New Betta Owner Looking for Advice

[Learrrs]

So I recently bought my newest betta, Destery (male), almost two weeks ago. Up until this point he was in a glass container less than a gallon. I was reading through the site and quickly upgraded him to the biggest glass container I had (which is only 1 Gal).

I don't have the money right now for a bigger tank, heater, or filter (which I know is optional but I'm going to go ahead and get one anyways) at the moment, but I'm buying as soon as I have the funds.
These are the only questions I have right now:

1. Once I have the larger tank, what types of plants should I be looking for to put inside it?

2. What fish would be the best tankmates for him?

3. How often should I change the water and how much water needs to be changed?

Any other Do's or Dont's would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for putting up with my ignorance. :D

[Rosso1011]

Most of these answers are going to be dependent upon the size of thank you purchase. If you purchase a 5 or 10 gallon you're going to want to cycle the tank first. With a 5 gallon, you might be able to purchase ghost shrimps or snails. Keep in mind though that your betta might see the shrimp as a snack, especially if there is not much coverage for the shrimp to hide in.

With a 10 gallon, you might be able to get corydoras (especially smaller pygmy corydoras) or tetras (be careful though, some tetras can be nippy).

Not sure on the water change schedule for 5 gallons, but for a 10 gallon, it should be something like 20 - 30% a week after it's cycled. If you go under the housing and accessories section, you should find info on cycling.

Definitely get a heater as soon as you can. Bettas are tropical and prefer a temperature range of about 78 - 80. If you can find a way to cover his tank or put him near a heat source to keep the water temp. up, that would be great.

Filters are also optional for aquariums under 5 gallons, since it's hard to establish a cycle in them.

Hope that helps and I hope some other members can offer some more advice on tankmates and any other questions I couldn't answer for you.

[Learrrs]

Thank you!
I think I'm going to go with a 5 gallon tank, by the way. I don't think at 10 gallon is necessary right now.

[gbose]

Learrs:

Choose your plants according to their requirements (your betta will appreciate plants but won't care what kind). I'm going to suspect you won't have strong lights, so choose low-light plants -- Java Ferns, Java Moss, Anubias.

Change 50% of your water every week. (Don't take the betta out while you do that; he'll be fine in the tank.)

I'd avoid tankmates in a 5G. Bettas often react badly, and may kill them.

Good luck

GBose

[thekoimaiden]

Hi and welcome to the forum! A 1 gal tank is a fine home for a betta for a while. Just be sure to perform 2 water changes weekly, one 50% and one 100%. The heater is a rather essential piece of equipment, so be sure to get that first. The Hydor Theo 25w heater is great for small tanks. Since you are in the south, you should be fine without a heater for a little while.

If you do plan to upgrade to a 5 gallon tank, the only kind of tankmates you can have with a betta are shrimp and snails. A 5 gallon is too small for anything else. You are also going to want to look up on cycling as this will provide the lowest-maintenance setup possible. Look here for some more info: A Beginner's Guide to the Freshwater Aquarium Cycle

You will want to wait to look at plants until you have the larger tank. It's much easier when you have a larger tank with a light.

[Twilight Storm]

From experience, if you just couldn't resist buying a plant right now, java moss is pretty indestructible. It will need some light though. I have some in a small unfiltered bowl (barely larger then a cup a betta comes in) There is a moss ball, java moss and a small community of snails in the bowl. (no fish)

The bowl is sitting in my washroom and receives bright indirect light through the window. (no direct sunlight.) The moss is a bit leggy but is doing fine in that situation which is NOT ideal. That bowl doesn't get any fertalizer or anything either.

(I wouldn't suggest keeping a moss ball in this situation either, it ended up in a tiny bowl because I couldn't bring myself to destroy it or throw it out. The ball + the moss is I think what is keeping the small ecosystem in ballance in the tiny bowl.)

The rest of the moss I have is split between different 10 watt incandescent hood tanks and is also doing fine. Some stores selling bettas keep a small piece of java moss in with each betta in their cups. It's a wonderful first plant.

Here is a little test and info on the plant from faith granger that I found interesting when I started researching java moss:
http://www.bettatalk.com/java_moss.htm

You can find more info on it here writen by a member here named Mo:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=98221