# About how much would a 2.5 gallon tank cost?



## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

Currently I'm keeping Fishy in a 1g tank because my last tank cracked. It has a light and the temp. is around 69 degrees. When I get enough money, I'm planning to get a 2.5g tank...

1)How much do you think a 2.5g tank would cost with a light?

2) Do you need a filter with a betta fish? It seems like Fishy's doing fine without one, but do you need one?

3) Is what I have and will have with the tank good or do I need anything more that's totally important? I will have a 2.5g tank, a light, gravel, fake plants, and some shells.


Thanks for the help!


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

I am getting mad at my parents. They want me to keep it in a 1g tank with the light. They say as long it's living, it's fine. I totally disagree with them! They don't want me to get a 2.5g tank saying it's too big.......... They won't let me get a filter either or anything like that. Uggh! They don't know how to care for a Betta. They think a 1g is the perfect size. And they think cleaning it out once per month is good enough when I'm telling them the tank is clouded up. What can I do?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

A 2.5 gallon tank would be fine. No, you don't HAVE to have a filter. If you're going to cycle the tank then you need a filter. I have one of my bettas in a 4 gallon uncycleed, unfiltered tank. A filter helps keep the water cleaner and you don't have to do water changes as much. At 69 degrees, the water is too cold for a betta. Their water needs to be at 78-80. Four of mine don't have heaters but they are in an upstaird room and their water temp stays around 74-75. I have no idea what a 2.5 gallon would cost. Someone else will tell you.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks dramaqueen, I just wish my parents would let me get a heater and filter and a good tank.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

A 2.5 gallon wouldn't take up much room at all! My 4 gallon sits on a nightstand with room to spare. Maybe you could measure the space where you want to put it and go look at some tanks and see if one would work.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

A 2.5g would fit, but they think it's too big for a betta, thinking it will have too much space and he only needs 1g tank. They think a 1g is good enough and a light whic doesn't heat the tank much is good enough. I need a heater and filter and a bigger tank. It will all fit, they just won't let me.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Do you think that they think you won't take care of the fish and that the money spent on the tank, filter and heater would be wasted? I'm just going by my own experience with my parents. If they thought I wasn't going to take care of something, there was no way I was going to get it or convince them otherwise.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

I don't think so. They probably think they'll have to do all of the work probably with the cleaning. Of course I'll need some help, but they won't have to do it all. I just don't want my betta stuck in a 1g tank freezing cold in a 68 degrees cloudy tank. But at this point, I have no choice.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

All you can do is work with what you have. I have mine , 3 of them anyway, in gallon containers and they do fine. Just keep up with the water changes. My water temperature stays around 74-75. I got criticized on another forum for keeping mine in gallon containers and one person said I was abusing my fish! We just have to do the best we can with what we have.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

Yup, how often do you clean your 1g tank?


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

How can I keep the water in the 70s? Not where it is now in 68 degrees? without a heater


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

About every 7-10 days. Some say its best to do it twice a week but I'm a little lazy. lol


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

I'm trying to persuade her into letting me. I counted all the money I have. 38 dollars. Ok it's not a lot but still. I hope I can persuade her into letting me gat a tank, filter, heater, etc!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I hope you can. Good luck!  Just convince them that you'll take good care of your betta. It sounds like you ARE taking good care of him already. And you have your new friends at FishForum to help you along the way.  I think you can get everything separately for less than the kits cost, I THINK.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks a lot for helping me, glad I already have a friend here!


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

Well how i see the whole tank size thing is this:

Your fish lives in this tank. Is NEVER going to go out of it. Its kinda like an apartment. You can live in an apartment for ever, never leaving it *granted someone brings you food*, and only cleaning it once a month when the air is so thick you can't breathe, but are you going to be happy in it?

I have a 2 gallon *i spent $16 on it, got everything i needed other than food and water conditioner* and its not even 1' by 1' * i know this b/c the table i have it on is 1' by 1'*

try craigslist for a cheap tank or have them spend some time on here. show them some posts/threads and explain to them about the need for the fish to not just live, after all a person in a coma is alive and a person can be tortured yet still alive, but he needs to flourish. good luck! i am fortunate that my parents support me in anything i decide to do that won't get me in trouble... or include higher schooling


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm glad I could help. At least, I hope I've helped. lol Thanks for the friend request.


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

Ducki- Try craigslist! and you can get everything cheaper by individually then in a kit, unless like me you luck out for finding a really good sale. Or just buy what you can afford and then buy the filter and such later. its not going to die if it goes a little while without the filter.

Good luck! let me know if anything else is needed.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

ok, thanks both of you


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

You're welcome. As far as keeping the water warmer, you could put the bowl near a lamp. That might help some.


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

jst make sure not to put it over a heater, since it will create to many fluctuations in the temp...


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

That should be ok, as long as u take care of the water weekly, a betta can thrive in a 1g without a filter! It will take more work, but it can work out!


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## Katydid (Mar 15, 2009)

Dukie,

Depending on where you live, with your parents you can get on a local freecycle list. I am on one and occasionally all sorts of aquariums and equipment show up for free. You can also put out a wanted request for a larger aquarium. I wouldnt think that the maintanence on a 2.5 gal would be much more than a 1 gallon, and usually parents cant argue with free. The only hitch is that you usually have to be able to pick up the free item. 

just google freecycyle and see whats in your area. craigs list also has a free area. but you would want to have your parents involved before contacting anyone or putting a wanted request out there.

good luck!


