# Crowntail



## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

Hi, I just bought a red and black crowntail for petsmart, he is very colorful but unfortunately must be kept in a 1 gallon tank (for now) every time I put food in he doesn't notice it. Also he is always beautifully half flared but when I put a mirror in front of him he doesn't flare, this happened with my other betta then a couple days later he started but does anybody know why they do this? Also he doesn't move around much, my cousin says this usually happens for three days and then he will start moving, anybody have any input as to why they do this?


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

stress from the move, getting used to new surroundings etc. Just give him a few days to settle into his new home and i'm sure he'll be back to his normal self, whatever that is!


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

alright, do you think one gallon will be okay for him for a couple weeks?


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

Agreed...1 gallon will do quite nicely. I'm also in agreement that I would not worry too much about your new guy. Some bettas will immediately acclimate to new surroundings and others will take more time. Assuming that all toxin levels are 0 and nitrate is minimal, the behavior is most likely due to the move.

On a side note, make sure you remove any food that the betta doesn't eat to avoid polluting the water. In 1 gallon, water quality can diminish quite quickly.

P.S. I love the signature and the picture, Baby_Baby. Well done.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

yes, id o keep all the un eaten food out, as soon as i know he won't eat the food i take it out, also the water is very clean, will 2.5 Gallons be a good size for maybe 3-5 months?


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

i disagree 1 gallon will not do nicely in my opinion no offense
\its just because my betta was in a 1 gallon and was never flaring or active.
I got a 10 gallon and he never stops moving or flaring.
1 gallon is comparable to living in a smart car lol


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I hate having him in a one, my Vieltail betta is in a 5G and he never stops moving (unless he is sleeping) or flaring. Wanted to get that ten gallon you have but is it safe to keep a ten G without a filter for a little bit, also kb how much was your cover?


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

No offense taken. A divergence in opinion need not be accompanied by hard feelings, as they so often are. I would not advocate for a 1 gallon aquarium for a betta, but I would say it is acceptable, especially for a short period of time. In the world of the aquarium, bigger is always better, but smaller, in this case, I believe is sufficient. Especially when taking into account ikermalli's apparent diligence, I see no cause for concern.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

Dr_house, would it be safe to buy a 10 Gallon tank and fill it with water and de-chlorinate it, and then put my fish in without a heater or filter, a heater I would probably get in a day or two after I get the tank but the filter may take longer to get because I am a big fan of penguin bio-wheel filters. Also if i do get a 10 Gallon, and put my crowntail in would some aquarium salt be good to lessen the stress of him moving?


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

And kb how much was your hood, also will pet valu have another one of your tanks?


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

they probably will and 16.99 plus tax
Dr.House those are some wise words 
i need a thesaurus to say half of what he said lol


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

that's how much your hood was? That's not bad at all


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

what do you think about my other post?



> Dr_house, would it be safe to buy a 10 Gallon tank and fill it with water and de-chlorinate it, and then put my fish in without a heater or filter, a heater I would probably get in a day or two after I get the tank but the filter may take longer to get because I am a big fan of penguin bio-wheel filters. Also if i do get a 10 Gallon, and put my crowntail in would some aquarium salt be good to lessen the stress of him moving


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

what do you guys think of this pic? It is kinda blurry and doesn't show the true colours of my crowntail but he does look pretty nice to me.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

does anybody know if my betta would be okay with a ten gallon without a filter or heater for a few days?


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

I'm not too sure but maybe if you have air bubblles and some plants. The tank should be betta safe or cycled. 

You could try just filling the tank up halfway or so. A heater is not needed either.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I know that a heater is not needed but i like having them because I keep my water at exactly 82 Degreed Fahrenheit and my vieltail betta got much darker and moves around alot more, I most probably am not going to get a light if I don't have to but a heater is one of the things neccesary to me, next week on saturday I will probably be picking the tank up so I think he should be fine for a while but anybody else think a heater is not neccesary?


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2007)

Bettas need heaters unless your tank will stay around 77-80F at room temp and not drop at night.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

well my room is actually very hot, morning and night but I still like to have a heater for ideal temperatures, what do you think about the tank without a filter? The heater I will get probably with my tank depending on how much I have but a filter i will need to save up for is that okay?


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## kbjunior8 (Sep 3, 2007)

so i guess cycling isnt a OMIGOD YOU ARE GOING TO DIE WITHOUT A CYCLED TANK EITHER kinda thing?


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

so do you think I won't need one for my ten gallon? Because if I don't need it I won't get it until I have some extra money, right now I have about enough for a 10 Gallon tank $20 A hood that comes with a light $16 and a heater $20 but after that I'm outta cash lol, so if I don't get a filter for maybe a month will i be okay or will a week or two be fine, because I like my water crystal clear


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

when you say keep up the water changes is 20% water change a week enough?


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

Should I keep my betta alone in the ten gallon? Or would a snail be good to keep with it too, but what do I feed snails?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

1 betta doesn't need much of a filter (they don't like a lot of flow), but it does need a filter if you don't want to change 5 gallons out of ten every other day. The best argument for keeping a betta in 1 gallon bowl is that it is easy to change water. A 10 is a much more stable tank (water chemistry) than a 5 and where I live they are the same price so why not get the larger one except for water changes, but with a filter you can cut down to 1-2 gallons a week.

The duetta minis work

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3632&pcatid=3632

As do an air pump and small sponge (you also need airline tubing and maybe a check valve)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3954&pcatid=3954+
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3713&rel=1

remember to rinse/squeeze the media in the outgoing water

A bottom feeder (such as a snail) is a good choice to keep with a top feeder like a betta.

