10g Betta tank - pic

[Blinky]

I recently had someone at work (LFS weekend job) lodge a complaint with my manager for telling her that a Betta would do better in a 10g than the bowl she had planned on buying. Apparantly she did some 'research' and learned that 'because Bettas live in puddles in the wild they're most comfortable in a bowl' and thought I was lying to her so I could sell her something more expensive :rolleyes:.
I brought home a male and a female from work, gave them a 10g to themselves, and they look pretty darned happy to me :D

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a21/ACBlinky/10gNov25.jpg

[Beeker]

What a great picture. I keep my Betta in a 10 gallon tank too. When they have more room they really blossom. He loves having a larger territory to dominate. I keep him with 5 baby Platys. They get along great and love to tease eachother. It is a very entertaining tank.
Some people can be so dumb. I hope your manager didn't give you any trouble.

[you made me ink]

nice tank my betta (well its my moms) is in a little 1 gallon tank but mabey when i move my cichlids into the big tank i could put the betta in my ten gallon

[Roan Art]

I recently had someone at work (LFS weekend job) lodge a complaint with my manager for telling her that a Betta would do better in a 10g than the bowl she had planned on buying. Apparantly she did some 'research' and learned that 'because Bettas live in puddles in the wild they're most comfortable in a bowl' and thought I was lying to her so I could sell her something more expensive :rolleyes:.
I brought home a male and a female from work, gave them a 10g to themselves, and they look pretty darned happy to me :D
Bettas should not be kept in bowls and they do not live in puddles.

They live in large rice paddies that have slowly moving fresh river water irrigated into them. During the drought or dry season some of those paddies do dry up and only a few puddles are left, but that is a temporary condition. Their ability to survive in puddles until the rainy season recommences hasn't done them much good in the pet trade at all.

That's why they are so hardy. They are survivors that can live under very harsh conditions, but those conditions are usually temporary in nature. I'm sure there are some that are cut-off from the main paddy or the season doesn't get wet enough to restore them to a large body of water, or the environment changes and the paddies are no more, but they survive. Those are the ones who probably end up perpetuating the myth.

There are some Australian freshwater rainbow fish, Melanotaenia australis, that live in the Blackmore river. The river drains into to the sea and during the dry season, the river water drops and is blocked by a road that runs across it. Those rainbows that become stranded on the other side and in the tidal pools survive in 17ppt salinity. By the time the rainy season starts up again and the water becomes fresh, it's almost full marine.

Those fish are not brackish or marine fish, they are just very adaptable. But, like the betta, people see them in marine conditions and assume they are supposed to be kept that way.

Roan

[icebluezebra]

I have one betta in a 5 gallon tank and he is very happy and active compared to when he was in the little bowl they had him in i feel so sorry for those bettas in those tiny bowl i think it should be animal cruelty

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

One point often over looked is that the commonly kept B.Splendens is about 1000 generations out of the wild...Comparing B.Splendens to wild type bettas is like comparing apples to oranges...About the only thing they have in common is they both use their labyrinth organs.

[TKOS]

Nice tank picture. I would keep an eye on the two though as sometimes the males can harrass the females a bit much.

[RockabillyChick]

right now i have my betta in a 1.5 gallon bowl, but i think for christmas i might buy him, and me, a 5 gallon tank and some compatible friends, maybe some white clouds or something.

[Beeker]

By the way, that woman will either be back for a proper tank or a new fish because that Betta will most likely jump out.

[Blinky]

Thanks for the feedback guys :D

Roan - just to make it clear, I did know they don't actually live in puddles, I was just quoting what the customer said to us :)

Beeker - I wouldn't doubt it, but if it does jump I'm sure she'll try to somehow blame our store, she's just 'one of those customers'.
My manager thought she was a nut, it was actually funny. Her complaint got my back up, because I consider my prime duty at work to be looking after the welfare of the animals, but he just laughed, said 'don't worry, I have your back, she's insane'.

