View Full Version : Ideal environment for a Beta?
I was in Walmart looking at their fish stuff the other day and they had this shelf full of Betas in tiny little cups. :(
I felt kinda bad for them. I can't save them all, but I got to thinking maybe I could buy one and put it in a regular tank with a filter, heater, moving water, some plants, a place to hide, etc. Give it a nice home. (shame they're so unsocial or I'd buy a couple).
So what would be the ideal setup for a single Beta? These all looked like males. 10 gal tank with a HOB filter and gravel substrate?
Could I put a shrimp, snail or Pleco in there later or whould they be incompatible?
kblane
05-21-2007, 2:09 PM
The less water movement the better with bettas. Clean water is one thing, turbulent water is quite another.
Plants are good. The shrimp will most likely become a snack *unelss they're too big to fit in his mouth*. A snail may be ok--depending on the type and what plants you're keeping.
As for the Pleco, no use to get one right away. Some species get HUGE, and there's no point in buying something you'll have to sell in two summers. I'm not big on the Pleco-predisposition. I'd rather have algae-eating shrimp or something of the sort.
10-gallons will be more than sufficient for your betta. They come from swampy areas, so as you put this together, try to recreate that: slow moving water, overgrowth of vegetation, driftwood, maybe some rocks . . .
Anyhow, that's just my suggestion. Have you kept other types of fish before?
K. Blane
The less water movement the better with bettas. Clean water is one thing, turbulent water is quite another.... They come from swampy areas, so as you put this together, try to recreate that: slow moving water, overgrowth of vegetation, driftwood, maybe some rocks . . .
Ah, yes I see. That sounds like a fun project. I just found the article in Wikipedia that mentioned they like slow moving water and where they come from.
I've been trying to find some info on keeping Bettas, but not finding that much on the basics (surprising, seeing as how they seem to be popular). :confused:
The less water movement the better with bettas. Clean water is one thing, turbulent water is quite another.
Agreed. Bettas find it very difficult to swim under turbulent water with their fins. Further, sometimes too turbulent water can mess with their swim bladders, cause stress and thus diseases.
10-gallons will be more than sufficient for your betta. They come from swampy areas, so as you put this together, try to recreate that: slow moving water, overgrowth of vegetation, driftwood, maybe some rocks . . .
This is a good option.
As for ideal situation - you will get a varied answer base. IMO, a gallon with heater/filter is min, if the only fish. Even I dont like this option, but they will survive (do you just want them to just survive?) My bettas like company to "play" with, so two are a 5.5G's (two seperate tanks). One set with 4 neons, heavily planted and minimal water movement (heated and filtered). The other set with two dwarf platies. Both are very happy and healthy. I have another in a 10 setup, with clown pleco, 5 other small tetras I cant think of thier name, heavily planted. All filters are HOB.
Make note not to have anything sharp (ie splintery wood) in your tank that could tear their long fins.
As for other fish, dont get the common pleco, as they will get huge 2'+. Check out the smaller species of plecos, if you want that route. Tetras do well as well as the platies. Ottos are a good alternative to plecos, but they can be aggressive. Of the many we have had with bettas, none of them bothered the bettas.
I have no experience with shrimp. The bettas could eat smaller snails, I have seen mine do so, but anything larger than your pinky nail they wont bother, unless you have an unusually aggressive/angry betta. Even then, if you keep them feed, the likelihood is small.
Have you kept other types of fish before?
Excellent question.
Good Luck
Aries
Have you kept other types of fish before?
I had a marine tank about ten years ago, unfortunately learned a lot of hard lessons with that one. I currently have a few Goldfish in a 55gal.
If this a brand new tank, I would read up on the cycling process - if you have not already. You can even jump start the tank from the filter media on your goldfish tank if you read up on how (many threads in this forum).
Bettas are quite sturdy fish. Plus it is fun to just fish watch them, until they start watching you, then it gets weird.
