2006-06-14 09:02:15 · 16 answers · asked by K-Dawg 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
They can survive in a few inches of water assuming that you change the water regularly. It's not much of a life for the betta. It needs room to swim around and get exercise. You could survive for years in a closet too.
I personally won't put a male betta in any less than a 5 gallon tank with a gentle filter, and a heater. (Mainly the filter is so I don't need to do weekly water changes, and I can get away with just a bit of gravel vacuuming.) My betta females live in a 30 gallon tank with my mollies, and pair of dwarf groumies. That said a 2.5 gallon bowl/tank works well with weekly water changes. Note that betta's are happiest with water temp around 80 degrees, but will survive in lower temps. Lastly remember betta's beathe air from the surface so they don't need an air pump, but they be able to reach fresh air at the surface. Also you need a cover as betta (especially in small containers, and/or poor water conditions) will attempt to go for a walk. (I once had betta jump from a half height glass into the garbage disposal during a water change. Took me forever to "fish" him out.)
Note that it appears that many people here have never seen a rice paddy. There is a heck of a lot of room in a rice paddy!!! (It's shallow, and poorly oxygenated, but there is a lot of space to swim, about and places to hide.)
2006-06-14 09:33:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes! But don't put two together, they will eat each other, fight to the death.
They easily fit into large clear glass vases, goldfish bowls, clear Brandy snifter's, or even a small jar or glass. But I always liked to give mine a Little room. So putting mine in a really small glass didn't seem right to me, so I got a very small goldfish bowl made of plastic.
Keep the water clean. Like Goldfish, Betta Fish are oily. The oils from their skins will actually suffocate them. So every 3-4 days pour out a bunch of the water he is in and add fresh. If you can let the new freash water sit overnight to distille a bit. The clorine in the water will evaporate and better for fishy! You can see tiny bubble gather along the top edges of the water as the oils build up on top of the water. This means fishy has been trying to reach through the top oil barrier to get freah air. You will see him go up to the top of the water and push himself up through the oil and take a gasp of air and then go back down into the jar/tank. Then you know he needs "new water"!
Oh yes, you CAN put him in a regular tank with other "calm" fish species. But put another Betta in the same tank.......oops!
2006-06-14 20:08:04 · answer #2 · answered by Fays Daze 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
True, they only need to have 1-2 cups of water to survive. Never put two Betta fish in the same tank they will kill each other.
2006-06-14 16:06:08 · answer #3 · answered by stack_2384 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep! Bettas are part of a class of fish known as anabantids (along with common aquarium fish like gouramis). They have a labyrinth organ which is like a primitive lung. While they can't survive out of the water for long, they can take gulps of air to supplement their oxygen. In the wild, bettas live in puddles and rice paddies, so they evolved this ability to survive.
2006-06-14 16:06:48 · answer #4 · answered by Nick N 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes It's true, but you shouldn't do that with your betta. Most Aquarists would recommend at least a 5 gal. for bettas, and not to keep them in the bowls, because that would mean you'd need to do frequent water changes and that would stress your fish.
2006-06-14 18:48:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes its true. These type of fishies only need a little of water to live. You can also check this website, which is very help full for all the info you want about Betta's. bettatalk.com
2006-06-15 14:38:34 · answer #6 · answered by smileynaty 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Beta fish only need about as much water as a peanut butter jar will hold.
2006-06-19 21:59:31 · answer #7 · answered by MonkeyBrains 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, it is. Just don't put two of them together or put them with any other fish. They are fighting fish and they will fight till the death of one. We had two of them one time and they were in their own little tanks, but next to each other and they would get all puffed up like they were ready to fight each other. Good luck.
2006-06-14 16:06:51 · answer #8 · answered by kmb0506 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, they only need few inches. But make sure you put it in the calm water.
2006-06-15 05:24:08 · answer #9 · answered by Henk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
K-Dawg, please listen to Sabersquirrel's answer and not any of the uninformed answers above...
also, please use the yahoo answers search to get some better info on bettas...
btw, if you have a betta, you should definitely think about having AT LEAST a 10-gallon tank...for his own peace of mind...
2006-06-14 18:11:25 · answer #10 · answered by sammarlowe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