Is it True Beta's don't need a filter?

Question

I try and take the best care of my fish possible. I have always belived in the "Every Fish Needs a Filter" rule because every fish needs clean water. So I'm setting up a Beta tank and I picked up a 3.5 gallon rectangular aquarium. When asking in my local fish store (Whose opinions I have always trusted and respected) about a suitable filter they said that I did'nt need one and that betas hated the water movement.
Is this true? I hope to maybe keep an African Dwarf Frog as well would they benifit from a filter as well?

I heard betas are coldwater fish and a heater in a small tank is not that great of an idea (hard to control)

Answer 1

ZooTycoon and Evelyn"B" are both right on with their answers. Bettas are tropical fish from southeast Asia and need temps in the range of 78-82.

Whoever told you, at the LFS, that bettas hate water movement, obviously hasn't kept bettas. Bettas are OK with water movement as long as it doesn't cause them to be moved around the tank with it. They come from quiet waters where there is some movement but not a current that disturbs them.

ADF's are great companions for bettas. A 3.5 g tank will be OK, but a 10 gallon would be better if you have the room. If you can return the 3.5 g tank and get a 10 g, that would be the best idea. The wattage formula for a heater is 3-5 watts per gallon. I don't think they make one smaller than a 25 watt, but I may be wrong.

You are entirely correct in the "every fish needs a filter" rule. Some of the bigger, dirtier ones need two. Also don't forget to do your weekly partial (25-30%) water changes no matter what size tank you have.

I can't believe Evelyn and ZooTycoon got a thumbs down for those answers! Some little pr**k doesn't know anything about bettas, obviously.

Answer 2

The best environment you can give a betta is a nice sized tank as yours a filter, as well as a heater

The heaters are not hard to control at all, just buy a small one that is submursable as well as adjustable, and a betta like all the other fish should be in stable temperatures

In a warmer water around 76-82 degrees beeing perfect for a betta, the colors start to show much more and you will see him also more moving then in cold water, and they really thrive in a filtered and heatet tank

http://www.firsttankguide.net/betta.php



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 3

Bettas can live without a fillter but will do better with one. It's true that they don't like strong curents since in there native homeland of thailand and cambodia they are found most often in rice paties and ponds were there isint a current at all. Since going with a filter is the best bet I suggest that you buy a sponge filter or better an under graval filter ( if of corse you can find one for a tank that small).

Answer 4

Of course every fish needs a filter, no matter how big or small they are. All fish poop and need some sort of way of picking it up. Without a filter, the ammonia levels will pile up and kill the fish.

If it's a male betta you're keeping, you can't keep an ADF because it will bully it. But if it's a female then you can.

A heater is a must for a betta. They like their temperatures between 72-80, so a heater is needed. Get a submersible adjustable one, not the preset ones.

~ZTM

Answer 5

heaters - Betta choose heat water. Now some peoples rooms are centrally heated and not in any respect drop under approximately 20C. if so a betta can stay and not making use of a heater, yet purely via fact it incredibly is at tropical temperatures already. and not making use of a heater my tanks could drop to approximately 10C at circumstances interior the wintry climate, no way a betta is going to stay to tell the story that. So there is not any way you're able to be able to make blanket assertion that betta do no longer choose a heater, relies upon on your concern. Filters - ALL fish produce ammonia, and ammonia is a perilous poison. Betta can easily stay to tell the story it extra helpful than maximum, yet extreme ranges will nonetheless kill them, low ranges will purely weaken them and that they get different random ailments. So it ought to be controlled. Water modifications are one way. flora and algae will eliminate it. Even and not making use of a clear out a tank can nonetheless cycle, the micro organism will for sure advance on the gravel and adorns. no longer very many, yet possibly adequate to help with the waste from one small fish. however the perfect way is to run some variety of capacity clear out. it incredibly is like asking you to stay in a cardboard field, some human beings do, and stay to tell the story, some get unwell and die. yet would not you quite stay in superb little cabin, with a heater, and plumbing? Ian

Answer 6

good for you that you got that big a tank for your betta. mines in a ten gallon, but ok. its good if they have a filter, they do not HATE water movement its just that it destroyes their bubble nest. you could try to have "natural" fish tank. that is when you rely on sunlight and really good plants to filter the water and some little shrimp and a snail. of course when you first start it out you should do some water changes but eventually you shouldnt need almost any! i m going to try one with this one plant that its roots and stems can grow in water and its leaves grow out of the water. and i am going to have a female betta in a vase with it.

Answer 7

They don't NEED a filter...but it makes it easier to clean the tank for you

Without a filter, you need a weekly water change

With one, about 2 cleanings a month.

They have really small filters that have a very small water movement, the betta can tolerate a little water movement, its perfecrtly fine, they just don't like having to swim so hard against a really hard current

I would say, get a filter

Answer 8

They don't have to have a filter, but it is best to have one in the tank.

Answer 9

A Betta does not need a filter. Just change part of the water weekly.

Answer 10

Yes they do. But I would get a bigger tank. Every fish does need one. They will have better water that way.