So we’ve decided to get a Betta, we know we need to cycle the tank before getting a fish but what do we need to set up the tank before we start cycling.
Tank- Now this is a personal choice on what you like. Not everyone is going to agree on a tanks style or size but the minimum I would say you can go for is 20L. If you go for tank mates then you’d need more than this though. If you want a bigger tank then this is amazing as well, I’m only mentioning what I’d say the minimum should be. I will mention that some bigger fin betta do like smaller so larger doesn’t always work.
- It’s worth mentioning because they are air breathers they prefer longer tanks than they are tall. This means they can enjoy swimming around without much effort reaching the surface to breathe. Taller tanks are particularly more of an issue with the bigger finned boys such as halfmoons, feather tails or rose tails.
- A lid is a must have as they are super good jumpers and can be prone to jumping right out even the smallest of gaps. You don’t want to come home after being out of the home all day to a dead betta on the floor.
Water Treatment- You need a water conditioner to remove the chlorine and chloramine from tap water. The best one to get is Seachem prime, this removes chlorine and heavy metals. You would dose this based on how many litres of water your tank is. Safe by seachem is also great except that’s a powder rather than a liquid. I find it more cost effective with me having so many tanks and quarantine.
Lighting- Now the main purpose of a light is for your viewing pleasure. It’s so we can admire our beautiful fishes.
- If you do opt for a live planted tank then it will be necessary so that the plants receive enough lighting for growth.
- Most people keep there lights on for an average of 6-8 hours a day.
Heater- Since they are tropical fish it’s important to have a heater as they do far better at temperatures of 28 degrees.
- There’s so many myths around that Betta can live in room temperature water, and in the UK that’s just not the case. There is no way we reach temperatures that they require.
- They will do well for so long in lower temperatures but it weakens their immune system making them more prone to disease and can make them very lethargic.
- It’s also a good idea to get a heater guard or a heater with built in protection. Betta are notorious for draping over any surface that they decide can be a bed for them and heaters can be one of those things, they can end up burning their fins really really badly and some never recover from this. It’s always better to take precaution.
- My personal favourite heater is the Aquael Ultra because it’s shatterproof, has an electronic temperature gauge so makes it so much easier setting the required temperature, it is super slim and is burn proof.
- You also want to have a digital thermometer. You can get some for £3 in Amazon so they don’t have to break the bank. Although the heaters come with a built in thermostat they can be notoriously inaccurate. A lot of heaters reach a couple of degrees lower or higher than they are actually set at.
Filter- Betta thrive in clean water and can be prone to disease when the water isn’t optimal or the parameters aren’t stable.
- Unstable parameters mean there are spikes of ammonia or nitrite or really high levels of nitrate. There is a post dedicated in the guides you section which fully explains the cycle to get an understanding of this and the issues it can cause.
- Because they can be affected we need to have a filter in there to remove these toxins to keep the environment safe for them.
- There is no right or wrong filter as long as the one you chose has a very low/slow flow, they don’t like too much water agitation, it can stress them out.
- Sometimes it’s good to note the type of intake the filter has, some with grills can suck the fins into the unit causing quite extensive damage to their fins. If you happen to already have a filter like this you can pop a pair of tights over the unit and this prevents this happening. I personally had a betta who lost his full dorsal (top) fin because of this, thankfully it grew back but it took months so I always like to mention so people know this can happen.
- You are also better choosing a filter that doesn’t require you to replace cartridges monthly as you are then binning beneficial bacteria every month when you do this. Some filters that come with cartridges can be swapped for sponges or other types of media.
- Most people favour sponge filters as they are very gentle and the intake doesn’t grab their fins. For this option you would need to get an air line and pump to connect it to.
- My personal favourite though is the marina s10, it’s a hang on the back one which comes with cartridges but I replaced them with some filter sponge and seachem matrix. It has a super gentle intake which can’t grab their fins and then the water comes back in like a waterfall effect, you can also set the level you want the flow to be as well, and the main thing for me is it’s almost silent.
Decoration- Again this is a personal choice on the aesthetic you’re going for but the main things to consider is that plastic plants are a no go. Although they don’t seem jaggy or sharp, they are to a Bettas delicate fins. When they chill on plastic plants or swim through them this can cause quite bad ripping which can then later develop fin rot or a bacterial infection. It’s not worth the risk.
- You can get silk plants as these are more gentle on them if you don’t want to go for live options.
