How to Make Your Own Fish Tank
You have fallen in love with the Betta in the pet shop window. Yet, you do not want to spend a lot of money on a square tank that sticks out like a sore thumb in your home. Perhaps you also have a beautiful vase that is sitting on your mantle. Well, there's an unconventional combination that you can use to solve some problems, and it's easy to see if you really look at the situation. Follow these simple steps, and you will learn how to make your own fish tank with just a vase and a few other odds and ends that are probably already in your home.
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Things You'll Need
- Glass Vase (with large orb)
- Clear Plastic Lid
- Straw (clear)
- Scissors
- Decorations
- Lifelike Plastic Plant
- Ribbon
- 1 gallon Drinking Water
Instructions
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1
Clean out the glass vase with plenty of fresh water. Do not use dish detergent because this is known to be poisonous for fish. The best way to check if the vase is big enough for your purpose is to verify that it holds one gallon of water and still is only a little more than halfway full.
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2
Fit a clear plastic lid over the top. The goal is to have a nearly invisible barrier that prevents your Betta from jumping out of his decorative tank. Since Bettas spend a lot of time at the top of the tank rather than swimming around the bottom, this is a very real danger.
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3
Poke a few holes into the lid with your scissors. Make them small enough for the Betta to stay put, but large enough to let air circulate freely. Make one hole big enough to fit your clear straw through.
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4
Trim the straw to be short enough so it only pokes out through the top of the lid and slightly below the lid.
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5
Add decorations to your tank. The best kinds hands down are glass pebbles. In a pinch, marbles will do nicely as well. The offsetting colors but similar materials make for a spectacular contract in your vase fish tank while at the same time showing off the colors of your Betta. Be sure to rinse off the pebbles or marbles before putting them in the vase!
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6
Attach a lifelike plastic plant to the lid. If it has big leaves, you might want to let them hang down on the outside of the vase to obscure the fact that there are no roots or stems inside the fish tank. This also provides some shade and hiding spots for your fish.
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7
Tie a ribbon around the vase to hide the sight of the straw. You will use the straw to drop through it the Betta’s daily ration of pellets.
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8
Pour a gallon of drinking water into the vase tank. Ideally, this should be commercially bought filtered drinking water that is neither distilled nor fortified with minerals.
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9
Add your Betta fish and then place the fish tank you just made in a nice spot on your mantle or other area where there is indirect sunlight.
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Tips & Warnings
Monitor your fish carefully to ensure proper adaption to this environment.
Do not place the vase where it will receive direct sunlight. It could kill your fish.
Do not use this vase for goldfish and other fish that are known to create a lot of waste, unless you are willing to change the water every two days or so.
Prevent spills by placing the vase high enough so it is out of reach of children and other pets.
Resources
- Photo Credit Morguefile.com/Dawn M. Turner
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Comments
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Bettas can live perfect happy lives in uncycled tanks. it is true if you're cycling an aquarium, that it can take weeks. I have 13 tanks right now and only one, the 55 girl is cycled. But where you don't cycle you have to change the water often, I do at least a partial water change every day using airline taped to a chop stick to get the gunk off the bottom, and depending on the size of the tank, I change from 80-100% once or twice a week. Very important is to keep bettas warm, they are tropical fish, and give them enough room to swim and live. That they can live in cooler water and in tiny 'puddle' for a while, needs more clarification. The quickest way to put a betta into a shock he/she may not recover from is to pour cold water on them. They can live for a while, but not forever, and they will not thrive or act like Betta Fish. I use glass pitchers and jars that are close if not over a gallon and the smallest tank I use for the bettas at.7 gal, is my hospital tank, if someone gets sick. So far all Ive used it for is new betta girls that I watch closely for a week before I put them into the sorority tank. I have small filters for most of the tanks, but do not use them except for the girls. They boys with their large fins and tails get swept away in any current, and again, they won't act like 'bettas' if stressed for any reason. I have only one tank wtih a boy in it with a filter at one end, its set at the lowest setting it can be set at, and only moves water a lot at one end of the long tank. Its one of petco's bookshelf tanks, and I use it for a breeding tank so there are a lot of live plants in it that keep the water movement down.
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Fish tanks should be cycled for up to several weeks, not hours! If doing a fishless cycle (Google it) it could take many weeks, and lots of patience.. If you only allow the aquarium to run overnight you will have many many dead fish.
