Hey, Well I have one female beta fish, non-filtered tank [Read For More]?

Question

Ok, Well I have one female beta fish in a non-filtered fish tank..like a $15 one because i wanted to get a fish in a hurry and I didn't have much money to buy a pretty good, filtered fish tank. Well, First of all I was wondering if there is a pretty cheap filtered fish tank, it can be any size that you think will fit about 3-5 fish and will make them live long..Second, I was wondering what kinds of fish can you put in with a beta fish because I noticed before my old beta fish always fights with my other beta fishes..But now I only have one. Third, I was wondering what kind of fish food should i get; flakes or the ball pebbles, because one of my fishes died because i used to use the pebbles and they were pretty big for it to eat up because it was a pretty small beta fish so yea..Fourth, I was wondering where I should keep the fish tank for example, like in direct sunlight or in a dark place...Pleae answer my questions. Have A Good Day! ^.^

Sorry it's a long question..

Well, Some petsmart worker said you can put any fish without a tail that flares or betta fish will think it is another betta and attack it, he said you can put goldfish and other stuff but i checked other questions and some guy said his betta fish killed all his gold fish do i'm not shure..

So i guess putting in tetra fish with bettas are a bad idea because they are colorful..

Umm...So I can get a decent fish tank size like maybe about 3-6 fish can stay in a 5-8 gallon tank? Or all i need is a fish tank with a heater and/or a filtering system?

Hey, I found a pretty decent aquarium online..but i'm not sure if it's big enough..here's the link for it.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754151&cp=2767036.2769119&view=all&pg=1&fbn=Taxonomy%7CAquariums&searchSort=TRUE&fbc=1&clickid=topnav_dropdown4_link1&s=A-StorePrice-PET&parentPage=family&keepsr=1

Um..Do you know any fish that can clean the fish tank like if there is un-eaten fish pellets on the tank floor the fish would eat it? I heard it was called like something cory

Oh sorry, my tank is about 5 gallons, but it isn't filtered or heated so thats why i'm trying to find a good tank check out that link i gave in Additional Details and tell me if that tank is a good size for it..By the way..I'm sorta new in taking care of bettas and I was just wondering what does cycle mean..lol

thanks! :) If I need to anymore things on how to take care of betta fish msg me on my myspace http://www.myspace.com/retardeddolphins I'm still seeing if anyone else will reply ^.^

Answer 1

a cheap tank depends on where you live and what's directly available. makes and models vary area to area, country to country. and what your top end budget is. i have an Aqua One 320 for one of my bettas, it works out to about 7 gallons, but came with an undergravel filter which i chucked because they're rubbish, and got another filter and a heater seperately, all in all that tank + heater + filter came to about £50. i also have a Mirabello, also about 7 gallons, which is all inclusive, it was a gift and cost about £75. But whether you can get those tanks where you are depends.

as for the betta itself. keeping any betta with other bettas is risky. males obviously can't live with any other betta, male or female. and female groups must be kept in a minimum of 10 US gallons in groups of 4 or more, introduced at the same time, and preferably a sibling group.

fish to live with your betta depends solely on that bettas personality. some bettas are chilled and easy going and won't bother tankmates. others will massacre everything in it's path. i've had one betta that will hunt and nip other fish in it's tank, where as another wouldn't bat an eyelid (if it had an eyelid to bat anyway...). I've successfully kept dwarf corys, otocinclus and shrimp with Bettas. Fish that are kept with Bettas should be nondescript and not colourful, be able to move if the Betta shows too much interest, be bottom dwelling, not top dwelling and getting in the Bettas way, and be entirely peaceful and non-nippy.

I did once find one of my baby albino corys nibbling on my bettas tail who had fin rot at the time...the betta passed on from old age in the end and the corys were rehomed to a larger tank. that was a long while ago.

as for locating the fish tank, away from direct sunlight. sunlight means algae, and lots of it. bad!

for Betta food I recommend food made by Attisons, google Attison Betta Pro. i've never had a Betta turn it down, even when they're brand new and only been in the tank 10 minutes hehe!

edit: the guy at the store was wrong, and unfortunately 4 out of 5 fish store workers are! occasionally you'll find one who knows what they're on about, but most of them are on minimum wage and won't know a thing! goldfish cannot be kept with bettas. for a start, goldfish are coldwater, bettas are tropical. goldfish need a minimum of a 20 US gallon tank, for 1 goldfish, are heavy waste producers and can easily effect the ammonia levels in the tank, which would kill the betta. also, a goldfish over 6" can swallow a betta.

as for tetras, pretty much every tetra species is nippy and will nip up a bettas tail. as will any Barb. Gourami's and Bettas will also fight to the death, usually the Betta's death.

edit 2: any tank you want to keep more than a betta in will need a heater and a filter. to be honest i think even bettas need at least a heater at all times. get the largest tank you can afford, but as for numbers that depends on what other creatures you want to keep and the dimensions of the tank. if you can get a 10 US gallon tank, get that, it shouldn't cost much more than an 8 gallon! Then you could have a densely planted pretty tank with lots of bogwood and:
1 Betta
4 Corydoras Habrosus or Pygmaeus (you may have to ask a fish store to order them in for you)
3 Ghost Shrimp or Cherry Shrimp.

