# 1.5 gallon...too small?



## jjheylookatme (May 7, 2006)

Hey,
I got a betta fish in a vase, was horrified that he had been living in such a tiny place, so I got him a 1.5 gallon tank. He seems to be really bothered by the air pump/filter, so I keep it off. Is there any other way to keep the water clean that won't disturb him (fish or machine)? And, can I keep any other buddies in there with him, or is it too small? I was thinking mb a small catfish or a snail, I might upgrade to a bigger tank in 4 months or so. Any plants you think are okay, say a java fern?
Lots of general questions, but I've never had such a small tank (used to have a pond with 200+ fish but I moved), nor betta fish.
Thanks!


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## Sprite42 (Mar 10, 2006)

Welcome to fishforums...

Your betta will do fine in a 1.5 gallon. But, you will have to do 100% water changes every week. With such a small tank, it is really difficult to cycle as there is just not a lot of surface area for the bio-bugs. Bettas are air breathers and will do fine without a filter. As long as the water is clean and warm, he should be happy.

As for tankmates, the only thing you could really keep that will tolerate 100% water changes is a snail (probably something small like maybe a ramshorn or small apple snail)

I also think java fern or java moss will do okay.


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

what kind of air pump do you have? if its the hawkeye 201 (assuming you bought a kit) you can unscrew it apart some and it will limit air flow. its like a check valve

also dont worry about space, i have 5 1'' fish in a 2 gallon tank, they have lived for a yar and had 100% water changes every week

also for the tankmates you can put in small tetras, a guppy or 2, or an otto algea eater


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## jjheylookatme (May 7, 2006)

Thanks!
I have an elite mini, it has a control valve and I have it on the lowest setting. I think I've gotten it to where tyler (haha fighting fish...tyler durden...yeah...) is happy, I took the cap off of the little hose thingy so that the stream of water is weaker, and I raised it up so that it's almost like a waterfall but still underwater, this way it only disturbs the surface and he can still swim around without getting tossed around. So, 3/4 of the tank is calm, and of the 1/4 where there's a current he can swim fine in the bottom half, and has to swim a little harder near the top. I think I'll turn it off at night so that he can be in nice, completely currentless water . 
In this case, would say 50% water changes be ok every 5 days?

Ok, in a week or so I'm going to add a small otto and some java fern, if all goes well, in 2 more weeks i'll add 2 small red eye tetra and then upgrade to a larger tank in some months. Will the tetra be okay with turning off the pump thing at night?
I've had very bad experiences with snails...I remember adding some medicine to treat ich or something, then finding some empty shells, and reading the label on the medicine "do not use with animals without an endoskeleton"  And then before that some escaped....yeah, no snails.


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## Guest (May 7, 2006)

I personally wouldn't add any fish to that tank. It is way too small for anything else, except a snail.

Tetras and ottos prefer filtered water and alot of swimming space. Wait until you upgrade the tank to add any more fish.

Tetras like groups also, but you certainly don't have enough room to keep them in a group of 4 and up. Ottos also like the company of their own, but I wouldn't even put one in a 5g. Ottos like clean water, plants, and a tank of atleast 5g (though I wouldn't put one in that size).


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

i am gonna be adding an otto to my betta tank and some snails (i didnt know you couldent treat fish iof snails are in the tank) i have had an otto beofre and loved him, but i did a bad and killed him (sorry otto) 

i dont know if you can turn the pump off at night and have any other fish than the betta survive. am sure fish can go 8 hours (more or less depending on how much ya sleep) without air but its just a thing of wether its 'good' or not for the fish.

ive had my fish go about 15 hours without air because of a power outage but i kept pouring water up high to airaite as much as possible.


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## Guest (May 7, 2006)

Good luck with the new otto, I'm gonna guess that this one won't live long either. They are very picky about their living conditions and anything under 5g is not acceptable. But do as you please and don't be sad when another one dies.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

I agree... I dont think anything should be subjected to a 1.5 gallon tank with a betta in it except for a snail... Or maybe a ghost shrimp, but there is probably a 75% chance that the betta will eat ghost shrimp.


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## violet (Mar 17, 2006)

I have to add my agreement that 1.5Gs is just too small to really add much. A Red Ram snail would be a good choice, they don't climb out and could live in a bowl for a week or two if the fish needed to be medicated. They are also a lot more tolerant of marginal water conditions (like the day before a waterchange) than a Mystery snail (which WILL climb out of the water) would ever be.

