# Speaking of terrible aquariums...



## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

What is this nonsense!?











http://www.amazon.com/Umbra-460410-660-FishHotel-Aquarium/dp/B0033FGDRS

A topic posted earlier made me more curious as to what is considered the "norm" for Betta's....please tell me this isn't it. Anyone else have any to share? The Aquacube post was the one I was referring to.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

yep. that's what the public think is a good betta tank. i've seen .3 gallons at walmart. i gagged and my brother wanted to Hulk Smash them all. x:


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## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

We went to PetSmart and they had one of these:










on display with a Betta on either side. A gallon split in two. Sad.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

those aren't even a gallon! they're like... a half gallon! luckily, the pet store i go to, doesn't display those with two bettas in them. they put the most unique HM they get in, in one, so he has more room to show off his fins. :d


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## xswornxoffxjello (Mar 18, 2010)

I hide those. 

And those are less than a gallon. I used to have those, before I knew any better. It was this forum that made me go out and buy a five gallon kit. :O

Edit: beat me to it, Luimeril.


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## TheBlueBettaFish (Jun 30, 2011)

Oh yea?!? You think THAT'S BAD?!? Well at PetSmart I was looking at the Bettas and you know how it says what they eat, temp, etc? Well for "tank size" it said "1 quart-" I was like SELFISH PEOPLE!!!


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## MaggieLynn (Jun 24, 2011)

I had someone yelling at me on youtube when i commented saying that those tanks should be banned being all if they are bad why do they make them and such so i told them before yelling at me read these and posted threads like this about horrible little tanks. I would only use something like that for a QT


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

i use a half-gallon Kritter Keeper for water changes. x: mainly for Cup, before he passed, because the small cups freaked him out.


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## betta dude (May 22, 2011)

NCPanthersgurl said:


> We went to PetSmart and they had one of these:
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> ...


 are there even yellow bettas like that:-?


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## namelessfish (Dec 29, 2010)

NCPanthersgurl said:


> What is this nonsense!?
> 
> 
> 
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i have two of these which i have used with fish. they are 1.3 gallons and i do water changes every other day. so if its a responsible owner who keeps up with water changes, these tanks are way better than anything found at regular pet shops...


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

they don't look that big. x: but, sadly, people don't get the right info, so they shove a betta in there, and never do water changes but once a month or less, and their bettas die horrid deaths.


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

Okay, I was actually thinking about this tank the other day. And I was thinking (not having held one or knowing the actual size), that this would be AWESOME to put in another tank as a decoration. Like to have it in say, a 10 gallon (maybe you would need a 20, or bigger?), and then have little plants around it. Basically make it look like a cute little house/apartment. Like this: 










The balls are moss balls. I know it would need more plants, but this is what I could come up with really quick. Thoughts?


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Kytkattin said:


> Okay, I was actually thinking about this tank the other day. And I was thinking (not having held one or knowing the actual size), that this would be AWESOME to put in another tank as a decoration. Like to have it in say, a 10 gallon (maybe you would need a 20, or bigger?), and then have little plants around it. Basically make it look like a cute little house/apartment. Like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


THAT would be awesome!!!


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## lessandler (Jun 5, 2011)

Add a small moss tree, paint the back with clouds and the betta would look like he lived in the suburbs in germany.

I've always wanted to do a surrealist tank, but was too lazy. Love to see one completed though.


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## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

Kytkattin said:


> Okay, I was actually thinking about this tank the other day. And I was thinking (not having held one or knowing the actual size), that this would be AWESOME to put in another tank as a decoration. Like to have it in say, a 10 gallon (maybe you would need a 20, or bigger?), and then have little plants around it. Basically make it look like a cute little house/apartment. Like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Now that would be cool! Okay, if they're 1.3 that's not AS bad...but you know that if someone's buying that tank they're looking at the "glam" instructions to owning a betta, not the real ones. Usually anyway. But there are some really nice three gallons for the same price or just a bit more...you just have to look.


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## lessandler (Jun 5, 2011)

I wanted to clarify my earlier comment at kytkattin with the tank inside the tank idea... painting the back of the larger tank and adding a moss "tree" with driftwood and mosses or ricca. Love the idea in a 20 gal. I am still getting the hang of "foruming" and don't know how to quote the image and all....

I wasn't suggesting that the small tank itself be a neat idea. I saw it on Amazon with 21 glowing reviews... how sad. It's a 1 gallon with no lid and it is suggested that you stack them next to and upon each other which would mean the ones on the bottom live in near darkness due to the light restricting design


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## diablo13 (Jul 1, 2011)

Lol, food decorating idea. My petsmart had a display with that half gallon split, a black orchid CT and a VT, i think. And not only that, but they had a freaking snail in there too!


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## Norichan (Jul 16, 2011)

*Sigh* That's really depressing. His Majesty went stir-crazy in his 1.8 after about a month, I can only imagine how damaging a little cube like that would be... T_T


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## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

They're so tiny...and the globes you can hang on the wall? They can't even be a quart...


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## Kytkattin (May 15, 2011)

lessandler said:


> I wanted to clarify my earlier comment at kytkattin with the tank inside the tank idea... painting the back of the larger tank and adding a moss "tree" with driftwood and mosses or ricca. Love the idea in a 20 gal. I am still getting the hang of "foruming" and don't know how to quote the image and all....


