I love aquariums and have been inspired to get a betta and to rescue them from living in a cup. I’ve watched many videos on bettas and am ready to start creating a suitable habitat. But first the basics… which tank should I get? One is 6 gallons, curved and horizontal and the other is 10 but more I up and down which I read is less desirable. I am thinking to add an aquatic frog or shrimp if possible.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1s3lhks
Posted by sunny_dayz247
16 Comments
The 6g one makes more sense as it offers horizontal swimming space. As for tankmates, no frogs with bettas (or fish in general), but shrimp can work if you heavily plant the tank! 🙂
Edit: keep in mind that the all in one tanks generally come with too strong filters and will need baffling or replacing entirely.
Do either a standard 10 gallon, 5 gallon or that 6 gallon.
Vertical tanks are difficult to stock. Basically a betta is one of the few fish that can go in one due to the footprint.
You are also better off getting a tank, heater, sponge filter and lid separately and not in one of these kits
That 6g one is the best as its horizontal
Not an expert but I do know bettas prefer to stay near the surface of the water. I would opt for a wider tank over a taller tank. I have the top fin 10g horizontal tank. No issues so far.
https://preview.redd.it/98iyhxn759rg1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0259a22b56015bb939d9f2287e8653245d1d18a
you have to be very very careful with what fish you put with a betta. i would recommend a long tank rather than high.
If you have one locally, Petco has 10 gallon rectangular standard aquariums for like $18, the lids are under $20, and a sponge filter setup is extremely inexpensive. I’ve also found some decent live plants at Petco (but my best live aquarium plants have been sourced online).
Great. So no to the vertical one. I read about the filters being too strong in those all in one set ups. Thanks so much! I plan to do it right. We once had a betta named Mario in a 2 gallon tank for a while. I feel like we can do it better now that we have better info.
If you had to pick either the tall 10g vs the 6g corner tank as the only options – I’d vote for the 6g corner tank on the basis of it having more horizontal space (vs 10g tall that barely have horizontal space).
Recommend you get a sponge filter though (rather than using the filter included w/ the tank) – [https://www.amazon.com/HITOP-Pack-Aquarium-Sponge-Filter/dp/B0CL9HSRPL/](https://www.amazon.com/HITOP-Pack-Aquarium-Sponge-Filter/dp/B0CL9HSRPL/)
No additional fish/frog tankmates in the 6g w/ the betta… Also aquatic frogs do best kept in a SPECIES ONLY (that means only them as a species) tank – if you’re referring to African Dwarf Frog – they’re social and do best with at least a few of their own kind. They are almost blind, so can easily mistake betta fins/tail as food and chomp them. They are also going to struggle to get enough food because of this nearly-blind poor vision vs a gluttonous betta, end result = betta gets fat AF, frog starves… just please don’t do that.
A few shrimp and/or a snail could be ok in a 6g w/ betta, but depends on the temperament of the betta. Some don’t care about having tankmates, others will go ham-murder-mode… and some bettas find shrimp = very yummy expensive snack.
Please FISHLESS cycle: [https://injaf.org/articles-guides/beginners-guides/the-nitrogen-cycle-and-the-fishless-cycle-getting-your-aquarium-ready-for-fish/](https://injaf.org/articles-guides/beginners-guides/the-nitrogen-cycle-and-the-fishless-cycle-getting-your-aquarium-ready-for-fish/)
Betta fish prefer horizontal tanks
I have this aquarium, it’s not bad for a kit. The light certainly needs to be replaced as the topfin bright white that it comes with is not suitable for plants (I guess that really only depends on if you want plants).
Instead of getting a betta from PetSmart or Petco, get one from a local fish store raised and bred ethically. You might be “saving” one fish but you are just supporting their terrible ethics by buying from there as it will just be replaced by another betta in a cup and all they see is the sale
The filters are fine in these kit tanks especially the hang over back because you get more room you don’t have to use the cartridges that come in them tho u can add sponge and filter media bags to the inside and if the water out put is to strong and pushing your betta down all you have to do is buy a big sponge filter and cut a small piece get a rubber band and place the sponge in from of the output and wrap and rubber band around it . This will slow down your flow output
Not gonna lie. This is fine. Anything bigger than a pint container is probably pretty solid. Is it better to piece it out? Yes. Will this work? Absolutely. Just make sure it’s cycled.
I recommend getting a bookshelf tank!
They are long and shallow, bettas especially long finned ones struggle to swim so these are best.
Ditch those kits and buy the equipment separately.
Sponge filter with an air pump, heater and a light.
Go on pinterest and search “Betta fishtank” and look at the long ones, there’s so many natural aesthetics on there and you can mimic theirs if you like!
Just be wary that adding other aquatic animals to a bettas tank can go very wrong and you may need to get a seperate tank if they start hurting eachother.
As a beginner I would recommend just getting a betta and maybe a large snail and nothing else.
Get a 10 gallon long not tall. Most fish, bettas included need swimming space length-wise not height-wise.
anything but that tall one