Bettas

[nmtuna]

So I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a fish tank. I was going to get one of those 2.5 Gallon color tanks that you see all over Petco.

I wanted to get her a couple Bettas for it.

I've never kept bettas, so I was looking for some info on what I should get or what I should do??

How many would you suggest to get for that tank??

Anything I should do differently than my community tank???

Thanks
And Shhhhh....it's a surprise

 

[Jawz]

Even though it is a betta, it still needs room so id only sugguest putting 1 betta in there. Maybe if u got a 5 gallon with heater and small filter id say 2 females, maybe even a platy to the mix. Just my recommendations. Its just common fact that bigger the better for diluting toxins, also take some water from ur fish tank to put into whatever tank you buy ur g/f to help it out. I did this for my gf too. I gave her my spare 1 gallon tank and shes doin good with it. I have to remind her to clean it once and a while but her betta still looks good. hth

 

[myfishnorton]

never ever ever put two male bettas in the same tank! I'm just warning you because they fight, and i think that males and females will also fight. I suggest getting one male to put in there. Here is a site for more info

http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_care.htm

have fun!

 

[FishQueen]

If you want a 2.5 gallon, be sure to do lots of water changes, and only ONE betta. Two males can NEVER be mixed. Females usually can, but I would suggest having at least 3 because if you only have two, chances are that one will pick on the other. If you get a bigger tank, such as a 5 gallon, you could try getting three females, if your store has them. Good luck

 

[Angelfish]

Id just get one male betta for a 2.5 gal, If you REALLY wanted another fish, Id suggest a cory but nothing else.
Your a sweet boyfriend, I wish mine would get me fish =)

 

[Iggy]

Another idea is to get two (2x) 2gal+ tanks (seperate) for 2 males. We have both males in two tanks that are about 3" apart. Every now and then they catch a glimmer of each other and flare their gills!

Betta'a are great fish... just make sure your LFS has some healthy, somewhat active (in a cup right might be hard to tell) bettas. I like to hold cup and turn it slowly and see if they swim and turn to look at me or just sit on the bottom of the cup (not a good sign). Also, some LFS have a little larger containers they can put them in so you can examine them out-of-the-cup per say.

Good luck and enjoy! Sure she will love it

 

[PreciousGems]

I have a blue 2.5 gallon minibow. The 2.5's come with a divider, so you could put a male betta on each side. However, bettas grow rather large for a small fish, so I would put one in that tank. I have one male in with 2 african dwarf frogs. Its a really cute set up, and very safe. The bettas usually get along with the frogs as long as you have a plant or something for the frogs to hide under (they like to burrow under the plants), but becareful not to smush them under there.

Alexa

 

[Scrumpy]

Some good advice in this thread.
Never put two male Bettas together.
I have a 20 litre tank with one male Betta, 2 pigmy cories and a big java fern. There's a little filter and heater in there, and some kitsch bits and pieces...a treasure chest and a couple of glow in the dark plants, a rock cave to hide in and some stones.
It's small...but colourful and pretty and the Betta seems vey happy drifting about while the cories are always busy.
Something like that would be nice. The whole thing cost me about £60
Along with my 130l tank I've learnt that less is more when it comes to fish. If you overstock it creates so much work and so many additional problems like algae from the nitrate build up etc unless you do masses of water changes.
With my little 20l I do a big water change once a fortnight, but otherwise it just potters along algae and problem free. Low tech and low maintainance but lovely to watch.