Is This True?

[TigerMan]

will bettas die if they can't air from the surface i read this in a magazine saying bettas that

 

[Styx]

Yes it is true.

 

[Pixie25]

i also heard bettas need to breathe humid air at the surface (the same temp as the water) if the air outside is much colder than the tank water it is possible for the fish to get pneumonia.

 

[BrookeLea]

Fish can get pnemonia?

 

[TigerMan]

bettas have gills right so wouldnt they be fine with a bubbler with all that air in the water wouldnt they be fine so how come they die if they cant get air from the surface i'm confused

 

[OrkyBetta]

Bettas are anabantoids, they have a labyrinth organ, much like gouramis. They don't need as much dissolved oxygen in the water as other fish, because they can breathe right from the surface. Obviously, they still use their gills, how else would they rest? Plus, the oxygen obtained from the surface isn't enough.

to make a long story short, a bubbler is not necessary, and would probably just tick your betta off. They like as still of water as possible. Do not confuse having surface area with not having lids. Bettas are just fine in tanks, and actually NEED lids, as they jump. Just so long as there are some holes for air circulation. Just like if you bagged any kind of fish with all water and no air, it would die, same goes with a betta.

If you bagged a non-anabantoid fish up with no air, and a bubbler, they would be ok, but bettas rely on breathing from the surface, and a bubbler alone would not be ideal. Catch my drift?

 

[soritan]

This is something I actually haven't spent much time obsessively researching.

However, to further the fun and play a nice game of telephone:

I read on a forum that someone readon on a forum that some scientists removed a betta's labrynth organ and forced them to go gills-only, and they suffocated.

I also read that the labrynth organ is their primary means of obtaining oxygen, and their gills their secondary means.



Either way, my bettas get their oxygen from both, as my filters on my tanks provide much surface agitation and I have no aerator.

 

[Synirr]

I agree with soritan, that's the impression I get from them. Even my bettas with bubblers in their tanks take air from the surface on a regular basis. I've actually had one drown when he had a bad case of swimbladder disorder and got tangled in his plant and was unable to reach the surface... I believe there was a bubble stone in his tank at the time, though it's hard to remember for sure.

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

Bettas get 90% of their oxygen through the surface and 10% from water passing through their gills. So yes, they would drown if they couldn't get air from the surface.