1 gallon tank good for betta?

[shoujokakumei]

I have a male betta, I got him at Petsmart a couple of weeks ago.. I keep him in a one gallon tank. It has an undergravel filter. I have about an inch of "goldfish gravel" from Wal-Mart at the bottom.
There's a live plant in there, I think it's moneywort or something like that, I don't recall the name, so I have a desk lamp pointed at the tank with a special plant bulb in it because my old sword plant died from lack of light. What other kinds of plants are good for bettas, and how hard are they to take care of? He seems to enjoy swimming through the leaves, and he liked the big leaves of the old plant because he could hide under them.
I feed him "Betta Bites" in the mornings and then freeze-dried bloodworms in the afternoons/evenings.
The temp is usually about 75 degrees or so.
I change about 25% of the water every week and it still looks dirty afterwards, which worries me, but I read that 100% water changes are bad for the fish..
Is this a good arrangement for my betta? Is there anything else I should be doing? Would a tank-mate be a good idea and if so, what type of fish do you recommend?

I'm sorry to be asking so many questions, but I've never owned a betta before so I'm curious.

~Jen

 

[Pooky125]

A 1 gallon tank is plenty big enough, personally, I like a little bigger, but, hey, whatever fits your budget... Good plants would be java moss, java fern and water sprite. All 3 of which are very easy to take care of... Try changing 25% of the water twice a week if not 3-4 times to see if that helps any, and remember, they don't need muc food, 3-4 betta bits and 2-3 blood worms should be more then enough, you may also want to skip 1 day in your feeding routen. It sounds like a fine arrangement for your betta, personally, I like them in a little more space, my male is in a 12 gallon, although he previeusly lived in a 3 gallon fully planted with 3 littel tiny catfish. In just a 1 gallon tank, I would say, not to add anything to the bottom. However, for 20-40 bucks you could upgrade to a bigger tank, and then find him a friend. I highly suggest an eclipse explorer or an eclipse 3 gallon (what mine lived in) they have a much better filter then that little undergravel filter your using know and there's nmore space On the eclipse 3, there's even a florexcent light, so you could get many more kinds of plants in there, if you wanted to. Sounds like a fine set up, and I'm sure he's happy, but if you want a friend for him, consiter getting him a bit bigger tank first. For lighting, you could go to petco and get one of those lil betta lights for like 20 bucks, they have alot of light, so you could expand your plant selection greatly.. HTH, keep us posted how the lil guy does...

 

[student]

water changes can be 90% and still be safe... most discus breeders do 90% daily w/c... It'll do you alot of good to do 20%-50% once a week (if you have time... I do 90% every-other week on my 2.5gal). This should help with the cloudy water, and if you really want to have clear water then get a Aqua-Clear "mini" from www.bigalsonline.com i know people who swear by them, and I have a couple on the way for my 12gal breeders

This is what I would recommend for you (or anyone, for that matter):

1) 10gal tank $8.99 @ wal-mart
2) Aqua-Clear "mini" $9.99+s/h bigalsonline.com
3) Ebo-Jager 50watt heater $12.99? bigalsonline.com
4) 5 assorted corydoras
5) Java-fern, Java-moss, any anubias (these are good low-light plants)

I am not trying to insult you in any way by recomending things overly simple... this list is mostly for the benifit of any beginners who might stumble upon this thread.

I must commed you on taking GREAT care of your betta, I am sure he thinks he's in heaven.... the water change info and list is purely for your pleasure if you wish to give your betta more friends/swimming-room/plants