betta tank suggestions

[ClamKnuckle]

My sister in law is looking for a smaller tank to house a betta and maybe one or two compatible fish.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3857&ref=3055&subref=AB&N=2004+2020

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7365&ref=3055&subref=AB&N=2004+2020

Would tanks like these be good or is there something else that would fit her needs better. She really can't get anything over 10 gal (even that is pushing it) and I was figuring these systems might be right for her, but have never owned one myself.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated too!

 

[TankGirl]

Those are wonderful for bettas. They are nice and neat and tidy, with the filter and light all in the hood, and she'll just need some gravel, a heater and some silk plants, or some low-light plants like java fern/java moss or crypts.

I don't like to see bettas in anything smaller than a 5gal, and the system 6 is a better choice if it was up to me.

She could consider snails or large shrimp, or even a trio of pygmy cory cats to complement the betta.

 

[An t-iasg]

I agree with TankGirl. These are very good betta systems. Just add gravel and decorations, and a 25-watt heater. Bettas are very temperature-sensitive, and an unheated aquarium varies in temperature too much from day to night for a betta.

I have a betta in a regular 5.5 gallon tank, and I'm setting up an Eclipse Hex 5 for another betta. For the 6 gallon Eclipse, if the current is too much for a betta, I've heard to put some new, unwashed pantyhose over the filter return. I'll have to see how my hex tank's flow is. I did have a betta in an Eclipse 3 tank, and although the bio-wheel is a good filter, that was too much current for a betta. But in a bigger tank, like the 6 gallon Eclipse that you are considering, the current may not be a factor.

For the other tank, the Mini-Bow 5 gallon, it comes with a Whisper filter. I have a Mini-Bow 2.5 gallon aquarium, with a Whisper filter, for a betta QT tank. The filter can be adjusted for minimum flow, and although I have to unplug the filter briefly for feeding (or the food gets carried by the current), the betta doesn't get "blown" around and seemed to enjoy his few weeks in there.

My vote would be the Eclipse 6 also, especially if you want to add a some cories like TankGirl said. If you were going with a betta only, I would say the Mini-bow is fine. I think the Eclipse filter is going to be a little better for the betta and some tankmates. The 6 gallon capacity of the Eclipse will be fine for the betta and the cories.

If you get ghost shrimp, make sure they are shrimp and not prawns (prawns have claws). Bettas may or may not eat ghost shrimp.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Great options! I was praying that those links wouldn't send me to a picture of a little glass bowl.

 

[An t-iasg]

Great options! I was praying that those links wouldn't send me to a picture of a little glass bowl.

Actually, I was thinking that too, but TankGirl's response made me feel better!

 

[ClamKnuckle]

Thanks for the help everyone

I was praying that those links wouldn't send me to a picture of a little glass bowl.

Unfortunately, that's what she has been trying to keep a betta in. I saw it and told her we need to get another tank. The next day, when the fish was dead, she decided I might be right. Hopefully she will have a lot more success this time.

 

[ClamKnuckle]

I was reading in another post when trying to find betta tank iformation that people don't cycle smaller tanks? Is this accurate?

 

[TankGirl]

Most people don't really "cycle" a tank with one fish in it per se, and if you get a 5gal and put some plants in it with the betta I'll bet you won't see a true cycle. I think what people are referring to are the betta bowls or the filterless containers that people keep bettas in, where you change out the water completely anyway, so you don't really cycle it.

I had forgotten about the issue with the current, and I now recall there have been several threads about the current on Eclipse systems needing to be modified in some way, by using a sponge over the intake, or a piece of pantyhose, like An t-iasg suggested.

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm glad you're going with one of these tanks. Probably 90% of the sick betta questions I help answer are because the betta is kept in an unheated, unfiltered, small bowl.

Like TankGirl said, small bowls should be changed out completely, so no cycle takes place. I don't really know if a cycle could take place in a small bowl like that. Without a filter circulating water around some biomedia, I don't know how much of a cycle could take place.