Bettas in a Drought

We are, unfortunately, well aware of the sad fact that we will be having a fish show that uses a lot of water while we're in the middle of California's Drought.  :(   In our defense, we weren't having a drought last year when we bid on the Convention.  ^^;

To help off-set some of our water use, we'd like to offer some water-saving tips to go with your fish-room keeping.

Water Saving Tips with Fish Keeping

• Lower the water temperature.
  If you normally keep your tanks at 80dF, lower the temperatures to 76dF or even to 72dF if the fish can take those temperatures.  A great deal of water is lost purely through evaporation from the difference between the tank heat and the internal air.  If the tank temperature is lowered, then the water evaporation will be less.  No, the fish won't be quite as happy as they are at ideal... but they should be okay for the duration. Keep an eye on them after first lowering the temperature and make sure they're adjusting okay.
  .
• Put in more live plants. Tanks and Jars, both.
  Live plants will help buffer the water.  They will keep the temperatures more stable, and they'll also keep the water chemistry balanced.  The more live plants, the better too the waste absorbency, and therefore the less often you need to do water changes.
  .
• Add Indian Almond Leaves to Jars.
  Indian Almond leaves (IALs)are also an excellent water buffer.  They add tannins to the water, lowering the pH, and they are also reputed to have medicinal properties.  Having IAL will increase the amount of time your bettas can go between water changes.
  .
• Feed the fish less.
  No, really, this will help.  It goes along with the lowering the water temperature as well.  The fish will be less active, and therefore they'll need less food regularly.  Less food means less waste, and less waste means fewer water changes needed.  In ideal conditions, a show or breeding fish should be fed 1-3 times a day; fish you're just maintaining but not conditioning should be fed once every other day.  If you've lowered the water temperature, fish can be fed even less than this and still be healthy.  Maintenance fish can be fed once every 3-4 days for several months without problems. But switch them over slowly, reducing the amount bit by bit. Keep an eye on your fish! If they're not liking the new diet, then adjust as necessary for the health of the fish. 
  .
• Do fewer water changes!
  You saw this one coming, right?  A lot of the internet says "change the water every day" to have healthy and robust show fish.  This is not always true, nor is it always good for the bettas.  Changing the water every single day stresses the betta and they never have a chance to settle in where they are and start relaxing.  For most 32 oz deli cups, water changes of every three days is good, and with plants (we recommend java moss for jars) and IAL in the water will help extend that to once a week.  For larger jars, the fish can stay in there even longer without worry.
  .

Discussion!  Our local group started trying the various approaches with the drought and the results were very positive for the fish!  See CBS talking about it in our Facebook group. It's more than just an idea - they're points that have worked out, and from people who hadn't used those approaches before.

• Re-use the water!
  When doing water changes, don't just dump the water out.  Collect it in buckets and then use that water for gardening, both indoor plants and outdoor plants.  Reuse as much as you can.  Not only will that prevent water waste, but your plants will love it! Natural fish emulsion (gardeners pay good money for that!).

 

< Return to the CBS Home  ::  Contact CBS