New here

Hi guys i just got my first betta and its a 1gallon filtered tank with a couple fake plants and nice place to hide. How many times should i change the water for him? thanks for reading

in a small tank like that I think daily? Are your plants plastic? I did not know and they slice the poor babies to pieces, then they get infections and die get silk if you have plastic or use live plants read in housing you'll find out lots. Lots of good help here, and good luck!

well a one gallon is not a great choice long term. its very hard to keep water conditions stable and the filter in a one gallon is likely to be either not effective or overkill and the flow may push the betta around. small daily water changes would need to be done on a one gallon. time and ease of efficancy are better on a 2.5- 5 gallon tank.


so for now I would change 20% of the water daily or even twice daily. getting a liquid test kit will tell you what the water stats really are.


also bettas are tropical fish and unless you live rather close to the equator most peoples homes are too cool for a betta to live comfortably. a betta is most comfortable and healthy around 78-80 degrees or so. finding a heater for a one gallon is not really worth while. most heaters are designed for 5 gallons and up. you could purchase a small reptile heat mat to stick under the tank, but checking water temp frequently with every change in room air temp is time consuming.

a slightly larger tank and heater could be found second hand at flea markets and on craigslist.

congrats on your new betta and welcome to the forum

alright cool thanks...i have a boy and a girl so does tht mean i have to get bigger tanks for each

You want to get them separated I think, were they together when you got them?

Hi & Welcome

If the filter is new, then 20-50% water changes daily due to the filter not being cycled. If its a mature filter that has been running for at a month, then I would still do 25% every other day.

The thing with small, 1g tanks/bowls, is that once you add substrate, plants, filter & heater, you end up with a water capacity of about three quarters of a gallon which isn't very much at all. Everything then becomes a lot more unstable. Temperature fluctuations will be faster, and ammonia, nitrItes & nitrAtes will rise faster too.

You'll find the vast majority of keepers here will say a minimum of 3g for a single male betta, some say 5g.

The whole aspect of keeping bettas in small bowls is industry lead to increase profits. There are still shops and keepers who truly believe that bettas in the wild live in little puddles. We came across a private website the other week where the person stated that bettas in the wild lived in puddles 2 x 1 x 1 inch puddles and kept their bettas in vases that were about an inch wide with plants stuck in the top.

Thats terrible I love them so much already i wanna make sure that they are safe...after i read ur response i called my friend to see if they had any glass tanks thts about 2.5-3 gallons at Petco or Petsmart or something and surely enough they do...If i get tht, the heater and filter for each of them, would tht be ok would they be happier


ps: my house stays pretty warm during winter. so the water tht they are in now stays room temperature....do i really need a heater rite now? Again thanks for reading and taking the time to help me out

average room temp is 64-74. a betta needs at least 78 and is happier at 80. very few people can stand homes this warm. so no I still think that you need a heater and a good temp themometer.

Yeah deffo get a heater. Room temps can fluctuate a bit too much too, which your betta won't appreciate too much.

They will deffo be happier in clean filtered, warm water