# How much does it cost to own a betta?



## Bobby43 (Apr 3, 2013)

Hello!
My son who is 8 years old wants to keep a betta. Of course I will help him care for it. Please can you help him make a budget to see how much it costs to own one monthly? 
NOTES:
I live in the UK


----------



## Esahc (Mar 27, 2013)

As far as I can tell, monthly costs are fairly low, unless you're wanting to buy live food. It's the startup costs that get you. You'll need a large enough tank, gravel, decor, filter, heater, water conditioner. Someone with more experience than me could say if I've forgotten anything. 

Bettas don't eat a whole lot of food, so a container of pellets will probably last you a good couple of months at least.

Sorry I'm not much help with actual prices, I'm not sure what things cost in the UK.


----------



## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

Depends on the set up you want. Example; Petsmart recently had their 5.5g tank kit on sale for $20, then you'd need an adjustable heater for $20-$30, silk plants $10-$20, substrate $5-$10, water conditioner $10-$15 for Prime, liquid water test kit $30, quality pellets $8, gravel vac $10, in tank thermometer $2-$3. Ummm, anything else ? ? ? I think those are all the basics. The rough costs I've listed are based on store costs. If you're not in a hurry most items can be found cheaper online. The liquid test kit, API Freshwater kit is $20-$22 through Amazon. Initial set up not cheap, maintenance not much . . . Food lasts for what seems like forever, Prime takes drops per gallon.


----------



## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Depends on what kind of material you're willing to get. You can cut costs by buying an acrylic kritter keeper (the large one) for less than 20$ CAN, then heaters are at large depots like WalMart now for less than a petstore at around 12-18$. You can cut costs even more by looking on online classifieds. People get tanks and heaters and stuff all the time and sell them when the fish die. That's how I got my 5g and 3g. 

The only thing you don't want used is filter media, gravel and silk plants as these can contain any bacteria or dormant diseases from the previous owner. It's just better not to take a chance. Wash everything else (non-porous) with a mild bleach.


----------



## futurevet (Mar 15, 2013)

I buy almost all of my stuff on craigslist.com! At least, I buy the aquarium, lights, heater, filter. Sometimes you can get a pretty good price if you keep looking through it! I just wouldn't use things like old filter media, and definitely would clean off everything really well before using it. After a while of finding good deals, you might end up with a whole bunch of stuff (sadly, mine is mostly my dads old fish stuff)! Also, you could make a quick check at garage sales for things like the aquarium. Buying used is a lot cheaper, sorry I don't really have a price range to tell you!


----------



## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

The advice you've all given is fantastic but unfortunately we have none of those stores in the UK. Buying second hand is always cheaper (aquariums can be found online for very cheap if you're able to collect), but if you want stuff new:

*Pets At Home* usually have 20 litre aquarium kits available for £20, the downside is that the food and filter aren't any good for bettas. Plastic aquariums cost less but scratch easier, it's all down to your personal taste. I prefer glass aquariums for main living spaces as they are tidier and easier to clean without scratching; I use plastic aquariums for quarantine as they are light. An aquarium can run anywhere from £5 to over £100 but for a 20 or so litre you're looking between £10 and £30. A plastic aquarium may be the best starting point for you, you can always upgrade later if you want to.

I used to feed my bettas *Tetra brand Betta Flakes* because they are high in protein (higher than the pellets I use now), a single bottle will cost between £3 and £5 and will last you about a year if you feed appropriately. There are other foods available but these are treats and should not be fed as a staple, they are: freeze-dried or frozen daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp. Freeze-dried tubifex is also available. If you want to get a small pot of, say, freeze-dried bloodworms, it'll probably last you over a year if you feed one or two bloodworms once or twice a week at most. These treats cost between £3 and £10, depending on which one you get and whether or not it is frozen. Gel foods are also available for use as treats (gelled bloodworms don't need to be fridged and are available in packs for about £6; don't feed the entire tube as this will cause your betta health issues).

