# Crown tail Betta Tank



## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

Hi,
I'm new around here so please forgive me if this has already been asked, but I and my brother both have crown tails and we have noticed that his always makes his tank really murky and dirty right after the tank is cleaned. We use proper water filtration liquids to make the water safe and it's also supposed to make the water stay clean. Why does this breed of fish create a dirty home? Is it just the breed or are we doing something wrong? I have both a Halfmoon Betta and a Crowntail and my Halfmoon always stays clean whereas the Crowntail doesn't. Very weird.

Thank you to anyone who can help us out with this! 

JennH


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi JennH and welcome to the forum. That's an interesting question. I'm not sure the crowntail is to blame (but maybe he's just a messy bachelor? ^_^) It sounds like it's more a matter of you and your brother having different ways of changing the water. If you pour the replacement water in very fast, it can stir up the waste from the gravel (this stuff is called mulm) and make the water murky. Do you and your brother use a gravel vacuum to suck the mulm out of the gravel once a week? 

Also, it seems that halfmoons are often prone to constipation so your halfmoon may not be passing as much waste as your crowntail, therefore there may be more waste in your crowntail's tank than your halfmoon's tank. 

How big are the tanks and how often do you change the water?


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

Thank-you for the welcome  And thank-you for replying to my post so quickly. The tank my brother has is about 2.5 liters and my guys are in Aqua Boxes - not sure if you've seen them? I've not been able to find them at many places so I'm not sure how popular they are really. But they are about 1 litre or just under. Not sure exactly. We do not use any kind of vacuum when cleaning our tanks - I just rinse out the rocks I have for my guys and he doesn't have anything on the bottom of his... he tried using rocks once but I guess he didn't like them or something, not sure what the deal is with that. 

I'm still learning about Bettas - though I have owned them since 2005 or so. But I've always had the same bread - this is my first time having a Halfmoon and a Crowntail .... so yeah. I'm really learning now. haha. Whatever information that can be given to me would be awesome!! 

Thanks for your help Sakura8!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Sure, no problem. I'm always glad to help.  So your brother's bettas aren't in Aqua Boxes? Otherwise I'd say it was the sand. By the way, I know the website says to change the water only once a month but I guarantee your bettas will get very sick and die from ammonia poisoning if you don't change the water at least once a day. 

And uhm, actually *a bit embarassed* the Aqua Boxes are currently the target of a hate thread right now so they're not popular at all. But if you change the water very frequently, then your bettas will probably be okay. My main concern is the buildup of ammonia. Uhm, it's nothing personal, really. ^_^ No one knew there was a responsible betta owner who did keep their betta in one. We're all mad about the _irresponsible_ owners.

What are your bettas' names and what colors are they? Can you post pics? We always love to see pics of bettas.


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

No, his Betta is in like a square kind of box... lol - hard to explain. I can take pics of it tomorrow - I'm at his place right now - we don't live in the same city so I can't take pics of mine - but when I get home I can... I used to have pictures of them, but I don't anymore. My Betta's names are Samuel and Tyler and my brother's (Andrew) fish is named Fish. He has no sand or rocks in the bottom of Fish's tank. I have rocks... 

Oh... I didn't know Aqua boxes are frowned upon =S I got them only because they have a lid on it - I have a kitten who likes to try and get my boys out of their homes... I don't want that happening. What do you recommend? Andrew is getting a glass aquarium for Fish soon - I would like to - but I don't have room for two aquariums in my room.... not sure what to do. Please don't think of me as a bad Betta Owner.... I just got the Aqua Boxes this year - I had other tanks for previous fish... I'm sorry... I hope no one thinks badly of me... 

My fish have been fine with me only cleaning once a month - they are healthy and vibrant. Andrew changes the water at least once a week with Fish.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

No, no, of course I don't think you're a bad fish owner.  Any owner who posts here asking questions is a good owner. And I totally understand about the lid, I have 8 cats. Plus, bettas are jumpers so a lid is good to keep them where you want them to be. 

You can get a 5 gallon Aqueon Minibow tank and divide it. Or you can divide a 10g. Here's the Aqueon tank:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4056278&lmdn=Fish+Aquariums+&amp;+Bowls

I'm glad your boys have been fine so far, that's great, but I would still worry about the ammonia buildup. Samuel and Tyler. They sound cute.


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

That tank is pretty neat! I showed Andrew and he seems to like it too - maybe I'll see if I can go pick up a few! 

Tyler and Samuel are my babies, lol, I love them to pieces. Samuel is cute too because he pays attention to me when I work at my desk =) And if you talk to him, he'll look at you too and won't swim away or anything until you are done talking - he's amazing company!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Bettas have so much personality, don't they? I totally understand, I love my bettas to bits too.


