Fish Lovers 3.0 [new poll]

[Dappled Sapphire]

He's adorable!
We dont get any fancy coloures here
Just the yellow/ cream

[Guest]

He's adorable!
We dont get any fancy coloures here
Just the yellow/ cream

Yeah, we usually have only the yellow ones, but sometimes there are other colors mixed in. I love my purple menace

[pidgeoncat]

hi! i have a question.

i bought a nerite zebra snail yesterday and put him in with my betta fish.

he keeps trying to get out of the water, or at least above the water line. is there any reason why they do this?

[River in the TARDIS]

I did some quick research; do you have other snails in the tank? If so, are they doing the same thing? If they aren't, don't worry about the water. This is actually normal for Nerite snails. There's probably just something up there that tastes good, and he'll eventually go back in the water. I don't know much about snails since I've never had one, (too many stories about waking up and stepping on them as you walk through the kitchen) but from what I can see, he'll be okay, since he can survive for a while out of the water.

[FlynnEugene]

I am definitely no fish expert but I came here to get advice....
Anyway, I can see all of you have your beta fish in like a 3 gallon tank... so I am obviously already doing something wrong. So I have a female crown tailed beta and I have had her for 2 years already. When I got her I just bought one of those Betta Tanks that petsmart sells.
Can someone explain to me why that is wrong? And if it is not healthy for them then why has she lived for 2 almost 3 years? and can betas live with other betas or other species of fish, or do they kill them or something? Thanks I just want to learn more about the breed of fish.

[Hime]

I am definitely no fish expert but I came here to get advice....
Anyway, I can see all of you have your beta fish in like a 3 gallon tank... so I am obviously already doing something wrong. So I have a female crown tailed beta and I have had her for 2 years already. When I got her I just bought one of those Betta Tanks that petsmart sells.
Can someone explain to me why that is wrong? And if it is not healthy for them then why has she lived for 2 almost 3 years? and can betas live with other betas or other species of fish, or do they kill them or something? Thanks I just want to learn more about the breed of fish.

Well, bettas are hardy and it's possible for them(and some fish in general) to live in less than ideal conditions without getting sick. That how ever does not mean they can reach their full potential. How big is the tank you got and does it have heater and filter?

Filter is probably the most important piece of aquarium equipment. It keeps the water circulating, allowing more oxygen into the water due surface movement(though betas don't like strong currents), sucks up some dirt and houses good amount of beneficial bacteria(which also live on every surface in the tank), that are needed to keep the water fish friendly. Meaning fish/un-eaten food produces waste which is pretty much ammonia(bad), then one type of bacteria 'eats it' and it turns into nitrite(still bad for fish), then another bacteria eats the formed nitrite and turns it into nitrate, which is no longer harmful to fish unless in very high amount. This is called nitrogen cycle, and entablishing one is often called cycling the tank, which is the most important step in setting up the tank. If you don't cycle the tank, then the ammonia and nitrite levels rise first to potentially lethal levels, before they start going down and the forming of nitrate begins. Water changes are done to mostly bring down the nitrate level(high nitrate can also promote algae growth, if rest of the conditions are ideal) and also to clean up the dirt in the water/bottom, so that there won't be random ammonia/nitrite spikes if the dirt were to build up. Another way to bring down nitrate(and other nitrogen compounds) is to have live plants, but the live plants don't remove the need of water change, even if they do use up the nitrate.

As for the heater. Fish can't maintain even body temperature like mammals can. Heat effects their metabolistic system and activity level. It also effects the amount of oxygen dissolving into the water. But the metabolistic system is most important to consider. You keep fish in too warm water, they live shorter lives as their system goes into sort of over drive. Too cold, they might be lethargic and are not very into food, as their system is having hard time digesting it. What's ideal temperature depends on the fish species. Most aquarium fish need to be kept in temps over 20C, many need at least 24C and betas can tolerate as high as 28-30C according to some sources. If I remember right the lowest temp a beta should be kept is 25 or 26C.

Female bettas can live together quite often(after they establish a picking order among themselves), BUT the tanks needs to be quite big(as in bigger than 10-20gal imo) and offer hiding spots(tall plants, large decoration etc). For males it's not recommended as they will most likely fight and that can even lead to the death of either participant. In super super big tank, it might work for certain individuals and apparently the wild form might be better living like that than the heavily bred ones. But in general the rule is no two males in one tank. Females can live with a male in same tank, but if they breed it can be quite agressive and lead to injuries on the fish. And once again hiding spots should be provided, so that if one of the fish is very agressive towards others, they have some place to hide and rest. Also the owner should have some sort of emerncy/quarantine set up ready to go if one gets injured or just needs to be separated from the rest.
Betas can live with any other fish, that matches their preferance in water temperature and is not a fin nipper nor has big flowy fins(which might make the beta mistake the other fish for another beta, hence attack). And they have to be big enough not to be eaten by the betta. But many of the other fish species that can live with a betta need much more space than is usually offered for single betta. Like I think 10gal is bare minimum if you want to house some other species with a betta and still bigger wouldn't hurt.

