Betta Tanks – Building a Betta Home

There is a lot more to your betta then you may think. Many people buy their Bettas from fish stores, they pick them out from a wall of small cups and take them home. Unfortunately this gives many people the impression that Bettas are ok to be kept in small jars, in fact the opposites is true.

Bettas need stimulation, they are much happier and will live longer lives if they are kept in a tank with clean water with low flow filtration, some plants to swim and sleep in and maybe some rocks or caves to hide in.

as most people know, male Bettas do need to be kept alone from other male Bettas. Female Bettas on the other hand can be kept together in a tank creating what is called a sorority.

Most betta collectors collect males as they are the most common and have a larger colour variation. Some like myself also enjoy collecting fancy females and housing them together in larger tanks.

Building Your Bettas Home

There are a few things you will need. We will go through all the items in more detail.

• 2-5 gallon tank with lid
• low flow filter
• water conditioner
• plants
• rocks or caves
• heater
• tank light
• food

 

Betta Tank 

One of the unquie features of a betta is that they have lungs. Because of this it has made it possible for pet stores to house them in small cups for display. Although they are able to live in those cups for long periods of time it does not mean they are happy or will remain healthy.

Whenever you set up a new tank there is a cycling process that usually takes a week or two. The more fish you have in the tank the longer it can take, and if you have too many fish the bio load in the tank can reach a toxic level and many fish die during this process.

To help combat this when setting up any new tank it is usually recommended you let the water cycle through the filter for at least a couple days before adding your fish. If you are planning on putting in real plants, having those in the tank during this time is helpful.

As mentioned Bettas have lungs and get their oxygen from above the water, they can live through the cycling process of a tank a lot better then other types of fish. Because of this you can put your betta in his tank after you have it set up, assuming you have taking appropriate measure to condition the water ( we will touch on that later).

Thinking about your tank size… There are tons of little betta houses on the market that you can buy for $20-$40.

 

In my opinion and in the opinion of many betta keepers, the best permanent homes are tanks 2 gallons and larger. Depending on the size of your Betta anything between 2 to 5 gallons can be a suitable home. Many of my male Bettas are kept in a 2.5 gallon rimless cube tank, it has enough room for a small sponge filter, some Anubias or Java ferns, and a small cave ornament in case they want to hide. I do have some giant Bettas, for those males I keep them in 5 gallon cube tanks, with the same variety of plants and decor inside, But more space for them to swim and explore when they want to.

A little side note, the specific tanks I use are not sold online, but available at your local Big Als store, below are some other options that are available to ship to you from amazon if you don’t want to have to go to the store to shop.

 

If a female Betta sorority is something your wanting to build, I would stick to the one inch per gallon rule of thumb. Females are also of a more aggressive fish, so your better to have odd numbers and if possible put them in together at one time, so the community can sort their stuff out and then start to live somewhat peacefully…

Buying a kit with the tank, filter and lid can be a great buy, the tanks I usually buy are $24.99 – $34.99 the lid is the same price, then the sponge filter is $10.99, and the air pump $19.99.

the initial cost of the set up can be pretty great, but if you do it right the first time you actually end up saveing money. Many people when starting out wit fish buy the smallest tanks and cheapest items to get started. Understandable, I did the same thing myself, but in no time you realize you were better off to pay that little bit more for the better filters and better tanks, and in the end spend way more money.

Low Flow Filters

You got your tank size figured out, now you need your filter. For filtration you don’t need a lot for a betta. In fact the lower the flow the better. A Bettas natural habitat is in rice fields, the water they are used to is rich with tannins and almost completely still.

For a smaller 2-3 gallon tank I would recommend a small sponge filter with an air pump, or a carbon filter that is operated by an air pump.

 

 

 

With the above options for filtration, it will help keep the water moving between water changes and help pull out any toxins that will build up in the water. Regular water changes, for example weekly is still something I would recommend. Remember, Bettas have lungs so they are ok to have complete water changes every 7-10 days without causing them harm.

For the tanks that are 5 gallons and more, it is not ideal to do complete water changes for a few reasons, one being the size of the tank and the amount of water that would involve. Another is the stability of the tank once the water established. For these tanks I would recommend a larger filtration process, this way you can do 1/4 tank worth of water changes every 10-15 days.

