Filter

[Angelika]

I got my new 10 gallon tank up and running, and put the filter in, and put it to the lowest it can, and i wanted to know if it's normal for the fish to attack it? i mean, it really seems to stress him out and make him very mad, even as it was being put in he was flareing non stop and what looked to be running into it.

he really doesn't seem to like it, is there anything i can do?

and also, he seems to hang around his heater all the time now. everytime i go in and look for him, he is hiding behind his heater. which is quite close to the filter. i don't know if he is waiting to attack the filter again, or what, but i don' tknow if it's healthy for him to keep trying to sneak attack and kill the filter. is there any advice anyone can give, or any solution? any would be very helpful!!

 

[riogal_11]

The best thing I can figure is to fill the water up quite high so the current is barely existent. That's what I do with mine at least. Definitely not good that it bothers him that much, so I'd try to figure out something. Goodluck

 

[lljdma06]

Is there anything else in the tank, decorations, etc that could be used to distract him? I also fill my tanks quite high to lessen the current. Or try to put some plants to block the filter. I've never had that happen to me before, though I have had fish that like to ride the current, like a treadmill. Had a cory that would do it the same time everyday, like a morning jog or something, very funny.

 

[riogal_11]

I was told that when they did that riding into the current thing they were trying to get to cleaner water. I know my grandpa had a swordie that did that non stop and it died after a few days, but I have a mollie who does it and have had her for a while and it just seems like she likes to do it. So I don't know what truth there is to that clean water theory.

 

[flautist]

It really depends on the betta. I have my ten gallon divided into three sections, and tried all different combinations... took me 5 tries to find one that worked. I had to figure out who would be okay with the heater, who would be okay with the filter, who could be next to whom without trying to attack the divider... it was complicated, but I finally found a combo that worked.

Long story short, bettas are picky. If he doesn't like the filter, raising the water level to lower the current is a good idea. If that doesn't work, I would consider putting him in a small tank that doesn't have to be filtered, or even try a different filter. I had three filters before I found one that my bettas could tolerate. The one I got is a Duetto filter that is submersable and adjustable. It was a slight bit expensive, but well worth the money.

 

[lljdma06]

It really depends on the betta. I have my ten gallon divided into three sections, and tried all different combinations... took me 5 tries to find one that worked. I had to figure out who would be okay with the heater, who would be okay with the filter, who could be next to whom without trying to attack the divider... it was complicated, but I finally found a combo that worked.

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That's funny, my bettas are the same way, so picky!

 

[Angelika]

i will try the water level.

as for plants and things to keep him distracted: there is a big green leafy plant, a red and green leafy plant, a battle ship, his shell, and two flowery plants, i will take a photo of my tank as it is. i just hope that the changing water level will work, because i can't afford to buy a bunch of different filters to try them out. and i bought the 10 gallon for him so he can actually swim, and moving him back into his littl ebowl i think would be sad. i am going to see at the pet store tonight, if i can get more fish