I would like to know how long your fish lived "happily and healthy". Bettas live an average of 5 years and are heard of to live longer than 7 if properly taken care of. A betta dieing after two years was obviously not healthy. Not to mention fish need room to swim. Just like any other animal fish need exercise to be healthy and they can NOT get that exercise in a .5 gallon tank.
Water changes stress fish is NOT a fact. Yes some fish are stressed by water changes but others don't mind them at all. I work with my fish so that they are not stressed when I cup them. A fish living for a week in its own excrement will be much less "happy" and healthy than a fish who gets water changes. Please show me the links where you have read that and I'll be glad to show you why it is wrong.
No you don't need a 16 gallon for one fish.. VG was merely pointing out her experiences with having a really healthy happy fish in a large tank to show that big tanks are good for any fish regardless of size.
As for the 1 inch per gallon rule.. only the smallest of females stay at an inch.. bettas should be 2-3 inches in length at full grown. Like I said.. that rule is merely a guideline.. MUCH more goes into stocking.
1 gallon tanks are made to be sold. The same reason those little "betta" tanks are sold. Its not healthy for the fish but the people selling them don't give a sh** what happens to the fish as long as they sell their "tanks". 1 gallons are great for hospital tanks and are essential for breeders to separate fry before selling them off.
question about water ... i have been using the water from my big tank to fill and change water in the betta tank ... my big tank is well established and the water has no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates ... is this an okay thing to do ???
Your using old tank water to do water changes? I wouldn't do that.. one of the reasons for doing water changes is to put fresh water with lots of oxygen in the tank so putting old water in would be counter productive IMO
just living is a stress on any animal, breathing is a stress, being happy is even a stress on the body! So if you mean in general stuff like that, yes water changes are a stress. but water changes are not ALWAYS a NEGATIVE stress that AFFECTS the fish so much they go wacko every time a tank is cleaned.
Yep, xxabc is right. I wasn't saying that you NEED a 16 gallon but in my experience it's been the tank that has the healthiest betta. I've actually had no illness at all in that tank. Tango actually started out in a 1.5 gallon Tetra cube. I didn't realize the difference until I saw a couple of pictures back to back so I'll show you:
Tango just out of his 1.5 gallon and in his new 16 gallon on the first day:
Tango now after a year in the 16 gallon:
He isn't the only fish in there, btw. He shares the tank with 4 corydoras catfish. :)
ALL i am saying is EVERY pet store, website, forum (except this one), databases, and books that i have read/talked to have ALL said/showed that water changes DO indeed stress a fish to some degree ESPECIALLY multiple ones in a weeks time. So again, NOT my opinion or an opinion. I went out and got a bigger tanks, because i do not have time to do a 100% water change in my habitats every couple days. That's ridiculous haha. Also in my defense. how does a fish slowly DIE over 2 yrs? Sorry, but that does not make much sense to me. They were colorful, clear eyes, ate all the time, and where very very active. They where older when i bought them from a pet store, so yes, i had them nearly 2 yrs, but who knows how old they actually where when i got em. =] I am done with this thread haha, all that has happened is i got ganged up on haha
Well we're not ganging up on you, we're saying that "water changes stress fish" is not fact. But I'd also like to know where you got that, like as in links, or references. I'll be sure to look at the books at my pet store to see what it says.
And it slowly dies because of the ammonia build up, if there is any (which is why we have cycling). Those are physical things, ammonia is more internal instead. Not exactly something you can see.
"And it slowly dies because of the ammonia build up"
well that actually kills them over days/maybe a couple weeks, not 2 yrs. You cant say a betta dying after 2 yrs is b/c of poor treatment. I do not have links nor do i feel like trying to visit EVERY site i have read before joining this forum. Just go google betta fish and you will see that water changes = stress, sorry that ALL of you seem to think this is not a fact, but it is. But to tell me that i have to do a 100% water change every couple days, when MOST betta care sites say 50% changes are just fine every few days is shocking.
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