If you can't do large water changes, get the filter first, the heater next and the light last. The light is for you, the others are for your fish. You can use saran wrap until you can get a hood.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

Actually instead of getting all of those I will get a 10 Gallon and I will get a bio-wheel filter penguin 100 which is around 17 dollars and is easy to use, and the heater I will get too, I guess in the long run a filter will help me alot, so i guess I will get one, anybody else have anything to say?


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

oh yeah, also what do I feed them? Will they eat brine shrimp? Because my betta hates brine shrimp so I could make it sink to the bottom but my betta like to go around the whole tank like use all his space to will the snail disturb him?


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

What if I change 20% every other day until I get my filter will that be okay


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

What kind of snails are easy to take care of and don't produce alot of waste?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> What if I change 20% every other day until I get my filter will that be okay


 I think so, as long as you don't overfeed. Watch your fish carefully for signs of ammonia poisoning (gasping, red gills, frayed fins) and change a lot of water if it smells bad or the fish acts funny. Try to siphon out the poop and uneaten food when you change water.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I am now going to cycle my tank without fish. Because I went to a site and this person said alot of bad stuff can happen to my betta if I do not cycle my tank without fish or even with fish but I would not want to hurt fish for no reason


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Unless you use an instant cycle like BioSpira, fishless cycling is prob. best. But it won't do you any good without a filter. 1 betta is a much lighter load than most people put in a 10, so it would be safer than most. Still any time you cycle a tank with fish you risk the fish. Just don't forget to change his water while you're working on his new home.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I definately won't but i never thought the tank and everything would cost so much! Between the tank,gravel,filter,heater,hood,plants,hiding spots and the thermometer it comes to 125.52 CAN dollars!


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2007)

Seems like you've gotten a lot of good information already...

On the note of snails, most snails are fairly messy. The smaller, less prolific (equalling less of a problem usually) snails in my experience are ramshorns and malaysian trumpet snails. MTS can be fairly prolific, but they tend to stay in the substrate anyway. If you've got a lot of excess waste in your tank, the snail population tends to get a little out of hand.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I would love to get a divider and put in two bettas, I was thinking of doing that but at the price I have to pay for the stuff I have to buy anyways i'll be broke, I need to shave off some $$$$ of the price of that stuff. I'm 13 and I don't make money quickly so I really need to get the price down to about 110 dollars after the 4 weeks of cycling i'll ask my parents to buy me a divider but I seriously need a way to get that price down and about the snails I don't think that I will be buying any of them anymore, I would like to have each of my bettas alone in at least 5 Gallons.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

okay that would be great! but my dad said I can't get any more bettas  but he's going on a business trip so if it goes well and he is in a good mood i will definitely be getting one.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

HAHAHAHAHA! I don't think bill gates would have enough room or money for 5000000 bettas! If you don't mind I would love the gravel but check the prices on eshipper.com for CWS (canda worldwide services)


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

Hi, ikermalli. Don't let my meager attempt at a vocabulary fool you. I'm no smarter than anyone else, I'm just an old man with a different vernacular.

I have extreme reservations about giving a thumbs up to any setup that I don't think will work in the long-run. Will it work? Probably...with large and frequent water changes and something to circulate the water in the meantime.

What I would advise, however, would be that you don't put the betta in the tank until you can afford the filter and the tank has been cycled. Believe me, I understand the sense of urgency when you want to get something for your fish, but I believe you will do more harm than good both to your fish and to your own interest in the hobby by trying to make an inadequate setup work. Wait until you can afford the setup that will work on its own.

P.S. You're welcome kindly, Baby_Baby. And I could not have addressed the heater issue better myself.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I found that going to walmart instead of petsmart can save me 100 dollars, and that mean I get a filter AND a heater + a thermometer! I have talked to my mom about this and she is all for it but my dad is harder to get anybody have any persuasive ideas? Also so they need to be quite strong because my dad is not too big on spending money on fish, he told me to flush my betta because it costs too much to take care of it!!!!!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you have to give up the 10, divide the 5. Hm, you could calculate the cost of food and license and vet for a cat or a dog (yearly) and compare it a little fish. Make him see its a bargain. Or compare it to a reef tank. Bettas are cheap. Explain that tanks, filters and heaters are a one-time expense, where as a dog would eat that much in $ every month. Fishkeeping is affordable if you can avoid multiple tank syndrome.


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## Dr_House (Aug 15, 2006)

Also, if you get an allowance and are using that money, that in itself is persuasive. If that is not the case, ask what c****************s you could do to earn money for the betta. Parents like to see their children earning things rather than asking for a handout.

edit: I'm not sure what pottymouth I used there was, but I was referring to doing work around the house, just so there is no confusion.


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

haha, I used to get allowance by cleaning the house, but my mom stopped giving me allowance so I have to live off birthday money and stuff like that, also when my parents pay me allowance my mom says its my money and my dad says its his money lol I don't get that, but when I say I will use my money to pay he says its not a matter of money, but the way you waste it, but if I like fish and i want to take care of them with my money it's not wasting is it?


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## ikermalli (Sep 23, 2007)

I don't want any of my fish living in anything less than 5 gallons, I now have enough money to buy all the stuff because for 50 dollars I get a 10G tank a hood a light and a filter and a mod is sending me gravel packs x2 for free and the rest doesn't cost that much


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