Maybe it's just my own claustraphobia, but I cannot stand the thought of ANYTHING living in a very small space - thats just me! Plus, it gives me great happiness to create a beautiful " pond" or " puddle " for my little Fish Perry. I may not be able to afford a mansion or a ranch of 100 acres, But I CAN create a fantastic environment for my Fishie! Currently, Fish Perry is in a 5 gallon heated, filtered tank with a two story cave and many silk plants. He routinely patroles EVERY inch of his "territory"! I plan to upgrade his tank to a ten gallon to further reduce my water changes. Another perk of a larger space is the beauty of it! It is very relaxing to watch this gorgeous little creature zipping around in a pretty tank. So those are my thoughts on the subject.
I agree that proper care is more important then tank size. But, I also don't want to see a betta in a tiny bowl. I created this thread, not to start more fighting, but to hear everyones opinion on the matter. Just today i asked a question in another fourm and 5 seconds later everyone was saying rude and hurtfull comments on my tank size.
When we see someone who we think is doing something wrong we should help them, not hate them. That is my motto.
Ignore them. You don't deserve that. The fact that you even take the time to explore the issue means you care about your pet.
A 2.5 gallon was no good for me because I wanted a filter and in that tank size the filter blew him around! Now I want a 10 gallon because I enjoy the ease of care ( fewer water changes ) and, as I said above, I love the big pretty environment. It's therapy for me. LOL! I think 2.5 gallons gives your fish room to swim around, and if you dont mind the up-keep then it works for you!
I have everything from one gallons all the way up to 10 gallons. I keep newer ones in smaller tanks to see how they do. Really just watching them and keeping an eye on them. I have 2 x 1 gl, 3x 3 gls, 2 x 5 gls, 3 10 gls. And some that I am not sure...critter keepers/medium. All my fish have lived since I bought the first one about a year ago. No issues (knock on wood) that I can really speak of. :)
IMO, 1 gallon is the very minimum. When I see my betta in his 5g, I cant imagine anything smaller being comfortable. But I guess if you keep the water clean, a gallon is fine. I would never do it though.
I have one guy who was in a 5 and he was always floating up around the top....wouldn't ever swim around. Just kinda sat there. He is in a 1 gal now. He is quite active. I don't know, maybe it depends on the fish and what they like?
When there is clearly a wide spread debate over this topic, I think it is unnecessary to create a thread that only encourages bickering and solves nothing. There is no magic answer out there to this and people are not going to change their minds. You are not going to convince others of your view no matter how many threads are created. I agree with OFL. Let us focus on advising others how to properly care for their fish in the situation they present us with on a case by case basis.
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