[MysticMuffin]

Why hello there everyone! While my join date may be recent, I have been lurking these forums on and off for the past couple of months when I got my betta (probably back in Octoberish). I love my little guy, and I'm trying to do my best to make him happy, even if I'm slowly getting there. I've learned quite a few things here from the forums and everyone seems so knowledgeable ^^ I'm still learning how to properly care for these little ones, so please excuse me if I have done anything wrong v.v I have come with a few questions, and I apologize if they're repetitive. The past couple of days, I have been searching these forums to see if I can get answers though.

Heater:
I have 3 bettas in total in my household (2 are mine, 1 is my sister's). 2 of them are in a 1 gal tanks (in their own, not together), and these are the newest in our family =] (we got them Feb 26th). 1, which I got back in October is in a 2.5gal tank. Unfortunately, they do not have heaters, but I have been on the search lately looking for some. I'm just unsure of what will be good for the little guys. For the 1 gal tanks, I was wondering if it would be ok to get the Hydor Mini Submersible Heater. Would they overheat the water, or would they hopefully keep it at a consistent temperature? As for the 2.5gal tank, should I also get a mini, or would it be better for me to get a Hydor 25w heater, so I am able to adjust the temperature? I just wouldn't want the water to be too hot to boil the little ones >.< I found these at the pet mountain site, as posted from other members here on these forums, so I may purchase them from there since I have not been able to find these heaters at my Petsmart locations and even a fish store I went to yesterday.

Water:
My other question is, I bought the Prime dechlorinator at the fish store I went to. I use water from Watermill Express to change my fishes water with. Now that I have 3 tanks to clean/change, I was thinking of switching to tap water, but I've never used tap, so I have never used a dechlorinator before. I'm afraid if I do a complete switch from the Watermill to tap water, it'll be too much of a shock, so I was wondering how should I safely transition them into tap?

Transportation:
And lastly, spring break starts for me next week, yay! I am a college student, so I live 2 hours away from home. I was wondering if I should leave my fish here at my apartment, or take them home with me (I would be gone for about 9 days)? My sister said she'd drive back up with me to come feed the fish sometime in the middle of spring break.
The scheduling would probably look like:
Leave home on Friday ( March 9th) - Come back on Wednesday to feed them (March 14th) and go back home the same day - Come back on Sunday (March 18th) to go back to school.
They would be going through 3-4 day intervals of not eating and be fed on March 14th. I was wondering if this is alright to do, or if it would not be recommended. I wanted to take the fish back home with me, but my sister doesn't want to hassle with transporting them, and also does not want to put them through the shock of the ride.

Thank you for taking the time for reading this, and I apologize for being quite lengthy.

 

[Bombalurina]

Why hello there everyone!
Hello!
While my join date may be recent, I have been lurking these forums on and off for the past couple of months when I got my betta (probably back in Octoberish). I love my little guy, and I'm trying to do my best to make him happy, even if I'm slowly getting there. I've learned quite a few things here from the forums and everyone seems so knowledgeable ^^ I'm still learning how to properly care for these little ones, so please excuse me if I have done anything wrong v.v I have come with a few questions, and I apologize if they're repetitive. The past couple of days, I have been searching these forums to see if I can get answers though.

Heater:
I have 3 bettas in total in my household (2 are mine, 1 is my sister's). 2 of them are in a 1 gal tanks (in their own, not together), and these are the newest in our family =] (we got them Feb 26th). 1, which I got back in October is in a 2.5gal tank. Unfortunately, they do not have heaters, but I have been on the search lately looking for some. I'm just unsure of what will be good for the little guys. For the 1 gal tanks, I was wondering if it would be ok to get the Hydor Mini Submersible Heater. Would they overheat the water, or would they hopefully keep it at a consistent temperature? As for the 2.5gal tank, should I also get a mini, or would it be better for me to get a Hydor 25w heater, so I am able to adjust the temperature? I just wouldn't want the water to be too hot to boil the little ones >.< I found these at the pet mountain site, as posted from other members here on these forums, so I may purchase them from there since I have not been able to find these heaters at my Petsmart locations and even a fish store I went to yesterday.
I'm very sorry that I can't answer this question for you as I am not familiar with US brands. However, I use a 25 watt adjustable heater in my 3 gallon without any problems.

Water:
My other question is, I bought the Prime dechlorinator at the fish store I went to. I use water from Watermill Express to change my fishes water with. Now that I have 3 tanks to clean/change, I was thinking of switching to tap water, but I've never used tap, so I have never used a dechlorinator before. I'm afraid if I do a complete switch from the Watermill to tap water, it'll be too much of a shock, so I was wondering how should I safely transition them into tap?
When you do your next water change, add in a mix of 50% Watermill and 50% dechlorinated tap water. Then up it to 25%/75%, then finally 100% dechlorinated. You can do it in smaller leaps if you like, but they should be ok with it like that. Good job on getting the Prime, it really is the best.

Transportation:
And lastly, spring break starts for me next week, yay! I am a college student, so I live 2 hours away from home. I was wondering if I should leave my fish here at my apartment, or take them home with me (I would be gone for about 9 days)? My sister said she'd drive back up with me to come feed the fish sometime in the middle of spring break.
The scheduling would probably look like:
Leave home on Friday ( March 9th) - Come back on Wednesday to feed them (March 14th) and go back home the same day - Come back on Sunday (March 18th) to go back to school.
They would be going through 3-4 day intervals of not eating and be fed on March 14th. I was wondering if this is alright to do, or if it would not be recommended. I wanted to take the fish back home with me, but my sister doesn't want to hassle with transporting them, and also does not want to put them through the shock of the ride.
The biggest problem would actually be water changes rather than feeding. They can go ten days without food (they won't like it, but it won't kill them). However, since you wouldn't be feeding them for the days you are away, a 100% change on the tanks when you go in to feed them should keep it all fine and dandy, as long as you do a 100% when you leave college and when you get back there as well.

Thank you for taking the time for reading this, and I apologize for being quite lengthy.

The more questions, the better. You can never know too much!

 

[MysticMuffin]

Thank you for responding back ^^

I think I may get both heaters then =] I'll see if anyone else is familiar with these brands to see what they think.

Yeah, I saw that many people recommended the Prime, so I went searching for it and I finally found it =D Now my next search is going to be a different type of pellet food so they can have a variety =] I haven't been able to find the Hikari food, which I've seen people recommend though.

So my sister talked to me today and she decided that we should take the fish with us rather than coming back to feed them. She doesn't want to do the 2 hr drive back. We'll be driving separately back home though, so today I went to walmart and I bought packaging boxes, bubble wrap, and some tissue paper. I was going to put the bettas back in their betta cups and put them in the boxes surrounded by the bubble wrap and tissue paper and hope it secures them. Would this be ok to do?

I was also going to take back some Watermill water with me in gallon jugs, so I can do their water changes at home that way they're still changed in the same type of water.

 

[Bombalurina]

Hikari is good, but so is Omega One Betta Buffet or New Life Spectrum. I actually feed NLS cichlid pellets to my betta (because they were free and have better ingredients than many of the locally available brands).

Your plan for travelling is spot on. Try to insulate the cups as much as possible (a layer of foil around them can help here) to keep the temperature steady.

To save taking the extra water with you, you've still got time to at least partially acclimatise them to the tap water before you leave.