Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Stumpy.]

I just got my first fish! His name is orchid and he's a blue veil tail betta!

I've got him set up in a 3.5 gallon tank and he has some live plants, a rock bed, and a heater
Username: Stumpy.
How many fish tanks do you have: Just one! (3.5 gal)
Types of fish that you have: Betta
Your fish's name: Orchid
How long have you had fish: (do not share your age!) I've had him for a day, currently. I've had fish in the past, when I was super little. More like my parents' fish tbh.

[ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ★ᴄʀɪᴛᴛᴇʀ]

My tanks right now c: I'm waiting for my local hobbyist to get some cool bettas in stock for the top tank, but I am still looking to find something really special for the bottom tank since the breeding pair of gudgeons in the picture recently died from a mysterious parasire or bacteria. Weird thing is it didn't bother the other fish living with them. Because even though I autopsied the gudgeons, I didn't find anything that could've been the cause of death. I'm still treating the tank though just to be extra sure I kill whatever it was.

[PemCorgis]

Yeah blackwater looks amazing, but it's so expensive... How did you do water changes for the bettas? But speaking of blackwater, I just started up a 8g shrimp tank and bought some soil to put in there. It's now been 48h with the soil in, and my usual 7.5 pH measures around 6.4 in that tank Don't know what to do now lol. I don't have the time to mess around with my water chemistry before whater changes.

AGREEEED. It's hard to maintain too! I used to help one of my favorite fish stores run their blackwater tanks and learned a lot from them. When I used to breed betta's a water change would take about 3-4hours of slow drip and I'd rinse the filter frequently. I'd use an air hose to suck up any big clumps of material (I generally did bare bottoms to make my life easier for cleaning) and do 'quick' clean up that way. I'd always have at least a gallon already pre-treated and sitting at room temp for a few days before my changes. I only did this with no bigger than a 20g long. It was a lot of dedication. Thankfully my house at the time would naturally plummet to a nice <5.0 pH. It was great.

You guys have some gorgeous tanks!! I really need to step my game up but I've been so busy with my wrist healing from surgery and training my puppy that I've neglected all but regular maintenance.

[Hime]

2 weeks no water changes (been too busy) and NO3 is reading only at 5... Hungry plants much? Also blue-green algae is still trying to take over some plants(pretty sure the low nitrate is partial culprit). And my Fluval U3 is really not working as it should, the flow adjusting thing is broken and the flow is kinda everywhere and not really strong enough because of that. I really want a canister... >_<

[Stumpy.]

Orchid is adjusting really well to his new tank!! C:

He's already starting to swim to the feeding spot around his dinner and breakfast time, he's happily floating around, and found his favorite resting spots (the big plant in the center, by the moss balls, and in the far bar corner.) He likes sitting by the filter, as well, which is weird. There's no safety concerns, as it's too small for his fins to get stuck. It's just kinda weird.

[Starwood in Aspen]

Gemini is a smart little cookie. it took her 3 days to figure out a routine. 3. Days. I came back to the dorm after hanging out with my boyfriend (like I do almost daily) and she came right up to the top of the tank. Food? Lol. I feed her before I go to bed so apparently she expects it now. Shes also getting used to me but she still swims like crazy around the tank. Most active betta I think I've had. Even pinkie would hide and lounge when I was in the room.

[paleosuchus]

Hi all! I just set up my first Betta tank. His name is Bullet and hes a red Twin Tall Halfmoon betta. (will post pics when I figure out how to do that lol)
His tank is a bit smaller than my old goldfish tank so I had some questions about betta care. I prefer my room to be a little cold (~65-70 degrees). I'm aware bettas prefer warmer waters so I bought him a heater for his 2.5 gallon tank. Was this a mistake? Is his tank too small for a heater?
Secondly, I have heard different things about how much to feed him. The employee who cares for the fish at the pet store told me to feed him 5 food pellets daily. I read online that bettas won't need to eat every day so several pellets every 3 days is sufficient. Which is more correct?
Finally, I am waiting to put him in the tank a full 24 hours so some bacteria can begin growing. I wanted to add a snail to the tank eventually once plenty of algae has grown. Is that a suitable tank mate? Would a bottom-feeding fish be better? How long should I wait before adding a snail/fish?
Thanks in advance, sorry if these questions seem dumb. I'm getting a wide variant of answers online so I wanted to ask people with experience.

