Betta in a 17g tank

[Vítor]

Hi guys i've been searching about bettas and i see a lot of different information about bettas i saw some people saying that they have bettas in waters with high ph like 8.2 and some that say that they are from acidic waters, so my question is i have a 40cm cube thats 64 liters and i wanna now if it is to big for a betta, which ph should i have in my aquarium and temperature,now my ph is a bit acid and the temperature is abou 25 i think , i already have some cherry shrimp and i do have an ancistrus too , i know that depending on the betta he might eat the shrimps. If i can keep a betta in this tank which should i choose delta, halfmoon,plakat im asking this aswell because i read that bettas with longer tails strugle in big tanks. (The tank is not finished yet i will add some rotala h'ra and montecarlo)

[Jackson]

My bettas eat shrimp all day . It would like a big tank though . 17g will fit real good . 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Jackson

[Lennie]

Hey there,

This tank size is okay for the betta. I wouldn't call it big or tiny. I am keeping my betta sorority in a 125Liters tank and I have kept a plakat betta in a 160 liter community tank before. All doing fine.

 

Bettas usually like lenght and depth, but not height. Rather than the tank size, the height is the issue. Ive tried long fin bettas in 40 and 50 cm high tanks and nope, that's a pass. I had to remove them in a few minutes seeing them struggling for real. They do great in 25-30cm h tanks.

Plakat bettas usually have the best quality of life overall when it comes to swimming. If I were you, I would def keep a plakat there considering the height.

 

The best ph for bettas is the neutral, or a lil acidic than that. Some people can successfully keep them in lower end or higher end. I've tried everything between 6.5-8.0 and it worked for me. But ideally I would target neutral or slightly acidic ph, given most bettas are prone to fin related diseases.

 

When it comes to shrimp, it depends on the betta. Two males of mine don't eat any. One would eat them all. I'm not sure if my 4th male goes for them, I haven't seen him on action.

I never tried shrimp with my females, but Ive only had black roses and green jellies with my bettas, and they are not as colorful and attractive as cherries.

[Vítor]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:54 PM, Jackson said:

My bettas eat shrimp all day . 

😂😂😂

But whats the size of your aquarium?

[CJs Aquatics]

On 7/20/2023 at 8:45 AM, Vítor said:

i wanna now if it is to big for a betta

Bettas “can” survive in small tanks, however providing them with bigger ones is perfectly fine as well, I actually think more people should so we eliminate them being kept in cups and things. I think this tank will be fine for a betta 

On 7/20/2023 at 8:45 AM, Vítor said:

which ph should i have in my aquarium and temperature

I would recommend 78 degree temps or a bit higher, as far as ph, I would acclimate your fish to your water rather then chase magic numbers unless it’s breeding. This obviously doesn’t work in every case or when dealing with extremes but if your tap is in that 6 acidic- 7 neutral -8 alkaline range I think you should be fine 

 

On 7/20/2023 at 8:45 AM, Vítor said:

If i can keep a betta in this tank which should i choose

This is personal preference. I personally love plakats but perhaps your LFS or area has some locally bred bettas that might do better in your water, that would probably be where I sourced, rather then worrying about specific type, see what works 

[Lennie]

Try to plant heavier especially the background, let shrimp colony establish, and then add the betta. If you wanna keep the cycle up, then you can add snail(s) during this time until you add the fish, if your tank is cycled

[Vítor]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:57 PM, Lennie said:

Hey there,

This tank size is okay for the betta. I wouldn't call it big or tiny. I am keeping my betta sorority in a 125Liters tank and I have kept a plakat betta in a 160 liter community tank before. All doing fine.

 

Bettas usually like lenght and depth, but not height. Rather than the tank size, the height is the issue. Ive tried long fin bettas in 40 and 50 cm high tanks and nope, that's a pass. I had to remove them in a few minutes seeing them struggling for real. They do great in 25-30cm h tanks.

Plakat bettas usually have the best quality of life overall when it comes to swimming. If I were you, I would def keep a plakat there considering the height.

