lazy betta

[JacopoFishy]

ideal temp for a siamese fighting fish?
mine's very lethargic.
trying to slowly move him into my main tank with a heater.
have heard that heated water will make them more energetic. fact? falsehood?
I adopted him when my friend went to college in florida.
according to her he has always been very dull, just sitting at the bottom of his bowl.

 

[clutterydrawer]

What temp is he at now?

My friend has her betta at about 25C. One day I unplugged the heater to show her something and FORGOT (!) to plug it back in again. For the 12-ish hours the heater was unplugged, the betta was definitely less active than usual.

 

[JacopoFishy]

I had him in an unheated bowl which presumably was at room temperature. Unfortunately, the room temperature in my room is most likely constantly changing. not good. I have a poor sense of temperature, so don't notice, but I bet he does.


Today I moved him into a smaller bowl, which is floating inside the heated water of my tank. The water in the bowl is a mixture of spring water, his old bowl's water, and some of the main tank's water. was that a dumb thing for me to do? )


The temperature in the tank is 75 degrees farenheidt. stupid american system of measurements. we need to switch to the metric already.....geez.

 

[Al Bundy]

I thought they were tropical fish? Maybe not, but I would have thought a siamese fighter should have heated water, filtration and lighting.

 

[clutterydrawer]

They should, ideally (although lighting isn't as essential). However many pople keep them in 1 gallon tanks or bowls which can work perfectly adequately given very frequent water changes, and a stable room temp. Some bettas even seem to prefer a smaller space to a larger one.

I would not persaonlly do this because my hosue gets very cold in winter. But I'm assured it does work for some people.

Jacopofishy, sounds like a good plan except for the posibility of him jumping out into the main tank which could cause problems depending on what fish you have...you could always just get him a small tank and heater if you're worried.

 

[JacopoFishy]

hehehhhee. you're exactly right al bundy. too bad it took me a while to come across that information. years of seeing them in ity bity cups in pet shops with nothing, I think most of us assume they just need a place to be with little more. I've been wanting to move him to my main tank for weeks, but then my fish got ICH, and I didn't want to expose him to it. that's what my other post is concerning. bleh. I'm full of questions. good thing you guys are full of answers.

[/QUOTE]Jacopofishy, sounds like a good plan except for the posibility of him jumping out into the main tank which could cause problems depending on what fish you have...you could always just get him a small tank and heater if you're worried.

think he would get along with my mollies?

 

[Al Bundy]

You'll do fine mate. B)

 

[bugsy66]

Hi, I keep my 3 male bettas at 78 degrees. They are happy, healthy and active. I have kept bettas in an unheated bowl/tank before and know exactly what you are talking about. They are very lifeless. I also noticed they tended to get fin rot more easily.

I have my three males in a 5 gal tank with divided sections with two sponge filters and a heater and a light, I have also added a few pieces of live java fern for them. They are just great in this setup and I have had no problems at all. I alternate them into different sections so they don't keep staring at the same male all the time. This has turned out great.

So if you have the room for a heater I would strongly recommend it as it makes a huge difference.

bugsy