Thinking about giving my Betta his own home, looking for advice

[MartinBlank]

I currently have a 10 gallon with a betta and some cardinals in there. I have been thinking about move the betta out. He chases the cardinals, and every once in a while I think he catches one (started out with 7, now down to the 4 largest). Water parameters are good and the fish don't appear to be sick before I find them... my guess is Blueberry (the betta) is chomping them...

Plus the Cardinals spend a lot of time hiding and always appear wary.... I may be fooling myself (or making excuses to buy another tank.. take your pick) but I think I would like to move the Betta to his own home (don't tell my wife please )

The only other option would be my 75 gallon community... but it has some pretty strong flow so don't think the betta is a good fit (but it is something I consider).

I think in the end I would like to get him his own home. So what do you recommend for a betta tank? 2.5 gallons enough? I know 5 would be better. Looking for an all-in-one preferably... (I would add a mini-heater)... basically as compact and nice looking as possible...

Thanks all!

 

[iDream]

fluval chi, im sure some will say its a poor and expensive option, but i like it for my girlfriend's betta, 5G with built in filter, and its nice and decorative too

Fluval Chi Aquarium- 5 Gallon - Fish - PetSmart

though hers evaporates A BUNCH, im still jealous =]

 

[BigJim]

If you like the Chi, I'd recommend going with the Fluval Edge. It's a bit bigger and I know it's got a good filter. I believe it uses either the AC20 or AC30. I wouldn't put a betta in a 5g anymore. I've found they do a lot better in a bigger tank.

What kind of fish do you have in your 75g? I keep bettas in my 29g with an AC70 filter. It took about a week for the fish to get used to the flow, but they do well.

 

[MartinBlank]

Right now it is home to Glowlight Tetras and Cherry Barbs.

Going to be adding some Cory Cats and some Platys.. also thinking about adding some Guppies.. which woudn't mix with the betta I know...

I currently have two Aquaclear 110's on it and they put out some crazy flow... even when I have them set to the lowest flow setting

 

[BigJim]

If there's sufficient cover in the tank, I'd put the betta in the 75g.

By the way, the best way to get the wife to agree to another tank is to get her hooked on a certain fish that won't do well in your current tank. I've got three tanks set up now because my wife wanted guppies, then cories, then to breed praecox rainbows.

 

[MartinBlank]

Hmmmm. An interesting idea... makes me a bit nervous. I would be worried that either he would get creamed by the flow, get nipped by either the Barbs or the Tetras (some of the glowlights would be almost as big as he is) or he would catch some fish (be it something that is in there now... or something that I plan on adding later i.e. the guppies).

Hmmm... I guess worst case we move him back to the 10 gallon and I am no worse off than before... sooo many decisions

 

[BigJim]

If you turn down the flow all the way on the AC110s, it's about the same turnover rate as the AC70 on my 29g.

I have five cherry barbs in with three bettas, a male and two females, with no nipping. I also have five-band barbs in the same tank. Those two barbs are pretty docile, cherries especially. As for the betta chasing other fish, each betta is different. I've never had problems, but I've heard from several others about killer bettas. "Out of sight, out of mind" applies in aquariums. Provide cover to break up sight lines and make hiding spots for the fish.

 

[MartinBlank]

Hmmm. Something to think about... In the 10 gallon he is usually up near the top of the water line... in the 75 that is where the flow is lightest, and also the other fish tend to stay in the middle of the tank....

I will talk to the wife and kids about it tonight

 

[bluerose]

Another thing to think about is that bettas are pretty friendly-- if he's in a tank by himself, he might be much more interactive. Kids might appreciate that.

I have a Marineland 5gal-- nice little tank, happy fishies.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

I had my betta with cherries before and they never bothered him. Just so long as the male/female ratio is good then you'll be fine (just an option)

 

[MartinBlank]

I will talk to the kids about it tonight. It is "their" fish (so to speak)...

I love my cherry barbs.. and right now I have 3 males and 4 females... not optimal I know... I would like to get few more females to add. Hoping to add 1 more male and 4 or 5 more females...

Thanks a lot for all the advice as always everybody!

 

[MartinBlank]

The plan:

Move the Cardinals to the 75 gallon (and get more of them).

Downsize the 10g to a 5g for the Betta (my wife's idea). She doesn't like the Edge so we'll probably look at the 5g hex from Marineland or something similar.

Thanks as always for the advice!