Whats Good Evidance Bettas Need Bigger Tanks?

[Ethos]

I have 3 bettas - 1 in a 5G tank, 1 in a 2.5G tank, and 1 in a 1.5G bowl. I was showing off my room today (crowded by 5 fish tanks plus 1 bowl) and tons of my friends ask why I wasted such large tank space (5G commenly refered to as a "large" tank *Chuckle*) to fish that usually live in little cups. And really, I couldn't give them a great answer. Obvious is just "room to streach." Someone around here use to say that bettas are more active in bigger tanks, and for a while it was true, but now my bettas, no matter what size tank they live in, just lounge around.

So is there some, like, great math equasion that equals out to prove what many of us argue for?
Thanks guys. And I'm not looking for silly answers like "Well how would you feel being locked up in a small container with your own waste?"

 

[Miss Wiggle]

fpr me the only proof is to go down to a really bad lfs and show them how ill and miserable the betta's in tiny cups look, then show them a happy healthy betta in a bigger tank. The difference has always seemed quite clear to me.

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

plus in a bigger tank it takes longer for the ammonia to reach high levels

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah i suppose there's always the larger body of water creates a more stable environment argument. If you have a little 0.5g bowl then it's gonna be pretty hard to filter so water quality's gonna deteriorate fast... whereas a 5g tank you can filter easily and cheaply so the water conditions would therefore be better.

 

[catxx]

all my bettas are in 5 to 8 gallons and are constantly active zooming back and forth. whenever i've kept mine in anything smaller they've got fidgety, anxious, and 2 started tail biting out of boredom.

and i agree with others, it's far easier to heat and maintain a larger tank.

 

[tank212]

All bettas are different some are lazy some are more active. The majority of my bettas are active but they are not pet store bettas. All petstore bettas I have owned are not very active for some reason. I have had bettas in 5 g,2g,1g,10g etc. I have yet to see a betta use the full tank they either do a little pace back and forth near the front of the tank when I am about to feed them or they are lounging on a plant. The ONLY time my bettas explore and swim around alot is when I first introduce them to a tank or I am about to spawn them. So In my opinion the size of the tank doesn't necessarily matter in alot of cases considering they're not cramped in something under a gallon.

 

[cutecotton]

and besides with a larger tank you can add other fish/creatures with the betta (ie. snails if the tank isn't filtered) or ghost shrimp if the tank is aerated. Gives more life to the tank and more variety. If you have a 5G that's filtered and heated and everythign you can add live plants which you can't in a little cup

 

[OohFeeshy]

Same as why you'd want to give a bigger tank to any fish. Room, waste dilution, better mental stimulation....

 

[pica_nuttalli]

the biggest reasons are ammonia build-up and temperature stability.

here's a great post that uses numbers to explain ammonia build-up in a 1g or less:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...0&gopid=974737&

 

[Ethos]

the biggest reasons are ammonia build-up and temperature stability.

here's a great post that uses numbers to explain ammonia build-up in a 1g or less:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...0&gopid=974737&

Thanks, this is what kind of answer I was looking for!

But the link isn't correct