1) Bettas like living in little containers. They actually like 2+ gallons of (mostly still) water. While bettas can survive in a small container, they won't thrive.
2) Bettas do well in vases. No, bettas are labyrinth fish and, therefore, breathe air at the surface of the water. Having a wider necked container is better for them. Especially since they're used to shallow water--so if you can find a container that's more wide than tall, then the betta'll be happy in it.
3) Bettas can survive eating food off the roots of plants. Can't tell you how much this one pisses me off! No, they're predators--they need real food. It just takes them a couple of months to starve to death.
4) Bettas have short lives. Bettas can easily live upwards of two to three years. Some people have had their bettas for five, meaning that the bettas were likely close to six years old when they died! =)
5) You never need to change their water! UM. Just, no. Maybe if you did the Walstad method for light fish-loaded tanks, but that's not something most people do.
6) Fish are stupid. This can't be farther from the truth! Bettas are smart enough to learn tricks and patterns, and I accidentally taught mine to only poop when he's flaring. XDD On the bright side, I can check him for parasites everyday.
7) Bettas will stop eating when they're full. Actually, bettas can't tell when they're full--you'll have to control how much they eat and how many times they eat in a day. Generally, their stomach is the size of their eye. Smaller bettas will also need less food, because bettas get easily constipated (not kidding--my boy gets it every couple of months).
8) Fish can only see in black and white. Nope, bettas see in color. You can tell easily about how bettas will prefer some colors to others, or how they'll stare more at things with a variety of colors. My betta adores watching my Dad play World of Warcraft when I'm home because of this. XD Also, quite a few bettas don't like the "hotter" colors, such as red/orange/yellow. My betta Magus tends to attack new things in his tank that are yellow until he's sure they'll behave themselves.
Other random information:
Bettas tend to get bullied by other fish because of their long fins, only girls can be put together (in a group of 3+), they like having enough stuff in their tank to easily hide, they like being where the "action" is in the house, they are extremely sociable fish, bettas can become depressed, they are generally weak swimmers and cannot thrive in large current waters, bettas are naturally jumpers and will sometimes jump out of their tanks (if upset), and the more time you spend with your betta, the more personality he seems to develop. =)
The community bettas is a pretty good read--it'll give you a feeling for them. I'd definitely research about them a little, and there's a ton of good sites you can find (probably linked from said community) online.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 01:22 pm (UTC)2) Bettas do well in vases. No, bettas are labyrinth fish and, therefore, breathe air at the surface of the water. Having a wider necked container is better for them. Especially since they're used to shallow water--so if you can find a container that's more wide than tall, then the betta'll be happy in it.
3) Bettas can survive eating food off the roots of plants. Can't tell you how much this one pisses me off! No, they're predators--they need real food. It just takes them a couple of months to starve to death.
4) Bettas have short lives. Bettas can easily live upwards of two to three years. Some people have had their bettas for five, meaning that the bettas were likely close to six years old when they died! =)
5) You never need to change their water! UM. Just, no. Maybe if you did the Walstad method for light fish-loaded tanks, but that's not something most people do.
6) Fish are stupid. This can't be farther from the truth! Bettas are smart enough to learn tricks and patterns, and I accidentally taught mine to only poop when he's flaring. XDD On the bright side, I can check him for parasites everyday.
7) Bettas will stop eating when they're full. Actually, bettas can't tell when they're full--you'll have to control how much they eat and how many times they eat in a day. Generally, their stomach is the size of their eye. Smaller bettas will also need less food, because bettas get easily constipated (not kidding--my boy gets it every couple of months).
8) Fish can only see in black and white. Nope, bettas see in color. You can tell easily about how bettas will prefer some colors to others, or how they'll stare more at things with a variety of colors. My betta adores watching my Dad play World of Warcraft when I'm home because of this. XD Also, quite a few bettas don't like the "hotter" colors, such as red/orange/yellow. My betta Magus tends to attack new things in his tank that are yellow until he's sure they'll behave themselves.
Other random information:
Bettas tend to get bullied by other fish because of their long fins, only girls can be put together (in a group of 3+), they like having enough stuff in their tank to easily hide, they like being where the "action" is in the house, they are extremely sociable fish, bettas can become depressed, they are generally weak swimmers and cannot thrive in large current waters, bettas are naturally jumpers and will sometimes jump out of their tanks (if upset), and the more time you spend with your betta, the more personality he seems to develop. =)
The community
Whoops. Word barf. But I hope that helps! =D