New to this whole betta thing...

[Betucker]

Im looking to get a betta this weekend and need to get everything and i mean everything. I need help!

EDIT: I forgot to mention i had one betta before who was blue and red but i dont feel i gave him the best life although he did come from PetSmart and lived for 3 years including a 7 hour drive when i moved

[Micho]

Three years is long! Anyways, welcome to the forums!

First off, you want a Betta? These are the things you'll need:

• A tank, somewhere around two to five gallons, bigger is always better.
• Heater is a must, I recommend the Elite brand.
• Filter, it's not a must but it'll be much easier for you.
• Food, a variety of them. Pellets, flakes, freeze dried, and frozen.
• Water conditioner!
• Lighting, they'll often come with the tank.

Optionals:

• Decorations, be sure it's fish friendly.
• Gravel/sand, basically a substrate.
• Live plants (which is quite costly)

I think that's pretty much it, don't hesitate to ask more questions!

[missm83]

welcome :) this should help you out :
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=64078

[Betucker]

i was thinking about getting this http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...#RatingsDetail what are your opinions?

[missm83]

that looks good to me!!10gallon..wow your fish may get lost

[Micho]

See if they have the Tetra Starter Kit. I got that instead of Top Fin, it was cheaper $37 only. Came with a quieter filter, the only thing I didn't like about it was the lighting was incandescent so I switched it out for some fluorescent bulbs.

It's all up to you really.

[Betucker]

its just hard to find a kit that comes with everything that is smaller

[Micho]

Tetra Starter Kit I got was 10 gallons. Bigger starter kits are cheaper than the smaller ones.

Either way 5 or 10 gallons is a great home for a single Betta.

[Betucker]

alright thanks for the help. i will ask them if they have it. also what kind of things should i use for decorating?

[Micho]

Anything you want, if you think something is unsafe this is how you check; grab some pantyhose run it along the decor, if it snags or tears it'll probably snag or tear your Betta fins.

Almost anything can be used as decor, it's just about imagination.