Question about Betta in 3 gallon tank

Hi,
I'm new to bettas! I recently rescued a beautiful but neglected crown tailed male betta from Wal-mart and have put him in an Eclipse 3 gallon tank. I conditioned the water and I have a Tetra heater in there, some gravel, a little bridge decoration and one live "sword" plant. The fish is very active. He seems pretty elated that he has space to swim around in rather than languishing in a dirty tupperware-looking container that was missing half its water! A guy at the local pet store suggested that I add a panda cory fish to the tank in a few weeks. However, when I did research online, I read that you need at least 3 corys in a tank because they are schooling fish. What I need to know is, is it appropriate to put 3 panda corys in a 3 gallon tank with a male betta? Or is it better to keep the betta by himself? Thanks for your help!

Sienna

Well, im new to the forum too Sienna, but with the little i know i can firmly say to keep only the betta in your tank, maybe an apple snail or two tops with it, and do read something about cycling your aquarium (nitrogen cicle: amonia -> nitrite -> nitrate). First days (month) there are some toxins on the aquarium and you should pay attention to them so your fish stays healthy!

Read: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hope he lives long and you enjoy his company!

Bruno

Hi Sienna,

Its all on personal preference. A 3g tank is sufficient for a betta, and you could (IMO) put some cories in there too.

But alot of people say cories prefer to live in a group of six, but I am currently successfully keeping them in pairs.

The other thing is you could look into pygmy cories as they are much smaller than your average cory

Hi
Properly managed, a single betta can be housed happily in 3g. I notice you haven't mentioned a filter. Make sure to keep up with regular water changes. Small and often water changes are best.
Cories are fairly sensitive fish, so aren't really suited to an unfiltered tank, plus I feel 3g is too small for this shoaling fish.

HI, welcome to the forum!

Agree, 1 male betta would be fine in a 3G tank. I also wouldnt put cories in there.

Regarding snails, an apple snail needs 10L to itself. That combined with the amount of waste they produce is not really ideal for your tank. Id look into getting some other snails if thats what you want. Maybe some RAmshorn or MTS.

Have you got a filter? As van said if not make sure you do regular water changes.

Cories do get quite big (seen them at 2 inches) so I don't think it'd be fair to add them to a 3g tank. Pygmy cories are smaller, and very cute and peaceful so if you ever upgraded (I think they'd do better with a betta in a 5g filtered) you could look at those guys.

Would a zebra snail be OK with my betta in the 3 gallon tank? My Eclipse 3 tank came with a filter but the guy at my pet store said that I don't need to use it, so I haven't actually turned it on yet. I have been changing the water though. I will be starting the filter today.

zebra snail would be ok as far as i'm aware - smaller than apple snails so less poop

Glad you're gonna have the filter going until it has cycled completely (anything from 6-8 weeks-ish or longer) you need to do 30-50% water changes every couple of days - even better if it's every day.

I tried putting the filter on but it blows my betta all over the place when he goes on the right side of the tank. I have an Eclipse 3. The Bio-Wheel on the unit is what is causing the current. I called the manufacturer and they said that I shouldn't use the filter because bettas need very calm, non-moving water. Yet so many betta keepers online have told me that I DO need a filter. I keep getting conflicting information. I don't know what to do.

Well, people DO keep their betta tanks nice and clean without filters, BUT they have to do water changes at least every 2 days, and live plants can help. Can you not turn the out flow of the filter to the back wall of the tank? or stuff the end with sponge? Sorry, never seen this tank before so don't even know if that's possible

You can make your own sponge filter which is really easy and will create very gentle water movement whilst doing a good job of keeping the water ammonia and nitrite free. All you need is an air pump, air line, non return valve and a sponge filter. If you type in sponge filter on ebay you should see what I mean, they're very cheap. You can make your own with an old fish food pot with holes drilled in the bottom too

Hi
A filter simplifies things i.e. reduces the number and frequency of water changes needed. Without a filter regular water changes are needed and some bettas get stressed by this.

I personally wouldn't take advice from manufacturers though, especially when as person may not even have fish themselves.

Filters are preferable, but water changes are possible:)

a 3G is fine for a betta in my opinion. Corys need to be kept in a min group of 6 IMO they live in thousands in the wild so 3 doesnt really give them enough to shoal. The smallest type of corys are pygmy corys that get to 2cm but are one of the most active and IMO need atleast 5G but do alot better in tanks of 10G+. Snails or shrimp will work in a 3G

SiennaBay wrote:I tried putting the filter on but it blows my betta all over the place when he goes on the right side of the tank. I have an Eclipse 3. The Bio-Wheel on the unit is what is causing the current. I called the manufacturer and they said that I shouldn't use the filter because bettas need very calm, non-moving water. Yet so many betta keepers online have told me that I DO need a filter. I keep getting conflicting information. I don't know what to do.

How many LPH is the filter? you can put a bit of filter media (sponge) over the intake of the filter which will slow it down. Or you can use a hang on filter or sponge filter which create very little current.

Hi, I just stuck a small piece of synthetic sponge into the intake of the filter. It made the current much less strong and my fish doesn't seem as bothered. Will the filter still do its job like this?

The filter will still get rid of ammonia but any bits in the tank will get stuck in the bit of media on the out side so it will need to be cleaned every now and again.

I'm also having a problem with tiny bubbles collecting on the insides of the tank, sort of like condensation on all four sides. Is this from not using the filter? Will keeping the filter on help clear that up? The bubbles make it so I can't see the fish as clearly as I'd like.

I forgot to mention that I have a small Tetra heater in the tank that supposedly keeps the water at an even 78 degrees.

Are they one the side of the tank under water? this sometimes happence after you do a waterchange. They should go soon or you can wipe them off.

SiennaBay wrote:I forgot to mention that I have a small Tetra heater in the tank that supposedly keeps the water at an even 78 degrees.

78F is a bit low IMO. About 81-83 would be best.

Do you have a recommendation for a heater that's appropriate for a 3 gallon tank?