a question about Betta fishies

BlurOfSerenity

BlurOfSerenity

New Member
i have a Betta (aka Siamese Fighting Fish), and i am so thrilled with it, that i would like to get another!
i keep hearing that if you put them in seperate tanks and put them next to each other, the fish will flare, which is cool, pretty, and amusing to watch.

but my question is this: is it safe to keep them that way? or does this stress the fish and make them unhealthy as a result? i'm just wondering if i should keep their tanks apart most of the time.
or... well, am i making sense?

input appreciated :)
 
A.B.Normal

A.B.Normal

New Member
WooHoo!!!

http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_behavior.htm

Because bettas are not as intelligent than us (or are they? :)) ) you can get the same result by putting a mirror in front of them. Well, it’s not really that they are dumb, but they don’t know what they look like, so when they see the betta in the mirror, they don’t know the betta is actually THEM.:) This makes for hours of fun watching the whole commotion. And no, bettas will not get exhausted, as a matter of fact, I have two brothers jarred side by side who have been continually flaring at each other for a year now. I believe that a little action and company is good for the moral. So I let my bettas see each other. This is not a good idea though, if you intend to show your bettas. Sometimes, a betta who looks lethargic will be stimulated by replacing his neighbor. A new neighbor equals a new pecking order to establish and a whole new desire for flaring.
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Professur

Professur

Well-Known Member
They keep them side by side in the pet stores, don't they?

BTW Ash, fish in both singular and plural. One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Remember?
 
MrBishop

MrBishop

Well-Known Member
Two things that you have to keep in mind Asr_r

1) Betas are more beautiful and colourful when they're about to go into battle.
2) Betas sell better because they are colourful and beautiful

therefore...pet stores will store them next to each other so that they're pissed-off enough to increase sales. :)

Imagine being stressed 24/7. Goldfish have a 3-second memory...Betas are about the same. If every 3 seconds, you notice a new enemy that NEEDS to die, you will stress out your little fishy heart and have a fishy-heartattack.

I'd keep them apart most of the time and put them together if you have visitors...that way, they live longer and are colourful and beautiful when people come a visitin' :)
 
G

greenfreak

New Member
I completely agree with Bish, I've read a lot on the subject, I used to have them too. By the way if you're planning to do the whole peace lily/vase/betta thing, you should know that bettas do not eat the roots of the plant and would need supplemental food. Another misnomer is that they don't require frequent water changes or that you can use tap water. They do and you can't. Changing 25% of the water every week and 100% of the water every month with spring water should do it.

Oh and they don't have a very long life span, just a few years. I've been thinking about getting another myself, at work. After my last one died (jumped right out of the bowl, you have to be very careful of that also, they WILL jump), I was so sad, I didn't want another. I think the grieving process should be over though. :)

Ash, what color are yours? I had blues, greens, puples, reds. They are oh so pretty. :)
 
R

Rose

New Member
I keep a mirror handy near Fluffy to get him riled up everynow and then, but I wouldn't' keep him riled up permanently with another male so closeby.

If you keep your betta in something of a decent size (say a gallon tank), add a little rock or fake plant for the betta. They like that. :D
 
BlurOfSerenity

BlurOfSerenity

New Member
lol! i think i'll only put them near each other sometimes, then. going with my instinct, and some of what's been said here.

GF: what about tap water with a chemical that removes the bad stuffies from it?

Rose: yah,i have a little plant in the tank, and Nuriko (my fishie) spends a lot of time just hanging out in it, lol. it's really funny ^_^
 
R

Rose

New Member
ash r said:
lol! i think i'll only put them near each other sometimes, then. going with my instinct, and some of what's been said here.

GF: what about tap water with a chemical that removes the bad stuffies from it?

Rose: yah,i have a little plant in the tank, and Nuriko (my fishie) spends a lot of time just hanging out in it, lol. it's really funny ^_^
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If you use tap water, leave it in an open container for at least 24 hours. That should take care of most of the bad stuff. It also brings the water to room temp so as not to shock the fish. I sometimes use little drop in fizzie things, too, to remove the chlorine and such.
 
G

greenfreak

New Member
Yeah, those water purifier things work well too. Rose is right, the chlorine is what burns off in water that's left overnight, I do that for my plants. I keep a big 2 gallon container filled with water and cycle it with the other smaller watering cans so the plants never get chlorinated water. And room temperature is important too. I used to just feel it with my finger to see if the temp was ok for me but it's not really a good indication.

The plants will make them feel more secure too. Has he started blowing bubbles on the surface of the water yet? They do that to prepare for mating. The females lay their eggs in the bubble nests. That's the way you know if your betta is horny. :D
 
BlurOfSerenity

BlurOfSerenity

New Member
LOL!

ok, another question, then: how about decoration? i've bought my betta a little statue, about the size of my thumb (i've got short thumbs). so it's not really big. how do bettas normally react to such things? is it best to leave it out?
(i also got him a mermaid-friend statue but she just sits outside the tank, next to it, since she's kinda large).
 
SexyBoo

SexyBoo

Well-Known Member
ash r said:
LOL!

ok, another question, then: how about decoration? i've bought my betta a little statue, about the size of my thumb (i've got short thumbs). so it's not really big. how do bettas normally react to such things? is it best to leave it out?
(i also got him a mermaid-friend statue but she just sits outside the tank, next to it, since she's kinda large).
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The betta I had for a couple of years didn't mind the castle I had in his tank - so you shouldn't have any problems. :)
 
G

greenfreak

New Member
As long as the decorations are made for a fishtank, I don't think it should be a problem. The questionable things come in when you put stuff like coral from the beach or something like that in the tank. A lot of things exude chemicals and bad stuff into the water.

Something unorthodox that I did with my goldfish when I had them was take an oval glass candleholder, took out the candle, scrubbed and washed it with bleach and soap, and soaked it in regular tapwater for days. Then I put it in the tank and the fish LOVED it. They used to all try to get in it at the same time, to sleep at night. You can see it in this picture, it's on the bottom:

http://www.greenfreak.net/other_stuff/jaz%20flash%20shelby.jpg

Since bettas originally lived in rice paddies, they really like having pllaces to hang out that are sheltered.

Found a nice site with info, click on the Home link and someone asked the same question as you:

http://www.bettatalk.com/
 
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