Air stones-when do you need them?

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.

 

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.

 

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?

 

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

 

Yes, it did. Thanks.

 

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

 

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?

 

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

 

Something like these?:

 

Yeah, but they are the tiny ones. You don't need a huge airstone.

They are more like this size. natalie

 

Oh, ok. Are you using a whisper pump?

 

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=" 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

 

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

 

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.

 

Ok, i'm good at naming and loving the fish, but i'm a technical idiot, (rick can confirm this).

On the two bookshelf tanks that we divided for our bettas, the filter is on the left side of the divider and can't be moved or alternated to the right side. we noticed that the right side has very stagnant water. there is zero current or movement on the surface.

we thought maybe a small air stone on the right side would add a little air and oxygenation to that side. (even though the fish seemed to be doing fine on that side).

so we got all that, and rick hooked it up, but I was worried that maybe its too much current or too much bubbles.

can somebody help me with an opinion on this.

should we leave it on, or maybe turn it on for a bit then turn it off?

and while we're at it, can someone please explain to me why everyone I know who is not on this forum, has a betta in a vase or a bowl ,with nothing in there, and they seem to be fine, and i'm stressing over, pumps, heater, thermometer, plants, caves, gravel, lights, cycle, water quality, vitamins, etc, etc.

are we over complicating it? or are all the bowl people just slow murderers?

I went to my friends house and she had a betta in a vase that she said she had for over a year. she just changes the water when it gets cloudy, doesn't even put any de-clorinator in it or anything. I got into it with her, that this was unacceptable and she kept saying, "i've had it for over a year! and its fine!"

waaaahhhh!!!!!!!! i'm so confused.

I wanna do the right thing, but I don't wanna make things harder than they need to be. please help me understand....

 

Bettas happen to be hardy for what I've heard but they need filtration and aeration (not too strong of a surface current) like any other fish. I work at the field museum in chicago and my co-workers are supposed to be well-educated scientists. Nevertheless, The other day I mentioned how "hard it is to keep healthy and happy fishies" and they all were like: "what are you doing? are you keeping a shark or what? I ve had goldfish my whole life since I was a little girl and I just toss them on a bowl with tap water... and they do just fine!"

No matter how convincing they sound, they are just on denial. They want to think that they are doing the right thing and thus create a bubble around themselves and go on with their lives thinking they are "good humans". Dont listen to your friend, she is on denial like everyone else is...

Think about it this way: you "could" live on a plain small room with nothing in the walls and you would survive... but if you had to live in a room for the rest of your life, it better be a larger room fully decorated and furnished, with a bathroom to dispose of your waste and windows to get clean air.

regarding the air stone... can you get a less powered pump? i've heard bettas don't like strong currents... but definitely you need to keep his water fresh...

good luck with everything

 

When I was little my grandfather had four goldfish about 6" long. All were older than I was at the time and I remember helping him clean the bowls every few days when I would visit. He kept them two to a bowl and allthey did was swim in circles for years. Actually, the last I talked with the lady who took the fish when my grandfather died, the goldfish were still alive but that was about two years ago. As Alessa said, some bettas seem to be rather hardy while others, no matter how you "spoil" them just don't last. If someone were to live with two bettas, one in a bowl for a year and the other in a 5 gallon side-by-side, they couldn't deny how much of an impact the quality of live has on the one in the 5g. I'm sure the bettas of the fishlore family have learned that they can depend on their owners while those forced to a live of little movement know they have to take it upon themselves in hopes that they will one day at least be given enough room to swim and perhaps are better able to survive with no filtration or heat. But the same ideas can be compared to humans, again, as Alessa said.

I use gang valves for my tanks so I can adjust the air flow. I have an air stone opposite the filter in my divided 10 gallon tanks. I use the plants in the tank to help me figure out how much is too much, I want to see the plants move a little bit but not enough that its all that notice.

 

thanks for the well thought out responses. i've just been feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the details. like I said, I wanna do the right thing, but not go overboard

 

I like to put aeration in all of the tanks and I think it's an extra good idea on a divided tank. It's always running in all tanks.

The bettas existing in bowls/vases that live are the super hardy ones. For each of those sad fish living in a tiny container, 99 probably die within a month. I want our Bettas to thrive, not just exist.

 

I like to put aeration in all of the tanks and I think it's an extra good idea on a divided tank. It's always running in all tanks.

how do you know what's the right amount? when rick turned them on yesterday it looked like a storm in there. Rainbow's bubble nests were instantly blown out. is there an attachment or something that adjusts the amount of bubbles?

 

Ok, i'm good at naming and loving the fish, but i'm a technical idiot, (rick can confirm this).

