Can my Betta fish live in a large plastic food container safely?

Hi, and thanks for your question. There is a general rule about it which is a rough estimate not to overcrowd your aquarium and avoid excessive production of feces and organic debris. The rule is one Inch per gallon, so in 10 gallons there should be ideally 10 inches of fishes in total. You should consider as well the presence of plants and gravel and any other sort of things, which decrease the water volume of 5-10% (so 10 liters are actually 9-9.5). This rule does not consider modern filtration systems. Food containers can be used effectively as hospital temporary aquarium but not for normal ones.

A 2.5 gallon tank is fine for a Betta and 2 snails. If you have artificial plants, use ones made of silk instead of plastic which can harm delicate fins. You'll need a heater also. Bettas are tropical fish and do best between 78 F and 80 F.

Hi there! The general rule of thumb is 1 gallon for each inch of fish, so I think that you may need a bigger tank. If the bettas are 2 inches each, they each require 2 gallons of water, making the minimum tank size 14 gallons. Since male bettas can be territorial and aggressive, I highly recommend a larger than normal tank with lots of hiding places for 7 fish (at least 20-25 gallons). You should also watch them very carefully for fighting, and have a backup plan in case any of them need to be separated. Good luck!

That looks like a very small tank for sweet Cherry. Bettas really do best in a larger space, I would consider 2.5 gallons the absolute minimum. The larger the tank, the safer the water conditions will be. They also need a filter and water heater. They are tropical fish and really need the water to be 78-80*F. Hopefully this is just a husbandry issue rather than a disease. Check out this article for more advice: https://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_column/betta-fish/

A male Betta can be kept in a 10 gallon tank with 5-6 neon tetras. You will need to monitor for any aggression initially as well as for any fin nipping. Male Bettas are easy to distinguish from females by their brighter colors and larger fins.

I would recommend to change his water again and make sure you have a water conditioner that is not expired. I would also recommend to upgrade Smitty to a 3-5 gallon aquarium with a filtration system and a light. These tanks tend to create a healthier environment because the water is moving. You could add in live plants to provide a little extra oxygen. I hope Smitty starts feeling better!

Mushu is very cute! Betta care is very easy. Ideally, a 5 gallon tank should be used to house your Betta. A smaller tank can be used, but the maintenance (water changes) will be much more frequent. A filter is always recommended otherwise water changes will be required every few days to maintain water quality. With a filter, 20% water changes can be done weekly or every two weeks. Use only aged or conditioned water that is temperature matched to prevent stress or shock. Choices for conditioners include AmQuel Plus, NovAqua, StressCoat, Prime or StressZyme. A small submersible heater is necessary since Bettas are tropical fish. They do best in slow moving water between 78F and 80F. You can feed a pelleted diet such as Hikari Micro Pellets until he grows bigger. Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms and blackworms can also be fed. Feed one or twice daily. He should only need 2-3 pellets at each feeding. The conditioners and food can be found in the aquarium section of the local Petco. Please request a consultation to discuss care in greater depth or post another question in the Forum if necessary.