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Beta Fish Battles Filter :( Anonymous
So I've got this red beta in a two-gallon filtered tank and several times a day he lets himself get wrapped around the filter. I try to turn the filter off at regular intervals so that he can rest without worrying about the current. When he gets himself wrapped around the filter, either he jerks himself loose or I turn off the filter and he swims away, but either way, his fins are being torn up (I can really see the damage now). I am loathe to leave the tank completely unfiltered, so I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help prevent this? Like is there a sponge that's safe enough to wrap around the filter or something without disturbing the suction of particles? Please, /an/, advise me on how to help my fish :(
>> Anonymous
A single beta does not need a filter, just change his water once in a while.

Filters are more for when you have a bunch of fish, hence more food and poop mess.
>> Anonymous
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I have a beta and I don't use a filter and hes just fine and happy ^^
>> Anonymous
>>50788
No, you are just cruel and let the poor fish dwell in a much too small bowl and his own feces.
Those fish are tough, but that does not mean they don't like a good environment.
>> Anonymous
>>50793
They live naturally in fucking rice paddies.

I'm not saying put them in a vase with a plant, that's fucked up, but they are fine in small aquariums if they are by themselves if you change the water.
>> Anonymous
Yeah I have three all in their own nice glass bowls I'll post a pic later
>>50788
Please give Bob a better home
>> Anonymous
I will turn off the filter for his health.

He actually seems to have a lot of fun with the filter XD And by filter, I mean the current it creates. He'll fuck around up where the water comes out, like doing crazy flips and stuff with the crazy water movement. He's very active, especially for a beta. I wish I had room for a bigger tank :( he's always testing the boundaries. He doesn't need it but I think he would like it.
>> Anonymous
I have a filter in my betta tank. But It's a filter made for that size tank and the air pump I got for it isn't super powerful so it won't create a huge current in their water.

My tank is 2.5 gallons and I have a male and female betta in there and it's divided obviously.
>> Anonymous
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lmao.....*rolls eyes* who knew ppl would freak out over him living with a plant he loves his plant thank u very much and i clean his friggen water like every few weeks hes happy u mean /b/tards yeesh when i shake his food he comes to the top and feeds and he likes his plant he hides in the roots XP so stfu ive been told he lives off eating off the roots but I still feed him cuz he likes his fishy food and how did u know his name was bob?
>> Anonymous
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oh and one more thing those bowls they are put in at the pet store and the tanks that are divided are like 3 times smaller then his bowl so shut up before u know everything....anyways the pic sucks its to blurry....XP
>> Anonymous
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This is now a beta fish thread!

This is one of mine, I call him Pluto.

And hmm...about your filter...maybe you can add like chicken wire to keep him from gettin sucked up.
>> Anonymous
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And heres my other one.....I called him Black Beard...you can see why :D
>> Anonymous
I have two 2-2.5 gallon tanks and I do not use filters, just change the water once a week and they'll be fine. Filters tend to stress them out in smaller tanks, and the pull is usually too strong for them and they just get stuck to it.
>> Anonymous
Even with a good filter you need to change water once every two weeks at least.
Imagine what soup the fish is swimming in your bowl.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
It says bob in the file name
And yeah those bowls the fish are kept in at the store are just small cheap ones Everyone (should) transfer the fish into a larger container after bought

This picture is really poor but it shows all three - The plants look large but they're just a bit magnified I know the two on the end really like their plants - they sleep in them I'm still watching the first one - he's new but I think he likes it too
All of you have really nice colored ones
>> Anonymous
On the subject of betas...

I have a nice 10 gallon tank with a good filter. I've read that beta fish get along pretty well with other fish, it's just other betas they have trouble with.

Would it be safe to put a new beta in a 10-gallon tank with a 2" feeder fish? I just don't want to put them together and walk in to find one of them ripped apart.
>> Voleta
>>50907

That is a pretty nice environment for them. Very pleasing to the eye as well. I really like it when people who have 'decorative' pets actually take care of them. My only suggestion would be to put a screen or somesuch over the top to keep them from jumping out if there is a bug. When I was little, I had one that I kept on the windowsill in the summer, and I could not figue out why he kept jumping out, and it wasn't until I watched him follow a lizard on the windowscreen and then leap out of the water at it that I figured it.

Because beta are air-breathers, they need lots of water surface. A wide, shallow bowl is much better than a deep vase.

It is terrible to keep a beta in a vase with a lilly. There is not enough air, they are carnivorous fish, and do NOT eat the plant roots (the most common plant in with them in this kind of setup is known as a peace lilly- not even native to the same area as them). They should always have their water changed when it begins to become murky (Because they are labrynth fish, they can live longer in dirty water, but its still not good for them).

If you want to keep him 'with his plant', be sure to feed him twice a day, keep the water level at about where it is in the picture (for max water surface), and change it frequently. Ideally, to keep the pair together, you should move them into a real fishtank, and use wire or a mesh plant floater to keep the plant up top. They will both be happier that way.
>> Voleta
Information about caring for your beta
http://www.epinions.com/pets-review-47AD-C4E1DDA-3A3A9467-prod1 (yes, its a review, but has a very good guide about beta care, and mentions the peace lily fad)
http://www.ask-the-vet.com/betta-fish-care.htm
http://care.betta-fish.com.ar/

>>50919

Is it a nice robust feeder fish, or is it a rosy red or another small thin fish? If its the latter, I would suggest aginst it, but if its an older, strong fish with good flat sides (There are generally two kinds of 'feeder' gold fish, rosy red and.. I actually dont know the name of the other kind. The kind you used to get a the fair when you were little. They grow MUCH bigger and have thicker scales). Two inches sounds a bit small to house with an adult male beta, but if you provide him with enough food, its possible they will get along fine. Try putting a divider in the tank and see how they react to eachother through it, or provide the little fish with a way to hide (a chicken-wire screen around a small plant, maybe?).

To the OP: In a nice size tank, he really doesnt need the filter. You could use it kinda as a treat or enrichment.. Every now and then turn it on and let him play in the stream.
>> Anonymous
never turn the filter off for more than an hour or so, the filter is stuffed with bacteria and if you keep it turned of for a long time the bacteria will die from a lack of oxygen. when you turn it back on you will flush out all the dead bacteria into the water.

get one of those filters where you can regulate the water flow
>> Anonymous
bettas' fins are too big to let it navigate strong currents. the flips and stuff you describe are actually him being pused around like a sailboat in a storm.
>> Anonymous
My friend had a problem like this when her mother instaled a new filter in the tank with her betas. (one got... liquified)
She transfered her betas to a larger tank and put in a screen that cut them off from entering the end of the tank with the filter.