Creating an HABITAT for a Betta Fish | EASY step by step guide

Today you're going to help me set up an aquarium for this beta fish I just bought a little something that admittedly they sent me from another city and due to a logistics error it ended up Five days at the courier office It's been extremely cold and honestly I doubted it would arrive He's alive and thankfully here so it's time to build him a proper aquarium The plan is to create a simple yet natural-looking setup without compromising on quality The aesthetic is important so I'm going to try to combine all of that to create a nice aquarium that's easy to maintain and suitable for a betta fish And now let's begin with the aquarium's dimensions—it's 40 centimeters long 20 centimeters wide and 31 centimeters high yielding approximately 24 liters This volume is quite suitable for a betta fish even slightly above the ideal And so we begin decorating the aquarium starting w With the sand I definitely have it in other aquariums too—those who follow the channel already know it's the one they practically all use here since you can grow plants without issues No problem at all—the thickness is sufficient for water flow and it's very easy to maintain This is called silica sand 2030 and there are many such types available places where you can buy them you can find them at the fish market in pet stores on Amazon on Mercado Libre in the descriptio The purchase links for everything I'll mention will be available but this is the one I use and really like because it also looks very natural Calculating the amount of sand needed for your aquarium is very simple—jus Multiply the length by the width by the height in centimeters as desired from the arena taking this aquarium as an example would multiply 40 the length by 20 the width It's the width multiplied by 5 which is the amount of sand I want to have in thickness that resul I divide it by 1000 and that's the amount of sand I need to buy— this is how I calculate it for all my aquariums and it's very simple And well once I finished spreading the sand which by the way was already very clean I'm going to I highly recommend this type of river rock for starting your decoration as they add a natural and appealing touch Don't adjust any parameters and they'll look very natural—just make sure whatever you're adding fits perfectly for aquarium use there are river rocks that can indeed alter the water's pH e parameters especially the white ones while the dark-colored ones are usually No but it's just so you have it as a reference and well here it's just a matter of as they settle in however they prefer and this is usually the slowest par Well I just kind of worked things out as I went made a few adjustments and that's how it ended up and I also added these tiny little pebbles well not exactly sand but more like gravel but it also gives it a very natural touch and I usually place it around there One of the biggest stones I used to create a natural look and honestly I really like how it turns out I've also done something similar in other compositions You can also buy them at pet stores or on Mercado Libre I ordered them and they sent me about twenty kilos—way more than I needed but oh well so they can keep it in mind—it's easy to get you just need to as In aquariums and that's how the rock design ended up as I mentioned earlier In the introduction this is very simple and practical—truthfully I didn't break a sweat I adjusted my head positioning the rocks but what I liked best was leaving them just as they were Now I'm going to start filling the aquarium so I can plant some people prefer to do it first I prefer to fill it first and then plant rather than plant first and then fill—there's something important about that I'm not filling the aquarium to the top because the bettas might jump even if I do They say they don't do it but believe me I've lost two betas just for listening to them Comments: always put a lid on or alternatively don't fill the aquarium to the brim For some reason the little fish can jump and get lost so don't take any chances e fish that do jump so that's why I'm not filling it completely I'm going to Leave plenty of space so that if it jumps it won't end up outside the aquarium and now well I'm going to start installing the filter this is the smallest one you can buy for a waterfall at least as far as I know—here in Mexico it's quite small but it still does the job eir function and doesn't carry too much current as one must remember that betas are not meant to handle excessive flow She absolutely hates the current so the water simply flows to one side and that's all it will do ensuring the water remains in optimal conditio combination with the plants and well I'm only going to add sponges to this filter They had already spent a good while in a quarantine aquarium filled with fish They already have bacteria inside so you can practically put the fish in the same day —I do this with almost every setup you've seen on this channel and it's very important and if you don't have sponges that have already been in another aquarium to establish bacteria So respect the cycling process and for that I'd recommend you do a bit of research more than cycling but it basically just means waiting for bacteria to establish in the aquarium onprofit responsible for handling all waste generated through decompositio e leftover fish food scraps that could otherwise become toxic The same fish so that's basically the cycling process—waiting for the The aquarium must mature and beneficial bacteria must develop so that when we add the fish they won't get poisoned In my case since these sponges already come with bacteria that's why I don't have to wait but anyway I got ahead because I already knew this mess was coming which is why I'm doing this now making it feel here that the sponges work better because this filter is very Small and barely has room to accommodate biological filter media such as ceramic Whether matrix or ceramic rings sponges also work well and many people use them solely as biological filters but the reason is that they're highly porous And also since they have that ability the more porous the sponge is the more bacteria it will hold In actuality I have here in quarantine tanks some very delicate sponges And these are excellent for that purpose which is why they're sometimes used in certain aquariums—because they have a high capacity for hosting these bacteria so a Having said that this will basically allow me to get the beta in the next day And now let's begin placing the plants I'm going to use anubias valisneria and some others The moisture-loving plants I took from other aquariums since they all came from other tanks en I won't dismiss them and I feel they fit well here right now I'm going to tell you about the Why for each plant I'm placing these anubias among the rocks—these plants are excelle because they don’t need to be buried—on the contrary they shouldn’t be buried as they’re usually not meant to be They can be attached to branches or roots or even glued with cyanoacrylate but they look like Very good and they work well for filling small gaps the downside is that they grow too slowly but These are very nice they're Anubias barteri var na and I'm going to use a few that I