# Betta Fish



## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

So I just have to go on this rant because even on here I've seen people with great rat setups and in the corner you see a tiny bowl with a sad looking betta in it. 


People need to realize that the minimum care for a betta should be 2.5 gallons and a heater with covering. They don't need a running filter and sponge filters are actually the best out there. 

Also YES they can live in a tiny bowl and yes some have lived 2 plus years. Dogs can live on a tree chained to the backyard and never socialized, does that mean its ok? A rat can live in a tank with other rats piled on top of each other, does that mean its the best care for them? Do they look happy? No, but hey at least they can live for a little while like that. 
So if you're going to say that your betta has been 'happy' in a tiny 0.5 gallon container with no plants, no hiding, no place to rest properly and no heat. Please don't because that'll only prove my point. 

Bettas live in rice patties which are ACRES long and wide. No animal can physically survive in a mud puddle. Yes the have a labryth organ that allows them to breath are but that's due to the lack of sufficient oxygen in their environment. So they've evolved. Yes they will hop out of the water to flip to another part of the waters but that does not mean that they can live in just any environment. Research saves lives


But really bettas deserve more than 5 gallons and a 10-20 long gallon is the best and idea and my boys and girls loved it! I still wish I could have had an even bigger tank for them but college wouldn't let me :/ (and transporting the 20 long was hard enough on top of my 10 gallon). 


Also cycling a tank takes 4-6 weeks, anything 'instant' is just a marketing tool and is a poor cycle. Pure ammonia is the best way to do so and fishless cycles should be the ONLY cycling done. Which is more personal BUT do you really want to subject any fish to ammonia poisoning?!?!? That's cruel! 



AND I hate when people don't think fish have any sense of pain or feelings. First off all life feels pain including plants, they react by sending out chemicals (the smell of cut grass). Now I'm not saying don't hurt the plants (if you can help it don't because we need as many in the environment as we can get so don't just cut a tree down because you feel like it) but I'm making the point that living breathing creatures have a sense of pain and yes that means ants too. But anywho all my bettas and all the betta's I have met had their own unique personality and were so fun to interact with. They get so easily bored and they need stimulation just like we and every animal needs! 


But anywho bottom line no animal belongs in a tiny bowl, please do your research and don't listen to your petstore worker for the majority of things (unless of course they actually know what they're doing). They sell those tiny containers because they cost more than a plain 10 gallon tank.


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## QueenBea (Feb 12, 2015)

I brought this topic up with my friend because she has a betta in a tiny bowl with no heater/filter.
and she said "oh well my last one lived a year so."

a year

1 year.

bettas can live so much longer than that. her other ones died in less than a year and one of them died in 2 months.

ugh. Her ferret is also in a tiny cage half the size 1 ferret should have, and she used to have 4 ferrets. the other 3 died in 2 years.

I'm so angry... now she wants a guinea pig... yea you heard that right. 1 guinea pig. not pairs.


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

The best betta setup I had was one of those mini bowfront plastic tanks with a light, internal filter (tiny power filter) live plants and flourite sand. I tried bettas in larger tanks, bettas in peaceful community tanks, etc. and had bad results. The larger tanks required higher filtration which was too much for their long fins, I found they didn't use the whole tank, just a tiny top corner away from the filtration. When in the 2 gl. bowfront however, they used the whole space and the light even provided enough heat for the tank to be at the proper temperature. 

Bettas are great fish, but often mistreated, as you said. Some ar also not very healthy when you buy them, so you have to be careful. Every female I ever tried to keep (including a girls' sorority tank with multiple ones and loads of plants) ended up becoming egg bound within 3 months or so and dying despite attempts at treatment. 

The best thing you can do is to lurk around the fish section at pet stores and kindly strike up conversations with people who are shopping. Inform them in a nice way about fish (or how YOU keep your bettas and how well they do) and hope that it makes a difference. I used to be an admin on an aquatics forum (fishgeeks) nad we ran into this all the time. People just aren't informed and believe that the employees know what they are talking about (just as you would expect people in an electronics store to know about electronics, etc.). Usually they don't mistreat the fish on purpose.


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## heckhund (Feb 16, 2015)

I used to have a betta in a community tank. It was great! He lived for at least 3 years in there. Never once did anyone attack each other.They are the best fish. Each one had its own little personality. I have been hoping to get a 10-20 gallon tank to divide up so I can get some again.


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## Smarion0006 (Nov 13, 2014)

I know exactly what you mean. It is sad that their care isn't a priority. I , as sad as I am to say it, was one of those people. Not because I didn't care, but because I wasn't educated enough to have betta fish. I have one now after learning proper care. My pumpkin is in a 3 gallon tank with a heater, a small filter ( doesn't push him every which way & he actually likes it!) moss balls to help filter the water, plants, and he gets two different types of food to make sure he gets enough good stuff. He also gets sunlight during the day ( not direct sunlight, but REAL sunlight.) It has made such a difference! My little guy is super happy looking. I only wish I would have known better before.


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## erinsweeney (Nov 13, 2014)

I know this feeling too. As a child I purchased a small frog, it was a "feeder" frog for bait as fishing. The pet shop said he'd live a few weeks, I had him for six years. Animals are amazing creatures and if given proper care they will suprise us.


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## OutOfHowMany (Dec 24, 2012)

Betta stuff is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves when it comes to the pet store I work at (I promise not all of us are evil or dumb  Though pet retail is definitely not a beautiful business most of the time, at least the employees at my store focus very hard on animal care and health, in the store and beyond...). Everyone I work with is really adamant on making sure people are well informed on the proper size tank and the looks you get when a customer says 'I have no idea what's wrong! My last betta lived six months, why are all of the ones I'm buying dying?' and you ask them what sort of tank they're in, they respond with 'just a little gallon bowl (or less) and nothing else', 'well that's why, here's what we can do to help...' are just off the charts. People don't like to be told they need to put in more effort... It seems often customers consistently try to take bettas because they think they are low maintenance fish that are cheap to keep ("just a bowl and some gravel-- conditioner?? What?? Nahhh"), and when we try to explain that's really not necessarily the case and there are other things you need to keep a betta happy and healthy (we even have a handy care sheet that actually lists 3 gallons as a minimum size tank) they just block us out or wave us off as not knowing what we're saying (because they had a fish who lived a year in a .5 gallon bowl or a vase what have you, and that's wonderful right? blaaaahahrghgh.)

It feels really awful to have to sell a fish to someone you know won't take proper care of it.... However the amount of people who do listen and put in the effort and research and ask questions are always refreshing. I think I've seen more bettas at my store go to happy, good homes than awful ones. 

*tl;dr *I agree!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Please keep an eye on thread dates before responding to a thread and avoid bumping threads more than a few weeks old.


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