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

224K views 144 replies 90 participants last post by  mjfa 
#1 ·
Mythbuster: Do bettas really live in "tiny" puddle

Okay, folks, after a research breakthrough and reminiscing of memories on how I often see people suggest to use vases and bowls for bettas considering "they live in tiny mud puddles", I decided to crash this myth in an effort to put a stop on what we call betta abuse simply by placing them in a container with no heater, no filter, etc at all. I've read plenty of books and discovered there is a lot more than what you see on a betta. It has always been a misconception that bettas live in mud puddles. Everytime I see people saying this, I keep thinking to myself "Is this possible?" Even the mud puddles dug by animal hooves would be quite horrible for a betta.:shake: What were those labyrinths for?

Before I go further, please note there are several betta species more than you can think of distributed around Asia, however, the human developments have seriously depleted their habitats with some species already lost and feared extinct.

While roaming around on forums for possible summaries, I discovered this paragraph (I don't own a lot of books however I do spend plenty of time in bookstores but I cannot copy every important bit without purchasing the said books which are expensive.)

Information is taken from Labyrinth Fish: The Bubble Nest Builders written by Horst Link and published by Tetra in 1991.

"In my opinion, the natural distribution range is very much smaller than had been supposed until now and is, in fact, restricted to central, western, and northern Thailand...Betta splendens lives in paddy fields and associated ditches, in marshes and flooded grass pits and in the klongs (canals) of the residential parts of towns and villages. At different times of the year, they may be very numerous."

A very important advice...
The view that fighting fish often live in mudholes and therefore can be kept in such conditions is not really tenable. The fish will exhibit their full finery in a well-established, balanced aquarium and it is only under such conditions that their keeper will be able to appreciate their beauty at its best

So the questions now are..
What exactly is a klong?
A picture is worth a hundred words.
Klong of Thailand


What paddy field are we talking anyway?
Is this really a mud puddle? Is it really small?


What is your conclusion on the whole?
Going to back to the above, I've shared to you my thoughts. Now to answer the question, What were those labyrinths for?, this doesn't mean all anabantids can live in mud puddles as previously suggested by several people but this means it allows them to survive in warm, shallow, slow moving waters with very low oxygen levels.

So like other fish, we should treat the bettas with great care. Efficient filter, heater, etc just like what other tropical fish deserve.

~End of lecture.~

I will sticky this so people won't have a difficult time searching for answers like this.

This site provides excellent information as well.
http://betta.tasarin.net/aquarium.php
An important thing to know when housing a Betta Splendens is that most metals are lethal, and never should metal decorations be used unless they are marked for this purpose. Copper is especially dangerous. Nonetheless, to keep an individual B. splendens, a minimum tank size of 3 U.S. gallons at least is recommended, if it will be kept in a warm room. Decorations can provide hiding places, especially important when two males are housed in a divided tank, or when the betta is living in a community tank. Every decoration must be free of rough areas or sharp points which can damage the delicate fins of the betta. For this reason, silk rather than plastic plants are recommended. Live plants will improve the water quality. Also, since the betta obtains oxygen from the air, the tank must not be covered with an air-tight lid and the betta must be able to easily reach the surface. (Note that some bettas enjoy leaping out of tanks, so a breathable lid is highly recommended.) If the betta has no access to air, it will suffocate.

In Canada and the United States, the Betta is sometimes sold in a vase with a plant, with the erroneous claim that the fish can feed on the roots of the plant and that it can survive without changing the water. This is dangerous for the betta in two ways. First, the betta has a labyrinth organ which allows it to take in oxygen from the surface air, similar to the human lung. If the betta can not reach the surface of the water, which can be the case if a plant's roots are covering the surface, the betta will suffocate in a matter of hours. Secondly, Betta species are carnivorous and an appropriate food must be provided, such as dry "betta pellets" or live or frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. However, most aquarium-bred specimens will accept dried flaked food suitable for tropical fish. When kept in a small container such as a vase, the fish need frequent water changes, and the container must be kept in a warm room. A larger tank with a heater will provide better living conditions. Wherever the fish is kept, water must be treated with an appropriate water conditioner before use.

There is a stereotype that in the wild, bettas live in tiny muddy pools, and therefore that it is acceptable to keep them in small tanks, but bowls are usually too small. In reality, bettas live in vast paddies, the puddle myth originating from the fact that during the dry season, the paddies can dry out into small patches of water. It is not a natural state of affairs by any means, and in the wild, fish trapped in such puddles are likely to die in a short period of time when they dry out.

