Hi everyone,
Some of you may know me from the goldfish topics. I currently have a 5 gallon aquarium being used as a quarantine tank for little Elf, my pom pom goldfish.

Well, Elf has passed his quarantine with flying colours, so will soon be moving into the 30 gallon tank with Harlequin. I recently set up a 10 gallon tank as my quarantine/hospital tank for goldfish, so the five gallon is just waiting for a new inhabitant

I would like to get a betta for the five gallon tank. It is cycled with an AquaClear mini, and it has a heater. It is just bare bottom at the moment, with one live plant to keep Elf company.

If I were to get a betta, would the tank be suitable as is, or should I do some changes.

Also, what should I look for in a healthy betta when I pick one at the store.

Thanks everyone in advance for any help you can give me.

Hey,im planing to do the same thing
the betta that you will choise will be
very happy being in a plastic bag or contaner alone
isn't fun id say that your Aquarium is perfect

for a betta i don't think you need a heater
because there in a plastic bag at the petshop


I wonder how mutch they coast?

Hi,
I pretty well have to have a heater in all of my tanks, since we heat our house with wood, and the temperature in the house can fluctuate quite a bit.

I don't think they are expensive in local fish stores, probably around $5.00, but I haven't really checked out prices. I imagine, just like other fish, that you can get really top quality ones at much higher prices

I don't think they would coast any more then
11$ maby 7 $ the price maby changes with the
color lol, im better when it comes to goldfish

I think you're set up well just the way you are, especially if you prefer to run barebottom. Becaue betta fins are so delicate, you can't put most plastic plants in with them because they'll snag and tear them, but silk plants are fine ^_^. I like having small live plants in the tank so that the betta can nibble on them if he so chooses. With a five gallon, you can choose to keep one male or two or three females if they're of a nonagressive nature. Sometimes even the girls can be bullies, so you'll need to watch their behavior to make sure they all get along. If you decide to go with girls then you also need to make sure that they are girls, because boys with short fins are sometimes mislabled. The surest way is to check your suspected girl for a little white spot on her tummy. If she has one, then you're safe and she's a lady ^^.

But yes, I think you have a great setup for a betta as is. I'd definately go for it, as soon as you find one who appeals to you ^_^.

I just finished setting up my 5 gal for a betta
im getting im so happy i can't wait do you guys
think i should get 2?

hi there! i just got my bettas a little while ago, and had a steep learning curve(!). firstly - your 5gal is perfect for a betta, or maybe even 2 (WITH a divider!!!!). NEVER put 2 males, or one male and one female together, despite what the pet store may tell you (mutter mutter........), as one or both will end up dead . you'll need the heater, cos they're tropical, so that's fine. i think 78-80 is the temp most keep their tanks at. umm..........a healthy betta should have fins with no tears in them, he or she should be actively swimming about the tank, maybe even flaring at other fish (blowing gills out and making fins stand up - very beautiful!). you might think of getting another plant or something - they like places to hide and swim around, or at least mine do anyway food wise they like WORMS! bloodworms are good, and mine eat daphnia paste too. oh, and betta biogold pellets. and my bettas (ice-man and 'the evil fish from22'...she killed my first male ) love peas too, although i don't know if peas are especially god for them. they just looked so interested when i was giving my GF peas that i couldn't resist and put a tiny bit in - they wolfed it down! umm...any fin tears can be treated with melafix, and fungus etc can be treated in the same way as GF. some good sites are:

www.bettatalk.com and www.bettastarz.com

I've read that peas are good for keeping bettas "regular" too, just like goldfish. Probably shouldn't be quite as big a part of their diet, though, since they are carnivores. Mine love them too, but I haven't found a food yet that mine wont eat!

Black oranda, my bettas cost $2.99 each... one was from a PetSmart, and he's a really nice "crowntail" (probably a mix of crowntail and normal veiltail) and the other is a short-finned split-tail from a lfs.

I hadn't realized that there were different types of bettas. I looked at some of the websites devoted to bettas, and my goodness, there are some beauties.

I think I will start with a lfs fish. It will be hard to chose, though. I will want to break each and every one out of those little cups.

Im going to have to do
research on bettas im planing to buy one tommorow