The Betta Condition: Environment
Keeping a Betta in Comfortable Tank Setting
A consideration of the proper betta home and two major factors that remark upon some of the popular novelty betta bowls out there.
Previously, these articles on the Betta Condition have remarked on temperature and proper vessels. In this article, we will tackle a few environmental issues of everyone’s favorite labyrinth fish, although it should be remarked that this can apply to most fish in general.
Controversy #3: Environment
When one sees the setups associated with bettas, most are unsure what to put in there. Some are afraid to add plants because of the fragile fins of the betta and keep them in 10 gallon tanks away from everything else, others may put them in a novelty aquarium that doubles as something else: perhaps a lamp, or an iPod stereo system, or even a water cooler.
With Regard to Sound
What most people do not realize is how effectively sound travels through liquid. Air is a fairly weak medium for sound in comparison. While you might appreciate the boom of 82 decibels of stereophonic sound, your fish is not used to this sort of exposure. A wild-caught variety of animal is never exposed to that level of intensity for such a prolonged period of time and this might stress the fish out to death.
Some have argued that this applies with filters as well: the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has stated that well-renown marine biologist Phillip Lobel states that the noise is “driving [the fish] bonkers”. It can, to a degree. A more skittish variety of fish can prefer to stay away from their filter due to the noise it provides. What PETA has neglected to mention, however, is that he also offered a solution: a simple application of some sort of buffer for the equipment will reduce the noise significantly (cotton, filter floss, etc.), while other models are much less sound-intensive. Unless the filter makes as much erratic noise as your sound system, however, it is something that a fish can eventually cope with, just as how anyone can eventually live with the sound of a fan on, or work despite the endless chatter of an office.
Ideally, this is also why it is recommended to keep the fish tank away from high-traffic areas of the house. While a filter can provide some noise, the tromping of feet and the many things that come with them may provoke even more stress.
Bright Light
Bettas, like all fish, have their own inclinations towards light. Some cope well with lighting, others prefer to shun it. This variation can depend on their natural habitat, whether they are nocturnal or not, or simply if the light is too bright.
The fact that light itself is seen as a deterrent from the beginning. When you acclimate your pet fish to its new home, most aquarists point out that you should keep the lights off for at least the first day to help it cope.
Do not consider lighting a bad thing but a transitional one. One should always offer some alternatives in the tank in the meantime. Overhangs, plants, and other forms of cover will still provide comfort for the betta and allow them the opportunity to get used to the light issue. In time, it may even get brave enough to traverse out in the open (feeding time tends to encourage that).
Within the next section, we will discuss a few other factors of the environment that could not be discussed here for size limitation.
