I was gifted little Phoebe (female half moon betta) tonight at a white elephant. I have a tank, unused gravel, an air pump, and little fake plants from when I had a goldfish as a kid. Cleaned out my existing materials with just water and used the kind of tank water that you can put the fish in immediately. I was only able to afford that and betta pellets at the Walmart tonight, and petsmart/petco was closed. I fed her as soon as I got the tank set up and the pellets are resting in the gravel, what she did eat she spat out immediately. I’m going out tomorrow to get more things. What should I grab? Also, from what I can tell, Phoebe is exploring her tank and seems to be okay.
https://i.redd.it/rrx6tbibhvag1.jpeg
Posted by daniellarsonfan24
4 Comments
Get some aquasoil and live plants
Okay- settle in for the ride. This is a LOOONG essay from me haha!
Basically- this is what I would do on your limited abilities RIGHT NOW and what I would do tomorrow.
Fish Tank:
I really hate fake plants. Also those are plastic and they can hurt your betta’s fins. If you don’t want live I recommend getting silk but live will help with the cycle.
Live Plants I Recommend:
-Anacharis (mine grew like CRAZY)
-Rotalia (different types)
-Anubias (EASY BEGINNER – should be tied/glued to something)
-Java Fern (EASY BEGINNER – should be tied/glued to something)
-Amazon Sword (requires root tabs and honestly not my favorite…)
-Java Moss (SO EASY GROWS BY ITSELF better to be glued on)
Floating Plants I Recommend:
-Salvinia Minima (Mine grows like crazy I wish I could give you some!)
-Water Lettuce (I have dwarf)
-Red Root Floater (never had these are pretty but people say they can be hard to care for)
Floor:
I recommend gravel/sand. Not those rocks they really aren’t the best. (People will say to use fluval substrate. Uhh- I mean yeaaaaah but it will also get super messy at the slightest touch and it’s quite expensive. I just got some random gravel and I’m fine!!)
Decor:
Don’t recommend any fake ones- for hides you can get:
-A floating betta log
-Natural hides (my local Petco sells these hides which are covered with moss and growing leaves)
EXTRA ADD-ONS:
-Driftwood (very useful, good to glue the plants onto this. Will tan your water if you don’t boil enough but that’s good [will explain later]!)
-Plant Glue (sold at most pet stores, easier than tying the plants)
-Sponge Filter (I like these more than the hang-on-back ones since you don’t have to replace the cartilage and they’re better anyways- you will need an air pump but definitely good switch!)
-Fertilizer (good to help your plants grow)
-Indian Almond Leaves [Tannins] (They tan your water [my aquarium is basically blackwater at this point- super dark!!] and that’s useful because it: keeps your betta’s fins healthier, protects against most diseases, reduces stress, etc.)
-Rocks (also good to glue the plants onto you can take any rocks from outside and even glue them together to make natural hides. How to clean: you can simply boil or clean with hydrogen peroxide and then boil- better to do 2nd strategy.
My Question(s):
-What do you mean ‘used the kind of tank water that you can put the fish in immediately’? Unless you bought like the bottled water from the pet store (which I don’t recommend) nothing like that exists. You should really get a water conditioner (I recommend Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability I have both and they are the BEST in my opinion).
-Do you know what ‘cycling’ is? (Please google what fish tank cycling is there are some GREAT guides here on Reddit I just can’t attach a photo for some reason)
Hope all this helped! Randomly getting a fish is HARD and you’re doing great! Feel free to ask me more questions if you have any!
-Leo 💛
Nitrogen cycle (you have to do a fish in cycle) and a liquid water test kit to test the water are essential for her to be healthy.
Well you’re already setup for the most part, the sticky on the sub has all the info you need about setting up a tank for long term success, things like plants and the nitrogen cycle. For now you’ll want to get a sponge filter, some water conditioner, and some bottled bacteria like seachem stability. All are pretty inexpensive and they’ll get you on the way to her being healthy and happy. Let her settle in for a couple days before you start changing things