# Betta Fish Myths?



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm writing something, on Betta fish  I'm looking for myths people have heard about them, or even the misrepresentation or misinformation that has been passed on about these fish!

*myth*: betta fish live in small pockets of water in the wild all their life.
_misinformation_: betta fish live to 2 years.
misrepresentation: labyrinth fish like Bettas can live in small bowls for all their lives.
:lol:


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

dunno which one these would count as but i heard them somewhere:

bettas LIKE dirty water

bettas don't move much

of course, we all know they're VERY false. i NEVER see Scout laying about, unless he's resting. xD otherwise, he's swimming, checking things out, building his bubble nest....

even Theo was active, and he couldn't see!


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Haha nice... dirty water... hmm there will be a section on that  mentioning how there is a HUGE difference of a natural environment in Thailand, from being in a glass/plastic container/tub/tank. 

... Lol bettas do not move much. My Spartan will be 3 in February, and although he seems to snooze a lot more now he is definitely active xD


----------



## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

Dude I heard the craziest stories when I was first getting into bettas. You won't even believe this, but I've heard this more than once--so people really believe this story.

"Bettas lay their eggs in the dirt in the dry season. Eventually someone comes by and will step on that dirt and their footprint will help condensation form until there is a small footprint shaped puddle. The egg will then hatch and the betta is born into a tiny puddle where it benefits from the ammonia and bacteria gathered from the footprint depending on what the person stepped on before. The more bacteria the person gathered on their foot, the brighter colored and healthier the betta. If a person takes them out of the footprint sized puddle and puts them into a larger puddle they will die from not getting enough bacteria to survive"

I'm not even kidding. That was their excuse for dirty bowls. I heard this at three petstores, at my school, and at my friend's house. Who is telling this story to everyone??!


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

purplemuffin said:


> Dude I heard the craziest stories when I was first getting into bettas. You won't even believe this, but I've heard this more than once--so people really believe this story.
> 
> "Bettas lay their eggs in the dirt in the dry season. Eventually someone comes by and will step on that dirt and their footprint will help condensation form until there is a small footprint shaped puddle. The egg will then hatch and the betta is born into a tiny puddle where it benefits from the ammonia and bacteria gathered from the footprint depending on what the person stepped on before. The more bacteria the person gathered on their foot, the brighter colored and healthier the betta. If a person takes them out of the footprint sized puddle and puts them into a larger puddle they will die from not getting enough bacteria to survive"
> 
> I'm not even kidding. That was their excuse for dirty bowls. I heard this at three petstores, at my school, and at my friend's house. Who is telling this story to everyone??!


... ... ... ... ... . . . Wait, what???? lol. bettas are made from puddles and poo? xDDD that's what I got lol  weird story! and more than once!!!???


----------



## Litlover11 (Aug 1, 2011)

The first two are things I have heard from pet store employees and the last one is from a friend. 
Myth: Bettas eat the roots of plants. 
Myth: Bettas come from rice puddles. 
Misinformation: Heaters will kill Betta fish.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Litlover11 said:


> The first two are things I have heard from pet store employees and the last one is from a friend.
> Myth: Bettas eat the roots of plants.
> Myth: Bettas come from rice puddles.
> Misinformation: Heaters will kill Betta fish.


... ... -facepalm- yes because I have many dead bettas from my heaters  LOL


----------



## Litlover11 (Aug 1, 2011)

She had kept her betta in a tiny, unheated, tank for a few months before trying a heater. After sticking the heater in there, the betta died the next day. Now she is convinced that heaters kill bettas.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

... Okay I see the point, but maybe she should have ruled out temperature shock, or him just being sick


----------



## MadMay (Dec 18, 2010)

Or maybe the heater was to high for the small bowl and the fish was cooked


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Lol that too. I personally recommend 2.5 gallons and up for safely heating


----------



## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

I've heard from a Petsmart employee that if I bred, my female would die after spawning. o__O; Also that if the girl didn't drop her eggs, she'd explode. -__-;; 

I think someone posted on here once that the male also had to squeeze the eggs out of the female. LOL.


----------



## Litlover11 (Aug 1, 2011)

She already had the tank on top of the tv set, so the temp was already unstable. I told my friend about the minimum requirements for a betta, and she said that it was too much for a 4.00 fish. She already has another betta. 

I just saw a post on another site saying that you can keep females together in bowls.


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Here's two I've heard from the pet store where I got my first few bettas from. I had researched of course so I knew they were telling porkies. 

That you can buy two females and they won't tear each other to shreds. Also you can have a sorority in a 2 gallon tank and it will be fine.

That a male will do fine with a sorority of females in something like a 10 gallon tank. While I do think in some cases it can work, I would not try it in anything less than 40-50 gallons and wouldn't stock it with unrelated pet store fish either.


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Misrepresentations-that compare care, keeping...etc of the domesticated Betta most of us keep to its wild cousin......two different set of needs and care requirements for most....
A lot of what you have heard about mud puddles is true for the wild cousin....Not the domesticated long fin Bettas we keep today

Closed system care-vs-native habitat of millions of gallons of water

Dirty water isn't always bad water...it should be chemistry-poor-vs-good...dirty can mean a lot of things.....

Long fins-vs-short fin...care and needs......

Eggs are not squeezed out during the spawning process-if this was true how do the females drop their eggs on their own....

Females do not explode due to eggs, however, some females can get egg bound-but this is rare....

