Question About Betta's And What A Lfs Manager Told Me.

[Trax416]

I have read a lot about Betta's but found this extremely strange when I asked a LFS manager about Betta's.

He said that putting two of them in a "Betta" Aquarium with a clear divider would be fine. The Aquarium is 2.5 gallons total so thats 1.25 gallons for each fish. He said they do best when they are in extremely shallow water and don't have large amounts of room. He also said they will enjoy puffing up at each other and it will make them extremely colorful.

I was wondering how much of that is true.

 

[Davo86]

They would probably be fine under those conditions provided the tank was well maintained, but it isn't something that i would do personally,
The more space and water a fish has then the easier it will be for you to maintain and ultimately the healthier the fish will be for it.

 

[stang1]

Bettas may be ok in that size tank but I agree with Davo, the more room the better. My fighters are in a divided tank and each section holds about 6 gallons of water. The dividers are frosted so they can't see each other as too much flaring can stress them out.
I have bogwood, plants and rock in the tank and they all have plenty of swimming space. The tank is filtered although the flow is very minimal as they prefer little or no current in the tank. As a result, I have 4 very healthy, happy fish that have never had any illness/disease or health problems.
I wouldn't personally keep a Betta in anything under 5 gallons although other people have done with no problems. It is all down to personal preference.

 

[catxx]

encouraging fish to pretty much flare all the time will stress it out, especially when the confines are so small and they can't get away from each other.
it can also mean they blow holes in their fins from flaring so much.

 

[CathyGo]

They flare a lot at first and then they kind of get used to each other and stop flaring. Anything over a gallon is fine for housing although bigger is better. The rest of what he said about them doing best in small containers is a common myth and complete garbage.

 

[Amunet]

I personally wouldn't house a betta in anything under 3 gallons permanantly.
Plus the larger the tank, the less you'll have to worry about water quality.
Also the larger the tank, the easier it is to find a good heater for it. Bigger is definitely better. Doesn't have to be HUGE... you could divide a 5 gallon, giving each betta 2.5gals each but still be able to heat and filter it w/ no problem.

As for the divider... I think a clear filter is ok, but so long as their side of the tank has plenty of plants (real or fake) and a cave or 2 for them to retreat to.
As has been mentioned, you can always get or make your own divider that isn't clear or is semi-transparent.

As for the shallow water... they do need to breath air every once in a while, but bettas are fine in a regular tank. Now I wouldn't put one in a tall tank +2feet tall b/c they aren't extremely strong swimmers, but a regular old 10gallon and such is ok.