r/Aquariums • u/catcatcatcaty • Jun 02 '17
I have read a lot of conflicting info on the minimum tank size for a betta on this sub, is this tank big enough? Betta
https://gfycat.com/PotableMassiveIsabellinewheatear507
u/tjsaccio Jun 02 '17
300 gal? whistles nice.
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 02 '17
Yep. 102" × 30" × 24" (L×H×W)
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u/liedel Jun 03 '17
Do you have to worry about the weight of the tank affecting your house?
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u/5illy_billy Jun 03 '17
I imagine you have to. That's 1.2 tons of water right there (8lbs/gallon x 300 = 2400 lbs)
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
It weighs even more than that, if you take into account the stand and glass itself.
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Jun 03 '17
Yo can you become meh sugar daddy? I bet you have a pool :C
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
No. Although i do have a rather large natural pond filled with goldfish and some koi.
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u/StellisAequus Jun 04 '17
O post the koi! I love koi
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 04 '17
https://gfycat.com/SneakyGorgeousFieldmouse
Here you can see the goldfish, after just being fed. Unfortunately, the koi were hiding.
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u/BloodyLlama Jun 03 '17
If you're not sitting directly on a concrete foundation then just stick a pillar (a 6x6 would probably be fine) under it and you'll be good.
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
No worries. Concrete floor.
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u/gxmoyano Jun 03 '17
Just so you know most residential concrete floors are designed for an extra load of 200 kg/m2 / 40 psf.
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u/BloodyLlama Jun 03 '17
In practice they can handle a lot more than that generally, your insurance company just isn't going to pay up if it starts failing. If you wanted to be really anal about making sure the floor could handle it you could just make a big (~ 8'x8' would be easy) square of 2 layers of 3/4" plywood and it would do a good job of spreading out the weight.
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u/Harperhampshirian Jun 03 '17
I'd imagine that's why most tanks are wide and not tall; spread the load.
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Jun 03 '17
only if you live in some third world country where houses are built with wood
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u/Dinguskhan91 Jun 03 '17
my house is made of wood in australia :(
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u/BloodyLlama Jun 03 '17
Most houses are built with wood. It's relatively cheap, easy to work with, and easy to modify in the future.
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Jun 02 '17 edited Apr 29 '20
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Jun 03 '17 edited Jul 05 '17
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Jun 03 '17
Will you please elaborate a little on what you did? I'm assuming Indian Almond leaves or oak leaves, and lots of driftwood, right?
I'm looking into going the blackwater route myself.
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Jun 03 '17 edited Jul 05 '17
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Jun 03 '17
Well thanks for that. I am already running out of space and wife's patience with two 20-gallon tanks and a 2-gallon jarrarium, can't imagine even more buckets filled with water around here.
Mostly I want to make my water a little softer and more acidic than it ends up being right now, to see if I can get my cherry shrimp to breed and to keep my Betta fish happy and healthy.
Thanks for all the info!
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Jun 03 '17 edited Jul 05 '17
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Jun 03 '17
Just got my hands on an RO unit but it needs a few parts before I can hook it up.
I actually need to get a big post together to ask a few questions on water chemistry to further my own understanding of it, in the mean time I'll just be happy with 7.4 PH
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u/BillieRubenCamGirl Jun 03 '17 edited Jun 03 '17
Just get some Indian almond leaves and put them in your tank.
They leach tanins that dye the water.
They're really really great for Bettas too. The micronutrients they leach are wonderful for Bettas, and best replicate their natural environment. A lot of Betta keepers use them to help heal torn fins.
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Jun 03 '17
That's my next step, just need to get to the aquarium store. Hoping to collect a lot of pesticide-free oak leaves this year too for my shrimp tank.
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u/CrypticCorn Jun 03 '17
You'd have much more success getting 10 20 gallons and breeding10 different species of wild betta haha
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Jun 03 '17 edited Apr 29 '20
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u/CrypticCorn Jun 03 '17
As it is I'm working on setting up my 5 gallon for my first pair of wild bettas so I'd have a ways to go before attempting either of those plans haha
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Jun 03 '17 edited Apr 30 '20
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u/CrypticCorn Jun 03 '17
That's exactly what I'm planning! 2 coccinas and some shrimp
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Jun 03 '17
Don't want to rain on your parade, but what shrimp are you getting? Coccinas have a low pH requirement (5), apparently they get sick easily at higher pH.
