Do Bettas Like Tranquil spaces?

A Q/A (Question/Answer) from 'The Beacon Journal. You can click the link at the bottom to go to the post.

Q: ``All the pet stores
say that bettas need a small, tranquil place because their fins and
tails are so big that they can get stressed from swimming in a tank....
Also that in their natural habitat, they live in little mud puddles and
don't have a large area of water to swim in.

``I know that the one I have swimming freely in my 15-gallon tank
often hides in small, tranquil places... but I don't like having my
other bettas in the tiny cubicles in the Betta Security House.'' --
P.W., Barberton.

A: ``Any other fish would need more room,'' said Wayne Toven of the Greater Akron Aquarium Society (GAAS@hotmail.com). ``It's fine for them, they just sort of sit there and look for food.''

Even so, he likes to give them more space and recommends separate containers. He keeps his in 2-liter pop bottles.

Whatever you do, don't free your fighting Siamese fish in the same
tank because they will own up to their title and fight one another, he
said.

Beacon Journal | 07/22/2006 | Bettas like tranquil spaces