Can A Male Betta Live Happily In My Currently Empty Mini Bow Five Gallon Tank, With No Tank Mates?

Question

I have had a betta before but he was in a 2 gallon bowl, unfortuntaly he jumped out and passed away due to drying out. Back to my question, i am currently thinking of purchasing a male betta and have a 5 gallon mini bow sitting empty in the basement, it has a side hanging filter (a wisper series) and i would add a heater. Would my betta be better off in the tank i just described (the mini bow) or posibily a smaller tank or bowl?

Answer 1

that would be EXCELLENT for a male betta. especially if you add a few silk plants, they like a planted tank.

you most likely won't have to worry aopbut the current being too strong, people have bettas in 55gallon community tank and those filters are WAY more strong. bettas learn fast enough to stay away from areas they can't handle, and a 5gallon tank filter is most likely not strong enough to cause a problem.

as far as the temp, somewhere between 78°F and 82°F is best.

btw, don't listen to the person talking about goldfish and bettas, goldfish are cold water fsih and as you know bettas are warm water fish. goldfish also get way too big for a 5gallon and produce way to much waste for a betta to handle. their uncompatiblity has nothing to do with aggression though.

Answer 2

There are none. Only fish that can live in a 6 gallon tanks are bettas, but males fight with both females and males, females can be kept in groups of 5 but that would require at very least 10 gallons (and really 15 or more is recommended). Only options are a snail or some shirmp. Like nerite snail or 2-3 amano shrimp. Also how in the world did you arrive in a conclusion that two cichlids which grow to be 8 inches tall and are somewhat aggressive are a good idea to keep with a betta in a 6 gallon tank.

Answer 3

That is an excellent home for your betta! Go ahead and spend a few extra bucks and get you a crowntail or half moon. You can afford to keep a fancier betta in a good set up like that with no worries. Keep the water changed a lot at first until your filter gets dirtied up a little. Look up cycling a tank. trick is to change the water and leave the filter alone for the first month. You could get away with changing all of the water once a week. I wouldn't touch the filter again for a month or longer. Do replace any carbon when needed, but otherwise no cleaning the filter. Just keep the water clean until the tank cycles.

Answer 4

That would be the PERFECT home for a betta. Just make sure the water flow is not too fast for his long fins. I'm pretty sure that the whisper filters have an adjustable flow rate, set it at the lowest possible. Or place a plant/ornament in front of it to block the flow. The heater should be set around 75 F.
Make sure you still do partial water changes weekly to keep the tank nice and clean for the lucky betta. You should find that he is much more active in the larger tank. Betta's don't deserve to live in cramped bowls!
I wouldn't add any other fish. Definitely NOT a goldfish as they are way too messy and have different temperature needs. And male bettas are capable of killing female bettas if you don't know what you are doing.
Here's an awesome betta website: http://www.bettatalk.com/

Answer 5

That amount of space seems great! male bettas are loners so no, not even another female should be tanked with him. With a heater and some plants and decore, it'll be fantastic! While I have 5 bettas (3 female 2 male) none have ever jumped =(
I have noticed while moving my fish around that sometimes, if moved into one of the one gallon setups, the males get depressed for a couple of weeks before acclimating to the new space, my females don't care either way as long as they're fed =)

I think either the 2 gal or 5 gal would be fine, honestly, it's up to you!

Answer 6

I keep bettas in 2.5 and 5 gallon mini bows, and have had no problems. They have heaters, gravel, some drftwood, either silk or live plants, sometimes snails or ghost shrimp for company. They're always active and seem to like having the space better than something smaller.

Answer 7

A betta would love the 5 gallon heated tank, I think it's a wonderful idea! 5 gallons is perfect for one, the bowl would be a step down. Go for the tank, he'll thank you for it. ;)

Answer 8

He'd absolutely be happy!
Please do not add a female without extensive research on how to breed these animals. They are not like guppies.

I recommend using live plants in the tank too. Bettas love them! Lots of nooks and crannies, too, but try to get smooth decorations, and none with sharpish edges. Their fins are fragile. Anything you cannot run a pantyhose over without getting a run should not be in a tank or bowl with a male betta.

The only thing I can think that he might not like is the filter flow.
Here's a good DIY to help fix that problem.
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/347/

Alsdo, if you go to the top of that page to the parent link "bettas/" you will find a lot more very useful and informative articles, including one or two on breeding.

Under the higher parent link of "articles/" you will also find links about plants. There's one about easy plants that would be very helpful to you if you want live plants in the tank.

Lastly, to help your betta not have to deal so much with the effects of the nitrogen cycle, I higly recommend BioSpira. There are other products on the market which purport to speed up the cycle, but this is the only one you will find recommended by experienced fish keepers. I have used it myself and the longest cycle I had was 10 days.
You should be able to find it in the refridgerated case at PetCo.

HAVE FUN!!

Answer 9

by experience, my brother bettas have died because they jump out of their tanks, its not a matter of comfort, since the guy was in a 3 gallon tank, its just in their nature, they're agressive and they like to move around a lot if they have the space, so put a fish tank hood to prevent another death.

Answer 10

The bigger the space for your betta the better. The happiest bettas I have ever seen were in 20g tanks.