# 29 gallon tank good for a betta?



## Terrie (Sep 5, 2011)

Hi, new here,
A co worker gave me a 29 gallon tank and I would love to have a betta, how ever when I research them, everything suggests a smaller tank...is 29 gallons too big? I could always not fill it all the way, lol

Thanks!!


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## Vaughan06 (Aug 9, 2011)

Terrie said:


> Hi, new here,
> A co worker gave me a 29 gallon tank and I would love to have a betta, how ever when I research them, everything suggests a smaller tank...is 29 gallons too big? I could always not fill it all the way, lol
> 
> Thanks!!


I would love to have a 29 gallon for my two Bettas. There are so many things you can do with that much space (plants, dividers, sororities, communities).


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## lordadamar (Aug 24, 2011)

29 gallons would look empty with one male....

I do one of the thing Vaughan06 mentioned


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## Stardancer (Jan 2, 2011)

More space is better! You'll hear a variety of opinions around here--some people say the minimum space for a betta is 1 gal, or 2.5 gal, or 5 gal. But no, your betta won't be troubled by "too much" space


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## fishy friend2 (Aug 28, 2011)

I thought that some bettas actually prefer a smaller space and if there tank is to big they will not even use all the space


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## Stardancer (Jan 2, 2011)

I've never had a tank so big that a betta wouldn't use it, so I wouldn't know  I do know that bettas do like a lot of hiding places. So if you don't divide the tank, you'll probably want to put in a lot of plants (fake or real) and decorations, especially ones that your fish can hide in.


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## Terrie (Sep 5, 2011)

Yea I figured the more space the better! I do have plenty of plants and sunken ship decoration. All I am missing is the betta, lol (and the water needs some more conditioning). 
A sorority does sound very appealing! But I am a newbie at caring for fish so I do not want to over do it and end up hurting them!
Here is a night time pic of the tank:









Thanks for the advice!!! I am super excited about this new adventure!


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## Terrie (Sep 5, 2011)

Sorry for posting twice, but now that I know my tank is probably very ideal in size! I need a few more pointers...

Ok so I need a heater correct? 
I have a filter but I read low settings is ideal?
I definitely want to do the sorority in the future but for now can I start off with one female?
With the tank, I was given conditioners for the water to set the pH to 7.0, is that okay or do I need to purchase another one? (I also have the conditioner to remove chlorine/ammonia).

Also, what do bettas eat? And what kind of feeding schedule would they require?

And finally! With this large tank, how often should I change up the water? (this is where I am least knowledgeable). Do I have to pre-condition the new water before putting it in the tank? Or do I just mix in my tap and add the conditioners accordingly? Oh! and while changing the water, do I take the fishy out or do I let her swim in the new water right away?

Thanks!!! Sorry for the long post, I want to do this right!


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Never had a betta who wouldnt use the space they were given, however, somebettas do prefer smaller tanks, both of my spade tails, Pickle and Chile, prefer smaller tanks, anything larger and they begin tail biting (no matter how many plants or decorations I add... and they both have small tails to begin with)


Heaters are HIGHLY reccomended, a betta is best kept between 78 to 82 F
Longer tailed bettas often have trouble swimming against the current of a stron filter, there are many ways you can 'buffer' the strenght to cut back on it and allow you betta an easier time swimming

When creating a sorority, its reccomended you get ALL of you females at the same time, same age, with ONE female who is slightly bigger (you pck out he alpha)
I dont use a pH conditionor so Im not sure about that, but I dont think it is reccomeneded using an ammona conditionor as it is best to change water than just add a bunch of chemicals
for water conditionor most people (myself included) use and reccomend API stress coat + conditionor

Bettas do best with an assortment of food, Betta Pellets being the main diet,an occasional 'treat' of freeze dried bloodworm is nice (not to much! I give it once a week) and they LOVE mosquito larva, careful not to feed one thing to much as they WILL get addicted and refuse to eat anything else
Feeding wise. I feed twice a day, once in the morning, once at night, everyone gets one pellets with the exceptions of Pickle, Chile, and Finn, who get two in the morning

