# myths about bettas



## skincareaddicted (Mar 19, 2007)

I was at a LFS (one i don't normally frequent) looking for a 25 Watt heater for my betta with ich. I ended up getting another betta, and had a debate about betta living conditions. The sales guy INSISTED that bettas hate space and LOVE living in small cups and vases. He pulled out the rice paddy argument again and at the end looked at me like I was crazy. I am so sick of arguing with dumb fish store people over this. Sorry, had to rant  . 

Kristen~


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## Aussie_hippie_2 (Nov 11, 2006)

The thing I find funny about that argument is that rice paddys aren't that small. They're shallow, I'll give you that. But they can stretch for a long distance. Funny how people "forget" about that when making that argument, huh?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Yeah, it's annoying to say the least.
Wal-Mart has a care sheet up for Betta's and it says they prefer small quarters and murky (filthy in my translation) water, so you should never put them in anything bigger than their little cups, or one of the Betta vase death traps. Grumble.
I try to keep my mouth shut at the store when someone is buying them, but once in a while I have to speak up and the people get mad at me and say "look at this care sheet they have posted right here"... They figure the store has to know more than anyone else.

Same goes for all of the poor Goldfish that get stuck in the little bowls.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

I make an effort to educate as best and of course as politely as I can. Why? Because thats the only way to change the thought pattern concerning things like this and anything else. Somebody's got to do it and it might as well be us. 

Ok, end of my rant. Thanks for reading.


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

They might live in small areas but they are happier in a larger area.

Think of people who live in studio apartments. They live there but would probably like a LOT more room. I know I do.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

Did you not hear that they can live in toliets too.....oh and the reason the water condition doesn't matter is because they breathe air like we do.....


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## Skelley (Mar 4, 2006)

I once had an old coworker tell me that you shouldn't feed them very often, that way you don't have to change the water much. Hmmm...makes me wonder why people feed their children if they hate changing diapers...?


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

Seems to me the Betta fish is probably one of the most neglected fish ever. My girls mom had one in a little probably 1/2 gallon jar, it was so sad. It has now passed on but when she talks about a new betta, I tell her i'll scape out something quick with some extras i have from my tank for the betta. (she has a 10 gal tank)

But why does everyone assume they like such small spaces? I hate hearing the saying "fish never get bigger then their environment". BLAH!


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

You can never appreciate their full beauty & personalitys until you put them into a large enough space where they can fully develope these qualitys. Betta's love to explore their surroundings and play in the live plants. 

When I see these fish in those tiny bowls in stores they look so depressed. I wish I could take each and everyone home with me.


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## skincareaddicted (Mar 19, 2007)

I think bettas are certainly the most abused pet fish now. I am in the middle of writing a tell off letter to the owner with lots of information about bettas packed in. 

Trenac--i feel the same way, that is why I always take one home after a trip to the petstore.

I just placed my betta with ich in the 2.5 gallons and he simply loves it. I have to somehow find room so they can all go in larger tanks now.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I wish I could take the poor little guys home with me too, but the problem is that every time we "rescue" one, the store thinks there's a bigger demand and gets more in the next time.
The kindest thing we can do for them is to not buy them and hopefully with enough complaints, they will stop selling them.

That said, I can't say that I'm not guilty of bringing one home with me from time to time when they are looking at you from the little cup saying "please...".


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## Skelley (Mar 4, 2006)

Awww! I can hear them now!

One of my rescues was white (I thought) when I got him. A big tank and warm, clean water and he turned pink. He was missing a fin when I got him and it never grew in. He had a tumor on his face. He spends most of his time resting on plants, but when I walk up...boy is he happy to see me!


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## joycould (Mar 13, 2007)

I also had one that turned to a darker color. In the store he was a pretty peach color I got him home in a large bowl with plants and in a matter of minutes he started to change to a dark almost black with a blue shimmer to him.


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## sithspawn (May 28, 2006)

When I got my 6ft bare tank last year, The first thing I put in there was a Male crowntail. He was having a great time swimming all over the place. I took pictures of it and showed it to a few dealers, effectively giving them the 'finger' (prefer small spaces indeed, Hah!). The crowntail seemed a bit lonely so I put in a few females after that and, well they had fun.......


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

sith - did they end up spawning at all?


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## sithspawn (May 28, 2006)

Muirner said:


> sith - did they end up spawning at all?


