Cleanup Crew For Betta

[Kitty_Nin]

He has just enough substrate to cover the filter plate, a few plants, etc. As far as I can tell, he seems very happy with the space he's got.

I only feed him two pellets, two times a day, OR a teeny (really really teeny) pinch of freeze dried bloodworms 2x day, OR a piece of shelled pea every now and then. The problem only comes on pellet days, he doesn't like them much so he sucks them in his mouth and spits them back out several times until they're a goopy mess before he'll eat them. Amusing to watch, not to clean up after.

The siphon I have is for my ten-gal tank and really large and unwieldy in the little tank. I tend to make a huge mess when I use it, so unless I'm doing a large water change I use the net. Turkey baster is a brilliant idea though! Thank you, loraxchick!

 

[Hunterprey]

I just feed mine bloodworms and krill, they float anyway, whatever he doesn't eat in 2 -5 mins just scoop it out with a net.
I use sand as substrate, If any food sink I just scoop it with the smallest net, the food gets caught in the net while sand goes through it.

Its easier to maintain a 5 gallon for 1 betta, aquarium glass is pretty cheap, maybe just buy the hood n lights later. Just a thought

 

[theshadowinc]

He should be in a much bigger tank to begin with. 5 gals or more in fact , filtered and heated, to maintain a stable and easy to care for tank that won't need stressful 100% water changes every couple of days (as a 2 gallon will require which aside from severe lack of swimming space, is partly what makes them such bad tanks for anything other than shrimp)

i thought, 2gal was ok, 3-4 is better, 5 is excellent??

is this going to be one thing that ALWAYS gets contradicted??

Rule of thumb is 1 gal per betta, even your transhippers use 1 gal containers, some don't even use filtration because water is cheap extra few bucks at the end of the month is nothing compared to losing a fish I keep 4 in a 5 gal tank with filter and heater plenty of room for them but they are also growing out as well different rules apply. Mine will spend most its life in 10gal breeding tank to be honest cept for the female the females will be jared up easier to med them and also cheaper to med them 90% waterchange everyday is what I do on 1gal containers that don't use a filter. Still I do heat the water. I guess its a mention I need to make here, something this small I would do research on tannin water its so small and virtually no cycle needed of the filters you use, although you can't test for ammonia and nitrite this is usually used with experienced people, but you have to do research I can only say from my experience when PH goes below 7 Ammonia is not Ammonia its Ammoa or something like that. So all you do is make sure afte everyfeeding and bowl movement that you clean the tank out of it and you don't need to worry about ammonia its weird how the cycle works, its like using AmmoLock in a way but natural. This is only a tip and recommend you do research on this before attempting many breeders have run into issues using tannin water, I myself not really some minor set backs but nothing really worth mentioning

A good example of changing water is this
take a young betta and put it in a cycled tank do water changed 1 a week
how does it grow and how do the colours turn out?

take a young betta and put it in a cycled tank do regular waterchanges daily even 2 times a day
how does it grow and how do the colours turn out?

 

[Honeythorn]

i thought, 2gal was ok, 3-4 is better, 5 is excellent??

is this going to be one thing that ALWAYS gets contradicted??

Yes it is. A betta can certainly survive in a tiny amount of water like 2 gals, less than that in fact , but this does not mean it should live in such a space permanently because someone can't be bothered to try and find a cheap or free 5 gallon tank ( and they are not at all hard to find if you keep your eyes peeled) You can MAKE a bigger tank from a clear plastic storage tub while a proper tank is sourced so there really is no excuse whatsoever.

A dog can survive in a small crate for many years, but no one sane thinks it ok to keep a dog in such a manner.

A human being can survive in a small room for life , should they? No of course not.


The reason I advise to keep bettas in 5 gals + is because they do require swimming space like any other fish. 2 gals is not enough space to really swim ( and they certainly can) and adding the nessescary filters and heaters cuts the swimming space even more.

When people remove filters in particular for that reason ( and if the filter they have chosen is too strong ) , they are giving a greater risk of rendering their tank's biological and chemical environment unstable. Plus they make more work for themselves because they then have to do large very frequent water changes which are well known to be stressful for many bettas.

Tiny tanks are just completely illogical and pointless for keeping fish in due to the above reasons . It's common sense.

Besides, the average house, flat, apartment ect DOES have room for a 5 gallon tank. Most actually have room for a 10 gal with careful arranging.

I have several 5 gals ( only one in use as mother will not allow more , otherwise they'd all be on the go ) and I know how much space they use. 12-14 square inches in cubic or hexagonal tanks. That kind of space is EASILY made by simply being bothered to shift a few possesions around.

