Q:
I have a 5 gallon tank with a filter. The tank is clean, but
my bettas fins are so long that he gets sucked against the filter.
He gets away after a few fin wiggles, but I'm afraid the filter will
seriously injure him. What should I do to help my betta friend?
Question
submitted by Christina, Klamath Falls - Oregon
A:
Agh, it would have been helpful to mention what type of filter we
are talking about here... Hold on a moment, let me take off my betta
advisor hat and put on my betta psychic scarf on instead ;).
I see.... I seeeee....
wait. It is coming into focus. No, it is not an undergravel
filter... Is looks like a power filter of some sort.. Or is it a
corner filter?... Yikes, I am loosing the frequency again...
(taking my scarf off)
OK, looks like we are dealing with
either a power filter or a corner filter here.
power filter: See if
you can reduce the water flow. If not then you have two options:
You can either rig something up to slow down the flow or change
the filter and replace it with one that has a flow regulator.
Your fishstore should be able to help you select one. Trying to
rig something up yourself may be a bit fishie (hehe pun
untended) because if you do it wrong you can affect the
efficiency of the filter in such a way that your water quality
will degrade too much. Water can never be stopped. It should
always flow, but sometimes by adding a piece of brand new sheer
fabric (mesh like), adding some floss, and then tying the whole
thing around the mouth of the intake tube, you can create a sort
of 'diffuser' which will prevent the water from flowing in very
freely, thus reducing the volume of water moved and reducing the
suction effect. Do not use anything metal to tie the
contraption. Only a plastic tie or a rubber band (get it from
fishstore). You will need to remove it and rinse it once every
two weeks or so, or anytime it starts looking dirty (it will
fill with small particles over time). If you can spend the
dough, getting another filter would be safer and better.
corner filter. This is
a lot easier to fix: Just a get a valve, put it on your airline
to restrict the amount of air flow coming from your airpump. And
VOILA the trick is done.
Unhappy with my psychic
predictions? Well then try to be more specific next time (hehehe).
And no, you are not getting your money back! (Wait, you DIDN"T
pay anything for all this advice? Agh X2, I need to get a life - and
a better financial adviser LOL). ;)
Other options (if you want to take
the less traveled road). You can get a bungee cord for your betta ;)
or get a jet ski so that he can travel AWAY from the vortex ;). Last
option (but a itsie bitsie of a stretch): The starship enterprise
and put it in warp 3 or 4 (at least).
OK, I gotta beam out of here, so
good luck with your bettazoid...