Betta Fish Bowls and temperature

[Blacklight]

Well, paying for a 10 gallon starter kit with a couple of dividers is a lot cheaper than just getting two tanks. I'm going to have to go with this option. From what I gather, there seems to be not much consensus on the male/female shared tank other than get a decent filter in there and get some live plants in there which is something that you should probably do anyway.

The backup plan is that the tiny female can go back in the bowl and the male can have his run of the tank.

Buying two separate tanks doubles the expense and pushes things WAY beyond our budget level. Sure they have cheap small tanks, but after you add up all the stuff you need for them, it really pushes things beyond out means.

There's not many solutions to get out of this cheaply. Aquarium stuff, by the time you add in all the accessories and stuff you need is an expensive initial investment. Much more than two fish bowls.

I think as far as my wife is concerned, she just wanted a couple of simple fish where the total cost would be around $20 or less and be done with it and now I'm hitting her with "You need this and that and this and that" and the price tag is up around $65-$70 at the cheapest.

I can't wait to get them into something heated. In order to get their bowls the proper healthy temperature, I'm pretty much roasting in my apartment. I have them in the bedroom that retains heat more consistently and they're just a tiny bit above 75 degrees. The problem is that to accomplish this, the ambient air in this old crappy apartment is up near almost to 80.

[DragonFish]

I would still agree that a divided tank with a male and a female isn't the best idea, if only to be better safe then sorry, but if you've taken all options into account and crunched the numbers and think a divided 10 gallon setup is the best for you and your fish....then you can give it a go. By this point I'm sure you're aware of the risks and have a decent idea of how to make it work out for the best.....as many easy to care for live plants as you can get your hands on(take a look at our Planted Tank section on the forum, lots of great info there....if you think you can get away with it, might want to look into setting up an NPT as well), the double divider, good filtration, maybe an extra water-only partial change per week or two and whatnot....so all I can really say is good luck and be cautious. I really hope everything works out well for you and your fish.

[lauraannq]

by the way dramaqueen... the the sketch of the betta!

now to get a heater for my 1 gal bowl... though pet smart would have the one they had on line.. nope...darn... little guy seems happy but the tank is 72 degrees...

and as for the wife and bowls..she must be related to my daughter...

[Sena Hansler]

Well, like you said you do have bowls as a back up. Check around KIJIJI and thrift stores for deals :) it sure is expensive, agreed, it's too bad you don't live near me lol I'd share :)

[Blacklight]

Fantastic news! We found a sale on 5 gallon tank kits. My wife bought two. We set up our two fishies in them this afternoon and it's amazing the difference. The boy is zooming all over the place. He likes to hang out behind or underneath the filter where the intake is (I have the filters set to pump as low as they can go and the water coming out of it is pretty much a little trickle). I think he likes the current for some reason. He's zooming all over. Much better than the listlessness he had in the bowl. Sure, he's a little agitated and he's still clamped up a little bit, but he's much more lively now. He's still a little antisocial and he's not flaring at things (He used to puff up at my wife's purple pens). He'll probably calm down once he gets used to the tank.

The BIGGEST change is in the girl. Before, in the bowl, I used to think that she was dead and floating on the top of the water. Her fins are now all open and she's swimming around all over and she looks really pretty. Her colors are amazing. She's a lot more friendly than the boy. She seems to really like people. She's curious and comes right up to the glass when we stop by to look at her.

The one thing left for us to get is a live plant or two.

Step one complete. Now we just have to get them safely through the tank cycle process alive.

What's everyone's opinions on those 7 day feeder pellet things that disolve in the tank and reveal the food as they dissolve? We also have some Omega Betta flake food for them.

The other question I have. The filters are those submerged ones that look like plastic cups that hang on the side. There's JUST ENOUGH room in them to house a wayward jumping Betta. Will they tend to stay away from jumping into it? I don't want to wake up one day to find a betta stuck in a filter. Hehe
I plan to also put a mesh netting over the hole in the back here the electric cords come out.

[aokashi]

yay! hows the wife?

XD

I'm happy for you and the fishies :)

you can try to cover all the intakes with a sponge to prevent the fish from bein sucked in. honestly I think the current at the outlet should deterr a betta from jumping, but better safe than sorry... is to find a way to block passage into the filter.

[Blacklight]

The only thing that I'm not sure is an issue or not is that the thermometers in the tank are reading a perfect 75 degrees. The heaters seem to be doing their job keeping it stable at 75. Am I in the proper ballpark or do I need to return these heaters and get a better one? These are submersible, non adjustable ones. They were the only ones we could find anywhere for 5 gallon tanks. All the adjustible ones we found were for much larger setups. Is 75 too cold for them or am I in the proper ballpark?

The wife is fine and she's enjoying the tanks. My dad and I are going to get her a Petco gift card for her birthday.
So. Happy ending, if we're doing everything right and the fishies survive the cycling process, things will work out well.

The boy fish REALLY loves to go under the filter where the intake is. I think the current from the intake feels good to him. He's always going under there and rubbing up against the bottom of it and then he goes up and seems to play in the tiny current where the water is coming out of the filter. Strange little fish.

[aokashi]

75 is borderline, cool. should be fine if it remains steady :) but seriously... the hagen elite 25w from amazon does a great job.

how much did you spend on these heaters?

[Blacklight]

We spent about $17 on each of them. They're self regulating and are meant to keep the tank at 78 + or - 2 degrees.

I believe that they're Tetra HT10's. There's no model number on them but it says on it that it's for 2-15 gallon tanks.

[aokashi]

Originally Posted by Blacklight

We spent about $12 on them. They're self regulating and are meant to keep the tank at 78 + or - 2 degrees.

well $12 total is not a bad price. I'd say keep them and see.