I like to see fish swim naturally and in enough space to be able to do so. I don't believe in using bettas as desk ornaments by keeping them in little 2 gallon tubs that can't support them properly or give them enough room.

I will never agree with keeping them in anything smaller than 5 gals on a permanent basis, nor will I ever suggest anyone do so. There's no need for it.

 

[theshadowinc]

i thought, 2gal was ok, 3-4 is better, 5 is excellent??

is this going to be one thing that ALWAYS gets contradicted??

Yup always will be!

A dog can survive in a small crate for many years, but no one sane thinks it ok to keep a dog in such a manner.

Many people train there dogs with a crate, and leave them in it while at work!
Your dog pound does the same thing!

A human being can survive in a small room for life , should they? No of course not.

They do this with phycho people, put them in a phyc hospital and lock them up in a rubber room for days even months without a window to see daylight

The reason I advise to keep bettas in 5 gals + is because they do require swimming space like any other fish. 2 gals is not enough space to really swim ( and they certainly can) and adding the nessescary filters and heaters cuts the swimming space even more.

Filter takes up next to nothing depending what you go with many corner filters work well, usually seen in breeding tanks just like sponge filters. I disagree to the swimming part although would depend on dementions of the tank. I have seen 1gal holding tanks with plenty of room for swimming, its not how tall it is but rather how long it is for them especially when they make bubble nests. As for a begginer I would recommend a bigger tank only for the simple reason its easier to maintain.

When people remove filters in particular for that reason ( and if the filter they have chosen is too strong ) , they are giving a greater risk of rendering their tank's biological and chemical environment unstable. Plus they make more work for themselves because they then have to do large very frequent water changes which are well known to be stressful for many bettas.

nothing beats water changes daily, how do you think breeders are able to actually breed bettas in a tank that is not cycled and has no filter?

Tiny tanks are just completely illogical and pointless for keeping fish in due to the above reasons . It's common sense.

I would think this over again I have seen betta walls that are successful in raising fry to show quality and each has its own container of .5gal, its the perfect setting for keeping water maintained cycled and heated, sucks when 1 fish gets sick you need to treat them all as they share the same water. For people to breed bettas would you tell them its better to go with a seperate 5gal tank for ea betta, I bet they would tell you that you are crazy!

Besides, the average house, flat, apartment ect DOES have room for a 5 gallon tank. Most actually have room for a 10 gal with careful arranging.

I use to live in apartments always on the main floor where its cement and the foundation is cement, in one place I had a 5gal tank wasn't allowed anything higher than that, at another place wasn't allowed anything above 55gal, at another place wasn't allowed any animals at all fish included, still snuck a 2gal tank into my bedroom lol.

I like to see fish swim naturally and in enough space to be able to do so. I don't believe in using bettas as desk ornaments by keeping them in little 2 gallon tubs that can't support them properly or give them enough room.

I don't believe they should be desk ornaments neither! Its fun to watch them swim naturally but some might overdue the tank size see below. A 2 gallon depending on if it has good square footage not up and down from side to side i mean is fine, depending if you want to do frequent water changes and smaller the tank the harder to maintain water quality!
((Look at the hobby this way keeping fish is not about keeping fish(Learn to keep water its more important))

I will never agree with keeping them in anything smaller than 5 gals on a permanent basis, nor will I ever suggest anyone do so. There's no need for it.

I will never agree with with keeping them in anything bigger than a 5gal tank for the simple reason it leads to more stress later on down the road, and easier for them to get sick, board, become tail bitters etc. My experience might not work for another person its what I developed over the years in keeping fish all kinds and works for me like they say what works for one might not work for another person and for many reasons.

As many know its about theory, but also really need to have experience and practice to make the theory work

I know it seems like I am a jerk after this post but putting in what I think, but like I said what works for you might not work for me and what works for me might not work for you. Trust me when I say this some of these remarks I feel like a hyprocrit thats how its spelled right? Because I filter and heat my breeding tanks, but basically alot breed with no heater no filtration because its to much stuff in the tank!(Breeding tank is actually kinda different in a way)

I think a 2gallon is fine enough, really does the person need a heater depend on temp in the house he might not(but then what do you do for treating it for ick lets say for an example), does the person need filtration erm sticky situation probably not easier to do waterchanges daily! I must say and point this out the drip system that is the smartest thing to come along to the betta world! If this was me and had a 2gallon setup I would use ammo-lock to help with any ammonia and get rid of the filter! Keep it heated I would do!

 

[Lacuna]

A human being can survive in a small room for life , should they? No of course not.

