Would This Be Cruel?

[my fat fish]

i have a spare 3nhalf gallong tank and ell i was wondering is that 2 small for a betta? cos i hear some pple say that would be okay but i think it may be to small what u lot think?

 

[wendywc]

No, it wouldn't be cruel at all. Most male bettas prefer to be alone and a 3.5 gallon is bigger than the majority of the tanks I've seen for a betta. That 3.5 gallon could be heaven for a betta.

 

[Naughtygirlrlw]

^^^^Agreed, he will be quite happy in there.

 

[stang1]

Mine are only in a 4g tank. As long as there's a bit of planting and somewhere for him to hide, he'll be fine

 

[Arfie]

Mine is in a 2.5 gallon, but it is treated like all my others, it has a filter (well 2 actually, UGF and a box filter) and heater and gets regular water changes too

I use a quarter coconut shell to give him a cave to hide in if he wants to get out of the light or away from my ugly mug and he's fine.

Arfie

 

[Callum]

lol imagine a single beta in a 200gallon with nothing else in lol. Anyways a 3.5 gallon is fine for a beta. whats cruel is keeping them in those little beta trap things which float in your tank like a floating fry hatchery.

 

[Jesseh]

5 GALLONS IS THE BARE MINIMUM FOR ANY FISH, EVEN 1 NEON TETRA!

-Jess

 

[Callum]

not neccisarily what about a galaxy rasbora they grow to 2.5cm maximum they could probably handle a small(ish) tank

 

[keepsfalling]

IMO I wouldn't put a betta in a tank smaller than 5 gallons either

 

[pica_nuttalli]

5 GALLONS IS THE BARE MINIMUM FOR ANY FISH, EVEN 1 NEON TETRA!

-Jess

no, it isn't.

5 gallons is about the minimum size tank that can maintain a stable Nitrogen cycle and there are very few heaters that are safe for a tank under 5 gallons--which is why it is not recommended to keep most tropical fish in a tank under 5g. there's also a serious limit on the number of fish which one can keep in a 5g (which is why it is unsuitable for most tetras/barbs).

bettas, however, are very hardy and have been bred for centuries to be hardy fish who are suited to wildly fluctuating water conditions--which is why they do just fine with 100% water changes on a daily basis. they also do well at temperatures between 74-80 degF, which includes "room temperature". they are also solitary, territorial fish so tankmates are un-necessary and even discouraged. therefore, it's ok to keep an individual betta in a tank under 5g.

1 gallons is the absolute minimum, however, and 2.5 gallons is the recommended minimum.

 

[Lynden]

5 GALLONS IS THE BARE MINIMUM FOR ANY FISH, EVEN 1 NEON TETRA!

-Jess

IMO I wouldn't put a betta in a tank smaller than 5 gallons either

Dogs, Birds, Cats, ect. Can withstand temperature variations as well. Does that mean they can (or should, as some people put it) spend their entire lives in tiny boxes?

-Lynden

 

[Gankutsuou]

Disagreeable by my standpoint.

3 gallons is wonderful.

I have mine in a 1.5 gallon tank and it seems just fine. Filtered, of course.
Dying in a cup VS going into an unfiltered 1 gallon with a divider VS going into my filtered 1.5?

I think it is a favor to get it into a FILTERED tank. And even if it's unfiltetered, it's most likely better than keeping it in that cup, as some people will do that.

Honestly, 1 gallon is considered the minimum for bettas. 3 is just fine.

EDIT:

In my opinion, the tiny box thing doesn't work that well, because including finnage, the betta stiall had far over its body length in all directions to swim and move about, and i've planted it, giving it a place to play and hide in, as well as bubble nest.

And a bird may fly the vast sky... but for most of its life perfers shelter in the hole of a tree.

 

[Lynden]

It's good that your little tank is filtered, at least.

Having, in the past, keeping Bettas in tiny bowls, the switching to bigger tanks, and now supervising the care of one in a ten gallon tank, I can most definetly say that they are far happier in a 5 or 10 gallon tank than in a tiny bowl. Maybe they don't blow bubbles everyday, but that's not the only (or as I would argue, bubble blowing is not in actuality an indicator of happiness) way you can tell if a fish is happy.

Maybe Bettas can survive in tiny bowls. Kittens can survive in jars doesn't make it right.

-Lynden

 

[Gankutsuou]

I still think that;s an extreem.

Kittens are the size of the jar. I would compare it more to a human being kept in a low entertainment room. Say with a 56k connection or dial up or something.

It's still big enough to be entertainment, just not the best of life. Sure, we want the best, but sometimes its the best we have to provide. If they have a 3 gallon, use it! 3 is almost for sure better than anything they could recieve!

 

[Lynden]

If one can't provide the best environment for a fish, one should not get the fish.

If you wanted an Arapaima gigas, but only had a tank of, say, 500 gallons, would you still buy it? It can survive in a 500 gallon tank, sure, but a 500 gallon tank isn't the best environment, it's only what you can possibly provide. That 500 gallon tank would be far more suitable for something like a group of Arrowanna.

A 1.5 gallon tank can house a microcosm of tiny invertebrates, similiar to the live rock of a reef tank would be like. So why have a single unhappy fish in a tiny bowl, when you could give the fish a proper home and make a mini-ecosystem out of the tiny tank?

-Lynden