geebs Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) There is a lot of contradictory information regarding bettas out there. Not least of all, is the question of whether or not it is possible to drown a betta. I just bought a fluval edge aquarium, but I'm debating whether or not I should house a betta in it.... Do bettas do well without much (or nonevat all) access to surface air? My existing betta tank is a 1.8gal Dymax IQ3. I've seen people online suggesting 5gal, 10gal, and even 20gal as a minimum for a "thriving" betta. What are your thoughts? The third tank I have looked at is the 2gal fluval spec... Think a betta could jump out of that hole? Edited December 4, 2011 by geebs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 The edge is not a good tank for a betta. Bettas need to go to the surface for air and with the small opening in the edge its not the best. The dymax is ok for the betta as the top is open and the betta can come up for air at any place. With the spec the only thing you might have to worry about is the flow from the pump. I currently keep 6 different bettas in open tanks and they haven't jumped so they should be ok. The only betta so far that has jumped has been a wild type betta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 Unfortunately I have had my share of "carpet crispies" with domestic bettas and my feline assistant has, on odd occasion, assisted them with their suicide attempts too. Wild bettas are excellent jumpers and the comparison to popcorn is bang on. Keep your water a bit lower or use some plant cover(yes, duckweed) and they stay in the tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 The edge is not a good tank for a betta. Bettas need to go to the surface for air and with the small opening in the edge its not the best. The dymax is ok for the betta as the top is open and the betta can come up for air at any place. So what you're saying is that bettas cannot survive using their gills only? I always thought the labyrinth was for low-oxygen waters and that they could still use their gills? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) Yes they do need to be able to breathe ideally circulated or open surface air. None of mine have ever liked having too much current, and I've had a notable amount of domestic jumpers. ...think of the labyrinth organ like our lungs... if that helps Edited December 4, 2011 by Sierra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 Unfortunately I have had my share of "carpet crispies" with domestic bettas and my feline assistant has, on odd occasion, assisted them with their suicide attempts too. Wild bettas are excellent jumpers and the comparison to popcorn is bang on. Keep your water a bit lower or use some plant cover(yes, duckweed) and they stay in the tanks. H,m,... So I, mostly interested in HMs and CTs rather than PKs or wilds... I should be pretty safe from jumpers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 Unfortunately I have had my share of "carpet crispies" with domestic bettas and my feline assistant has, on odd occasion, assisted them with their suicide attempts too. Wild bettas are excellent jumpers I've had a notable amount of domestic jumpers. I'm sorry I feel like I should have used a different word than domestic. I mean all store bought tail types. Sorry about that hope it clears things up! It's good you asked, most people would just assume they know. There is a lot of helpful people here that have assisted me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mko Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I've seen my share of good HM jumpers. Once i had two seperated by a divider and as i was watching them one jumped over the divider straight into the other tank luckily i was there to prevent the fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I've seen my share of good HM jumpers. Once i had two seperated by a divider and as i was watching them one jumped over the divider straight into the other tank luckily i was there to prevent the fight. A guy at PJs said they tend to use the side of the tank to jump out of and thus wouldn't be able to jump out of a fluval spec... I'm not so sure... I ended up getting 2 of these tanks (on sale at pjs for $50 plus some random stuff). I'm going to take a piece of overhead projector film and cut some slats in... Then tape or superglue it over the hole in the middle of the lid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 it isn't as likely that a betta with heavy/long fins will jump, but because it can happen, i would always have a lid on a betta tank. as mentioned, the fluval edge is not a tank designed with a labyrinth organ-ed fish in mind, due to the lack of water surface area. an inexpensive 2.5 gallon from petsmart makes for a good betta tank. a 5 gallon would be better. bettas do enjoy having space to swim, but they don't need a 20 gallon all to themselves to thrive. and by getting a basic tank instead of one of these designer tanks (fluval, etc), you'll save yourself a good chunk of change. spend that extra money on a whack of plants to spoil your betta with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mko Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 it isn't as likely that a betta with heavy/long fins will jump, but because it can happen, i would always have a lid on a betta tank. as mentioned, the fluval edge is not a tank designed with a labyrinth organ-ed fish in mind, due to the lack of water surface area. an inexpensive 2.5 gallon from petsmart makes for a good betta tank. a 5 gallon would be better. bettas do enjoy having space to swim, but they don't need a 20 gallon all to themselves to thrive. and by getting a basic tank instead of one of these designer tanks (fluval, etc), you'll save yourself a good chunk of change. spend that extra money on a whack of plants to spoil your betta with This right here is a great plan to go with. I like using 5 gallon tanks when keeping my bettas too and basically cover the tank with plant stems, floating plants and moss with any extra change I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebs Posted December 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Hmm if a 2.5gal is "good" then I hope they're okay with the little 2 gals I have. When I get a bigger place I'll get better tanks . Right now though, one has some wisteria and a decoration in it and the other (still waiting for a fishy inhabitant) has some anubias/driftwood to hide or play around in. I was drawn to the dymax iq3 and fluval spec since they have built in filters in the back... both of them have quite a bit of flow though and require baffling the pump's output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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