Aquarium Selection

[Leigh]

ABM provided the motivation for me to go out and find a new brother for Kaluha. I have spent over an hour with my eyes glazed over trying to absorb all of the different option. Any opinions on what would be best?

* Glass vs. Acrylic?
* Under gravel filter or Top Filter? (I thought I read that the underground ones were too strong for Bettas)
* Keep them in two tanks or one with a divider?
* Buy in a kit or individual components?

I was leaning towards a 10 gallon (too small?) rectangular glass Top FIn with a Whisper 10 filter, heater, light hood.

The one thing that I do know is that if I had more experience, I would have taken every one of the Bettas in the store and brought them home. They all looked sick, had blue (?) water, and were very lethargic. Most of their color was muted and they were living in a middle shelf in front of the door. The Fish Department person tried to be nice; however, she pulled me aside and gave me the name of another store to buy a Betta from. She knows and can't do anything. It is so sad. It wasn't like that at all a few months ago.

[Jenny]

Glass vs Acrylic:
There are benefits to both. Glass is better in that it won't by scratched by moving gravel around in it, and also it won't absorb chemicals as much. This means that if you get an infectious disease you can bleach the tank and once rinsed REALLY well, there shouldn't be a danger of bleach leeching into the water. Acrylic is lighter, so easier to move around and clean, and I think it is also a fair bit cheaper.

Filters: not really sure about - don't use any in my betta tanks but they are necessary if you want to cycle the tank.

Same tank:
Again it is really up to you here. If you keep them in the same tank, then you only have one to clean, which is nice. However, there is a chance that if one gets an infectious disease it will spread to the other one.

Kit or components: Also no idea. My best suggestion would be to price it out. Also check online. You might be able to find them there for cheaper than a local petstore.

10 gallon: It sounds plenty big for either one betta or both of them.

The blue water in the store was probably bettamax, something that is used to reduce stress from shipping and as a general betta tonic.

[Emerson]

Leigh said:

* Glass vs. Acrylic?
* Under gravel filter or Top Filter? (I thought I read that the underground ones were too strong for Bettas)
* Keep them in two tanks or one with a divider?
* Buy in a kit or individual components?

Hi,
I agree w/ Jenny, there are advantages and disadvantages to both, but I personally tend to lean toward acrylic for the following reasons:

- Acrylic is generally (but not always) cheaper
- Easier to move (empty; never move a full tank)
- Stronger, will not shatter, and is generally not prone to leaks or cracks, although I had a defective acrylic tank that did crack. That's a little unusual.
- Seams are invisible, making it more visually attractive

All of my tanks are acrylic. My favorites are the 2.5 gallon Mini-Bow tanks, and if I ever have the opportunity, I would like to invest in a 5 gallon Mini-Bow. They come in kits w/ a Whisper filter, light, and base, and are not all that expensive. I have been very impressed with AllGlass (manufacturer of MiniBow) customer service, too.

Some of Mini-Bow's 2.5 gallon tanks also come with a Betta divider, but I'm not sure if the 5 gallons do -- I'm betting they do.

The 5 gallon could be cycled easily; I had some difficulties with cycling the 2.5, but you could do 100% weekly water changes on it if you decided to go that route. If you get 2.5 gallons, then I'd definitely house a single Betta in each. With the divider, the space gets a little too tight.

Let us know what you decide!

sef

[mickey85]

I had 3 boys in a 10 gallon aquarium and it worked out fine. I used a UGF for that, though, because I didn't want the guy in the middle getting all the flow, but then I ended up with a problem of scum forming in the middle section, so I put an airstone in the back at the top to agitate the water a bit. Overall, it worked fine, I got a glass one (we had it) but you can get bare tanks for 10 bucks at wally world and an incandescent top with a lid for like another 10, gravel will be 10 or so, and the dividers are 7.50 each I think. All in all, a pretty good setup.

[Leigh]

Thanks everyone. I plan to surf the net this evening and see what I can find. I did see the mini-bow and liked it; however, I never saw a 5 gallon. If that comes with a divider that sounds ideal. If not, I found a kit with a glass tank that comes with an adjustable heater and everything one would want to start up an aquarium.

I have an acrylic one now and it does look good. You gave me lots to think about.

[spiff]

Every MiniBow 5 I've seen does not have a divider...only the 2.5 gallon ones do. I've also seen 7 gallon MiniBows, also without dividers.

All of my bettas are in 10 gallon glass aquariums. The first one has 3 bettas and it cost me $25 for the tank and hood, $15 for a filter, $15 for a heater, $8 for light bulbs, plus gravel, decorations, dividers, etc. My other tank was $50 and came with a heater, filter, hood, and light bulbs. I don't use the filter but it was a much better deal over all (it's the Top Fin 10 gallon kit at PetsMart, if you are interested).

