What's the best setup for a one gallon tank?

[saa5886]

I got a betta fish and had introduced him into my community tank. Well, my male black molly wasn't too thrilled and started nipping at his fins, so I decided to separate him with one of those little clear breeder things for now.

I have a one gallon tank I got from walmart. It's one of those little corner ones, that came with the light, UGF, and a bubble stone. Very basic. For now I have 6 molly fry in that, but here's my plan...

Get some kind of aquarium separator for my community tank and keep the fry in the separate part in my community tank, and move the betta into the one gallon...

I just need to know where to get a tiny tiny heater, and a tiny tiny filter for that one gallon before I move him. I know they dont like a very strong stream, so any recommendations would be great!
Oh, also, I know bettas have very fragile fins that can rip easily, so do you think I could possibly use sand in his one gallon tank and maybe a couple of softer plants?

 

[JohnPaul]

IMO, a 1 gal tank is too small for a betta. He's barely going to have room swim around. Can't you get him something that will be at least 5 gal? I don't think it's even really possible to dependably filter a 1g container--you'd almost have to use a sponge filter, but that is going to take up so much room that the net effect is your poor betta will have even less than 1g to actually swim around in.

Honestly, I think keeping the betta in the community tank, even with a little fin nipping, is more humane than trying to keep a betta in less than 1g of water. Just my $0.02.

 

[HN1]

I have to agree. They need 3-5G minimum IMO.

 

[mgamer20o0]

shrimp is the best bet for a 1 gallon.

 

[saa5886]

Well heres an update on this whole shebang...
Went to the store, got all supplies, and set it up only to see that the little separator I got isnt worth a crap (it was the only one I could find in all three pet stores I went to, so I had no choice)...The fry just swam right around it lol
So I decided to put the fry back in the 1gallon and put the betta in the separated part, which is approximately 4 gallons. Funny thing is... he seems to hate being in his new big space... but preferred the tiny breeder net he was in before! whatever...

 

[Jason7894561230]

Lol fish have different personalities cant predict them!
But yeah keep the fry in there then get another tank for the betta and put shrimp in the 1 gal they are like so fun to watch!

 

[saa5886]

eh... i have three shrimp in my community tank... they enjoy it in there... plenty to munch on at the bottom... they are a lot of fun to watch and even seem to be fairly intelligent...
As for the betta, he'll just have to get used to his new big space... lol

 

[Jason7894561230]

Yeah lol what kind of shrimp?

 

[saa5886]

just those ghost shrimp....three large ones....theyre pretty entertaining but, not enough to get them their own tank. I really wanted the betta over here in his separate tank because he's red, and my desk and everything is red. He wouldve matched perfectly! hahaha
Oh well, he'll do fine in his little partition...

 

[DragonFish71]

Ghost shrimp can be fun to watch, especially if you have a huge colony of them. When we still had our bettas we had ghosts in with them. The bettas would actually back off and swim away from the ghosts at feeding time. Or, sometimes we'd see the ghosts snatch the food the bettas were going after, from right in front of them.

 

[JohnPaul]

just those ghost shrimp....three large ones....theyre pretty entertaining but, not enough to get them their own tank. I really wanted the betta over here in his separate tank because he's red, and my desk and everything is red. He wouldve matched perfectly! hahaha
Oh well, he'll do fine in his little partition...

How about a nice colony of Red Cherry Shrimp in that tank on the desk? They are as easy to care for as ghost shrimp (and far, far easier to breed) and are extremely easy to find--many local pet stores will have them in stock from time to time, or else there are tons of places to get them online. One can easily find them for around $1 each from breeders on Aquabid or from any number of online stores.

 

[saa5886]

All great ideas, but right now I'm just keeping my betta (which I have decided to name MasterBetta) in his partition in the community tank. He seems to be getting used to it.
Oh, and, I just got a fantastic job, so I'll more than likely be investing in a bigger tank in the future months. Have to look for an apartment first though
When I do that, I'll probably have the big aquarium in the living room, my current 20gallon in the bedroom, and my 1 gallon on my desk.

Red Cherry Shrimp, I'll look into those. For sure..