While I was reading up about their spawning needs like needing a plastic cup to make their bubblenest etc, their went on ahead and spawned at all four corners of the tank. That's when I started to panic I was trying to figure out a way to move the eggs and cleared out a 2ft tank with aged water for the fry. I used a 8" nano tank for the eggs at first, easier to keep track of them. I moved them to the 2 footer once they were large enough to not get sucked in the filter. Proves that a small tank is useful only for their spawning. As for the rest of the time, they had fun in the big tank. I actually moved him to a shrimp tank with dwarf cories and no problems either. No shrimp were harassed. The betta just swam around being curious at everything, exactly like my dwarf puffers. They were quite happy in big tanks with plants especially...


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I recently added 4 female bettas into a heavily planted 20 gallon already housing 1 male. I was prepared to scoop out anyone showing too much aggression and move that fish to a different tank. So far I've had no real problems, only a bit of displaying and a few short chases. The male does occasionally try to chase one of the females, but he's so slow with his long fins that they just dart away and slip through the plants. So he spends most of his time pretending the females don't exist.  

Sometimes I look at the tank and can't find a single betta. They just love hiding among the plants and searching for anything edible that they can find. I do have floating plants and I've seen the bettas happily drifting between the roots, probably waiting to attack anything that looks like food that falls from above.

All of the bettas have improved in color since I got them. One female went from an almost white body with red fins to a solid red with a slightly blue sheen on the body - simply beautiful. The others just deepened in hue. The male went from nearly white to a peachy-gold with a blue-gray sheen and a touch of pink-red on the fins. All of them took to the 20 gallon tank immediately, exploring the boundaries and hiding spots - no way were they happy in those little cups. Now, I just have to try and keep myself from buying any more.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*Ok I KNOW I'm going to be shot for this... but I just wanted you to know that while I agree with the principle of "the bigger the tank, the better" it is not always possible to have large tanks for each fish... and If you're a softie like me... my theory is that they will be better off in a one gallon tank than the little 1/2 cup plastic bags or if the LFS is kind, small cups they are in at the LFS. 
I have "rescued" all 3 of my bettas and have had 2 of them for close to a year now. The 3rd one is a baby and I rescued him 3 days ago...

I keep them in 1 gallon bowls (YES!) with broad mouths so there is more surface dissolved oxygen and I do weekly complete water changes. I also feed them only once a day ( yes I know you need to feed them more often but I also think climatic conditions etc make a difference.) They really do seem happy.

I had 2 bettas earlier who were in my 20 gallon tank ( at different times) and they didn't survive long despite following all the "rules"...

I think it's unfortunately "trial and error" that works sometimes.... I howl everytime I lose a fish - I actually mourn them. So, I do try and keep them as healthy and happy as possible.

The way I look at it, hey - I may not be able to afford that mansion, but the condo I live in sure beats living in that cupboard under the stairs.

Ok, that's my two bit - now you may kill me. *


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

To me, there is nothing wrong with keeping a betta in a 1 gallon container provided you keep the conditions clean and give the betta some "furnishings" to explore. I could not keep an aquarium that small in my house with 5 cats and expect it to survive. One cat does not mind getting his paws wet and finds the fish fascinating. Another cat is a healthy 15 pounds and can knock large heavy objects off the table when he stretches out and finds them in his way. He may not knock an aquarium over, but he could probably cause water to slop out and flood whatever it was sitting on.

So anyway, for me it's just a practical consideration. I think bettas can be quite content in a 1 gallon container, it is still worlds away from the pint containers they come in.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*Hey Gerdener,
Whew! Thanks! I thought i would be shot for writing this! But when I see how hey live in fish shops, I am just livid! Infact, I saw a beautiful gold (YES gold - not yellow) and green crowntail today - in a cup... so tomorrow, "Envy" will be brought home... home is another one gallon... sigh... I just hope noone's taken him already... and if they have - I hope he's looked after*


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## Melissa3 (Feb 27, 2007)

Hi!

Don't feel bad, I kept my bettas (1 male, 1 female) in *separate* 1gal tanks until I could get a bigger tank for them.

I originally had the male in my 29gal, but he was such a bully! He even picked in fish bigger than him! The funny part is, when I bought him the kid at the LFS told me not to put him in anything bigger than a small fish bowl because he would implode!!! My betta actually flourished, grew a lot, became wicked territorial and kicked my other fish's butts!!


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*Hi Melissa,
I have a "situation" I had a 20 gallon tank which I "exchanged" for this big 60 gallon one. I sa exchanged because my boyfriend was wondering if he'd have to "sleep with the fish" soon... 
I started with one betta last year and now have 3 and tomorrow will hopefully get my 4th...
If I end up keeping all the bettas in tanks, I'll have to dump my boyfriend  THAT is unacceptable  so the one gallons are all I can afford in terms of space....
but they seem happy and I keep their tanks very clean.