The the above are my go too filters. The first is the Aqua Clear 20, it is perfect for 5 -15 gallon tanks. I use it with my 5 gallon tanks that I have more then one female fish in, or my 10 gallon sorority tanks with a variety of females. These filters are great for betta tanks because you can adjust the flow, this is key, a lot of filters like this don’t have that option and they are too powerful for the Bettas. If the water is pushed around to much it could kill your Betta fish. If you are interest in this filter you would simply adjust the flow for the size of tank.

For a 3-5 gallon tank with a single male in it I like the second option as a filter. The black filter is the Aqaueon low flow filter with the xs cartridge in it. I have it for one of my 5 gallon cubes where I house a red giant half moon. The low flow on this filter moves the water around enough to keep it fresh but not so much to upset my betta. It is a longer filter, so keep that in mind before purchasing it. It is recommended to change the cartridges out monthly or when you notice the water flow is effected because it has collected to much gunk from the tank. With this filter I find a 1/4 water change including suction of any build up on the bottom of the tank every 15 days is enough for my Betta.

Water Conditioner

Most people have municipal water. This water is safe for us but deadly to your fish. Every municipality has different water, some has more chlorine and other chemicals then others. Water conditioner is the best way to make sure the water you are putting into your tanks is safe for your fish.

A best practice I like to use is to put the water I want to use for water changes in a separate bucket, treat it with the water conditioner and then go ahead and do my water changes. There is not waiting time once the water conditioner is added.

The betta basics is my go too water conditioner for my betta tanks. It’s perfect for smaller tanks as the ratio needed is one cap full per gallon. For larger tanks I would look into a more concentrated version of water cleaner so you aren’t using as much to get the same result.

You can also get a chemical called “stability” that can be helpful for stabalizing a tank that is cycling, or adding new fish to a tank, it’s also good for adding when your doing complete water changes or finding your water cluody while cycling.

Plants

(picture of plant)

Bettas love plants. I like to have clean bottoms in my tanks because they are way easier to keep clean. For this reason my go too plants are Anubias and Ferns, with some mosses. These plants don’t need to be planted and they will grow attached to rocks or pieces of wood. Some will even grow free floating in the tanks. Having a plant close to the surface for your Bettas to lay on or hide in is something they will truly love.

If you are not interested in having real plants there is a large variety of fake plants available to you. The Betta bed below is one of my favourite, my Bettas love this. There are also a couple more example of fake plants you can buy for your tanks.

 

The above examples are just a few things I found on amazon to show you to give you some ideas of the types of things you can purchase for your Betta tanks, the examples I chose are all items that I myself use in my tanks.

Rocks and Caves

Rocks and caves are a great way to balance out your tanks and to add some other places for the Bettas to hide, which they love to do. They are not a must when you are first setting up your tank so you can always revisit this item later.

Heater

Depending on where you are housing your Bettas you may won’t to consider a heater. If your tank is close to a vent or window, depending on the time of year the water may fluctuate in temperatures. Bettas are a tropical fish and do prefer warmer water, 72-74 degrees is a healthy range to keep your tanks temperature.

As with most fish supplies there are variety of different brands and sizes of heaters to choose from. You will want to choose one that is suited for your size tank, and if possible get one that allows you to adjust the temp.

Tank Lighting

Lighting up your tank is more for you then it is for them unless you have real plants. If your using plants like Anubias and Ferns, they are a low light plant but it is good for them to get some light especially if the tank is kept in a darker spaces.

Personally I find my Bettas like interaction with me, they want to know what I am doing and sometimes watch me when I’m close to their tanks. I usually have their tank lights on just for  couple hours a day. I find overall this is my best practice.

Food

When choosing a food I prefer to use pellets. They are less mess and I find over all my Bettas prefer pellets. When I’m thinking of breeding I’ll feed them frozen blood worms to get them ready for breeding, or sometimes just as a treat. I also find my Bettas enjoy the freeze dried brine shrimp and blood worms. Your Betta fish doesn’t need a lot of food, but you should make sure they are getting the right food.

Below are some example of some foods I have at home that I feed my Bettas fish.

Your all set!!!

At this point you should be all set up. As we talked about earlier, the initial cost of a tank set up can get very expensive, so do some research and know what you want to do with your Betta set up before you start to shop and get your items.

I hope you found this quick guide to what you need to get your Bettas tank ready helpful. If I missed anything you were wanting to know more about please leave a comment below and I’ll be happy to help…