Pet Fish

[Fresh Tendrils]

So, I was given a Betta as a Christmas present this past Christmas and its pretty cool to have and all that, except cleaning the bowl isn't all too fun. Anyway, since I have to clean the bowl once a week, I was wondering how much bigger of bowl/tank I could get for one fish, so that its still a compact tank, but I don't have to clean it as often? I currently have just a regular goldfish bowl. Also, I'm wondering what fish you guys have since I'm wanting to get a couple fish to put in a bigger tank. Just curious. Any help would be great.

[Tha Dynasty]

Re: Pet Fish

You dont need a big tnk for ONE fish. All you need is a regular compact fish tank which you already have.

Arn't Betta fished the ones that fight? In that case you cant put them in a tank with any other fishes.

[Heelfan71]

Re: Pet Fish

gotta clean it once a week regardless of the tank.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Pet Fish

Yeah, the Beta can only be in a tank by itself, but I was wondering if there was a tank/bowl between a regular goldfish bowl and like a 3-5 gallon tank that would be better for the Beta and also I wouldn't have to clean as often.

As for the other fish, I was thinking about getting another tank for them, but not really sure what type of fish I would want to get.

[Tha Dynasty]

Re: Pet Fish

They have seperaters for fish tanks. My friend had a small tank for 2 bettas and all he did was put in something to seperate the middle. But it's up to you. I use to have a 30 gallon fish tank and cleaned it once every 2 weeks.

[SportsorDeath]

Re: Pet Fish

A small tank, maybe between 3 and 5 gallons, will be a hell of a lot better than a bowl. The main thing you want is water circulation. You have to clean the bowl so frequently because it is small and because it is just standing water with no cover and no filtration. You do not have to clean it once a week regardless of the tank, as Heel said. Every 2 weeks may be necessary if you get a real small one, but you can easily get away with longer in most cases.

The more fish you have, the more waste product build up there is going to be, which means cleaning more often. Also, if you do get an actual acquarium instead of staying with the bowl, use the lights sparingly or you will get algae buildup a lot quicker too.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Pet Fish

Thanks for the help Sports.

What fish do you guys have?

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Pet Fish

I started out wanting a betta but they are kept in so little water at pet stores that I was worried I'd get one that will die quickly. So me and my gf ended up getting a 10 gallon tank together and we have a tropical fish community (9 fish). The tank was $40 and included a heater, filter, dechlorinator for tap water and food samples. Only thing is you have to be careful about not mixing aggressive and passive fish together. I think that is why we had 2 die (started with 11). We have one fish that's semi aggressive, but only during feeding...he chases the rest away if they are going after the same flake.
Concerning cleaning, even with a 10 gallon tank I still do a 10% water change every week. A friend of mine told me I should get a gravel vacuum b/c poop and left over flakes can get trapped in the gravel.

Does anyone know how often you have to change the filter? We've had the same one for little over a month.

[SportsorDeath]

Re: Pet Fish

I would probably swap out the filter media or cartridge every month or so.

[Gilateen]

Re: Pet Fish

I got 2 Tiger Oscars, I feed them chicken and turkey. They dont need the tank cleaned that often but I usually clean it every 3 months. I dont worry about algae cuz the Plecostomus eats that up.

I had some Texas Cichlids but they fought to the death.

[Graphik]

Re: Pet Fish

I had a cople of bettas about a year ago. I even bought this special betta tank and everything. I heard that you could'nt put them in the same bowl or they'd kill eachother so the bowl had a seperated built inbetween. Well, one of them died due to my cats pestering it constantly. And the other one died shortly after for who knows what reason. I took pretty good care of them. They lasted about 2 months.