Betta tanks...

[wuvmybetta]

i would've expected more people to respond by now.... /me thinks some are worried about getting into an ethical debate 

Yeah i was worried about that too cos so many people here have 3gal and smaller better tanks and the feeling around the forum for many years has been they are fine, but i thought it was an important issue to raise none the less even if a little controversal.

Not true, this debate is less than original and has taken place here many a time. I'll say what I usually say,and leave it at that. The folks on this forum care for their fish and they supply ample room for the fish to be content. It's the people who keep their fish in those bitty betta hexes as a permanent home that need to be questioned.
And though the rice paddies may be huge, I have asked many a person who have had hands on experience and they usually find them in the shallow edges, and most often in the foot prints of cattle.

 

[WILDER]

I agree spending quite abit of time with your betta is good for the fish and the fishkeeper as you get to no them and there moods and when they are ill.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I personally wouldn't give a betta anything less than a 5gal purely because of my thoughts on this sensitive issue, and when it comes down to it i don't wouldn't want to risk having a miserable betta; its like risking putting neon tetras in a betta tank, some may be ok but others will suffer.
I know everyone here wants the best for their fish, but would any of you out there with 3gals or less tanks consider getting a larger tank for your fish after reading this thread?

 

[abstract]

they usually find them in the shallow edges, and most often in the foot prints of cattle.

i find that very interesting...i never knew that!

 

[wuvmybetta]

but would any of you out there with 3gals or less tanks consider getting a larger tank for your fish after reading this thread?

No.
I keep many adults in 1 to 2.5 gallons and IMO (and according to their appearance,health and age) they're doing nicely.

 

[abstract]

I personally wouldn't give a betta anything less than a 5gal purely because of my thoughts on this sensitive issue, and when it comes down to it i don't wouldn't want to risk having a miserable betta; its like risking putting neon tetras in a betta tank, some may be ok but others will suffer.
I know everyone here wants the best for their fish, but would any of you out there with 3gals or less tanks consider getting a larger tank for your fish after reading this thread?

i can definatly see where you are coming from but i am a firm believer that a 2.5 gallon tank is just about ideal for a betta....anything larger you will want a pump in probably which the betta could struggle with....in addition, it is further up they need to go for a gulp of air as you get to larger tanks...which is why you often see bettas up near the top and not utilizing very much space at all in these larger tanks vs. swimming around constantly in a smaller one

whether there is a correlation between size of habitat, and betta "happeiness/prosperity," i have not been convinced either way yet (with exception to the fact that i believe there IS in fact a minimum amount of water they should be permanantly housed in)

 

[Bettaman]

Just a quick point, Your fish don't come from paddy fields unless they are wild fish most fish we keep have grown up in a tank or concrete cylinder and even started life in a small jar, its now getting harder to get real wild bettas, so most of the bettas would be lost in a paddy field as they have never seen one as they are commercially bred fish anyway.........

 

[leafs]

What I don't understand is how can you keep a betta in a 1 or 2 gal bowl or tank without a filter or being cycled. I thought I'd buy my first betta and put him in a gal bowl. I tested the water after a couple of days and ammonia was starting to show. We all know that any ammonia is bad, so how can you go a week, like most people recommend without changing the water?? You would have to do water changes every couple of days at least.

 

[Bettaman]

What I don't understand is how can you keep a betta in a 1 or 2 gal bowl or tank without a filter or being cycled. I thought I'd buy my first betta and put him in a gal bowl. I tested the water after a couple of days and ammonia was starting to show. We all know that any ammonia is bad, so how can you go a week, like most people recommend without changing the water?? You would have to do water changes every couple of days at least.

correct.......

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Personally, i think a 10gal tank is the ideal size tank for a betta; you can actually put a filter and heater in the tank without it taking up half the tank, also meaning that the tank can stay cycled without causing unsesarsary everyday stress to the betta water-changing the tank every day and can also keep water stats stable.
A 10gal also gives the room i think a betta will aprieciate and will also give you room to put things in to make the tank seem more fun and interesting for him.

I don't mean to offend anyone here, but i do think a tank which is so small you can't even put a heater and filter in it without taking up half the tank or just fit in is kinda silly to have.

 

[eudielynn]

The folks on this forum care for their fish and they supply ample room for the fish to be content. It's the people who keep their fish in those bitty betta hexes as a permanent home that need to be questioned.

Thanks wuv, 'nough said.

By the way, who said I don't have heaters and filters in the tanks. UGF's are fine for betta tanks and don't clutter. Small heaters are no bigger than thermometers and my bettas like to sleep on top of them sometimes.

Once again neither of my bettas in the 20 gal have ever utilized the full space. They pick out their home area and that's where they stay.

Okay, really enough said this time.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The folks on this forum care for their fish and they supply ample room for the fish to be content. It's the people who keep their fish in those bitty betta hexes as a permanent home that need to be questioned.

Thanks wuv, 'nough said.

As i already said im not accusing anybody of anything wrong or implying it and we have loads of betta cruelty threads every single week, i am just discussing a subject that i at least have never seen discussed and wanted to hear more about it.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Personally, i think a 10gal tank is the ideal size tank for a betta; you can actually put a filter and heater in the tank without it taking up half the tank, also meaning that the tank can stay cycled without causing unsesarsary everyday stress to the betta water-changing the tank every day and can also keep water stats stable.
A 10gal also gives the room i think a betta will aprieciate and will also give you room to put things in to make the tank seem more fun and interesting for him.

I don't mean to offend anyone here, but i do think a tank which is so small you can't even put a heater and filter in it without taking up half the tank or just fit in is kinda silly to have.

No offense taken (by me anyway,not this time, these topics have offended me in the past though). Everybody has an opinion and if you keep your fish in a ten than that's great! But it doesn't make anyone else less of a fishkeeper Small tanks require much time and work,no doubt about it. A ten is the easier way.
But when it comes to bettas, as we all know they are addicting, and a ten for each fish is not practical. If I kept each adult betta in my fish room, in a ten, I wouldn't have much room for anything else.

Also, just a side note..I have some (dozens) of rescued veiltails that were literally at deaths door when they came home with me and they all live in small,cycled, one gallon tanks with a little plant and some gravel and they've lived that way, quite contently I might add, for over two years now. If I had fish after fish dying in one gallon tanks I may question this approach. But I have seen nothing but positive results from tanks this size.

 

[OohFeeshy]

My two boys are in 3 gallons. Hannibal has been in a 3 all his life. He's not particularly energetic, so he doesn't need as much swimming room as some. He's also very aggressive, so even if he was in a ten, I wouldn't be able to get any tanmates. Which is a shame, I love cories. Vespasian, on the other hand, started off in the 20. He was getting battered around a bit by the filter, so I moved him to another 3g. He got very depressed, so I put him back in the 20. However, he got terratorial so I needed to put him in the 3 again. Now he seems fine. He's built a massive bubblenest, comes up to me when I walk past... I'd get them bigger tanks if I had room.

 

[abstract]

the only thing about stocking the 10 gallon with other tankmates is who is to say that a betta will not make a school of cories (or whatever you put in there) lives hell? i think finding a suitable tankmate for a betta can be a problem all in itself...thus leading to the potential of having only a betta in a 10 gallon tank, when a 2.5 (which i have to agree is too small for a heater AND filter IMO - and i have tried every possible combination and the smallest filters i could find [with exception to undergravel filters] - they still caused a little too much current - so I stick with only the heater and weekly water changes) could be used...

as for the ammonia buildup, it is amazing how much a small amount of hornwort or (in my case) water wisteria and java moss can eat up those extra toxins/nutrients!