This has nothing to do with morals but rather is a matter of practicality. Long flowing fins and tail can be all too easily snagged and ruined by clutter added to in a big tank and make swimming against a current created by a filter
thats why you use a sponge fillter mine is in a 5g tank with a spray bar that he swims againg and his fins have never had 1 rip in them and along as you get silk or live plants and smoth substance theres nothink for them to cut there fins on.
is still think 3g is the min to give it some room to actually move in and so that when you add a fillter and heater (which they need) there will still be enoght water volume and then you can add plant that will make it feel alot safer and happyer but you just cant do that in a 1g tank.
I do not think they
always need a filter or a heater. But again, I live in Miami and it never gets cold enough that I have to heat
any of my tanks. As for filtration, the plants that I add (usually Pothos sprigs) probably do a better job cleaning the water than most filters without the potential problems that a current could cause to the fins. All my tanks, with or without filtration, are planted in some way. While I did feed my betta generously, he also munched on the various microorganisms on the plant roots, small snails living in the bowl, and I would feed him live mosquitos and ants. Granted, I also prefer plakats, which are generally smaller fish and have shorter fins.
It is fine that you feel this way. If 3g is the minimum for
you to successfully meet the needs of your fish, than that is what you need. Others here will do equally well with a 1-2g unheated, unfiltered bowl. Still others, will do well with 5g and all the bells and whistles. It depends on what you want to do and there isn't a set method really. As long as you practice good husbandry and make sure the water is clean, you will be fine and the fish will thrive.
Back on the topic, yep, I was also going to say that 1.5-2g of water with gravel is going to weigh about 20lbs, give or take. That alone would discourage me from a wall-mounted aquarium. You could potentiall damage the dry-wall. Parents would get mad.
llj
yes but theres a diffrence between surviving and being healthy. garanteed my betta will live longer in a 5g tank anyone that keeps them in a 1g unheater unfilltered will.
Take a look at my signature. Four years old is pretty good. He only had one minor infection when he first moved to Miami from IL in 2006, otherwise, he was disease free. I don't know, you think he just survived at death's door for four years? I find that extremely hard to believe.
well you have been very lucky them because ive never heard a betta in a bowl that long with no fillter or heater so well done but i bet it would dtill have been healthyer if it was in a 5g with fillter and heater. how big actually was the tank?
Good husbandry and quality stock were the key, not blind luck. I do not purchase "rescue" bettas or petstore stock anymore. I purchased this fish from a friend here who had a suplus from her first spawn. The parents were quality stock from aquabid and she was working on developing a specific line. I received an F1 from her, which usually has a larger gene pool than if I received the result of a line development, so I already had a better fish to work with. It was also a smaller, short-finned plakat, which IMO, also explains its longevity. Less fins to haul around, and it was a young, more robust fish.
I really believe that adding the pothos sprigs eliminated the ammonia problem with regard to Alberich's care. I had tested the water in that bowl repeatedly, it
never tested positive for ammonia, even before his waterchanges, which were done 2x a week. The test wasn't broken, it was new. I tend to not get ammonia in any of my tanks, or if I do, an algae spike will betray minute levels before they are toxic to fish and then I do a water change. The plants consumed it too quickly. The bowl had a capacity of between 2 and 2.5g. Not a small bowl by any means. I also used a minimal substrate, just a few smooth river stones which I removed and cleaned with each wather change. He had quite a bit of swimming space.
Again, 4 years isn't typical. It is a long life, regardless of the method of care. I've also kept bettas with a heater and a filter in 10g tanks divided 2 ways, so I understand your side completely. They lived about a year, so go figure, and with no ammonia in the tanks because they were also planted. These fish, however, were pet store fish with long fins and I did not know their history. I plant all of my tanks because, for me, it is the natural thing to do. So I think the quality of the fish has a lot to do with its longevity and the addition of plants to the picture.
If I purchase a betta again, I will make sure to purchase quality stock and I will stick with plakats, which just seem stronger to me. Also, I will be adding the pothos sprigs to eliminate ammonia. I am confident that while I may or may not get a betta to thrive for 4 years, it will certainly enjoy a quality life and live out its natural lifespan. Do I recommend this to everyone, no? I have special circumstances (more fish-keeping experience, warm climate, etc) that makes this method particularly successful for me. Like I said, it is up to the reader to decide what method works for them, but it's not anyone's place to blast a particular method or assert that their's as the only one that guarantees success. Again, the reader needs to decide based on the information he/she receives.
/www.petco.com/product/12148/Red-Sea-Deco-Art-Nano-Filter.aspx