If I were to put a live plant in the bowl with some substrate, what would I have to do in addition to complete weekly water changes?*


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Soulmia, no one is ever going to jump on you for making better conditions for our finned friends. 

Even though I keep some Betta's in my bigger tanks, I also have some 2 gallon tanks with filtration, heating and live plants that I keep some in too, and they love it.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

I don't have any filteration ad air etc... I just keep them in 1 gallons and change the water every week without fail. The bowls have a broad neck so the surface area is larger... this is honestly the best I can do for them - and they seem happy.... my heart is in a good place...


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Soulmia,
If you can find them, you could try adding a few floating plants such as hornwort or P. fluitans. These would make that 1 gallon of water a paradise!


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Hey Kelly, 
I have never seen those plants here... also, if i add plants, won't i have to have substrate etc? My bettas sem to be doing great ... i'm scared I'll rock the boat


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

No substrate needed at all for floating plants. I don't know what plants you have access to, but check out the plant finder (link on the top of the page). There might be a few that you can find. Are there any aquarium clubs in your city? I'd bet that one of them has something that you could use. I also seem to remeber a planted tank forum originating in India, but I can't recall the name. 

I don't think that you would even need to add any additional fertilizers. The nutrients provided by fish waste will suffice. This will help keep the water pure and clean for your fish. the foliage will also provide you fish with a sense of comfort. Try it!


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

They will slap their own faces if they try to use the rice paddy argument because, FYI, rice paddies are huge! So in that sense, bettas roam about freely in the fields. I know mine (2 white fan-tail males) are so much happier and healthier living with their tetra brethrens in tanks at least 20 gallons. Heck, I even added a baby Stinkpot and everyone is getting along fine


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Kelley said:


> No substrate needed at all for floating plants. I don't know what plants you have access to, but check out the plant finder (link on the top of the page). There might be a few that you can find. Are there any aquarium clubs in your city? I'd bet that one of them has something that you could use. I also seem to remeber a planted tank forum originating in India, but I can't recall the name.
> 
> I don't think that you would even need to add any additional fertilizers. The nutrients provided by fish waste will suffice. This will help keep the water pure and clean for your fish. the foliage will also provide you fish with a sense of comfort. Try it!


The only floating plant that I have seen at the LFS here is a lily.. but it's not the pond lily.. it's a very flimsy version of this : http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Plant,231.jpg I have seen a "grown" version and I just don't like it That's why I passed on the live plants.

I have asked around a lot for an aquarium club and even found one - but it's the most disorganised, unknowledge-able lot of people I have ever met. All they wanted was to register me and get money. When I asked what the registration offered - they just looked blankly at me and then said that I could visit the state aquarium as often as I liked.. I just left.

And since my bettas have settled in - I'm just too scared to experiment....


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

It's too bad you live in another country. I have a ton of floating plants that I'm constantly thinning out that would work great in your situation.


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## Script404 (Jun 30, 2006)

Try looking for water wisteria, its often sold planted but grows fine floating. My Bettas love it they just lodge themselves in the stems and chill out. 

As for Wal Mart can you not get a animal welfare orginaisation on the case, a chain of supermarkets in England were recently pressured into not selling a nano sized tank, because they provided incorrect information for fish care.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Script 404: I can get water wisteria as I have seen it here before... but my question is, currently, I have no live plants in my 1 gallons. If I do add in a plant, do I need to have substrate? and if yes, what about air for the plant? I do not have an air pump or filter for these 3 one gallons.


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

soulmia said:


> but my question is, currently, I have no live plants in my 1 gallons. If I do add in a plant, do I need to have substrate? and if yes, what about air for the plant? I do not have an air pump or filter for these 3 one gallons.


A floating plant does not need a substrate. Since water wisteria can be grown floating, it will not need a substrate. The plant will not need extra air, either. Just get some wisteria, drop it in the bowl, and make sure there's a light source (sun, light bulb, whatever). You shouldn't need to do anything else, until the plant grows so big it needs pruning.

Natalie


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## skincareaddicted (Mar 19, 2007)

soulmia--frogbit is also a great floating plant as well as java moss and anacharis. none have snagged even long betta fins for me.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Ok - don't kill me.... I do't have a light source for my bettas... my home has a LOT of sunlight and all the bowls are strategically placed so that they get maximum exposure.. i hate the thought of wires sticking out of my gorgeous 1 gallon bowls... can i still have plants?


