# 2.5 gallon betta tank question



## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Playing around with a couple new tanks and one of them is a 2.5 gallon. I currently have a betta in a 5.5 gallon with AC20 filter and a heater, well planted.

I am thinking about putting the betta in the 2.5 so the size of the tank doesn't make the fish look so small. My concern is if I use the AC20, the current will be quite strong for a 2.5, its turned down all the way in the 5.5.

Would it be ok to put the betta in the 2.5 without a filter and let the plants alone be the filter. Also note, the substrate is a layer of clay and then about an inch of potting soil capped by a large grain sand.

Would it also be safe to have no pump at all? I do have a tiny water pump I could put in but was wanting to use that pump on another tank. I don't want to have an air pump going where this tank will be either.

So can I do it safely?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

A little bit of an update, more info.

The tank is not tall enough to use an AC20 filter unless I was to cut the intake tube which I don't want to do.

I also just tested the little 2.5 watt pump I have and the current was too strong, it was also moving the sand substrate even with the pump at the top of the tank pumping across the tank.

I'm going to see if I can find an even smaller pump to see if that is even an option.

Still hoping on views of going filterless and pumpless on this 2.5 planted betta tank.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

Try a Hamberg Mattenfilter or make a miniature make-shift sponge filter. It shouldn't provide too much current if you use the whisper 10 air pump with a air flow restriction thing.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I don't want an air pump in that room and Im sure my wife would be pissed at me if I did put one there.

I took off the outflow nozzle and now the current is ok, not moving sand around and at what I think would be the high end current flow for a betta.

Planning to do a moss wall on this little tank, so that will greatly improve filtration there


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Many Betta's are kept without any filtration or any amount of circulation, but that doesn't mean it's actually a great idea. The larger the tank, the easier it is to control water parameters, which you know, of course. I'd think a 2.5 is the bare minimum size and if you use one, you must be willing and able to do regular 50% WCs at least 3 or 4 times weekly. No filter means no BB converting the ammonia. Even a tiny filter would help a lot with this.

I used a very small filter that has, for the most part, been extremely quiet, for my Betta's tanks. Both were in 2.5 G tanks when I had them. The filter made it possible for me to do WCs less often once the fish began to recover from their injuries, [which was why I took these fish on]. I could have done a few more WCs and done without the tiny filter if I'd had to. Given the choice, much rather have the filter.

The tiny filter I used is by no means cheap, but lucky for me it came with one of the fish I adopted. Designed for nano tanks, it has a moderately adjustable little spray bar that spreads the filter output over several inches, in fairly slow trickle streams. You can totally submerge the bar to reduce the effect even more, or remove it, leaving the output something like a wee trickle fountain. You end up with quite Betta friendly water circulation and BB working on the ammonia. The space for media in this model is very small, so it needs cleaning fairly often. I removed the silly insert it came with and modified it with some cut down sponge instead; more effective, easier to clean. I even have an AC Mini running on a 2.5, that has shrimp in it. It's as quiet as they come. Covered the intake with a shrimp screen. Bottom of the intake is butted onto the bare glass with no room for substrate, but it would work for a Betta. The current it produces on the slow setting isn't as great as I'd thought it would be, and with the output lip always under water, it's dead quiet.

If you really don't want to aggravate your lady wife with any noise, then try getting by without a filter first. If the WC issue becomes difficult you can add a filter later. Red Sea also makes a nano filter that works for small tanks. Though I have not used theirs, I've heard good things about them.

I can't recall the brand name on the little spray bar model that I have, but I can find out if you want. It is also very quiet, PROVIDED, and I have to stress this, provided it is never allowed to run dry. It's impeller is just an inch below the top of the unit, so you have to ensure it never runs dry, and it can happen fairly fast with heavy evaporation. Evaporation ran mine dry a few times. Though it worked fine again after it cooled off, the racket it made when the impeller seized up was seriously impressive for such a small motor.

The more plants you have, the more of the ammonia produced will be used up. Just don't have so many that they impede swimming for the fish. I used to keep a chunk of java moss in mine, which they could sleep on or under or swim around as they chose, which worked for my purposes but was not especially decorative. One of those fish of mine suicide jumped, even though he had no tail, having ripped it off in a fit of insanity, so be aware Bettas can and do jump. If I ever get another Betta it will a have a tank cover of some sort.

