[kfish]

Aww! I love this! I'm so tired of seeing people in offices with bettas in cold little jars on their desks. :evil:

-- I've never heard anything about personality being reliant on tail type. They're all different. At least, as far as I know!
-- It's realllly easy to baffle whatever type of filter the tank comes with. I've done it by rubber-banding Fluval filter sponge around/into the waterfall outlet with great success. Especially if you bring the water level up to the foam (and make sure the foam is low enough that you can bring the water level up to it. Make sure the tank has a lid!
-- Mr. Fish ate a HUGE shrimp. He was super aggressive... Sky, however, doesn't care AT ALL about the shrimp. He completely ignores them. Mr. Fish used to follow them around and eat their antennae, then eventually just eat the whole thing. I think it varies betta to betta. If you want some, though, test it out with cheap shrimp (ghost shrimp are usually ten cents).
-- Get corys! They're so cute. :3 If you get a 15 gallon tank, you could get a school of like 6 cories and a school of rasboras and maybe a few other fish.
-- Live plants add sooo much to the tank. plantedaquariumscentral.com has awesome plants (I've bought from there a few times). Coupon code BETTAFISH gets you a 10% discount (at least, it used to... haven't bought from there in a few months)

Use this calculator to plan: http://aqadvisor.com/ It'll tell you if you have too many fish.

I think the office setting stressfulness will vary depending on the betta... Mr. Fish would have LOVED IT. He loved anyone coming up to his tank, even if you tapped on the glass. He'd just dance around for food. He was always right at the front of the tank, staring at you. If you find that you get a betta that hates the interaction, bring it home ( ) and get one that seems less shy. But, look for one in the petshop that doesn't dart away from you when you go up to the tank/cup. I'm pretty sure Sky would HATE an office setting. He still runs away from me when I go up to the tank. Although, he will play with my finger after he warms up a bit.

 

[kfish]

Hmmm... Tetras can be a bit nippy, I think, so be careful. People have recommended ember tetras on here before, though. A lot of people recommend not putting anything in with bettas that's flashy (so no neon tetras). There are a lot of different types of rasboras. I think someone else can answer the tankmates question better than I can, though. There are a decent number of options. But, whenever you have tankmates with a betta, make sure you have an out in case it doesn't work out... a way to take them back or give them away.

Bettas like lots of places to hide. So lots of plants is great for them. Make sure nothing has sharp edges that they can slash their fins on. They really like caves, as well! When choosing decorations, make sure the holes are big enough that they can swim through them... they're known to get stuck in holes and drown. Some people use coffee mugs/tea cups for caves, which is kind of cute. I've used terracotta pots, but you HAVE TO make sure to plug the hole securely, or get a pot with a HUGE hole, or take the whole bottom out (but smoothly, so they can't cut their fins on it).

So yeah, impossible to overplant for a betta. However, their rasbora/whatever else tankmates will probably like a bit of open space near the top, and Corys like a bit of open space on the bottom to forage. ALSO, Corys don't do well with gravel/sharp substrates because of their little whiskers.

Bettas also like places to perch, particularly near the top. Anubias with long stems that reach to the top is nice for them. And some people have bettas that are absolutely OBSESSED with their betta logs/hammocks. I've never tried one, since I like to go the natural plant route. You can definitely use real plants for a leaf hammock. That's what I do!

If you intend to have a soil substrate and all that and go the full on natural planted tank route, then cycling isn't important, but it DOES help with establishing the tank while the plants get adjusted and start growing... Just cut some filter media/sponge from your 65 gallon filter and put it in the filter in the betta tank. I seeded my NPT just to get it started (I HAD to... I had a HUGE HUGE HUGE ammonia spike, perhaps because the soil didn't air out enough), and now the filter is just for water movement.

 

[kfish]

So exciting!! I'm itching to set up a new fish tank. I'm going to be re-setting up my 5 gallon in the next few weeks and buying a new betta.