Betta against filter: fun or fright?

[Mike]

My betta has been doing so well now, I'm tickled to death. I had
posted on here before when I first got him that he was on his
death-bed, but he's come back strong and doing well!

Until now, he's been in a 10G tank with no filter. I would do a 10%
water change every Saturday, so the water's always been "clean," but
recently I added an Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filter, anyway (on its lowest
setting).

Well, since putting it in, I've noticed that the betta seems to get
sucked up against the intake hose. When I come around, he pulls away
from it pretty easily, so I can't imagine it's doing any real harm,
but a search in Google came up with results on both sides: some said
that their betta loved getting sucked up against it, and others said
that it killed their fish!

So, what's the final verdict? Do bettas generally like doing this of
their own accord (presumably to help groom their fins)? Or is it
really hurting him?

TIA,

Mike

[RedForeman ©®]

|| Until now, he's been in a 10G tank with no filter. I would do a 10%
|| water change every Saturday, so the water's always been "clean," but
|| recently I added an Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filter, anyway (on its
|| lowest setting).

I think you can pull up on the intake tube to slow down the intake even
more... if that's not what you're already doing... My betta, Bob d`betta,
loves the slow trickle of the filter, I lower the water level abou 2.5" so
that it trickles for him...

|| Well, since putting it in, I've noticed that the betta seems to get
|| sucked up against the intake hose. When I come around, he pulls away
|| from it pretty easily, so I can't imagine it's doing any real harm,
|| but a search in Google came up with results on both sides: some said
|| that their betta loved getting sucked up against it, and others said
|| that it killed their fish!

I've had one die but not sure if death was 'because' of being stuck to
filter, or it was dead and floated 'to' the filter where I found him.... I'd
rather err on the side of caution and lower the intake speed....

|| So, what's the final verdict? Do bettas generally like doing this of
|| their own accord (presumably to help groom their fins)? Or is it
|| really hurting him?
||
|| TIA,
||
|| Mike

I think it's a bad thing...

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Betta against filter: fun or fright?
>From: (Mike)
>Date: 6/7/2004 1:31 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>
>My betta has been doing so well now, I'm tickled to death. I had
>posted on here before when I first got him that he was on his
>death-bed, but he's come back strong and doing well!
>
>Until now, he's been in a 10G tank with no filter. I would do a 10%
>water change every Saturday, so the water's always been "clean," but
>recently I added an Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filter, anyway (on its lowest
>setting).
>
>Well, since putting it in, I've noticed that the betta seems to get
>sucked up against the intake hose. When I come around, he pulls away
>from it pretty easily, so I can't imagine it's doing any real harm,
>but a search in Google came up with results on both sides: some said
>that their betta loved getting sucked up against it, and others said
>that it killed their fish!
>
>So, what's the final verdict? Do bettas generally like doing this of
>their own accord (presumably to help groom their fins)? Or is it
>really hurting him?

Bettas must usually learn how to live with a filter going. They pick up on this
pretty quickly. If they're sick, they may not have the stregnth to learn how to
negotiate a current, and keep getting stuck on the intake.
I've had some that actually enjoy it. Odd little buggers. = )~
The only 100%, for sure thing with Bettas is that each is different. Each has
it's own personality.
One of the males I have now in a 3g Eclipse tank took about an hour to figure
out where the current is, and what happens when you swim right across the
intake. If you stop..you get stuck. However, they can get themselves un-stuck
(unless sick or dying).
Usually Bettas, or any fish for that matter, when found dead on the intake
stem, are either already on the way out when they get there or were already
dead.
A while back I hade a very old female Betta in the 75g that kept herself on the
intake. Drove me nuts. I'd get her loose, and she'd swim right back there. She
wanted to be there. When she was done, she simply sawm away from it.
My kids and hubby would be always telling me.."you've got a dead fish in the
tank"...when I really didn't. It didn't help that she was ivory white either,
hehehe.
I've also had a male that liked his tail inside the intake, but didn't like his
body up against it.
The other thing that crossed my mind is that I'm not too familiar with that
brand of filter. Is it the proper size for your tank?
If it were much too strong for the tank, then I could see a problem for your
little dude.
I'd give him a few more days to get used to it. Watch his behavior. See if he's
accidentally getting himself stuck, or if he actually likes it and is doing it
on purpose.

[Sarah]

My Betta did this when he went from an unfiltered 1 gallon tank to a
filtered 5 gallon tank. I personally think it was because he wasn't
used to swimming in any kind of current. I put in some tall break
waters near the filter and after about a month he was able to swim
around the filter without getting sucked in.




(Mike) wrote in message >...
> My betta has been doing so well now, I'm tickled to death. I had
> posted on here before when I first got him that he was on his
> death-bed, but he's come back strong and doing well!
>
> Until now, he's been in a 10G tank with no filter. I would do a 10%
> water change every Saturday, so the water's always been "clean," but
> recently I added an Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filter, anyway (on its lowest
> setting).
>
> Well, since putting it in, I've noticed that the betta seems to get
> sucked up against the intake hose. When I come around, he pulls away
> from it pretty easily, so I can't imagine it's doing any real harm,
> but a search in Google came up with results on both sides: some said
> that their betta loved getting sucked up against it, and others said
> that it killed their fish!
>
> So, what's the final verdict? Do bettas generally like doing this of
> their own accord (presumably to help groom their fins)? Or is it
> really hurting him?
>
> TIA,
>
> Mike

[Mike]

> Bettas must usually learn how to live with a filter going. They pick up on this
> pretty quickly. If they're sick, they may not have the stregnth to learn how to
> negotiate a current, and keep getting stuck on the intake.
> I've had some that actually enjoy it. Odd little buggers. = )~
> The only 100%, for sure thing with Bettas is that each is different. Each has
> it's own personality.
<snip>
> The other thing that crossed my mind is that I'm not too familiar with that
> brand of filter. Is it the proper size for your tank?
> If it were much too strong for the tank, then I could see a problem for your
> little dude.
> I'd give him a few more days to get used to it. Watch his behavior. See if he's
> accidentally getting himself stuck, or if he actually likes it and is doing it
> on purpose.


