Sorority Tank

So, as I said, I have gotten the sorority tank going. Here are the pics I promised. The top one shows the whole tank - and I'm pretty sure you can see all the fish too, if you look hard enough. The slideshow is just the same as always - mouse over to see any of the pictures properly, click to see them full sized.

The girls (in pecking order):
Maddi (big red one, you've already met her)
Big Blue (the bigger of the two blues)
Runt (little reddish one... orange/dragon mix, I believe)
Little Blue (the smaller blue one)
Silk (a.k.a. that little white one)

Not very original names, I know... but often I start calling them something before coming up with a real name and it just sticks. That last image of Runt is my fave... she's so cute ^^

Anyways, they seem to be getting along. I tried adding in Specks and Iri, but they're too aggressive, which is strange because when I had my three original girls (Maddi, Specks and Iri) together, Maddi was the most aggressive. In some of those photos you can see them chasing each other... Maddi chasing Big Blue and Little Blue chasing Silk... but there hasn't been any damage yet. Silk has a bite taken out of her tail, but she was like that when I got her. She also spends a lot of time hiding - there's a pic of her hiding in that slideshow, too, see if you can find her. You might also have noticed that some of them look a little bloated... I haven't gotten the hang of how much to feed them yet.

One kind of pellets in my inventory are too big for any of them to eat all at once... and I love watching them eat them... they all grab one and dart off to their caves and then repeatedly let go of their pellet and attack it again until it's gone... so amusing...

Only other thing I wanted to talk about was how I decorated the tank. Went out and got some more gravel and buried an air stone in the front left corner. Then I went to Sears and found a whole bunch of mugs on sale for $1 each, so I bought six of them. That log ornament in the middle was on sale at WalMart for less than $10, and I got the plants mostly on ebay, though some were donated by other betta owners who didn't need them anymore.

So it really didn't cost me much to set up this tank. Got the tank, lid, light, gravel, filter and aerator along with a bunch of other useful stuff for under $50 from a friend and the decorations cost me around $30 all together. It may seem over planted, but female bettas like crowded tanks, they need places to hide from each other.

Small tanks

Ok... so I figure it's time I tackle this issue. Small tanks are acceptable to a point - and they require a lot more care to keep up without your fishie getting sick. Stores and companies will often try to sell you a smaller tank, saying that it's perfectly fine to keep them in that small area because it mimics their natural habitat... at the same time as saying that you only have to do a water change somewhere between once a week and never. All my half gallons came with instructions, and they all said to change the water once a week - when with a half gallon you should be doing water changes every second day or every day.

Frequent water changes can also be stressful for the fish, because they're being taken in and out of the water all the time. A solution to this is to use a small scoop rather than a net. I found mine at PetSmart, though I'm sure they can be easily made (tell me if you figure out how, and I'll post a how-to giving you credit). It pretty much looks like a clear plastic pipe, so you can scoop out the fish along with a bit of water. Still stressful, but not as stressful.

Another solution taking a large tank (like 20gallons) and putting in dividers (cheapest are made out of plastic craft canvas), then you have to take into account the fact that there are more fish but you can also filter. Or you could set up betta barracks - though this is only practical if you have lots and lots of fish. However, both of these methods involve sharing water. So make sure you keep an eye out for diseases and whatnot - because if one gets it, they're all likely to get it, and fifty bettas with ich is not fun.

Some fish will get so stressed that they start losing fins after water changes... these are the ones you don't want in a little tank. If possible, keep him/her in a larger, cycled tank.

Next step up is a 1 gallon or a 2.5 gallon. Still too small to bother filtering, in my opinion, and water changes should happen once a week. If you're looking to filter, I think 5 gallons and up is what you need (though the only filtered tank I have is a 12 gallon). You can get kits that have a tank, filter and light included, for about $20-30 depending on the size, and they tend to come with free samples of food and purifier too (though don't count on it).

Now, on to the worst of them all. Betta in a vase.



