bettas need heaters and filters??

[aernympha]

i was wondering wether or not bettas could survive with no filter of heater because i have run out of socket in my room........ andi really want a betta!!! despite my mum not liking them i do. so whta doi do do water change twice a week and would stress out if the temp changed..............and would it die and wouldn't it really be nice envirment for it??? bit confused!!! if u can keep them in jars surley its better to be able to keep them in a fish bowl or small tank

 

[MAM]

umm, well, i have a filter in my betta tanks, its just the undergravel filter though. i do regular water changes once a week. i dont use a heater, though i may this winter, will have to see how cold the water gets at night (now that i've foudn small heaters at walmart). mine have been fine without a heater.

 

[glubglub]

adding a filter and a heater would be benificial to your betta but they will be fine at room temperature in your house (just not the coldest places in your home) and as long as you keep up with your 25% water changes once a week and dont over feed then the betta should be fine. They can live in very stagnent water conditions and dont mind standing water of a week.

 

[aernympha]

well winter is here in britain at the moment.......wait one sec i just had thought i will look at my coldwater tank and see the temperture of the fish tank in there........*runs upstairs into bedroom*..............bak (lol) well the tank upstairs is small and has a light and is 24 C so thats quite good really! but i think that cos of the light hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! well.... i want a house with 20 electric sockte in each room then i would have this probelem!!!! ohwell..... i dunno i don't want to make any betta suffer in a small tank......... ith no heater and filter...

 

[Alien Anna]

You can buy 8-gang electric extension cords in Argos for a few quid. You could also put a two-way airline gang on your air-pump and run two tanks off one.

 

[MAM]

a lot of people keep their bettas in a bowl with no filter or heater and have no problems. you just need to keep the water clean and keep an eye on the temperature (forget off the top of my head the temp bettas prefer). just keep it in a warmer room or check out the thread in the diy section about tank covers. i have a coworker with a betta basically in a bowl type environment, and other than the fact that her plant takes up half of the swimming space , the fish seems healthy and happy (i check on him every morning at work), and she does keep the water and gravel clean. if youre not comfortable with a filterless/heaterless tank, then just wait on the betta, get it when you have space in another room or something. (fish will tend to take over every room in your house if you let them )

 

[White Whale]

I have 3 bettas each in their own bowl. They're still alive. I feed them once every other day so the bowl doesn't get as dirty, their tummies can take a rest, and so they won't end up as fatties because they are not that active. The bowl is at room temperature (right now about 71-74F). As for filtering, I do a small water change midweek and a major water change on the weekend. I have to keep some of the old water to keep some of the beneficial bacteria. I also siphon out the waste as needed and add a shotglass of spring water to replace the water that was lost during the siphoning. If I can keep a betta for a week, then anybody can.

 

[Cali]

If I can keep a betta for a week, then anybody can.

I agree! I have killed many a Betta in the past (from ignorance), but now I know better.


I have 4 Bettas. Each in their own 1 gallon tanks. I do 100% water changes every weekend. Their water stays crystal clear! I use HBH H2O conditioner.

I feed them each 3 Hikari Bio Gold pellets in the A.M and 1 pellet each at night.

They have no filter nor heater. Just little plastic plants. I have the happiest Bettas in the world, I think. 2 girls and 2 boys: Pixie, Baby, Sampson and Maxwell.

 

[White Whale]

I feed them each 3 Hikari Bio Gold pellets in the A.M and 1 pellet each at night.

Do they really enjoy those pellets? All my guys were ever fed was frozen bloodworms.

 

[MAM]

the whole food issue varies by betta. two of my bettas will only eat the tiny betta bites (like top fin betta bits), but my other betta loves the hikari gold pellets (he's bigger than the other two, so maybe they jsut find the hikari too big to eat). i give them bloodworms twice a week or so as a treat, but really only the big guy likes them, he'll stalk them and then grab them, fun to watch. quite often, whatever the lfs you bought them at gave them is what they'll eat. its hit or miss,you just have to experiment a little

 

[Cali]

the whole food issue varies by betta. two of my bettas will only eat the tiny betta bites (like top fin betta bits), but my other betta loves the hikari gold pellets (he's bigger than the other two, so maybe they jsut find the hikari too big to eat). i give them bloodworms twice a week or so as a treat, but really only the big guy likes them, he'll stalk them and then grab them, fun to watch. quite often, whatever the lfs you bought them at gave them is what they'll eat. its hit or miss,you just have to experiment a little

True. That's how it is with my guys. Only 1 or 2 really like the bloodworms. The other 2 may or may not eat them.


At first, my red male (Sampson) would not eat the Hikari Bio Gold pellets because he was used to the other HBH food. So, a day or two with no food got him into the Bio Gold.

Now, he loves them! He attacks them, too.

 

[Alien Anna]

Well I have a betta in a 12 gallon tank with tetras and cherry barbs. It's filtered and heated and he's a very active, lively fish. He also eats practically everything in sight. Today he was swimming around the tank with a pea in his mouth, which he was trying to eat without his tank mates getting hold of it. Unfortunately, he's not the brightest fish in the bunch and couldn't work out that a pea was too big to swallow whole. So he kept dropping it everytime he took a bite.

When I compare the antics of my betta (and his predecessors) with the behaviour of other bettas in unheated, unheated bowls and small tanks, there is a distinct difference. Personally, I would only keep a betta in a heated, filtered tank from now onwards.

 

[White Whale]

i was wondering wether or not bettas could survive with no filter of heater because i have run out of socket in my room........ andi really want a betta!!! despite my mum not liking them i do. so whta doi do do water change twice a week and would stress out if the temp changed..............and would it die and wouldn't it really be nice envirment for it??? bit confused!!! if u can keep them in jars surley its better to be able to keep them in a fish bowl or small tank

Plus, if you keep your betta in a bowl (or non-filtered tank) with manual maintenance, you would not be subject to the will of a power outage. 8)

 

[Sondan]

I have not been having very good luck with my bettas that are in fish bowls. They don't seem to do near as well as my two best that are in ten gallon tanks. Here is a picture of my opaque. Please remember though that her tail fin is healing and it is about a half inch to maybe a 3/4 an inch longer. It is actually so long that it shimmers when he swims. I don't know about you but this is the kind of fish that I am talking about when I say a quality fish. (and this was one of the lesser ones !!!) Can you believe that?
Opaque1
Opaque2
Signed,
Sondan

 

[MAM]

Well I have a betta in a 12 gallon tank with tetras and cherry barbs.

aa, what types of tetras do you have in with the betta?