Thanks for the help, Tynk and Red.

To answer your question, the filter SHOULD be the right size. It says
"for aquariums 5-15G," and mine is 10G. I have the shaft as high as it
will go and still run, so the water is at a tiny trickle.

I've been watching him since last night, and it looks like he gets
pulled up against it when he's asleep. He swims around just fine
normally, and seems to enjoy swimming behind it, but it's when I leave
the light off and don't pay attention that he gets sucked up to it.
It's mainly his fins, which are quite large (which is funny, because a
few months ago he had a case of fin rot and lost a lot of his fins;
BettaFix took care of that, and now the fins are larger than ever).

At this very moment, he's asleep, and looks like he moved to the
opposite corner (farthest from the filter as possible). So I'm
guessing that he's figured his own way around it, just like you guys
said.

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate that!

Mike

[RedForeman ©®]

|| To answer your question, the filter SHOULD be the right size. It says
|| "for aquariums 5-15G," and mine is 10G. I have the shaft as high as
|| it will go and still run, so the water is at a tiny trickle.

Good, that's what I've done with mine... and when feeding I usually pull it
so that it wont' flow... just remember to set it back down when done....

|| I've been watching him since last night, and it looks like he gets
|| pulled up against it when he's asleep. He swims around just fine
|| normally, and seems to enjoy swimming behind it, but it's when I
|| leave the light off and don't pay attention that he gets sucked up
|| to it. It's mainly his fins, which are quite large (which is funny,
|| because a few months ago he had a case of fin rot and lost a lot of
|| his fins; BettaFix took care of that, and now the fins are larger
|| than ever).
||
|| At this very moment, he's asleep, and looks like he moved to the
|| opposite corner (farthest from the filter as possible). So I'm
|| guessing that he's figured his own way around it, just like you guys
|| said.
||
|| Thanks for the advice, I appreciate that!
||
|| Mike

In my <BSEG> 5g tank for Bob... he's got that 5-15 filter in it....(the
whole reason it's cut back) and when he was new to the tank, I had plastic
plants and a clay pot.. he would sleep in the pot... now that I've put real
plants in there, he's decided to sleep in the java fern instead.. it
supports him better and he won't fall out of bed... ahahahahhhahaha!!!!

I crack me up... sorry..

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

[JazzyB]

Have you considering housing your betta in a filter-less tank? They're
quite economical ($10). All of my bettas are in their own tanks. I usually
perform a 100% water change and add dechlor to their new tanks. Question:
does your betta (if male) create a bubblenest? That's one of the more
obvious signs he's doing well. As for the being stuck on the intake... I
wouldn't think that this would be a good thing. I'd have to assume this
could affect it's slime coat and potentially cause some damage. My
recommendation is to house him in his own filter-less tank... but that's
just my opinion. For some basic betta care try visiting
www.healthybetta.com . They have a betta care sheet that's quite helpful.
"Mike" > wrote in message
om...
> My betta has been doing so well now, I'm tickled to death. I had
> posted on here before when I first got him that he was on his
> death-bed, but he's come back strong and doing well!
>
> Until now, he's been in a 10G tank with no filter. I would do a 10%
> water change every Saturday, so the water's always been "clean," but
> recently I added an Aqua-Tech 5-15 power filter, anyway (on its lowest
> setting).
>
> Well, since putting it in, I've noticed that the betta seems to get
> sucked up against the intake hose. When I come around, he pulls away
> from it pretty easily, so I can't imagine it's doing any real harm,
> but a search in Google came up with results on both sides: some said
> that their betta loved getting sucked up against it, and others said
> that it killed their fish!
>
> So, what's the final verdict? Do bettas generally like doing this of
> their own accord (presumably to help groom their fins)? Or is it
> really hurting him?
>
> TIA,
>
> Mike

[TYNK 7]

>Subject: Re: Betta against filter: fun or fright?
>From: "JazzyB"
>Date: 6/8/2004 12:58 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>
>Have you considering housing your betta in a filter-less tank? They're
>quite economical ($10). All of my bettas are in their own tanks. I usually
>perform a 100% water change and add dechlor to their new tanks. Question:
>does your betta (if male) create a bubblenest? That's one of the more
>obvious signs he's doing well. As for the being stuck on the intake... I
>wouldn't think that this would be a good thing. I'd have to assume this
>could affect it's slime coat and potentially cause some damage. My
>recommendation is to house him in his own filter-less tank... but that's
>just my opinion.

Bettas, just as any fish, benefit from filtration.
They thrive in filtered, warm water.
What are the temps in your male Betta tanks?
They should be at 80*f, and 78*f the least.