Anyone with more betta experience feel free to correct about their compatibility with other fish, as I'm no betta expert. c:

[PeachFuzz]

I am definitely no fish expert but I came here to get advice....
Anyway, I can see all of you have your beta fish in like a 3 gallon tank... so I am obviously already doing something wrong. So I have a female crown tailed beta and I have had her for 2 years already. When I got her I just bought one of those Betta Tanks that petsmart sells.
Can someone explain to me why that is wrong? And if it is not healthy for them then why has she lived for 2 almost 3 years? and can betas live with other betas or other species of fish, or do they kill them or something? Thanks I just want to learn more about the breed of fish.

Hime already answered most of your questions and gave you a lot of good information, I just want to add a couple things. c:
If someone put you in a closet with some food and water, you would probably live. Maybe you would live to be 100 years old! But would you be happy and comfortable in the closet? Probably not.
As for bettas living with other fish, it all depends on the individual betta's personality. Some are completely relaxed and don't care at all (such as my Poseidon who lives with guppies) while others will attack and kill instantly. People say "don't put guppies with bettas because of their long fins" but I have safely housed brightly coloured, long-finned male guppies with my bettas. There are rules like that about colour and fin length, etc. but in the end it all comes down to the individual.
How frequent of water changes are you doing? In one of those tiny betta tanks (usually 1 gal or less) without a filter you'll need to be doing daily 100% water changes to keep up with the rising ammonia levels.
You need a heater. Bettas are tropical fish and require 78-82F degree water. Without proper heating they're immune system is weaker. Temperature drops (usually from day to night) can cause a fish to go into shock.
A filter is not needed for oxygen purposes as bettas have a labyrinth organ which allows them to take oxygen directly from the surface instead of from the water, but a filter will help keep the water clean and lower maintenance requirements.
Good luck!

[FlynnEugene]

Thank you both for all of the information, this is definitely very helpful!!!

@peachfuzz I clean her tank once a week... Which I guess isn't enough. I do have a live plant in there though, and if she has any uneaten food I usually take it out.

Now, I have one last question.
So I am in college and we are not allowed to have huge fish tanks, just little tanks about http://www.petco.com/assets/product_images/0/015561133524C.jpg not much bigger. I will have to check the largest tank size that we can have, I don't want to get in trouble. Anyway, what should I do? I love my fish and want to keep her but I also want to make her happy as possible.
I know for a fact I will check to see what size fish tank we can have because if we can have a larger one then I will get her the biggest one possible. Their main reasoning behind big tanks is they don't want people sneaking in snakes, lizards, guinea pigs etc.

[flyteck]

Thank you both for all of the information, this is definitely very helpful!!!

@peachfuzz I clean her tank once a week... Which I guess isn't enough. I do have a live plant in there though, and if she has any uneaten food I usually take it out.

Now, I have one last question.
So I am in college and we are not allowed to have huge fish tanks, just little tanks about http://www.petco.com/assets/product_images/0/015561133524C.jpg not much bigger. I will have to check the largest tank size that we can have, I don't want to get in trouble. Anyway, what should I do? I love my fish and want to keep her but I also want to make her happy as possible.
I know for a fact I will check to see what size fish tank we can have because if we can have a larger one then I will get her the biggest one possible. Their main reasoning behind big tanks is they don't want people sneaking in snakes, lizards, guinea pigs etc.

If that's all you can keep her in she should be okay. Try to get the biggest tank you can, but if you can't, she should be okay as long as you do frequent water changes.

[PeachFuzz]

Thank you both for all of the information, this is definitely very helpful!!!

@peachfuzz I clean her tank once a week... Which I guess isn't enough. I do have a live plant in there though, and if she has any uneaten food I usually take it out.

Now, I have one last question.
So I am in college and we are not allowed to have huge fish tanks, just little tanks about http://www.petco.com/assets/product_images/0/015561133524C.jpg not much bigger. I will have to check the largest tank size that we can have, I don't want to get in trouble. Anyway, what should I do? I love my fish and want to keep her but I also want to make her happy as possible.
I know for a fact I will check to see what size fish tank we can have because if we can have a larger one then I will get her the biggest one possible. Their main reasoning behind big tanks is they don't want people sneaking in snakes, lizards, guinea pigs etc.

Most college dorms that allow fish will at least allow a 1 gallon tank, which would still be better than one of those mini betta tanks.
Definitely try to up the amount of water changes you're doing.
There are heaters available specifically made for small tanks and bowls that shouldn't be too costly.