bettas and current..

[RacerFish]

Hi again,
You won't believe this, but I bought a perfectly working 5 gallon eclipse system for $5 at the THRIFTY STORE, you should shop there you don't know what kind of deals your going to get, especially for things like this. Well heres my question, I read an article that bettas don't like rough water or current because in there natural habitat they live in calm waters ...if so, is my 5 gallon eclipse system ok for bettas? from my observation though the current does'nt seem very rough, wavy (whatever you call it) ALSO WILL THEY NEED a HEATER? if so what should the TEMP be?  ok..so give me your fishy wisdom about this, thanks again...

RacerFish-

 

[colesea]

No your filter should not bother your betta.

As long as the temps are stable you should not need a heater.

~~Colesea

 

[RacerFish]

wow, very fast reply colesea...  ;D thanks..you seem very knowledgeble about this hobby...can you tell me why they are ok with a filter...and can i also put an air stone in there? ok thanks for that quick reply

 

[FishChick]

The only thing I have read about eclipse systems is male betta getting sucked up to the in take.  I don't think that should be a problem, colesea is right it should be fine.  If your worried about that you can put some decorations by it. It would be differnet if you had a betta in a 5 gallon tank with a filter on it ment for a 200 gallon tank.  The filters on the eclipse systems are ment for the size tank they are on and the size fish that may be in them.  

 

[equinom]

I have read several places that bettas like warm water.  The Freshwater Profiles page here on MyFishTank says that bettas "need plenty of heat".  
So now I am thoroughly confused...  

 

[ChazECJr]

I think I have read many of the same things you have read, and had similar concerns.  There is a thread here called Betta in Filtered Tank, check it out, no one here seemed to have a problem.

I now have a betta in an Eclipse Explorer and he seems just fine.  His tail has not got stuck in the intake, he does not seem stressed by the current, his fins are not torn (even though I have a plastic plant, another "no-no"!).  I also read that the Eclipse systems stay above room temp without a heater and mine, in fact, stays very warm.  I think it is the heat from the filter system's pump that warms the water, so I don't need a heater, you may not either.

You don't need an airstone, the water movement on the surface will oxygenate the water just fine.

BTW where do you live?  I don't think we have a "Thrify Store", wish I did!

 

[colesea]

Lots of people get the idea that bettas and filters don't get along because they, like FishChick stated, put a betta in a tank with a filter that is too powerful for that volume of water. Due to their large amount of finnage, bettas are slow, weak, swimmers (as compated to say a neon, which is another fish commonly sucked into filters) that cannot swim against a powerful current.

Also, a sick betta that is weak will also tend to get sucked to even an appropriate sized filter because it is ill and has no strength to swim away. When people purchase bettas from LFS that may not be taking proper care of the fish, then the fish are ill to begin with, and in the hands of a novice, they don't recover properly.

Wild bettas are from stagnate, sluggishly moving water in their natural environment. Some people feel that even though the petshop betta they purchased that has come from at least 3000 years of domesticated lines should be placed in a natural environment as possible, and thus feel a stagnate, still bowl is the best. Unfortunately while the information is correct, one has to remember that these bettas we buy today are as domesticated as our dogs, and you wouldn't keep a wolf pack in suburbia would you?  Most bettas are bred and raised in filtered environments, and thus as long as they are in good health, can stay in filtered environments.

The only time filtration such as HOB and powerheads may be bad is during breeding. The male needs a still surface on which to construct his bubble nest. Agitated, moving water will break and destroy the bubble nest. But you can still keep a breeding, fry raising male in a filtered environment. Simply put a sponge on the filter to dampen the flow of water so that it doesn't distrub the nest.

Thus far I have had my two personal bettas in a variety of filtered environments, and they've done fine. My blue male lives in a 2 gallon UGF hex and has been there at least a year. My purple male lives in a Marineland System Six and has been there for at least 8mo now. Neither of them are worst for wear, and the purple male's tail is even healing to be a nice vail-tail. What I thought were rips and tears in my blue male turn out that he might actually be an imperfect crowntail.
~~Colesea

 

[RacerFish]

hi again,
wow thanks for all the love! well, ok colesea and others.. II'm really confused with all the conflicting articles and general information about aquaria in general, I'm really reading heavily about this stuff, and there so many different info that is different from site to site and even book to book....You don't know what to believe anymore about this hobby. Just recently I read a post about discus shouldnt be with other aquariam fish and another post saying its ok to  be with other aquariam fish...so I really don't no what to believe. I think this hobby has differing opinions about alot of things. but anyway thanks for all the advice about this.

ChazECJr: I live in Seattle and there are alot of good thrift stores here like Goodwill. Just today, I bought a ten gallon tank with a hood, air pump and a heater for $4!!!, drop dead deals....people just throwing away junk.. and if I might even be able to find a bigger tank then this, if i keep going everyday because every other day ..there something new like fish tanks, dog cages, and bird cages...so a piece of advice before going to a regular store like petsmart, etc where its very expensive, I would start shopping at a thriftstore to see if they have pet equipment because you can save 100's of dollars on equipment itself.. hehehehe I hope i find something tommrow.. I'm sooo excited!

well thanks everyone for your two cents on my question.


-RacerFish

 

[colesea]

If you read my sig-line, then you will understand the way of the universe.

You have to follow whatever opinion/information feels right to you and works best in your situation.
~~Colesea

 

[equinom]

I know exactly what you mean racer - the conflicting information gets very irritating.  Mostly because you have the best intentions, want to do things right, and end up more confused than before you started checking things out.

What is finally working for me is to check around 4 -5 sources,
and go with the majority.  I use some reference books (atlas and basic how-to books), I check this board, and usually the krib.  Then I google on the topic - see what I get.  Then I try to apply a little common sense (doesn't always work) and go with the majority opinion.  

 

[koolkatzfish]

I have a betta in a 3 gallon eclipse (same size filter as 5 gallon), he is doing great.  My other betta is in my community tank with 2 penguin 125 biowheels.  
If you find your betta gets sucked up to the filter intake, take a sponge filter and cut a hole in it and put around it (I did this in my baby tank when I had 2 day old bristlenose fry).
Bettas can live in room temp but do better in warmer water.  They thrive at temps of 76-82 degrees and will be more active.  Mine built bubblenests with a eclipse filter.
Congrats on your find, those hexes just came out, and normally sell for 50 plus dollars!!!  Jealous!
In a five gallon tank you could even put a couple pygmy cories or oto cats or ghost shrimp for clean up.  Not that a betta wastes much food.  

 

[catfishmike]

bettas are my second favorite fish next to catfish(what a suprise)my experince with eclipse systiyms is that they run too hot for most fish.78+f. but bettas live at this temp and i have never hade a problem w/ a betta in a filterd tank