 

The best ph for bettas is the neutral, or a lil acidic than that. Some people can successfully keep them in lower end or higher end. I've tried everything between 6.5-8.0 and it worked for me. But ideally I would target neutral or slightly acidic ph, given most bettas are prone to fin related diseases.

 

When it comes to shrimp, it depends on the betta. Two males of mine don't eat any. One would eat them all. I'm not sure if my 4th male goes for them, I haven't seen him on action.

I never tried shrimp with my females, but Ive only had black roses and green jellies with my bettas, and they are not as colorful and attractive as cherries.

So 40 cm is a bit height for bettas do you think a plakat would do good on this tank?

My ph is about 6.4

[Jackson]

On 7/20/2023 at 8:58 AM, Vítor said:

😂😂😂

But whats the size of your aquarium?

I had him in my 10g . But moved him out to a 2.5 g as he was eating my shrimp . I felt bad because he would cruise the tank . And they love to hunt shrimp .You can watch 5 bucks disappear before your eyes . My betta loves to lounge mostly in the water sprite . I took him back yesterday with my other fish and moved my female into the 2.5 with a snail . So no doubt for this beginner that 17g is plenty of space .

[Lennie]

On 7/20/2023 at 4:04 PM, Vítor said:

So 40 cm is a bit height for bettas do you think a plakat would do good on this tank?

My ph is about 6.4

yes I believe a plakat would do okay with that height and ph. At least 2 male and 4 female plakats of mine do 

Is your HOB working as a waterfall? That can be an issue pushing betta away as they like to feed on the surface and breathe there so they spend a good amount of time on the surface. If not, is there chance you can level up the HOB so it does not create a waterfall?

[Vítor]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:58 PM, Lennie said:

Try to plant heavier especially the background, let shrimp colony establish, and then add the betta. If you wanna keep the cycle up, then you can add snail(s) during this time until you add the fish, if your tank is cycled

I will i want a full jungle on the back with h'ra and some Ludwigias i already have lots of shrimps , i think my tank is already cycled i used a filter that was in the tank before i reescaped it and i've been testing and there is no nitrites , just a bit of nitrate but nothing to worry about and i still gonna wait because i want all the plants to get established before i put my ancistrus in

On 7/20/2023 at 2:08 PM, Lennie said:

yes I believe a plakat would do okay with that height and ph. At least 2 male and 4 female plakats of mine do 

Is your HOB working as a waterfall? That can be an issue pushing betta away as they like to feed on the surface and breathe there so they spend a good amount of time on the surface. If not, is there chance you can level up the HOB so it does not create a waterfall?

Yes it was working as a waterfall because i had some biofilm growing but i can level it

[Vítor]

On 7/20/2023 at 2:08 PM, Lennie said:

yes I believe a plakat would do okay with that height and ph. At least 2 male and 4 female plakats of mine do 

Is your HOB working as a waterfall? That can be an issue pushing betta away as they like to feed on the surface and breathe there so they spend a good amount of time on the surface. If not, is there chance you can level up the HOB so it does not create a waterfall?

I've been reading about other fishes just in case a betta wasnt my choice i liked this ones: ramirezi, sparkling gouramis,chilli rasborras, peackock gungeon, colisas lalia.

If you guys have any sugestions, i would like fish with low bioload.

[Beckybettas]

I have plakats and an alien in 10G and 15G tanks. They are all over their tanks and have no trouble swimming. I admit long finned bettas are gorgeous but I think breeders have gone too far. I dont want a fish that is unable to swim freely or has to resort to self mutilation in order to move off the bottom of its tank. Plakats are every bit as colorful and have a variety of fin types also.

I had a giant plakat in 32G with amanos but I never saw them so I thought he had an expensive snack. After he passed I suddenly started seeing all 7  shrimp every where.. The betta seemed pretty chill but apparently he intimidated them and they were always hiding.

Your tank looks lovely. My only concern is that the peice on the right looks like it has some sharp edges which could tear betta fins.

[Lennie]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:35 PM, Beckybettas said:

I have plakats and an alien in 10G and 15G tanks. They are all over their tanks and have no trouble swimming. I admit long finned bettas are gorgeous but I think breeders have gone too far. I dont want a fish that is unable to swim freely or has to resort to self mutilation in order to move off the bottom of its tank. Plakats are every bit as colorful and have a variety of fin types also.

