bettas...

[fish 'n' fries]

This may be a naive question...but I haven't even thought of keeping bettas since I was a child. I have an ~5 gallon that I'd originally been planning for a dwarf puffer, but decided that I really wasn't up to breeding snails. I'm thinking about a betta--not sure male or female. How do I know if the current's too much for them? I've got my wood directly in front of the output on the filter, but there is still some current. Thanks.

 

[Zagz]

If the current is dispersed enough the betta should be fine. A lot of filters can be turned down. What kind of filter is it?

 

[An t-iasg]

I got a new filter, and until I found the correct adjustment, it looked like my poor betta was getting blown around a bit and struggling to not get caught up in the current. When he was not swimming - like when they just float along sometimes - it did look like he was being pushed around. When I got the filter adjusted right, his fins didn't wave around anymore and he didn't put a lot of effort into swimming, like he was no longer trying to get away from the current.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

The filter's an "ovation-210". I got it because I wanted good filtration for the puffer (that I'm now not getting). It's great from the standpoint of size especially as it's an odd shaped tank...but I'm not sure I can adjust the current...maybe if I put on the spray bar...that would probably be less force than the current. Short of getting a betta and seeing if it's sad or not...any way to estimate if it's too strong? I just keep reading "they don't like currents"... I'm still trying to decide if a betta's the best choice for this tank.

 

[Zagz]

I'm not personally familiar with that filter, I googled it and it looks like you can use the spray bar to control flow. Too strong is when the betta is being blown around the tank and is looking for places to get away from the flow. An t-iasg gave a description of how bettas look with too strong a current.

 

[An t-iasg]

I never heard of that filter either. Did you get it around here or online?

I thought of another description - When my betta was trying to turn right while his anal fin was waving to the left - that's too much current.

My filter is a Duetto Mini. It's not at the lowest adjustment, but about halfway. I have the output turned against the back tank wall so that the water coming out of the filter hits the glass first.

By the way - Be very careful if you try an adjustment (besides what the filter is capable of, like adjusting the spraybar). Example - I tried to adjust a bio-wheel filter by cutting a little piece of sponge to fit in the path of the waterflow, so it was not as strong for a betta. I ended up restricting the waterflow too much and I found a small (very small, thankfully) puddle where the water just flowed down the back of the tank!

 

[fish 'n' fries]

Thanks all for the help. I was hoping there was a way to tell before I got the betta if the set up was suitable. I'm happy with the set up and didn't want to redo it for the fish (would choose another species instead). Guess I'll just decide if I really want a betta and see.

Thanks for the warning about modifying filters too--although I'd probably be to chicken to try too much--mechanical/electrical things aren't my forte!