I Want To Turn A 4 Gallon Jar Into A Tank...

[fifefish]

I think there's a difference between what a betta can survive in and what a betta will be happy in..
think you should keep that in mind

 

[loraxchick]

not trying to start an arguement here but i have two bettas in separate 4 gal critter keepers. a 25 watt heater and homemade sponge filter in each with plants. they are certainly happy in their tanks, have more than enough swimming room. certainly if you give them a heater (which are cheap- lie $6) and make a sponge filter, they'll be perfectly happy in there.

i know 5 gal is considered by some folks to be "minumum", but you can still meet their needs in a smaller tank.

if you need advice in building a sponge filter (takes less than 15 minutes), feel free to ask.

 

[fifefish]

Yes but, Critter keepers are wider not taller, which makes the betta able to swim back and forth

 

[Inchworm]

The idea is to keep the Ammonia at 0, the Nitrite at 0, and the Nitrate very low. This can either be done by large and frequent water changes, or more easily, through a combination of filtration and water changes.

Sponge filters do not agitate the water enough to disturb a betta ,provide a far more stable biological system and having a small basic sponge filter is less stressful on the fish that continua daily water changes .

Not necessarily true. Since a sponge or box filter is run by an air pump, the amount of disturbance is dependent on the size and power of the pump. Even a small filter can cause quite a stir at the surface if it is pushing a lot of air through it. Excess air can be bled off if necessary to make the filter efficient, yet safe.

 

[BecciMac1987]

The idea is to keep the Ammonia at 0, the Nitrite at 0, and the Nitrate very low. This can either be done by large and frequent water changes, or more easily, through a combination of filtration and water changes.

Sponge filters do not agitate the water enough to disturb a betta ,provide a far more stable biological system and having a small basic sponge filter is less stressful on the fish that continua daily water changes .

Not necessarily true. Since a sponge or box filter is run by an air pump, the amount of disturbance is dependent on the size and power of the pump. Even a small filter can cause quite a stir at the surface if it is pushing a lot of air through it. Excess air can be bled off if necessary to make the filter efficient, yet safe.

mmm so lets put you in a bedroom. Feed you the best vegetables and pump pure mountain air at ya. Yep you will be healthy but sodding miserable.

 

[Inchworm]

mmm so lets put you in a bedroom. Feed you the best vegetables and pump pure mountain air at ya. Yep you will be healthy but sodding miserable.

Speculating about my mental well being, under any given set of circumstances, makes just about as much sense as speculating about that of a fish. Which is to say, very little indeed.

 

[Honeythorn]

It's not like I'm suggesting everyone has a room sized tank for a single betta here by the way. But one thing that really gets on my wick when people want to keep bettas in small aquariums, is that so so so many claim to have no space. They want something very small and pretty to sit on the desk or sideboard.

Frankly I struggle to believe this excuse for no space in a bog standard home. I know for a fact, an absolute fact that a 5 gallon hex tank WILL fit into a 12 inch square space. I also know that one will definitely fit on a normal sized desk.

How much effort does it seriously take to shift that pile of books, move that vase, re-arrange slightly? Are these people's homes so indescribably cluttered that they cannot find 12 square inches of room? It's almost always pure laziness half the time.

Before anyone asks, no I do not live in a vast house. I live in a bog standard british council house. Look one up on the net if you've never seen one.

It's not even so much the size of the jar that's bothering me, it's the message it gives out. That's it's fine to keep fish in a jar or any little pot you have to hand, as a permanent home because you didn't bother to research it's basic needs and have discovered it doesn't make a good community fish . It's that sort of thinking that gives rise to supposed "innovations" like the ipond and "betta vase" . These things are made for people who care more about how a thing looks on their desk, instead of giving the fish what it should have in terms of basic swimming space.

 

[Rediahs]

You're presuming that there's a good reason to stretch from 4 gallons to 5...

There isn't really... a 4 gallon mason jar is suitable. As I've said. You're acting like just because it's easy everyone should do it. I don't fancy going out and buying new things when I can use what I've already got at home. So if I had a 4 gallon mason jar I'd probably use that for my betta instead of having bought his 3.5.

About earlier: rice paddies may be slow moving or still.. doesn't matter.

Water changes don't stress my fish at all, he looks fine... why would removing and pouring a couple cups of water and occasionally using an airline tube to suck up poo disturb a fish less than a constant bubbling filter?

I don't see how you can make the claim that bettas need filters. They are fine without them. They might also be fine with them, don't know, haven't tried. Don't have a reason to try because my bettas is active, healthy, and I presume, happy.

Just a note, breeders in thailand don't usually put filters in their betta's tanks. I knew a few. That's where many of our bettas come from.

It's not even so much the size of the jar that's bothering me, it's the message it gives out. That's it's fine to keep fish in a jar or any little pot you have to hand, as a permanent home because you didn't bother to research it's basic needs and have discovered it doesn't make a good community fish . It's that sort of thinking that gives rise to supposed "innovations" like the ipond and "betta vase" . These things are made for people who care more about how a thing looks on their desk, instead of giving the fish what it should have in terms of basic swimming space.

And you admit yourself it's not the tank that's the problem, it's the idea?

Honestly? I'm totally against all the stupid things that people put their bettas in, our local petsmart sells these RIDICULOUSLY TINY betta bowls where the bettas cannot even turn around, it is literally the SIZE of a betta, no bigger. Last time I was in there I wished I had a pen, I want to write some things on their signs, explaining what's wrong with these...

But either way this doesn't mean that a 4 gallon mason jar is a bad home. Far from it, there's plenty of room, and as long as they don't stick a plant in the top there's also plenty of air area where he can come to the top and breathe. Also room to put a heater. Yep, sounds like a good betta jar to me.

 

[Honeythorn]

I don't see how you can make the claim that bettas need filters.

I don't see how you can make the assumption that they are any different to other labyrinth fish such as gouramis and therefore do not require a filter?

Being able to breathe atmospheric air does not exempt these fish from becoming susceptible to poor water quality.


Their ability to breathe air is simply a survival mechanism used in times of low oxygen in the water when they go through the dry periods in the wild. This has nothing to do with filtration and build up of ammonia.

Apart from their labyrinth organ, they are basically the same as any other tropical fish and require the same set up and care with regards to weekly water changes and filtration ( albeit with modified flow ) . They excrete the same waste , and can just as easily be affected by that waste, which can easily be processed by a basic filter. You still have to do water changes and gravel vacs weekly, while your filter processes the ammonia and nitrites and saves you a fair bit of work.


Also, not all filters constantly bubble, and flow can be deflected easily by attching a spray bar and facing it at the back wall of a tank at a downward angle . Disturbance problem solved and stable biological environment available.

Yet another fail .

 

[Rediahs]

Try it and you'll see that it takes a very long time for the water quality to become bad when you have only one low-waste fish in 3-5 gallons. Water changes work fine. I test my water. Always less than 0.25 ppm of ammonia and nitrites - closer to zero.

It's not poor water quality at all. It's fine. You're right, it doesn't mean they should be kept in poor water. But unfiltered water doesn't have to be poor, it depends what you put in it, and one betta doesn't do it.

The way you keep saying "fail" I find somewhat offensive... I haven't insulted you, why are you going after me? You're also arguing things I haven't said.... saying that you can't have a betta with a filter, I never said that. I said I don't know because I don't keep filters with them. But I know they are fine without it.