Well, I got myself a ten gallon fish tank setup for 30 bucks at Wal-Mart. That was after I got a 2.5 gallon tank for 45 bucks at Incredible Pets. What a rip-off!! I returned that one, though. I will stick with my local pet store for my animal's needs from now on. I heard that the fish they (Incredible Pets) sell have ick or some other fishy disease. The guy I spent thirty minutes talking to in Wal-Mart (who didn't work there-I got more help out of him than anyone who worked there. The people who worked there left when I was having trouble deciding if I wanted to get any fish or anything!) gave me the name of a place to go to get fish. But I did get a betta fish and right now he has the entire thing to himself and he is quite a happy little fishy. He'll have to share in a few days, but oh, well. Any of you wonderful people have any advice for me so I don't kill all my fish off? I would like to keep them alive for as long as I can. Oh, yeah, I let my boyfriend name our new little friend, and he named him Clark. His idea is this:name the next ones Kent, Bruce, Wayne, Lux, Luther, etc. If we get a girl fish, I guess we'd name her Lois. :rolleyes: It's cute, in a way. It could be worse, we could be naming them Batman, Superman, Flash, etc.

Don't add more fish yet.

You need to cycle your tank for about 5 weeks with a filter

I just wanted to warn you since if you buy more fish they'll probably die when you cycle the tank.

Like Ashli said you have to let the tank cycle for about 4-5 weeks with the filter before adding anything.SUcks to wait but if you want a chance at healthy fish you have to do that.

Did you add any kind of chemicals to the water?

You know Betta are really aggressive fish? Put a mirror next to the glass by him - watch him puff up. ^_^

My mom always told me not to put betta fish with other fish because they'll fight with them. I'm not sure if that's entirely true or not.

Don't forget to put the little fishy bag in the water so it slowly becomes the same temperature before dumping them all the way in. My friend killed her poor fishy when she forgot to do that.

I've had male bettas (the pretty ones) in a 20 gallon tank with other types of fish, just don't have any other "flashy" fish, and you should be fine. I couldn't get any male guppies, but I did have a giant gourami, a school of neon tetras, some rummy-nose tetras, and a few balloon mollies. It was just fine

The whole thing about letting your tank cycle for 5 weeks or so without adding anything doesnt really work. If you don't have anything creating waste in your tank, then no biological bacteria will grow (which cycles your tank). Just add fish slowly one at a time. If you add fish to fast your tank will spike (nitrates, nitrites, ph, and amonia go all out of wack) and your fish will die.
As for bettas they shouldnt be in a tank anyways. Bettas are a labyrinth fish meaning they come to the top of the surface to breath which is why people keep them in bowls. Bettas are also very territorial fish, idealy they should be by themselfes. When you put a betta in a tank they feel they have to dominate and protect the whole area because of how territorial they are, and alot of the time they will stress themselves out so bad they end up dieing.

Oh also just so you know, when your floating your fish in the bags to aclimate your fish NEVER dump the water in. You can use a net and scoup them out of the bag. The reason for this is that pet stores have so many fish coming in and going you never know whats in the water, they could be using copper which would kill any inverts fresh or salt water.
Also theirs a great product out called Stability, it works amazing!! works better than anything else.
hope everything goes well

Stick to the one betta for now and you'll be fine. Don't even add anything one at a time, they will (probably)die from the levels in your water going out of wack.

Most fish stored will test your water for you for free, or you can invest in a master test kit (you should anyway)

And if you want you can take the Betta out, put him in a bowl and cycle your tank with fish food. That way no fish are stressed out...but it isn't quite as pretty to look at

What was the point of reposting what I said whn your changing it?
Taking the betta out and putting in something more appropriate in the tank isn't going to kill them. Also how do you cycle a tank with out something living in it creating waste??? fish food isnt going to cut it. With a small tank you have very little room for error, feeding nothing from the start is going to make problems very quickly.
Read any "up to date" aquarium book and they will tell you the proper way to cycle a tank.Sure in the 80's they did say to cycle your tank with nothing in it, but like anything else it has changed.
My family has owned and run a pet store dealing in fresh/salt fish, reptiles and some small exotic animals for the past 7 years. I wouldn't give bad advice out to a customer and I wouldnt do it on a forum either.

