Petco Finally Liberates Betta from Cups

[abcdefghi]

bettas make a wonderful community fish, as long as there isnt any other bettas

You should add though that it depends on the tank mates and the betta itself. I have a male in a 10G, he was living with 6 neon's, he ended up living with 2 neons before I figured out it was him killing the neons and I moved them to my 55G.

And as a point to it depending on the betta, the tank I moved the 2 neons into has a large angel. Anything you read will tell you not to put neons with angels as they will eat them, these neons are small, and have been fine living in there for a couple months now. I realize that might one day change, but it comes back to it depends on the attitude of the fish, not neccessarily its perceived level of aggresion.

 

[Lupin]

They keep them in small cups because they can breath air from the surface and they are found in small ponds so they figure that they will stay alive in 12oz. of water...
I figure they need a minimum of 3 to 5 gallons, but bigger is better is what the wife tells me. :huh:

...

Information is taken from Labyrinth Fish: The Bubble Nest Builders written by Horst Link and published by Tetra in 1991.

"In my opinion, the natural distribution range is very much smaller than had been supposed until now and is, in fact, restricted to central, western, and northern Thailand...Betta splendens lives in paddy fields and associated ditches, in marshes and flooded grass pits and in the klongs (canals) of the residential parts of towns and villages. At different times of the year, they may be very numerous."

A very important advice...
The view that fighting fish often live in mudholes and therefore can be kept in such conditions is not really tenable. The fish will exhibit their full finery in a well-established, balanced aquarium and it is only under such conditions that their keeper will be able to appreciate their beauty at its best

So the questions now are..
What exactly is a klong?
A picture is worth a hundred words.
Klong of Thailand

What paddy field are we talking anyway?
Is this really a mud puddle? Is it really small?

What is your conclusion on the whole?
Going to back to the above, I've shared to you my thoughts. Now to answer the question, What were those labyrinths for?, this doesn't mean all anabantids can live in mud puddles as previously suggested by several people but this means it allows them to survive in warm, shallow, slow moving waters with very low oxygen levels.

So like other fish, we should treat the bettas with great care. Efficient filter, heater, etc just like what other tropical fish deserve.


This site provides excellent information as well.
http://betta.tasarin.net/aquarium.php
An important thing to know when housing a Betta Splendens is that most metals are lethal, and never should metal decorations be used unless they are marked for this purpose. Copper is especially dangerous. Nonetheless, to keep an individual B. splendens, a minimum tank size of 3 U.S. gallons at least is recommended, if it will be kept in a warm room. Decorations can provide hiding places, especially important when two males are housed in a divided tank, or when the betta is living in a community tank. Every decoration must be free of rough areas or sharp points which can damage the delicate fins of the betta. For this reason, silk rather than plastic plants are recommended. Live plants will improve the water quality. Also, since the betta obtains oxygen from the air, the tank must not be covered with an air-tight lid and the betta must be able to easily reach the surface. (Note that some bettas enjoy leaping out of tanks, so a breathable lid is highly recommended.) If the betta has no access to air, it will suffocate.

In Canada and the United States, the Betta is sometimes sold in a vase with a plant, with the erroneous claim that the fish can feed on the roots of the plant and that it can survive without changing the water. This is dangerous for the betta in two ways. First, the betta has a labyrinth organ which allows it to take in oxygen from the surface air, similar to the human lung. If the betta can not reach the surface of the water, which can be the case if a plant's roots are covering the surface, the betta will suffocate in a matter of hours. Secondly, Betta species are carnivorous and an appropriate food must be provided, such as dry "betta pellets" or live or frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. However, most aquarium-bred specimens will accept dried flaked food suitable for tropical fish. When kept in a small container such as a vase, the fish need frequent water changes, and the container must be kept in a warm room. A larger tank with a heater will provide better living conditions. Wherever the fish is kept, water must be treated with an appropriate water conditioner before use.

There is a stereotype that in the wild, bettas live in tiny muddy pools, and therefore that it is acceptable to keep them in small tanks, but bowls are usually too small. In reality, bettas live in vast paddies, the puddle myth originating from the fact that during the dry season, the paddies can dry out into small patches of water. It is not a natural state of affairs by any means, and in the wild, fish trapped in such puddles are likely to die in a short period of time when they dry out.

To maximize the lifespan of the fish and ensure their well being, they should always be kept in appropriate sized tanks. As a rule of thumb, for each inch of fish there must be at least one gallon of water in its tank. Bettas idealy should be kept in a filtered tank 10 gallons or more and treated like any other freshwater tank fish. Although these conditions are ideal, with proper care and filtration a betta can be happily kept in a smaller tank. I, personally, keep my Betta in a tank holding 2 gallons of water and it is perfectly happy and healthy.

