Best deal for a tank for a kid?

[TangoTank]

My 8 yo DD wants a tank of her own... She fell in love w/ tiny lil female Bettas. I told her we must get a 5 gal or more & must have a light for plants. I already have an air pump & a box filter. I'll give her some seeded media from my tank. What's out there that's the best bang for your buck??

We searched all the thrift stores, nothing on Craigslist right now & she's kinda anxious. Walmart has some "deals" on 5 & 10 gal kits--I just wonder though, the least expensive isn't always the best "deal." Thanks for any advice of tips you might have!!

 

[FishontheRock]

Any kit is only going to have enough light for low light plants. My suggestion is look for a bare tank and get your light hood separately if you want good plant lights, particularly as you already have some filtration. Also, try yard sales I've had some success in that vein.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

I'm definitely no expert and am pretty new to the fish hobby world, but I remember people saying or reading in articles that 10 gallons are the perfect size for a beta, it gives them plenty of room and doesnt cramp them in some small bowl/tank. If I remember correctly I think I've already where people keep betas in 10 gallons and even have a few shrimp in the tank as well, and sometimes betas are ok as a community fish, I remember reading an article about having a beta as part of a community, but I don't have a link for it :/ it just all depends on the personality of the beta, you would of course have to have a very calm fish with the beta and one that doesn't nip at other fish with long fins.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Any kit is only going to have enough light for low light plants. My suggestion is look for a bare tank and get your light hood separately if you want good plant lights, particularly as you already have some filtration. Also, try yard sales I've had some success in that vein.

+1 to that my 3 year old has a ten gallon betta, shrimp tank he is learning off of

 

[TangoTank]

Great, Thks guys! Yeah, she wants females which are pretty good community fish (I think). We already have a male we're about to try in our community tank but she doesn't want him in her room, she is really fascinated by the tiny females. She also REALLY wants a snail even though I tell her, no you don't!! Ha ha... Maybe she might like a few shrimp.

Yeah, my gut is to buy a plain 10 or 20 gal & a separate lid. I was thinking of going MUCH bigger down in our common area of the house & giving her my 15 gal column but Hubby doesn't wanna. Boo...

I'm gonna try to hold her off, find the perfect deal. We'll try yard-saling. I keep telling her good things come to those who wait!

 

[Mrs.h2012]

And keep an eye on Craigslist too, I see awesome deals for tanks in my area, just wish I had the money to get the size tanks I want!

 

[FlyAnglerFishKeeper]

I've seen some pretty decent deals on Craigslist too - but I'm always afraid I'll get them home and they'll leak after a few hours.

Some of the only good things about the big chain pet stores are their package deals on tanks. You might research the prices there - usually they'll show what they have in the stores, online.

 

[Alyxx]

For multiple females I would recommend a 20 gallon tank and at least five females. This gives them room to have their own territories and enough individuals to spread out aggression. Females are still territorial and aggressive. I had a sorority tank for a little while, but they eventually tore each other to pieces and I lost every last one of them over about a week.

 

[TangoTank]

Well, we bought a 29 gal & I gave my DD the 15 gal in her room. We bought 2 females Bettas today, we're gonna see how it goes. They're gonna be in there w/other fish. Gonna reevaluate after we see how they react.

 

[LyndaB]

Yeah, she wants females which are pretty good community fish (I think).

Female bettas (and male) are most often horrible community fish.

You should not have more than a single female betta for her. It takes some serious fishkeeping skills to successfully maintain a betta sorority. I especially would not want your young daughter to get involved in this as it sometimes involves violent deaths.

 

[TangoTank]

So far so good. They are smaller than the Corys & not much bigger than the Neon Tetras. The Bettas are not interested in each other & the Corys freak the Bettas out. I have another tank I can move the community fish to & put a divider in this tank if there's a prob.

 

[tamtam]

back up plans are always a good idea! Never hurts to be prepared. Maybe you will be lucky and everything will be good though.

 

[Alyxx]

You shouldn't have to worry too much until they start maturing. But having a backup plan is a must when you have more than one betta.

 

[TangoTank]

UPDATE: our two gals are doing great in the 15 gal column. Not aggressive towards each other AT ALL-- we've had them almost a year now! We also have two Oto Cats & plants in there too!