about ready to give up...

[Luimeril]

Dx not on my boys and girls! goodness no!

i have these friends. my one friend, S, rescued two beautiful bettas from her brother. the male was in a one-gallon that was almost never cleaned. S had to clean it when she'd see her brother wasn't going to, even after the water turned gross and brown. the female, is apparently in one of those divide hex-thingies, without the divider. S rescued them, and does water changes more often than her brother(exactly how often, i'm not sure). i posted on one picture, after noticing what kind of tank it was, and suggested getting the girlie a bigger tank. well, S's friend, J, commented, saying a half gallon is more than enough room for a betta. :/ i messaged J, telling her that a half gallon is FAR too small for a betta, and she and i kinda got into it. J insists that her bettas LOVE their half-gallons, and the biggest she has is one gallon. she said they're "very unhappy" in anything bigger, and paced back and forth, becoming very stressed. i tried explaining to J how a betta will feel much better if they have lots of plants and hidey places in a larger tank, and told her about how happy my first betta was in his 10 gallon. we went back and forth, and i gave up on trying to tell her anything, focusing instead on S.

well, today, i found out that S and her girlfriend, K, got two more bettas, a stunning silver and black DT and a beautiful blue betta(not sure about tail type). but, they got them in one of those divided one-gallon triangle tanks. i tried to tell them that the constant sight of another male would stress them out, and isn't good for them, when J told me to "get over it" and that two of hers "now ignore each other", meaning they're in constant sight of each other. i again, commented on how i've seen facts about how bettas in sight of each other stress easily and can become sick if stressed for too long, before giving up that argument. i can't talk to J at all without her berating me and telling me how wrong i am. :/ instead, i'll focus on S and K, and try to show them facts about the thins i KNOW will help them enjoy their bettas for the 4+ years they can live.

anyone got any tips on how to talk to people who have that annoying voice in back, telling them "facts"?

/end rant.

[baylee767]

I hate when that happens.

Sometimes it feels like it's impossible to change some ones mind about Bettas and the only thing we can do is take great care of as many Bettas possible and try to inform the public before they believe that half a gallon is a good sized tank for a Betta.

But maybe if you post vids of your Bettas and they see them your friends will ask why your Bettas look so active, and then maybe they'll believe you. Or maybe send them a link to this site...

[Luimeril]

it seems impossible. :/ i understand they're low on money. they're trying to buy a car, and get an apartment, so money's really tight. but, if that's the case, one shouldn't get more bettas. instead, focus on the ones you already have. that's what i did, and my seven are really happy in their bigger tanks. i didn't get another, until i knew i had a big tank for him/her. i mean, Zidane, my orange CT, is living in a 2 gallon Sterilite bin. he loves it, though. it gives him lots of room to stretch his fins, it's longer than it is tall, and it lets him build these amazing bubble nests. that's a good substitute for a tank if you're low on cash, but S said they don't have room for four tanks. :/

if i had a way to upload my videos, i would video tape my boys and girls. :d

[baylee767]

Large sized kritter keepers are 2.5 gallons. EXTRA large are 5 gallons! On amazon the extra large only costs $13 (Plus shipping)...

Here's a link to the XL (I'd reccomend it more than the large becase... well... It's bigger)

http://www.amazon.com/LEES-KRITTER-K...4653101&sr=8-2

EDIT: NVM, don't have them get the XL. I read that it can't handle it's own weight in water.

[Luimeril]

then, that means my boys and girls have 2.5 gallons. o3o sweet! lol they really ARE spoiled! xD

Sterilite containers are way cheap, and can be used for things other than fish tanks, and are easy to just empty and stack when you're ready to move. >.>; sure, they don't look pretty, but they're pretty handy make-shift tanks if you're low on cash and need at least a 2 gallon. Zidane loves his, and because of it's shape, his cave(which is a fish bowl on it's side) is half-out of the water, which he adores building bubble nests in(this time around, i gave him old betta cup lids to use as starters. :3 he loves nesting around things!).

:/ i think i'm gonna hold off on suggesting bigger tanks, and suggest, instead, constant water changes. since three of their four are in .5 gallons, they'll need at least every other day water changes. maybe i'll also suggest they pick up a piece of that mesh stuff you use with yarn, to block their betta's view of each other(for the two stuck in the divided one gallon). i'm giving them alot of my food(i have way more than my bettas can eat in a year! xD), so they'll get good grub, at least. :d