[sparkyjoe]

OK, this isn't a(nother?) thread asking everyone's opinion on the "best" tank size for a single betta. I've done a lot of reading through this, and other, sites and know that the opinions are wide and varied.

I currently have my boy, Arthur, in a heated med. pet keeper, which is what I got when I bought him 2 weeks ago. It has a some fake plants and I do water changes every couple of days.

Shortly after getting him I decided that he is *so* darned active that he would appreciate more room to move and his new 5.5 gal is cycling now. (I finally got a nitrite spike, yay!) I can hardly wait, he will have live plants, a new, larger castle to hide in a month or two I'll add some RCS to help clean up and make it more interesting for me.

So, of course, once he has moved to his new home the med. pet keeper will be empty and, as you can imagine, I'm already toying with the idea of getting another betta to put in the pet keeper. If I did, I think I might get a java fern and/or anubis to put in with him and loose the fake plants.


OK, all of that "back story" was because I have an honest interest in the following...

I believe most, if not all of us will agree that those little cups, often filled with cold (blue?!?) water are NOT a good home and have likely led to the premature death of many, many of these beautiful fish. We also know that many people will get these little guys and doom them to an equally short life through ignorance and misinformation.

What I want to know is, if I found a betta I liked, whether it's worse for me to get it and put it into the pet keeper that's only about 2 gallons or leave it at the pet store hoping that the next person who looks at him (or her) can offer a better home? I don't currently have the funds to get another 5 gallon.

I've attached a pic of Arthur's current and future homes. Also one of a close up of my boy. He was marked as an HMPK but that doesn't feel right and I'd love to figure out exactly what he is, besides beautiful!

Thanks!

 

[vilmarisv]

The chances of that betta to get the care you can provide him from another person are minimal.
If you really can't resist and do have the means to house him, why not?

 

[callistra]

2 gallons is enough and you're obviously going to take care of him. Get him

 

[thekoimaiden]

We're all terrible enablers; I, too, say get the betta. It's a sad fact, but most people don't know proper betta care. A heater 2 gal tank is a fine home (provided you keep up with water changes) if that is all you can afford.

 

[FishyFishy89]

Yeah the chances of a pet store betta getting a great home are slim to none. My hubs doesn't know much about fish so when he sees Spike zooming all over the place he thinks my fish is freaking out xD

But anyhow, my thoughts on you getting a new betta, I say go for it. It obvious you took excellent care of Arthur while he is in his kritter keeper. So get the new pwetty fishy, keep him in the kritter keeper, and if you want to put him in a bigger tank, save up for one
Save a betta from the high percentage of getting an ignorant and uneducated owner.

 

[sparkyjoe]

Yeah, I know... I simply LOVE potato chips!!! Sigh.

Ok, another question for anyone who'e reading...

So far I've been doing my water changes by setting out (and adding conditioner) water the day before, but it's Winter here, and that water gets COLD just sitting in my icebox of a house. I try to warm it up some, but it is still very cool.

I've heard that it can be bad to add water before it's had a chance to sit so I didn't want to try pulling it from the tap, conditioning, and adding it while it was closer to his existing temp.

If I'm going to use the pet keeper for another betta I gotta figure this out!

Thanks again.

 

[FishyFishy89]

Yeah, I know... I simply LOVE potato chips!!! Sigh.

Ok, another question for anyone who'e reading...

So far I've been doing my water changes by setting out (and adding conditioner) water the day before, but it's Winter here, and that water gets COLD just sitting in my icebox of a house. I try to warm it up some, but it is still very cool.

I've heard that it can be bad to add water before it's had a chance to sit so I didn't want to try pulling it from the tap, conditioning, and adding it while it was closer to his existing temp.

If I'm going to use the pet keeper for another betta I gotta figure this out!

Thanks again.

I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.
But if you still want it to sit out, I'd get a spare heater/keep it heated over night.

 

[OregonDreamsBettas]

I add water straight out of the tap with some conditioner added. I use the finger test to make sure it's roughly the same temp as the tank. (meaning I stick my finger in the tank, then stick it in the water that comes out of the faucet and try to make it about the same) I must do a pretty good job because I never see a fluctuation in my thermometer. If I don't want to use water conditioner for some reason I will let the water sit out overnight which gives the chlorine a chance to evaporate. However that doesn't remove other bad things that might be in the tap water... my tap water is very clean so I'm OK.

