Noob advice

[robbo87]

ok so im currently cylcing my tank (fishless...) and i was thinking about possibly starting with a betta as this is my first attempt at keeping anything heated. i was looking at neons but have been advised that these are better in mature tanks...

its a 20 litre tank, with a heater, interpet pf1 filter and a plant in the corner... would the filter cause a problem for a betta? and also whats an ideal temp for them? and if i did get one also whats a good all round food for them? and as the tank will be possibly still cycling when i get him, what do i do about water changes?

hope this isnt to many questions!

regards
martin

[1fish2fish]

Ok.. let me see if I can answer everything.

Bettas will do good in a new tank.

The filter may or may not aggravate your betta. It depends on their personality... but there are ways to buffer the flow of any filter.

A good food is Hikari Bio-Gold Betta pellets. But make sure you supplement occasionally with frozen blood worms or brine shrimp and freeze dried blood worms for a treat.

You probably shouldn't get him until your tank is done cycling.. because you'll need at least a 1 gallon tank to keep him in until its cycled. But if you choose to get him before get a 1 gallon tank or kritter keeper or even a plastic storage tub (that will be the cheapest option). Do water changes every other day of at least 50% and make sure you fully clean the gravel in the little tank (if you put gravel in there) at least once a week.

Make sure you put lots of plants and a cave or two in your tank as bettas like to hide and sleep in their plants and caves.

Also make sure you have a good dechlorinator.. Prime is probably the best for bigger tanks bc you only need a tiny bit so it lasts long.

[robbo87]

Originally Posted by 1fish2fish

Ok.. let me see if I can answer everything.

Bettas will do good in a new tank.

The filter may or may not aggravate your betta. It depends on their personality... but there are ways to buffer the flow of any filter.

A good food is Hikari Bio-Gold Betta pellets. But make sure you supplement occasionally with frozen blood worms or brine shrimp and freeze dried blood worms for a treat.

You probably shouldn't get him until your tank is done cycling.. because you'll need at least a 1 gallon tank to keep him in until its cycled. But if you choose to get him before get a 1 gallon tank or kritter keeper or even a plastic storage tub (that will be the cheapest option). Do water changes every other day of at least 50% and make sure you fully clean the gravel in the little tank (if you put gravel in there) at least once a week.

Make sure you put lots of plants and a cave or two in your tank as bettas like to hide and sleep in their plants and caves.

Also make sure you have a good dechlorinator.. Prime is probably the best for bigger tanks bc you only need a tiny bit so it lasts long.

thanks for the info

well im currently using tetra aquasafe which im guessing should be ok, i currently have just one plant in the tank but will get an ornament for it to hide in aswell... i just dont want to fill the tank up with to much stuff with it only being small

once the tank is cycled and everything is in order, would adding a couple of neon tetra's cause any issue's?

[orangeclumsy2]

is it a plastic plant? plastic plants can tear their fins. Bettas need silk plants.

[1fish2fish]

I wouldn't add the tetras because its a pretty small tank. Good tank mates would be snails or shrimp.. possibly an african dwarf frog.

I understand not wanting to overstock the tank with plants but maybe add one or two more plants... unless yours is a big plant (silk ones are best) bettas love nothing more than to hide in leafy plants

[robbo87]

It is a live plant, not sure what type exactly but i will try and add a photo of it.

maybe you have an idea of what it is? i probably could add another plant and other hiding places.

[Krys]

Originally Posted by orangeclumsy2

is it a plastic plant? plastic plants can tear their fins. Bettas need silk plants.

they do not NEED silk plants. My bettas do wonderfully with plastic plants.

[dramaqueen]

Plastic are fine as long as they are soft and have no sharp edges. I have plastic in mine but they are soft.

[1fish2fish]

I see no problem with plastic but I just prefer the look of silk or live... when I had no money thought the plastic was all I could get and I made due.

Anyways.. I don't recognize your plant. Where did you get it?

[kelly528]

Yeah I would not recommend neons for betta tankmates, let alone a 20 litre. They are energetic fish and under the wrong conditions (tank too small, not enough other neons with them).

The plant appears to be a terrestrial plant. These turn up sometimes in LFS like pets at home, petco etc. They are cheap for the pet store to buy because they are not grown underwater. The pet store then turns around and sells them as aquatic plants. They will survive for a few months but since they aren't truly aquatic they can't handle being submerged in the long term.

In the future, search out low-light aquatic plants. Some good ones are:

-Java ferns
-Any moss species
-Anubias species
-Cryptocoryne species.

All of these plants will thrive in low mantenance setups, where as medium-high light plants will likely require a new fixture and lots of different fertilisers.