Filter

[rozeo]

Hi everyone. Well I'm new to owning Betta's, and right now I have one in a 5.5 gallon tank with a filter and heater and he's great. However, I'm setting up a new 10 gallon tank for another betta I will be getting, and was wondering what type of filter would be best. Please help. Thank you.

[crazy4bettas]

There are so many types of filters out there that it's hard to say.  The big thing to be aware of is the current - males with heavy finnage find current hard to swim against.  You want to find a filter that you can adjust the current on, either built into the filter or through a DIY system such as putting a sponge over the intake tube and/or a baffle over the downspout.  

It also depends on the individual fish - I've had some that even the slightest current bothered them and others who loved the current and couldn't get enough.  With a nice big tank, try to provide lots of "baffles" using plants and decorations for the fish to hide behind and rest.

I use air-pump driven undergravel filters for my boys in 5 Gallon tanks, a small fluval filter set low and placed under the water surface in my sorority tank and an aqua-clear with a sponge over the intake tube on my other sorority "grow-out" tank.  Even the air-pump driven filters can be too strong for some fish - I had one with really heavy finnage who kept getting sucked in towards it and had to put a regulator on it to reduce the air flow.  

[rozeo]

Thanks for the advice. I just got an Elite hush 10 so I'm going to see how that works, and I do have quite a bit of plants so hopefully all goes well.