# New owner with questions



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

Hi everyone!

I have never really been into keeping pet fish, since every single gold fish that I have kept as a child has died overnight. My parents would not give me money for them either so I've never really had any pets. But my friend has recently gone on a vacation and she needed me to watch her pet Betta for her. I've kept it on my desk and this little guy's been growing on me. So I decided that I want to get some of my own! 

So I've been doing some research here and there and I still have some questions. I want more than just one fish in my tank and I thought about some of my options and read that I could keep female bettas together.

I want to get 3 female bettas, and I want to get something like this








Can someone show me the differences (with pictures) between a male and a female betta so I dont accidently buy 3 males and send them to their deaths? 

How big of a tank should I get? I was thinking maybe a 10 gallon tank. Are there any reliable name brands that I should look for? I dont want to buy a tank that'll be defective or break on me somewhere down the line. What would be the price range for these tanks?

How do I keep the fish together? I will use dividers if necessary but I want to avoid that. How do I go about introducing the betta into the tank?

What kind of accessories will I need? A filter and heater mainly from what I've learned. Is there anything else? What kind of surroundings should I put them in? Should I use sand topped with rocks or just pebbles or sparkly marbles? Ideas for plants? What about lighting? What colors do they prefer? Anything else I need to know before I take off on this adventure? Thanks for your help!


----------



## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Males in almost all cases (Halfmoon plakats and plakats are short finned) have long fins. Female are smaller, and on their stomach you can see a small white dot. This is an egg spot.

Females can live together as long as the tank is 10+ gallons and you have at least 4 females.

Also, don't jump into pure bred crowntails and halfmoons right away. Start with mutt veil tails.

Warning!!! These fish will take over your life!!!


----------



## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

Phether said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I have never really been into keeping pet fish, since every single gold fish that I have kept as a child has died overnight. My parents would not give me money for them either so I've never really had any pets. But my friend has recently gone on a vacation and she needed me to watch her pet Betta for her. I've kept it on my desk and this little guy's been growing on me. So I decided that I want to get some of my own!
> 
> ...



That is a nice CT male that you want. I doubt you will found anything like him a pet store though. :| Ps. that one that you attached a pic of is a male. Try aquabid.com if you really have your heart set on one like that.  

OK, females CAN be kept together, but don't just plunk 'em all in the tank and expect them to be a happy family. 

1. You need at least 4 females, so the aggression can be spread out. 

2. You need at least 10 gallons, heavily planted with lots of places to hide. 

3. Sorority tanks (a tank of females) don't always work. It is high risk. 

Honestly, for beginners, I would just get 2-3 males and divide the tank.  

Oh! And welcome to the fish forum. Everyone is very helpful here, so don't be afraid to ask questions!!


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

Why do I need 4 instead of 3?

Whoops. YOu just answered my question. Thanks! :]


----------



## crowntail lover (Apr 25, 2009)

If you are looking to start a soroity tank..Then
1. Buy all females..(as you stated) you can tell the diff. by looking right under the belly of the fish..If you see a pearl (white egg spot) then that is a female..
2. Try to find young, small looking females..as these are the best soroity girls.They can get used to eachother easily
3. Go for a larger tank! 10 gallon +
4. Also range in the diet you feed them, Flacks, Pellets, Bloodworm treats, shrimp! 
5. You will need a heater
6. And a filter
7 Also make sure there are MANY hiding places for the shy females.
8. oh.. Also. You can have more then 4 females in a 10 gallon if you dont add anyother tank mates. 
9. If you would like tank mates...Introduce them to the tank first so the bettas wont pick on them.. I have had great success with Neons, Mollies, Cory cats, and Cleaners
1o. When you so get the females make sure you transfer them all into the tank at the same time, so they cant start claming their own territory
Questions??


----------



## crowntail lover (Apr 25, 2009)

It balances out the aggression..But if you have tankmates...Then 3 will do!


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I wouldn't get any less than 4 females. The more females you have the more the aggression is spread out. The larger the tank, the more females you can have.


----------



## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

I agree with all of the above information but I would honestly suggest that if you are new to keeping bettas you just divide the tank into 2 and keep the bettas seperately. If you do this you can have males, females, or a combination of both. Sororities are very risky.


----------



## KP0707 (Jul 28, 2009)

also remember to cycle your tank or your fish might die


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

What do you mean by cycling? Thanks for all the answers guys! Any other tips are welcome :]


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Cycling is the building up of beneficial bacteria in your tank. You can google fishless cycling for more info.


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

How young should I get the fish? Some of them come when they are 3 months old and some are fully grown... any suggestions?


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I would get a young one.


----------



## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

Like Dramaqueen said, get a young one


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

How young should I aim for?

After some research, I found that I could do some fishless cycling. How do I do this? If I am not mistaken, I'm supposed to add regular amounts of ammonia daily until the ammonia and nitrate levels balance out. Am I correct?


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

About 3-5 months old.


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

How does tank maintenance work? How do I do it and how often? What about if I empty the tank and clean the entire thing? Do I have to cycle the tank again? Do I need to take any precautions before putting the fish back in? Do I just use tap water?