Betta's can get oxygen from air if they must, like other labyrinth fish. This adaptation allows them some amount of survival advantage in the sometimes extremely harsh dry season habitat they originated from, but after having done some extra reading, I have learned that the idea that Bettas live in stagnant mud puddles is not quite correct. To be exact, they mostly live in the rice paddies during the wet seasons. These are very shallow, just a couple of feet deep, but they are VAST; full of plants, leaf litter, soft, muddy substrate; tons of room to roam around, find food and lady friends. But during the dry season, the paddies dry up to a great degree, so some fish will end up in the aforementioned tiny puddles of stagnant water. Sadly, many of those that end up this way don't survive. Even if they are able to get oxygen from air, which makes the stagnation itself potentially survivable, a wee puddle would quickly become toxic ammonia soup for the unfortunate fish. The survivors are the hardiest of the hardy and it no doubt contributes to the generally hardy nature of Betta fish.

Modern Bettas are not raised in rice paddies of course, and I know some will argue with my opinions on keeping them. But I think they should have a filter if at all possible. They'll be damaged by ammonia like any other fish, so I'd test a tank that size frequently until I was sure I had a WC routine established that kept the parameters as stable as possible.

Without a filter, a missed water change has the potential to cause big problems quickly,because of the small volume of water. But the issue of current is, I believe, not as big deal as some think it is. The problem arises if the current is strong enough that those gorgeous big fins end up behaving like sails on a boat. The poor fish gets blown around his tank without being able to do anything about it. Modest current that does not impair the Betta's ability to swim freely is fine.

Heating a small tank can be a problem. If your room is reasonably warm, I'd skip the heater, as they can overheat a small water volume too easily. If the room is chilly though, a heater may be needed. This apartment of mine is so blasted hot all year I never have to use heaters for anything. The only things I keep just now that are tropical are frogs, and with the cover on, their tank rarely goes below 78. But if you have the AC on, check to be sure the tank's not got too chilled.

Because the Bettas I kept were injured when I got them, I used Indian Almond leaves, or a tea made from IAL, in their tanks, + sea salt & some green tea too. IAL has antibiotic properties that seem to help heal many injuries and may support the immune system of fish and perhaps shrimp. Leaf litter is a common feature of the rice paddies and my two fish seemed to like having them around. One routinely slept under his almond leaf. A leaf is unlikely to do any harm, so why not use them if you have some ? Oak leaves are a good sub, but have no antibiotic properties. Leaves are a matter of choice rather than necessity.

One other thing, for plants, you'll need some sort of substrate, I would assume ? It should be as soft and smooth as possible. Tahitian Moonsand, or something like it, would be great. The first Betta I adopted had been kept on super coarse, very chunky gravel, which over the course of a few months seriously abraded the edges of his ventral & gill fins. He also had a nasty split in the dorsal fin. Once he was off the wretched gravel, with treatment and better conditions all around, I was astonished at how soon he began to grow new tissue on all his damaged fin edges.

In particular, his gill fins grew more than 3/8's of an inch of new tissue in what seemed to me a very short time. Though it was a blue-white colour that did not match the rest of his colours it was seriously amazing to me to realize just how much fin length he lost because he could not avoid rubbing on the coarse texture of the substrate his former owner used.


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## TorontoBoy (Mar 14, 2013)

You could consider a power head from a table top water fountain. These "power" heads have little to "Is this thing really on?" power. You could use these to power a small sponge filter, and at the very least keep some beneficial bacteria alive to help out with your ammonia. With the "lack of power" head and a sponge filter there would be no noise, very little current, but with some filtering and BB.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

The tiny pump I have has a dial that I can turn the flow down and took off the nozzle and now the flow is fine. I will also be doing a Taiwan moss wall on the back of the tank. 

In theory, this should be plenty of filtration, lot of plants and surface area especially with the lava rock.

I'll be monitoring it closely for many weeks to be sure


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## TorontoBoy (Mar 14, 2013)

These biddy pumps usually have a grill on their intake, a couple of tiny suction cups on the back and an output tube. I have used bicycle inner tube smaller than the diameter of the pump but longer than the body, stretched it over the pump body and cut a circle for the output tube, restricting the water input to the longer end of the bicycle inner tube. Inside I put a small sponge, where BB do grow. This sponge acts as a prefilter and does need to be rinsed every week. The prefilter will reduce the flow somewhat, so keep the pump on high.


