New 5 gal tank for betta need advice

[jleigh726]

Hi all,
I am totally new to fish and aquariums and need advice on how to do this properly. I have done research and have gotten so many conflicting things that I feel I'm back to square one. I don't like the idea of "winging it" with a fish soul so I want to provide the best environment from the beginning. Here's what I have so far:
5 gallon marineland tank with a filter
black gravel
2 silk plants
1 driftwood like (fake) decoration
thermometer
heater (coming tomorrow--Hydro 25 w)
testing kit for Ph, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates
Omega one pellets and Omega one freeze-dried bloodworms
I have filled the tank with 1/2 tap water (treated for chlorine) and 1/2 distilled water because the blend had the ph at 7. However, the ph is now 7.6

I need to know what else I need to do before introducing the betta to the tank? I had read that a 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt was good but the IFS said no, not to do that. Furthermore, I am struggling with where to purchase him from. The IFS will have some exotic varieties in 2 weeks but I don't necessarily care if I have the most "exotic" kind. I like the idea of "rescuing" one from Petco as they all seem so sad in their little cups but my husband is in favor of getting one from the IFS because he thinks they will be of "better, more healthy" stock.

Also, I keep reading about cycling, do I need to do that before I get the betta?

Any advice is very welcome and please don't hold back on everything because I am very new and will not be offended if you assume I know nothing. Thanks again!!

 

[Mebbid]

Betta: Genetically speaking, the bettas from Petco will be healthier. The fancier a fish gets the more inbred they are and this leads to a lot of problems with the fish. However, the fancier ones will cost a bit more and will be taken care of better. So for short term health I would put my money on the fancy ones. Long term health I would put my money on the petco ones. Either one could very well live to their full life span, but I found the fancy ones (such as the one in my avatar) are a bit more susceptible to getting sick.

Water: Just use straight tap water. There's no need to mix it to drop the pH as the fish will do just fine with plain tap water.

Salt: Some people use it, some people don't. It usually develops into a heated debate here. As for me, I say skip it. Clean water will do more to help a fish than added salt ever will. So if you're concerned about your betta's health just do more water changes.

Cycling: There are 2 ways to cycle a tank and both can take up to 2 months. Fishless cycling tends to happen faster, typically a month or less. Take a look at these links.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

There are naysayers to fish in cycling but either method is fine to do. Just be expecting to do a little more work with fish in cycling as it will need ammonia / nitrite tests every other day or so.