To maximize the lifespan of the fish and ensure their well being, they should always be kept in appropriate sized tanks. As a rule of thumb, for each inch of fish there must be at least one gallon of water in its tank. Bettas idealy should be kept in a filtered tank 10 gallons or more and treated like any other freshwater tank fish. Although these conditions are ideal, with proper care and filtration a betta can be happily kept in a smaller tank. I, personally, keep my Betta in a tank holding 2 gallons of water and it is perfectly happy and healthy.


Other good links:
http://www.ikanpemburu.com/html/field/pontian.htm

http://www.ikanpemburu.com/html/field/Ayer_Hitam_last1.htm

http://www.ikanpemburu.com/html/field/Thailand2.htm
 
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#38 ·
Yes and no. Bettas live in very small AREAS of very large rice paddies and ponds. When another male betta comes into the territory and fight each other the loser has plenty of room to escape and is left unharmed.
 
#45 ·
Well, I'd say that the difference is of human making. While bettas may have small territories in the wild, they are in an open system and waste is diluted, circulated and dealt with by the whole ecosystem. So, while it's true that the betta is capable of living in a small AREA, a square foot in a rice paddy is a very different thing from a square foot in a bowl which probably doesn't have enough water changes.

Let's be realistic. The breeders and concientious but money strapped owners are usually not the ones making the arguement that they can put their bettas in vases; 9 times out of 10, it's going to be someone who wants a pretty fish as a decorative piece on their desk OR someone who wants to sell said pretty fish for decorative desk pieces. And that is the problem with perpetuating this story that bettas live in puddles. It makes it morally okay to do this to these fish because "this is how they live in the wild". Just my two cents ;-)
 
#46 ·
Someone mentioned, in a previous post, that most of the fish they "collected" from the wild were in streams that were only a foot wide and not more than a foot deep. I'd like to point out that a body of water that is a foot deep and a foot wide will have a cubic foot of water in each linear foot of the stream. A cubic foot of water is 7.48 gallons of water. A cubic foot of moving water, even if it is moving slowly, is a LOT different than a gallon, or even worse a 1/2 gallon of still water. If the stream stayed a foot wide, a linear foot of the stream would have to be no more than 1.6" deep to have as little as 1 gallon of water in it. Even if it got that shallow on occasion, a stream is still moving. A pond or other closed body of water still gets refreshed by rain, and the natural plants, mud, etc., would effectively filter and convert wastes. None of that happens in a gallon of still water, unless we do it.

In other words, the personal experience of someone "collecting" wild fish in Asia does not, in any way, mean that bettas can thrive in "tiny mud puddles."
 
#47 ·
What a great article! I get the "they live in puddles... 1 gallon bowls must be like paradise!" quotes thrown at me almost every day, which never cease to sicken me. While some puddles definitely aren't your typical small collection of rain drops, some genuinely are... During the dry season. No betta would ever choose to live in a tiny mud puddle with little maneuvering room, it's not in their nature.

I got pretty frustrated trying to explain that to several customers, so I decided to think up an analogy for them, just to dumb it down a bit: It's like cramming a human into a tool shed. Can you live there? Sure can. Would you be cheerful and able to thrive in one?

Generally, that gets my point across.
 
#48 ·
I don't care that wild Betta lives in rice puddle. All I need to know that is you won't see a pet half-moon dragging his tail in a rice puddle.
 
#50 ·
:welldone:Great articale! i sure wish everyone who thought betta's lived in tiny puddles would read this! like Sushi said, somtimes in the wild they do, but as pets, i agree, they should be treated equal.
 
#51 ·
Ok I have to put the books to rest.