In the 10 gallon with a filter, I have 3 bettas (2m/1f) and 3 zebra danios (in with the female, but they are able to squeeze pass the divider and into one of the other sides). The female has the filter because it was too strong for the males. There is plenty of room for all of them, with Monica getting a little more room because of the filter. My other 10 gallon just has 2 bettas and there is more than enough room for them (about 5 gallons each). I have not put the filter in yet, but I might soon because I am thinking about getting danios for the boys but I want to make sure one of them can stand the filter before I do that.

The drawback to this setup, like someone else mentioned, is that if one gets sick, they will all most likely be sick. Clay got fin rot and Chandler ended up getting it from him too. Other than that I have not had any problems, aside from me cutting the divider too small and everyone figuring out how to get to the other side.

If you just want a smaller tank, Marlin's original tank was a TopFin one gallon one. It came with a light and an underground filter (but I just threw that away). He seemed to like that tank a lot.

[Leigh]

The 10 gallon kit was in Petsmart. They had two almost identical kits (with a not so identical price ;D). One (in very small print) stated that it was their "goldfish" kit. The only difference seemed to be that their wasn't a heater with the goldfish kit. I was looking at the one with the heater.

Looks like another trip back to the pet store to stare at more tanks tomorrow ;D

[abm]

Leigh,
You have had some great, thoughtful responses to this topic tonight My personal feeling is that right now I cannot have anything larger than the 2-3 gallon tanks I've got, and since dividing those and making the bettas share would be mean I plan to keep my guys separate for now. I am also completely paranoid about the spreading of disease, but I do hope someday to get enough knowledge and enough bravery to start a larger tank of bettas and maybe other fish (did I really just say that??? ;D)
Also, I agree with sef about acrylic tanks, at least for smaller sizes. They are very easy to clean and move with very few breakage worries. I'm not familiar with the larger Mini-bows, but I do think it's funny that these acrylic tanks are made by a company called AllGlass ;D

Happy shopping!

[Leigh]

ABM: You are so right! The great advice from this forum has helped more than I can say.

I really want to provide Kaluha with more swimming room. At the present time, his tank is more vertical than horizontal (the hex tank). Adding a new fish just makes it more practical to buy a new set-up.

My Mother loves Kaluha and she is thrilled that I have offered her my old tank once I have the new one ready to go. She can't wait to be a Betta Mom

[abm]

How neat to be able to share your love for bettas with your mom! Let me know what kind of tank you end up with - I am already plotting and planning how I can rearrange my tanks once all my heaters are no longer backordered and I can put the fish somewhere else besides my bedroom I am ready for spring!!!

Are you shopping online or locally for your tank? I am an "instant gratification" person so I usually research purchases online and then find a local store to buy it at (at which to buy it? my english teacher groans) so I can (a) have it NOW, and (b) support a local business. At least, that's my rationalized thought process

[Leigh]

I understand the instant gratification issue. I do the same thing. I research and almost always buy it locally. Right now I am leaning towards the Top Fin 10 gallon tank with a heater and hood. It seems to be large enough to allow them to each have their own space and yet have a "friend" nearby.

I will take one more look and then probably bring it home with me ;D

I have emailed two breeders about their Bettas and I am waiting for their responses. While I would like to pick out my own new little guy, I just do not feel comfortable buying from the only store that has them in this area. One day I hope to be as skilled as all of the members of this board are in curing poor sick little Bettas from these stores; however, I am just not there yet.

On the heater issue, have you tried Walmart? I found mine there. I think the one I bought was for 2-5 gallon tanks.

[abm]

I got one heater, their last mini, at Walmart. I've ordered 3 more from DrsFosterSmith.com, but they were backordered - should have been here last week per their email notification but nothing yet. I got one at the Fish Store today, but of course I'm afraid to start it up at bedtime so it'll be tomorrow before I start playing with it.

What store are you shopping at for fish? And if you are willing to make the pilgrimage to Buckhead, before you order online you might want to give Fish Store a look. They are closed on Tuesdays (per their website and also BettaRic) to get their deliveries settled in.

Let me know your progress!

[Emerson]

ABM,
What type of heater did you order? If it's the Hagen 25-watt submersible, I know where you can get it cheap and relatively fast.

sef

[abm]

I think so...definitely mini, definitely submersible, not sure about the Hagen
Anyway, WHERE???

[spiff]

Leigh said:

The 10 gallon kit was in Petsmart. They had two almost identical kits (with a not so identical price ;D). One (in very small print) stated that it was their "goldfish" kit. The only difference seemed to be that their wasn't a heater with the goldfish kit. I was looking at the one with the heater.

Yep, that's the one I bought I was going to get the goldfish kit, but for $10 more I figured I might as well just get the heater with it. I bought one last week, and another one on Friday for my guppy fry (and it must feel like an ocean to them because they were in a 2 gallon before this!) I definitely recommend them, as long as you don't have any problems buying from the chain stores.