Myth: Bettas live in tiny mud puddles in the wild and prefer small spaces.
Fact: The natural habitat of Betta splendens, though very shallow, is also very expansive - often spanning many acres. The only time of the year bettas are forced to live in small, stagnant "puddles" is during the dry season, hence their air-breathing apparatus. To maintain water quality in captivity, a bare minimum of 1 gallon is suggested, though the inch per gallon standard madates more like 2.5-3g minimum.
Myth: Bettas can be kept in vases. They will feed on the roots of the plant, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem
Fact: Bettas are carnivores and will only eat plant roots when starving and left with no other recourse. Bettas, like all fish, should be kept in properly sized aquariums; plant vases are not large enough and will certainly not sustain the fish for long.
Myth: Bettas do not need heaters.
Fact: Bettas are tropical fish, and unless the ambient room temp exceeds 72 degrees, though most certainly need a heater; the preferred temperature of the species is in the range of 76-80, with 72-84 acceptable.
Myth: Bettas can not have filters/aerators
Fact: While neither are needed for bettas, they certainly do not cause any harm. A filter will improve water quality, permit cycling, and prevent the owner from needing to perform 100% water changes - but it must had a moderate current and a protected intake so the betta's fins are not harmed. An aerator on a low setting is also beneficial in that it can help deter bacterial growth in the water, and will interrupt the development of flim on the water's surface.
Myth: You can keep a male betta with a female betta.
Fact: Male and female bettas will fight to the point of severe injury or death when kept together.
Myth: You can keep a male betta with females so long as there are at least 3 females in the tank to disperse the agression.
Fact: Again, male and female bettas - and sometimes female and female bettas - will often fight to the point of injury and death when housed together.
Myth: Bettas will get lonely without tankmates
Fact: Bettas are a territorial, solitary species by nature. They do just fine with no tank mates, and being kept singly better mimics their natural environment.
Myth: Female bettas are peaceful and can be kept together
Fact: Female bettas are often just as agressive as males. While they can be kept together, the conditions are specific: a minimum 10g tank, a group of about 5 female, and a heavily planted environment with many hiding places. Even with these conditions, fighting may occur. It is best to keep agressive or excessively passive females singly to prevent fighting in the group. Females raised together from the same spawn have a greater likelihood of peaceful co-existance that older females used to being house singly.
Myth: If you do not breed a female betta when she is full of eggs, she will die.
Fact: Females will release all infertile eggs on her own when they are ready.
Myth: If you breed a male betta, he will die.
Fact: Unless he incurs severe injuries, a male betta should not die in spawning.
Myth: Fish do not feel pain, so fighting bettas for fun is OK.
Fact: While betta fighting is a cultural tradition in some countries, there is a difference between carefully bred and conditioned fighters who are retired or bred after a battle, and pet store VTs and CTs, which were bred to be pets. Furthermore, recent scientific studies in England have finally offered conclusive proof that fish are indeed quite capable of feeling pain, suggesting that the injuries bettas sustain in these fights constitute cruel treatment in the United States.
Myth: Bettas are dull, inactive fish; they do not need big spaces.
Fact: Most pet store bettas are inactive because they are too cold. In proper temperatures, bettas are a highly active, dynamic fish that will use as much space as they can handle. It is not unusual for a betta to happily patrol an entire 10g tank just as he would a 1g.
Myth: Bettas can be kept with guppies
Fact: Because guppies have bright colors and long fins, most bettas will mistake guppies for bettas and attack. Guppies are best kept with other guppies, and bettas are best kept alone or with dull-colored fish who do not nip fins.
Myth: You can keep a betta and goldfish together in a bowl.
Fact: Goldfish are a high-waste, high-oxygen, high-current, fast-growing, fin nipping, social species that should be kept only in well-filtered aquariums or ponds with others of its species. Bettas are a low-oxygen, stagnant water, small, long-finned solitary species that should be kept singly or with passive, dull colored fish in an aquarium. Bettas should only be kept in a bowl if the bowl has a lid of some sort and is a BARE minimum of 1g.
Myth: Bettas must be kept alone
Fact: While bettas are a solitary species, they can be kept in community tanks, providing the tankmates are peacefull, dull in coloration, and the tank current or size is not stressful to the betta. Some bettas have temperaments that are unacceptable for being kept with any fish; others will do just fine.
Yeah, there's some for starters... have fun. Good idea for a project; very educational!
