F8 in a 10 gallon?

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bertie 83
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by bertie 83 »

bertie 83 wrote:18 us gall or 72 litres.
I feel the op may have missed this, the tank is bigger than you think.
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by Donna_G »

bertie 83 wrote:
bertie 83 wrote:18 us gall or 72 litres.
I feel the op may have missed this, the tank is bigger than you think.
Thanks Bertie, I keep forgetting there's a difference between UK and US :D
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bertie 83
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by bertie 83 »

Yes we get more water per gallon than our American friends lol
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by RTR »

Tank nominal volumes have little to do with actual water volume.

You can count on actual tank working volume being significantly less than the tank' nominal volume. I count on my tanks having ~ 70% of the tank's "nominal" volume, plus or minus 5 -10%. A few tanks with lots of rock-work have shocking small water volumes.

But life cycle work I did on F-8s was all in 15s. So yes, they can live 12+-18+ years in a 15 nominal gallon tank. Ben there, done that.

My personal choice for an F-8 tank is a 20-long or 33XL tank. I also prefer to have their tank abutting another F-8 tank (Keep the end glasses clean). Keep the water clean, keep the KH up, have some current (exercise), and feed lots of snails.

F-8 pectoral fins may show age beyond 12 years - they become less clear, especially close to the body. Some reduce their activity beyond ~14-15 years. They also tend to eat less - overeating is quite rare in older fish for me.

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SaraGarcia1701
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by SaraGarcia1701 »

I suppose I'll just have to keep DP hunting once the weather gets a little warmer. Haha
Last edited by SaraGarcia1701 on Thu Apr 26, 2012 12:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by SaraGarcia1701 »

Flutter wrote:Vases are not appropriate for bettas. Please don't put him back in there.

I don't see why vases aren't appropriate. If I do regular water changes, and the water temperature never goes under 70 degrees, and the vase is roughly two gallons large then I don't see why it's a problem. I don't mean to sound rude, I just never understood why people were against them. Are they harmful to bettas?
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by 420Coupe »

SaraGarcia1701 wrote:
Flutter wrote:Vases are not appropriate for bettas. Please don't put him back in there.

I don't see why vases aren't appropriate. If I do regular water changes, and the water temperature never goes under 70 degrees, and the vase is roughly two gallons large then I don't see why it's a problem. I don't mean to sound rude, I just never understood why people were against them. Are they harmful to bettas?
Yes the volume is ~2 gallons but they have no room to truly swim anywhere besides be able to do a 360 either at the top of the water or bottom it is just too limiting for space. Yes a human can live in a 2x2 square but with that quality of life who would want to be alive?
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by kcartwright856 »

There is a big difference between "can live in" and "should live in".

You can never truly enjoy a fish until you see them in the absolute best habitat that you can provide for them. They display better colors, more natural behaviors that can endlessly fascinate and entertain you, and give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that they are so much happier.
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bertie 83
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by bertie 83 »

The thought of any fish in 2g of water makes me twitch. A neon could not get enough exercise in that. This is why the average life of a betta is so low. It is impossible to keep such small amounts of water stable. Unless of course you fed 1 bloodworm a week and changed water almost hourly.
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by scpion »

My experience with a Betta is quite short. But I have it in a 20g. I do really enjoy looking at them in a properly decorated tank. Their activity level is alot higher and they do have many interesting behaviour. Rather than sitting in a vase and all she could do is look at U.. My 2cents worth..
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by Gooburz »

The wife has had her Betta (Zeus) going on 3 years now and she moved him cross country in her car! for the 1st year she had him in 1 of those little 1 gallon or less setups and it was like pulling teeth with her to get her to move it into something larger so finally i just went and got a 8Gal tank they had at a LFS and set it up and it came with a tetra in tank filter. When she got home she was pissed but now actually LOVES it because she sees how active the Betta is now.

From what i've seen they have a 2-3 year life span but could live as long as 5 years so he is going on 3 and still eating and active so we'll see.
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by SaraGarcia1701 »

I see what you mean about having more room and being able to exercise more. Personally, right now my betta seems to hate the ten gallon tank, only because it's so reflective and he keeps thinking that the reflection of himself is another male encroaching on his territory. I'm working on cutting back the reflectiveness, I guess I'll sponge paint the outside of the tank on the back wall because the wallpaper doesn't work at all.
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by Nuclear_Glitter »

Sometimes changing the lighting in your own room makes a big difference. Some people believe fish can't actually even see their reflections.

Flaring may just be something he enjoys.
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by kcartwright856 »

Ask RTR about fish reflections.

Some bettas just flare whenever, like Nuclear said.

You probably notice it more because he's happier in there, or because he doesn't have enough room to flare in the vase. :lol:
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Re: F8 in a 10 gallon?

Post by RTR »

The so-called reflections seen by hobbyists looking through the front glass at the end glasses is artifact and is not seen by the fish as any reflection at all.

For some reason folks do not understand that there is a massive difference between looking through glass into water and through that water at another glass at right angles to the first. They think that what they see is the same thing that the fish sees. They are mistaken. They see a mirage and think that fish sees the same thing from inside the tank, which they do not.

If we ever get the Library restored, I'll do an article on the topic even though I am not a physicist. Mirages are everyday tings but folk just do not understand them. I suspect that physics is neglected in our schools.
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