[Phineastoo]

Hi, I'm totally new here, just got my betta last week kind of on impulse, but I don't want to leave him in the little .5 gallon (tiny, I know) tank I got with him. We don't have a good pet store nearby, so I'm making a trip as part of my birthday outing this coming Saturday to check out a couple of pet stores and hopefully come home with something good for him.

I don't have a really big budget for this, but I'm hoping to get a 5 gallon if I can, though I may have to settle for a 3 if it comes to that.

So what would you guys recommend for a starter? Apollo's pretty frisky even in his little tank, but I want to make sure he's got what he needs to be a happy fish. I've got the basics, pellets, bloodworms for a treat (he loooves them :lol, and water conditioner. I'd like to kinda get a list of things to check out and look for when I go to the stores.

 

[Phineastoo]

Thanks guys, I went to the store today just to check things out and I may have found something that'll work!

Granted I had to force myself not to buy the pretty halfmoon sitting on the shelf, but I got some aquarium salt and a little splotch of fake grass so my boy can at least entertain himself a little bit while he's in the itty bitty tank.

Any suggestions for aquarium heaters?

 

[Phineastoo]

So SURPRISE my dad bought me a 3 gallon fish tank tonight for my birthday. I got it set up and running and the water's been treated and salted. I still need a heater and some decorations, but it's looking good.

I was wondering if I had to cycle it before I put him in there (I haven't yet, obviously) it's running a bubble stone/under gravel filter situation and in any case I was going to let it stew a day or so before transferring him over, but I wanted to make sure that was okay. I know I'm asking a lot of newb questions but I don't want to kill my fish :C

 

[Phineastoo]

Yes, that's the exact tank I have now, I love the bubble column because it makes for virtually no current, it's fantastic. I was kind of hoping to put him in there this afternoon after I test the water, would that be okay or should I cycle it?

Also, is aquarium salt really bad for them? I was going on the advice of a breeder and basically the instructions, both of which indicate to add it when setting up and doing water changes for fungus prevention and the like.