can i cover the top of my betta jar to keep the heat store in?? do you guys do that??

Answer 1

No I don't do that. I have my betta's in tanks with heaters even my 9 week old fry. You should keep the top covered at all times. Use a hair net, or something that will allow air in, but will prevent the fish from jumping out.
Buy a larger tank at least 2.5 gallons with a heater and filter. That would be what is best for your Betta.

Answer 2

I don't understand what you mean by "keeping the heat in". Do you have a heater? If you do, the water will be heated as long as the heater is on. You don't need to account for heat loss.

Nevertheless, a betta's home should always have a lid. This is because in the wild, bettas jump from various paddy fields to others to keep in clean water. They are terrific jumpers and will almost always jump if given the chance.

However, your lid MUST have a few holes in it, smaller than your betta can fit through. This is so that your betta can breathe. Bettas don't breathe dissolved oxygen from the water; they breathe from the surface, inhaling the air that we do. So look at it this way: if you were in an airtight room, you would eventually suffocate. Same with bettas. You need to have holes in the top of your lid. A good way to do this with jars (I hope your jar is at least a gallon) is to stretch some cloth netting over the top of your jar and tie it with a ribbon, like a jam jar. It provides good airflow and looks nice too.

Answer 3

People say bettas can live in jars or bowls because they can breathe air from the surface, so they don't really need aeration. Also, they're not especially active fish, so they don't need a lot of space to swim like, say, danios or paradise fish.

HOWEVER bettas are tropical fish. They DO need more heat than you will be able to provide in a jar. They should stay a stable 78-80 degrees. Anything less than that is going to stress them, and make them more prone to disease and problems (and, sadly, because bettas are so inbred for color and finnage, they are already fairly fragile).

You should get your betta at least a 5 gallon tank, and put in a heater with a thermostat to keep the temp stable. And filtration, while it's not absolutely needed for aeration, will benefit the fish, so do that too.

Answer 4

there really isn't heat unless you have a light over the tank. if you don't the water will be room temperature and stay that way. if you want heat for your Betta then get him/her a heater or a light built into the lid. i have a light on the lid so it keeps the heat in and the fish from flopping out. Bettas are river fish so by instinct they like to jump. anyway, i just leave the light and lid on day and night.

Kelly

p.s. there are holes at the top of my lid so don't think you can buy a lid without holes.

Answer 5

You can cover the top as long as there's a hole in the cover so your betta can breathe. As the other users have mentioned, bettas have a labyrinth organ on the top of their heads that allows them to breathe (rather than breathing through their gills). As long as the cover has holes in it, your fish will be fine and the heat should be retained a little bit better. Also, some bettas have a tendency to jump, so a lid on your fish might keep him from jumping out of his bowl. (That's how my first betta died ;_; )

Good luck. :)

Answer 6

You'd actually be suprised how much more active a betta will be with a heater. I know they can survive without one, that's the way I used to keep them, but they are so much happier with a heater. Go buy a 2.5 standard tank and a 10 dollar heater and see for your self. But no, they need AIR to breath from the top of the water.

Answer 7

Bettas have an labyrinth lung. If you cover the top on the jar, he's not going to be able to breathe properly.

But, if you make a good enough sized hole, around a dime sized, that should be fine.

Answer 8

I did for a while with a flower pot. But I don't anymore.You can cover it to keep it warm. But you should always have it covered because those jump.Make sure theres a hole in the flower put of lid.I cover one of my bettas bowls with a yarn bowl i made because it lets are in and keep him from jumping out.

Answer 9

NOOOOOOOOO!
Bettas breathe air from the surface and will die. Room temperature is all they need. Just don't leave outside in the winter and you are fine.

Answer 10

NOOO NEVER COVER THE TOP FISH NEED OXYGEN TOO!