BettaLove1 Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Hi there, Ever since I got my first little betta, I've been dying to get another (perhaps fancier) one. The first one has been doing pretty good so far and is a happy little guy so I like to think I'm doing pretty good. However, I've been reading on tank cycling and realised I didn't do that and probably should have before I got him from the sounds of things. I'll admit I should have read more before I got him... So being a newbie and learning from past possible mistakes: how would you guys recommend setting up a new betta tank? Probably 3.5gal or so (I don't have a lot of room here). Is there a "best way" to cycle a betta tank? Thanks for any advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 (edited) If you've got an existing cycled (disease-free) tank.. Pull out some filter material and tuck it into your new tank when you get your fishy in there. That brings the existing nitrogen fixing bacteria from the old tank to the new. This should either fully cycle or at least help you minimize spikes of nitrite. Just remember not to bring the stuff over to an empty tank for too long as bacteria need to feed on fishy wastes to survive too! edit: ooo. this assumes that your new 3.5gal and old one have filters! If not... then I'm not sure you can "cycle" them but maybe someone more experienced can chime in. Edited December 8, 2011 by geebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epiphany Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 If they're unfiltered you could use a small handful of the gravel from your established tank to bring the bacteria over. Just make sure the water in the new tank is treated before you do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaLove1 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks for your advice! The tank I have now is unfiltered; so I'll have to use the gravel method. I'm hoping to get a new (bigger) filtered tank for my current betta, and then the new one as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epiphany Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Having a filter would definitely be better than no filter. What kind of water change schedule do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaLove1 Posted December 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 I agree. The tank I have now for my betta was for my office, but I've since brought him home so I'd like to pamper him a bit more . I do 50% changes about twice a week. Sometimes I have to leave him for a little longer than I'd like because of, one, my schedule (sometimes I'm not home on his water change days), and, two, I have limited access to tap water - I live in the country so I have to get tap water from the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Pjs has a 2gal fluval spec on sale for $50. A tad small but filtered. You'll have to stuff some foam into the output nozzle to slow it down.... And cover up the giant hole in the lid. Otherwise... Betta bows come in 5gal sizes for cheap too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaLove1 Posted December 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Sounds like a trip to PJ's might be in order! What type of foam would work for that? Also, I wanted to ask about live plants for bettas. What types of plants do they like the best? And, are those plants difficult to maintain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 bettas enjoy plants with broad leaves that they can rest on. anubias fit the bill perfectly, and are an easy plant to care for in a low to moderate light setup with little to no fertilizers. other good plants for somebody just starting out would be java fern, vallisneria, amazon swords, crypts, and crinums. i've had really good experiences with all these plants under low to moderate lighting, in tanks ranging from 2.5 to 55 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) Sounds like a trip to PJ's might be in order! What type of foam would work for that? Any filter foam really... nothing too dense. I just have some black filter foam stuck in there. you only need a teensy bit. For the giant hole, I took a piece of overhead projector transparency, glued it (with crazyglue *shrug*) to the lid... trimmed it around the circle's edge so its nice and flush... then cut some slats in it for air exchange. Done with a hobby knife (fancy xacto knife). I'm trying to grow some anubias in that spec.. i'm not sure about the lighting in it. There aren't any fish in that tank yet so I think it's low on nutrients. My other tank with a single betta in it has a bunch of water wisteria which is supposed to grow anywhere... but it seems to be dying I'm very new to plants myself. I don't want to give any incorrect advice so I can't really help you out with plants but the plants bettafishmommy recommended are all great beginner plants. Edited December 12, 2011 by geebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted December 13, 2011 Report Share Posted December 13, 2011 bettas enjoy plants with broad leaves that they can rest on. anubias fit the bill perfectly, and are an easy plant to care for in a low to moderate light setup with little to no fertilizers. other good plants for somebody just starting out would be java fern, vallisneria, amazon swords, crypts, and crinums. i've had really good experiences with all these plants under low to moderate lighting, in tanks ranging from 2.5 to 55 gallons. I second the anubias. I like the look of them too. They do best with their roots exposed and not buried...like attached to driftwood. A sword would be nice, but the ones I've had quickly take over. Also some surface plants like maybe frogbit would be good, but not enough to block substantial amounts of light from your other plants. I'm not a big fan of most java ferns, but they are very easy to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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