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

soulmia said:


> Ok - don't kill me.... I do't have a light source for my bettas... my home has a LOT of sunlight and all the bowls are strategically placed so that they get maximum exposure.. i hate the thought of wires sticking out of my gorgeous 1 gallon bowls... can i still have plants?


Yes, of course you can still have plants. Plants need light. If they get the right amount of light, the plants don't much care where it comes from!

Natalie


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

goin water wisteria huntin' tomorrow thanks


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## skincareaddicted (Mar 19, 2007)

I actually do the same as you, all my containers and tanks use natural light.


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## Aussie_hippie_2 (Nov 11, 2006)

Actually, my 10g all natural tank (which just gets natural sunlight) grows ALL of my plants the biggest and greenest. Many plants IME can go with just sunlight, as long as you get enough hours of it.


(100th post )


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## lljdma06 (Sep 11, 2005)

The "rice-patty" arguement is so over-used and mis-used. Many forget that rice patties encompass square miles, so the water is actually quite clean and very well filtered because of the emergent growth of the rice. So all a pet store associate is telling me when they say rice patty, is to provide your betta with a clean, well-filtered, low-current, planted, large environment. Ok. Unfortunately, their conception of a rice patty and mine are two different things. 

I have 5 bettas now. Most are in 2g bowls, but one is currently in my 2.5g planted. I usually rotate those that can handle the extra current in the tank. Others can't, they really prefer still water. For people with lower room light levels, I find that a clump of Christmas moss works great as a nitrogen and ammonia absorber for the bowls. I also then have a pretty steady supply of moss. 

llj


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## Theexp (Dec 26, 2006)

There was a really intersting article about bettas i read recently in a tropical fish magazine i get, (can't remember the name right now). But right now i'm setting up a ~5 gallon tank for a betta. They're such cool fish.


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## BigB (Dec 1, 2006)

I have a betta in a 2.5 gallon with a nice nano filter and a mini aqualight with dwarf sag and a small sword that fit in there. Water is clear and clean some current and he loves playing in the dwarf sag, I see him lodge in the grass resting all the time.

I think a 2.5 gal is the minimum for a betta. A 1 gal bowl is cool as long as its wide. So they have room to swim around.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

So I'm looking for my next fish purchase for my 55 gal community tank. And EVERYTIME I go to Petsmart i see proabably 40 cups stacked with sad sad looking fish in the cups. (Why do they have so many?) But just like the pound there is the one that comes up to the door (or as close as these fish can get to you) and "begs" to go home.

Let me ask, persay i do get a betta. What do i need to feed them? And how do you feed just them their special pellets if there are say 9 other harliquin rasboras, and other fish to be added later. Also are they sensitive to CO2/ferts? I'm tempted to get a male betta (not sure which kind) but I want to. Has anyone put them in a tank with shrimp?? I figure a 55 gal with 1 betta and shrimp shouldnt be bad... I think?


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## joycould (Mar 13, 2007)

Myself, I would never put another betta in with shrimp. Mine ate everyone of them, one at a time, they shared a well planted tank. I have never had any luck keeping any in a community tank either because the other fish liked to nip their fins or the betta decided it was his kingdom and he was going to rule it. I feed my guys 2 pellets twice a day, Sunday is pea day each gets a frozen pea warmed and shelled attack, and once a week they get freeze dried blood worms. I only have one female betta at this time and she is in her own little 2 gallon bowl, I have thought about setting up a spare 10 gallon and up 4 or 5 females in there, I know I would have to be able to separate them without notice if they decided to get nippy.


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## xstefani3x (May 8, 2007)

Hi, i'm new to this site, but i recently just got 4 female bettas and put them in a 20 gallon tank along with 2 dwarf frogs, and then.. out of curiousity i stuck my male betta in with them (whom i've had for 2 years in a 5 gallon by himself) and also because i happened to pick up a dwarf puffer fish not knowing a thing about them but to find out they are aggresive, so i had to do somethign with him, he went in my male betta tank and i moved my betta in with the females until i had another tank set up.. and for some odd reason he seems to be doing very well, so i haven't moved him back. They all are.. but i was wondering where i could get more information from anyone who has had them together before. I have been looking everywhere and you can't really find any advice or experience from anyone. Thanks!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Welcome xstefani3x. 

The big thing you'll need to watch for is aggression from your male toward the females. If they happen to spawn, you need to remove the females asap or he'll probably kill them.

There are a few sites dedicated to Betta's, but I don't have the url's handy at the moment.

I think there are quite a few experienced Betta keepers here, so you can probably find the answers to your questions from some of our fine members.


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