How do I best ready a small aquarium for betta fish? I have no idea how to best set it up before adding fish.

Here is a very good site concerning freshwater tanks:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/...

This explains the cycling process and there is a wealth of info on all things about aquariums.

BTW, bettas DO NEED A HEATER! They are tropical fish from southeast Asia where the average water temp is in the high 70's to low 80's. Try to find the crowntail variety of betta, they are by far the prettiest, IMHO.

A good product is called "Cycle", it is beneficial bacteria in a bottle that will help get your tank cycling. Cost is about $4-5.

Also, betta is pronounced bet-tah, not bay-tah.

www.bettatalk.com has everything you ever wanted to know about bettas. I have seen some good answers on here but none I liked well enough to not add my two cents, so here are my suggestions:

1. wash all aquarium stuff (no need for soap or anything, just make sure everything including the gravel is rinsed thoroughly and clean) and decorate the tank. Without knowing the exact type of tank it is hard to tell you how to set it up. One thing that might help is to Google search the type of tank you have and there might be instructions on how to set it up on the manufacturer's website.)

2. Fill the tank with room temperature water (every time you add water or change water, make sure it is room temperature. I usually keep a couple of washed out gallon milk containers with room temp treated water at all times, it makes it a lot easier when I need to add water to the tank because I don't need to wait for it to get to room temp, because it already is). Contrary to what many people have said on here, there is no need for store bought water, tap is fine. If you don't already have any type of water conditioner you need to get some and add it to the tank water (use according to the directions on the bottle) There are many different brands, I use the Tetra Easy Balance, but any type of water conditioner for fresh water aquariums will do.

3. Start the aquarium and let the water start filtering through....If there is any dust left over from the gravel or anything this will help get rid of the cloudiness.

4. Go buy your fish (or add them to the tank if you already have them)

It is as simple as that. Now, Bettas most definitely need more than 3 pellets to eat each day. I feed mine twice a day, about as much as he can eat in a few minutes each time. He is a little pig :)

Here is some additional information:

Your aquarium does not need a thermometer. I have my betta in a 2 gallon and he is doing fine with room temperature water and no heat source. Also, Betta's do not need a filtered aquarium (they do actually breathe air, they also can breathe through gills) However, I recommend a filtered aquarium. They are much, much easier to keep clean (if you have a bowl it will need to be cleaned no less than once a week). Also, as far as food goes, my bettas seem to prefer the pellet food over the flake food. Just make sure it is for bettas.

Alrighty, I think that that is all the wisdom I have for now. If you have any questions or anything you can email me...pumpkin_moore@yahoo.com.

You don't need to let it sit for a week, what is it supposed to do for a week? First only one betta per tank they will fight if you put them together. Bettas do not need a heater but the tank needs to be some where where there will be a constant temp maintained. Add the water into the tank (room temp) then add a declorinator, depending on where you live Amquel, or Ammo Lock are good. Connect any filter or air pump if you have one (bettas don't have to have them). Then add betta, feed it lightly once a day and change the water at least half every cpl weeks.

1) Rinse everything, including the gravel, the tank, the decorations, the heater, and the filter media. For a hang on back filter: 2) Add in the gravel and other decorations 3) Position the heater 4) Position the filter 5) Add conditioned tap water 6) Prime the filter (add water into the filter) 7) Turn Everything on 8) Add ammonia (liquid or rotting food/prawn, etc) and cycle the tank (research fish tank nitrogen cycle) For an undergravel filter (the ones with a screen bottom and a aire tube coming up) 2) Add in the screen bottom, with tube attached 3) Add in gravel and decorations 4) position the heater 5) add airstone and line down airtube6) Add conditioned tap water 7) Plug in the air line to the air pump and plug in- Put the air pump around the tank somewhere where it won't get in the way ot get wet 8) Plug in the heater 9) Cycle the tank as per 8 above After the cycle (you add ammonia but water test come back with 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and some nitrate) - do a partial water change to reduce/remove the nitrate - buy fish - acclimate fish to the tank - add fish to the tank Then do partial weekly partial water changes to keep ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate below 20ppm A typical cycle can be as short as 2 weeks or as long as 8 weeks. Research the fishless cycle for tips and tricks to speed it up.

beta fish are very simple to take care of. first put water in the tank, at room temperature. as long as the water isnt too hard or soft you dont need to let it sit or filter it or anything. There is some liquid called aquapro or something that you can add, it helps neutralize the water and calm the fish, its cheap and every petstore has it. then put the fish in. and feed it, but ot too much. and thats about it, change the water every once in a while. (oh yeah, if you have rocks for teh tank, make sure they e clean and add them before you put in the water.)

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycl...

here is everything you need to know about cycling your aquarium.

with good care your bettas can live up to 7yrs in a home aquarium, although their average life span is closer to 2yrs. one thing that i have to recommend is that you occasionaly(like once a week) feed your betta a thawed pea or two. for a first aquarium, even with a betta, bigger is always better. water has a habit of going toxic very quickly in a small tank, i'd recommend nothing less than a 2.5g tank for your children's first, at least with a tank this small you won't come back after a week's vacation to find a dry tank with a shriveled up betta on the bottom.

Put a small air stone in each and a small amount of gravel. Make sure to get tropical fish food from tetra. And get some StartRite. Don't put the water that came with the fish in... let the fish in it's original bag, keep itin there and ley it float in the new tank for a hour. Good Luck!

how small is a small aquarium? people will argue with me but i don't think you can cycle a tank 5 gallons or under. you don't need to wait a week -- a tank won't cycle without something in it to start the cycling anyway. cycling takes at least 2 weeks anyway. put the water in with conditioner/dechlorinator and decorate it any way you like and drop the fish in.

no need to wait a week. bettas are extremely hardy, i mean look at the damn cups they live in at the stores.

just rinse it all well with hot tapp water, no soap or chemicals,

rinse the gravel and put in the gravel and decorations (which should be rinsed too) then add the water and add the correct amount of dechlorinator, then wait 24 hours and let the filter run for that long, then add your fish. let the bag float for 20 minutes for them to get used to the temp of the tank water. change small portions of the water every few weeks, or it now filter change it all weekly.

I just bought a betta over a week ago. I just put it in a vase with some glass pebbles and a "betta garden". Then I put bottled water in it and left some room for the water in came in. He is still alive. No prep needed.

I bought mine at wal-mart and it didn't say anything about prep. Of course betta's are a unique fish. They don't require a filter and all of that stuff.

Best of luck to ya!