# Thinking about buying a betta



## Kaikoura (Apr 1, 2007)

I looked at the front page of this section of the forum and a few pages back, and I couldn't find anything that covered my topic. If there is a post that covers it, please excuse me for not seeing it. I didn't read every last topic. 

I'm not very experienced with fish, but I've always wanted to have a fish tank. There are a few factors that lean against having one, though. First of all, I have a cat. And my cat eats everything, and appears not to have much of a problem with dipping her paws into water. The other factor sprouts from my cat as well. I am quite a fan of lucky bamboo and I do keep a few shoots around the house, but she eats the leaves. I have to either keep them out of her reach on solitary wall shelves or, coincidentally in one of the three basic fish tanks/bowls that I have. 
I have one fish tank that is rather small. I'm not exactly sure how big it is, but it looks between a two-five gallon one. I also have a small one or two gallon octagonal tank, and a half-gallon fish bowl.
Again, I'm not very experienced with fish, or what kinds of plants are fish-friendly, but I'd rather ask here than experiement and have to waste the money and clean up the aftermath if it doesn't go well. 
It occured to me that if I got a betta, I'd probably put it in the five gallon tank that I have. Just a solitary betta, and that does seem rather roomy for one, and maybe a snail to keep the tank clean. What I thought was, if the lucky bamboo and the beta would be environment friendly. Remember that this is just a thought, and I am skeptical myself that it would work out.
Lucky bamboo isn't really bamboo. It's a freshwater plant and grows well in still or slow moving water. The plant itself is better in shallow water and is slow-growing. About 1" - 3" a year. What I was wondering was, if they could survive in the same tank. I can provide shallow water for the bamboo, and deeper water for the fish making a sort of hill. The bamboo doesn't require dirt and is just fine growing in aquarium rocks, which I have already. 
Looking it up on the internet, I have heard that lucky bamboo is and isn't toxic to pets, but I'm not sure which to believe, so I keep it from my cat as well as possible. Would it kill the fish? Would the fish destroy the roots? 
This was just a thought I had, and I wondered if it would work. If the betta could not be put in the same tank, are there any kinds of fish that could? 
Thanks.


----------



## Willow (Mar 20, 2005)

I can't give any advice about the lucky bamboo, because I don't know if it's toxic to fish or not. I do know that my land hermit crabs can't have it, but I don't know about fish. I can give a bit of advice about the cat, though, because I have 6 cats. If you get a full aquarium hood or a glass lid for the tank, it will keep the cat from going fishing. DO NOT leave the tank uncovered unless you want your Betta to be cat food. I have a Versa-Top glass lid for my 5.5 gallon Betta tank, with only a small part of the lid cut out for the filter. The Betta can't go where the opening is because of the filter current, so he's safe from invading paws. Another reason you need a full lid, even if the cat isn't a fisher, is because Bettas will jump out if they can.


----------



## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I agree, a lid is essential especially if you have a fisher cat. I lost A LOT of goldfish and a few danios to my cat when he was a kitten coz I didn't have a lid on my tank. He was an excellent fisher for such a small cat. Personally I have never had a male betta jump out of a tank but I have had females do it to get into the males tank and spawn without me being prepared at all! But it is better to be safe than sorry. From what I know it is quite easy to make a lid for a tank with only a few tools, some wood, a few nails and some new fly screen mesh. cut the wood and nail together to the appropriate shape (preffereably after measuring and drawing a simple plan)attach the mesh across the frame and va-la you have yourself a lid which also allows excellent air flow for the betta and he won't die!! yay. As for the lucky bamboo I have no idea at all but if it were me I wouldn't keep the 2 together just to be safe. Betta's don't NEED plants in their tanks but it is sometimes nice to add a little something for eg. I have a small hair grass plant in one of my fry's tanks and he loves hiding in it, though he's going to be too big to do so for much longer. A good tank mate for a betta is a snail, they eat up any leftover food and help keep the tank clean (although that doesn't excuse you from still doing regular water changes) But beware, I have heard of a Betta eating his snail tank mate, no idea why he did that but it has happened.

Anyway good luck and I hope you do get a betta, they really liven up your life and are a real joy to keep.


----------



## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

Bamboo is safe for fish, just be sure to clean the stem off nicely.


----------

