Betta Myths?

[dixaisy930]

I would love to have a betta, but I've heard so many contridicting things about them. I've heard that they do fine in small containers, because they live in small puddles in the wild, but I've also heard that they only live in these small puddles only part of the time. I've also heard they need atleast a five gallon tank. I've also read that you can have a male and female together, but I've also read that the male will almost kill the female. Can anyone shed some light on bettas?

I would put one in with my playties and corys, but I have a dwarf puffer in with them, and I know the flowing betta fins would be too hard resist to nip.

 

[Kossy]

Those rumors are true but it doesn't mean the bettas like it.

 

[gi4get]

Bettas have a lung organ that allows them to breathe surface air. That's the only reason they can survive in small containers or puddles. During the rainy season, the bettas' puddles flood and connect allowing them to move about. The puddles dry and they go back to the solitary life . I've heard accounts of bettas jumping out of tanks and surviving for up to a month before a paniced owner tossed them back home . I would say at the very least, bettas need a 1 gal. tank, but something larger is always nice . Males and females are usually put together only for matting. You can put them together but they need to be in a much, much larger tank; she has to be able to get away and hide from his chasing and nipping. The females are less aggressive than the males and can be kept in community tanks. Hope this helps . Good luck on whatever you decide! Keep us updated

 

[crimsontsavo]

Not only that.
You can custom build (if you're able) a really good beta tank.
Not as deep as a normal tank, about six inches deep, 14 inches long, 8 inches wide.
Plant it with some aquatic plants, then if you're like me, go "overboard".....grow some rice and other marsh plants in the tank.(better done in a longer set up)Use some nice sand, natural sand.I've an old tree root in mine, with moss growing on it.If it is set up just right, it will clean itself,all you do is add water. I had a set up similar to this, and NEVER fed the fish.It was fully self supporting. . They make a GREAT showcase fish,because of the low and long tank size.(and thier gorgeous finnage of course!)Put it on a pretty table that suites the shape, and Voila! A center piece that will have everyone with envy!
(for begginers i do not recommend NOT feeding your fish,or NOT cleaning your water.).(keep in mind, beta eat meat.Not plants!)

 

[Kossy]

Yes bettas need caves, plants. They belong to a family of fish which all have the special organ...called a labirinth. Family...Anabantidae. Bettas do like company (such as shoalers) they cannot have fin nippers such as angels, guppies, puffers etc.. They live happily with danios, neons, corys, female fighters.

 

[Marlyn]

alrighty heres all i know about bettas sorry if i repeat sumthing already said i didn't read anyones relpies

Bettas can live in small places becuase of an organ they have called a labyrinth, they can breath surface air and this allows them to take air from the surface and coat it with saliva and create "bubble nest's" they do this becuase after fertilizing the eggs it will spit the eggs into the next and take on further parenting. they *will* harm the female after...im not really sure why. bettas go fine with black moors so long as the black moor is smaller and is female (or less aggressive) this can be tested by putting the bag up to the tank when you bring it home. also, Bettas come from rice fields so they like lots of plants in their tanks.

 

[Kossy]

Thats correct but like I said "They Don't exactly like living in small places

 

[gadazobe]

Male bettas are the "baby sitters" and they are the ones that look after the eggs once they have been fertilized. The males make an excellent baby sitter, replacing any eggs that have fallen out of the nest (as the eggs are heavier than water, they sink if they fall out). On the other hand, the female, once she has laid her eggs, doesn't want to know and is quite likely to eat them. This is the reason that the male may kill her - he doesn't want his offspring to be eaten before they hatch. Once the eggs have hatched and the fry are free swimming, the male must be removed otherwise he'll eat the fry (He's allowed, she isn't - typical male chauvanistic behaviour ) Another reason that they're kept in small containers is to show them off. When a male meets another male, they first flare their fins at each other and then fight, sometimes to the death. When they are in small containers, they can see other males so they flare, making them look "pretty" for prospective buyers, but they can't fight. They can be kept in a community tank (mine lives happily in a 45 gallon with sailfin mollies, zebra danios, and a load of different kinds of bottom feeders - he's been there a long time now and is extremely happy) but the tank should be a well planted one with lots of hidey holes. Personally I don't agree in keeping them in vases, cups, jars or anything similar - I think the smallest should be a 2.5 gallon tank. (which would you prefer - a one room bedsit or a 5 bedroomed house with garden? ) BTW, this is an explanation how they breathe air - the labyrinth organ is situated on either side of the head in the gill cavity directly above the gills. The fish takes in air from above the water surface and passes it into the two chambers of the labyrinth, each of which has a rosette like structure and looks similar to a sponge. This "sponge" has a very good supply of blood vessels and the air is absorbed straight into these vessels.