A good *water conditioner* is StressCoat+, now a large bottle with a dispenser unit will cost around £15 - £20 but this will last you _months_, especially with a 20 litre aquarium. I really think the dispenser unit is much better value for money as it prevents wastage. It can also be refilled at a later date. There are other water conditioners available, of course, but StresCoat+ is the one I've had most experience with.

You'll need a *heater*, a 25watt will be perfect for a 20 litre aquarium and will cost between £7 and £15, depending on brand and quality. You may be able to get them online for cheaper. Always get an adjustable one as they are typically more reliable.

If you want to get *substrate* for your aquarium, it'll vary in price. There are sands, gravels, pebbles and other fancy things. I use a plant substrate as I keep my betta with live plants, but I've used gravel _and_ sand. I'd recommend gravel for starters; a bag of cheap stuff will cost between £5 and £15.

*Decorations* are the real pain in the wallet. Hiding places such as caves can be substituted with clean mugs and plant pots for a fraction of the cost, otherwise it can cost anywhere from £5 to £45 (I wish I was kidding). If you have a specialized aquatics store locally, you may be able to get coconut hides for around £3.99.

*Plants* offer security for your betta and can vary in price. I _always_ recommend silk plants if you are going for artificial and you can get them in packs of 4 from eBay for between £7 and £20. The cheaper ones may be lower quality, but if you're just starting out sometimes you can't afford to be fussy in that regard.

*Live plants* are an alternative but you'd need the correct lighting for them. If you'd like to know more about live plants and lighting please let us know.

_I accidentally hit back and lost most of the info I just added... oh well :lol:_

Regarding *filters*, I always recommend a *sponge filter* for betta aquariums. They are cheap, efficient and do not create a flow or suction that could harm your betta's fins. There is a fantastic article pertaining to sponge filters here:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=126530

Sponge filters need an air pump (£10 - £20 depending on brand and power, for a 20 litre aquarium you need the lowest power), airline (about £10 for several metres), a gang valve (usually comes with the air pump but can be bought seperately for £2 or so) and a non-return valve (about £2, stops water being drawn back into the air pump thus shorting it out). The sponge filter itself varies in price ranging from £3 to £12, depending on size and quality.

If you go to a pet store (namely *Pets at Home*) and ask them about filters they may not tell you much of anything... unfortunately many chain pet shops aren't entirely certain about the things they sell and that can lead to a lot of dead fish (for example, did you know that goldfish are a pond fish, a member of the koi family and can grow to around 2 feet long? They aren't small aquarium fish), so when it comes to dealing with your filter I'd recommend either *going to a specialist aquatics store* or *searching these forums for information*. Both are fantastic.

You'll need to *cycle your filter* before you can add any fish, as the filter is useless without beneficial bacteria to eat fish waste. Cycling sounds like a very complicated process but I assure you that it is easy, it just requires patience. Here are a few articles about cycling:
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=111960 (this guide mentions hang-on-back filters but it works for sponge filters, too)
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=107771

Here is a water change guide that is a fantastic read: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758

I also have a link in my signature to my own betta care website (not trying to steal members here, it has no forum but simply a bunch of care guides).

If you have any more questions, concerns or general things you'd like to discuss, please let us know  Welcome to the forums!


----------



## isochronism (Nov 24, 2012)

All very good information given above. I would just like to ad that I and many others really do prefer live plants. I just use aquarium gravel. A planted tank is a little more work work initially. You will want the tank set up and planted for a bit before adding the fish. You may then also want a pair of long scissors and tweezers for occasional trimming plants later on. They are called to as aquascaping tools. 
I really enjoyed my planted aspect of my tanks before adding fish. 
I think this is a great learning opportunity for your son!


----------



## SpookyTooth (Dec 23, 2011)

Oh yes! Live plants are certainly my favourite as well, and if you have enough of the right species they can help with water quality, too. What better learning opportunity for a youngster than a miniature "pond" in the living room? Live plants _can_ be cheaper than artificial ones, you just have to consider lighting and if any fertilizers would be needed.


