I'm a 31 year old owner of my first Betta, Mr. Limpet. He is a beautiful Halfmoon Male that is s light blue with darker teals, iridescent and coral through his fins and tail.
Last week I was at the store with my bf trying to pick out a birthday gift for his 10 yr old sister.. I suggested a Betta.. and we wound up not getting it for her because we thought it was too much work for a kid who can't take care of her dog as it is, so he said since I seemed so enamoured with the idea, that I get one myself.
Took a few days, did a bunch of research and jumped ship today and brought him and his setup home.
I got a GloFish 3.5g tank with filter and added a 10w heater.. Got him a cool little SpongeBob pineapple house, a rock with hole he can swim through and a few plants (plastic)..Also picked up Betta water conditioner thing, a pH kit, some pellets and frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms.
Followed the directions of what I've read online and got from the store employee. Set tank up, added water conditioner... let the tank filter for a few hours (heater worked really quick) and then steeped Mr. Limpet in his bag in the water for about 30 mins. He was instantly trying to check everything out, especially the SpongeBob house.
We transferred him eventually from the bag to the water.. He checked out his surroundings for a bit and kept coming up to the surface. I fed him a few pellets and a few bloodworms, he hungrily ate them and now he's swimming in and out of his plants, home and rock happily. Scooped out any leftover food after a few minutes.
I'm very excited to have him and can't wait to post pictures and interact with people here about our Bettas :)
Uh, is the Tank the 'Aquascene 180'? It comes with a Filter, LED Lights, and a Hood. The Tank of course. I have that Tank. You don't really need it's Filter.
It's too Strong, and you don't need to Cycle the Tank. You could decrease the Flow with a Sponge though. Did you buy the Tank and the Fish at the same time? It's best to Buy the Tank 1st then run for at least 1 day, and then Buy your Betta. It's too much stress to the Betta to wait. Anyways, Good Luck with your New Betta!! My Betta also ate on his 1st Day. My Betta is a Crowntail. He's my Avatar Picture. :) Hope you have a Good Life with Mr. Limpet!!! :)
And wow, you knew a lot more about the little guys than I did :) I kinda discovered I wanted one about a day or two before I got him, and had no idea what to do. I got a tank and gravel, but had no idea about anything else.
Did you buy the Tank and the Fish at the same time? It's best to Buy the Tank 1st then run for at least 1 day, and then Buy your Betta. It's too much stress to the Betta to wait. Anyways, Good Luck with your New Betta!!
Just have to correct something. Buying a tank and letting it sit for a day does nothing to benefit the water. This would only make a difference if you don't use a conditioner. The only thing that leaving your water out for a day does is that it lets the harmful chemicals/gases in the water get released into the air while the conditioner is used to remove the hard metals and harmful chemicals in the water that can hurt your fish. Thus making the condition more effective and much quicker.
But I agree with the filter comment, you don't need it. The only thing it is doing is moving the water. Bettas like still water so the filter is not benefit for your fish and it takes up space.
There is more information about tank care and water quality so I'll leave you to explore the site and find things for yourself, if you have any questions we are all here to help and would happy to assist you and your little friend have the best life possible.
1) No filter is needed for that tank. Cycling wouldn't work anyway. :)
2) You absolutely have to post pics. IT's a requirement of the forum XD
3) I'm assuming you have a thermometer.
4) Be careful with that rock. Sometimes, harmful bacteria can grow in the hollow area underneath, so just wash it out.
5) Have fun! lol
Uh, is the Tank the 'Aquascene 180'? It comes with a Filter, LED Lights, and a Hood. The Tank of course. I have that Tank. You don't really need it's Filter.
It's too Strong, and you don't need to Cycle the Tank. You could decrease the Flow with a Sponge though. Did you buy the Tank and the Fish at the same time? It's best to Buy the Tank 1st then run for at least 1 day, and then Buy your Betta. It's too much stress to the Betta to wait. Anyways, Good Luck with your New Betta!! My Betta also ate on his 1st Day. My Betta is a Crowntail. He's my Avatar Picture. :) Hope you have a Good Life with Mr. Limpet!!! :)
It sounds like it's a similar tank or the same tank, but probably just sold under a different name, lol. I got it at Petco. I had a hard time choosing between that and the 10g setup they had. From what I read, I knew the 3.5 would be alright and the 10g wasn't necessary and would be more work, so I just went with this, lol. Though, by the time I got everything, I might as well have just gone with the 10g tank..
I used a Betta water conditioner, set everything up and let the tank run for a couple of hours and then steeped him in his bag before adding him to the tank. He's been doing fine, so it seems. I've turned off the filter when feeding him and I do notice he likes it more when I'm not running the filter, so I guess I can just leave it off or remove it altogether?
I'm sure that means I will need to clean the tank more?
I had a small 2.5 gallon tank that had a filter as well. I used the filter for the live plants in the tank, but I baffled the filter so it didn't bother my boy Rudis (it was a strong current without baffling). Even with the filter, you need to do water changes regularly, since the filter doesn't remove toxins such as ammonia, which build up over time.
Welcome, oh newest victim of the Betta bug They are addictive and have a startling similarity to potato chips - you will find it hard to stay with just one!
Truthfully, the 10G would probably be less work in the end, cause you could get it to cycle (and that means less water changing), but that would mean waiting! Who wants to wait when pretty bettas are to be had?
My 4 tanks are small and uncycled and are not *that* much work. It's rather fun to play in the water and have nosy fish nipping your hands and getting in the way of whatever it is you are trying to do. I do have a 6.6 I want to set up and see if I can cycle, and I want to do a bigger tank for girls later on too.
Thanks for the replies :) I think I've determined my little man is a Halfmoon Butterfly. I'm working on uploading a pic for my phone. Kind of hard to get a good one of him!
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They are addictive and have a startling similarity to potato chips - you will find it hard to stay with just one!