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## bettasandbeads (Aug 18, 2010)

*betta tank*

Very interesting comments.
I have used 2.5 gal tanks for my bettas before.
I usually have sand or fine gravel with a plant or two. A hiding place ( PVC small connectorpipe)
A small sponge filter (Ho), Betta Breeders Canada has them for sale. You use a small pump with the filter.
I find I only have to do weekly water changes, as I do with all my fish.
Hope that helps.
Catherine


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## Mykuhl (Apr 8, 2013)

I think you would be fine without a filterm providedd you have enough plants to suck up any ammonia that is produced. These plants need to be growing and some water movement definitely helps with growt.h( it moves nutrients through the water). I set up a brand new 7.9 gallon tank (with no seeded filter, gravel or anything),fairly large established java fern and some floating plants and a pair of sub adult apistogramma, and my water never read any ammonia. It went through what is called a "silent cycle", this is what happens when there is enough growing plants tpo match the bioload. So, as you said the plants become the filter. I would still go with the small pump on low to provide some circulation, stagnant water is not good.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I was able to get the pump to give a safe flow, this along with plants, lava rock and a Taiwan moss wall on the back should give more than enough filtration. I will be monitoring it closely for weeks to be sure.

The rest of my tanks barely need water changes due to all the plants keeping the nitrates low. I just got a phosphate test kit and need to test the tanks for that.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

I personally had trouble with Taiwan moss getting alga (string) too much or burning. My guess is it would have grown fine with high tech. I made it work in the end in a 10g tank having Amanos / Spixi / Ramshorns / RCS and with some barleys I put in a net and into my filter. I don't know how well they will do in a small tank like that without the high tech. Java Moss should be a bit better, but watch out for mosses in general. As for another plant , I would recommend the java ferns for looks / ease, and not having to worry about algua or maintenance.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I have no trouble with Taiwan moss growing unless you count too much growing. I ended up putting a very large amount just floating around in a junk tank with a single 18 inch old t8 bulb and it just kept growing.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

when I put the fish in the 2.5 with the 2.5 watt pump, the poor betta got tossed around, so can't use the pump, all the plants and Taiwan moss wall will have to be the filter.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

If you ever want to sell some of that Taiwan, I'd love to have it. Not a moss I see often anywhere. Easy to ship. I had some sent to me once in a zip bag inside a regular business envelope, and though it looked quite squashed when I first opened it, it was fine.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

pyrrolin said:


> I have no trouble with Taiwan moss growing unless you count too much growing. I ended up putting a very large amount just floating around in a junk tank with a single 18 inch old t8 bulb and it just kept growing.


Well, good to hear you had better success, but I am going to stick with java moss as it is easier for me, and maybe peakock too on driftwood. It is weird how each system and success is different from person to person.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I got this junk filter with some other stuff I bought off kijiji and the flow was extremely slow. Decided to toss it on the tank to try it out, it didn't want to work and I took it apart and ended up cleaning it, now it flows like new and too much flow.

Maybe I'll try an AC20 and not put the extender on the intake, just use the U tube and just put a sponge covering over the U tube, turn it down all the way and see if that works tomorrow.

I am not confident that the plants can keep up as a filter right now, I am sure they would be fine once they grow but right now, not so sure.

I'm having fun and getting frustrated at the same time with this 2.5 betta tank.

He is so happy when there is no flow at all, first night in the tank with no flow he made so many bubbles and swimming all around. Poor guy.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

If the AC20 could fit somehow, one great way of controlling the outflow can be achieved by adding an extra sponge at the discharge, right bellow where the water would come down to hit to go into an aquarium, and you would hold it with an elastic band. I have done this on my 10g tank, and no more current, except from my separate sponge filter.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

try to see if you can find something like this, I remember buying one for my 2.5g long ago from big al's I believe it was 10 bucks. it's a really small hang on back filter. The flow is adjustible

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/BioMaxx-Nano-Hang-On-Aquarium-Filter-for-Desktop-Betta-Small-Fish-Tanks-/290929894417?pt=Fish_Filters&hash=item43bcc5e411


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I have some fine pored pre filter sponges that should fit an AC mini. Being very fine, they do inhibit flow to a much greater extent than a coarse one will, and much more than a metal screen will.


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