On the two bookshelf tanks that we divided for our bettas, the filter is on the left side of the divider and can't be moved or alternated to the right side. we noticed that the right side has very stagnant water. there is zero current or movement on the surface.

we thought maybe a small air stone on the right side would add a little air and oxygenation to that side. (even though the fish seemed to be doing fine on that side).

so we got all that, and rick hooked it up, but I was worried that maybe its too much current or too much bubbles.

can somebody help me with an opinion on this.

should we leave it on, or maybe turn it on for a bit then turn it off?

and while we're at it, can someone please explain to me why everyone I know who is not on this forum, has a betta in a vase or a bowl ,with nothing in there, and they seem to be fine, and i'm stressing over, pumps, heater, thermometer, plants, caves, gravel, lights, cycle, water quality, vitamins, etc, etc.

are we over complicating it? or are all the bowl people just slow murderers?

I went to my friends house and she had a betta in a vase that she said she had for over a year. she just changes the water when it gets cloudy, doesn't even put any de-clorinator in it or anything. I got into it with her, that this was unacceptable and she kept saying, "i've had it for over a year! and its fine!"

waaaahhhh!!!!!!!! i'm so confused.

I wanna do the right thing, but I don't wanna make things harder than they need to be. please help me understand....

HI Minx
I have the same problem with my divided tanks. What I ended up doing was to switch the filter from time to time from one side to the other when the water started to look a little stagnant. You can also invest in a sponge filter for the side without the filter. Since you do have an air pump and hose, that's all you need to add a small sponge filter. It will also aerate your water for you. I have enough water flow from the filters, so I do not use air stones or bubble wands in my betta tanks.

As far as Betta's living in bowls, I also had a friend that had a betta for more than a year in one. She also said the same thing.. they do fine. But I like to say.. do they just 'survive' or do they 'thrive'? to have a happy healthy Betta, I agree with everyone that they need a heater, filteration and room to swim in. And that's what I thrive to do for them.
By doing so you are giving them the best quality of life you can.. and isn't that what we all want? My oldest Betta is over a year and a half now and the other two are just a bit younger and the youngest is not quite a month old. All are doing fine and seem very happy and healthy.

 

Well speaking of Betta bowls I guess I'll share my horor story with you all.....

When I went to CA a few weeks ago I stayed at my daughter Brittanis house...She has 2 beautiful betta boys...Peter a red boy and Tinkerbell a blue boy....His name is Tinkerbell because petco had it listed as a girl.......She had put Tinkerbell in with Peter because she was told girls can share a bowl with boys....

Before I got to CA BrittanI was telling me that they were fighting all the time...I asked her what Tinkerbells tail looked like....She said it was long and flowing like Peters....I said get him out of that bowl before they kill one another! She didn't believe me and said no Mom it's a girl and it's OK to have them together.....Finally after a LOT of convincing she took Tinkerbell out and put him in his own bowl.....

When I arrived at Britts house I confirmed that Tinkerbell was indeed a male! So next on my list was to show her how to care for the little guys.....They were both in tiny little round bowls not much bigger than a coffee cup...They sold these to her and said these are Betta bowls...I cringed!

1st lesson...I said Britt, show me how you change their bowls...She took the bowls to the kitchen..She scooped them up and plopped them in a cereal bowl with maybe 2 inches of water......Then she grabs a sponge and pours soap on it and proceeds to scrub the bowls out....I'm having a fit and my whole family is making fun of me..I said where is the water conditioner? She said what for? To remove the chlorine ****! It got worse after that but I'll spare you all the gory details.....

To make a long horor story short we then went shopping! I bought both of the boys a 3 gallon tank some rocks some water conditioner and the proper food...I got them all set up and put them in her living room where they would see people instead of in a dark hallway....I have checked on them from that day forward with phone calls..They are both very healthy and happy...Mind you, she had had these boys for almost 2 years living like this!

Here's Peter..I took this photo of him before he moved into his new home.....All he did was hang out at the top of his bowl...Now he swims freely around his 3 gallon.....

Moral of the story is....Don't believe everything you hear or read about Bettas....Yes they can survive in a bowl but in order to thrive they need proper care! So yes, I'd add an airstone...

 

Just to clarify, I would never have or consider having a betta in a bowl myself.

i'm not sure how to properly express the rest of what I want to say, so I'll leave it at that.

other than i'm trying to do the best I can for my betta family.

 

You are doing a fantastic job! If everyone were like you and Rick, the Bettas would live in a perfect world! You're the best Betta parents any little boy could ask for!

 

Thanks for this thread Minx, when you try to explain to people about betta bowls, most just give you.....the look......
We all know the one, and tell us how they've had them for a long time.
Sometimes I feel like yelling "But it's a fish and fish like to swim!!"

