I've had a few goldfish here and there, but just yesterday I was surprised with an early birthday present of what I believe to be is a multicolor vieltail betta. If I'm wrong, please let me know! He's currently nameless, but a cute little guy. (:
My brothers got me a one gallon tank with a filter, some pebbles/gravel, and two live plants. I know that most people consider two gallons to be the minimum, but I'd really hate to go out and buy a completely different one if he has the potential to do alright in a 1 gal. He's very active, always swimming around and really seems to enjoy the plants. I'm feeding him aqueon trial betta food for now, with the occasional bloodworm. My father has a similar fish in the exact same tank minus live plants, and his betta seems very healthy and happy and has been for at least 8 months. What concerned me mainly though, above all else was this darned filter! Its current doesn't seem to bother him much, until just about an hour ago when he was completely wrapped around it. I freaked out, because I thought he was stuck, but he ended up ripping off a tiny bit of his fin. He seems to be acting completely normal as if it never happened, swimming around and exploring his little home. Is the filter dangerous, or is this something I shouldn't worry about? A quick answer is greatly appreciated!
Remove the filter. There is no reason to have one in that small of a tank. He also needs a heater and I will recommend that you get either New Life Spectrum or Omega One pellets.
he's a cutie! i don't think he's a veiltail though? it's hard to tell from the photo exactly, but a veiltail has a long drapey tail like the betta at the top of this forum (haha). yours looks a lot like mine, which is a delta with big pectorals/"dumbo" ears. unless there's a long tail hidden behind that rock there? i'm new at this, & i'm sure experienced people will give you more certain advice, but i'm sure he doesn't need a filter in a tank that small, in fact it will probably make things much harder for him in such a small space even if it's a very weak filter, and it doesn't sound like it is. i have been keeping my betta in a 1 gallon while i set up a 2.5 until recently, and i can tell you that you are going to need to do a lot of water changes to make it livable if you're determined to keep him there, i was doing one 100% and 1 50%* a week and i was still getting ammonia buildup that made me do a couple additional 25% changes.
*edited exact numbers because i counted up wrong, this is why i go back and read my own posts, lol. total averaged 3 changes of some amount +/- 1 a week is what i'm saying. the live plants might help a little though, depends what kinds they are probably.
Last edited by mushumouse; 01-14-2013 at 05:05 PM.
Reason: can't count
Thank you both!
The filter has been off since I realized it was giving him problems, and I just now removed it. When I did, the little piece of what I thought to be ripped fin on the side was some sort of jelly like disc from the live plant pot, so no harm done to the fish.
@AyalaCookiejar- I'll be looking into a heater, and I might just end up getting a 2 gal in the next couple weeks. So in the mean time I'll get him the pellets you recommended!
@mushumouse-Ohh, now I see what you're talking about. His tail is tiny bit longer than that, I'll add another picture up soon. Until/if I get another tank I'll plan on doing frequent water changes then. I believe that one of them is a broadleaf, and the other I have no clue.
He's so cute ^_^ Definitely not a veiltail, but he probably has a bit of EE in him. I have two new EE females :) His tail fin and one of his pectorals look strange to me though, as if they were like cut off near the top.
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