# On the contrary



## adamxatomic (Oct 6, 2011)

As Betta owners we know how dumb it is to keep Bettas in those tiny "novelty" tanks. I personally would never keep a Betta in anything that's less than 2gal with a heater and 50% WC every other day if not filtered.

These are the tanks I'm talking about.
Betta Treasures Collection Blue Lagoon Betta Bowl
Marina Betta Kits - 1/2 Gallon

While at Petco awhile ago I was getting some Glolight Tetras. Fish that only get up to 2". I told the chick how many I wanted and the first thing she did was ask how big my aquarium was. I had planned to put 4 of them in a 5gal. She then says "well following the inch per gallon rule, the most you should put in there is 3." And I thought, really? 3 2" fish in a 5gal? And in my defense, the fish were only 1" at the time. 

Man! She then started lecturing me on responsible aquarium keeping, etc, etc. All I have to say is that if the people that work in these pet stores are so uppity about making sure I get the right amount of fish per gallon, then why do they sell 1/2gal bowls for Bettas that get 3"? If that's the case then the smallest aquarium they should sell for a Betta should be 3gal. Just MPO.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The inch per gallon"rule" is pretty useless. You'd put a 10" oscar in a 10 gallon. Better to have 8 tetra and be doing more water changes then to have 3 and watch them peck each other to death. Bet that person's first tank has 20 goldfish. No one is a fervent as a new convert.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

This is kind of off subject, but I have this friend who has a betta fish. She keeps it in one of those 1 gallon tanks and keeps the water at 1/3 (no filter). According to her betta's like less water.... I constantly argue with her about this and she refuses to listen. At least I'm able to convince her to do a water change when I'm over there. It really frustrates me because I'm the crazy fish person in are circle and she still won't listen to me. I might actually kniw what I'm talking about! People are ignorant


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## adamxatomic (Oct 6, 2011)

grogan said:


> This is kind of off subject, but I have this friend who has a betta fish. She keeps it in one of those 1 gallon tanks and keeps the water at 1/3 (no filter). According to her betta's like less water.... I constantly argue with her about this and she refuses to listen. At least I'm able to convince her to do a water change when I'm over there. It really frustrates me because I'm the crazy fish person in are circle and she still won't listen to me. I might actually kniw what I'm talking about! People are ignorant


Yeah. Trying to convince people how to take care of their pet can be a touchy subject. One day when you guys are around a computer, just google search "how to take care of a Betta" and have her read the wiki how.
Another comparison is that a Betta in a 1/2gal is like a human living in a bathroom and *never* being able to leave. 
People keep Bettas in small containers because it's convenient. Since Bettas are aggressive and need to be kept separated from most fish*. They don't want to spend the time/ money to properly house a Betta. Another thing would to be to tell her if she was to get a 10gal that she would be able to keep her Betta in there along with a few Platys, or Mollies. There are actually quite a number of other fish/ inverts you can keep with them. I have Mystery Snails and Ghost Shrimp with mine. And they have done fine with Glolight tetras, and Zebra Danios in the past.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

adamxatomic said:


> Yeah. Trying to convince people how to take care of their pet can be a touchy subject. One day when you guys are around a computer, just google search "how to take care of a Betta" and have her read the wiki how.
> Another comparison is that a Betta in a 1/2gal is like a human living in a bathroom and *never* being able to leave.
> People keep Bettas in small containers because it's convenient. Since Bettas are aggressive and need to be kept separated from most fish*. They don't want to spend the time/ money to properly house a Betta. Another thing would to be to tell her if she was to get a 10gal that she would be able to keep her Betta in there along with a few Platys, or Mollies. There are actually quite a number of other fish/ inverts you can keep with them. I have Mystery Snails and Ghost Shrimp with mine. And they have done fine with Glolight tetras, and Zebra Danios in the past.


Honestly I was so upset about this poor fish, I was going to ether buy her a 10 gallon as an early Christmas present or sneak in and steal the fish . And I don't even like betta's! I just hate seeing the condition of some peoples tanks when I put so much time and effort to keep mine clean and healthy. its really not that hard


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you do not...i repeat..."DO NOT" want to talk to me about tank stocking.......


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I've seen your angel pic's loha. You can do density with massive turnover of filtration and clean water and still have healthy fish. You can have a betta in a 55 and still kill it with poor water quality. Its actually good to see a store person thinking about stocking rather than about profits.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

"As long as a bettas needs are fullfilled, it will be okay in a 1 gallon bowl" Very recently I kept bettas in less then one gallon of water and I noticed that my male halfmoon Pulcher didn't look too happy, (he begged though) but my female sassy who I kept in less then half a gallon was looking really happy and actively swimming around. People these days SO don't understand about bettas. I talked to a petsmart employee and she said that bettas will live in those little bowls that they sell them in. SO not true.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Some guy at the petstore today said i could only have 4 white clouds in a 10 gallon. Um what? first off those dang things are pretty small. *rolls eyes* will be going to petsmart instead to get some more. 4 is just to...bare.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Well to the OP.. she was kinda right. I would recommend you get a 10g for the glowlights. With the exception of a quarentine tank it's best to have the fish in the same tank their whole lives and allow the fish to grow into it, as opposed to leaving them in a tank too small and stunting their growth unknowingly.

Pet stores sell those tiny things because corporate says they have to. The vast majority of employees(in my experience anyhow) try not to sell them. Even the ones that dont know much at all.

Ioha.. maybe I do  An experienced fishkeeper can push the limits, they know it's not wise often enough, or whats necessary to make it a healthy environment. A novice fishkeep doesn't understand the necessary care requirements, they want more fish simply because the tank looks empty.


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## adamxatomic (Oct 6, 2011)

Ladayen said:


> Well to the OP.. she was kinda right. I would recommend you get a 10g for the glowlights. With the exception of a quarentine tank it's best to have the fish in the same tank their whole lives and allow the fish to grow into it, as opposed to leaving them in a tank too small and stunting their growth unknowingly.
> *snip*


The tetras have been re-homed via Craigslist. The guy ended up trading me a small Anubias for them. (That I still haven't gone to pick up.) I believe he has them in a 20gal with some other tetras.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

NEVER TELL THE PETSTORE PEOPLE WHAT YOUR PUTTING THE FISH IN! (unless there's a knowledgeable one that you're asking a question)


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

BettaMan-I so agree. They like to agrue.


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## adamxatomic (Oct 6, 2011)

ZebraDanio12 said:


> BettaMan-I so agree. They like to agrue.


+1

"I work at a pet store.
I know everything there is to know about fish/ aquariums.
If I say it's wrong. It's wrong. End of discussion.

P.S. Bettas like small spaces. Because they naturally live in mud puddles.
So anything more than 1/3 gal is too big."


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Betta man said:


> NEVER TELL THE PETSTORE PEOPLE WHAT YOUR PUTTING THE FISH IN! (unless there's a knowledgeable one that you're asking a question)


Meh.. it shouldn't matter at that point what the employee says. Your research has already been done and you know exactly what the fish needs.. right?


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