Betta fish questions

[HappyClucker7]

The tank would be in my room-the cat goes in the room, but never onto the desk, bedside table, or dresser. The best location for the fish may be on my dresser-I was going to use my desk or bedside table because they get more natural light, but if I used LED lights that wouldn't be a problem, right? I have a different cupboard that gets more light and is higher, but it is nearer the bed and the cat could potentially jump from bed to dresser. It would also be too high for me to clean the tank. Bedside table has easy cat access from bed-and desk is easily jumped on. However, cat knows that he is not allowed on tables of any sort, and I've never seen him get on my desk.

If you use an LED light for the tank, you won't need any natural light. You could put the tank on your dresser.

 

[black_cat]

If you use an LED light for the tank, you won't need any natural light. You could put the tank on your dresser.

Perfect. I don't have anything (besides random knicknacks that can be easily rehomed) there.

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

I suggest you start writing all these companies with your campaign;
http://www.bettafishcenter.com/caring-male-female-betta.shtml
https://bettafish.org/divided-betta-tank/
https://www.thesprucepets.com/how-many-bettas-can-be-kept-together-1378744
https://www.aqueon.com/information/care-sheets/betta
https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/freshwater/splendid-bettas-full-article
https://www.tropicalfishcareguides.com/betta-fish-care/betta-fish-tanks-divider/

Once you convince places like bettafish.org and tropical fish magazine that it's not ok I'll be happy to reconsider. Until then I'm going to following professional advice about keeping betta fish.

Here's a scientific article that suggests that the fighting has less to do with being close together and more to do with specific social behavior;
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347273800909
So just make the partitions opaque.

Tiny prisons of fear. Goodness. The hyperbole is real.

I never said anything about fighting. I spoke of territorial hormones produced by a dominant betta to ward off a weaker intruder. Imagine if you were in a jail cell next to the cell of a psychotic, aggressive indvidual with only meagre bars separating the two of you. Imagine that person taunted you you day and night, threatening to kill you, saying every day and night that he wanted to rip your throat out and r*pe you. Imagine you had to stay in that cell next to this person for your entire life, listening to his ranting for every waking moment. Sounds stressful? That is what it is like for the weaker fish.

In the wild, bettas live very far from one another, with relatively large territories, and only seek other bettas when in search of a mate. They are not sociable to one another.

Plus, there is no way to convince the people in your first set of links otherwise. Remember, there are people on the internet that think dog abuse is ok, that think slavery is moral. There are people looking to make money off of people who don't know any better by selling bad information and bad tanks. There is no stopping those people now, is there? And then there are those who are just badly misinformed. People that are unwilling to learn.

In the topic of professionalism, there are cops who kill inncent pets and people, scientist that work to prove global warming is a myth while Himalayan glaciers melt, and reporters that hand out fake news to anyone who will listen. And there are professional aquarium hobbyists that promote fish abuse.

I do not claim to be a professional, but I do my research, I check my facts, and I stick fast to my morals.

 

[Fishychix]

It is a possibility that I may get a betta fish. I am adding up costs and when I try to find a filter I see a lot of filter cartridges or refills but very few actual filters. What filters have you had success with for your betta?

Sponge filters are really awesome. You couple them with either an air pump or a powerhead. I have switched all m tanks to sponge filters with power heads. Very quiet and never needs a cartridge change. Just squeeze out the sponge every other water change in tank water. Have you done fish before?
I see there are lots of pages and inwill work my way through them.

 

[Fishychix]

When I looked it up it said that for each beta you need at least 5 gallons, but after my poor chickie babies had to live in a tiny coop, my goal is that all of my pets have more space than they need. (they've moved coops to a palace don't worry). After some very quick googling, female betas lack the 'wow' factor with the fancy long fins and tails. Apparently betas are happy on their own with lots of enrichment-lots of caves and things to hid in, go through, and swim around.

They’ll be fine but can go with other fish that dont have showy fins. If also helps to put the beta in the tank last so hes not alpha and nippy.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Imagine if you were in a jail cell next to the cell of a psychotic, aggressive indvidual with only meagre bars separating the two of you. Imagine that person taunted you you day and night, threatening to kill you, saying every day and night that he wanted to rip your throat out and r*pe you. Imagine you had to stay in that cell next to this person for your entire life, listening to his ranting for every waking moment. Sounds stressful? That is what it is like for the weaker fish.
-snip-

Wow, your rant comparing fish being in a tank with other fish to literal rapists really convinced me. I'm very certain you're not exaggerating now. I will 100% believe everything you say and not professionals in the industry now. Lemme go donate all of my income to PETA now. Thanks. /s

 

[Fishychix]

Ten gallons would be great for a betta fish! Keep in mind that the water changes are more labor-intensive for larger tanks, though.

Quite the opposite in my experience. 10% a week is all you need to do.

 

[Fishychix]

Just to clarify, by “50% water changes per week” I mean, for example, taking 5 gallons out of a 10 gallon per week and replacing it with new dechlorinated water.
With bettas you could probably even get away with 25% every other week, though I tried that with a shrimp tank (shrimp have very low bioloads) and I ended up with a LOT of algae.

What kind of shrimp? Neos? Shrimp need small er water changes more frequently. Tthey like maybe around 5% twice a week. Contrary to the math, it does not equal 10% per week. They dont. like change

 

[Fishychix]

The tank would be in my room-the cat goes in the room, but never onto the desk, bedside table, or dresser. The best location for the fish may be on my dresser-I was going to use my desk or bedside table because they get more natural light, but if I used LED lights that wouldn't be a problem, right? I have a different cupboard that gets more light and is higher, but it is nearer the bed and the cat could potentially jump from bed to dresser. It would also be too high for me to clean the tank. Bedside table has easy cat access from bed-and desk is easily jumped on. However, cat knows that he is not allowed on tables of any sort, and I've never seen him get on my desk.

Cat TV. Best channel ever
Pic #3 she also knows shes not allowed on the table; or to drink out of the tank; or to fall into the tank when the lids off due to cleaning. Farthead.
You’re not a farthead, she is.
@HappyClucker7 and @EggSighted4Life sound like my fish store guys. That s a good thing.
You should have posted this on the something fishy thread

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

What kind of shrimp? Neos? Shrimp need small er water changes more frequently. Tthey like maybe around 5% twice a week. Contrary to the math, it does not equal 10% per week. They dont. like change

Yes, different varieties of RCS. I know that it’s usually recommended that they get smaller, more frequent water changes, but that isn’t an option for me right now, unfortunately. :/
I’m going to be doing a lot of large water changes, mainly because the algae is getting so bad, then I’ll probably go back to smaller ones after I’ve dealt with that. Also, I should mention that most of my shrimp are mixed colors, so they’re a bit more hardy than most.