TKOS - I do definitely keep an eye on them. The female was in the tank a few weeks before the male, and I chose a small male that didn't seem overly agressive. So far they're doing well and actually seem to play together, but if he does become more feisty with time I'll get him another female or a couple little tetras to distract him :)

[Ms.Bubbles]

Blinky, your set up is almost exactly the same as what I'm hoping to create for my betta--can you tell me what kind of lighting you have over your 10 gallon...looks like your plants are growing nicely (they are real aren' they)?

Lucky betta!

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Blinky- The female must be removed...They may seem peaceful now but they can snap at the blink of an eye..Someone is going to be torn to shreds...Picture a "fish tornado"...it is that fast and results in severe damage...Take it from someone who knows...I could show you pics of what can happen to a "peaceful" pair.

[Blinky]

Ms.Bubbles - yep, they're real. I'm keeping Java fern, Java moss and Anubias in the tank, all are low light tolerant plants. I'm using an incandescent hood with two 15W screw-in spiral compact fluorescent lights. They're 6500K Philips 'daylight' bulbs from Home Depot, they work very well for FW plants :)

TheMightyQueenPixie - um... WOW, really? I know you're a breeder so I trust what you say. I had no idea - we keep some males in small tanks with females at work without incident but it's only been a few months. If I pick up a couple more females or some smaller fish to distract him would it make a difference? I really love this little girl and don't want to give her up, but there's just no place left in our house to set up another tank.

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

What you may be observing is young fish, or fish that are in no way conditioned to breed hence the "peacefulness"....
My avatar and his mate got along famously in the spawn tank...Spawned once before with barely a scratch..I returned them to the spawn tank a month later and stll, the mellow attitude..They ate together, swam together etc...After day 3, still no spawn, but no fights either...This is where I made the mistake. Instead of removing them like I should have, I became complacent and let my guard down...The female was starting to get antsy, full of eggs and wanting to breed...Doofus had yet to figure it out...A few nips a bit of chasing...A good sign actually...Then (by what I can only figure was shear desperating to drop her eggs) she got extrememly frustrated and litterally tore his fins almost completely off...His fins were actually shorter then the females...Every fin including his tail...It has take a month for them to become even marginally longer then the females...He looks like he has a brush cut...Luckily I was home and removed him to a quarantine for the next 2 weeks...It will probably be another month before I can even think about spawning him again...
Although I have no actual data, I have observed that aggression is more prevalent in the sexually mature females then the sexually mature males...Although the same age chronologically, I think the females mature at a faster rate then the boys...This is probably accurate up until 6 or 7 months of age, where the boys seem to catch up to the girls, switching roles thus making the females more submissive...

One quick option (although ugly) is to fashion a basket made out of plastic canvas...Make it higher then the water line and it works quite well...Be sure to put a top and bottom on it...It is durable and will keep everyone safe until you can make other arrangements...

Good luck :)

[you made me ink]

well i have a question for you Pixie would it be a possiblity for blinky to just get a tank divider i know it would kinda ruin his decor but he could always rearrange it and both fish would have plenty of room for themselves and still even be able to see each other and wouldnt be "bored"

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Yeah, tank dividers can work, but they must be good ones...Bettas can slip around the edges without alot of effort...Personally, Id just go get a 10 gal tank and a heater...That is a really pretty tank and it would be ruined with dividers... A bare 10 gal is DIRT cheap and so is a good 100 watt heater...You can add a plain glass top for peanuts and make a sponge filter for little or nothing if you want one...A small pump is also very cheap...
I have had to pass up many a fish in my time because of tank restrictions...It is a drag, but to house those two girls it should cost no more then 30 bucks...You could even get away with a 5 gal and a 50 watt heater with no problem. Just something to think about- :)

[lousybreed]

A penguin 170 in a ten gallon, do the bettas mind that much turnover in the tank?

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

I dont use penguin filters, so i couldnt tellyou...If you are concerned about water movement a small sponge filter is best for Bettas...