The real answer to your question do betta's live in a puddle is true some times of the year. In Thailand the betta roam the bug infested flooded areas around the rivers and in some case the rice fields are 6inch to 12 inch deep with water 5 months of the year. But in winter it dries out to only a trickle and a few puddles under a tree or bush and yes you will find betta there. some times 10 males in 2 ft circle of water all fighting for the same coke can. We often find betta and snake heads side by side in the same hole. The betta is one tough fish. It will live in 1inch of water and have a nest. We have seen betta fish in plastic bags and old tires and just about any place that water is still standing in the dry season. In the wet season they will move to the field where they can live in water that favors only bugs and is void of much O2. I think most of the books are wrong and only tell what worked for that breeder. As a rule if you give them water and food and a little room and keep your temp above 70 and below 90 you will be able to breed. To keep the nest and babies alive keep a top on you tank and open only to feed and only enough to get food to them. We find lower temps make a lot of females and hi temps more male. Also we have had a few night that were down to 60 and we do not use heaters and all was fine. In fact we had more nests the next week. But if you get up to the 90's the babies can drop to soon from the nest and have fin size issues. My wife has a few tanks that can get to the high 90's in the summer and she keeps her PK stuff in there all year. So the real answer is in Thailand you can find betta in a water bufflow foot print 20% of the time and a coke can 10% and all else is fair game for this hardy little fish. I do not think that the habitat is gone. But they are looking in the wrong place and say it is extinct. If they spend more time talking to the locals and asking for help they will get more done. But to just go on a farmers land and look for fish will get you in to issues in Thailand or shot. The big issue is getting your wife to go with you after the first cobra comes out of the water with a frog.
But yes mud puddle are fair game and we check them for fish. We have got some nice greens in a had full of water in old broken bottles. The books are from so long ago. The info is most times out of date and plastic tanks were a dream. Get a soda bottle and a shoe box and breed......
 
#52 ·
I wanted to add a little extra to this.

One of the best breeders in the world uses bottles the size of your hand for years with no issue. I can say that there is not more than two cups of water in it and just enough room for the fish to turn around in. Water is changed 2 times a day and not one fish in 10,000 were sick. No meds and no vodo treatments. Just lots of food and water changed. I do not think it is kind to do this. But it seems to work well and the life span is not shorter. The fish are very calm and the fish seem to not be stressed out. They breed in 20 gallon high tanks and some show fish were in 4 gallon tanks but were very large. They sell a lot of fish and hold a lot of fish. I think Jay said the sales were in the thousands a week. We use .5 gal glass to hold for inspection but use small bottles for some to grow out custom orders that we need 90% of the same batch. If we grow out in larger vats the loss is around 30% and some times more. But bettas can do OK in smaller containers and live the same life span. I wish I could give every fish a few gallons of water to live in...But price is a issue.
 
#53 ·
One of the best breeders in the world uses bottles the size of your hand for years with no issue. I can say that there is not more than two cups of water in it and just enough room for the fish to turn around in. Water is changed 2 times a day and not one fish in 10,000 were sick. No meds and no vodo treatments. Just lots of food and water changed. I do not think it is kind to do this. But it seems to work well and the life span is not shorter. The fish are very calm and the fish seem to not be stressed out. They breed in 20 gallon high tanks and some show fish were in 4 gallon tanks but were very large. They sell a lot of fish and hold a lot of fish. I think Jay said the sales were in the thousands a week. We use .5 gal glass to hold for inspection but use small bottles for some to grow out custom orders that we need 90% of the same batch. If we grow out in larger vats the loss is around 30% and some times more. But bettas can do OK in smaller containers and live the same life span. I wish I could give every fish a few gallons of water to live in...But price is a issue.
However, as breeders, they know how to treat sick fish, and keep the water very clean and very warm (usually by heating a room). They don't keep the fish like this for their whole lives, but sell them on to other breeders, and to pet owners.
Even petshops keeping them in small display tanks or cups isn't too bad, as long as the water is kept clean and warm. What is terrible is petshops selling tiny fishtanks with no heat or hiding spots as ideal homes to people with no instructions on care or cleaning.
 
#55 ·
Interesting point, however filtration is an irrelevant argument when the argument is on size.(Red Herring!) So long as people are able to maintain proper H2O, undoubtedly harder to do in a smaller aquarium, the fish is fine in a confined space.

Filtration/Proper maintenance of H2O totally different subject. However when regarding size a mud puddle is sufficient enough.

I'm arguing logic and semantics!
 
#56 ·
The pH in a lot of those puddles would be so low because of decaying organic matter and rainwater that any ammonia-related toxicity would be minimal because it would consist mostly of ammonium, which is much less harmful.

Unless you can get the pH in your tanks down to 4-6.0, which is what the pH is in a lot of betta habitat, you are eventually going to run into problems with ammonia poisoning unless water changes are not performed regularly. You also run the risk of killing your bettas if the pH suddenly shoots up as any ammonium present will quickly be converted back to ammonia.

