riffraff

I've asked this question once before and really only got one, maybe two people that actually read the question and attempted to answer with the kind of response that I was looking for. Not a generic copy/paste betta caresheet.

I've seen a lot of people in the fish section saying that bettas need a minimum of a 5 gallon tank that is cycled.

Now I've known and talked to a lot of people that are either betta enthusiasts, breeders, or show bettas as well as participated in betta forums and discussions and the general consensus in those circles is that 2.5 gallons is ideal for a single betta that is heated. Filter and cycled optional but if unfiltered than 100% water changes are needed on a weekly basis to maintain water quality.

Argueably, many Thai breeders don't filter their water and yet they continue to produce the best and most beautiful bettas on the planet.

So why is the Answers community advocating double the minimum tank size with filtering being mandatory?

Please see the following refrences

http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=...

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=20058

The IBC (International Betta Congress) which hosts betta shows and is the authority on all things bettas reccomends a minimum of a gallon provided water quality can be maintain.

http://www.ibcbettas.org/pages/knowledge-base/qa-b...

I've seen a lot of people in the fish section saying that bettas need a minimum of a 5 gallon tank that is cycled.

Now I've known and talked to a lot of people that are either betta enthusiasts, breeders, or show bettas as well as participated in betta forums and discussions and the general consensus in those circles is that 2.5 gallons is ideal for a single betta that is heated. Filter and cycled optional but if unfiltered than 100% water changes are needed on a weekly basis to maintain water quality.

Argueably, many Thai breeders don't filter their water and yet they continue to produce the best and most beautiful bettas on the planet.

So why is the Answers community advocating double the minimum tank size with filtering being mandatory? I have to wonder if some of these people understand the purpose of the filter or are just parroting the information they have heard.

A filter makes a fish keepers life easier and sets up a system that removes ammonia and nitrates for us without the keeper having to constantly swap in fresh water themselves. Now to not do this with something like a 10 gallon tank on up that is planted and all that is obviously nearly impossible and ridiculous to boot, hence filtering the tank. But with something that is only a couple gallons that is relatively easy to lift, it isn't impossible to do 100% water changes and can successfully keep the betta supplied with clean water, which is the point at the end of the day. Its like swaping ingredients in a recipe that serve the same purpose to give you the same basic result.

Please see the following refrences

http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=...

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=20058

The IBC (International Betta Congress) which hosts betta shows and is the authority on all things bettas reccomends a minimum of a gallon provided water quality can be maintain.

http://www.ibcbettas.org/pages/knowledge-base/qa-b...

A few hints.

It is a mix breed

It is only a mix of two breeds

http://i35.tinypic.com/abl62v.jpg

My younger sister turned the filters off on our 65 gallon tank because one was malfunctioning and making noise, however she neglected to mention this to anybody so the tank went unfiltered for about 2 days but still looks fairly clean/clear since its normally running a double filtration system with two overheads and an undergravel.

Today we found 1 of our gouramis, 1 cory, and 1 zodiac loach dead in the tank with only the gourami having exhibited any abnormal behaviors/appearance.

Question being, would the lack of filter for 2 days really have cause this sudden die off or do we need to be looking for other culprits?

I wanted to get back into horse back riding after I had to stop when I was younger due to financial and transportation issues since I couldn't drive myself. This is no longer a problem as I am now able to drive and pay for lessons myself. My question is, how do I choose a good stable to take lessons from? What should I look for and or ask?

I'm around 200lbs and 5'4" and need to lose 50-70 lbs. Really I'd be happy with getting back under 150. I have a thick muscular frame that always looks like I weigh about 20lbs less than I do so 150 would put me in a size 12 and have me looking 130lbs which I'd be happy with and 140 has me at a size 10.

I want a good weight lose plan to lose the excess weight in a safe and steady manner, no yo-yo or extreme diets, I can wait for my perfect figure. What would be a good way to go about doing this? I'm perfectly willing to make diet changes as long as its not extreme, I'm not going from a typical sub sandwich meal to cottage cheese and tuna for every meal with an apple thrown in. I want something I can work with and still include meals I enjoy within reason. For example, I'm totally for switching beverages from sugar pop to diet drinks, more water, and iced tea. I don't want anything too complicated that may make me lose intrest. Just something straight forward and reasonable.

As for exercise, I have asthma and have had it all my life so I can't do too much cardio, especially off the bat unless I want to end up in the hospitol.

I'm in a relationship with someone who confided in me that they were sexually abused as a child by their sister and this experience has kept them from having a healthy sexual reltionship with me.

