1.5 gallon little mermaid tank for daughter

[isu712]

I got a tank a lot like this as a gift for my girlfriend a little over a year ago (it wasn't a Little Mermaid tank, but it was the same set-up). She has had the same betta living in it ever since. The betta seems very happy. I've never noticed an ammonia burn and he has nice, long fins. He also starts to wiggle around (a happy wiggle, not a stressed wiggle) when you walk up to the tank to look at him. She isn't an experienced fish keeper and I know that she isn't as diligent on her water changes as she should be, but the betta is doing great regardless. Your daughter should be very happy with her X-mas gift.

 

[fijiwigi]

Thanks isu712 that makes me feel a little better.
Just talked with my mother and she reminded me of a time my sister did not feed her betta or change the water for 1 month and it was still swimming around somehow after a month of neglect. tough fish.
I plan to let my daughter scoop out 1 cup of water every night and replace with new and feed him right before bedtime. Maybe it will teach her about resposibility a little even though she is only 3 years old.

 

[black hills tj]

Thanks isu712 that makes me feel a little better.
Just talked with my mother and she reminded me of a time my sister did not feed her betta or change the water for 1 month and it was still swimming around somehow after a month of neglect. tough fish.
I plan to let my daughter scoop out 1 cup of water every night and replace with new and feed him right before bedtime. Maybe it will teach her about resposibility a little even though she is only 3 years old.

Sounds like a plan. Like others have said, keep up on maintenance, and it will do well.

*patiently awaits pics*

 

[bra_van_drakh]

i dont know bout u guys in the US, but even my LFS here in jakarta put bettas in a plastic 1.5'litre' - not gallon - drinking water bottle. . .i know it's cruel but it seemed that they're doing just fine in there. ..

bettas r very2 tough, and if u dont really2 need to worry too much about maintaining it.. .at my LFS, the do a 75% PWC twice a week, i think less than twice. . .and their colour and behaviour shows that they're happy in that bottle. ..

if u'r talking about goldfish in that 1.5gal, then i'd disagree with it too, they're too needy, and does poop a lot. . ..

 

[plecoperson]

Let's see. There's a betta at work in a 1 gallon bowl. It sits at the top of the water. All day.

I've had them in a 5 gallon-they swam up and down the sides, pecked at plants and were about 100% more active and "happy" appearing.

In my 75 they are a different fish altogether; they swim the length of the tank, interact with the other fish, check out the decor and are one of the most interesting fish to watch in the tank.

While a betta might survive in a tiny tank, they don't thrive. I'm not saying they require a 75 gallon tank, obviously.

I think your daughter would understand why she got a less-pink, less-cute tank in order to make her pet as happy as it can be. This seems like a better lesson than "if it dies it was cheap, so who cares", I think. Teach her respect for other living things rather than not to cry when a pet dies.

 

[fijiwigi]

my daughter has plenty of respect for living things. And I am not trying to teach her not to cry when a pet dies. Personally I think this is being taking way to seriously. fish are for enjoyment whether it is watching them sit in a glass bowl for a year or if you want to eat them for dinner. So if I can enjoy watching a shark in my bathtub for a day and sharks were not an endangered species I would probably do it. There are 40 betta's just suffering at wal-mart begging for a 1.5 gallon tank. Do you have respect for the cow you had for dinner(more feelings than a fish) Or are you a vegetarian? Its all in how you look at. The frustration should be taken out on the manufacturer of the people who produced the little-mermaid tank so damn cute that my wife and I could not resist.
Even Drfosters & Smith one of the most trusted supplyers is marketing it on their site. As long as I keep up the maintenance I don't see the problem.

 

[black hills tj]

I was at my local wal-mart and they had a purple minibow 5 for 35 bucks *shrug*

I'm trying to figure out why you are getting so defensive so quickly. We are just trying to help you out here. A few of us are suggesting tips regarding the filtration of the tank. While others are simply informing you that bettas are much more enjoyable fish to watch when they are in a larger tank.

On another note, I do agree with whoever(plecoperson i think) mentioned that the idea of "if it dies, it was cheap and we'll replace it) is a poor attitude to have. Especially regarding fish. Just my opinion though.