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u/CrypticCorn Jun 03 '17
I haven't put too much thought into the specific shrimp yet because I care more about the bettas but it's my understanding that both the coccina and neocardina shrimp will do well at 6 which is what I'm aiming for
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Jun 03 '17
6 is actually too low for neocaridina and 6 is at the high end for coccina.
Why not go for pugnax instead? Those are close to splendens in hardiness.
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u/CrypticCorn Jun 03 '17
6 is what I'm currently aiming for because I'm not sure I can make it lower and still have a kh high enough to be stable. If I lower it too much then I'll ditch the shrimp idea but I'd rather it be on the high end of ideal and stable than swing around. I'm still experimenting though and I need to watch it happen to really understand how all those parameters interact with each other. It will be a while before anything is added so while I have a general livestock plan now I'm not married to it and it may change as I mess around with things.
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u/solinaceae Jun 03 '17
When I bred betta splendins I always did it in a 5g. The female was usually in a hurricane glass, and I'd periodically release her under supervision. The small size worked so she was forced to interact with the male, but still had enough hiding places in the plants.
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u/TheGute Jun 03 '17
My betta rubra have bred 7 or 8 times in my 15 gallon and my pallifinas have bred in my 55 gallon. So I'm sure a 300 would be great!
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Jun 03 '17
You're probably aware, but since you've bred rubra, I might as well bring it up anyway.
Essentially, B. rubra has a close relative, B. dennisyongi, that is often mistaken for rubra. As a result, aquarium examples of rubra could be dennisyongi or hybrids.
To distinguish them, read this paper: http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/nus/pdf/PUBLICATION/Raffles%20Bulletin%20of%20Zoology/Past%20Volumes/RBZ%2061(1)/61rbz323-330.pdf
Also, do you mind sharing your strategy to breed them? I'm planning on keeping pugnax.
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u/TheGute Jun 03 '17
I actually hadn't read about that, I'll have to look into it. Thanks! And I don't have a super regimented method. I keep a pair in a 15 gallon with some driftwood and a ton of moss. I boil alder cones for a supply of black water and then just let them do their thing. I let the fry stay in with the parents and I get a decent survival rate
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Jun 03 '17
How do you keep moss alive? Mine barely grow at all. They don't die, but they don't grow either. I may have to go for indian almond leaves for black water it seems.
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Jun 03 '17
Their native habitat is a rice paddy so until you can replicate that size, its animal abuse
/s
But seriously, you kept zooming out and i expected it to stop 3 different times. What a massive tank. Im jealous as fuck.
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Jun 03 '17
In all seriousness, what else is going in there?
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Jun 03 '17
Seconding this, hoping OP tells us. This is a bomb-ass space and I hope there's going to be a couple big schools of something or other.
Were it mine, it'd be Cardinal Tetras and Cory Cats.
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
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u/cynta Jun 03 '17
Woah, I would love to see some pictures once you've got all the tetras in, a school that big would be awesome.
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Jun 03 '17
Oh wow. I sincerely hope you post a lot of pictures in the future. I think I'm most excited about the kuhli loaches LOL.
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u/mini4x Jun 03 '17
50 dwarf corys and 50 cpds
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u/ISettleCATAN Jun 03 '17
Yes!!! You need some red though. Harlequin Rasbora or cherry barbs? But Barb's don't school I'm told.
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u/_OP_is_A_ Jun 03 '17
From /r/all... I seem to have gotten separated from my group. We usually talk about computer parts and methods to keeping cats off counter tops.
Could you please point me back to safety? Thanks!
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u/KaraWolf Jun 03 '17
Not OP but I did a 125 gallon tank like that with a betta in it. Other occupants included; marble hatchets, rummy nose rasboras, neon green rasboras, lemon tetras, cardinals and a red tailed shark. Annnd that was maybe 1/2 stocked when I had to take it down :( was wondering if cories would play nice with the shark. The schools were amazing to watch.
