Betta behavior

[ADW76]

Maybe someone out there can explain betta behavior to me... I've been researching what to put into a couple of small 3 gallon tanks I have currently empty. Of course through my search I get a lot of hits that suggest Betta. Here is the problem though...

I've had a betta for more than 6 months now and he started in one of the small tanks in November and HATED it. He wasn't very active and just kind of sat at the bottom of the tank. It was heated but not filtered, but I did regular 40-50% water changes. It got depressing watching him, so I put him in my 30-gallon tank with my tetras - now he's thriving! He's swimming around the tank all the time, eats like a pig, his fins are out and flowing all the time and just seems to love life. But from what I've read on the 'net this isn't common for a betta to like the bigger tanks. Do I just have a strange behaving betta? Could it of been the lack of a filter? I have filters in the smaller tanks now, could I move him back to a smaller tank?

He's kind of messing up my stocking plans for the 30-gallon tank. I'm sure the Tiger Barbs I wanted to buy aren't gonna play nice with the betta.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Nope neither will some tetras,

I got a betta in a 55, it swims all over te place, has his spot but doesnt defend it with force just flex, he is eating guppy fry right now so yeah he is happy as can be right now.

 

[DragonFish71]

I've read the same thing about Bettas not like bigger tanks. I think it's a bunch of crap. I have a male and female in a divided 5.5 gal. A male in a 10 gal with ghost shrimp, otos, corys, platys and tetras. Then 2 more males in a 3 section divided 20L and all of them are happy as can be. They love to swim in the live plants, weaving in and out like an obstical course. I was told by others that they like slow moving water but mine seem to love swimming against the current of the filters. They do need clean, moving water, so maybe it was you putting him with a filter did help. They get fed every other day and all are in such good shape that a friend at my LFS wants to buy them as breeders. (Not that I'm selling them, but it's nice to know they think that good of how I take care of them)

Personally I think it's cruel to keep them in smaller spaces. They should have the room to swim, show off their colors and just enjoy life. Especially when you consider how they are kept at the breeders, shipped and kept in the LFS.

 

[WhiteDevil]

My bettas always swim in the current, its actually very good for them since they dont really move much in those little cups and those little bowls. 10g minimum for a single male IMO.

Dragon,
Planted 55 - Album - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

Too many single pics to post, they LOVE big tanks.

ADW, I have no method to my madness, I will try fish that are incompatible with eachother in large volumes of water.

I have bluegills in with bass in with flathead and blue cats in a 9k gallon tank, a few gills here and there disappear but for the most part a 5" gill has lived peacefully with these 24+ " cats and 4-7 pound largemouths for nearly 2 years now.

 

[DragonFish71]

WhiteDevil,


Beautiful tank!. Your betta looks to be just as happy as ours. I love seeing other peoples pics of them where they have plenty of room. Thanks for sharing

 

[ADW76]

Thanks for the responses! You both have convinced me, the betta stays, and my tank plan changes. I just don't have the heart to move him now, he just loves it.

WhiteDevil, I know what you mean about the betta defending his spot. Mine does too with the black skirts, not aggressively, just uses his size to scare them away I think. Well, the black skirt tetra's I have are so wimpy, the slightest thing happens and they go bannanas anyway!

So now that its official I'm not getting any Tiger Barbs to protect the Betta, I'm looking into getting some cory cats instead - might be a better fit for me anyway.

The more I learn in this hobby the more I realize that you can't believe everything you read! Thanks again for sharing your experiences with me.

 

[WhiteDevil]

black skirts are very iintimidated fish, all ive ever had were shy ones rather then defensive like the serpae tetras get.