Maybe if you could find a really BIG ghost shrimp it would work if it had a place to hide after molting.

If I have a filter not running for more than an hour or two I dump all the water out and rinse the media before restarting it. As the home to dense colonies of bacteria (hopefully) it will use up the O2 in the water fast and then begin to die off albeit slowly which causes pollution. The anaerobic bacteria, hopefully not many, then have a big party and start creating nasty stuff like sulfer dioxide and other toxic junk which get dumped into the tank when the filter gets restarted. Sure, it's more of a problem with something like a canister operating at max capacity going without power for a day. But it would still be better IMO to just leave the filter running 24/7 and give the fish some java moss or najas or something to make a little bed in.

violet

ps: SF, I hope you pass on the otto. JOM20 is right, it won't have a happy ending.


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## jjheylookatme (May 7, 2006)

Ok, thanks everyone!
I'll get some java fern to put around the filter and slow down the current and some java moss for a corner he seems pretty fond of, and a red ram snail (if I can find it, I've only seen apple and mistery snails). If the betta doesn't nip at the snail too much, I'll add a ghost shrimp (I took a look at some today, they're cute )


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## ultasol (Mar 12, 2006)

JJhey, you are making a better decision in not adding any more fish. Ottos can be a bit fussy about water conditions. A snail should be fine. Tetras would not- they like to school and even one would nip your bettas fins until they were shredded in that small of a tank.
When you upgrade to a larger tank, it will be easier to keep your tank conditions stable and then the keeping of other fish species will be possible.


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## Scy64 (Apr 23, 2006)

I had a betta in a 1.5 gallon tank too (he'd been living in an absolutly TINY 'tank' before that- probably about the size of a large drinking glass when I got him). He was fine with no filter, but I did do the 100% water changes weekly. I don't know how old he was when I got him, but he lived three years with before he finally passed. Seemed very healthy and happy the entire time. =)

One thing I had a problem with, some of the plastic plants I got ended up tearing his fins a bit. If you get plastic plants (and your betta will surly swim around them and the like), make sure you get things with soft, rounded edged. Spiky-type plastic plants really can catch fins.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You can get a little green plastic air valve and a tee. Put the valve on one side of the tee and the tank on the other use the valve to adjust the amount of air you let escape. It will hiss, but its not really more annoying than blub, blub, blub. I wouldn't keep anything but a betta without some water movement at night. And if you turn the filter off at night, you should do the 100% water changes. We tell everyone that 10 gallon tanks are small, but 1.5 is really tiny. The fish I'd recommend (heterandia formosa, killiefish eggs) for that tank would make a good lunch for the betta.


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## meyerhaus (Feb 27, 2006)

No water movement is good water movement for bettas, especially males; it disturbs their bubble nest too much. You also do not want the betta to have to struggle near the top; that is where they breath.

Putting the fern in front of the filter was a good move. You can also take sponge media (i.e. Aquaclear), cut a slit in it, and slip it over the water overflow on you filter. It will disipate the water more gently.


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## jjheylookatme (May 7, 2006)

Thanks all the good advice everyone!

I got a little cryptocoryne lutea plant and put it in front of the filter, now he can swim fine all over the tank, there is barely any current. He now has a little corner with the artificial plants (they're really soft, I ran a handkerchief over them and they didn't snag) where he seems to sleep . Now I'll keep the filter on full time.

I added a snail and the betta and the snail get along really well, he hasn't even tried to eat it or anything, the most he has done is get right in front of it and stare at it. 
I also added a bizarre little moss-like green ball that I'd never seen before, the guy at the aquarium said that they were really good for betta tanks and helped with ammonium levels...it's kind of funny looking


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

alright i passed on the otto, but then i'd thought i would try some african dwarf frogs but come to find out i cant get them in maine (i am going to massachusits in 2 weeks to go to banjo camp, maybe on the way back i can stop and get a few) and if i cant find any i put in either a snail of some sort, preferbly apple snails.

jj if you can get african dwarf frogs, go for it they sometime can make great freinds for your betta, but you need a cover or somthing. if i were you i would go and buy one of them 16:00 dollar five and a half gallon tanks, or the 2 1/2 one


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