# Better Bettas By Musho3210



## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

Better Bettas part 1, Humanity, be humane



Well i was recommended to make an article/informative post about the betta, and i thought it would be a great idea.

Well this is my guide to better bettas. Although beautiful fish many people cease to see there beauty since they seem so inactive in those small little jars on the shelfs of pet stores, they fail to see activity and pet-like behavior. Well there is only one thing to blame for that, those small jars. Take into consideration that you can move or swim much in a jar that is the size of you +1 centimeter. Well a great way to combat this is to get them a bigger tank! But what is bigger you might ask? Those 1/2 gallon bowls. Sure it may survive a year or two in those and many lfs sell them, but there is a humongous difference between *surviving* and *thriving*. There is almost no way a betta will *thrive* in a bowl that small unless for some strange reason it likes small space. Also take into consideration that they grow to about 3 inches and if it is a male betta, there will also be the long fins to measure. So really, a 6 inch wide bowl wont give the male much stretching room to bring its fins out, let alone swim happily. The absolute minimum is 5 gallons, and this is praised by many fish keepers here on this forum and other websites. But i think the all time best tank is the 10 gallon (of course more is better) since the 10 gallon with only 1 betta in it will have a very very small bioload meaning you dont need any strong filter, without having a strong filter you wont have high water turbulence, no high water turbulence means happy betta, plus the fact that big tank = happy betta as well. Also one thing to make sure is that the tank is long, not tall as bettas dont like tall tanks and plus there isnt that much room to swim/breathe from surface. Stick with long tanks.

Filtration: There are 2 things to chose from, no filtration and extra work for you and possibly unhappy betta, or good filtration with less work and happy betta. Well I and im sure many other people will chose the filtration path. This is easy, with a small bio-load of 1 betta in a tank you dont need any fancy canister and underfiltration may be adequate. With our chosen 10 gallon tank, maybe go with a low turbulence sponge filter or use an internal filter rated for 5 gallons and make the outake pointed to the wall to create the least current possible. Betta's dont like large currents since they live in stagnant rice paddies which barely has any water moving

Heater: Here is where many people make there mistake, a betta is a tropical fish that thrives in the upper 70's (78,79,80 degrees F) Unless the room temperature is at that then you will need a heater

Lighting: Anything, the betta doesnt care, its the plants that do 


Well in the middle of writing this i heard peoples comments on a betta post i made somewhere else. I feel like (ahem) attacking (ahem) them for there completely inaccurate posts. Ive seen tons and tons of people say if they live in tanks larger than 5 gallons they will die since in the wild they live in puddles. Well take this in consideration those uneducated people (which i hope you guys arent ) bettas live in puddles yes but do you actually know how big those puddles are? Well shallow, very shallow but incredibly long, some rice paddies go for a mile long. Thats a lot of water for bettas, its not the volume of the tank that matters, its the depth. Bettas love long tanks but hate tall tanks. I literally feel like crying after reading those posts. To me the betta is the most uncared for fish in the trade, closely followed by the goldfish. This post and my betta vase post are ways that i am trying to create to give better homes for bettas. Please take into consideration about what i have said. Thank you for reading this. 

Please, dont take this the wrong way if you have a small tank, i am not insulting you, i am insulting people who refuse to change. If you have read this and want to give a better home for your betta, you are great and i am happy for that. If you have read this and refused to change and think every thing i have said here is wrong, then i hope your betta gets another owner since that is a terrible thing to do.

On the more cheerful side, if you provide your betta with a tank with a heater and a filter that is nice and long and not short, then you are a very very humane person and deserve a medal. Be on the lookout for more betta posts/articles i make since i really do feel bad for them. Happy fish keeping everyone 

After i do some more research i will post an article or maybe just extend this one about the care of the betta. This post was just to try and give them humane homes.


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## GalaxyGirl (Feb 1, 2007)

*raises hand* im changing! I agree with your article, while bettas can thrive in small bowls (I have mine in a 1 gallon currently) its not ideal for them. As soon as I find the funds to get another tank and stand bettas are moving into a 10 gallon split, not huge but once I go off to college one will get the 20 and one will get the 10.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

thank you  its nice to know that someone agrees with me. Why not get a 20 gallon long tank and add a divider on it, therefor you have 2 10 gallon tanks in one and you can fit 2 bettas in there  Even better is that if you make it planted, you can get a clear divider and if they see each other they flare, if there scared they swim away and hide in the plants. Its a safer less stressful way to naturally make them flare.


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

Some sites for Betta facts:

http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettas.htm
http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/betta.html
http://www.bettatalk.com/housing.htm
http://www.healthybetta.com/Care/page1-general.htm


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

i agree for the most part, and excellent post btw. the only thing i disagree with is:



> On the more cheerful side, if you provide your betta with a tank with a heater and a filter that is nice and long and not short, then you are a very very humane person and deserve a medal.


surely simpy caring for your betta does not deserve a medal. caring for animals of any sort that you bring into your home, they did not ask to be brought into your home, is just the normal thing to do. its not anything exceptional. its along the same lines as when you see folk on chat shows saying "but i pay my child support!" and everyone stands up and applauds, where they should be doing that anyway without the need to receive praise for it.

i totally get what youre saying thoguh. i just think its sad that for certain fish, bettas and goldfish mainly, people think that by providing proper care is something outstanding that they have done whereas it should be regarded as just the normal, every day thing to do.


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