Mythbuster: Do bettas really live in "tiny" puddles?

[ChoclateBetta]

In all honesty even a 2.5 is really small like I would never keep carter in a 5 because he loves his 10 but I just do not like 1 but that is my preference just all the 1 gallons I have seen are too small for active fish your right no tank size has no evidence except lifespan.

[Sivan]

It is also important to keep in mind that certain show breeds, such as Halfmoons with dumbo ears, are weighed down by their heavy fins and struggle to be in larger tanks, especially since you do not see many 10 gallon tanks that are shallow enough to accommodate them. Some fish have to be kept in lower volumes because of such problems and because their basic needs are met, it is an acceptable amount. Lower than 1 gallon, however, and conditions are impossible to maintain on a regular person's schedule for permanent housing purposes.

[LadyVictorian]

My female is in a 2.5 gallon tank and she has PLENTY of room to swim around, not too small at all and it holds five plants comfortably.
My male is in a 5 gallon and perfectly happy. He would be more stressed in a 10 gallon due to his heavy fins. He's such a slow fish even when he is trying to be fast he's slow and will rip his tail if he swims too hard (aka tries to swim too fast for too long).

[ChoclateBetta]

Carter's fins are huge he is a delta.

[Sivan]

Not all betta fish with huge fins have a hard time swimming, though. Some are known fir their inability to function properly due to their breeding. Its sad, really, that the functionality and quality of life of these animals are altered by what we as humans view as beauty. But that speaks volumes as to our culture, does it not?

[ChoclateBetta]

I agree Carter's find are an inch or two but he swims perfectly.

[ChoclateBetta]

Fins

[Skyewillow]

I didn't read every page, but I just wanted to go off the "dry season/monsoon season" argument.

The Amazon goes through a dry period too, but would you use that excuse (when the fish are living in dirty little pools) to put THIS into a bowl?


Not even considering that a piranha wouldn't FIT into a bowl, but still. They go through similar conditions, and yet people still know that you can't comfortably keep a fish like this in a jar.

So, why would you put this fish in something smaller than the container your soda comes in?


I can buy bottles of water bigger than some of the "tanks" they sell.

[Fenghuang]

Came across a Yahoo Answers question that really annoyed me today.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4171154AAXR6qv

2.5 gallon betta tank?

Really who came up with that one?

Bettas naturally live in rice paddies, sometimes in a water buffalo's hoof print. I know in the rainy season that the rice paddies can fill up with hundreds of gallons of water.

Bettas have been raised in small jars and cups for centuries, ask any betta breeder and they'll tell you that they do fine in jars and bowls provided the water is changed every 3-7 days (depending on the size of the jar or bowl).

Have you ever seen a betta bowl? They are not that small! I have several bettas in bowls, though never under 1/2 gallon and they do fine.

I see a lot of "how would you like to live in a closet?" Bettas aren't people and don't require that much space. Bettas are quite happy in small bowls because they are adapted to it.

Also, all of your 2.5 gallons minimum is quite annoying, it also makes people think that bettas are hard to care for. Bettas don't like filtration since they like still water. Bettas have also adapted to room temperature quite well. I know bettas are tropical fish but the average room temp is 70F and tropical temps are 72-84F.

I loved how he picked the only answer that agreed with him and ignored blatantly all the other answers, which were pointing out flaws in his argument. Also, I highly doubt he had even bothered to look up what a rice paddie is, even if the myth that bettas originated from rice paddies was true. I lived with my grandmother in the southeastern China as a kid. We had rice paddies right down the street. They span acres. Rice is a labor intensive crop. Entire fields are flood to create the marsh/swamp-like environment necessary to grow rice properly. Certainly, much more than just a few hundred gallons is needed to fully irrigate a rice paddie.

[Tyler92x]

Thank you for looking into this, my friends and I were arguing about this just the other week, Thanks for all the research