Aries
Weezer
05-21-2007, 3:01 PM
Our beta is in a 29 gal. with other fish and looks quite happy....:dance2:
Featherfin
05-21-2007, 3:05 PM
this is my take on it -
a 5 to 10 gallon tank. You'll need a filter, of course, and a heater - 80 F is the preferred and recommended temperature. Plants are a ust - anacharis or is good. they';ll need access to the surface, though, because they are labyrinth fish. slow moving water, no sharp rocks or decorations - river stones and driftwood are okay (driftwood is too soft to have splinters).
many people keep them alone - ots, cories are good companions. i keep mine with some hatchetfish, some algae eating shrimp, and some otos.
this is my take on it -
a 5 to 10 gallon tank. You'll need a filter, of course, and a heater - 80 F is the preferred and recommended temperature. Plants are a ust - anacharis or is good. they';ll need access to the surface, though, because they are labyrinth fish. slow moving water, no sharp rocks or decorations - river stones and driftwood are okay (driftwood is too soft to have splinters).
many people keep them alone - ots, cories are good companions. i keep mine with some hatchetfish, some algae eating shrimp, and some otos.
Good suggestion too.
In reference to splinters, the malaysian dw i have seen has sharp "splinters" which are "larger" section of the wood that is peeling off - all I meant by that.
Aries
jm1212
05-21-2007, 4:35 PM
the filter should be putting out at least 100 gph on a ten gallon tank. this is not "to much" as some say because bettas come from"slow moving water." truth is, 99.9% of the bettas you will find at walmart are not even closely related to wild caught ancestors, much less from the "slow moving waters." the every day bettas found at comercial places are part of a very long line after the wild caught fish. the reason many of the bettas have trouble swiming around with adequate filtered tanks is because they have been living in stagnant water their entire lives and their muscles used for swimming have shrunk and are very weak.
angels come from a "soft water" habbitat, but does that mean they wont flourish in "hard" water? no.
kblane
05-21-2007, 4:51 PM
Allow me to also make the recommendation, so you can judge for yourself, to research taxonomy, funtionality and preferences of the species.
Though out little captive bred critters may come from store stock, it is important that we understand that their evolution occurred in a specific setting, making those associated traits compatible with a specific ecological type.
K. Blane.
RoseFishWatcher
05-21-2007, 5:03 PM
I think there is a huge problem with too much current. Different bettas handle it differently, but I think the short finned (placats and females) do much better in current than long-tailed males. Since every betta is different, some may have more trouble than others. Mine couldn't handle hardly any current at all.
For filtration, I would use either a sponge filter or an air-powered undergravel filter.
Flying_Diamond
05-21-2007, 6:35 PM
Strong currents will also upset their bubble nests in some instances, therefore, less current is better, imo. I'll also add that you shouldn't put plastic plants in there, it will rip a bettas fins, they prefer java moss, and shrimp will often make a snack of the bettas tail or become a snack themselves. A 10 gallon or 5 gallon with a hob that has a current control knob on it would be suitable. Under gravel filters are worthless, imo. No sharp rocks either.
jm1212
05-21-2007, 7:40 PM
obviously, there is no need to have the tank water going through a never ending whirlpool, but the tank should also not be under filtered with a weak undergravel, sponge, or HOB filter. my point was that the betta will be fine if you have adequate filtration on the tank.
tinymitymo
05-21-2007, 8:29 PM
I like the little 2.5 gallon Eclipse Explorer tanks. They have a bio-wheel filter that isn't fast moving.
Mgamer20o0
05-21-2007, 8:38 PM
10 gal would be a great home for that betta. like others have said plant the tank. a couple of ottos and shrimp might or might not work.
melissa3
05-22-2007, 9:08 AM
Yup, 10gal is perfect for Bettas. I have one set-up that's just Bettas - 1 male/ 3 females. I have some floating plant (sorry, I have no idea what it is) in there that they love to wiggle through and float around on =)
A word about water current - I think healthy Bettas can handle any current. Example - when I bought the Betta mentioned above, he was very healthy, lively, energetic (becuase I bought him from a good store) and was just fine when I put him in my 29gal community with UGF (I hate it though.) He had no problem swimming or maneuvering through the current.
