Aquarium question.

LEGION 12

LEGION 12

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Jan 8, 2009
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I have a 2 1/2 gallon Betta tank and the filter is a little too strong Umberto yes that is the fishes name. :D is always hiding behind the filter. I have tried to slow down the flow with filter material it works for awhile but doesn't last very long. If I put too much to stop the flow the filter overflows any Ideas ?
 
What type of filter is it? Some of the hob filters can adjust the flow but I don't see anyway of doing it on this filter
 
As already mentioned, plugging the pump's power cord into a rheostat should allow you to adjust the flow.

You could also tape/glue somekind of plastic difuser to the outlet flow to eliminate strong currents.

Bettas don't need highly filtered water. My daughters kept their bettas in goldfish bowls and just changed water every few days. Therefore, you could plug the power cord into a simple timer that start/stops the pump periodically, say 15min every 4 hours.
 
TravisH said:
As already mentioned, plugging the pump's power cord into a rheostat should allow you to adjust the flow.

You could also tape/glue somekind of plastic difuser to the outlet flow to eliminate strong currents.

Bettas don't need highly filtered water. My daughters kept their bettas in goldfish bowls and just changed water every few days. Therefore, you could plug the power cord into simple timers that start/stop the pump periodically, say 15min every 4 hours.
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I will look into a rheostat the only problem with a timer is the filter and lights are all one unit.
 
I'd try the difuser first.

Just get a $1 plastic kitchen utensil basket that has slits around the edge. Cut out a 'picket fence' of these slits and put it in front of the outlet. That should break up the concentrated outlet stream that's creating the strong current.
 
You can try blocking the inlet to the filter some reducing the amount of water able to be drawn in.

Using a rheostat may damage the motor if it not designed for it.
 
I manage a pet store, have kept beta for year and actually have the same tank. I just decided to not do anything to the filter other than just plug it in for an hour or so every other day, sometimes longer. You shouldn't be feeding it every day either, I usually recommend people feed them only 5 or 6 days a week. Also, do not worry about pH of the water in that tank, it's just too small to control with any degree of consistency. I also use aquarium salt in my beta tank. I use about 2 tablespoons of salt for the 2.5G tank. It will help keep algae down and keep the fish healthy too.


-Xander
 
fast14riot said:
I manage a pet store, have kept beta for year and actually have the same tank. I just decided to not do anything to the filter other than just plug it in for an hour or so every other day, sometimes longer. You shouldn't be feeding it every day either, I usually recommend people feed them only 5 or 6 days a week. Also, do not worry about pH of the water in that tank, it's just too small to control with any degree of consistency. I also use aquarium salt in my beta tank. I use about 2 tablespoons of salt for the 2.5G tank. It will help keep algae down and keep the fish healthy too.


-Xander
Click to expand...

Hi my friend do you use a different light when it's unplugged ? He is getting feed twice a day now I will stop that the wife I will have to convince too slow down on the feeding. She feeds the birds, squirrels, stray cats and whatever else she can gonna have to convince her to stop. I will pick up some salt next time I go to the store. One more question do you put anything else with your Bettas other fish or anything else in a small tank like that ?
 
My tank has separate cords for the light and filter. I also added a 5 watt heater to mine and keep the water temp right about 78°F. Feed them only what they can eat in about 3-5 minutes, once a day. All that extra food is just extra poop in the tank. They can go weeks without eating and be just fine. I had a customer who had a house fire and it was 2 weeks before they could go back into the house to see if anything could be salvaged, and there in a sooty black tank that was full of charred wood and ash was their beta swimming around with some minor injury and looking a little thin. I helped her nurse it back to health and now almost 2 years later it's still going strong! They're hardy little fish!

For tank mates, the general rule is 1" of fish per gallon of water. So, a 2.5 gallon tank can support 2 or 3 1" fish, or a single 2.5 inch fish. Though, with some careful attention, I'd be willing to bet you could get two of the smaller Poeciliidae species to cohabitate well. Guppies are the most well known and probably the cheapest and easiest to try with. I don't know if there are any really small Mollies that could work in that size tank though.


-Xander
 
Thanks again for the info it's been awhile since I had a tank. I got a heater before I got the fish temp stays at 78 all the time I will have to find a way to separate the light from the filter. I think I will keep him on his own for now.
 
Note -- guppies and bettas are NOT compatible.

You can put a couple of neons in with a betta if you want. He'll chase them around for a while and then he'll realize he can't catch them and he'll ignore them after that.
 
bettas are a puddle fish when in the wild, I've kept them in a tall vase, and a friend kept one in a coffee mug! I generally kept them separate from other fish, and once everything was settled, just did a little water change every couple weeks.
a way to diffuse the outflow from the filter would be to glue a flat piece of plastic parallel with the surface of the water, so that the outflow is directed outward rather than straight down. That would give the fish more of a sheltered spot, since still water is what they like.
 
We once put my daughters' Bettas in the 75gal with a varied population that included large Sailfin Mollies.

Everytime the Mollies would spread their sails, the Bettas took that as a challenge and started their threat displays. The Mollies tended to ignore them but occassionally they'd back-off about 2 feet and then charge the Bettas like torpedoes and ram them.

The Bettas seemed to enjoy schooling with the Platys but all that swimming began shredding the Bettas' billowy fins. So they eventually went back to their individual bowls.
 
I also have a beta named jack Dempsey. Dempsey would do the same thing , hide behind the filter. so I bought a 10 gallon tank kit at Walmart and added this aireator strip and know hes fine swimming all over the place.
 
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