-so we want it super clean! Any advice? When is enough? I don't want to accidentally not clean it enough, but I also don't want to spend an entire week scrubbing the heck out of an already clean tank!)

Anyway, he'll be in the 10 gallon, like I said. Just him. We have one live plant(not sure what kind, I'll need to ask Nathan) and we can possibly get more. Have a never used coffee mug, and more decorations will follow. Of course they will all be cleaned before put into the tank!


So that I can give my boyfriend a care list, what would be the best schedule for the betta's care? How often should water changes happen/what percent, etc.. It would really help him to have a list(he works best with lists..all our animals have little notes next to them..lol! Helps when we have pet sitters!)


If you haven't seen my other post, he's a little red crowntail, very young compared to the rest in the store, and is very active! I want to make sure he gets the best most awesome home ever! :)
 
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#2 ·
Id bleach the tank, just fill it with hot water and add a little (LITTLE!!) amount of bleach and let it soak for about 15 minuets. Then dump it out and take it outside where you can spray it down with a hose (if you have one) and rinse a lot. Use your hand to wipe the sides of the tank and then dump it out. Let the tank sit in sunlight for a few days and your all set :)

JUST BE SURE TO RINSE WELL!!!!! Ok last warning is in :)
 
#4 ·
for a 10 gallon tank mabie change it out once or twice a week. dont change all of it out of the tank. leave 10-25% in there or itll just kill the fish.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I once had a severely stunted baby betta and he lived in a 10 gallon with 100% weekly changes...he did great :)
 
#5 ·
10 gallon is 4 times the size a betta needs so if you do weekly water changes on a 2.5 gallon you should do 50% monthly...that's for cycled tank.

Fortunately 1 betta in a 10 gallon dosen't put to much stress on the bio load. Do weekly 10%-20% weekly for 6 weeks then go to a monthly basis.

I HIGHLY reccomend Stress Zyme by API. It gets your tank cycled pronto and works great...I always use it.
 
#7 ·
Fortunately 1 betta in a 10 gallon dosen't put to much stress on the bio load. Do weekly 10%-20% weekly for 6 weeks then go to a monthly basis.

I HIGHLY reccomend Stress Zyme by API. It gets your tank cycled pronto and works great...I always use it.
:O I'll see if he can get it! There is apparently a great aquarium store he discovered(right by my house!) that he bought the betta from! They were knowledgable and everything, it was awesome. I bet they have good stuff, I'll see if he can stop by! I know he bought some kind of conditioner, I'm not sure what :O I'll ask him.
 
#10 ·
I've never had much luck with Stress Zyme, seems more like a marketing ploy to me. I've cycled tanks with and without it, fish and fishless and it made no difference. Maybe that's just me though.
I do 25% water changes weekly, mostly to vacuum the gravel though. I have 2 bettas in a 10 gallon divided and a million and half snails. The snails are my main problem creating such a mess. I've not cleaned it for two weeks without any problem ammonia wise. This is on a cycled tank though. I wouldn't go past 2 weeks though. Would you really want to swim around in the same water for 2 weeks?
During the first month I would test the water often to keep and eye of all the levels to make sure they do not get too high. :)
 
#12 ·
Really? I've used since day one and if I don't use it my water gets dirty faster but using it I can do a 25% monthly on a 10 gallon. Now a days I don't use it very much unless I'm spawning a pair, all my tanks are bare plastic tubs (except for one) with no filters, no plants, no gravel. Just a heater and a bubbler with frequent 50%-90% daily. This is for baby bettas so its a lot different than adults.
 
#13 ·
I've never seemed to have any luck with it. So I'm not wasting my money on it, whether its for adults or fry. I really do feel that with all these chemicals on the market now a days, less is more. A dechlorinator is about all you really need. To each their own though. :)
 
#22 ·
Yes, they're the same as other heaters...just easier to use :p Get the 50 watt, it'll be perfect :)
 
#16 ·
thx for telling me bout the new thread thing. and has the fish found a new home yet????
best wishes finding it a home!!
 
#18 ·
awesome. btw, would you mean explainng in detail what the project was, or linking me to the thread you talked about it on (if one) ?
 