What about accessories like logs/rocks/plants? I plan to keep the aquarium in my room which does not get any direct sunlight at all... just a bit that comes through the blinds. I see that amazon swords are popular to have, but I'm afraid that it may grow too big for a 10 gallon tank. Thoughts/suggestions?


----------



## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

With a 10 gallon tank, I can't say what percentage you should take out weekly during water changes. Someone with more experience in a larger tank will have to help you there. I have a 5 gallon and recently had to completely empty the tank and clean it. I do not have to go through a WHOLE new cycle, I'm just have a mini cycle. So no worries - if you ever do have to completely empty, you should be okay. You can use tap water, just make sure you condition first with a water conditioner such as Prime, Tetra Aquasafe, Stress Coat, etc.

As for plants, you can use silk or live. Plastic plants can tear their fins. Decorations you need to watch - because sharp or pointy ones can also tear their fins. So for example: Shipes can have pointy edges that can hurt the fins. You don't want to give your betta direct sunlight. So where you are keeping it is fine. Honestly, my betta's tank is in my room - which gets very little sunlight. If you keep your tank in direct sunlight you'll get a lot of algae growth, which you don't want. 

About the sword plants, I found its best to get root tabs in there for them. They definitely need 12 hours of light daily at least. Plus don't forget your liquid food also. Once I got the root tabs, my sword plant took off. I actually finally am able to prune back the older leaves now because my plant growth took off so fast in a matter of a month.


----------



## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

Phether said:


> How young should I aim for?
> 
> After some research, I found that I could do some fishless cycling. How do I do this? If I am not mistaken, I'm supposed to add regular amounts of ammonia daily until the ammonia and nitrate levels balance out. Am I correct?


Yes, you'll need ammonia, a dropper of some sort, and a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte. You add enough ammonia at first to bring the level to around 3-5 ppm, then wait for ammonia to start going down. Once it gets to about .25 nitrItes should start showing up. At this point you should also start adding ammonia daily (about 1 drop per 2-3 gallons should do). You will then see ammonia and nitrIte dropping down to 0 and nitrAtes will show up. Now the cycle is complete and all you need to do is a water change (how much depends on the nitrAte level), but make sure not to touch the gravel or filter material as this is where your good bacteria live and the cycle is going to be fragile for a while, and add fish. Once you add fish you will still want to monitor the parameters frequently so you can be sure it's not mini-cycling.

As for weekly cleaning, you should buy a gravel vaccuum. That way you can clean the gravel and take out dirty water at the same time. 25% weekly water changes should be good. You can use your tap water but make sure to condition it first.

Hope this helps ;-).


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

Will an amazon sword be able to stay alive in my room? Do I need some kind of artificial light? What kind?


----------



## dr2b (May 31, 2009)

It is best to use a CFL daylight spectrum light bulb. But do make sure it says daylight spectrum. There are normal CFL's in the same area - very easy to make that mistake. Usually your tank will tell you what the maximum wattage your hood can take. Also, make sure you have at least 1.5 watts per gallon.


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

And what type of heater/filter should I be using?


----------



## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

For a heater, you want 5 watts per gallon. 

Filters, well there are a lot out there!! I use an Aqueon Power Filter. You may need to build a little contraption if the current is too strong.


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

I was thinking about getting an amazon sword. If i somehow put the sword in front of the filter to block it, then the current shouldnt be too bad right? But will the water still get filtered thoroughly? I was also wondering how heaters are mounted. Do they mount vertically on a corner of the aquarium? Or can I place it on the bottom near the sand hidden behind something? I'm not quite sure how it works and I dont want the betta to swim onto it and burn itself or anything >_>


----------



## Bawble (Aug 22, 2009)

You could just get a hydor mini heater and just bury it underneath the gravel so your betta wont have any contact with it.


----------



## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

Yeah it's hard to recommend details like the kind of heater until you decide on the size and type of tank you want, which also depends on what fish you decide to keep. But since you already said you had trouble with goldfish in the past I would try to keep it simple and just get a pretty veiltail to spoil. Then once you've looked after him a while you can get more advanced with divided tanks and group female tank or community and such.


----------



## Phether (Aug 22, 2009)

dr2b said:


> It is best to use a CFL daylight spectrum light bulb. But do make sure it says daylight spectrum. There are normal CFL's in the same area - very easy to make that mistake. Usually your tank will tell you what the maximum wattage your hood can take. Also, make sure you have at least 1.5 watts per gallon.


This one would be perfect for a 10 gallon tank, yes? :]
http://www.e3living.com/15-watt-daylight-spiral-cfl-60-watt-replacement

But don't aquariums use fluorescent tubes? (The long light bulbs) Or does it vary from tank to tank?


----------



## Jynx (Jul 25, 2009)

don't know if that would fit an aquarium hood- and you need a lid for your betta tank since bettas jump out of the tank A LOT
you should wait and see what bulbs fit the aquarium you end up getting- probably they have plant lights at the pet store.


----------