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Jun 03 '17
That sounds amazing. I remember my parents' 55-gallon from when I was a kid, they had a school of 30 neons and a bunch of mollies in there. The neons would school and split all the time--watching them is probably what got me into the hobby in the first place!
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u/KaraWolf Jun 03 '17
It really was. All corners of the tank had some kind of activity. And hide and go seek with the shark was fun to play on guests. Up till that tank I hadn't had propper schooling species- they were all schoaling and low numbers. 14 rummy nose rasboras let me tell you! Tight school everywhere except for that ONE guy whos a little slow so when HE catches up everybody gets turned around and now the whole things turned back around. Word to the wise-rummys do NOT like pure cold water changes. Oops. Didn't lose any but learned my lesson there! The neon green rasboras swarmed like bees. Seemed kinda meh but I ended up with only 5 :( all my schools were supposed to be 12+. I know a guy who did a 75 gallon neon tank. That thing was mesmerizing to watch. XD
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u/Plumbus4Sale Jun 03 '17
Throw some Rummy Nose Tetras in there too for them to be schooling through the tank.
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
This is what else is going in there
As the angelfish will probably try to eat the smaller fish, i will rehome them once they grow to that size.
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Jun 03 '17
14% over stocked, you scum! Also is the tank drilled? I didn't see any filters. If you are doing a sump, lets get a peak at Dat set up.
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
2 FX6, hidden in the corners. Plenty of filtration capacity to handle 14% overstock.
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u/MeanMug337 Jun 02 '17
Wow, with a tank that size you'll have to do 500-1000% water changes twice a day, I would recommend looking into a bigger tank. /s
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u/SexyMrSkeltal Jun 03 '17
Seriously speaking though, how often would you actually have to clean this size of a tank if you only had a single fish in it? I can't imagine the little bugger makin' enough poop to dirty it up anytime soon.
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u/adcas Jun 03 '17
Throw some water lettuce on top and you'll never need to, honestly. Look up Walstad tanks, they're badass!
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Jun 03 '17
Dammit now I want a walstad tank
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u/laridaes Jun 04 '17
That is my future!goal. I have the perfect place for it, just not the $$ to shell out just yet. (I have learned so much from this thread lol).
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u/cvega88 Jun 02 '17
The tanks seems to be a bit overstocked but you may be able to get away with adding a couple of snails for clean up crew.
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u/maccachin Jun 03 '17
Damn that's a nice tank, please post pics when you're finished stocking it
Or not, you could just have him be in there and he'd be the most spoiled betta in the world and hopefully live like 10 years to thank you lol
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u/AsRiversRunRed Jun 03 '17
Did you actually take my suggestion and put a single beta in there?
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u/jroddie4 Jun 03 '17
where's the sucker fish
I was promised sucker fishes
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
He will be joining them soon enough.
https://gfycat.com/ScaryWelcomeGosling
That is an old video, he has grown quite a bit since then...
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 02 '17
Thanks to /u/AsRiversRunRed for suggesting the idea!
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u/_RexDart Jun 02 '17
I gotta know more. How long's the betta going to be the sole fish? I wonder what their behavior is like in a tank that size... does he explore the space?
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u/Latte-Fun Jun 02 '17
Seriously. I mean, how do you even feed him? How do you alert him of an upcoming feeding so he can find the food?
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u/MetaByte7 Jun 03 '17
I read somewhere that with a tank of this size or more, you can actually have 2 male bettas, so long as they have a place to run away if they do fight (assuming theyre not both very aggressive)
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Jun 03 '17
There's a video on YouTube where a guy has a 500(?) gallon tank with 2 males and a 1 female. It's heavily planted and has a ton of other fish too.
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u/treecko4ubers Jun 03 '17
Still a bad idea.
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u/CrownTheKingSlayer Jun 03 '17
Not necessarily, I'd imagine Betta males in the wild would choose to avoid each other rather than fight so in a tank this big that could replicate their natural environment, they would just swim away from each other. Betta males fight in small tanks because of confined space.
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Jun 03 '17
And wild bettas are generally not the deranged lunatics store bettas are.
