Guest Author - Jill Florio

The AquaView Plus is a fantastic, affordable 1 gallon acrylic home for small fish or a betta.

At around $10 USD, I was very pleased to see just how many options are included. Just add water, gravel and a fish!

The triangular acrylic tank comes with an undergravel filter system, pump, airline tubing, airlift tube, one plant, and a hood with both plastic protector AND light! Fantastic.

There's a small hole in the hood to add food, conditioner or medications, which will help keep temps warm inside (ie - you open the hood less). A simple switch turns the light off and on, and provides a nice tropical temperature for the fish when it's on.

What I like is the bubbles are enclosed on the lift tube, so a betta won't be bothered by current. He cannot build a bubblenest, however, since the air surface is disturbed.

Other fish to consider housing in the Aqua View Plus:

• A trio of livebearers - Guppies are best, since they are small, although smaller platys are fine. Please make sure you have two females and one male in this set-up. This is necessary to give each girl a rest from your amorous male! Add some live plants, please.
  
• Three to Five very small things that like to be crowded and in a school - Try zebra danios, neon tetras, white cloud minnows, or albino cory catfish. Do not mix fish - keep this a species-specific tank. Schooling fish are uncomfortable when not in groups and will pine away. A zebra danio is not a leopard danio, and a cardinal tetra is not a neon. Try to make the best home possible for your fish. Also, with this many fish in a one gallon space, you will need to do frequent partial water changes to keep the environment clean.
  
• We already discussed the betta, but here's the specific - One male. Add a few ghost shrimp if you like, but nothing else. OR, two or three female bettas that are peaceful together. See my other articles if you are interested in the very interesting betta fish.
  
• Two Dwarf Gouramis. Get a pair. Add fake plants for her to retreat to.
  
• One Paradise Fish and more decorations for him to swim around.
  

NOTE:
This tank is NOT suitable for goldfish! Don't do this to them. They need much larger spaces, even if they start out small. They also need better filtration than this tank provides, and colder temps - the light heats things up too much. Read my other articles on caring for your goldies, please.

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