Other good links:
http://www.ikanpemburu.com/html/field/pontian.htm

http://www.ikanpemburu.com/html/field/Ayer_Hitam_last1.htm

http://www.ikanpemburu.com/html/field/Thailand2.htm

 

[Wycco]

I've never owned a Betta despite them being truly beautifull fish because I hate the conditions in which they are bred and raised. I may consider rescuing a female- because they rarely get sold... what happens to them all? Are they euthenised or sold as feeder fish?

Betta can be community fish- but I hope Petco are educating their staff enough to tell customers who are buying them as community fish who they CAN'T be housed with- there are quite a number of fish I wouldn't trust them with.

 

[Reframer]

Next time I go there I will ask the staff what fish Betta are ok with to see if they know. I did not see any tanks with inappropriate stock such as gourami, fancy guppies, or fin nippers. All of the bettas in tank looked really good. There were still four left in cups though. It must be corporate because another petco is doing it too.
I think Lupin makes a good point. However, we also keep fish that are from large lakes and oceans in various sized aquariums, so we can't obviously give them what nature intended for them. As he stated they need a decent sized tank with filter (or heavily planted tank) and heater. Anyone who has ever been to SE Asia know how dang hot it is all year, the fish are not meant to be kept at 70 degree temps long term.
Now, if we can just get the shops to quit carrying those stupid bowls.

 

[Death Pony]

I'm gonna have to go down to the local Pet Co to check this out.

 

[Hebily]

Hey! Those bowls are awesome! Like, for candy!

 

[engineer]

I may consider rescuing a female- because they rarely get sold... what happens to them all? Are they euthenised or sold as feeder fish?

Really? I used to keep more females than anything. It was hard to find them, so I bought every one I could. I had one of them to the point of breeding with one of my males, but they couldn't get along (he was in the mood, with bubble nest and all, but she wasn't into him despite the fact she was ready as well). She terribly shredded his fins, so I ended the date early before he got too badly harmed. Ha-ha!

I think females are more desirable than males (or it seems that way around here based on the number available). However, the females are just about as "mean" as the males are. They establish a definite pecking order very quickly with lots of skirmish fighting - not like fight to the death like the males, but still not friendly with each other at all. The pecking order shifts around anytime you add a new female to the harem too. It's more like they tolerate each other slightly instead of liking one another at all.

Just be sure you get a real female and not a short-finned male (plakat). Some of those are for sale out there too mixed in with the run-of-the-mill males, and some look an awful lot like females.

 

[CichlidWrangler]

You should add though that it depends on the tank mates and the betta itself. I have a male in a 10G, he was living with 6 neon's, he ended up living with 2 neons before I figured out it was him killing the neons and I moved them to my 55G.

And as a point to it depending on the betta, the tank I moved the 2 neons into has a large angel. Anything you read will tell you not to put neons with angels as they will eat them, these neons are small, and have been fine living in there for a couple months now. I realize that might one day change, but it comes back to it depends on the attitude of the fish, not neccessarily its perceived level of aggresion.

this is true... although i have had great luck myself

I have heard and seen particular bettas that didnt play well with others.. and did "prefer to live alone" lol

but I could say the same thing about some other fish as well

 

[CichlidWrangler]

Really? I used to keep more females than anything. It was hard to find them, so I bought every one I could. I had one of them to the point of breeding with one of my males, but they couldn't get along (he was in the mood, with bubble nest and all, but she wasn't into him despite the fact she was ready as well). She terribly shredded his fins, so I ended the date early before he got too badly harmed. Ha-ha!

I think females are more desirable than males (or it seems that way around here based on the number available). However, the females are just about as "mean" as the males are. They establish a definite pecking order very quickly with lots of skirmish fighting - not like fight to the death like the males, but still not friendly with each other at all. The pecking order shifts around anytime you add a new female to the harem too. It's more like they tolerate each other slightly instead of liking one another at all.

Just be sure you get a real female and not a short-finned male (plakat). Some of those are for sale out there too mixed in with the run-of-the-mill males, and some look an awful lot like females.

you experienced a once in a lifetime thing lol

99.9% of the time the male is the one that will do the shredding

 

[engineer]

Goodness, BFM, that's horrible about their not changing the shipping water. I would have said something. I can't seem to keep my tongue in check when I see pets of any kind being abused.

I've briefly had males in the same tank on either side of a plastic divider, and they seemed to get tired of flaring up and left each other alone after a while. Still, I surely wouldn't put them together to try to form a betta commune. The local PetLand store has a huge open-top planted tank, and they put all kinds of fish in there from time to time. I have seen multiple betta males in there, and they didn't seem to know each other existed. It could be because we're talking like a 120-gallon or so tank that was long and wide and not very tall that is HEAVILY planted. Half the fish probably never saw the other half. Ha-ha! Still that's not a risk I would be willing to take.