# Betta fish in 14L tank?



## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Hi to everybody!
First of all, I'm totally new to fish keeping and at the moment, I'm still searching and reading. Unfortunately, the more I read the more stupid I get - on-line information can be so misleading. For the reason it's better to ask the experts here:001_tt1:
It looks like I'll decide to be a mum to a fighting fish

Now my two questions:

1. Is it possible to keep one male betta with any other fish, e.g. neon tetra? Will they be happy in a community aquarium? If I considered any additional fish neons would be my preference. What is your experience?

2. If the 1st question is a "NO", could be one betta kept in a 14L tank or it's too small. I'd save some electricity costs but it is a big difference to heat 14L and 20 or 25L?

Thanks in advance for any advice...


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

Hi there!

Unfortunately, the answer to both your questions is no 

Betta, unlike their name suggests, are very timid fish. When in a community setting, they tend to become very reclusive, scared by the other fish (even if the other fish are not being aggressive towards them). In most cases ive seen, they end up too timid to even come out and feed, and end up wasting away. You may get one very occasionally that will be quite bold around other fish, but these are by far an exception, not the rule. The only fish it is really safe to keep them with are female Betta. A male with a harem of female is a sight to behold!

And yes, im afraid 14L is generally seen as too small for a Betta. For a single fish, aim instead for a minimum of around 30L (which is usually the base volume for any fish really). However, the costs of running aquariums in terms of electricity is very low anyway, especially with one this small, and the electricity costs between heating/filtering a 14L tank and a 30L tank will be absolutely minimal. The cost for a 150-200L tank with full lighting rig, filter and heater would be about 40p/day, so a 30L tank would literally cost pennies per day!

Hope this helps
Fishy


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## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Fishyfins said:


> Hi there!
> 
> Unfortunately, the answer to both your questions is no
> 
> ...


Many thanks for your answer, Fishy!
A common sense was telling me that fish likes to swim around and explore, however in my local [email protected] they tried to sell me a ...7L tank. It was their "fish expert".

The cost of a hobby is important but even an electricity bill for a 200L tank would be still acceptable. In winter, my both cats sleep on electric blankets...Well, sometimes you just need to spend more money on your loved and spoiled pets. Great that a small aquarium is not expensive to heat.

Finally, I think I will opt for this AQUA ONE ECOSTYLE tank: https://www.homeleighonline.co.uk/aqua-one-ecostyle-aquarium.html

What is your thought on this aquarium? It has good reviews but for me it's difficult to assess if it's really a good quality product.


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

Yeah, what Pets at Home says does not surprise me. I worked for them for 3 years (as a poor student i needed a job, so dont hold it against me XD), and their policies were pretty bad then, and its only gotten worse since. I was eventually fired because i complained about the way the reptiles were being kept in store!

That aquarium would be perfect! I have a lot of experience with Aqua One aquariums, and to me, they are one of the best manufacturers on the market 

Hope it goes well for you! Just remember to set up the tank properly, and do a complete fishless cycle before adding the fish ^^ As long as that is done, i dont see there being any issues


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## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Fishyfins said:


> Yeah, what Pets at Home says does not surprise me. I worked for them for 3 years (as a poor student i needed a job, so dont hold it against me XD), and their policies were pretty bad then, and its only gotten worse since. I was eventually fired because i complained about the way the reptiles were being kept in store!
> 
> That aquarium would be perfect! I have a lot of experience with Aqua One aquariums, and to me, they are one of the best manufacturers on the market
> 
> Hope it goes well for you! Just remember to set up the tank properly, and do a complete fishless cycle before adding the fish ^^ As long as that is done, i dont see there being any issues


Oh gosh, what a kind of experience you made at [email protected] Everybody needs a job and my "fish expert" looked pretty stressed too. I suppose she is an expert but needs to stick to the shop policies.
To buy fish and plants, I'll rather go to a dedicated aquatic shop which is only one mile away from my house. Here big thanks to the uncle google.
Great that we've got now forums, youtube and the old fashioned books, which I still prefer as an excellent source of knowledge. However, in case of betta fish there are different opinions.

At the moment, I'm reading "The Perfect Aquarium" by J. Gay, visiting forums and watching aquascaping videos.Two weeks ago, I didn't even know that you need to cycle aquarium. Fishless of course. I'm planning to start arranging my tank in November. Hopefully, my betta fish will be also a happy fish.

Many thanks for confirming my choice in aquarium. This is the point where a forum is priceless.:thumbsup:


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## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Hi everybody,

there is an update on my post when I asked you for advice on 14l tank  for a betta.

In the meantime, I've digested tons of books and spend hours watching YT.
There is my first tank - 64l Juwel Rekord with my fighting fish. He loves the plants and comes out when I'm in front of the tank. So cute and intelligent.

Some pictures for you. And once again thanks for your suggestions.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Lucky betta with such a lovely mansion to live in


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

Glad to hear things are going well ^^ The tank looks good!


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