Betta Fish: Help! I named it, now I’m attached to the fish assignment

https://preview.redd.it/f08y6i967a1g1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a58d2cb632e0180f6b4b16500376a4516fb1d2f1

Look. I know most ppl say 5gal im absolute minimum, and I agree, but being on a budget this is still better than what he is in now.

If you have a local petsmart, price match a 2.5gal Aqueon tank ($13ish with price match. $25 without…), look on Amazon and get a generic filter pump (by Aquaneat HOB 110-120V/60Hz) for roughly $7, and a heater (by DaToo, 25W) for roughly $5.

For substrate, I would recommend glowfish gravel as its cheap and good quality if you are looking for gravel (gravel can be rough on their fins though), or sand of your desired color. Tbh, you dont really need substrate unless you want it for a betta though. 

For plants, I would check your LFS for some giant duckweed, or dwarf water lettuce if you want floating. If you want some plants for the bottom, you can use pothos or java fern. For bottom plants, you can use either substrate, gravel is recommend by me for plants like that, but you can also buy plant weights. Which are just metal strips that you wrap around the plant stem, and they stay where you want them water level wise. But they will move around since there isn’t anything keeping them in one place like substrate would.

P.S. if there is anything I missed in here from the other post, ignore it lol. This is a comment a made for somebody else and copied and pasted it lol.

If you can’t get a real tank you could use a 5 gallon bucket or a sturdy plastic storage tote for more water volume, both of which you should be able to find really cheap. You can absolutely use a heater in these too! Bettas need to be warm, around 78°F. A turkey baster is great for spot cleaning poop or uneaten food.

You’ll need to be diligent about water changes with no established cycle; get a sponge filter asap to give beneficial bacteria something to grow on. If you have any houseplants like pothos or monstera you can root cuttings in the tank and their roots will take up excess nutrients and help water quality.

Good luck! Check on Facebook for used supplies and freebies from local fishkeepers

You need a whole lot more than this. As someone else posted with the info sheet on betta care, minimum you need a five gallon tank, sponge filter(bettas are fragile so sponge filter is safest) heater, water conditioner, hides for fish, silk plant decor or real plants, and an understanding of the nitrogen cycle

Your gonna have to shell out quite a bit, but you’ve already got the fish so your stuck with it
I got this kit from Walmart https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vibrant-Life-5-Gallon-Aquarium-Starter-Kit-with-Blue-and-White-LED-Lights/15293521397 for just 38$ and my betta has been perfectly happy. Also at the Walmart I got a 5gallon sponge filter and tank heater for about 20$ total. Get tropical fish water conditioner, ammonia test, and water parameters test. I upgraded to aquasoil, but when first setting up my tank I was able to make do with pea gravel from my yard as a substrate; boil it first.

It’s easy to diy one or two hides for the fish; anything that’s big enough for the fish to comfortable turn around in and also has an entrance the size of or bigger than the fish and is water safe will work. Mug your willing to sacrifice, tiny flower pot(make sure to cover the drainage hold because your fish will try to stuff itself into it) random household objects will work. Just make sure they’re water safe and won’t introduce anything toxic into the water. Personally I found a brown glass bottle in a junkyard behind my house that’s big enough to be safe and has no sharp edges and my betta adores it.

Bettas love to rest on or nestled in plants so silk plants or real plants are a must. With how inexperienced you are I would suggest silk plant decor. They MUST be silk because, again, betta fish are very fragile and can easily tear their fins.
While not required because it will be expensive, driftwood makes for great decor because it’ll release tannins in the water, which is good for the fish.

When setting up the tank, have the expectation in mind that your fish will be actively looking for every possible way to kill itself, so idiot proof accordingly. I personally used moss bought from the pet store to idiot proof my setup. Use thread to wrap it around sharp points, or stuff it into small spaces your betta might get stuck in.

Lastly, cycling the tank is a must. In short, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates will build up in the water and be toxic to your fish. It eventually becomes a cycle where nitrites eat the ammonia, nitrates eat the nitrites, and nitrate levels are kept down by regular water changes. But in a new tank, ammonia and nitrites will build up and kill your fish.
I can’t find a guide right now for fish-in cycling so maybe you can or perhaps someone else can, but here’s roughly the method I followed doing a fish in cycle.

Every day check the ammonia levels. Sometimes you might even need to check twice a day. When the level reaches 0.5 do a 50% water change. When the ammonia starts going down, start checking for nitrites. If nitrite level reaches 0.5, do water change. When the nitrite levels start going down and the water parameters register nitrates are present, the tank has been successfully cycled

You’re getting good starting advice from others, so I’ll just point out that bettas are top feeders, so any food sitting at the bottom is just fowling the water. It doesn’t take long for uneaten food in a small container to make the water toxic. I’d feed less and invest in a cheap turkey baster to spot clean after feeding.

What’s the project? Is this for science? What is simply keeping it alive for five weeks going to show?