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

Yeah they do - I've had many different ones with different personalities - it's been great. Any other tips you can give me for my boys in general?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

No real tips unless you have specific questions.


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

Good to know =) Thanks! Like I say, I've had luck with all my Betta's thus far - they've always died of old age except one that I had that in the store already had a scale disease, so I bought him just to give him a better home in his last days than to die in a cup!


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## gbose (Dec 2, 2010)

JennH,

I'm thrilled that you're looking at a real tank for your bettas. Those little 1-liter things are sad -- kind of like spending your life locked up in a closet...

Please do get a (small) filter -- bettas apparently don't like fast-flowing water, and a small heater to keep them warm.

And do post pictures!

GB


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

That's great, I'm glad they all had good long lives with you.  If you ever have questions, PM me or post.


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## thePWNISHER (Jun 18, 2011)

My last house was a 525 sq ft. 2bedroom home. I felt like a Betta in those stores. No closets, tiny windows and lots of wall space. It was an old WW2 military housing that the university had renovated back in the 50s for student family housing. They were terrible old and smelled bad. So when I was looking to get a Betta I just browsed online found the forum got more info so when I get my first Betta when I move again end of summer I'll make a good home for one. I got a 10Gallon because I know I want my house to be at least like 7 bedrooms or something someday. Maybe someone will clean it for me like my Betta's home will be cleaned for him. He'll be spoiled alright. 

Still I think its great that you take the time to take care of yours JennH. I mean even if the conditions are small as long as they have interaction and someoen who keeps up on the maintenance so they live a long while is all they could ask for.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Sounds like some of the old houses at the Presidio in San Francisco. Or my brother's apartment in NYC. :/ And yeah, I totally want someone to clean my house for me, too.


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

gbose: Thanks so much for your reply!! I used to have a big 10gallon aquarium when I had one Betta - then I swithed to oddly named goldfish and now I'm back to Betta's ... but because I have two, I went with the AquaBoxes instead - but skaura8 has pointed me into a good direction for neat looking tanks that are bigger then what I have and what Andrew has - so I'm hoping to pick up two for me and one for him - our fish deserve better/bigger homes! I hate seeing them in small spaces without a doubt!! I've always had somewhat large tanks for them - at one point I had 3 Betta's at once and they were in these neat plastic Betta tanks - they were decently sized but no filter. Both Andrew and I would like to have a filter, that's for sure. 

skaura8: I will for sure be in touch if I or Andrew come up with any other questions over time. Thanks so much for being willing to answer anything that we may come up with! 

thePWNISHER: I know what you mean about small spaces... I am pretty much cooped up in my room at home in Calgary and then when I come to my brothers home in Edmonton, he just lives in a 1 bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor! The living room at his place at least has a big patio door and stuff - so that helps, but it's still a really small space... especially when you have 2 adults and one 2.5yr old Boarder Collie/German Shepherd in the place, haha. But we manage! 

I love my boys, Samuel and Tyler more than anything! I had Samuel first then I decided I wanted to have another one so I went back out and got Tyler. I'd love to own more - they are awesome! And like I have said previously, Samuel is very attentive to me and I spend lots of time with them. They sit on the 2nd shelf of my desk in my room - so I see them every morning and every night for sure and then any time I am sitting at my desk or laying in my bed =) They are spoiled too. 

Actually, that brings me to another question... they used to have silk plants in their homes but I had to get rid of them because they eventually got to a point where I couldn't clean them or get the smell out of them.... what are opinions on real plants for them? Just curious - have always wondered if silk or real would be better for them. Ideas? 

-JH


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Real plants are great because they help keep the water clean but there are a few drawbacks like if you have to do medicating or aquarium salt treatments, you'll have to do it in a QT container because those substances can kill your plants. Lighting is another problem for some people too. Java Fern, Amazon Sword, Anubias, Hairgrass, Java Moss, and Pygmy Chain Sword are all good plants for the basic lighting most tanks have. You can fertilize them too so they'll grow better with a product like Seachem Flourish. 

Oh, and did I mention Samuel and Tyler will LOVE plants? ;-)


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## JennH (Jun 29, 2011)

Thanks Sakura8! I'll indeed look into some plants next time I'm at the pet store =) I know they loved their silk plants but I'd like to give real plants a try, I think that'd look really good. And I'm always wanting to make my boys happy =)


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

They'll love silk too if you don't want to bother keeping live ones alive. The real benefit of the live ones is that they help clear the ammonia in the water. But I know Samuel and Tyler will love you for whatever kind of plant you get them.


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