I got what you meant. :-D It sucks that I am moving away from home and can only take a 5.5 (well, up to 10, but I don't want to have to move that...). Right now I have a 20 gallon that I am tearing down (fish already moved into my family's community tank). Though I do have to say that if I didn't already have my 5.5 split/planted/cycled, I would be very tempted to set up this tank myself in a 10 gallon setup.


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## namelessfish (Dec 29, 2010)

Luimeril said:


> they don't look that big. x: but, sadly, people don't get the right info, so they shove a betta in there, and never do water changes but once a month or less, and their bettas die horrid deaths.


yea i know, they look small in that particular photo. i was a bit concerned at first because i put a picture up on this site and people told me it seemed to be half a gallon. but i took the measurements and found out mathematically..1.3 gallons, small but not THAT small. but i agree on the ignorance thing..i think the tank is acceptable for a person who can actually keep up with the water changes.


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## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

namelessfish said:


> yea i know, they look small in that particular photo. i was a bit concerned at first because i put a picture up on this site and people told me it seemed to be half a gallon. but i took the measurements and found out mathematically..1.3 gallons, small but not THAT small. but i agree on the ignorance thing..i think the tank is acceptable for a person who can actually keep up with the water changes.


Unfortunately not many people will.

I was in Petco earlier and heard some teeny boppers talking about buying a Betta. And I quote "You just throw them in a bowl and feed them and they're good to go. They don't need anything fancy like normal fish." 

Needless to say I hung around the Betta's til they left, to make sure that if they picked one up I made sure they knew that wasn't the case.


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## sunrise2397 (Jul 19, 2011)

NCPanthersgurl said:


> Unfortunately not many people will.
> 
> I was in Petco earlier and heard some teeny boppers talking about buying a Betta. And I quote "You just throw them in a bowl and feed them and they're good to go. They don't need anything fancy like normal fish."
> 
> Needless to say I hung around the Betta's til they left, to make sure that if they picked one up I made sure they knew that wasn't the case.


those people obviously dont know anything about bettas:evil:. this makes me madd! but i really like the idea of putting it in a 10 or 20 gallon tank


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## NCPanthersgurl (Jul 13, 2011)

sunrise2397 said:


> those people obviously dont know anything about bettas:evil:. this makes me madd! but i really like the idea of putting it in a 10 or 20 gallon tank


Heh, I need to start stalking Petco and telling Betta buyers that Betta's require at least three gallons, so you might as well buy a 5 gallon...they eat this, this, and this, {have a full list}, that they need all of these decorations, live plants, a snail...

Basically jack them up to where their Betta is living in the utmost lap of luxury. lol


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## sunrise2397 (Jul 19, 2011)

NCPanthersgurl said:


> Heh, I need to start stalking Petco and telling Betta buyers that Betta's require at least three gallons, so you might as well buy a 5 gallon...they eat this, this, and this, {have a full list}, that they need all of these decorations, live plants, a snail...
> 
> Basically jack them up to where their Betta is living in the utmost lap of luxury. lol


Ahh id love to see the look on their face! Whaat hehe:lol:


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I actually want that hotel as a temporarily brake from the 10 gallon.


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## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

1.3 gallons is at least enough room for a small betta to swim in a little bit and if maintained well with water changes, can be a healthy home. IMO, not ideal, but if the fish is clean and fed well and acts like a happy fish then yes, that's better than many fish homes of larger dimensions...

That said, I cannot see a volume much under 1 gallon being anything but misery for a fish based on crampy space alone, and/or a PITA for the owner to never ever miss a single water change daily..


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## ukandy (Jul 29, 2012)

Hi guy sorry for butting in but im a littlke concerned now. Im planning on moving one of my males to a 12litre tank from my 90litre divided tank as he doesnt like his tankmate any more. Is my tempory 12 litre tank too small for him? It has a filter and heater. See my albums to see.


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

When I read the information about that tank, they said it was 2 gallons. I'm pretty sure it's 8x8x8, but the top 2"-3" you can't fill with water I still think it looks cool. 

Umbra usually makes pretty simple, functional products.

The only thing with the cube tank is won't look as nice in pictures with heater/filter wires hanging out of it. Also the limited viewing areas for the fish is a huge negative. 

If I can get them cheap, I may use them as storage cubes instead of a fish tank.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

No lid is a big and common problem.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

This topic is a year old...why did someone bump it up?


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

Jupiter said:


> This topic is a year old...why did someone bump it up?


ChoclateBetta did it :lol:

He or she is known for bumping old threads. We just have to ignore it when it happens ;-)


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## bettasusa (Nov 1, 2011)

Kytkattin said:


> Okay, I was actually thinking about this tank the other day. And I was thinking (not having held one or knowing the actual size), that this would be AWESOME to put in another tank as a decoration. Like to have it in say, a 10 gallon (maybe you would need a 20, or bigger?), and then have little plants around it. Basically make it look like a cute little house/apartment. Like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very cool idea, this could also be a betta advocate idea to show just how small these containers they sell are. I think of it like on Canal St. here in NY where you can buy two little turtles in that little carry around tank. They look tiny on the tank just about until you get home and notice, "Man there like on top of each other all the time" 

Great idea, I would love to try this, especially with that retro style looking cube...how much do they sell for?


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