New to bettas... need some expert opinions.

[atinsley]

Hello all.

I apologize if I seem uninformed or naive but I recently bought a fish tank to get a fish but didn't really know what kind I wanted. It is a 3 gallon tank.

It came with an air pump which seems to be creating quite a bit of turbulence and I wonder if it is too much for a betta. I know it is hard to tell from the picture but you can see the air bubbles on the top of the water.

I also bought 1 plant which is made of a soft plastic. Should I replace it with a silk plant?

I will be buying a heater tomorrow to bring the water up to tropical temperatures before I buy a betta.

EDIT: I also forgot to ask. This is my first fish tank and I think I mistakenly bought distilled water thinking it would be better for a fish than my well water. I'm going to ask at the pet store tomorrow but if I treat it with a conditioner will that add nutrients a betta needs or would it be better to drain the tank and fill it up with well water?

Thank you for your help!

Aaron

[dramaqueen]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Bettas have different personalities, some don't mind the bubbles and some hate them. As for the plant, as long as there are no sharp edges he can tear his fins on, he should be fine. You can get a silk plant if you want. I would recommend a 25 watt heater. Marineland stealth visitherm is the best. It may cost a bit more but they are good heaters.

[SaylorKennedy]

Any water that you use should have fish conditioner in it. Although if you use either your well water or distilled water it's best to stick to one or the other rather than switching back and forth. So it's up to your which you prefer, but either should be fine.

[AngelicScars]

I would stick with the well water, it's probably cheaper and you can just use conditioner in it.
The plant does look a little like it could tear the Betta's fins. I would test it on toilet paper or pantyhose. If it tears it, then it will surely hurt your betta. Plastic plants are fine as long as you make sure they aren't harmful. You can go with silk and live plants as well, it is all in your preference though.
Also, a nice little hiding spot (like a cave) would be great for your little guy as well. Oh, and this is all up to you, but you can reduce the amount of gravel in the tank to give him more swimming room.
Looks good and I can't wait to see pics of your new Betta! Welcome to the forum!

[kelly528]

I am going to be honest with you here.

If at all possible I would just return it. It will be O.K. because it holds 3 gallons but you could probably get a far better tank for a lot less than you paid for that thing.

Thing I don't like about it:
-The bubbler thing might get annoying
-Fish tend to swim horizintally, not vertically so there isn't a lot of swimming room
-Small surface area-volume ratio = poor oxygenation of the water
-Small bottom area = less room for decorations
-If you got a rectangular tank of the same volume you could easily cycle it.

Things I do like about it:

-Doesn't take up a lot of space
-Aesthetically pleasing
-If it didn't cost a lot of money then I would like it alot :)

As far as water goes, all you need is conditioner. Some pet stores will even try to sell you expensive 'betta water' (which is a load of BS for the record) but all you need is conditioned tap water. Any conditioner will do, so don't get rooked into dropping too much cash for a conditioner made specifically for bettas. They are just a gimmick. I recommend Seachem Prime or API Stresscoat.

Kudos for not buying the fish right away... believe me you have saved yourself a lot of grief by taking the time to set things up beforehand!

[atinsley]

Thanks for all of your help!

As far as the tank goes, it really wasn't that much (Under 30), and I just wanted a covered system because I do have cats. I saw some cheaper conventional rectangular aquarium setups without covers and all the covers were pretty expensive.

The bubbler is not silent, but seeing as how its sitting near my computer it might as well be, I can't hear it over the sound of the computer fans. I'm more concerned about the fish not liking it, is there any easy way to tone it down a bit?

I figure this is a good beginner's setup with 1 fish and then I will possibly move on to bigger and better things later.

The tank is now conditioned and heated to a nice 78 degrees, so hopefully my betta will like it! I will be getting him in a couple of days.

Thanks again for all your help, if I have any more questions I know I can count on you guys.

Aaron

[dramaqueen]

I think a gang valve will help to control the bubbles. You can get one at your lps. A 3 gallon tank with a heater will be fine for your fish.

[xSomethingSmellsFishyx]

I don't think you should use well water. Instead, just use the conditioner. I think that the soft plastic plant is fine. That's the kind I use. Maybe you shouldn't use the air pump because the current is probably going to be too strong for your little betta to handle.

[atinsley]

OK,

So I don't want anyone to think I discounted your ideas. In fact I took everyone's feedback and read a little more and decided to go in a completely different direction.

I bought a tetra submersible heater and after I gave it 24 hours it wasn't even close to the correct temperature and was cycling on and off eratically. So in my quest to find a viso-therm (I should've listened to you in the first place dramaqueen!), I also discovered a better tank at the same price point.

So now my little betta is gonna have a fish palace. Don't worry about the filter, I drastically reduced the flow so there is a very small current!

The new tank is a 5 gallon, by the way.

Opinions?

I wanna do this right so if I did anything wrong please don't hesitate to let know! Hopefully the little guy will be coming home tomorrow.

Aaron

P.S. Sorry about the size of the pic, I'm not sure how to resize it.

[Jupiter]

I liked your previous tank, but this one is even better! Your betta will love it, i'm sure.