# 3.5 Gallon Betta tank. Looking to for tips!



## placebo96 (Jul 10, 2017)

So I bought the "Top Fin Enchant 3.5 Gallon Tank". Currently I have my female beta living in it. I put gravel, a betta log ornament for my betta's privacy, fake plants and a filter. I want to make my tank more interesting and more lively. I was thinking about maybe putting live plants, maybe putting a snail or shrips and maybe if possible some other fishes. I would like advice and input on this and maybe some stories from experience would be great.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum! :wave:

Unfortunately, there are few other critters you can put in with your Betta. Tank mates are for us and not our Betta which are just as content without company. You could, however, get a small species of snail like Ramshorn. They come in some pretty colors like blue, pink, brown, etc. Or you could get a Mystery Snail but you will have more maintenance as they poop A LOT! For shrimp you would need a tank that is mature and has lots of live plants for them to hide in and for when they molt.

A good "beginner" plant is Anubias. You can let them float or tie or glue to a rock or a piece of decor or driftwood. There are nice plants like Water Wisteria, Hornwort, Cabomba and Anacharis. You don't even need to plant them but can weight them down and leave them in bunches for a fuller look.


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## placebo96 (Jul 10, 2017)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Welcome to the Forum! :wave:
> 
> Unfortunately, there are few other critters you can put in with your Betta. Tank mates are for us and not our Betta which are just as content without company. You could, however, get a small species of snail like Ramshorn. They come in some pretty colors like blue, pink, brown, etc. Or you could get a Mystery Snail but you will have more maintenance as they poop A LOT! For shrimp you would need a tank that is mature and has lots of live plants for them to hide in and for when they molt.
> 
> A good "beginner" plant is Anubias. You can let them float or tie or glue to a rock or a piece of decor or driftwood. There are nice plants like Water Wisteria, Hornwort, Cabomba and Anacharis. You don't even need to plant them but can weight them down and leave them in bunches for a fuller look.


Thanks I will be looking into these plants and buy a few real soon. I also did some research and came upon the zebra snail. Apparently it cannot reproduce in tropical water. Which is perfect cuz I don't want to deal with babies jus yet. Do you have any suggestion on types of shrimps?


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## MadtownD (Aug 29, 2014)

What a pretty girl you have!
I believe you're talking about a zebra nerite snail. I have one in a 20g (going on three years old!), we love her- but I would not keep one in a 3 gallon. I would not have believed it biologically possible for a creature to poop so much (my first betta would not even tolerate a nerite companion, so I had her in a tupperware for a week in between tanks and OMG holy crap.) Beyond the waste, they require a lot of algae or decaying plants, and need an established tank with plants.

You might look into a smaller, horned nerite once you have some established plants. I have a horned nerite snail in a 3 gallon tank, but it's heavily planted and has good 'algae grazing' surfaces. 

Just checking, things I didn't know when I first started: Did you cycle your tank? Do you have a good water change schedule? 

Getting some live plants would 'liven things up'. Floating plants are nice and easy, Anubias are also lovely and easy if you have the right light.

I started with a 5g and a betta, and I didn't know about tank cycling, but at least I got a water test kit within the first week, so I quickly got an education- and many water changes. I thought the filter 'cleaned' the water from the get-go. And I believed the guy at the fish store who said that I could put in a school of white clouds with the betta in that small tank (yeah, they went back to the store). This forum was a great help.


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