uprightandlocked

Hello All,

Well, today I spotted Mino eating for the first time! I sprinkled some bloodworms onto the surface of the water and --- WOW! This little guy went ZOOMING from end of his little tank to where they were and scarfed them all down, immediately. Who knew?

In his tank I have one silk plant with broad leaves (I heard they like to sleep in them?) and one little rock structure with a whole in it for him to swim through (Which I have never seen him swim through, once. LOL) Should I replaced the rock structure with a cave? I have been reading they like to hide in caves.

Also, his tank is outfitted with the Deco Art Nano Filter- maximum flow is 15g/hour. At the lowest setting I can seem to get it to, I still feel the current may be too strong as the water re-enters the tank? My previous betta lived in an unfiltered tank (I didn't know any better!) and so I have never dealt with this issue before. When Mino swims through the filter current he gets pushed down and to the side. He always swims out of it, he's never hit the bottom or anything. And today, especially, I have noticed him swimming into it over and over again. Is he doing this on purpose? Is this arrangement okay or is there a better filter I should be using for the needs of my little betta?

Thank you!

-Tony & Mino

Jendayi

I had Romeo in a gallon tank with the nano filter on the lowest setting for over a month and he did just fine. At first I tried creative ways to adjust the flow using extra filter media, but then I just let it alone and Romeo was ok with it. It seemed like he would play in the current sometimes, too. I put his silk plant as far from the filter as I could so that he had calm water to sleep in at night.

I wouldn't worry about changing out your rock structure just yet. It takes a little bit before they figure out that it's something to swim through. They seem to love to squeeze through tight spaces, so just give him a bit to discover it. Just make sure it doesn't have any rough places that could snag his fins.

Glad to hear Mino is eating and settling in!

poefox

Bettas like to be able to sit where they want to in a tank so they don't want a constant current pushing them around but they will enjoy going into one on their own. I'm not sure what it means to them but it is like a slide or something perhaps for them. Bettas seem to enjoy being pushed a short distance now and then by a rush of water if they know it's going to happen. Ribbon does the same thing.

COBettaCouple

Caves seem to be VERY popular with our bettas and they all sleep in their caves - except Kairi who has a castle instead of a cave. Just check the inside & outside for any possible spots that could snag a betta fin.

Our bettas LOVE to swim into the current and let the current take them for a ride. we have the filters at one of the back corners of each tank so there is a flow to swim in, but also a calm area to feed them in.

chickadee

Yes caves are popular but they also like the things that have more than one entrance for them to swim through and I would rather see them have more than one way out as they do not back up well. Be carefull with sprinkling food as that can overfeed them. He should not be getting more than a matter of 4 to 6 at the most bloodworms at a time or he is overfed. They do expand a bit in his stomach and remember his stomach is only as big as his eye and if he overstuffs he will have trouble.

Bettas are not like a lot of the other types of fish. They will eat until the food is gone or they explode. Other fish will quit when they are full. You cannot depend on the betta to know when he has had enough. He can and will eat himself to death if you let him. Maybe not the first time but if he continues to pig out he will just stuff more and more in until he has swimbladder disease or dies of constipation. It is one of the betta parents biggest responsibilities to keep their little friend's appetite under control.

Rose

COBettaCouple

Yes, i should've been more specific about 'caves'.. all of our caves have numerous holes in and out of them and a cave would just be a sideways cup without that to us.