- Nothing quite beats the benefits and look of live plants though. Some super easy live plants are Anubias, Java Fern and Java Moss. These can be glued or tied to wood or rocks so they don’t need properly planted. Amazon Swords and Dwarf Hair Grass are other easy options that you would plant into the substrate. You don’t need soil to grow them as you can use liquid fertiliser such as TNC Complete to feed these. Frogbit or salvinia are great floating plants that provide some shade at the surface and they also like to build their bubble nests under them. It’s worth mentioning that plants will also feed off ammonia or nitrates in the tank.
- If you want to go for more complex plants that I’ve not mentioned then check which type you’re looking at as you might need to have a substrate like tropica plant growth to help grow these or tropica also do root tabs which are basically like tablets you place in the sand or gravel next to the root of the plant. These are the only options of plant foods I can suggest as that’s the only ones I’ve had success with. I do favour the tropica plant growth, it’s like a soil you pop down and then you can put sand or gravel over the top so that when you pop the plants in the roots grow down into this as their food source.
- With the decoration and planting you want there to be lots of resting places throughout the tank as they tend to bask on the leaves. They also chill up at the surface since they breathe air so it’s important to have tall plants that reach slightly below the water line.
- For resting places near the surface you can also buy betta hammocks or floating logs so this allows them to be near the surface as well. Another option could be half a coconut husk and java moss glued to it to be like a bed.
- Substrate is another thing that’s a personal choice but like plants you want to consider if you’re using gravel whether this is rough and can tear their fins. I personally like the look of sand and my favourite brand is unipac, it’s easy to clean as you can swirl your finger in it to stir up debris and then you can siphon it out. You can also buy soil if you like that look tropica do a good one full of nutrients to grow plants.
- You can chose rock or wood decoration like driftwood, bogwood or redmoor, I’m sure you know what I’m going to say by this stage but make sure that there’s no rough edges their fins can be torn on. Some people opt to sand down any rough edges though or glue some java moss over the edges.
- A great way to test whether something can damage there fins is by dragging a pair of tights over the surfaces and if they snag then they will damage the fins.
- If you’re unsure about attaching plants to wood then you can also buy it already attached.
- They tend to prefer a more naturalistic look to bright colours and neons.
How to set it up.- So there is really no right or wrong way to do this. You don’t even have to have your plants or decoration in when you start cycling, but the main things to start a cycle are your substrate and filter as this is where the beneficial bacteria grows most and your heater as the bacteria does better with heat.
I’ll talk you through how I find it best to set up a tank, but this isn’t how you should it’s just how I find it works best for me.
- Everything that is going in your tank needs to be thoroughly washed, from plants to wood to rocks and substrate.
- If I need to attach plants to rock or wood I’d start by attaching these, I just use thread but you can use fishing line or anything like that and just wrap the thread through a section of the plant and then round the rock or wood. If there is holes or crevices then you can even just pop the roots down into these. The root system will attach to the decor over time so it’s just to give it that little boost to stay there. You can also glue them to the surface, I use seachem flourish glue as it’s a gel and adheres almost instantly even when working with damp plants or wood and it’s cheap.
- I place my substrate in so I know what I’m working with for placing decoration.
- I then place my heater and filter in as I like to plan the decoration around disguising these.
- I play about with the hard decoration like wood/rocks and get the placement how I want them, you can also place silk plants at this point. Then if using live plants I like to fill the tank up with water by a 3rd as I find that easier for planting them. It’s easier to pour the water into a couple of sheets of kitchen roll gently as this prevents stirring up the sand, gravel or soil and making the water cloudy. I use my fingers or tongs for pushing the roots into the substrate and that’s pretty much it. Just popping the plants in the gaps where you want to fill and add a focal point.
- It’s worth noting when adding live plants you have to bare in mind these will take around a month to fully grow to their full potential so initially the planting may seem a little sparse but let it grow and do its thing and you’ll love it once it’s ready.
- When I’m fully happy with the placement of everything I just fill up the tank with water, I always do a mix of hot and cold so the heater isn’t doing all the work to heat it up from cold and I pour into kitchen roll again. If you manage to unsettle any of the substrate and it’s made your tank cloudy then don’t stress give it a day or 2 and it’ll settle back down or the filter will remove it.
- Now that everything is in and how you love it you can start your cycling process by switching your filter and heater on and adding your ammonia. The cycling process takes around 6 weeks and there’s another post talking you through this process.
I’ll include some images of the things I’ve mentioned.
I’ve included an image of one of the 22L tanks I have as this includes most of the products I’m mentioning. I’ll attach one as it’s just planted and then one after it’s grown in a month later so you can see the difference.