Betta advice

[houndour]

I saw that current killer thread, but I'm not 100% sure about the edge of the plastic.

I will take a look at the tanks tonight. get an idea of the size.

 

[houndour]

thanks bloozoo i will take a look at the filters. I think it's in my heart to do the cycling thing. I will just need to figure out a way of slowing the filter current down if it does end up too strong.

 

[OrkyBetta]

If the edges make you nervous, get some aquarium sealant or 100% silicone froma hardware store or lfs and seal the edges. Or stick on some airline tubing with the silicone. I would cut the airline tubing so it makes a c and stick the open end over the plastic edges.

 

[Bloo]

I have a little Elite Stingray 5 (by Hagen) - you can completely angle the output so that it's almost non-existant and the flow is very light. It hardly ripples the water at all and it certainly does not seem to bother my fish in the slightest.

But there are loads of "softer" filters even. I'd stay away from the Fluval 1 though as you can't control the output or direction.

 

[OrkyBetta]

No matter how light it would still worry me. I would still current kill it, ecause bettas are SO used to perfectly still water.

 

[houndour]

ok looked at tanks today. A 5 gallon tank is quite a bit bigger than I expected and I just won't have anywhere to put it.

A 10x8x8 inch tank is 2.77 US gallons. Is this too small? This would fit a heater, but not a filter I dont think.

 

[OrkyBetta]

That would be fine for a betta. Bettas can live in anything from a 1 gallon BARE minimum up. They do need heaters IMO, so 2 is more like the min. for that so you don't ave a fish fry.

 

[Seahorse]

2.77 is fine!

My smallest is 5 gallons (which IS cycled-- I wouldn't have it any other way!), and 2.5 is the minimum I would ever go.

Get a mini heater, a turkey baster P it works wonders I tell ya!), and do small water changes through out the week, with a 100% water change once a week, including full scrubbing. Or if you don't want to be bothered doing mini changes, do a full change on Monday and again on say, Thursday. He'll get used to it, just reward him with yummy frozen bloodworms afterward

And I don't agree with the fact that you shouldn't use filters in betta tanks because they are so used to still water. My girl LOVES to play in the filter, and I watch her for several minutes a day doing it, even though she has a 20 gallon (the long kind) to explore.

I also have my 10 and 12 gallon split, with a filter on the side of the strongest boy, and the more wussy boy on the unfiltered side. The stronger/bigger guys have gotten used to the filter a long time ago. These are not hangover filters but whisper filters which have a less invasive flow.

I've considered completely blocking off the filter with a divider, but I think it would severely inhibit its cleaning purpose.

 

[Bloo]

with a 100% water change once a week, including full scrubbing.

and you call that "cycled" ? As you are doing this on a weekly basis, your tank will re-start cycling each time you do that - even if you have a mature filter.

 

[OrkyBetta]

I would still love to know how often you guys (who do 100% changes) have to treat fish with fungus and fin rot, velvet and ich etc. etc.
An awful lot by the looks of it
Every second thread (just about) on this betta forum is about sick fish. Fine yes, it's because so many of them come from appalling conditions - however there seem to be many long-term residents with exactly the same problems.

fish in cycled tanks can have the same issues (and DO have the same issues) as the bettas in the uncycled tanks. Bettas, unlike so many other fish, are adapted to this kind of condition. Moreso perhaps than anything else.

As I had stated before, personal preferance. I have only had one betta have any sort of issue, and it was a columnaris issue, dead in 1 day. But I have been keeping bettas for years, on and off, and that is the only problem I have ever had with them, aside from a little fin rot. But they come with that from the lfs's.

 

[houndour]

I think I'm gonna have to think about it some more. Not sure I can bear to keep a fish in such a small tank. I need a tank thats longer and thinner....oooh, that would be good...I need a long one to fit on a mantle piece (of an unused fire place).

Anybody got any ideas? Will need to start looking on ebay for ideas.

 

[Bloo]

I have one that's 8 " (wide) x 24" (long) x 8.5" (high) and that fits nicely on my mantlepiece I think it's approx 3.5 gallons so divided it's just over 1.5 gallons each.

 

[Seahorse]

with a 100% water change once a week, including full scrubbing.

and you call that "cycled" ? As you are doing this on a weekly basis, your tank will re-start cycling each time you do that - even if you have a mature filter.

Um what? No, I don't do 100% changes. I was talking to her since she has a 2.77 gallon...

I know how to cycle

 

[Synirr]

For the record, I haven't seen any differences in betta health that might be associated with filters or lack thereof. Just a couple of days ago one of my females I got at the betta show developed columnaris on her side, and she was in my well established 10 gallon (she's almost completely healed now btw, no worries. I caught it early ) I went out and bought a whole new liquid water testing kit today because I thought my readings might be off since she got ill, but nope... perfect in every way. I guess it was just a fluke

I haven't had any finrot problems in ages either, thank God, even though most of my bettas are in unfiltered tanks. The only boys who have had mild cases of rinrot lately are Yura (he's a tailbiter) and Aamon (RIP... he fought fish TB for a long time and finally lost the battle.)

 

[houndour]

For the record, I haven't seen any differences in betta health that might be associated with filters or lack thereof. Just a couple of days ago one of my females I got at the betta show developed columnaris on her side, and she was in my well established 10 gallon (she's almost completely healed now btw, no worries. I caught it early ) I went out and bought a whole new liquid water testing kit today because I thought my readings might be off since she got ill, but nope... perfect in every way. I guess it was just a fluke

Thats good to hear and you should know as you have a lot of bettas

Bloozoo, have you got a pic of your one on the mantlepiece? My mantle piece isn't that wide I need more like 6 inches wide (altho I havent measured it yet but its quite narrow), but as long as I can get. I need a perspex flower trough thing.