# 1 gallon too big?



## Nes1013 (Feb 1, 2010)

I recently bought a 1 gallon tank. Is that too big for a betta? Or how can i divide it into 2 seperate sections?


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## truthequalslies (Jan 21, 2010)

actually its too small you need atleast 2 gallons for one betta and @ least 5 gallons to keep 2 in a tank


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## Hadouken441 (Jan 27, 2010)

I got a 5 gallon for 1 male. 1 gal is only good for a hospital tank.

Just taking a guess here, did the guys at petco///petsmart tell you that they can live in puddles and only need like a cup of water??? Just some personal experience but i never listen to anything that they say to me. But your on the right track coming here and asking questions!!


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## reaperss06 (Jan 31, 2010)

I'm actually surprised everyone keeps saying at least 2 gallons cuz I kept mine in a .5 for a while then upgraded to a 1 gallon, and until recently my fish has been doing great.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

The water in a .5 gallon needs to be changed 2-3 times a week.


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## MollyJean (Dec 29, 2009)

reaperss06 said:


> I'm actually surprised everyone keeps saying at least 2 gallons cuz I kept mine in a .5 for a while then upgraded to a 1 gallon, and until recently my fish has been doing great.


Well we've proven with prison systems that a human CAN live in a 3x5 cell, so I guess I fish could live in the equivalent.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

1 gallon is too small, we recommend at least 2.5 gallons. 5 Gallons if you want to split it between two bettas.


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

Your betta sounds like it might look well, but it isn't actually what he could look like. My cousin had her big male betta in one of those small little dividable tanks, Willy (her betta) did okay, but wouldn't flare, and just sorta stayed near the bottom. She just got two other tanks that still aren't the right size (well one of them) and he would swim around more the bigger the tank got. Willy is a red and blue fish, but when he was in the small tank, he was red and grey!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

They prefer to have enough room to move around and will be more active when they have more room.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

1 gallon is the absolute MINIMUM any betta should be kept in. Even with that you need to do water changes every other day. A .5 gallon IMO should have 100% changes everyday.

The minimum for two bettas housed together is a divided 5 gallon but even thats pushing it.

A betta can live in a .5 if you do the proper water changes but it GREATLY shortens its life expectancy. So it depends on whether you want a healthy happy fish that lives to 7 years old or a depressed fish that lives 3 years.


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## Nes1013 (Feb 1, 2010)

Hmm.. Well thanks for the info. Cause yes, of course - Petco said it would do fine in some small bowl or similar. I just happened to have the 1 gallon and thought maybe it would like more room. Ive been told that too big of a tank will stress them out and kill them? Apparently i need to do some more research.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yeah thats way off. I know people that have bettas in 75 gallon tanks.. healthy, happy bettas at that. The bigger the tank the better.


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## doggyhog (Apr 30, 2009)

If fish do get stressed in big tanks, it's usually because they don't have enough cover and places to hide. 

Yep. 2 gallons is my minimum. I have a 5g divided and I would love to upgrade my boys so one could have the 5g to himself. It IS pushing it, but better then those cups they are in at the store.


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

really if you got a nice 2.5g plastic bowl (9 bucks at petsmart) it would be a cute, perfect little home for your betta and you would only have to do a full water change 1-2 times a week. A heater would be great, too


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

My betta lives happily and very healthy in a 16 gallon. He likes more room to hunt. There's nothing to hunt of course, but he doesn't know that. He still thinks he might find something.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Some bettas don't seem to like big tanks, but we are talking BIG tanks in that case, like 75 gallons or so. Could be, like Doggyhog mentioned, there is too much space and not enough cover. Bettas like a plant or some sort of place they can hide in.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Yup, I definitely agree with everyone  The natural environment of the betta is the densely planted race paddy fields of Thailand where they have a vast expanse and volume of water, but a LOT of cover. In any size tank, if you don't provide enough plants and caves your betta will feel exposed and stressed. Bigger is always better, just make sure you have enough plants and decor for him to hide in so he feels secure


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## Jazattackk (Jul 20, 2009)

MollyJean said:


> Well we've proven with prison systems that a human CAN live in a 3x5 cell, so I guess I fish could live in the equivalent.


Hahahah WIN


And 1 gallon is waaay to small. It's sorta cruel


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## Jazattackk (Jul 20, 2009)

1fish2fish said:


> Yeah thats way off. I know people that have bettas in 75 gallon tanks.. healthy, happy bettas at that. The bigger the tank the better.


 

Yeah, when I got my fish his colour was whitish-yellow, and he hardly moved, and after a day of his 30 gallon tank, he started swimming around way more, and he still does, and now his colour is pink-purple.


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## reaperss06 (Jan 31, 2010)

ok so a bigger tank, I did realize the plant helped a little bit when I had one, but I keep hearing silk plants? Where can I pick some up or is those little plastic ones ok??


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## Eolith (Aug 4, 2009)

Silk plants are pretty common. You can get them at petco or any other pet store really. They're just the fabric ones.

My bettas have all had their color intensify since I first got them too. It's amazing really, how drastically they can change and become so much more vibrant.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

IMO silk plants are better than plastic... but if you thoroughly check out the plastic ones and run pantyhose over them for safety they can be fine. You can get silk plants at walmart, petco, petsmart, or any other place that sells pet stuff.


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## BettaSCHmacK (Jan 7, 2010)

You can go to petco or petsmarts webstie to buy all your betta needs. better selections than the stores plus almost everthing online is on sale most of the time. I just ordered a 3.5 kritter keeper (at least i think its 3.5), a treestump with holes and silk plants attached, 5lb bag of pebble beach rocks, and 2 other silk plants for 35 bux. all i need is a heater and a light source. probably 50 bux when im done.


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## Noko (Jan 10, 2010)

BettaSCHmacK said:


> You can go to petco or petsmarts webstie to buy all your betta needs. better selections than the stores plus almost everthing online is on sale most of the time. I just ordered a 3.5 kritter keeper (at least i think its 3.5), a treestump with holes and silk plants attached, 5lb bag of pebble beach rocks, and 2 other silk plants for 35 bux. all i need is a heater and a light source. probably 50 bux when im done.


If you bought the medium sized one, it's less than three gallons. I measured my medium sized kritter keeper and the measurements on most websites are wrong. I measured it at the top and bottom, and none of the measurements matched petsmart, or petco's measurements. I am 100% it's a medium sized Kritter Keeper too. It's still large enough to keep a betta in though. I was going to put Freckles in the Kritter Keeper, but my dad didn't want me to.

$50 is a lot though. I was going to buy a ten gallon tank, that came with a hood and light. I did the math, and everything I needed was under $50. Maybe Petsmart was having a sale or something online...


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

vaygirl said:


> My betta lives happily and very healthy in a 16 gallon. He likes more room to hunt. There's nothing to hunt of course, but he doesn't know that. He still thinks he might find something.


Laughing out loud at this one. I have one that's the same. Silly fish!


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