Info On Bettas

[CaspianRain]

Hi guys. I am interested in getting a Betta fish soon and would like more info on them before purchase.

I currently have a 40 gallon community tank with platies, and different kinds of tetras.

My questions are:
1. Can I keep a Betta in a fish bowl? (temporarily)
2. Can the Betta coexist (and be happy) with the other fish in the 40 gallon tank?
3. What exactly is the difference in male and female Bettas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jameshughes1989]

Hey

1. Fish bowls aren't great for them, especially considering that mostly they are not filtered and heated. there still tropical fish!

2. Depends on the betta itself, they have personalities, some will coexist with tankmates as others wont share a tank with any fish at all. I do see you said tetras though, they are known to nip males fins so probably not a good idea. Females should be fine though.

3. Difference. The care requirments are the same other than males can not be mixed with eachother but females can depending on how many females. The more the betta so aggression and bullying is spread out. Physical appearance is that the males are normally more coloured with longer flowing fins. The males body is also more slender.

Hope that helps, James

 

[aly_starh]

Hi guys. I am interested in getting a Betta fish soon and would like more info on them before purchase.

I currently have a 40 gallon community tank with platies, and different kinds of tetras.

My questions are:
1. Can I keep a Betta in a fish bowl? (temporarily)
2. Can the Betta coexist (and be happy) with the other fish in the 40 gallon tank?
3. What exactly is the difference in male and female Bettas?

Thanks in advance.

hiya

1.) Depends on what size the 'bowl' is and how long. As long as the water is clean it should be ok for a short time, i guess.

2.) You will have to try it out, but tetras are known to be nippy.

3.) Males have longer fins, and have an extra part when flaring (known as the beard!) Males are more aggressive, as they want to fight for territory etc.

HTH

 

[CaspianRain]

Thank you both for the info!

The bowl is about 1-2 gallons in volume. I will definitely clean it and treat it accordingly.

I DO have a 5 gallon tank that I do not use, but the filter is cheap, there is no heater, and the lighting is rubbish. It could be better than a bowl though I suppose.

 

[jameshughes1989]

Definetly better than the bowl. IMO 5 gallons is minimum for a betta. Obviously would be way better with a heater, and aslong as the filter media is mature or your doing constant water changes you should be fine for a short period of time!

James

 

[MewMew42]

yeah I would go with the 5 gallon =] he will be much happier in there

if you can get a small 25w heater and a filter that hasnt got too much current [as most males have large fins so they can find swimming with a current stressful, fins can also get caught in it ] he will love it in there

dont worry about the lighting being bad [how bad exactly?] because you can either go with silk plants or something hardy like anubias that doesnt require much light, I wouldnt go with plastic as they can rip the fins! depending on what the tank is like you can get a clip on light for cheap...

 

[woodstock]

I know tons of cheap fluorescent lighting for hardly $5 at Walmart. But I would also use the 5 gallons over the bowl. It DOES Make it easier on both of you. If you're not on budget, a little cleaning up and buying a heater / filter, and voila. Perfect betta home (once you add in plants, of course).

 

[Truck]

A 2 Gallon bowl would be fine providing it is filtered, heated and cycled.

 

[GuppyGoddess]

A 2-gallon is fine if you're up for the additional maintance. You can get a hydor 7.5 watt heater to put in the bowl. Be sure, with a small bowl, to NOT put more than a sprinkling of gravel because otherwise there will be less water volume for the fish to swim around in AND to keep the ammonia levels down.

All of my bettas are alone - I tried one of my females with various fish - hasboras, platies, even other female bettas and the betta was always stressed out.

Difference between male and female. Well, I have three males and three females. The males are larger, have showy fins and need MORE space to move around because it's more difficult for them to swim with their long fins. The females are smaller, usually a bit less colorful, and glide around in the tank like little torpedos. From my experience both are very active and interactive. All of mine will take food directly from my fingers! They're both great. I do think that females are better for smaller tanks since they can move more easily.