Are you looking to set up a betta fish tank? Don’t worry, today I’ll show you the step-by-step guide for setting up a betta fish tank.
We advise reading the article till the end for getting detailed information about the tank setup. Betta fishes are the most beautiful and elegant fish but they are aggressive to other fishes.
You need to set up a fish tank for one male betta fish. So let’s start setting up the tank for betta fish.
How to Setup Betta fish tank (Step-by-step Guide)
Setting up a betta fish tank was so easy because they can be small and you need to put one male in one tank. Otherwise, they will start fighting. You need to use one tank for one male but you can put female bettas in the same tank as the community.
Without wasting time let’s start with the step-by-step guide.
here are the steps for Setting up a betta fish tank.
#1 Choose the tank size
You need to choose a small tank that can be 3 to 5 gallons in size. Usually, betta fishes needed a medium size tank. The betta fishes like dark shadow spots for placing the tank and you need to avoid the direct sunlight in the tank.
A 3-gallon tank is a minimum requirement for the betta fish. But you can choose the 5-gallon tank for betta fish keeping. If you didn’t give them good care, they will start dying faster because they have shortened lifespans.
Now you have chosen a tank for a betta, so let’s move to the next step. In the second step, you need to buy the required equipment for the betta tanks.
#2 Choose the equipment required
Choosing the best equipment for the betta fish tank was simple. I’ll provide the list of equipment and items needed for setting up a fish tank.
| Items | names | Price |
| Gravels | GloFish aquarium Gravel 5 Pounds | Check The Price |
| Light | NICREW Fish Tank Clip on Light | Check The Price |
| Heater | Hitop 50W/100W/300W Adjustable Aquarium Heater | Check The Price |
| Filter | Tetra Whisper Internal Power Filter 5 To 10 Gallons, For aquariums | Check The Price |
| Decorations | hygger Betta Log Resin Hollow Tree Trunk Ornament | Check The Price |
| Pellets | Tetra Betta Small Pellets 1.02 Ounce | Check The Price |
| Live plants | 12 Water Spangles (Salvinia Minima) | Check The Price |
You can buy the equipment from amazon. I will only provide valuable products for my readers.
#3 Add Gravels
After choosing the fish tank and equipment needed for the tank, you can start adding each item by step. Now you need to add the GloFish aquarium Gravel 5 Pounds into the tank.
Before adding the gravel, you need to wash the gravel in water two times for cleaning. Fill the bottom with gravel slowly without damaging the tank. It was an easy step for beginners, you can add stone into the tank for hiding wastes and bacteria forming.
Gravels will keep the water moving and provide a surface for beneficial bacteria formation. Many fishes use stone for hiding and resting. They can create space by digging into the bottom of the tank.
Mostly fishes dig in the gravel or sands for finding beneficial bacteria. After setting up the tank, you need to clean the tank once every month.
#4 Install filter
In this step, you will install the filter for the tank. Tetra Whisper Internal Power Filter 5 To 10 Gallons, For aquariums was the most used filter for 5 to 10 gallons fish tank. I’ll recommend buying the tetra whisper filter because it was very quiet and easy to install.
I have been using the tetra whisper filter for the last two years. So you can buy them for your betta fishes.
There are a lot of benefits to aquarium filters such as it will reduce the dirty waste in the tank. Maintenance will be easier.
You can install the filter inside the tank easily using the user manuals. I read the user manual inside the box and fixed the filter in a suitable place and turn on the filter to check whether the filter was working or not.
#5 Add Live Plants
In this step, you will be adding live plants into the betta fish tanks. Use the small live plants for betta tanks because they love a clean environment for living. Live plants are not recommended in betta fish tanks.
But in breeding time, you can add some live plants for creating bubbles and storing eggs. There are different types of live plants available on the market. So you can choose the best one from the near store.
Fix the live plants into the gravel and pour some gravel into the root for stabilizing the plant.
#6 Add light
In this step, you will be adding light to the aquarium surface. The light was not a basic requirement for betta fish because they love to stay in the dark. You can add light for checking your health condition or something else.
Don’t turn on the light at night or even day. I have seen many beginner fish owners keep the lights on till morning. This will allow the algae and live plants to grow faster and there could be an ammonia explosion in the tank.
You can use NICREW Fish Tank Clip on Light which is suitable for 5 to 10-gallon fish tanks. The installation process was so simple. Fix the light on the aquarium side glass and plugin.
#7 Add Water & Almond leaves
After setting up the above steps correctly, you can fill the water into the tank. Adding Indian almond leaves will increase the health and immunity of the bettas. In South Asia, Many fish owner uses almond leaves for betta tanks.
It will be beneficial for the betta fishes in food, protection for fry, etc. In 5 gallon tank, you can add half-dry almond leave.
How to Introduce betta fish into the tank
Now you have stepped up a tank for betta fish. You can choose a healthy betta fish for your tank now.
Choose the best betta with a bright and clean eye, when you gently press the finger near the glass. It should react faster otherwise the betta has some stress issues.
The belly and scales should appear smooth and flush without protrusions. If you see any black or white spot on the fish’s body, don’t buy them.
After choosing the fish, you need to float the fish along with a bag in the tank for 15 minutes to set the temperature and water condition.
For cleaning the algae in your betta tank, you can use snails. Do betta attack snails, I’ve created a detailed blog post about betta and snails.
Tips for maintaining the tank
There are a lot of things you need to care for in the fish tank. Otherwise, it will get dirty faster.
- Properly condition your water
- Maintain pH Level
- Maintain Water Temperature
- Change the water once every week.
- Clean the algae and ammonia spread on the tank
- Avoid overfeeding.
- Clean the waste in the bottom every week.
