Reddit reviews Tetra Whisper Internal Filter 3 To 10 Gallons, For aquariums, In-Tank Filtration With Air Pump, Blacks & Grays (25816)

Bettas can get along with a variety of community fish. Whether an individual betta does is up to the fish--they do have different personalities so while one betta may be mellow and be perfectly fine with tankmates, another may not take too kindly to other fish in his space.

There are a few things you can do to maximize your chances of success in keeping betta with tankmates.

One is to not pick any fish to go in with the betta that are very brightly coloured and/or have long, flowing fins, because the betta is likely to mistake this other fish as another male betta.

The other is to introduce the other fish first; if when putting the betta into his new home, the other fish are already there, he's more likely to just accept their existence, whereas if you try to add new fish to HIS tank once he's already settled in, he'll see them as intruders.

A good bet with bettas are corydoras catfish, in a 10g you could do dwarf or pygmy corydoras which are the smallest species. Since they're bottom-level fish, they won't really intrude much on the betta's space because most bettas are middle to top level fish. One thing to note is that if you get corys you'll also want to do sand substrate, since gravel can damage their barbels.

So here is a list of potential gear, there are a couple of options on some categories:

10 Gallon Standard Tank $10 in-store at Petco (Dollar per Gallon ends the 19th BTW)

AquaClear Hang On Back Filter $28 This is a little pricey, but it's probably the best hang on back filter on the market. It's more powerful than the other ones I've listed. Part of why it's so great is because it's very customizable, you can put your own filter media in if you want (the stuff it comes with is not bad though). Also it's really easy to clean which is a plus.

Aqueon Quietflow Internal Power Filter $14 A lot of people don't like internal filters because it's a bit messier to clean since it's fully submerged; personally I don't mind cleaning it and also because it's totally underwater I find it a lot quieter that most filters which might be a good thing if you're keeping it in your bedroom. I'd suggest not using the little cartridge it comes with and stuffing it with your own biomedia and filter floss, but it's powerful and compact.

Tetra Whisper in Tank Filter $11 This is the only filter here I don't personally own, but I believe a lot of people on /r/bettafish use this one and like it.

Glass Canopy $20 Not necessary, but I think they look nicer than a bulky plastic hood. I do suggest some kind of covering for your tank since bettas are known to jump. It could be something as simple as a big sheet of plastic canvas cut to fit, which is a couple dollars.


So technically the above gear, assuming you buy the most inexpensive filter option, comes to $41 pretax. A little over the $39.99 all in one kit you originally wanted, but you are getting twice the gallonage, and also higher-quality gear--glass tank instead of plastic, and a semi-decent filter. And again, you could go a lot cheaper on the lid if you were so inclined and either save your money or put it towards a more expensive filter.

You'll also need a heater for a betta. I think a lot of fishkeepers have their favourite brands for this kind of thing, Hydor Theo is mine, self-regulating glass heaters are way better than the plastic pad kind without regulators because it turns itself on and off automatically as needed. Also, I would recommend ALWAYS getting a heater that can be adjusted to whatever temperature you need. Treating certain illnesses require you to turn up or down the temperature so that's an invaluable feature IMO. Also the knob on this model (unlike a lot of brands I've tried) is really easy to turn so that's kind of a bonus when your hands are all wet.

Let's go over a bit of everything.

5 gallon tank is awesome, 10 gallon tank is a tiny bit more awesome, but not necessary at all.

Heater that can keep the tank around 76-78

Filter : https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Tank-Filter-10i-BioScrubber/dp/B0002DHYF4
I figured I would link the filter I use, and it works perfectly for my bettas

Live plants are awesome, silk plants acceptable.

I usually recommend live plants, such as swords, they help with nitrites and bettas love swimming and hiding in plants, the more jungle the happier the betta in my experience.

For food, I recommend Betta Pellets / Blood Worms as a treat meal every once and a while.

Lighting can vary based on if you go with live plants or not.

For your substrate / gravel almost anything is ok. I have had bettas with Sand, Gravel, and now I am using Seachem Fluorite so my plants go from meh to holy hell that's a jungle.

For water changes I treat my water with a bit of prime and stress coat, I also dose my tank with Seachem Fluorish to feed my plants and have them be healthy and happy.

And a quality of life thing, as I have multiple tanks, a Python Cleaning system for water changes has turned my awkward filling and carrying of buckets into a simple hook up to a sink and off I go.

If you have any questions, just comment here, or head over to /r/bettafish there is plenty of information in the sidebar alone.

A walmart tank should be fine. The key thing to do (if the store will let you) is to ask if you can fill it with water first to make sure there are no leaks. For a betta, you really don't need a Fluval or anything. Those are for once you get addicted to the hobby. :) Bettas do need space, but they don't necessarily need anything super fancy.

And especially with bettas, the fish you purchase at the store may not be in the healthiest of conditions when you get them. Did you pick him out of a bunch of bettas sitting in one-cup containers? That's how most stores deal with bettas because they're capable of surviving that way. But it means that you'll often end up with a fish that's already sickly when you got him.

The thing to bear in mind when you're starting the aquarium hobby is that it really is a lifetime of learning. Aquariums can have a steep learning curve that's made more difficult because you're dealing with living creatures. Try not to get frustrated or downhearted - it really is something we've all gone through as we're learning how to care for them.

You're taking the right steps in asking questions (bear in mind that it's difficult to diagnose without seeing the fish closeup so we're not able to easily diagnose your fish; all we can really do is recommend ways to fix your tank setup). And it just sucks that the treatment involves spending money. As far as filters go, I've had success with the Tetra Whisper. It worked fine for me - I ended up upgrading, but that was only because I wanted a bigger tank.

