Help with a betta tank

[Falina]

i would have to agree with scottysgirl on this. my fish (including my betta) are all quite greedy. when i first set up my tank i had one fish that wasnt eating, so i thought to put that wee bit more food into the tank that was necessary so that she could get some before all the others ate it. the result was that she still didnt get any, but everyone else had a fat belly. wilma, the fish in question, has now since recovered and is now greedy like everyone else thankfully though.

[musho3210]

Originally Posted by GobbleDog

Meh. I think fish are like cats - they know when they're full.

then i think you should do more studying

Fish wont stop eating, in the wild they dont have people to feed them, they are left to hunt for themselves, and there arent millions of bloodworms for there disposal, they will find one and immediatly eat it, they might not even find another one for a few weeks, so whenever they see one, they will eat it. Very rarely will a betta die in the wild from over-feeding since there isnt all that much food, most of them probably die from underfeeding. They need all the food they can get since they dont know when the next meal will be

in captivity the same instinct stays, they will eat as much as they can (sometimes even eat themeselves to death) since they dont know if there next meal will be in a day or in a month. Your betta wont last long if you feed that much in a day, plus it will be expensive for all that food, it will litterally eat itself to death. If you wont accept that then i suggest you end this hobby.

[fish_4_all]

I have to agree with fish eating themselves to death, especially betas. I had them very healthy in their own little beta tanks feeding them sparingly then moved them to the community tank and both of them becamse bloated and eventaully dies. I couldn't get them to eat the peas or other foods to help the constipation because they would seek out the pellets on the bottom for the cories and any other food they could find. I actually don;t feed my feed at all once a week, sometimes twice and they have have actually been more active and the tank has been healthier because of it. It also has to do with the fact I overfeed when I do feed but to feed middle and bottom dwellers the food has to get down to the bottom feeders.

As for cats and dogs, it is recommended to only give a dog or cat the amounts that have been found to promote a healthy weight and size. If you have all the food a dog or cat can eat down all the time they will eat all the time and become fat and lazy. I have seen people do this to their cats and dogs and it is a shame.

[Follow It Home]

Keeping up with the same topic, Overfeeding actually has an affect on a fishes immune system. Overfeeding makes a fish much more prone to disease such as ich and other fungal infections.

[fish_4_all]

There is also a concern I didn't mention. With two male bettas in a tank with a divider, there could be a major issue of them flairing at each other all the time and stressing each other out. If this become and issue, you could find a solid colored divider, unless you already thought of that.

[GalaxyGirl]

Originally Posted by fish_4_all

There is also a concern I didn't mention. With two male bettas in a tank with a divider, there could be a major issue of them flairing at each other all the time and stressing each other out. If this become and issue, you could find a solid colored divider, unless you already thought of that.

Actually I hadnt thought of that, but ill look into it. I had planned on having plants covering up the divider as best as I could, I am worried they will stress eachother out as they seem to REALLY hate eachother.

[fish_4_all]

Plants may do it, just make sure they are thich enough that the fish can't casually see each other. A good wall of Elodea or maybe even plastic canvas filled with Java Or Christmas Moss, it will fill in and also block their view until it does.

[enderbender]

Hi GalaxyGirl, I have a 10G tank 40%-60% split with a clear divider and a male beta and an algae eater on each side. The tank has a gravel bottom and lots of live plants and Java moss. Each side has its own rock structure so the fish have somewhere to hide; these little caves are usually occupied by the algae eaters when they are not swimming around eating like crazy. Due to the setup of the aquarium canopy the AquaClear water filter is on the right (60%) side of the split as well as the heater. I placed the thermometer on the opposite side of the tank to ensure the temperature is right for the entire tank. The divider has lots of plants along it on the larger side of the split in order to give the betas some privacy, and I have an air stone running along the divider on the smaller (40%) side to provide water circulation and aeration. This setup is working well each of my betas are doing well and seem to really enjoy themselves. They do flair at each other at times but very seldom. The tank needs very little cleaning and only needs weekly top-ups and bi-weekly 30% water changes. The algae eaters are on top of things. Each side has its own feeding ring which helps reduce waste; the betas are well trained and immediately get under the feeding ring as soon as they see me.