heatmisr

I have seen a few people mention air stones and I am wondering under what circumstances you use them? All I know about them is that they oxygenate the water and that water at higher temps has less oxygen in it.

nmwierman1977

You need airstones so that The fish can breathe, even though Bettas don't nessecarily need them, they do when the temp of the tank is in the 80's because like you said when it's higher there is less oxygen for them to breathe. It also helps with circulating the water around to give an even temp in the water, so it's not too cold in one area and too warm in another . If you intend to have more then one fish in with the betta, you will need one anyway because not all fish can breathe oxygen like a betta can. Which I'm sure you knew that already. Natalie

P.S. I hope that explanation helped.

heatmisr

Yes, it did, thanks. I only planned to have LB in the tank. He won't have any tank mates. Does the size of the tank have anything to do with the need for an air stone?

nmwierman1977

Yeah I guess in a way it does because there is more water and like I said before you want the water temp to be the same throughout the entire tank and the airstone will help with that by it circulating the water. I hope that answered your question. Natalie

heatmisr

Yes, it did. Thanks.

LZ Floyd

It is necessary for Bettas to get air from the water's surface; but it may not be sufficient. I've been told that, with only a Betta, I still need to run an airstone; and, that the air flow needs to be increased with higher temperatures. I've also read that too much air flow can be a problem. Beyond blowing the Betta all over the tank, it tends to cause a nitrogen deficiency (or something like that) in the Betta. I guess moderation is the key. Natalie also had a good point about redistributing the heat in the tank water (warm water rises, cool water sinks).

Mike

heatmisr

Ok. Sounds challenging. I guess I will have to get one for LB. What kind of air stone do you have for GB's tank?

nmwierman1977

I have the white ceramic ones. They are a little bit more gentle on the Bettas. Natalie

heatmisr

Something like these?:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2030044&Ne=2

nmwierman1977

Yeah, but they are the tiny ones. You don't need a huge airstone.
http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...&Ne=399#detail
They are more like this size. natalie

heatmisr

Oh, ok. Are you using a whisper pump?

LZ Floyd

The airstone we have is similar to the one you have urled, heatmisr. I like that it can be anchored. The one I had for my 10-gallon tank years ago was one that just sat there. Except that it didn't just sit there, it moved all over the place.

The air pump we initially got was a Top Fin and it's noisy when the air is adjusted. I ordered a <a href="http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...3800">Rena</a> from drsfostersmith as it was recommended due it's being quiet. I'll see how quiet it is for us when it gets here on Saturday.

Mike

nmwierman1977

no, I'm actually just using the pump that I had from my one gallon. It works just fine. You can anchor the ones I got too. All you need to do is get a pack of suction cups and anchor them on the wall. That's what I did. Natalie

heatmisr

Ok, thanks for the input. I would like one that is pretty quiet. I already like how quiet the filter is. You can't even hear it running. I guess I will be in PetSmart to see what they have. If I don't see anything I like, I will order online.