Not sue about water change for hat large of a tank, but you can add the water in nd put the cnditionor in accordinly.... I take my bettas out for all water changes, but I know some people leave them in


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

How tall is the tank? Betta's are able to adjust to taller tanks, but they're typically a more shallow creature seeing as how they come up for air to breath, and the large weight males have to carry around with their fins, which is usually the main reason why people say bettas need smaller tanks, they're typically more shallow. Although, there are small tanks out there now or days that are more tall than they are long and others make the mistake of buying one of those instead. Essentially, if you know what it's like to swim in a deep pool, the further you go down, the more pressure is being pushed onto you. You can only imagine what it's like for a male betta that is man-made and created to have large and luxurious fins to swim in something that is very tall....

If you get a male, make sure he does well, as his fins may be too heavy for him and the sudden change of a huge tank might be too much. Although, it's another thing if you're adapting the fish from a small tank, and get bigger and bigger so the fish has time to adjust to the weight difference- you'd basically be weight training your fish so that he won't strain himself xD

Edit:

That aside, it really boils down to the personality of your betta(s). There are those that love the "great outdoors" like this tank, and there are others who like to feel more secure with a smaller space.
You can possibly turn it into a community tank or have a good sized sorority, although you'd have to make sure you get fish that are easily compatible with bettas, and even so, it will still depend on the personality of each species you put in the tank. All in all, I'm assuming once you figure out the route you want to go, it will ultimately end up being a series of trial and error, seeing as how there are many factors that can make or break your experience, and I've never encountered a person having the same exact experience as another. Just don't let that discourage you because once you get started and see for yourself what works best for you and your fish, you'll be able to deal with anything that's thrown at you ^.^ And even if that's not the case, that just means you'll learn from your mistakes, which is just as benificial for you, if not more so, as it would've been had their not been any mistakes to begin with.


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## Draug Isilme (Aug 7, 2011)

Sponge filters are also nice to have because they don't have a chance of sucking up your fish, nor is there a possibility of your betta swimming or jumping into it. There are easy and cheap ways to adjust the output of your sponge filter as well, if the agitation is too much for the betta to handle.


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## Stardancer (Jan 2, 2011)

Terrie said:


> Sorry for posting twice, but now that I know my tank is probably very ideal in size! I need a few more pointers...
> 
> Ok so I need a heater correct?
> I have a filter but I read low settings is ideal?
> ...


Some people use pH conditioners, but most of us don't. You can if you want to, or if your water is extremely soft (it's very difficult to make hard water soft). Usually regular water conditioner is fine.

In theory, you could start with one female to ease yourself in, but I think LittleBettas is right that a sorority should all be bought together. Or at least all put into the tank around the same time. I feel like it would stress your first one out to suddenly be joined by six friends!

Also as LittleBettas said, pellets tend to be the best betta food. They're usually more nutritious than other prepared foods and they're easy to portion control (bettas are little pigs and will eat until they almost literally pop. Don't let them!). You want food with a high percentage of protein. For variety, you can use a good brand of flakes, and frozen or freeze-dried bloodworms / daphnia / brine shrimp. Frozen are much better, though--if you don't mind the mess, they can be a staple along with your pellets. 

For water changes, I put tap water in a clean water jug, add the conditioner and let it sit for a minute before I add it to the tank. HOWEVER. You probably want to cycle your tank since it's so big. There's a sticky for that here. If you don't cycle, you'll end up with a LOT of water changes.


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## Terrie (Sep 5, 2011)

Thanks for the additional advice, I will definitely read that sticky about the water cycling...
As far as food goes, (if I get more than one betta) how do I make sure each one gets their appropriate share of pellets? In other words, how do I assure that one doesn't eat the others' food? Or do I separate them to eat?


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## Terrie (Sep 5, 2011)

Hello again! I just finished resetting up my tank. It was way over due on the water change, here are a few pics. I also picked up a heater for it...now I just need a couple days for the pH to adjust and I will add in some girls 

Front view (dont mind the white dog tail in the middle lol)









Side View


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