Sexually mature female will often take on a slightly head down-tail up position that is normal for gravid females

Females will either drop eggs and eat them or not or reabsorb eggs on a regular basis and its not uncommon for the females fecal material to take on an off white/creamy appearance for a few days afterwards-not to be confused with internal parasites.

Behaviors based on anatomy/physiology...this species is a lay and wait or ambush hunter, establish territory, nest builders-up-turned mouth.....the spawning habit, feeding habit-this tells you that hiding places should be at the top or mid level......this species shouldn't be expected to swim around all the time...if it does...something may be wrong...by design this species being a-surface dwelling, low activity/sedate, ambush feeder and spawning habit.......

Species that develop a labyrinth organ are usually found in stagnate water with low levels of dissolved oxygen-usually these species will also have tougher scale and/or produce heavier slime coats for protection

Temp-sudden extremes should be avoided-they can tolerate short term-but the long term extremes is what can stress them to the point of a compromised immune response-illness-death....

Longevity-this can vary based on breeding/genetics, diet, exercise, husbandry from spawn to shop to home. The overall general health, treatment, spawning, diet, water quality, water temp all are factors for both fish farm and from the hobbyist.....generally 2-3 years, rarely 4-5 years and even rarer to live over 5 years even with the best care......

Longevity, health, activity, feeding habits...etc..... can vary from fish to fish.........its not fair to the Betta to compare it to other Bettas and especially to its wild cousins for most issues.....its a hybrid after all....with that said...you also have basic standard of care in a closed system and even this can vary from hobbyist to hobbyist....lots of correct ways to keep this species that should be taylored to meet their needs......

To understand why some Betta will do well in the small cups at the store without water changes......it is usually due to the natural pH changes that happen with decomp-the low pH or more acidic water cause the ammonia to change to ammonium that is not toxic and many bad and good bacteria die in acidic water.....this is when you can have illness or sudden death in the new Betta you just brought home too....by adding higher pH water it can change that high ammonium to deadly ammonia...not to mention the possible osmotic shock issues that can also happen...its a delicate balance sometimes......by understanding water chemistry-cause and effect can help prevent these issues.......

Lots and lots of myths that have have told so many times that soon they become truth when they are still only a myth.....

I look forward to reading the paper you are writing......


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

People who come to my house are always surprised to learn that my bettas are the same as the fighting fish they see at pet stores.

They are amazed at how active and healthy they look when not living in a filthy, unheated bowl, and I usually take the opportunity to educate them on some basic betta facts. 

I find it sad that people are so used to seeing half-dead bettas in bowls that it has become the norm. To see how some people react when I tell them that they are looking at 'Fighting Fish', you'd think they never considered any other way of keeping them.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

hmm I think on here there was a post asking if it was true males slam into females so the female releases eggs and she dies?


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

> Females will either drop eggs and eat them or not or reabsorb eggs on a regular basis and its not uncommon for the females fecal material to take on an off white/creamy appearance for a few days afterwards-not to be confused with internal parasites.


that last part is VERY true. Caroline used to build little nests, drop her eggs, eat most of them, tend to a few in her nest for about a day, then eat them. then, she'd have white poo for a few days after. i didn't feed her for about two days after she'd drop her eggs, because she'd fill up on them. x:


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Lol very interesting  Oooo another myth!!! females are an ugly brown color all the time.


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

Heavy takes offense to that myth. xD she's a beautiful gold yellow. some say she's a Cambodian Yellow, because her body's a very pale gold, while her fins are a stunning bright yellow. x:


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

-gasp- pretty!!!! lol. I am sure my Madame would too take offense. A pitch black with metallic green/blue (depends on her mood )


----------



## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

TA-DAH! there she is. my pretty Heavy. :3 tell me NOW, that all females are brown and ugly. xD


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I know right? xDD Or just like "male bettas only come in solid colors".... Crayola would be offended. As would Shiloh, Spartan, Maine, Voldemort, Ghengis, Nemphis, Reggie,.... oh hey, all my males xD Even new addition, yellow El Dorado!


----------



## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

purplemuffin said:


> Dude I heard the craziest stories when I was first getting into bettas. You won't even believe this, but I've heard this more than once--so people really believe this story.
> 
> "Bettas lay their eggs in the dirt in the dry season. Eventually someone comes by and will step on that dirt and their footprint will help condensation form until there is a small footprint shaped puddle. The egg will then hatch and the betta is born into a tiny puddle where it benefits from the ammonia and bacteria gathered from the footprint depending on what the person stepped on before. The more bacteria the person gathered on their foot, the brighter colored and healthier the betta. If a person takes them out of the footprint sized puddle and puts them into a larger puddle they will die from not getting enough bacteria to survive"
> 
> I'm not even kidding. That was their excuse for dirty bowls. I heard this at three petstores, at my school, and at my friend's house. Who is telling this story to everyone??!


 
I never heard that one before. Wow!!


----------



## betta lover1507 (Aug 6, 2011)

i employee told people that " after spawning the female betta fish eats the male"


----------



## erinandares (Oct 4, 2011)

When my friend heard I was dividing my twenty gal for my bettas, she was like "Those are gonna be some huge bettas!" I asked what she was talking about and she was absolutely convinced they were going to grow to the size of their tank. Then, when I told her they wouldn't get much bigger than they already were, she just said "No reason to get upset, Erin, just because you're wrong." >.>


----------