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Jun 03 '17
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u/2074red2074 Jun 03 '17
Betta fights used to be a thing. Well they still are, but the point is bettas were once bred almost exclusively to be aggressive little fucks. At this point though you probably could house two or three bettas in this tank just fine. They fight for territory, so if they have more than they care to defend they just kinda flare up at each other and then swim away.
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u/TeddyV Jun 03 '17
That is a Betta Paradise!! Great Job! So how often do you do water changes?
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u/happuning Jun 03 '17
u/adcas u/how_fedorable think it's big enough?
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u/adcas Jun 03 '17
Jfc no don't you know bettas need 5000 gallons and real heritage strain rice to feel at home
/s
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u/dogowner32 Jun 03 '17
You should give that betta buddies, with a tank that large you could have 25+ male betta buddies /s
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u/nanozeus2014 Jun 03 '17
also you might want to lower the water height. it will put stress on him to swim that high to get air. and put things for him to rest on near the top attached to the glass by suction cups and floating plants he can rest on at night and during the day. and a few cups cut in half for blowing bubbles in atached to the glass at the top and also a few homemade coconut caves :) they love those!!!
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
I have seen him swim to the surface with no difficulty whatsoever, he could easily rest on a piece of the driftwood if he needed.
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u/ellierowen Jun 03 '17
Wow, he must be such a happy boy. This is so crazy huge and uncommon it warms my heart. :)
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u/nanozeus2014 Jun 03 '17
and i thought my 20 gallon was big for my betta lol
youre doing it right!!
now all you need are thai aquatic plants (for example an onion plant) from florida nurseries (online shipped)
your betta will behave very differently and be extremely happy and active once you put real thai plants in the tank
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u/nanozeus2014 Jun 03 '17
the prepping i meant as cycling before putting in the betta (sorry for the wording)
im guessing because its such a large tank he wouldnt need to replace 30 gallons weekly
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u/SchwiftySqaunch Jun 03 '17
People on this sub get so butt hurt about bettas its kind of ridiculous. Cheers man thats a beauty of a tank.
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u/sunshinesiren03 Jun 03 '17
You could probably put two or three Betta in, and they would never see each other.
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u/BirdLadySadie Jun 03 '17
I want you to video him in there for hours. I'd watch every minute in earnest.
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u/HettySwollocks Jun 03 '17
That's awesome! I wouldn't be surprised if you could multiple male bettas in there after adding some more plants.
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u/nanozeus2014 Jun 03 '17
i mean cycling the tank
and changing 10% of the water is recommended weekly as a best practice for freshwater tanks
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u/TheToxicTurtle7 Jun 03 '17
I wanna see more, see how he behaves in the tank. I've always wanted to see a betta in a huge tank
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u/MilkPudding Jun 03 '17
I just got my first really big tank, a 90gal, and you're making me feel like scum for putting fish in anything smaller than a 300 LMAO.
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u/AsteroidMiner Jun 03 '17
That's frickin huge for a betta that I used to catch in rice paddy fields when I was a lot younger.
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u/PUSClFER Jun 03 '17
I got here from /r/all. How much would an aquarium of that size cost? It looks pretty as fuck, but I suspect it's equally expensive.
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u/sujini2 Jun 03 '17
That is a goooorgeous tank! What kind of tank and stand is that? Could you post a link? Thanks in advance!
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u/Sofalumpkins Jun 03 '17
Have you ever considered a female sorority? My sister has a group of 13 living together. She breeds bettas so she has been able to find the right ladies to get along with each other for a successful sorority tank.
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u/God_loves_irony Jun 03 '17
Sarcasm belittles us all. By the way, bettas are a bit too delicate for that size bubbler.
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u/alaskafish Jun 03 '17
Realistically, if you were to keep this 300 gallon for bettas, could you have more than one in the tank?
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u/TotesMessenger Jun 03 '17
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
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u/Cat_agitator Jun 03 '17
We did it reddit
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u/catcatcatcaty Jun 03 '17
This is my most popular post. Ever. Keep a look out for updates in the future!
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u/FatGecko5 Jun 02 '17
Honestly you're better off just buying lake superior for your betta, he would be a lot happier in that much space