Writing an Essay on Betta Keeping for University

[Sivan]

Hey guys.

I am in an expository writing class (don't ask what expository writing is, it technically doesn't exist) and I have to write an essay on something that people are good at doing. It is part research and part persuasive and I need to have primary sources and scholarly ones. I've decided that since its a casual type of topic-of-your-choice essay that I'd do it on betta keeping.

While I am looking for scholarly second-hand sources, I thought it would be fun to use some quotes from the community on behalf of betta keeping. My persuasive stance is something along the lines of Betta Fish Are Actually Harder to Take Care of Than You Think. I guess it will be a rumor-crushing type of informational piece that draws attention to the beauty of the fish and the intricate details of the hobby.

Anyone want to participate? I'd love to hear what you guys would suggest or stories about first experiences. I figured it would be fun and interesting to discuss here in this thread instead of going through individual threads looking for info, though I do know one important post I will be quoting from.

Any thoughts?

[kfish]

Something that immediately jumped to my mind is bettas getting stuck in terracotta pots (or whatever else) and ripping their scales off/drowning. I've seen some very sad threads on here about that.

Here's a thread about a betta that buried himself and drowned, and Myates has a good quote there for your purposes.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....ht=stuck+drown

"Poor guy.. I have one that needs to be in a bare bottom tank as he will always get stuck under and in between things. Almost daily I had to rescue him.. silly fish. Good thing you got to him in time, as they can drown."

Also, tailbiting! Such an absolute nightmare to address and fix sometimes.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....ght=tailbiting

I haven't had many personal issues... I've lucked out with my bettas. Sky started tailbiting, but stopped when I moved him to college with me. He can see me all the time now and that seems to make him happy. I've had him over a year, and now that he gets a ton of interaction, his personality has completely changed. He's much more active and I can't believe how colorful he is now! Bettas are so much more beautiful with attention and effort.

Also the bettas that jump out of their tanks and die that way...

[Sivan]

I am glad Sky is doing better! I've heard of bettas drowning, which is sad and something people don't think of as possible. I mean, who ever heard of a fish drowning? It seems ironic.

I didn't even think of including such incidents in my paper. I'll DEFINITELY keep that in mind. I have to try to remember what most people do not know about bettas because I have to state obvious but often unknown facts...which is hard once you've been so into bettas for such a long time because everything seems like it is obvious.

[kfish]

Originally Posted by Sivan

I am glad Sky is doing better! I've heard of bettas drowning, which is sad and something people don't think of as possible. I mean, who ever heard of a fish drowning? It seems ironic.

I didn't even think of including such incidents in my paper. I'll DEFINITELY keep that in mind. I have to try to remember what most people do not know about bettas because I have to state obvious but often unknown facts...which is hard once you've been so into bettas for such a long time because everything seems like it is obvious.

Yeah, exactly. Who would think you'd have to have prevention methods for a FISH DROWNING? Haha. To justify it, you might want to include how they breathe because I think most people would be like, "YOU'RE MAKING THAT UP." Haha.

[Sivan]

Yeah, I'll definitely note the fact that they have lungs like we do...in a sense.

[Bombalurina]

My girl Athena nearly drowned once after getting stuck in a snail trap that I built. Silly girl.

I think a lot of people also don't realise that these fish are pretty amazing jumpers. My Apollo made it a good foot up into the air once.

[thekoimaiden]

Practical Fish Keeping is a very good aquarist magazine that you can use; they have a website where you can access many articles, just search for Betta splendens. If the IBC has published anything, you might be able to use that, too. However, you're going to be hard pressed to find true scholarly articles (published in a peer-reviewed journal) on almost anything dealing with fishkeeping simply because very little research has been done on "best tank size" or "compatibility with other fish" or "to filter or not." A lot of what we know as fact comes from either betta's natural habitat (for temp and decor preference) or from breeders who have been doing this all their life.

I did a quick search for Betta splendens on google scholar and came up with nothing defining betta care. Most of the scholarly research with betta have to do with their aggressiveness.

[Bombalurina]

Agreed. Most articles are going to be in non-peer reviewed magazines. Redfish is one. :)

[Sivan]

My professor's idea of "scholarly" in this case is just "published" and not peer-reviewed. Strange but it works for the assignment. I'll take a look at those magazines. I've never read a fish keeping magazine aside from one I found at my public library, but that was mostly for salt water fish anyway.

[thekoimaiden]

If you're just looking for published info I would also check out Tropical Fish Hobbyist. PFK is a British magazine, so you might not be able to find hard copies on this side of the pond. Tropical Fish Hobbyist is published in the US. Aquarium Fish International is another good fishkeeping magazine.