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[:Betta Realm:] |
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Living Conditions Members of the genus Betta are anabantids, and possess a labyrinth organ at the gill area to allow them to breathe atmospheric oxygen. As such, they are able to live in remarkably hostile environments. It is reputed that the first B.splendens originated from the paddy fields in Thailand, and they lived in the muddy water, catching insect larvae for food. A personal experience with Betta pugnax in Kukup, Malaysia was when I went searching for this fish around my uncle's plantation. When asked where the fish were to be found, he pointed to a ditch nearby - it was full of dead leaves and barely a couple of millimetres of water! Surprisingly a swift flick of my net proved that they were indeed living there. Really hardy creatures, eh? When kept by hobbyists and breeders, Bettas tend to be treated with more care (I hope!). For the container to put the fish in, it's the usual "As-large-as-you-can-afford" phrase. Yes, afford in terms of both space and $$. It's possible to keep them in small containers such as those we buy beancurd in, the 2" height x 2" radius type of plastic container. However, a smaller container means more water changes, so it's really your choice. A recommendation would be at least 1 litre's worth of capacity for the tank. The larger volume of water will buffer changes in ammonia/nitrates/nitrites. Your bettas will be happier, and so will you - since you won't have to change water that often! As for plastic containers vs. glass - both are fine, but I prefer glass since plastic tends to cloud up after some time. Also, I like the look of glass as compared to plastic - more heavy-duty, and looks more elegant. If you don't care too much about appreciating your fish, you can use containers with curved surfaces, but otherwise flat surfaces will do the job better as there won't be much distortion. Unless, of course, you are a fan of funny-mirrors. Plain tap water can be used in Singapore, but as for elsewhere the hardness and pH will have to be checked. Even then, it's much better to use aged or dichlorinated water - there are lots of products in the market that claim to stabilise water or condition it, and these can be used. Chlorine may be a big concern in many cities, like Singapore. You can either stand the water for at least 24hrs before using, or boil it. Personally, I do neither for my adult fish as they seem to fare OK. For fry, aged water is a MUST. There are no short-cuts to doing it, or your fry will die! However, there may a exist a link between curled fins and "contaminated" water, so if you keep fish like crowntails (CTs), then you might want to be a more on the careful side and use dechlorinated or aged water instead. The pH of the water should preferrably be slightly acidic. Therefore, rainwater can be a good source of betta-water as well, since it contains a small amount of carbonic acid that makes it just lightly acidic, but do be careful not to use rainwater if you reside in an industrial or highly-polluted area. Some people have experimented with making peat tea (more on that later, if I've got the time to update my site), or using blackwater extract to lower the pH of water. Locals sometimes also use Indian Sea Almond leaves by soaking the fallen, reddish-brown leaves in water. The leaves not only break down to release tannins and humic acids to decrease the water's pH, but the leaves are reputed to have medicinal properties as well. |