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female bettas and currents

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  newfiedragon 
#1 ·
Are female bettas okay with a filter that has a strong current? I know the males sometimes aren't fond of it and it stresses them out, but are the females the same way?
 
#2 ·
I have a 55 gallon with a strong current and 10 female bettas...the current doesn't seem to bother them at all because they can go over to the stiill area of the tank...or they can go get on the" treadmill" (haha, the strong current).
 
#3 ·
I have an extra tank, so I was thinking of getting another betta, but the tank is a 1.5g hexagon tank, and the only filter I have left is the small one that used to come with the Marina Cool Tank 2.6g kit. I originally had that one in the cool tank, but I noticed that the current was really strong on it, so I decided to get a new one for that tank. The original filter's been lying around not being used, so I thought it would go good in the hex tank with my female betta, Cassia, but I wasn't sure how she would react to the current.
 
#5 ·
A strong current won't bother them just as long as it isn't a FAST current.

Betta react to sudden changes in water flow speed by facing into it and attempting to hold position visually... this can exhaust them. Generally the whole tank can have just enough flow for dead leaves to barely drift around and they'll be perfectly happy.

My girls are all drifting wanderers and like to switch currents aka go sailing from time to time. I've got about 200gph spread out over the entire length of the back of their 10 gallon tank and it produces an active surface flow.

I can exercise them by keeping them at the front of the tank that way too.

Just keep in mind that there is a drastic difference in power between their little side fins and that massive tail. Some breeds of betta can cover six feet per second and others can jump five feet in the air with only ten inches of water depth to work with.

In a ten gallon I'd say about 15gph per inch width of the return flow is great, 20gph is firm and they'll need hiding places.

An easy solution to this is to only run the HOB filter when you need to clean up the tank and to use in tank sponge filters for the rest of the time.
 
#6 ·
The filter that I have is the Elite Mini. I guess I'll try it and see how my little girl likes it.
 
#7 ·
I think I'm gonna have to either baffle the filter, or completely forget about it. I turned it off a few mins after putting Cassia in the tank. She seemed to be swimming much harder than usual. Oh, well. Guess I gotta go buy some sponge!
 
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