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## berice17 (Mar 23, 2009)

didnt really check if this got answered or not yet...but i just thought i would say that i got my 5 gallon tank w/ filter, overhead lamp and cover, and heater from walmart for 30 bucks...so a 2.5 gallon should be cheaper than that.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

Actually probably not. In general there is some significant up front costs in starting a fish tank, but the difference between gallonages is not linear. For instance I just priced out the cost of starting a 10 gallon tank, without decorations or fish, to be between $90 and $110 dollars. However going up to a 20 gallon tank will only add on another $20 dollars or so. Same for moving up to a 30 gallon tank, another $20 on top of the 20 gallon cost. The small kits can be inexpensive but it's not a linear reduction in cost.


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## Livelifelaughlove (Jan 11, 2009)

I got my 2 gallon for $16, and my 5 gallon, off craigslist, for $20. So it totally depends on where you go, brand, if its on sale....


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

ya, I set up my 10g with live plants, real rocks, fake plants, 15lbs of gravel, a filter, a heater, and a hood with lights for around $75! Nothing I bought was used...... Just looked for cheap deals!


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Ironically when I compared tank prices at my local stores, 10 gallons were cheaper than both 2.5 and 5 gallon tanks! I thought it terribly strange, but hey, I'll take a 10 gallon, I've got the room for them, and I'm sure my fish don't mind the extra space.

Some hints for you on keeping your tank warmer if you still have not managed to convince your parents to at least let you have a heater: Make sure the tank is not near any place that is drafty -near a door is a good example, because every time a person opens it to go in and out, it allows cold drafts to come in, which causes your tank to fluctuate in temp, usually colder. 

If you have a table lamp that goes on an end stand or something of the like, put the tank near it, it can help warm the tank something like a heat light does for a reptile tank. This is not very stable, but better than nothing. 

In a general geographic reqion, where do you live? If you live far north, then try placing your betta near the southern wall of your house. This side of your home is exposed to the most sun, and therefore is actually slightly warmer. If you live in the south, then placing the tank closer to the east wall in spring and winter, and the west wall in summer and fall will have the same effect. In houses where there is not constant air circulation, these places will have a higher ambient air temperature due to the increased exposure to the sun, which will then affect the temp of the tank. 

Consider placing your tank near a window in sunlight for several hours each day. This is risky, because it can sometimes cause extreme temperature flucuations, so you will need to monitor it closely, but hey, this is how bettas warm themselves up in the wild, the sun beats down on the water in the rice paddies all day. Bear in mind though, doing this in a tank (especially a small one!) has side effects! Algae is much more likely to grow in a tank when exposed to direct sunlight, consequently, you will need to change your betta's water more often. Also, the tank itself will act as something of a magnifying glass, and focus the sunlight and heat in the tank. Its something like what the glass windows of a car does in summer - you know how you get in, and fell like dieing because the inside of the car is so hot? It's like that. So as I said, you must monitor your betta's tank temp closesly, and not allow it to rise above about 82 degrees.

Do more frequent water changes. While the betta can get by only have water changes once a week (these are hardy fish after all, but hardy and happy are two different things), in only one gallon it is going to foul the water fairly quickly, and if you had a test kit (which I'm betting you don't, seeing as how your parents seem uninclined to let you have anything else) you would notice how the ammonia levels rise quickly in such a limited space. Cleaner water is never going to hurt the betta, and when you do a water change, take the temp of the new water you put in, and try to get it around 80-82 degrees (be careful though, don't get it too hot! 90 is like a sauna to bettas, don't fry your fish!). While this may be only temporary (well, all of my suggestions pretty much are) this will at least give the betta a little bit of time in warm water before it slowly cools back off to room temp.

Oh, and if you feel like being sly, being as you have no heater, your water temp being around 68 indicates this is also about the temperature you keep your house at. Try leaning on your parents about saving money by raising the temperature of the house a few degrees simply by turning up the thermostat a bit. This wil save them lots of money in the long run as AC bills can get quite costly you know *wink wink, nudge nudge* A warmer house in summer isn't going to kill you, and it would certainly help improve the betta's living condition (not that they need to know or care about that xD). The money bit I generally find works on the stubborn sort much better, push that line about how much they could save by not having their AC running as much.


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

Ok, My parents fot me a 10g tank! It has a filter and everything! It doesn't have a heater though..... Do you need a heater for a 10g tank?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yeah, a heater would help. I got mine on sale for $18 at Drsfosterandsmith.com but I paid a $9.99 shipping fee, too. Ugh! But I really had no choice. Petsmart didn't have what I wanted and I have no transportation so I had to do it. I'm so happy for you that you got a 10 gallon tank!  YAY! Only one of mine has a heater though.


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## Nataku (Feb 22, 2009)

Yay a bigger tank!

A heater is more important than a filter in the world of bettas. Bettas don't like much flow anyhow, so you should watch the filter closely anyhow, and see if it is making too much current for your betta, and if it is, you will either need to baffle it or just plain turn it off. 
At my local petsmart I get 50wat heaters which are perfect for 10 gallon tanks, and they tend to run about 20 bucks a pop, so if you can weedle your parents into getting you one, or just taking you there so you can buy one, that would be handy. 
Or, if you 10 gallon has a hood light (or lights) you might also try putting some heating lights in them. I have one 10 gallon that instead of a water heater has some old bulbs in it from a herp set-up that someone broke down years ago and gave to me, and those help to keep the water warm too. They are not as stable perhaps as the heater would be, but my house is quite warm anyhow, and the betta in the tank certainly seems happy with the arrangement. The lights are also cheaper than a heater, runnning about 2.50 - 3.50 a piece (my tank hood holds two lights).


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

Walmart has a nice one that keeps the temp. at about 78 degrees for $11! it works great! Glad to see your parents finally broke down! lol


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## dukie1346 (Mar 22, 2009)

I got a heater called whisper heater, I hope it works


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

whisper stuff is always good, thats the only kind of filter I use!


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