My wild bettas although mostly sedentary do enjoy having space to move about. I have no issues with breeders housing their bettas in smaller bodies of water because of the practicalities of their business. The big breeders over in Thailand know exactly what they are doing, and it shows in the quality of the fish they produce.

However, for the casual betta owner with only a couple pet only bettas, there's no really no reason to only provide them with the bare minimum.

While a larger space may not be necessary from a water-quality perspective, I believe fatty liver disease has been linked to the often sedentary lifestyle led by bettas housed in smaller containers. Also I could easily see how muscle atrophy could occur if bettas are not provided with enough room to adequately exercise. This is of particular concern if the betta in question has to cope with excessive or heavy finnage.

Personally, a 1 gallon/4 litre tank is the absolute minimum I would use for permanent accommodation. This to me, provides at least enough room for an adult betta to swim horizontally back and forth.

It is wrong for pet and fish stores to continue to exploit the resilience of bettas, and their ability to survive in less than ideal conditions. Generally the only reason bettas end up in puddles is because the main body of water has dried up, and I wager a high percentage of these die before the next lot of rains arrive. Frankly, I don't really see any reason to mimic the extremes of a betta's environment in the aquarium.
 
#57 ·
Well here's my view on size requirements:

While a larger space may not be necessary from a water-quality perspective, I believe fatty liver disease has been linked to the often sedentary lifestyle led by bettas housed in smaller containers. Also I could easily see how muscle atrophy could occur if bettas are not provided with enough room to adequately exercise. This is of particular concern if the betta in question has to cope with excessive or heavy finnage.
While betta splendens are jarred by breeders in Thailand once they hit maturity, most of their early life is spent in large concrete ponds where their is plenty of space for them to develop and build up muscling.

It's only due to the onset of territorial aggression and cultivation of correct finnage that males are jarred.

Once bettas get sold they are either sent out wholesale and are housed by most pet or fish stores in small cups purely out of convenience, or they wind up purchased privately and spend their life in a hobbyist's tank.

While a betta does not require a large space of water to live in, I can't understand why you persist in challenging the concept that for some people it is enjoyable to provide their bettas with as an enriching and stimulating environment as possible.

The domesticated betta splendens is an artificial breed. It is not as hardy as its wild ancestors and would probably die if it was forced to live in a puddle or rice paddy. The whole concept of what is natural for them and what isn't is skewed by the fact that most bettas nowadays haven't got wild splenden ancestry in them until way back down the line. They are a fish bred purely for looks. Only the true fighter plakats still possess many of the traits found in wild splendens, though their aggression has been intensified by selective breeding.

Can I ask why you housed a betta in a pint of water? Is it because you simply could? Even with regular water changes I can't imagine it was the most exciting environment for a fish. At least breeders card their males and then give them limited access to other males and females to stimulate their territorial instincts and improve their finnage.

As for dying of natural causes define what is natural? I would think a fish getting eaten or dried up or dying of ammonia poisoning would all be natural causes of death. After all there has been no interference from any outside source. That is life in nature, it is brutal and usually short-lived, which is why I have no desire to replicate it in my aquariums.
 
#59 ·
That and they don't live in puddles. They live in rice paddies, which, yes, are shallow. But they stretch out for miles and miles and miles. That's a LOT of space.
 
#60 ·
Many bettas are actually found in puddles.. there have been many cases of them in puddles that were formed from the hooves of cattle.
Water will recede in their natural habitat, and when that happens bettas will bury themselves in the mud to wait out the dry times.. once water comes back they will come out. Sometimes it will only be a small puddle when the betta feels the water trickle down to them and when they emerge it's a small puddle.
I figure that is why it is common to hear of them living in puddles, as they do, but not permanently.
 
#61 ·
My Betta fish carter he is a male chocolate delta tail from petco live sin a 10 gallon all to himself I feed him freeze dried brine shrimp Flightless Fruit flies and Betta pellets.
 
#64 ·
No that's not what thy meant. What they meant to say was the bettas live in rice paddies not in mud puddles that animals and etc. dig no of course not even an 8 year old can tell that don't be foolish now if an animal made a puddle how can the fish go there? Of course you can't answer that because there's no possible way. So be smart and understand what they meant before you complain. :shock:
 
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