They do this with phycho people, put them in a phyc hospital and lock them up in a rubber room for days even months without a window to see daylight

This is totally not a fair comparison. It is not generally considered to be humane to keep people in solitary confinement, this is normally done for brief periods, and there are strict protocols around this kind of practice. The comparison is about how living creatures are kept in conditions that stifle their needs, and people do not generally have to live in these conditions. An ill fish may be placed in a hospital tank smaller than would normally be required for treatment, but this doesn't mean they can therefore always be kept like this. I also don't like the term 'psycho people'.

For people to breed bettas would you tell them its better to go with a seperate 5gal tank for ea betta, I bet they would tell you that you are crazy!

Surely there's a difference between breeding a betta and raising fry, and how an adult fish should be kept when fully grown? Fish can be kept in smaller containers for periods of time, the point is what they need long term. I'm not personally advocating a particular tank size as I'm new to fish keeping, but bettas are curious fish who like to swim and I can't imagine keeping one in a tiny space for a long period of time.

I will never agree with with keeping them in anything bigger than a 5gal tank for the simple reason it leads to more stress later on down the road, and easier for them to get sick, board, become tail bitters etc. My experience might not work for another person its what I developed over the years in keeping fish all kinds and works for me like they say what works for one might not work for another person and for many reasons.

As many know its about theory, but also really need to have experience and practice to make the theory work

I would be interested to know why you think that a larger tank may lead to boredom and tail biting? My betta is in a 10 gallon tank and he recently started tail biting. I would have thought they would be less likely to become bored in a larger tank where there's more to do, and also less likely to become sick as water qaulity is easier to maintain in a larger tank? But if the biting may be related to being in a larger tank then I'd be interested to know your experiences.

 

[Honeythorn]

Did I mention breeding bettas ? No I don't believe I did. I don't give a monkeys how successful breeders with miniscule pots are, I don't believe in keeping a fish in something that small on a permanent basis and I will never reccomend it to anyone in my life.


I'm talking about the average pet betta. A bog standard home DOES have space for a 5 gal tank . If someone couldn't make 12-14 square inches of space somewhere in their house I'd be really quite worried as to wether they had a hoarding problem .

And while a dog trainer or kennels keep dog in cages for a period of time, they do not live in a tiny box permanently.


The comparisons I made are perfectly relevant. A dog CAN survive in a small cage for many years, a human being CAN survive in a very small room for many years. They can do this, just as bettas CAN survive in a tiny tub of a tank for a few years. That's the point. They CAN but they SHOULD NOT HAVE TO.


And frankly if you're telling me a fish, which by dint of being a fish, has fins for SWIMMING, does not need swimming space then can you please explain that to me? I really would love to know where you pulled that idea from. 1 gallon, 2 gallons is NOT space for swimming. It categorically isn't. It's space to survive in .

Why anyone would not want a cycled stable tank ( for which you need a filter ) is absolutely beyond me. Daily large water changes are well known to be stressful. The amount of times I've seen people post at how upset their betta gets when they do a daily water change on his tiny tank and then sulks in a corner is too many to count. A 5 gal+ tank with a filter and heater, and 50 % water changes once a week will be a fair sight safer and far easier to care for thn and unheated unfiltered 2 gallon that needs most of it;s water changing every day or so.

You can't possibly tell me that one 50% water change on a properly cycled tank is in any way easier than having to change almost all of the water every day on an uncycled one ( which is far more prone to ammonia spikes , poor water quality and it's resulting diseases) and stress out your fish. That makes no sense at all.

 

[Haych]

no disrespect, but thats your opinion. and i respect youre entitled to that. but it wasnt fair to push your opinion onto the OP, you could state its your opinion rather than tell them thats how it is, surely?

mine are in just over 5 gallons, but it looks smaller due to height and length, some 2 gallons could be better than what i have!

 

[Honeythorn]

I have no need to state that it's my opinion when such a thing is blatantly obvious.

 

[theshadowinc]

I have no need to state that it's my opinion when such a thing is blatantly obvious.

No offence but I would take a look at the real fighting sites, I mean the people who actually fight them talk to them about it. They actually do much better in shallow water then in deep water! End up having a tail bitter and you have a 10gal tank and you have tried everything to fix it no you have not, because if you ask help from someone from Thialand they will tell you first thing downgrade to a 5gal tank and actually what they will tell you to your face is jar and medicate it! and then put it in a 5gal tank! and even they would recommend a smaller tank! When you deal with transhippers (Breeders) actual people who deal in nothing but betta's there knowledge is usually beyond what we know!