They've never been counseled about this and only now are open to the idea but to see a professional especially at the frequency they want you to go when you first start is much too expensive (around $400 a session) and the health insurance barely covers anything in regards to mental health.

Are there other resources out there I can utilize that will provide trained counseling for this issue specifically that are more affordable?

In your opion, which is the most intresting and or rewarding fish to keep and why.

We have a male domestic short hair who is around 16lbs. When we last had him at the vet, they acknowledged that he was overweight but said there wasnt much we could do since he has to be on a perscription diet that is higher in fat to help control cystals in his urine.

We dont feed him much. He gets breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is a scoop of wet food with about a 1/4 cup or less of dry mixed in at both meals. We go through one can of wet every two days to give you an idea.

Is there anything we can do to help him slim down a few lbs?

I've had my Gateway desktop for about 4 years now. Windows recently crashed on it and the repair installation didnt work and reformatted my whole hard drive. So now I'm thinking it might be time for an upgrade anyway since I can get twice the machine now for the same price I paid for mine when I first bought it and instead of reinstalling all my software on the old machine just install on a new system.

I was looking at either an HP or another Gateway since I hadnt had a single problem with the Gateway till now and rather liked the system but heard that HP might be a higher quality system. A system with the same specs is more expensive with the HP tag than the Gateway tag and i want to know if the system and performance really justify the added cost.

I want to get a quad core processor, at least 3G of memory (prefferably 4G), and 500GB hard drive or better. I'd also like one with a good Nvidia graphics card since I frequently do a lot of graphic design type work.

I find it very difficult for me to concentrate on any one task for a length of time and constantly need something to stimulate my brain. Its especially pronouced at work where I have found myself getting in trouble when I lose the focus and concetration needed to preform a certain task. Its much better when Im working in a capacity that allows to do many diffrent tasks at once, than I'm able to focus in better but if Im stuck doing only one thing I tire quickly and look for other things to stimulate my intrest and brain.

Details also arent my strong suit and I can never remember names and dates. Faces and the general time sure but not the specifics.

I'm also what you call an under-achiever when I was in school, one who prolly could've gotten straight A's all the time but I often just lacked the focus and organization to get it done no matter what I tried.

If I'm someone who does have ADD how can I find out for sure and what treatment options are available?

I've been to an allergist before and have 3 known allergies, mold, metal, and birds. However, recently I've been sneezing a lot, getting a stuffed and itchy nose and watery eyes. I checked the allergen counts for my area and mold is low. Is it possible I could've developed a new allergy?

I got a lucky bamboo plant for work and I want to make sure it really grows and flourishes. What should I do to care for it? I know its not really bamboo.

I want to set up a 25 gallon tank I have to house my bettas but the commerically available dividers are too expensive (around $10 each) and I'd spend more on dividers than the filter and heater.

I've read you can use plastic craft canvas but I know this material is rather flexible and bouyant. How could I keep it in place yet still be able to remove it and change up my arangment at will? I've read one option but it was permanant and I dont want anything thats permanent.

In late March I was let go from my job. I had been put on a preformance inprovement plan for a period of a month but was released before being allowed to finish even though I had shown improvement. I was working in a sales driven environment so your aware, these were common when numbers dipped. I honestly think the aburptness came about because my boss somehow found out I was seeking other employment (well duh). All that part doesnt bother me, I can handle that with an eye roll and move on.

The part that bothered me came when I was seeking a new job and I found out my boss was bad mouthing me and making untrue claims like I had attendence issues when I was never counseled on attendence. I dont really want to pursue a lawsuit just scare him a little bit so that he stops hurting my chances of gaining employment. I heard you can file a complaint that will notify the employer but I dont know where or how.

I'm really looking for a way to take my steak to the next level and achieve results on par with any gourmet top level restuarant like a Mortons. I've achieved good and often tasty results but I still feel its missing something. My cut of choice is either a rib eye or a bone-in rib eye as I prefer the marbeling on it over other cuts. Is it mostly in the seasoning, a marinade, or the way you cook it and in all cases what are the best used to achieve that "I've died and gone to heaven" effect?

I just had my first cold sores ever and after a week they're finally going away and are mostly just red spots that crack and bleed every so often at this point. When would it be ok for me to have close contact with someone and not risk spreading it?

I started running a fever off and on the last two days, the gland on the left side of my jaw is pretty swollen and painful and I also just got the first cold sore of my life. I was also sick last week with what seemed like a general cold with congestion, coughing, sore throat, etc but that cleared up several days ago.

I cant seem to find any definitive answers about what I may be dealing with and I currently dont have any health insurance so I'd like to avoid a trip to the doctor unless absolutly nessacary.