 

[inareverie85]

Between the long waiting in that little cup for adoption and the fact that most betta owners are misinformed and simply interested in the novelty of fish-keeping (ie. will forget about the fish after a week), I'd say that any fish in the store more than likely has the best chance with you. I'd say that most pet stores, especially chains, encourage some of the poor care that most bettas get (small tanks, heat-less setups), so many who buy there will probably do the wrong thing.

I'd say get one

 

[Bombalurina]

I second everybody else. You are clearly a good betta parent, and a warm clean 2 gallon is a billion times better than what many uninformed people would provide.

On the water change issue - if you are adding conditioner, you do NOT need to let your water sit for 24 hours prior to adding it. You don't even need to let it sit for one hour. I just put my water into a bucket, add my dechlorinator and put it straight in the tank. All good conditioners should work instantly.
The "letting it sit" thing comes from when people didn't use dechlorinator (bad) and had to let the water sit for 24 hours to cause the chlorine to evaporate out.

 

[djembekah]

get him get him get him!

 

[sparkyjoe]

Ok, I think I've been convinced. Of course I *just happened* to stop in the Petco while I was out and found a beautiful boy.

Unfortunately I didn't get him on the spot because I was out with my friend and we had more errands to run. I also didn't know where I would keep him until my 5.5gal is finished cycling and can't really afford to get *another* set up to hold him (partially because I know I would then want ANOTHER betta!)

But... now I'm thinking I need to go back tomorrow and hope he's still there.

He was listed as a "Double Tail, Half Moon, Plakat but others here have mentioned he looks like a Mustard Gas, Double Tail, Dragon? I think that's it.

(He's actually a pale blue with a *hint* of green and the white part of his fins is whiter than in this pic.)

 

[FishyFishy89]

pwetty fishy
He does seem to have the shiny scales of the dragons

 

[Bombalurina]

He's definitely a doubletail dragon plakat. As to colour, I can't be sure without seeing his true colours.
He's cute!

 

[thekoimaiden]

You've got a great phone to be able to get a picture of him like that. I would say get him in a heartbeat. He's gorgeous! If I remember correctly double-tailed betta tend to be a bit more fragile. I would much rather see him in the care of a capable individual rather than your average Petco shopper.

 

[sparkyjoe]

Introducing Aithusa (aka Bob)

So I braved the rains to hit a couple of lps for a new home, and then went back to pick up my new boy. So far the name choices are between Aithusa, Albion, or Bob. The first two are due to my King Arthur/Merlin intrest, and "Bob" is, well, a long story.

I got him a 3.5 gallon with a filter, a heater and some plants. (Java fern, anubias, and moss ball) The tank is taller than I would prefer, but it was the best fit for my size/financial constraints.

Oh, and I got him a nice cave, to which I've attached the Java fern and Anubias.

I'm so glad I went back to get him. His fins were looking darker, almost brown, and he wasn't as active as he was yesterday. When I asked the last time his water was changed they told me is had been changed 3 days ago. Wow. Three days in that nasty water. But, there was no poo in the container, so either he wasn't fed, or... something.

Anyway, he's been acclimated and released. He was a little freaked for about 5 minutes, but currently he's running around checking out the great big world (hey, its HUGE compared to what he was in!

Here's a picture of his new home while he was acclimating, and a closeup of him that shows his colors about as closely as I've been able to catch.

 

[JKhoi]

Grats on the new boy, he's a beaut
Love the scaping on the tank to by the way, I love natural tanks

 

[sparkyjoe]

Grats on the new boy, he's a beaut
Love the scaping on the tank to by the way, I love natural tanks

Thanks. Part of what you can see is a backing that I've wrapped around the back and art way up the far side. This should hopefully keep my two boys from seeing each other since their homes sit side by side.

I may have to end up swapping out the filter, the one that came with it is a bit stronger than I'd prefer (although he seems to be able to handle the current) and kinda noisy if the tank isn't filled WAY up past the filter's "Optimum Level."

 

[FishyFishy89]

Yup I've had that tank before. It was alrighty, beware, if you use the lights everyday they WILL burn almost completely out by the next month
Filter worked pretty darn good. Very pretty fishy BTW.