So I am new to being a betta owner- Afforadble options?

[Artarmon]

Hello, my father recently moved to a different city and so he could not take his Betta fish with him. She is a female, and i'm not sure what sub-classification she would be.
Only, when he had them he had been keeping the fish in a small vase type thing that looked like a wine flute.
Reading through this forum I decided I would get a larger bowl for it, so hopeully it would thrive. I purchased a small bowl for her (it is about ten times larger than what she was in before) and some plants for the bowl. This alone was very pricey for me =S

I want my fish to thrive, but I don't have a lot of money to spend on things for her, is there any affordadble options?
I am a university student and so am always very short on cash.

[kuklachica]

Hello and welcome! Congratulations on your fish and thank you for looking for information to care for her properly!

She will need preferably 2.5 gallons of water (but DEFINITELY not less than 1 gallon). You can easily do this by getting a clear storage container from some place like Walmart (or you might already have one!). Many people use plastic storage boxes to house their bettas. To find how many gallons just multiply width x length x height then find an online volume calculator and convert cubic inches to liquid gallons. You can also buy a cheap kritter keeper like the one here (but make sure you check how many gallons they are first!) http://www.petco.com/product/12031/L...t=OnSiteSearch.

The pet store sell inexpensive gravel and decorations/plants and you shouldn't need too many.

Also, if your room is less than 72 degrees she will need a heater. You can find these at the same site, right here: http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.as...sultRedirect=1

I hope this helps! Maybe others have some ideas for cheap things as well.

[dramaqueen]

I think Kuklachica covered things pretty well. Welcome to the forum.

[1fish2fish]

Hey.. there are a lot of us college students around so we know what your going through.

How big is your bowl (roughly.. in gallons or litres.. which ever you use)? Like K said bettas really need about 2.5 gallons (~9.5L).. but if your bowl is at least 1 gallon you will be fine.

Depending on how big your bowl is you will have to do AT LEAST 2 water changes a week.. one partial and at least one full 100% change.

Wal-mart has the cheapest fish supplies that I'm aware of (except maybe online but you have to factor shipping in the cost). They have really cheap gravel and decorations and pretty much all the other stuff you may need.

As long as you have food, a few plants, and clean water your fish will be ok. You can save little by little to add more stuff or upgrade to a bigger tank. Depending on how big your bowl is I would get a heater. They don't make heaters for tanks smaller than 2.5 gals though but if you get a smaller one and put it in a 1 gallon bowl and put it on a timer you would be ok... again just something to think about and save for in the future. The heater costs about $12 and a timer can range anywhere from $12+ (depending on the functions it does etc).


The best place to find cheap fish stuff is at yard sales and flea markets... if you can find stuff at one its usually very cheap.. you can just clean it out good yourself and save a bunch of money. Craig'slist also can occasionally have good deals.

[Artarmon]

Thankyou all so much for all your advice and your kind welcomes, I live in Australia so I don't have wallmart, but I guess I could find some in one of our department stores equivalent to it (I know they sell Kritter Keepers at Target).
I did the maths and her current bowl is about 1.5g, so it will do her for now.
I'll be setting aside a few dollars every week to go towards a better set up for her, including a heater, one of those kritter keepers and some pretty things for her tank.
Hehehe.

Looking through the photos of all your tank set ups has got me enthusiastic to be arty with it!

[AngelicScars]

Kritter Keepers are perfect for Bettas and Betta parents on a budget! :D

[dramaqueen]

Agreed! :)

[kelly528]

Just get one off craigslist. They are considerably cheaper and usually in good condition because the previous owner never bothered to research before throwing the fish in- they die 2 months later and up the tank goes on craigslist! Everything included, all hardly used!

[Artarmon]

Thankyou so much for all your tips everyone.
My Betta is already looking a lot more healthy, with just the plants and larger bowl. She is very energetic and scooting around her bowl (she was all depressing and just sort of sat there before), and her colours are looking a lot more vibrant as well!!

I'd love to see her when I get it all set up properly if she is already this lively. Hahaha.

[betta1485]

I wish i read this before I bought a 5 gallon tank. I'm a broke college student too.