----------



## JadeAngel (Jul 31, 2012)

Oh darn... I just wrote you a whole long list of all my expenses... then the power went out and poof. Gone. GRRR

I'll sum it up.

Initial tank set up for 2 of our tanks *5 gallons each*

*$87* each
This includes....

Betta
5 gallon Tank with lighted hood
Filter
Heater *on ebay*
betta pellets
freeze dried blood worms
water conditioner
gravel
silk plants
Decorations big enough for the betta to hide in

Initial cost for my other two 5 gallon tanks
*$60* each

This includes the same as above.... but the newer tanks were $5 less each for a different style, and I found silk plants and colored glass jars at the dollar store to use for decoration, plus some Jadeite slabs that I have lying around to use as lean-to caves.

Then I only have to buy food and water conditioner once every several months. IF your betta gets sick, you can look at between $5-$30 in medicines depending what he has and how hard it is to get rid of.

It's a little costly to set up for a $5 pet at first, but maintenance is mostly just your own effort.

Oh, I plan on getting some marimo moss balls that are $7 each, they are the easiest live plant to get without getting into a planted tank, but it still benefits the aquarium  ok... maybe they're not really a plant plant, but they help XD


----------



## Corsica (Apr 1, 2013)

I've easily got over $300 tied up in my 6 Bettas. Mostly because I should have come to this site BEFORE I bought any fish. lol


----------



## JadeAngel (Jul 31, 2012)

Corsica said:


> I've easily got over $300 tied up in my 6 Bettas. Mostly because I should have come to this site BEFORE I bought any fish. lol


That's not bad if they have a full set up for 6 bettas  I've spent about that in only 4, and I cheaped out this last time *rather... smartened up, hehehe*

But monthly costs? It's more like what it costs to set them up when you buy them  I don't have water parameter tests and stuff, so if you want to be all out with your cycling *yes, I know someone is shaking the heads at me, but petsmart tests it for free, lol* then best get the testing kits to keep an eye on your water levels like ammonia, ph, hardness, nitrites, nitrates, etc.


----------



## Corsica (Apr 1, 2013)

I'll know more about monthly costs when I get the water bill!


----------



## JadeAngel (Jul 31, 2012)

Corsica said:


> I'll know more about monthly costs when I get the water bill!


The water bill is a good point. But if he only wants 1 betta for his son, it shouldn't make a difference. I suppose one could calculate the water bill cost by calculating in the gallon size of the tank, and the frequency of water changes they plan on making. 2 five gallon tanks haven't added any cost to our water bill, maybe only pennies. But also every county works differently. Some places have a base cost, and if you overdo your monthly limit, you pay more. Others pay by the gallon of water. I don't know about the uk, but until you get into the bigger tanks or many small tanks I don't foresee it causing any significant increase in the water bill.

I hope the OP decides to get the betta with the appropriate tank size. It's a wonderful way to teach children how to care for and respect another creature, AND to care for all creatures no matter how small. My daughter turns 4 in July, and since we got the bettas she has become much more gentle and considerate of animal's needs. She won't tap on the glass of tanks or the displays for the rodents and cats at the pet stores. 

She talks to all animals when she interacts with them in a lower and gentle voice, and she'll exclaim things in the store like "oh, mama, that doggy is sad. He wants to go home" when she sees a pup that looks skittish or uneasy. She asks to feed the bettas *though she gives them to much, so I give her the appropriate portions*


----------



## GoodMorning (Jan 19, 2013)

To give you an idea; for me, personally:

Tank $30
Heater $30
Filter $10
Pump $10
Water conditioner $10
Live Plants $40
Substrate/Rocks $20
Food $45
Miscellaneous supplies $20 
=
Total $215

Even though, you're in the UK, the prices should be about the same.


----------