pulled out from my discus fish aquarium and I'm also going to use valisneria—this plant is incredibly hardy and grows rapidly long and many will say hey why are you putting it in such a small aquarium But here's the thing— What I'm looking for is something that creates shade and provides areas where the beta can rest and the valisneria helps with that plenty for this and good news is there's no issue here since as it grows I'll manage accordingly I'm cutting it slowly it's no problem but it also gives the aquarium a very interesting effect at shape like an arch really appealed to me so that's why I'm going with it They're sending this to me from Mérida I'll leave the contact in the description if you're interested asking also involves other low-maintenance plants and that's something worth considering since bettas don't particularly like bright light it's important to have shaded areas in the aquarium shadows and also areas where they can rest— in this case Vallisneria fulfills that role at's how he's making that arch and the beta can rest among all those valisneria leaves but I'm also going to add some floating plants—they're coming from another aquarium I already have and they offer many benefits primarily creating shaded areas which is exactly what's needed beta and they also help absorb nutrients which can extend the time between water changes meaning tha You don't need to maintain the aquarium as frequently because the plants handle much of that work e key is basically to create an ecosystem that over the long term becomes easy to maintain and tha sea ideal for a beta fish so all these plants contribute to that when combined with the filter and who knows at some point it might be enough just to have the plants and the filter Making it unnecessary but well we'll see about that later and it aligns with the current pace for now The aquarium is new and needs to cycle and the plants need time to grow—this is very important ote that bettas are tropical or warm-water fish not cold-water fish—I'd say The ideal range is between 24 and 28 with around 25 to 26 being optimal right now I don't have a water heater because the room where I keep all my aquariums is very hot and in summer it can get quite warm It gets up to 28 degrees and never drops below 25 in winter so that's why I don't need a heater here but if the place where you're putting your beta is very cold I'd recommend buying a eater to know which heater to buy simply base it on the tank's volume if the aquarium For a 20-liter tank buy a 20-watt heater for a 25-liter tank buy a 25-watt heater watts and so on—that's generally the rule when it comes to water heaters in general bu Yes it's important to mention that since they're not cold-water fish the setup is now complete aquarium is ready to receive the fish the plants are already in place the water is in perfect condition and it's all set filter operating—the filter already contains sponges with beneficial bacteria inside to handle any Anything that decomposes in the aquarium can be processed by them and it will gradually break down as well As more bacteria develop over time I'll begin acclimating the fish as usual I highly recommend this drip method because it's very gentle and the transition happens gradually people who put bags in the aquarium and also pour in little jars work but this one feels like It's more gradual than the other one I feel a bit sharper which is why I recommend the drip method but just so you have it as a reference here—nothing more Wait for the temperatures to equalize and then I'll add the fish—this is important so make sure it's done properly f you buy a fish that comes from another aquarium and isn't from your own setup as is my case They should pour the water from where the fish came into the new aquarium—this is also worth mentioning Anyway we'll wait for it to acclimate and reach equilibrium then we'll add it right away so that's settled Now we'll add the fish— it's finally ready to move to its new home and we'll see how it adapts He's surely going to be a bit stressed because of the acclimatization and everything And that's why we're adding it—this is a beta poster of Hellboy and honestly I loved the color That's exactly what I was looking for in an aquarium of this type and it's still small it's not finished yet grow but we'll see how it develops—it's very interesting because with betta fish it usually does There will be quite radical changes in coloring so let's see how it turns out It's small as I mentioned and still needs to grow a bit more but as you can see it's already moving forward and he's feeling a bit nervous because he's just arrived at a new aquarium and right now he's It's gradually getting used to it but tomorrow it'll be as if nothing happened—this isn't a female beta this is a macho but it's a short-finned variety so that's important to mention especially since the females Their fins aren't as long but that's because there are many varieties of bettas but anyway this is one such example Of them now here in this aquarium almost no current is generated—there's only a drop in one spot on the sides where there is the most movement elsewhere there is no movement at all and the fis can rest in peace so it's important to mention that as well because betas aren't for waters with strong currents are actually from very calm waters but anyway here we need to put a filter and that's why it has to be that way—there's no other option so it's something worth mentioning as well And so here's the final result—I hope you liked it and that it met your expectations questions and I hope this video has served as a helpful reference on how to care for a betta fish according to me Experience and my judgment—believe me I'm always of the opinion that fish should stay in the water e best possible conditions I'm not about leaving only the bare minimum but rather about striving to give them more An appropriate setting for them to be sure—the lamp's cord looked awful so I hid it With a groove like this it's no longer visible and speaking of lamps this is a special Wick Aqua M300K Pro for planting but you don't need to put this in for a beta fish—actually this is a slightly wider range— gher and more specialized but in the description you'll find other options as well They also work for tanks of this size which are much more affordable and function well here It's a matter of you assessing the budget you have available to set up your aquarium Whatever it is you're aiming to achieve here are some other aquarium lighting options for you to consider of this kind that I've already tried and they all work very well in the end too The plants I'm using here are very easy to maintain and lighting isn't an issue either so they don't have to buy an overly expensive lamp so we'll just leave it at that for this video So far I'll show you later how this beta fish evolves this is another one of the Aquariums pending for the channel and soon the rack with more aquariums will arrive where we'll be doing more beta fish setups this was the first one I hope you like it I'd love it if you didn't forget to like this video—it helps me so much and don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already That's all for now—sending you a greeting and see you in the next video