Pretty, right?

This is a fairly big craze these days... and I'm not saying you should totally discard the idea, just that you should use some sense. Most people buying these set ups are being told that it's the perfect, hassle-free live centerpiece. These vases are typically a half gallon or less, and the companies making money off this craze are saying that you don't need to do water changes or even feed the betta - the plant will take care of it. This is completely wrong. For one, bettas are carnivores, so you will need to feed them pellets. They may eat the roots, as the companies are saying, but they can't survive off of them and will still end up starving to death - as well as killing the plant. For two, water changes are still necessary, the plant may even pollute the water more depending on what it is. Also, the vase is too small to share between a betta and a plant. If you're going to do this, I suggest at least a 1 gallon vase (that's four liters), and a fake plant... or one that's made to live in water. Otherwise it's likely to start rotting because it's not made to live in that much water, and then you'll have a nice deadly tank.

And lastly, make sure your tanks have lids, or the water level is kept a few inches from the top. Bettas can and will jump, and you don't want your fish to be flopping around on the floor. Any questions, comments? Everyone going to run off and do a water change now?

Had to separate them again...

So my females are now in separate tanks once more. If I can get my hands on a 5 gallon tank that isn't going to take up all the space I have for my bettas, I'll get it. In fact, if I get one in the same style as my 2.5 gallon, I can stack my 2.5 on top of it and hopefully still have room for the others. My other option would be to make some kind of clear shelving unit... but I don't think I have time to do that.

Still planning on posting photos, still have no batteries.

New lesson

Ok, see this tank?

Cute, isn't it? Actually, I don't particularly like that one, but you can get them in all kinds of different styles. Mine has ladybugs on it.

Don't use them!

I lost Curly this morning, and I'm sure part of the reason was that for a long while (until he got sick and I moved him to a 1gallon to try and reduce stress) he was in this little thing. It's not even as big as the containers they come in, and even though bettas could be kept in something smaller if you really wanted to do that to them, it makes them stressed which increases the risk of disease. Not to mention how cruel it is to keep a fish in something that it can't even spread out its fins in.

Curly was small, though, I thought he'd be ok because he could spread out in this one. But... that's why I only want .5 gallon or more tanks from now on.

This little tank won't be going to waste, though. There are even smaller creatures that I've been planning on raising that would do wonderfully in this tank. Sea monkeys! Also known as brine shrimp, they're supposedly good to use as live food for bettas - and you can get them at toy stores! They don't cost much, they're easy to take care of and they grow to be about a quarter of an inch long (well, mine do, apparently you can get them to half an inch in the right conditions... but my house is cold).

Introduction

Hello everyone. I'm Ocean and I collect beta fish - each in their own unique tank. None of these silly simple clear tanks. So this is pretty much just going to be me rambling and ranting about my fish.

I had three fish, but one just died a few days ago and one is currently sick (I think he's getting better, but it's really hard to tell). But I've got two new tanks on the way, so I'll have two new fish coming, as well. I'll post pictures when those two come, since Curly (the sick one) should be better (or dead) by then. The other one I have right now is named Rose and is a bright, deep pink.

So, I'm a little new to betas, but not to fish, and I read and learn fast. So I might also be asking any readers I may have (as if I ever get readers...) for some advice once in a while, or just tossing out bits of advice. Like don't frieking trust the people at those useless little pet stores! The bigger PetSmarts seem to know what they're talking about, but the guy at Pet Value gave me regular freshwater medication for Turquoise when I couldn't find betta fix - and I found out later that that stuff is too strong for betas and is probly what killed him. Also, 7-day feeders are evil. Don't use 'em. They screw up all the levels in your tank.

Beyond that... if you ever stumble across a unique beta tank (.5 gallons at least, please), let me know so I can buy it. In fact, if you have one I'll buy it off of you. But it has to be unique - I don't even wear shirts I've seen other people wearing.

Questions? Comments? Anyone out there?
Bye for now!
~Ocean