i don't remember what paper it is but i think it was just like a we are short of articles lets throw some crap in there. my cousin damien told me don't believe that ###### he has had bettas since he was a new a born (now 20) the do fine in bigger tanks. but if you think about it there may be some logic behind this as bettas were bread in small clay pots. still a bunch of corporate hoo ha though. you should never believe what the press says. i no i read it in a paper pretty sure may have been a magazine, (read in a waiting room, waiting for a doctor broken ankle)

too much pain to remeber

my brother was telling me this article is not true the magazine company got complaints for publishing a fony article and had to withdraw there claim. well that was a waste of time

I consider 1-2 gallons to be sufficient for one betta, but if you plan on keeping more you do need more space.

yes 1 gallon is the absolute minimum for a betta.

nevermind, my tank is actually 1/2 gallon, my betta is happy and healthy

Right now all the boys are in 1 gallon containers. The girls are in a 10. I am actually thinking of downsizing and keeping only 2 boys, each in a 10. I haven't decided yet because I love them all. It will be hard deciding who to keep.

Congrats on the betta from me too Kissy! Good luck!

I am not sure if I should have voted, LOL! I don't have a betta, but I have a tank that I want to put one in someday! I have a 2.5 gallon tank.

What?

yeah kissy i read the whole thread and i was like what i think maybe she got names confused or something unless you did get a new betta?

=) I've always kept my bettas in 4-5 gallon tanks, The bigger the better. My bettas always seemed to love
the larger spaces, And its also Alot Easier when it comes to clean ups. I don't need to clean it ever 2-3 days.
Im thinking of upgrading my betta Acheron , to a 10 gallon though soon

I have two of mine- my female crowntail and my male halfmoon in 2.5 gallon minibows. I have my female in a 4 gallon with the snails.

I have two bettas, each in their own 1-gallon jar. They each have 1 small plant to rest in and 1 little castle to hide in, and they are the happiest, healthiest, most beautiful bettas in the entire world.
I know that they're happy because they never hide - they float around their jars and show off their beautiful fins.

I used to have another betta in a 2-gallon tank with an airpump, filter, light, etc., but he died in less than a month. (This is probably because I was not aware at the time that Bettas breathe air from the surface!)

My point is this: there are people who will swear that bettas are like any other fish and that they like to swim marathons every day and explore endlessly. In my experience, this is simply not the case. I once kept my one of the two bettas in a 10-gallon aquarium for a few months, and he just didn't seem happy - all the pumps and airflow and space seemed to scare him and he stayed behind a rock for 90% of the day.

So, bottom line: 1 gallon is certainly enough for a betta! I don't do weekly water changes either - my bettas get their water changed 100% every 2 weeks. I find that bettas produce an insanely LOW amount of waste - I think this has something to do with their exceptionally lazy lifestyles. :-b

Spooky moved into a 4 gallon tank a couple months ago, and I think he is liking it okay. He stopped making bubble nests though. Probably due to the filter. But the fake plants make areas for him to get away from the flow of water, and I've even seen him resting on them. He couldn't do that in his little bowl.