When Setting Up a Tank for a Betta, Are Filters Necessary Or Even Desirable?
When considering putting up an aquarium setup for a betta, filters are not only desirable, some would say that they are altogether necessary.
This may be quite at odds with what most people, even most hobbyists, think of bettas, but as a matter of fact it is not.
Firstly, bettas are of course renowned for needing less maintenance than other kinds of tropical fish.
They can and do survive, even thrive, in setups that do not include filtration or even aeration-setups that would kill many other aquarium fish, even those that are deemed hardy in the aquarium world.
That said, though, they are far from invincible, and can and do get sick when exposed to certain bacteria, fungi and viruses, just like any other kind of aquarium fish.
It is very important to note that many of these bacteria, fungi and viruses can only gain a foothold in the aquarium if and when the water is dirty-and this is the reason why betta filters and filtration setups are a necessity.
(Of course frequent water changes can be performed, but they can prove problematic because bettas can be stressed out if and when these are performed far too frequently.
Stress can lead to other health problems and can even result in the death of a fish-so it is best for a betta owner to avoid stressing out a betta too much.
) Many betta owners already know this, but they argue that fixing up a setup that includes filtration can prove problematic because it involves too much work.
This is not always the case.
Firstly, filtration setups nowadays are exceedingly compact and sturdy, and thus require little work to maintain and setup.
Secondly, although these setups do require betta tanks to be somewhat larger than the tiny vases and jars some people keep them in, they need not be too much larger than these receptacles.
Thirdly, the efficiency of many of these filters means that their electricity consumption is not very high at all.
Maintenance of filtration units can be as simple or as complicated as an owner wants it to be.
A betta owner can elect to go with something as simple as a side-mounted hanging filter (which would need simple filtrate changes every so often, or something as complex and as effective as a multi-stage canister filter.
Owners can select based on complication and cost considerations-and even the "least effective" is still bound to be good enough for a betta.
This may be quite at odds with what most people, even most hobbyists, think of bettas, but as a matter of fact it is not.
Firstly, bettas are of course renowned for needing less maintenance than other kinds of tropical fish.
They can and do survive, even thrive, in setups that do not include filtration or even aeration-setups that would kill many other aquarium fish, even those that are deemed hardy in the aquarium world.
That said, though, they are far from invincible, and can and do get sick when exposed to certain bacteria, fungi and viruses, just like any other kind of aquarium fish.
It is very important to note that many of these bacteria, fungi and viruses can only gain a foothold in the aquarium if and when the water is dirty-and this is the reason why betta filters and filtration setups are a necessity.
(Of course frequent water changes can be performed, but they can prove problematic because bettas can be stressed out if and when these are performed far too frequently.
Stress can lead to other health problems and can even result in the death of a fish-so it is best for a betta owner to avoid stressing out a betta too much.
) Many betta owners already know this, but they argue that fixing up a setup that includes filtration can prove problematic because it involves too much work.
This is not always the case.
Firstly, filtration setups nowadays are exceedingly compact and sturdy, and thus require little work to maintain and setup.
Secondly, although these setups do require betta tanks to be somewhat larger than the tiny vases and jars some people keep them in, they need not be too much larger than these receptacles.
Thirdly, the efficiency of many of these filters means that their electricity consumption is not very high at all.
Maintenance of filtration units can be as simple or as complicated as an owner wants it to be.
A betta owner can elect to go with something as simple as a side-mounted hanging filter (which would need simple filtrate changes every so often, or something as complex and as effective as a multi-stage canister filter.
Owners can select based on complication and cost considerations-and even the "least effective" is still bound to be good enough for a betta.
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