well, i have to agree with Ashli, i was told the exact same thing. one fish, filter on, 4-5 weeks. the first time i didn;t do this and i just added the fish slowly, they all died. now, i have a 60ltr tank, 4 fish and they are quite happy with one new friend every now and then, i wouldnt dream of doing it any other way. i respect that your family may own a pet store, but for someone like 'rista that wants to know an easy, well tested method, your way doesnt work. so:P

She was just quoting you..not changing your words.

I had a betta in my tank for a realllyy long time with other fish. He was just fine in there. He had his lil corner of the tank and was happy cuz I put plants so he can hide in them. He was actually really cool and never bothered any fish and would swim around when he wanted.

Just go slow thats the key thing.If you have alot of questions just go to your local pet store and ask them, usually they are very helpful.(my fish store is awesome)

Good luck and keep us posted.

Wow-that was quick, thanks guys!!
Let's see, as far as chemicals go, the only thing I'm adding to the water is that stuff that dechlorinates and takes the junk out of tap water. I let the tank cycle for a day or so before adding the betta. Everything I've read and when heard from people who know fish say that bettas can be put with other fish, as long as the other fish aren't flashy or aggressive, and they have places to hide, which he has plenty of. I haven't tried the mirror trick, though, that should be fun!!
But I was planning on adding a few fish on Sunday or Monday, it would have been a week since I put Clark in. The guy I talked to in Wal-Mart suggested waiting a week before adding more fish. Should I wait?? That will kinda suck, but I enjoy watching Clark swim around-he loves it! You, know why do people think fish don't need a lot of room? You wouldn't shut a dog in a closet, would you? It's the same thing. Poor fish. When I went into Incredible Pets, they had the bettas in these little teeny-tiny plastic cups. The fish was sitting at the bottom. I said "wow, he looks depressed." The clerk says to me "oh, he's not depressed-fish don't have feelings or emotions." how do you know?? are you a fish?? The fish didn't look happy to me....
Betta fish do breathe oxygen, so I didn't fill the entire tank with water-I left a inch or two of air. Plus, the hood has an opene space where the filter sits, so there is air getting in there.
What is a master test kit? I have some test strips right now that. And what is Stability?
Thanks!

Walmart dosent know anything about fish.I would wait at least 4 weeks before adding more fish.

There are more chemicals you can add to help with the balance of the tank. If you go to the pet store let them know you just started your tank and ask what chemicals you should use.

A master test kit is a kit with test strips and has everything you need if any balance is off. They are abit pricy. If you dont want to invest in that just use the test strips and take a look at the readings. It wil tell you if everything is ok or if u need too add something. If you arent too sure again go to youe pet store.

I go to a pet store that strictly deals with fish so I am always given great advice.

heres a link for stability

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Stability.html
and the quote she posted is not exactly what i said...theirs half a sentence at the end that makes no sence at all.
really the basic tenst you need are nitrate, nitrite, anomia, and ph.. they go for about $10 each. The actual master kits have everything for fresh and salt which are about $90
I'm sorry I didn't get the point across that I was trying to. It's just that cycling your tank with nothing in it for 4 weeks isn't going to cycle your tank at all, it would be like setting your tank up and putting a bunch of fish in the first day....nothing has been cycling.

MsJen, the guy I talked to in Wal-Mart didn't work there-he just happened to be nice enough enough and knowledgable enough to answer the eighty or so questions I threw at him. He suggested a pet store that deals almost exclusivly in fish, I'm gonna try and go there Sta or Sun. Mandusa, I thought you were being perfectly clear. And what you says make sense. So far, the readings are good for everything. I'll ask about test kits when I go to the pet store. And I'll definitly ask about Stability-that stuff seems great. Thanks for the tip, Mandusa!!