# iPond or 5 Gallon?



## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

So Pinyin, whom I've had for all of two weeks, has been living in an iPond. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a tank that's probably 1/4 Gallon (the way I set it up) and it plugs your iPod into the side, and projects your music through a built in speaker.

And I know that there's a lot of controversy about the iPond, because it's small, but Pin is a small Crowntail, so he was perfectly happy. Until I went back to school. 

The way that the tank is set up is that there's a small plastic plant suctioned onto the bottom, and just enough gravel to cover the suction cup. The rest is full of Pinyin, when he wants to swim. (Most pictures of the tank show gravel half way up the tank. Which isn't cool, it's mean!)

But, Pin has barely eaten, his bubble nest is barely there, and he doesn't swim up to the side to greet me when I come in the room anymore. Should I change to the 5 Gallon tank that hasn't seen the light of day in ten years? I have everything I need (and I work at a pet store), but I'm not getting definite answers from the fish room staff at all. 

Pinyin just seems, well, out of sorts as of late.


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## Zeetrain (Oct 13, 2009)

I would clean that 5 gallon and put him in that. They need at least 2 gallons. If you have all the stuff then why not use it? Do you have the space to set the 5 gal up?


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

That's the thing, I don't have the room, and mom doesn't want him upstairs. And I'm not sure if my desk can hold the weight of the tank. It's a glass desk.

Gah, I was told during training at work that Pin only needs 1 U.S. Gallon of water, and he'd be fine. We sell 1/2 Gallons and I've heard good things from the customers. I'm just concerned for him.

Should I change him from flake food to pellet food too?


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

firefly0101 said:


> That's the thing, I don't have the room, and mom doesn't want him upstairs. And I'm not sure if my desk can hold the weight of the tank. It's a glass desk.
> 
> Gah, I was told during training at work that Pin only needs 1 U.S. Gallon of water, and he'd be fine. We sell 1/2 Gallons and I've heard good things from the customers. I'm just concerned for him.
> 
> Should I change him from flake food to pellet food too?


Well pellet food is actually better!!!

Also, Youd better find a place to put that 5 gal because when winter hits you will need a heater.

Also he is just not a happy betta in that little think!


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

Oh yes, Alberta winters... Pin will probably freeze, so I'll talk to the Paradise Team tomorrow when I bring my water in for my weekly test.
I have actually just started with Bettas, so any news is awesome!

And he WAS a happy betta fish, untill I had to go back to school. He won't even look at me, or eat his food. 
There goes my pay cheque, the bugger has his dibs on it. *sigh* 

And what is your opinion on the 7 day Betta feeders? They're a plaster base, and it disolves in the Betta bowl.

Any advice would be great!


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## Zeetrain (Oct 13, 2009)

firefly0101 said:


> I'm not sure if my desk can hold the weight of the tank. It's a glass desk.


 If youre tank dimensions are 16 3/16 x 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 then it will weigh around 70 pounds filled with water and gravel and anything else. So I bet youre desk will hold it.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

firefly0101 said:


> Oh yes, Alberta winters... Pin will probably freeze, so I'll talk to the Paradise Team tomorrow when I bring my water in for my weekly test.
> I have actually just started with Bettas, so any news is awesome!
> 
> And he WAS a happy betta fish, untill I had to go back to school. He won't even look at me, or eat his food.
> ...


Well Feeders are a BIG no no!!

Never get a feeder because feeders will make the water dirty fast or they will hill your betta with all the food, he will get bloated and die. also feeders will make the water cloudy like i said before :/ big no no!


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

Thanks. That's probably the size of it, it's just under the bathroom sink right now. 

I know what I'm doing tomorrow, on the holiday...
Shopping at Paradise Pets, tank setting up, and Pinyin will be moving in either early Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon...
Two days more in the iPond won't hurt him, will it?


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

firefly0101 said:


> Thanks. That's probably the size of it, it's just under the bathroom sink right now.
> 
> I know what I'm doing tomorrow, on the holiday...
> Shopping at Paradise Pets, tank setting up, and Pinyin will be moving in either early Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon...
> Two days more in the iPond won't hurt him, will it?


No it wont hurt him he will just be a little sad betta untill he getts happier!!


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## Zeetrain (Oct 13, 2009)

bettalover2033 said:


> No it wont hurt him he will just be a little sad betta untill he getts happier!!


 Agreed =)


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

It's set up! yay!

But he hangs around the heater alot. Even though he's got a pagoda to explore. He's seems a lot happier and ate one pellet about twenty minutes later. YAY!


