Is There Such Thing As Too Big Of A Tank?

[Aussie_Dog]

Okay, I don't have a fish yet, but I'm doing the research first and hopefully will bring home a tank in the next couple of months (already have my eye on one, lol). But here are a couple of questions I haven't seen posted here yet:

First, can a tank be too big? I'm intending on getting a 10 or 20 gal tank for a betta (with maybe some other little guys, not sure yet), and I know that's not too big for one fishy, but it got me thinking if a, say, 50gal tank could be too big for one little fishy (for example, a betta, lol). How about a 100gal? 500gal? Is there such a thing as too big of a tank? Would it warp the poor fishy's mind ("Halp! Halp! I'm lost!!"), or would he think of it as a treat, almost like being in the wild? I ask this question for no reason other than to quiet my little brain, lol

Another question I have is on fish nutrition. I'm a big-time cat and dog lover/owner, and animal nutrition is a big thing to me. I'm all for holistic, premium ingredients (no corn, by-products, fillers, etc.). You see the difference in the animal when you change him from a cruddy food to a top quality food. So I wonder, does the same apply to fish? If you feed him a top quality food, and someone else feeds a big-chain store food, would there be a difference in the two fishes physical and mental states? The pet food store I buy my stuff at sells fish food, which I only recently took a look at (part of my research, lol), and it got me thinking. It's got a hefty purchase price on it, versus the stuff at Walmart or Petsmart (all different brands, of course, with different ingredient lists), so I wonder if it'd be worth it to buy the better food. Or is there really no difference between the two (regarding how the fish respond to it, that is; the ingredient lists are definitely different, lol)

And heck, while I'm here, do bettas like those hidey-hole castle-type things? Last time I was at Petsmart, I saw the cutest little castles/shoes/bridges and I wonder if I can/need to buy one to satisfy my future fishy.



EDIT: forgot one more question, along the lines of nutrition. I know bettas are carnivores, but do they only eat fish meat? Or could you drop in a piece of, say, chicken or beef and they'd feast? It's just another question I've wondered, I'm not sure I'd actually do it (the thought of bacteria swimming in the water... *shiver*). If they can eat that kind of meat, what about raw meat? Does it have to be cooked, or can they eat it raw? (I figure that, being as it's raw meat, the bacteria content would be higher and could be more harmful in the water... But feel free to correct me). If you're wondering why I'm asking this, I feed my cats and dog a RAW meat diet, so I wonder if I'd be doing something stupid by dropping a teeny piece of raw chicken in the tank to see what the fish would do... lol

 

[cuticom]

My Betta has a 20g all to himself he loves it.

For Nutrition, my favourite brand will always be Hikari, I haven't found fish food without fillers yet, but Hikari has the best quality and you can really see the difference. Their Betta food is quite good, and I vary it with Hikari Cichlid Staple and a few other Hikari products to give him variety, as well as fresh stuff.

For meat, fish don't eat land animals, and I wouldn't advise feeding chiken, beef etc. A bit of fish might be okay, but also wouldn't advise it. Bettas live on insects, and you can catch your own (mosquito larvae, mosquitoes etc) buy frozen packs (frozen bloodworms, frozen brineshrimp etc) That bettas absolutely adore. If you prefer a fully fresh diet, you can feed veggies (peas, blanched zuchini etc) live insects, as well as bloodworms, brineshrimp etc, just be sure to keep it varied.

My Betta favourite "hidey hole" in his tank in one of those stupid Betta vases, it looks fantastic in his tank and he adores it, you can see him all the time whether or not he's in it and he looks to ahve great fun. Whatever decoration you choose, make sure it has no sharp edges, Bettas can tear there fins sooo easily, no plastic plants, unless there completely soft, though silk or real plants are preferred.

 

[SJ2K]

A tank too big? we have to remember these creatures have evolved and adapted to live in the wild, a wild lake/stream/rice field etc is a heck of alot more then even 500g so i wouldnt worry about too big, only thing is it'd be a waist of time and money for 1 small, innactive fish. As far as food is concerned, just keep it mixed and dont loose too much sleep over it, bloodworm/flakes/pellets/veggies are all good.

 

[Davo86]

Personally i think a tank can never be too big,

as for nutrition i can say this, a few months ago all of the employees in the aquatics department where i work, where sent to a conference which was being given on 'fish nutrition and care' We were told about a company that does R and D tests on all brands of fish food and water treatments etc. to see just how good they really are, we were shown graphs etc that showed how much nutrition was in particular foods and shown evidence that feeding fish some types of flake foods was similar to feeding a dog gravy, other tests showed qualities of dechlorinater etc. Obviously only the good brands and products were revealed to us. One of the brands that came up tops for most tests however where the tetra brand, It is also the brand that is now our main supplier.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Think everything has been coverd.

Bigger the tank the better but if you put a male betta in a 100g tank you would still have to be very careful putting another male betta in there with him.

With regards to food a good bet is to use a high quality complete flake food as their staple diet and every couple of days or so feed them something else (like live or frozen bloodworm, etc). I would also recommend the tetra bland flakes and have used them for years.

 

[Squidman]

nope there is not such thing as too big of a tank but the floor most be able to hold the tank and what it contains!