#19 ·
Basically the project required the students to create a 'working ecosystem' in a 1 gallon container, including having a fish(or fish-like critter, like african dwarf frog)

He did not urge the students to look up animal care, he just said 'experiment! See if you can make a home for them where they can live for a week'

Thankfully it is JUST a week and not a semester like many of these projects! He also gave in to letting him feed the fish(since the betta does not eat the plant roots..)

Nathan's little brother also happened to forget all about the assignment until the day before, so it was a 'surprise' betta! He bought the fish and some plants from an aquarium store, and now they are living at the school until friday!

Update: Nathan is too nervous about the ten gallon tank, it's been used for so long, he doesn't trust himself to get it clean enough for the fish, especially his first fish! He's going to the store to hopefully buy another ten gallon, but he might end up with a 5 gallon. Either way it will be new and clean!
 
#20 ·
New update: GRAPHIC, BE WARNED!

This project is just AWFUL! These stupid kids did not realize animals need AIR! Nathan's brother is the only person who still has a living animal other than one person who has a spider(but the fish died in his tank too, the spider is all that is left)! It was so sad, stupid stupid kids. Had a baby house gecko, left starving giant crickets with it..of course the crickets began to eat the poor gecko, weak from lack of air and heat. UGH!! Makes me want to cry. The geckos died, and the kids left them in the water, which killed the frogs inhabiting the water as well. The other people with bettas did not get lids, half of them jumped, some of the others were over fed(a spoon full of pellets and didn't clean it out for days).. NONE OF THESE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE PETS!

I am SO proud of Ryan! He is changing the water, feeding him right, and the little guy is very happy and curious despite being in a small cold little jar. This project is ridiculous! That teacher knew those animals would die, he should have spoken up! Animals lives should not dictate grades! If you want kids to learn about ecosystems, set up working tanks, don't just see who can make things live the longest with no information at all!


FURIOUS!


Ugh, anyway. The tank has been bought. Friday cannot get here any sooner!!! OH I'm mad!
 
#21 ·
UGGG, bettas are so mistreated......if we ever do this at my school I'm breaking in and stealing all of them ;)
 
#24 ·
Ugh, that's horrifying. I hate to say it, but I figured that this would be the result. :c I'm glad that at least Ryan is taking care of his and he'll come home at the end of the week.

If you have the number for the school district, call and complain about the teacher. On the hermit crab forums someone said they did this and the teacher was severely reprimanded for doing such an experiment. It doesn't matter the species, animal cruelty is unacceptable. They want their children to learn? Yeah, teaching them "responsibility" by letting them abuse a creature for a week is a REAL great thing for the youth of America.

Whatever you do, if you do call or complain, let them know how it upsets you but remain civil. Tell them as many details as you can.
 
#25 ·
Technically it's got it's own school district, it's a weird charter school in the middle of nowhere that somehow got it's own..system. LOL! I actually love the school, but they hired a ton of new teachers this year, this guy being one of them. I talked to some of the staff, and I think the huge amount of sobbing middle schoolers has brought the issue to the attention of some of the teachers! The school is like a family, and this isn't what a good family does. I think this experiment will not exist next year. Thank goodness!
 
#26 ·
That's good! If you get a chance you can still call, though. Hearing from people that are concerned from outside of the school (friends of students, family, etc) usually also has a large impact.

Wait, I must have missed the middle-schooler part. e.e I thought these guys were like 8th-9th graders. Doing an experiment like that when it's fairly obvious that the animal will die? That's horrible to do to a grade schooler. :/

akjdhfkasrantrantrant.

Stuff like this makes me so angry.. xD;;
 
#28 ·
Yeahhh it's not fun. They are 8th graders, LATE middleschoolers. And also, the whole school family thing..Half the teachers are parents of kids, all the kids are friends, and it's one building with 3rd-12th grade!
I'm in 8th grade.....I breed and raise bettas...you don't see my bettas rotting away in their jars....gosh this stuff makes teens look bad because...they really don't care and it makes the teacher look stupid (COUGH COUGH!!!).
 
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