If you decide to go on one of these forums to pick the brain of one of them I will tell you now go on with an attitude or disgrace them in any way they ban you imediatly! There housing is different then what we keep, they only keep betta fighters for 1 year after that its breeding time usually for them and then they get rid of them! (I guess what you are stating is mother nature is not right for the creatures) Its to bad I can't find the article. In maylasia and in Thialand they don't even heat tanks they don't need to! I think research is something to be looking at before I even think of going further in trying to explain it to someone like you who has made there own believe system in life. Many people are like this and thats fine each to there own!

I have raised bettas in every kind of tank all the way up to my 55gal, I have found through experience especially with tail bitters its normally because the tank is to BIG on why they do this! In the wild they actually don't do alot of swimming, thus usually trapped in puddles where they live and breed for about 80% of there life! Also if you actually look it up they jump out of the water and live on stuff like lilly pads, for the reason to get away from predators! They hop back in the water to get wet and then back out again!

If you look at the way breeders raise them in jars why would this be? They don't hit stores till they are what 1 year old so the breeder has had luck on his or her side raising them individually in jars and growing them out without stunting??

Have you ever been to a betta show? Ever see them in 5gal tanks? If so how often do you see them swimming around? Do the show quality ones swim or glide through the water? You claim 5gals is min okay fine I can live with your choice in life, do you use tannin water and if not why not its the best water to have them in? Do you see where I said back in my post what works for others might not work for you vise versa. Many have issues with tannin water especially begginers!

Only reason why you keep a 5gal is because for the begginer its easier to maintain, with that being said what that means is for the begginer they are more than likly to forget a waterchange and neglect the fish! This makes for hasle free living quarters for them because of this factor!

Did you ever have a betta that just wouldn't stop bitting its tail? Downgrade the tank size I bet after being through everything else the feeding and the other issues downgrading the tank would cure the fish they get stressed if in to big of a tank (To much swimming) many people from Thialand have run into this issue on raising and keeping there fighters

And for the person that mentioned they are having an issue on tail bitting, check this out its a good guide to figure out whats going on http/www.healthybetta.com/a-bettas-nervous-habit-tail-biting

(BTW when you do daily water changes or even 2 waterchanges in a day on a 1 gal tank something that has no filter, you are sapose to be using water that has been conditioned and has been sitting out at room temp for 24hours!) And incase for the person who reads this and says chlorine evaporates in 24hours I will say to you okay you are right but does chlorimine?

I didn't come here posting its this way or that way! I mearly gave advice on what has worked for me what I have seen and what I have read over the years, I just thaught that post about all the different types of things was redukulous! Alot have to do with my experience breeding them in behaviour I have notice everything from tail bitting to deaths in the tank not knowing what killed them! Take a fish at 2 weeks old and try to figure why they are dropping like flies not easy to figure out! I have been part of the IBC for years, I was one of a few in my province to actually be apart of it, am I apart of it now no I don't believe someone should have to pay a membership to learn about bettas, although this will always be something people will speak out on no matter what! Everyone has there own believe systems, the people I have picked out to help here I have had nothing but good feedback from why I picked them they didn't pick me for the simple reason I knew right off the go they had open minds if you don't have an open mind..............

 

[Honeythorn]

This thread is making me laugh so hard I could almost call it a workout.

 

[StrontiumDog]

Personaly I think you two need to calm down, there are pros and cons on both sides. Take it to PM if you have issuses with one another.

I could type my beliefs, then would I get slated too?

And I think that this is not helping the OP at all ( yes i've started a sentence with and with a capital A, Dog waits for the grammar police)

Appart from the above too the OP. I would go for a snail maybe an apple snail or maybe something smaller.

 

[StrontiumDog]

I've only just noticed you snails don't seem to survive.

Try MT snails, usually if your LFS if they have any(and usually they do, cause they clog thier filters up)

You can get them free, I've done it

 

[GuppyGoddess]

I just feed mine bloodworms and krill, they float anyway, whatever he doesn't eat in 2 -5 mins just scoop it out with a net.
I use sand as substrate, If any food sink I just scoop it with the smallest net, the food gets caught in the net while sand goes through it.

Its easier to maintain a 5 gallon for 1 betta, aquarium glass is pretty cheap, maybe just buy the hood n lights later. Just a thought

2nd to this. You don't need everything at once. For one of my bettas, I just bought him a 5-gallon, a few plants, substrate, and a heater. I waited about a month before figuring out which filter to get him. I kept his water clean before, but one thing that I couldn't get rid of was an oily (?) looking film of some sort on the top of the water that went away after hooking up the filter.

 

[finalfantay85]

I get that oily looking film in my breeding trap. Only way i can describe it is for people who did chemistry where you make nylon in the jar. No idea where it came from cos i don't use aerosols near my tank