Images:
http://imgur.com/a/21kes

Tank paramaters:
10 gal, (approx 10x12x20)
Light
Photoperiod: 7am-7pm currently
Filtration
sand substrate
no CO2, no ferts
Stock: 1 Betta, a handful of MTS,
2 anubius (one bloomed!), java ferns (doing great, sprouting babies all the time), and water sprite, that was also doing great until this green stuff started growing on it.

 

Now that you have the info, what is growing in my tank? Tank has been stable since the beginning of Feb. though nitrates have always been low. I had diatoms for a while, but they have been gone about two months now. My sponge filter went out and I replaced it with the one listed above in the beginning of June. Then this crap showed up.
What are my options? I am just now getting around to finding out other stocking options. I wouldn't mind more flora or fauna, but I really don't want to have to dose ferts (if this is possible,) and I don't want to deal with CO2.
If it is cyano, is it possible to get rid of it without antibiotics?
Thanks in advance!

 
edits: formatting is not my friend.

Here ya go.

40 bucks for the filter/heater/Hood.


Also make sure you get some water conditioner.

Oh and if you are doing plants you should get some fluorescent bulbs.

http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Whisper-In-Tank-BioScrubber-10-Gallon/dp/B0002DHYF4/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1374196011&sr=1-4&keywords=10+gallon+filter

If you want to make it all much easier, just get the ten gallon tank and then get him to squeeze his filter sponge into your filter. If you do that and wait a few weeks you should be ready to rock. You could even add the fish right away if you can commit to testing the water every day. You only need two things for testing the water.

5-in-1 strips

And ammonia strips

And one thing to fix it.

Basically, the squeeze from your friends tank will give you the bacteria you need. Putting a fish in will give those bacteria something to eat (fish poop breaking down) until the bacteria colony is fully established. pH isn't a real issue with bettas as long as it stays roughly the same.

You just have to use both test strips every day, if anything spikes (nitrites will spike right before you are done) then change the water 30% and replace it with new water treated with that dechlorinator. A couple weeks in, all of the sudden you won't be getting any ammonia, you will have no nitrites, and you will have just a little nitrate meaning you are done. From then on just test and replace a gallon of water per week (always using dechlorinator).

The heater is the easiest thing! Most are set up to automatically sit at 78 degrees which is perfect for a betta. They like still water so if you can, grab an internal filter like the Whisper 10i. It moves the water less.

I'm fairly new at this, so if anything up there is inaccurate someone please chime in!

This was the other filter I was debating on, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Tank-Filter-10i-BioScrubber/dp/B0002DHYF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=tetra+whisper+10i&qid=1568807571&s=gateway&sr=8-3

It would. Bit for so etching much larger. That's a 45 gallon tank filter. One like this http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-25846-Whisper-BioScrubber-3-Gallon/dp/B000HHQ712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404539713&sr=8-1&keywords=3+gallon+fish+tank+filter

or this

http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-25816-Whisper-BioScrubber-10-Gallon/dp/B0002DHYF4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1404539774&sr=8-8&keywords=tetra+whisper+filter

would do the trick. The second is for a 3 to 5 gallon, the first is up to 3 gallon. You can get decent fish tank kits that come with a light and filter for around 20 to 30$ at pet smart, but that doesn't include a heater.


Something like this is a decent setup, and as it's a 5 gallon, it could actually be divided to house both fish. All you would really need at that point is a heater, and water dechlorinator.

http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-29003-Crescent-Aquarium-5-Gallon/dp/B00324X5L2/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404540227&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=tetra+3+gallon+crescent

Oh so cute. Well all you need is a 5-10 gallon tank. There is a sale going on now with either petsmart or petco where you can get $1 per gallon. After that you need a filter. If you get a 5 or 10 gallon tank you can get a nice hang of the back filter for cheap. I got this one for my betta when I was holding him in a 2.5 gallon before putting him in a bigger tank. It needs an air pump to work though I got a cheapo and it works great and is almost unnoticeable.. Spend a little more on a heater though because I got a cheap betta heater and it broke somehow and the heater itself started melting and I thougth it was going to explode. The one I use now is hyador.

I also got him that leaf hammock for him to sleep on. For food I bought frozen blood worms of the hikari brand. This will last a long long time it comes with a bunch of frozen cubes each cube has like a hundred worms. So I cut up the cube and keep a portion in a medicine cup. I add tank water to the medicine cup and the portion melts and i use a pippete to feed the worms. And you feed it to him 1 - 3 times a week. The rest I got pellets. The brand was omega something in a blue container. I drop those pellets in a small medicine cup squirt with water let em soak for a minute then drop them in his tank.

Also !! You need a water conditioner I use seachem prime. It makes tap water safe for your fish, normally it has chlorine and other chemicals to make it safe for humans but those chemicals will hurt fish. Prime helps make it safe for fish to breathe and prime has a slime coat bonus.

I think an estimate on how much you will spend for him is around 60-70$ and he will last a while with clean water, good food, and good maintenance.

To make feeding and dosing prime easier. Get a cheap plastic pipette and glass dropper. I tend to spill things when measuring by the cap so the glass dropper is easier to dose prime. The plastic pipette is used to soak and feed the pellets and blood worms.

Thanks for replying, I am not so sure how or where to put another filter to slow the flow down. https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Tank-Filter-10i-BioScrubber/dp/B0002DHYF4 that is my filter, I have it about a half inch above surface level and it makes a tiny waterfall. Should I raise it or lower it? I really don't want to stress or hurt the frogs, especially the little guy. Big dude doesn't seem to care much he just avoids those pockets of water current