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Cool!!


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## Zeetrain (Oct 13, 2009)

firefly0101 said:


> It's set up! yay!
> 
> But he hangs around the heater alot. Even though he's got a pagoda to explore. He's seems a lot happier and ate one pellet about twenty minutes later. YAY!


 Pics?


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Bettas are attracted to heaters  It's normal. Think of it as a your favorite room in winter, "The rest of the house isn't cold, really, but it's still not as warm as this spot!" I'm sure you'll see a dramatic increase in activity and probably color as well  Most bettas love the extra space allowed, and the heater make it more home-y (Bettas are tropical, and are built for warmer waters). Good luck and congrats!


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## ForbiddenSecrets (Aug 15, 2010)

Oh good I'm sure your little guy is worlds happier now c: moving from 0.2 gal to 5 gallons is a huge and healthy change =D


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## Adastra (Jun 18, 2010)

Keep in mind that you need to do 100% water changes in your 5 gallon once a week unless you choose to filter and cycle it. The "training" people get at pet stores is abhorrent, in my opinion, and it's a terrible shame that that misinformation is passed on to the customer as well. The simple truth is that the pet store makes more profit off of a low cost made-in-china dinky plastic betta coffin than they do proper tanks with a higher cost. The sooner you realize that your value to the company isn't your accurate knowledge of proper pet care, but your ability to make the company money the better. It's not just fish either, any small animal, be it a bird or a hamster or a ferret or a hermit crab--you can expect all of the care information they gave you to be terribly wrong. If as many people understood the proper care requirements of these animals as wanted them, they would not be nearly as common as they are now. 

I suggest researching the nitrogen cycle since cycling the tank will make your life a lot easier in the long run. If you work at a pet store with fish tanks, you should be able to get some filter media to help seed your tank easily, which will speed the process along quite a bit.


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## rejohnson53 (Sep 13, 2009)

If you are interested in cycling your 5 gal, this is a good link that's being passed around the forum: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
Having a cycled tank means less water changes, less maintenance, and a more stable water quality, which means a happier fish! Although maybe you should wait a bit before you try to cycle the tank, let little Pinyin settle first.


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

I've cycled his water since he was in the iPond - my manager told me that it would be best for him to have dechlorinator and cycle, even when unfiltered.
And the owners pride themselves on the acurate pet care information that we give our customers... but we are lacking in bettas. It's just that most people want an easy fish, they're first timers, yadda yadda yadda.
And is it normal from Pin to be a little more skittsh in the big tank? All I do is look at him wrong, and he's off pouting in the corner of the tank...

But maybe he's a weird little fish...
I don't know!


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

its impossible to cycle a less than 1 gallon tank. If you could cycle without filters then we wouldn't even need them. Unless you go the NPT style (Natural Planted tank). But that too would most likely need weekly partial water changes.


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## fishman12 (Sep 1, 2010)

Good luck with the new tank!


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## fishmadcraig (Dec 17, 2009)

I'm sorry if i come accross as rude, but how do they allow you to sell fish in the store when you clearly don't know enough just yet to be advising people that come in to buy fish from you? 

Keep learning and you'l soon pick it all up, though.


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

@ Alex09
Apparently, if putting the Cycle product (with the Ammonia consuming bacteria) counts as "cycling" then that's what I did. 
@fishman12
Thank you! I finally found a hood for it, so it's awesome! And he's making his buuble nest! (WOO!)
@fishmadcraig
Really, I haven't had a formal fish training. I've had formal filter media training and fish supplies training. The rest is what I've heard from my coworkers and the little that I've read from the Betta handbooks. It's mostly confidence. If I can persuade a customer to buy a fish, and they have questions, I'll grab one of the other girls that works in the fish room, or I'll grab Allie from the animal room. It's a job, and I probably won't be there all my life. And now, after joining this site, my coworkers call me "The Paranoid Betta Fish Owner". For some reason or another... XP


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## CodeRed (Jun 11, 2009)

Unfortunately, just putting the cycling stuff in doesn't automatically cycle it. Cycling is when you have beneficial bacteria in the tank evened out, to create a more natural aquarium. It takes quite a while to happen, sometimes months depending on the tank size. It requires a filter to cycle it, and I can't imagine a 1/4 gallon tank having a filter o.o It's worth it in the end, but I can't imagine a tank smaller than a gallon cycling, and even then it'd be extremely iffy.


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## firefly0101 (Sep 6, 2010)

That's why he's in the 5 gallon now. He's much happier there.


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