REMEMBER: all new tanks will need to be cycled for 2-4 weeks before any creature is added!

edit 3: the tank you linked looks fine to me!

edit 4: never rely on a fish to "clean" the tank. corys (corydoras) will scavange along the bottom of the tank, but they need feeding seperately, they will also not touch algae. if you have waste food at the bottom of the tank, stop over-feeding! and a gravel vaccum at the end of each week should hoover up any poopy and waste left behind anyway. shrimp are the best algae eaters i've found and don't make too much of a dent on the bioload either. they will also need to be supplemented with crumbled algae wafers and blanched vegetables.

see the link below for a guide on fishless cycling. never skip this step, or you end up with sick and dying fish.

Answer 2

You could get a 10 gallon starter kit from Walmart for about $30. It comes with a filter, hood, and lights. Then you would need to purchase a heater. They're between $8-$12 each.
As for the other fish to house with your Betta, you could house anything that is peaceful and not a fin nipper. You can actually buy 3-4 more female Betta's to place with your Betta. Females can go with each other if you have 3 or more females. They will establish a pecking order. You can not house male and females Betta's together.
You could also have Tetra's which are schooling fish or corydora's which stay on the bottom of the tank.
As for food you should have a variety of it. Betta flakes, Betta pellets, bloodworms, brine shrimp, and krill. They need to have a varied diet so they won't get constipated. The flakes and pellets should be the main food source and the other foods I mentioned feed as a treat a few times a week.
You should keep your tank out of direct sunlight to cut back on algea growth. I just want to add to make sure you have some sort of smooth plant in the tank so the Betta can lounge on it. It can be fake. Just make sure it has no sharp edges on it.

Answer 3

A female betta with three tankmates will need about 10 gallons of water in order to live healthily. This 10 gallon tank will need to be cycled for about a month before you even put the fish in. You didn't say how large your current tank is, but I recommend you keep her in this tank while you go out and get a filtered 10 gallon tank, and cycle it. Remember: patience is the key to fishkeeping.

In a 10 gallon tank, you can keep a group of 4 female bettas. Female bettas (only females) can live peacefully in groups of three or more because they develop a pecking order. If you don't want to keep her with other bettas, then white cloud mountain minnows, mollies, platys or cory catfish also make good tankmates. Goldfish are not compatible with bettas because they are coldwater fish, while bettas require warm temperatures (so you will need to get a heater as well for your tank.)

As for fish food, flakes might be better than the pellets if your betta can't handle the size. They do make special betta pellets that have the high protein content that your betta needs. Hikari or HBH Betta Bites are good brands of betta pellets. Other than that, bettas also love freeze-dried bloodworms, daphnia, mosquito larvae or brine shrimp. Variety is important in a betta's diet.

Place your tank out of direct sunlight as it stresses out your fish. Places that are too dark, however, may bore your betta to the point of tail-biting as they love to have things to watch. Anywhere with a regular amount of natural sunlight would be fine.

Answer 4

If the tank you have now is 5 gallons just get a filter and heater for it unless you really want a bigger tank.You could keep a small group of neon tetras,an African dwarf frog or a small group of cory's with your betta.Females are less aggressive than males so that increases what they can be kept with,it is normally recommended to avoid guppies with males bettas as they can resemble another betta but I have guppies with my females no problem.

These are what I use with my 5 gallon tank that has 1 male betta and 4 neons but there are lots of other brands out there to or if you decide on the ten gallon tank that would be alright too as it will increase the number or size of tank mates you can have with your betta:
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=110&PROD_ID=01007480021001
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=107&PROD_ID=01000500021101

You should keep your tank out of the sun or you will have algae problems and I feed my bettas pellets with a treat now and then or blood worms or brine shrimp.

Answer 5

I've always been told not to put any other fish in with betas. And another idea on the tank: my aunt showed me this cool idea where you take an oversized glass vase, fill the bottom with those colored stones, and at the mouth of the vase, have a lilly in a plastic holder-with a hole cut out of the bottom so the roots can reach the water, then let your beta fish swim around in there. Her betas have lived a long time doing this-the lilly helps oxygenate the water-make sure to use bottled or purified water each time you change his tank.

Answer 6

Go to www.about.com and look up beta fish then scroll down to you see a profile of Siamese fighting fish including habitat care feeding and breeding I hope this helps