wow its been awhile.... wanted to share this with you guys :)

[DanDaMan]

i hope everyone has been well!

i just wanted to drop by and let everyone know some developments with my lil fella.

ive had him a few months now and he is my first betta fish. im really enjoying looking after him and just enjoying his company lol

well before i steamrolled into keeping a betta fish i obviously went online to look into how the best way to do it was. i went out brought a nice tank, gravel, plants etc etc

cut a long story short. about 2 weeks ago i was sitting at my desk (where his tank is) and just enjoying watching him. i kinda noticed that the pump was creating a small gentle current all over the tank, even on the other side where he likes to hangout.

well i decided to turn the pump off and have the tank as a still water tank (completely still). since then, my little fella has built a HUGE bubble nest. not only that but i have over the last 2 days noticed that there are now copepods on the tank walls.

i looked into them and it turns out they are the sign of a pretty healthy ecosystem in a tank and they graze on leftover scraps and detritus. they also are often eaten by resident fish.

i dunno im guess im just saying that since i turned the pump off my tank and my little fella have greatly improved in turns of happiness and natural cycle, and yet the pump was one of the things i was told that was most important for a betta tank.

has anyone else gone down this route?

[Laki]

Hm, That sounds kind of cool. Never had them myself, not sure how I would feel about them. How big is the tank?? Without a running filter there is no cycle and you'll have to deal with ammonia and all that bad stuff again.

[DanDaMan]

ive just upped my water change to once every 3 days. the water is fine. ive never seen him so radiant and colorful :)

[Greylady]

I've been torn between running my filter or not also. It does have a flow adjustment and I keep it in the lowest setting except when I take my betta out to do my water changes, then I turn it on high for a half hour or so while I let the water get back to the right temperature before putting my betta back in. But because I have it set on the lowest flow, I always wonder if the filter is actually "filtering" anything? I do tend to get a film on the surface of the water but it doesn't seem to hurt anything and goes away for a few days after the water changes. My tank is long and narrow, not deep, so even a low flow causes some water movement. I have experimented with keeping it off at times (before I cycled the tank) and Gandalf does seem to prefer it off, however I finally got my tank cycled and don't want to mess that up by not running the filter.

[DanDaMan]

Originally Posted by Greylady

I've been torn between running my filter or not also. It does have a flow adjustment and I keep it in the lowest setting except when I take my betta out to do my water changes, then I turn it on high for a half hour or so while I let the water get back to the right temperature before putting my betta back in. But because I have it set on the lowest flow, I always wonder if the filter is actually "filtering" anything? I do tend to get a film on the surface of the water but it doesn't seem to hurt anything and goes away for a few days after the water changes. My tank is long and narrow, not deep, so even a low flow causes some water movement. I have experimented with keeping it off at times (before I cycled the tank) and Gandalf does seem to prefer it off, however I finally got my tank cycled and don't want to mess that up by not running the filter.

i honestly think that not running the pump is not gonna mess the cycled water up. just do what i did and up the water change to every 3 days (just 25%). it will create a constant equilibrium that your fish will get used to real quick.

most of the waste i pick up when i do the water change is from parts of the tank that aint near the pump so even if it was running it wasnt picking everything up anyway. and the fact i now have copepods in the tanks, well that speaks for itself. thats about as natural and organic you can get lol they feed on waste and leftover food and fish feed on them

i dunno maybe im wrong. but in the wild you gotta think how these fish live and where, in small muddy ponds and dykes with no running water. i think through trying to make these fish as happy as possible the advice thats most often given is a little too over the top.

like i said maybe im wrong, but ive never seen my fish more active. even as i type this he is working on his bubble nest lol

[Greylady]

Yes, Gandalf definitely prefers his off too, and I will turn it off occasionally just to give him a break but I'm not sure yet if I'm ready to give up the filter altogether.

[DanDaMan]

Originally Posted by Greylady

Yes, Gandalf definitely prefers his off too, and I will turn it off occasionally just to give him a break but I'm not sure yet if I'm ready to give up the filter altogether.

haha thats cool. but the way i see it, the filters always in the tank if something goes wrong

but for now, theres no way im putting it on

[Frazzle]

How do you get copepods? Spontaneous creation or were they somehow added?

[DanDaMan]

Originally Posted by Frazzle

How do you get copepods? Spontaneous creation or were they somehow added?

honestly, i have no idea how they have got there. they have only appeared since i turned the pump off 0_o

apparently the eggs are on plants and can even be transferred to a fish tank via live bloodworm feed, which is what my lil fella loves lol

[BettaQi]

Originally Posted by DanDaMan

i hope everyone has been well!

i just wanted to drop by and let everyone know some developments with my lil fella.

ive had him a few months now and he is my first betta fish. im really enjoying looking after him and just enjoying his company lol

well before i steamrolled into keeping a betta fish i obviously went online to look into how the best way to do it was. i went out brought a nice tank, gravel, plants etc etc

cut a long story short. about 2 weeks ago i was sitting at my desk (where his tank is) and just enjoying watching him. i kinda noticed that the pump was creating a small gentle current all over the tank, even on the other side where he likes to hangout.

well i decided to turn the pump off and have the tank as a still water tank (completely still). since then, my little fella has built a HUGE bubble nest. not only that but i have over the last 2 days noticed that there are now copepods on the tank walls.

i looked into them and it turns out they are the sign of a pretty healthy ecosystem in a tank and they graze on leftover scraps and detritus. they also are often eaten by resident fish.

i dunno im guess im just saying that since i turned the pump off my tank and my little fella have greatly improved in turns of happiness and natural cycle, and yet the pump was one of the things i was told that was most important for a betta tank.

has anyone else gone down this route?

I kept male bettas with no filtration for 4 or 5 years just vacuuming with turkey baster daily, water changes every week and big water change once a month.

However, I think running the filter for an hour per day is useful for their health.