Show Me Your Betta Setups

[theotheragentm]

My girlfriend is now the owner of a Betta fish due to her sister's lack of foresight, thinking her grandma would love a fish. I bit my cheek when I saw the bowl she got for the fish. It's larger than a lot of vases I've seen, but I know I want 2.5 gallons minimum for the fish. Does anyone have pictures of their setups they can show me?

I'm trying to make thing aesthetically pleasing, so ways to hide a heater and filter as well as possible are definitely a plus. Also, any links to good equipment that won't be too unreasonably priced are appreciated. I know I can get a 10-gallon for $10 or so.

Thanks in advance.

[severum mama]

Either the Eclipse 3 or the MiniBow 2.5 would work out fine for a betta. Those are easy because they are all in one setups (well, sort of... the Eclipse filter is built in to the hood, and the MiniBow comes with a Whisper internal filter). Or, Walmart has some Eclipse knock-off tanks that are cheaper, but still have a Biowheel filter built in if that floats your boat. They are 5 gallon tanks and come in either a corner bowfront or hex shape. Otherwise, you can piece together your own equipment for a 10 gallon and that's great too, but if you want it to be more hidden then maybe you would prefer the look of the all in one tanks.

I don't have any pics of my betta's setup, but if you want to see what the MiniBow looks like, click on my sig and look at the first set of pics (I am using mine for a reef).

HTH

[aquariumnoob]

The Aquaclear 5-15/mini filter is good for 10 gal tanks. $20 in store at petsmart, but only $13 if you print out the online price and bring it in.

[Lonewolfblue]

5.5G with live plants, and a bubble wand for circulation, and no filter.


10G with live plants and a Whisper 5-15 filter for circulation.

[LandGhoti]

LWB, I love that second pic! "Mirror mirror on the wall..."

[theotheragentm]

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll get a small tank, small 50-watt heater, and the smallest filter I can find for circulation (figure it's easy enough to replace a cup out a day for clean water). Any suggestions as to how I can hide the heater? Can they be put under the substrate?

[severum mama]

I don't think so, at least not the kind that I normally think of. All the instruction booklets for the various brands of heaters that I have used specifically tell you not to do that. I believe that there are heating pads that go underneath reptile tanks, but I really don't know if that would work for fish. The best suggestion I have is to position the heater horizontally toward the bottom of the tank, and use decorations or plants to hide it. Java fern attached to driftwood works well for this. Also, if you have a solid black background on your tank, the heater cord will be less noticeable.

[courtnee]

I have mine in a 10gl tank with floating plants he is in heaven. You dont even notice the filter or the heater in the tank. The plants cover it. He makes bubble nests all the time so he is very happy in it.

[An t-iasg]

I have two 5.5 gallon betta tanks equipped with this filter (the DJ-50) and this heater (the 25-watt one).

I turned the filter's flow down to about medium and turned the nozzle toward the back tank wall. I took the carbon chamber out and put in some filter floss.

I used to have this sponge filter in the betta tanks. I used a gang valve to slow down the flow. I replaced it with the Duetto filter since the tanks are planted and I wanted to use some filter floss.

I used to have bettas in an Eclipse 3 gallon and a 5 gallon hex. I thought that the Eclipse filtration was too strong for a betta. I did try to modify the filter a bit on the hex tank to make it less forceful and I ended up with a little (thankfully!) puddle of water on the desk.

[courtnee]

My filter on the 10gl is a whisper 5-10gl filter i think it is. The betta use to swim to close to the intake and would get his fins sucked up, he has learned to stay away now. I keep the tank full enough where as the filter doesnt splash much but stirs the top water he likes to chase his food on the top current its cute.