I had a giant plakat in 32G with amanos but I never saw them so I thought he had an expensive snack. After he passed I suddenly started seeing all 7  shrimp every where.. The betta seemed pretty chill but apparently he intimidated them and they were always hiding.

Your tank looks lovely. My only concern is that the peice on the right looks like it has some sharp edges which could tear betta fins.

I agree that plakats have much better swimming skills, however we can't deny the problem comes with the color types and genetics too which are also valid for common plakats. Like aliens are also known to be problematic and they are human made hybrids. Kois that color up nonstop, scale bettas, marbles, dragonscales, are known to be prone to developing tumors, cancer, can go blind due to scale growth on their eye, and many other stuff. So "every bit of color" may actually mean tend to being prone to cancer/tumors too. Also at this point bettas are usually inbred a lot.

But yes, I do think plakats would be the best bet in general at least if you avoid marbles, dragonscales, aliens, and kois. And ofcourse, big ears. Don't even need to mention that I believe. They have the worst quality of life in terms of swimming, imo.

[Vítor]

On 7/20/2023 at 7:35 PM, Beckybettas said:

I have plakats and an alien in 10G and 15G tanks. They are all over their tanks and have no trouble swimming. I admit long finned bettas are gorgeous but I think breeders have gone too far. I dont want a fish that is unable to swim freely or has to resort to self mutilation in order to move off the bottom of its tank. Plakats are every bit as colorful and have a variety of fin types also.

I had a giant plakat in 32G with amanos but I never saw them so I thought he had an expensive snack. After he passed I suddenly started seeing all 7  shrimp every where.. The betta seemed pretty chill but apparently he intimidated them and they were always hiding.

Your tank looks lovely. My only concern is that the peice on the right looks like it has some sharp edges which could tear betta fins.

Hmm good to know what was the height of your tanks? Hmm they r not very sharp but i think because of the flow he wouldnt go there i think the Hob is right behind it. I don't really know about bettas variaties could you tell me which ones do you think are the healthiest ones?

On 7/20/2023 at 7:45 PM, Lennie said:

I agree that plakats have much better swimming skills, however we can't deny the problem comes with the color types and genetics too which are also valid for common plakats. Like aliens are also known to be problematic and they are human made hybrids. Kois that color up nonstop, scale bettas, marbles, dragonscales, are known to be prone to developing tumors, cancer, can go blind due to scale growth on their eye, and many other stuff. So "every bit of color" may actually mean tend to being prone to cancer/tumors too. Also at this point bettas are usually inbred a lot.

But yes, I do think plakats would be the best bet in general at least if you avoid marbles, dragonscales, aliens, and kois. And ofcourse, big ears. Don't even need to mention that I believe. They have the worst quality of life in terms of swimming, imo.

Yes i mean if you look at the way they swim you can tell that is not healthy,but which variaties do you recommended? Do u have any page talking about that i can check? 

[Lennie]

On 7/20/2023 at 11:16 PM, Vítor said:

Yes i mean if you look at the way they swim you can tell that is not healthy,but which variaties do you recommended? Do u have any page talking about that i can check? 

I ve kept 5 males and 6 females so far. To be fair, I think females are wayyyy too underrated. Also usually, females tend to have much shorter fins even if they are halfmoons. So you can consider females in general I think without their fins.

 

For males, plakats would be the healthiest. Try to avoid scaled ones, marbles and kois (as long as you dont source them from a breeder that breeds the ones that color up from the start mostly) in general. In my experience with males,  my super yellow male is the healthiest so far. I would say my hmpk male is the second best. Silver copper halfmoon gets third spot, gold dragon male fourth, and big ear hm male is the last one.

You can also check wild forms, however please source them from the breeders that actually breed them and not get wild collected ones. Because they are fairly new in the hobby, it is kinda a mystery if they are actually endangered due to being collected from the wild. I know there are people try to breed wild bettas to meet the demand.