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 Posted 3/10/2007 12:46:40 PM |
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New Member
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| I may be getting a pair of bettas on Monday (one of my husband's co-workers is trying to rehome them and my husband said we would take them.) I need some advice as I've never kept bettas before though. All I know is this: it's a 10 gallon set up with a hood and gravel. There is 1 male and 1 female and the owner said there has to be a lot of plants in there or the male will kill the female. I have a spare 25 watt heater I could put in there and I can buy a filter. Is there anything else I should get? What type of filter? I know that bettas don't like a lot of current...would a sponge filter be best? Also can anyone give me any tips in general on betta keeping?
I'm a little concerned as I don't know a lot about bettas. Normally I don't like to do things so short-notice (I like to research first) but the owner needs to get rid of them ASAP and might resort to "dumping" them. And I was hoping to get a betta somewhere down the road, so this is a good opportunity for me, not to mention saving the fish. Also, I have no idea about their water conditions or even how long the owner has had them. I'm currently fishless cycling my 29 gallon now so I don't have anything (cycled-tank-wise) to fall back on if necessary. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks! :)
*Erika* 29 gallon - fishless cycling
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| Posted 3/10/2007 1:00:11 PM |
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A ten gallon tank is perfect for bettas. If the pair has been living together for awhile, they should be fine and not need plants to keep from killing each other. In fact, if either one was intent on hurting the other, plants wouldn't stop them. A male and female pair should be okay, but if you're worried about them hurting each other, they sell barriers for tanks, and you can just separate them.
Plants are good however, as bettas like to lie on them and plants are just better for tank health anyway. As far as filters, try and get one that doesn't create too much water movement. Bettas like still water. A heater is good, since they prefer warmer water. Sounds like you've got it under control.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - Little Bean
29 gallon
Fantail - Oliver
Black Moor - Damian
Calico Ryukin - Serafina
2.5 gallon
male betta - Pirate
10 gallon planted
minnow, betta, guppy
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| Posted 3/10/2007 1:38:21 PM |
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Like princessotfu said, if they have been living together without aggression, you shouldn't have to worry. If you'd like to, with a 10 gallon tank, you could even add 1 or 2 more female battas. A small AquaClear HOB filter would be good for this tank. They don't disturb the water too much. Also, if the tank doesn't already have one, a small cave or some type of hidey hole would be good. Most fish like to have a dark, secluded place to go when they want to. Let us know how it goes.
90 Gallon:1 gold severum, 2 green severums, 1 blood parrot, 4 clown loaches, 1 angel, 1 jack dempsey, 2 geophagus juraparis, 4 emerald corys, 4 sterbai corys, 1 hi-fin pleco (L108) 56 Gallon: 5 discus, 4 albino corys, 1 schwartz's cory, 5 green corys, 24 cardinal tetras, 20 rummy-nosed tetras, 2 kuhlii loaches 30 Gallon: 2 blue gouramies, 1 gold gouramie, 3 kissing gouramies
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| Posted 3/10/2007 9:29:51 PM |
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| I think just a power filter would be fine. Bettas need their own 'territory', whether or not they get along with each other. Definitely get plants (fake, live, whatever) or some sort of rock/decor where as they can call their own and hide/stay near when they wish. I advise against getting one or two more females only because the room is limited (plus you wouldn't know how they'd act, though I'm sure they'd be fine), and like noted before, each Betta needs its own 'area'. If you ever have the urge to to get one more female (or instead of Bettas, you could get a couple of Corydoras), sure, but I wouldn't do more than that.
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| Posted 3/12/2007 5:57:24 AM |
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Just because they have been together does not mean they will stay fine with each other. They may have been juveniles and when they hit sexual maturity, there could be issues. Or, if they have never bred, as soon as they do, the male will rip the female to shreds (this is how it usually goes with bettas). Or if he won't breed with her, she could become eggsbound. I do not believe in keeping male and female bettas together...I have seen too many posts here from people who thought it was going along fine, only to have one kill the other. I recommend separating them with a divider. The only way I have seen people truly successfully keep them, long term, is in a very large (like 55 gallon) tank, with just one male and many, many females. I have even heard of people keeping a few males in the same tank if it was a huge tank, but I do not recommend anyone trying this.
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| Posted 11/7/2007 5:03:28 PM |
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| priencess pretty much covered it all but just a tip: Bettas dont like currents because when breeding the male will build a large bubble on the waters surface. This is his bubble nest. The female will judge him on his nest so DON'T pop the bubble! The female will lay her eggs ungerneith the bubble and the male will fertilize the eggs. He will scoop the eggs up and put them in the bubble. If you think you have fry try looking at it from eye level or even better look at it from underneith the bubble; you will see your fry much better. I sugjest getting another tank (about 3-5 gallons) to protect your fry. And good luck!:D
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| Posted 11/8/2007 8:26:00 AM |
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| Usually one male to two females works best BUT if there is any sign they have bred then the females need to be removed. The extra female takes the pressure off if the male gets over amourous. Plants alone will not stop aggression. You can in fact prevent breeding simply by keeping the surface water disturbed destroying any nest the male might try to build. Gentle currents are ok for bettas, they cant handle power head current due to the finnage in some cases. I have had bettas play in power head current But they only had a moderate amount of finnage.If your planning to breed a mid tank divider can be used to tame surface currents but a sponge over the cannister output as well as the input works better.
"We are Starfleet officers, Weird is a part of the job" - Captain Janeway, USS Voyager
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| Posted 11/8/2007 8:55:41 AM |
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Hey guys...notice how old the original post is. ;)
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