Help me choose another Betta Tank

[bastage]

So I have a Amazon giftcard balance of 40 something bucks that I didnt know was coming. So I decided I want a new tank for my office to add another Male Betta to. Problem is I cant decide which.. I have gone through pages & pages & the finalists are linked Below.

Fluval Chi
By far the best looking to go on my desk or in my office. May even bee a little too good looking since my office is never clean. a Little over budget, but not bad enough to stop me, the only thing really holding me back is no lid, and I am not sure how I could get a heater into it without looking funny & killing the aesthetics.

Petco Bookshelf
Bang for buck probably the best one & would be great on a shelf (obviously). Not too sure if I have a good place to put this wide of a tank though. Would also give me a chance to try my hand at having a few plants in with the betta & probably of all options the most betta friendly due to the large surface area. Lots of reports of pump being way noisy so there is also a good chance of having to replace it.

Marineland Eclipse Hex
Seems like a good buy & it would be ok in my office. Never really been a fan of the hex tanks though.

Fish Paradise
The dimensions on this are very easy to work with (in fact I almost bought a used one missing the top section for 15 bucks not long ago). Looks reasonably good as well.

One of the things I am worried about with the 3 acrylic ones is that we have one cat that likes to try to get at the fish & will paw the front of the tank if she can get to it (she isnt allowed in my office though so its rare she would have a chance to get to it at all) & I dont want to have my daughter leaving my office door open once end up with a ugly tank..

Also if anyone has any other recommendations from amazon in the 60 bucks or less range let me know & I can add them to the poll.

[gwenny]

I have the Fluval Chi and...the open lid was never a problem, but the filter was. It's beautiful but my bettas couldn't handle the constant flow.

I love the PETCO Bookshelf tank but I really wish it had LED lights since I have no problem growing my plants with LEDs. But still, like you said, it's the best bang for your buck. The filter seemed a bit big for me....and it's a hang-on-back type so you'll need a couple inches of space behind the tank.

[bastage]

ok I see what your saying about the Chi & its flow.. I just watched a couple you tube video's with betta's in them & it seemed like the fish were constantly working.. For one of the video's though they had 2 males & a female & the extra flow seemed like it kept the fish working too hard to fight.

[gwenny]

Yeah, at first my betta seemed fine, but after a couple days, he was exhausted and didn't want to do anything but sit on the bottom of the tank. I moved him out of it and put one of my other bettas in the Chi and ended up with the same result.

[MaggieLynn]

I would say the petco one because I like how long it is. easier to watch and enjoy your fish

[Micho]

I'd say Petco Bookshelf, I actually want one myself, the dimensions are perfect for a Betta.

[1983SS454]

I recently picked up the marineland hex 5 gallon and my Betta Gronk loves it, the pump has good filtration but low flow coming out because of the filter/ then the bio-wheel before it drops back in. The inlet I put my hand over it before putting him in it and I could barely feel a pull. The lid comes with a cfl bulb that gets a little warm, but easily replaceable with a correct 6500 Kelvin bulb for plant growth, it comes with a 5000k which might be ok for low light but not exactly right. The evaporation is low in this tank because of the filter being built into the hood, low splashing, and the lid is very tight fitting. It might be a little on the tall side for male Betta's, but I have to say my Half-moon has no problems with it. My only problem now is I dong think he's ever had a heater in his tank before because for the 1st 2-3 days he stared at it for hours, now he snuggles with it at night lol.... I also light the book shelf tank, nice and long for aquascaping

[TielBird101]

I voted for the Petco Bookshelf! ^.^

[Irishdancer]

The Petco bookshelf looks great. Now I want it too! LOL

[bastage]

Well its down to either the Petco Bookshelf or the MarineLand Hex. Honestly I have an ideal of where I would like to put it where a tank would look great & the petco bookshelf just wouldnt work there. If I do get it its going to end up in my levingroom (it will go along my 3x 2.5 gallon tanks on the bar between kitchen & living room) as the footprint is just too much for where my ideal location is.

On another note I am thinking that my 1st AquaBid purchase will be for a very nice CT to fill this tank.