proper tank

Hi, it's me again. I made a decision when my fish was so ill to buy a proper tank. I would be grateful for all your suggestions and advice regarding this. How big for one fish? He is my first ever pet and I would like to avoid silly mitakes and make him comfortable. Thank you, Kasia

Hi, congratulations on your decision! You and you fish we both enjoy it very much. If this is a smallish fish we are talking about I would recommend a ten gallon. You can get one for about 15 dollars at petsmart and maybe cheaper at other places. A ten gallon should keep your water parameters stable provided that you keep up with water changes. You will want to cycle it before adding your fish. I would be happy to give you suggestions for any live plants you may want to add. Live plants are great for absorbing bad nutrients from fish waste though they are in no way a replacement for water changes. Plastic plants look great too though.

Welcome, and thanks for joining our forum. You're taking an intelligent approach to fish keeping, and we're happy to help. Please tell us what kind of fish you have or want.

Hi Megham, thanks for answering. As you might have noticed he is just recovering from illness. Shall I wait until and if then how long. I am new to fish and pets you know, I read your forum so empty (fishless) tank for 1st cycle - ca 6weeks hope Lapis will be okay by then to transfer him. At the moment I have plastic, will live plants grow ok or is it better when there are more fish than just one? I noticed most of you live in the States I am in UK any suggestions what is the best place to buy for british betta joking! Do I need a heater for betta as well? Thank you so much!

Hi - I have a navy blue betta for ca 10 months, he is in a bowl (ca 9l) since I brought him home...

The water in the Betta's tank should be around 80 F. I read this post before reading your first one, so now I know what kind of fish you have. Your aquarium needs to go through its nitrogen cycle, which can take several weeks. Our blogs have more information about the nitrogen cycle; basically it involves growing some beneficial bacteria that eat all the food and fish waste. The Betta will be distressed until the nitrogen cycle is working. Some live plans will help, as will some gravel or decorations from an established aquarium.

Most of us do live in the States, but we're from different places, and we welcome members from all over the planet. It's always about the aquariums and fish.

I was checking uk web sites the 30l tank is quite expensive I saw you guys are mentioning store names we do not have in London if someone can suggest where to get relatively cheaply in uk would be great! You know I walked in to a pet shop 10 months ago to get a goldfish but this guy looked at me and said maybe you would prefer a nice blue fish and he showed me my Lapis! Of course I did prefer ... Thanks for all your advice - it's great to find out people like their fish and have such detailed knowledge - you see I am a molecular biologist but I never ever had a pet before!

Here in Phoenix, we call them carport sales or yard sales. In the UK, they may be called rummage sales. Many times they are the best place to buy aquariums at ridiculously low prices.

As a molecular biologist, you should be giving us lessons about aquarium bacteria, etc. I hope you enjoy the aquarium hobby and this web site.

Thank you Johnarthur, I will try to see what I can find here - visit to a few local pet shops would help as well. You see I suppose that my biology knowledge is pretty good but as you know all topics are very specialised - aquatic hobby, microbiology etc so let me just say I am a quick learner I was told that fish are often sick in spring ... again British weather Will keep you posted. Jumping to his illness - I was giving him Octozin for 7 days everyday with 50% water change. He was very bloated didnt move then got better.Now I am afraid to keep him w/o drug - so Im just reducing dose - is it okay or shall I stop and see how he is?

It's just a personal preference, but I never use medications. I focus on providing the aquarium fish with a healthy environment. If they have that, they will not get sick. When we get sick, we expect the doctor to prescribe medications. On the other hand, we have much more control over an aquarium environment than we do over our own. If you use aquarium medications, they should be a last resort applied exactly as directed.

Hi again. I think that as long as you have completed the requirements for the medication's directions and Lapis is doing better, then you can probably stop the medication. I am with John on medication. In many cases simple water changes will clear up the problem when using medication can make it worse. I think it is really neat that you like your fish so much. They really do enrich are lives and watching their personalities develop is a lot of fun. Good luck finding a nice big home for him. As for plants, try aquabid as a source. Many sellers ship internationally. If you want a low tech system I suggest going for low light plants such as amazon sword plants. They are very nice and are fast growing without getting too big. They do best with iron supplement which you can give them either by installing an iron based substrate such as flourite or you could also add liquid fertilizer. Once again, we are always more than happy to help!

From a first hand experiment bettas like smaller bowls I think they have a hard time adjusting to such a differance....for example they were in tiny bowls for months before they were sold.

Bettas do prefer smaller environments, but the small containers they are raised and sold in are in most fish keepers opinions cruelly small. I keep my female bettas in tanks with other fish. One is in a 46 gallon and the other is in a ten gallon and they love it. They enjoy swimming to different areas of the tank and don't confine themselves to a small area. I do keep my male bettas in small containers that are still much larger than what they came with(about half a gallon each). My betta king is actually in a two and a half gallon.