Last night I bought another male Betta. I "rescued" him from a store that I didn't even know carried fish. He was lethargic from being in his tiny bowl and, when I put him in my 29gal, he just lodged himself in my floating plants. He couldn't swim for very long without having to stop. I'm sure he'll get better after awhile, all he needs is exercise. :dog:
BTW, they will eat snails, but I think its only when they're hungry. When I brought the females home, they fought over the baby snails, but now that I feed them regularly I haven't seen them touch a snail since.
J double R
05-22-2007, 9:36 AM
i tell you what, bettas might do 'better' in low flow environments, but mine quite often throws himself into the small area of high flow that the HOB puts out near the surface in the 20G long that he is the sole inhabitant of, and seems almost to play with it, going back into it and swimming as hard as he can. perhaps it is his treadmill. :p:
Marinemom
05-22-2007, 9:36 AM
I have a few betta setups in smallish 2.5 gallon tanks that I keep very clean for my betta friends. I also have filters running on these tanks. I can't stand the idea of no filter for any fish especially one as beautiful as the betta. I do not understand how anyone can do the no filter thing to a fish and expect them to live and be beautiful. I do not have heaters in the small tanks because they are kept in a part of the house that is generally very warm and keeps the temps. in these small tanks at 79-80 degrees. I also have live plants in with them such as java moss which they happen to love. I also have a ten gallon tank that is fully planted and filtered with two hob filters and heated. This particular betta is living with a bristlenose pleco and a few brilliant rasboras. Everyone seems happy and content and gets along well. I guess it just depends on the particular betta and his personality as to weather or not he will get along with other fish for tankmates. As far as the current or flow of water in the tank is concerned, mine do fine with quite a bit of flow and current. Once they get used to it and build up thier strength to it, I generally find they do very well in this type of setup.
Marinemom
So it sounds like some localized water current in the tank is fine and probably beneficial as long they can go off and get away from it. That makes sense.
Thanks for the advice everyone. :)
It's amazing how the accepted wisdom regarding some fish and advice you get from various sources sometimes can be so wrong. Gotta wonder how many Bettas are wasting away in tiny bowls. :(
Aries
05-22-2007, 10:37 AM
Basically the moral of the story is there are many options to a suitable environment. A lot depends on your betta as they are varied in personality and likes.
I do have bettas that like to swim in the hob current. I have some that have avoided it at all costs, and thus caused stress (poor guys). You have to pay attention to your fish and how the react to certain situations. There is no rule - just options.
However, I think we all can agree that leaving them in that cup is no good - let my bettas run (umm...swim) free!
There will always be current if you are filtering your tank in fw.
While a lot bettas are not wild caught, some still are (not really the ones from walmart which come from farms but the better LFS will import wild caught bettas).
I believe one should raise bettas according to how they are supposed to live - as I beleive it is not something they forget as it is sort of like instincts. But that is my opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt.
SHow us some pics when you have it up and running.
Aries
melissa3
05-22-2007, 11:38 AM
It's amazing how the accepted wisdom regarding some fish and advice you get from various sources sometimes can be so wrong. Gotta wonder how many Bettas are wasting away in tiny bowls. :(
Hmm, if you ask me I'd say there's too many!!!:rant2: :mad2:
"Betta Bowls" is a marketing ploy that works very well, becuase there are caring people like us that feel bad for the Bettas and buy them up.....Last night at the store where I bought my Betta, there were 3 dead ones and most were on their way out. I wish I could've bought them all, but then again, why should I help that store profit? :mad:
I wish I could've bought them all, but then again, why should I help that store profit?Yea, that is the conundrum. On one hand you want to save the fish from it's misery, but on the other hand you don't want to reward the store's bad behavior. Someone somewhere is going to look at the balance sheet and say "Hey, those fish in a cup things sell pretty well. Let's stock some more". :rolleyes: