Hi everyone..I recently purchased 2 2.5 gallon hexagonal tanks for two of my bettas. Both have a Powerfilter that hangs off the side. I noticed that when I put the Bettas in and put the filter on, the filter seemed really strong. I mean they were fighting from getting sucked in it seemed like. So I waited for awhile to see if it was just me but the poor guys were swimming and trying to wedge themselves in plants to stop themselves from getting sucked up..they looked pretty stressed and tired when the whole ordeal was done... So I took the filter out of both. I went to Petco and the guy there said, "Oh yeah, bettas dont do good in filtered environments". Why do you need to have a filter?
Anyway, my question is, should I return the set and buy another set or do bettas typically have problems with filters. Also, is there anything I can do to the filter to relax the inflow. I know how to alter the outflow but not the inflow.
First question I have is whether these are the "petco hex" tanks with the Power-5 filter.
Filtration improves the health of any tank, the flow circulates aerated water down under the rocks to stop bad bacteria from forming and it keeps the top and bottom of the aquarium closer to the same temperature. With Betta this keeps them from having the little stress that going up and down for air through the temperature range can cause.
I have an assortment of small tank filters, the Power-5, Whisper 3i, Lee's 4" sponge and a 5g sponge from Hydro. A lazy betta does NOT qualify as a form of circulation.
I completely agree with Thunderloon, having a filter in the tank (even though it's a small tank) can help the tank tremendously.
If you do have the PETCO Hex tank, then what I did was stuff some aquarium foam on the bottom of it to slow down the water suction. One of my bettas was more sensitive and I had to rubberband a piece of aquarium foam near the lip of the filter as well. After that, everyone was a happy camper.
In the smaller tanks often the filters can cause too strong of a current for the Betta..... as you are seeing......this- not only can be stressful but it can also destroy the delicate fins.
Filters are optional for this species especially when you keep them in smaller tanks-you can't really establish a stable nitrogen cycle due to limited surface area anyway......if baffling the filter doesn't help...I would remove them all together.....you can still successfully keep a Betta in unfiltered/uncycled tank provided that you make he needed water changes to maintain water quality....that being....
In 2.5gal unfiltered without live plants.....twice weekly...1-50% and 1-100%.....
Healthy Bettas can tolerate the slight temp change at different levels of the tank.....the small/gradual temp difference is often present in filtered tanks as well and it is so slight that it is a non-issue for a healthy Betta...
You do want to try and maintain a somewhat stable water temp in the 76-80F range-the few degrees difference from day and night that can sometimes occur are also tolerated by a healthy Betta and nothing to stress over....its the sudden extreme temp changes that can be hard on even a healthy Betta.....
You can push that power-5 filter down into the water as deep as its hanger-hook lets it go. Its a zero-bypass cartridge.
The two I still use I've stuck an air-stone down in and pushed two layers of sponge down into the top of. I try to keep it a half inch below the surface and the flow is minimal.
There IS an issue with the light system on the petco hex tanks, on two of mine a set of the white LED have begun blinking rapidly. I simply used masking tape and marks-all to black out some circles inside the plastic lens so I can't see the blinking and the light has operated without further changes for four months.
Thanks everyone for your help!!!I will give your idea a try..Thanks again!!
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