 

I kind of skimmed this topic, but you asked about how to cut down on the flow of the bubbles. In with your airstone (or bought for less than $2 if not), there should have been a flow-control valve, which is exactly what you need. You splice it into the line (between the pump and the check valve) and can adjust how much air gets pumped to the airstone. It also lets you cut it off entirely if you want to adjust something in the tank without having to unplug your air pump.

 

Well, I think you've been given all the advice - but I'd like to confirm the thing about properly cared for Betta being less hardy. When I upgraded MalachaI (RIP) 's tank, I thought I would be fine by using all the media in the old filter. I was wrong. There was not enough becteria on the gravel and rocks (Both brand new) and an ammonia outbreak followed! Despite my 50% water changes twice a day, my pampered little darling swam up to the great Rice paddy in the sky. Just to prove a point - fish tend to adapt to certain conditions, which is why Goldfish survive in bowls - even if they are sad as anything.

 

Thanks everyone for your feed back. Rick got some adjustment valves today and some wood stones, so hopefully tomorrow we can get things adjusted properly.

i'm also adding an air stone to my goldy tank, as the guy at the LFS said it would help with the heat we've been experiencing. i've lost so many goldfish the last few weeks, i'm too heartbroken to pick out any new ones.

all I have left are Gordy, Cappy, Baby and Issac in the goldy tank. but they seem to be doing good, so hopefully soon I can find some new goldies.

all my bettas seem to be doing good too. so thank you for all your guidance.

 

Everyone gave great advice....and heres my 2 cents ;D ...I just wanted to tell you what I do with my 20 gallon long..that has four boys in it...I switch the filter every night into a different compartment...I have plants right up against the filter, so they don't get blown around with it...because no matter how small of a filter you get, when you divide a tank, and cut down on space, they flow like a river inside that space...I have an aqua-tech filter for up to 20 gallons, and it just has a small suction cup on the back and the rest of the filter hangs over the side...so each night, it gets switched ...Everyone has a different opinion on how to keep their pets..whether it be fish, dogs, cats, gerbils etc...Not many ppl would treat their dogs like you do spike, or we do hercules...but, we know it makes them happy with the things we do, so we choose to do it..and they survive and live a great life...but many others keep their dogs outside, in dog houses, and never let them in...the dogs live, but are they happy as our dogs are? so don't fret that you aren't doing things right, or others are doing things wrong...just do what you know makes them feel loved and wanted...cheers dahlink!! <--best ava gabore voice

 

Yeah...............We're going to try one more thing with some new air stones (wooden stones which produce a smaller bubble) and control valves and if we don't like that I'll have to get creative with cutting out the top cover so we can move the filter from side to side......I had mentioned that to her this morning...........I know the airstones bum's out rainbow cause it destroy's his bubble nest and he work's so hard on those so we may end up switching sides with Ace.......We'll figure it out one way or the other. Thanks for everyone's imput.

 

I use 4-way gang valves to control the flow of air to the tanks. It also lets me run more tanks off of less air pumps.

As far as filtration options go for the other side, you could go with a small submersible filter but that would need fish net netting over the intake area or you'd likely have a lot of fin damage. The other option would be a small sponge filter.

 

all I have left are Gordy, Cappy, Baby and Issac in the goldy tank. but they seem to be doing good, so hopefully soon I can find some new goldies.

Acctually, 5 goldies in a 40gal tank is a little overstocked. The rule is 20gal for the first goldie, and 10gal for every goldie after that.

 

Here's what I do...I have the filter on one side and a air stone on the other... I use extra long tubing and a rubber band I fold a piece over and adjust the flow until it doesn't upset the water at the top Then ad the rubber band to keep it in place.
Hope this helps.

 

Is it necessary to have an air stone in my tank or is it just considered a decorative piece?

 

Not necessary.

 

Definitely not, Ive never used one before. I dislike them personally.

 

Depends on the use.. For example, its often used to aerate the water and provide a bit of oxygen. This is useful if you are trying to cool the tank and or using it when you have to raise the temps up ( for treating ich )

Also some plants thrive better with water movement and to help algae. Circulation and aeration has shown to be effective in controlling algae.

 

Depends on the use.. For example, its often used to aerate the water and provide a bit of oxygen. This is useful if you are trying to cool the tank and or using it when you have to raise the temps up ( for treating ich )

Also some plants thrive better with water movement and to help algae. Circulation and aeration has shown to be effective in controlling algae.

Agreed completely, in hospital tanks they can be useful. My tanks just have heaps of circulation, and quite a lot of surface agitation, therefore removing the need of an air stone completely.

If you set your filters and powerheads up correctly, they are definitely not a necessity at all, and imo unattractive/unnatural.

 

I have 2 in my display tank - hidden behind the plants in the back of the tank. My QT tank has one too but no where to hide it because its at bare minimum.

 

Thanks for all the input. I'm just getting started with my first tank so I wasn't sure if it was a must have.