Betta Questions

[xWendyx]

I'll list it, not to be rude, but because otherwise, it'll drag on forever.

1) Do Bettas generally bubblenest more when it rains? Blue, our fish of five or so months, goes fanatic when it rains for a few days in a row.
2) On the topic of nests, he also goes psycho during following his once weekly 100% water change. Then he leaves it, almost ignoring it, so by the end of the week, there's only a few odd bubbles left. He's in a 17 litre (4.5 gallon) tank by himself. Is this normal? I would have thought the water change would be stressful for him. I guess not.
3) Does tank size impact on Betta growth? Blue's getting pretty damn big. Very big. He's not our little baby anymore (so we got a second tank and second Betta today )
4) Could I keep a female Betta in a 6 or 7 gallon (I'm not sure of the size) tank that has a mirror on the back? I don't want to stress it, but I saw some sorry looking plain girls at the lfs and thought 'with melafix, those fins could grow back and....' (yeah, you know what I'm talking about;-))

Thank-you!!!

 

[cutechic]

1. Yes, that's what I've found, too.

2. That's normal. It relates back to #1; the water change is like the rainy season in his natural environment.

3. Yes. If the tank is too small, your betta's growth will be stunted, or it will grow very slowly. In a larger tank, with good food, water changes, etc, bettas will grow larger.

4. I'm not sure. It may stress them out. If you want to try it, put several plants in front of the mirrored-back so they don't see themselves all the time.

HTH

 

[xWendyx]

Cheers, thank-you!!!

 

[marcusbacus]

1 - Not what happens with me. The more sunny and hot, the bigger the nests.
2 - The day after water changes is when the nests are bigger.
3 - Definitely.
4 - Not sure. I have 2 bettas seeing each other (or their own reflection, I have a double faced mirror that I place between the 2 tanks) 70% of the day, and they are perfectly fine. When they are bored, they just turn their backs at each other or just stay anywhere ignoring the other, that might still flare for a while then both stop flaring. I don't think that it necessarily stresses them out that much by letting them see each other almost all the time. It might not work with all bettas, but mine are comfortable with that.

 

[Sorrell]

The barometric pressure changes when it rains and that triggers spawning, that's the reason the nests will correspond with the weather

I wouldn't leave a mirror for more then ten minutes twice a day or so. It's especially improtant for their finnage. When a betta gets worked up and excited their body will go into a "fight mode" and the blood is concentrated in the body and not so much in the fins. Therefore, the finnage is far more likely to blow or tear. A betta that can always see himself will also become more lazy then a fish that is carded or has a limited amout of mirror time