Betta fish quesiton

[Elmolax]

Ekkk my female likes to go to one corner of her container with her mouth out of the water, body vertical. Is something wrong?\
My male does not do this, and the feamle stays up there for about an hourr at a time

 

[Scorpendra]

sounds like there's not enough oxygen in the water. what kind of aquariums are they in?

 

[Elmolax]

theyre in this thing called a "betta cube"

 

[TheDarkFinder]

How many gallons? Inorder not to induce the end of life cycle in bettas you need to provide more then 5 gallons and a strong current. Bettas live naturally in annual ponds that when tempature goes up, water gets smaller, and oxygen decreases; they mate and die.
In saying all that, in a 75 gallon fish tank bettas do have a tendency to fill their labyrinth lung. This helps them is buoyancy and exchange gases.
thedarkfinder

 

[Scorpendra]

as i thought. no matter what they say, those fancy little 2-gallon betta/goldfish enclosures are about the worst kind of aquarium. enough space for a 1.5-2 inch fish and an aquatic plant (if you're lucky) only keeps the tank healthy for so long. no matter how hardy the fish, airation, filtration and current is a must for the tank.

 

[TheDarkFinder]

as i thought. no matter what they say, those fancy little 2-gallon betta/goldfish enclosures are about the worst kind of aquarium.

Little death camps.


You need at least 5 gallons, but only with really strong filteration and water changes. 10 gallon with alot of plants. Add one male, four females, and you will very quickly be over populate with young pretties. They will live up to 5 years and produce atleast two bubble nests of eggs a year. I found the removal of the females helps in the survival of the babies. The males are such great dads.
thedarkfinder

 

[dtknow]

How many gallons? Inorder not to induce the end of life cycle in bettas you need to provide more then 5 gallons and a strong current. Bettas live naturally in annual ponds that when tempature goes up, water gets smaller, and oxygen decreases; they mate and die.
In saying all that, in a 75 gallon fish tank bettas do have a tendency to fill their labyrinth lung. This helps them is buoyancy and exchange gases.
thedarkfinder

That sounds more like the life cycle of annual killifish.

I would reccomend at least a 2 gallon aquarium. Most important would be to have it cycled or otherwise with lots of plants like java moss. Keep it warm too.

TheDarkFinder: you kept 1 male with 4 females in a ten gallon? Just curious but how well did this work? I would guess it would have to be very heavily planted to have the young survive and find enough food.

 

[Elmolax]

<EDIT> wow.
my little thing isnt even 1 gallon lol.
Eeek.
Dam pet stores need to <EDIT>

 

[Scorpendra]

sad thing is, most stores will hire anyone who knows how to scoop a guppy out of a tank, use a mop, or match a beta to a beta bowl.

 

[Scorpendra]

in fact, when i bought my precious lungfish, it had recently recovered from having it's tail bitten clean off by a godzilla-like pacu. even after several months, everything from the still-distinguishable bite area back looks pale and scarred. and my short tailed possum, with a missing claw and a huge chunk missing from her ear 'cause about 10 of them were together in one 10-gallon tank.

 

[TheDarkFinder]

That sounds more like the life cycle of annual killifish.

I would reccomend at least a 2 gallon aquarium. Most important would be to have it cycled or otherwise with lots of plants like java moss. Keep it warm too.

TheDarkFinder: you kept 1 male with 4 females in a ten gallon? Just curious but how well did this work? I would guess it would have to be very heavily planted to have the young survive and find enough food.

In pratice bettas have the same cycle as killifishs. They live in the same type of places; streams, swamps, and shallow water.
Alot of killifish are not annual but will if the pond dries up.
I do belive that most killifish are not annual. I know most african are not.

Yes and no. The ten gallon tank was a snail tank for fresh water puffers. It was planted with Hemianthus micranthemoides. The "home" for the male was a 75 gallon dutch aquarium. But, I found females and decided to breed. Four females where placed with the male. The females where removed after they mated. The male remained for the next three days, until the fry was getting tired of being spat back into the nest. The male was placed back into the 75 gallon. The females where placed into the 59 gallon. The fry grow really fast and within 5 months they where sold ot the local fish store.

Lessons learned:
1.) Get females that look like males. Don't mix colors, they blend to white.
2.)They can produce about 60 young. After about two months they start to make territories.
3.) in a large aquarium bettas are really cool. They make a territory, and just chase very thing way.
4.) Females will school and will be bullied by other fish.
5.) IMPORTANT Bettas are slow eaters. They can not complete for food. Feed twice. Once for the general fish and then a second time over the bettas territory.

Lastly, personaly, I would never keep the betta in anything but a large aquarium, I'm sorry I would not. They go into a commiuty tank really well. The biggest problem with a small tank is that you will need to recycle the water quickly enough to keep the water clear and fresh but not quick enough to stress the fish. Bettas hate current. I had the male betta for 4 years before he died. The females died with in a year.? I think it was the tanin in the water. The three that I kept from breeding lived in the three aquiriums, the 29 puffer tank, the 59 gallon amazon tank, and 75 dutch. They lived for almost 5 years. They all died within a month of each other.
thedarkfinder

 

[DarkRAM]

Lastly, personaly, I would never keep the betta in anything but a large aquarium, I'm sorry I would not. They go into a commiuty tank really well. The biggest problem with a small tank is that you will need to recycle the water quickly enough to keep the water clear and fresh but not quick enough to stress the fish. Bettas hate current. I had the male betta for 4 years before he died. The females died with in a year.? I think it was the tanin in the water. The three that I kept from breeding lived in the three aquiriums, the 29 puffer tank, the 59 gallon amazon tank, and 75 dutch. They lived for almost 5 years. They all died within a month of each other.
thedarkfinder

I would suggest being careful in the community tank. Bettas being slow swimmers are prime targets for fish like zebras and barbs that are fast and commonly nip fins.

I dont think tannin is harmful to bettas either. Since most betta keepers/breeders will use almond leaf extract which contains natural tannin. And bettas often live in brownish waters.

Bettas do just find in small tanks. Just be sure to change the water every few days. My method is to set a container of water aside to allow it to come to room temp and add a few drops of Novaqua to remove chlorine and anything else is harmful. This way you have some water prepared for the change and it will be less of a shock for the fish. A small pinch of aquarium salt doesnt hurt either.

Crossing colors of a male and female bettas does not always produce white offspring. Thats all dependent of the genes of the two.

If your going to keep a male with females, make sure there are plenty of hides for the females. The male may take to roughing them up. Specially if they attempt to spawn, in which case the male will certainly chase the female off from the bubble nest once they are done matting.

 

[Entropy]

Bettas are nothing like killiefish.
Believe me I bred them for five years. My females were kept in ten gallon tanks with light filtration and my males were kept in gallon tanks with weekly water changes. My males lived to between three and four and a half years and my females averaged four. Tanin doesn't bother them at all.
While I've never had a problem with my bettas in a community tank I generally house them in species only tanks. In my experience the girls weren't push overs and would hold their own with no problem. The males of course were more delicate due to those fins.

 

[Stefan-V]

as i thought. no matter what they say, those fancy little 2-gallon betta/goldfish enclosures are about the worst kind of aquarium. enough space for a 1.5-2 inch fish and an aquatic plant (if you're lucky) only keeps the tank healthy for so long. no matter how hardy the fish, airation, filtration and current is a must for the tank.

OmG!!
At a local petshop, they keep them in little plastic cups!! they have like 25 Bettas wo are kept like that. They can't even move.

 

[Scorpendra]

the sad truth is that many petstores don't give any about animals like bettas and inverts. in fact, my list of "good" pet stores is......1 and a half.