Not sure if I mentioned earlier, but I have a betta in my 20g tank and he cruises around the tank with all the other inhabitants(4 striata loaches, 1 male german blue ram, 3 rummynose tetras, and 3 otocinclus cats). He began to nip at everyone so I threw him in a large vase I had laying around for a couple days. He never moved, just sat there until i walked up and he wiggled waiting for food. I threw him back in the 20g, and he chilled out quite a bit and was fun to watch again. Hopefully he's getting a Eclipse 5 setup for x-mas

 

[fijiwigi]

I apologize if I came across frustrated. I think it was the part about how to teach my daughter that got underneath my skin. And regarding the Poor attitude about if it dies I will replace it. I do not agree that was poor attitude. Just the reality that I will try my best to care for a fish. If it dies I will learn from my mistakes buy another and try again. I am passionate about fish keeping. I am turning into quite the fish geek

 

[black hills tj]

No worries mate. Still waiting for pics thuogh

 

[fijiwigi]

wont have it set up until after x-mas and after it cycles. That leads me to a question how would I go about cycling a tank so small?? any ideas. Maybe some of that bacteria booster they sell? (maybe a dead betta lol Just kidding I know not funny)

 

[black hills tj]

You could cycle it with just pure ammonia that you can get at the hardware store. Are you going to cycle it, and then show her on Christmas and let her pick a fish out right away?

 

[fijiwigi]

going to let her open it and get excited then probably get a fish maybe a week later. I have never heard of using pure ammonia. I would assume just a teaspoon full would do the trick.

 

[black hills tj]

Fishless cycle using ammonia could take several weeks to be honest. The more I think of it, with just a betta in there...you could probably just use distilled water or tap water dosed with a few drops of Seachem Prime and be fine.

 

[fijiwigi]

3 questions.

They sell betta water at the lfs is this another marketing gimmic.

If I used the RO/DI water I use for salt water wouldn't the water be too pure and missing the essential minerals needed for the betta to survive?

Also I usually have used Aquasafe to dechlorinate the water. Is Seachem Prime pretty much the same thing as Aquasafe?

 

[black hills tj]

Seachem Prime is just another dechlorinator. It is what I use on my 3 tanks. Seems to be preferred here on AA.

Yes the betta water(from my knowledge) is a gimmick

no clue regarding RO/DI

 

[theotheragentm]

Prime is just a brand name, which is more concentrated so bang for the buck is better. Four drops should take care of the full 1.5 gallons.

Test your tap water after sitting out for 24 hours. As long as none of the parameters are way off, just use tap water.

Betta water is brilliant marketing, but a gimmick for sure.

 

[Sectoid Command]

I have read that many betta keepers find it hard to cycle tanks smaller than 5 gallons...and some can do it with a 2.5. I have no personal experience with this and I don't know why this might be so. Maybe there's just not enough surface area. You could just through a shrimp in there and check to see if the ammonia hits 0 after a few weeks. If you can't cycle your tank then you'll just have to do frequent large water changes or use live plants but thats another can of worms.

RO/DI water is not so good because it takes out too much. Just use your tap water with dechloriator and you should be fine.

If I were you, I'd start cycling the tank now and hide it somewhere. That way when christmas comes around you'll atleast be done with the ammonia spike. Kids are more impatient than adults.

 

[isu712]

Isn't the whole purpose of cycling to set up a colony of bacteria that will decompose the NH3/NH4 and NO2? And isn't the main source of NH3/NH4, after the tank has been cycled, the fish themselves? And if you only have one fish, the betta, the NH3/NH4 wouldn't be at a very high concentration (just speculation, I could be wrong). So is cycling a tank that has such a small source of NH3/NH4 almost unnecessary, provided he sticks with his nightly water change of one cup? And even if you do successfully cycle it, how will the bacteria survive with such a small food source.

Just the thoughts of somebody who may not have as much experience as some people here, but wants to play devil's advocate anyway

 

[theotheragentm]

If you can cycle a tank it's better, but my experience leads me to believe that if you keep up with daily cup water changes on a smaller Betta tank, you can keep up with the bioload as the bacteria slowly colonizes.

 

[black hills tj]

If you can cycle a tank it's better, but my experience leads me to believe that if you keep up with daily cup water changes on a smaller Betta tank, you can keep up with the bioload as the bacteria slowly colonizes.

My thoughts exactly.

best of luck to the op.