[Stripe12]

A heater is a great idea for a betta tank, it wasn't a mistake.
Food depends on the size of the pellets. I usually feed mine 5-6 small pellets once a day but it can be a good idea to not feed him 1 day a week to help avoid illness. Betta's can survive when only being feed every few days.
A tank mate highly depends on the betta's personality. Some betta's hate any other tank mates but some don't care. Snails are probably a better choose. I'd recommend either a Nerite snail or Mystery snail. How long you wait to add one highly depends on how quickly algae grows in, but I'd guess around 4-5 weeks.
Hope this helps!

[Lonin]

Hi all! I just set up my first Betta tank. His name is Bullet and hes a red Twin Tall Halfmoon betta. (will post pics when I figure out how to do that lol)
His tank is a bit smaller than my old goldfish tank so I had some questions about betta care. I prefer my room to be a little cold (~65-70 degrees). I'm aware bettas prefer warmer waters so I bought him a heater for his 2.5 gallon tank. Was this a mistake? Is his tank too small for a heater?
Secondly, I have heard different things about how much to feed him. The employee who cares for the fish at the pet store told me to feed him 5 food pellets daily. I read online that bettas won't need to eat every day so several pellets every 3 days is sufficient. Which is more correct?
Finally, I am waiting to put him in the tank a full 24 hours so some bacteria can begin growing. I wanted to add a snail to the tank eventually once plenty of algae has grown. Is that a suitable tank mate? Would a bottom-feeding fish be better? How long should I wait before adding a snail/fish?
Thanks in advance, sorry if these questions seem dumb. I'm getting a wide variant of answers online so I wanted to ask people with experience.

Yup yup he'd definitely need a heater even if your room was warm to keep the temperature stable.
You don't need to feed fish every day but once every 3 days is a bit much. A lot of people do one fast day a week. Keep in mind his stomach is about the size of his eye so a few pellets will be fine.
We're assuming you haven't cycled the tank, if not there's no point in waiting 24 hours as it takes several weeks for a tank to cycle. You might as well move him to it now as a bigger tank is going to be better than a smaller one when neither is cycled. You can read more about fish-in cycling here but basically you'll need a water testing kit so you can test daily for ammonia and nitrite and you'll need to do daily partial water changes to keep it under control.
2.5 gallons is way too small for any other fish and if possible your betta would be better off with at least 5 gallons. You'd be fine adding a snail and can do it any time once the tank has cycled. Depending on the snail and if you care about it living you might have to feed it. Not all snails eat all kinds of algae. And you don't really want algae anyway as it's a sign something is unbalanced.

[paleosuchus]

Yup yup he'd definitely need a heater even if your room was warm to keep the temperature stable.
You don't need to feed fish every day but once every 3 days is a bit much. A lot of people do one fast day a week. Keep in mind his stomach is about the size of his eye so a few pellets will be fine.
We're assuming you haven't cycled the tank, if not there's no point in waiting 24 hours as it takes several weeks for a tank to cycle. You might as well move him to it now as a bigger tank is going to be better than a smaller one when neither is cycled. You can read more about fish-in cycling here but basically you'll need a water testing kit so you can test daily for ammonia and nitrite and you'll need to do daily partial water changes to keep it under control.
2.5 gallons is way too small for any other fish and if possible your betta would be better off with at least 5 gallons. You'd be fine adding a snail and can do it any time once the tank has cycled. Depending on the snail and if you care about it living you might have to feed it. Not all snails eat all kinds of algae. And you don't really want algae anyway as it's a sign something is unbalanced.

Thank you! It sucks the 2.5 gallon is too small. I'll switch probably to a 5 gallon next month. Thank you for the reference to in cycling! I planned to feed the snail 1-2 algae flakes a day depending on his size (I'll do more research on the snails once I can afford a larger tank for them both)


Bullet has started his first day in his tank and seems really sparky! He seems to enjoy the extra space and likes playing with his substrate. I was hoping he'd play more with the moss ball I got but he seems like he isn't interested in anything except his substrate and filter at the moment. His tank came with an LED light on the hood and when I turn it on he shimmers and looks absolutely stunning! Once again, will post photos when I figure out how to do that lol.
Thanks everyone for the advice. Is there anything I should watch out for while he is getting used to his new home?