tkfury

I think I have my filter flow adjusted so its not too strong for my little girl so I went ahead to see how the airstone would work. She's out in front playing with my cat (he's trying to figure out how to get in and she's following his paws) and I plug the air pump in. She swims quickly behind the filter but comes back out and heads over to the airstone and she's fighting to get into the bubbles. Took her a few tries but she makes it into them and starts popping all the bubbles and even following a few that get away and pops them. I turned it on and off a few times and each time she did the same thing - swam behind the filter and then came over.

I know I don't need an airstone in there for her but she seems to like playing with the bubbles. At least, I think she was playing. Her coloring started to get a little duller so maybe she's starting to get stressed and wasn't playing but just trying to say she didn't want those bubbles in her tank?

MedicBiker

My betta doesn't seem to like the bubbles much either. I just got a flow-rate adjuster and turned the bubbles way down

COBettaCouple

Generally, Bettas do love to play in bubbles. Especially smaller ones like from bubble wands. All of our aeration has gang valves though, to adjust the flow for each Betta since they have their individual preferences.

Duller color could indicate stress, but females will usually show stress lines.

tkfury

Do the stress lines look similiar to the lines of the Golden Wonder Killifish? I kept the air pump on for about half an hour, she stayed in the bubbles just about the entire time but has a lime greenish stipe going from about her eye to her tail. I'll hook up one of my extra gang valves and see how it goes from there.

COBettaCouple

That sounds like stress lines. On female bettas, the horizontal lines show stress and vertical lines show happiness or readiness to mate.

tkfury

Bubbles are a no then. I tried to see if a wand would work better than an airstone but she reacted the same way. Ah well, glad I went with the tower decorations instead of the fish bubblehead I was going to use orginally heh. Thank you very much.

Tazmiche

May not have been the bubbles causing the stress but the big cat trying to catch her!! Try the airstone again when it's quiet for her. My male Kiz is playing in his filter bubble stream at the moment.

janoue

My Zed is always in the bubbles, and W makes nests all the time. He likes to show me what a big strong boy he is.

Barbrella

My bettas don't like regular airstones either. Does anyone know a kind of bubble device that just gently fizzes instead of blowing big gloopy bubbles?

COBettaCouple

Bubble wands/hoses are popular with our Bettas.

voiceless_kat

Here is one I have from F&S...I have it in my guppy grow out tank, the 2 inch one, and is has very tiny bubbles. Rena Micro Bubbler

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...22&pcatid=3722

I also have a limewood airstone in my 55g, way over in the corner and I have it vertically placed, and my butterfly loach loves to lay on the wood. It also has very fine bubbles. Althugh it is in their catalogue, can't find it online.


I don't have airstones in my betta tanks, just filters, and after a while, the fish seem to enjoy the current, but not at first, they really have to get used to it.

Val

COBettaCouple

We have one of those in Teddy Bear's tank.

Barbrella

That's exactly the type thing I'm looking for. Thanks!

Barbrella

Just have to drag this thread back up to say thanks for that suggestion.

I got the wooden airstones and they give off a mass of superfine bubbles. I put a "volume control" in the middle of the hose and can turn the bubbles up and down.

I put it in my male betta's 10 gal tank, and he likes it! I see him hanging out near the bubbles and trying to bite them. It's so cute.

So thanks again voiceless_kat.

COBettaCouple

LOL.. I love that! Got any pics of him eating his bubbles?

chickadee

Yes I have the 6" Rena Microbubblers in the tanks and all the fish love them but I had wondered about the wood air diffusers as they look so cool. Now that I know that the bubbles are small I will use them too. The cories are especially fascinated by bubbles but the otos will go and lay right on the airstone and let the bubbles go all around them.

Rose

Barbrella

I have a really bad pic of him in his bubbles. I was surprised since he hated the other airstones I tried. But these bubbles are so fine and soft I guess he likes the way they feel.

He enjoys hanging head down in them.

Attached Images

bubbles.jpg (46.0 KB, 14 views)

COBettaCouple

Cool. I'm going to have to get some of those.

tkfury

Awe, I really wnat to get one of those now and give it a try. Before I did a water change the water level was getting a little low and the filter started making little bubbles - I swear all she did was pop all the bubbles as they reached the surface.

I meant to look at Petsmart today to see if they had anything other than the regular airstones (I'm a selective buyer - when it comes to equipment I see what I'm looking for and ignore everything else heh) but I was distracted bue a new girl working there. A lady was asking all sorts of questions about her 10g with mollies and guppies and everything that girl said was what I expected to find here. I had to butt in and let the lady know if she loves her fish as much as she claims, she'll listen to everything that girl has to says. (Yays for three well educated employees at my local Petsmart now).

Barbrella

I highly recommend these wooden diffusers. My guy is in love with them and even likes to rest directly on the wood.

One last, clearer, pic of him zeroing in on his bubbles.

Attached Images

bubblesbest.jpg (65.7 KB, 7 views)

voiceless_kat

I am happy to hear these are working for you. My Hillstream Loach likes to sit on it or right above it in the 55g. They love the fast moving water. I haven't put one into my bettas, but might try the Rena in there. Poppet likes to swim in the filter outflow - it swooshes him around, but he keeps going back ....pretty smart alecky for a guy who is afraid with the lights on..LOL!!

Val

angelfish220

I never knew that bettas liked bubbles like that! Curly likes to swim realy close to the filter and then swim away really fast. I think I will try some bubbles for him to play with as well.

COBettaCouple

We didn't know they liked bubbles until we found out here on Fishlore and the first few months, our Bettas didn't have any. Now it's hard to imagine them not having them. I bet Curly would love a flexible bubble wand.