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  1. #1
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    Is it realistic to keep a betta at my work?

    I run my own business, out of a shared studio space in an old industrial building. In theory I do have studio mates, but they're there only rarely and I'm there all day every day by myself and get sort of desperate for company. So I've been thinking that maybe I could keep a betta there. My space is pretty tight, but I think I could squeeze in a five gallon tank, although that's the limit. If I do this, it will have a filter and a heater and plenty of live plants.

    But there are two potential problems with trying to keep a fish there. The first is that several times a year I'm out of the studio for a week or two at a time; during some of those times, my studio mates are around enough that our plants still get watered occasionally, but a few times they've been in fairly rough shape when I got back. So I would need a reliable automated feeder at the very least, because the tank would have to be left alone for two weeks. Theoretically, there are dozens of other artists/artisans/etc who maintain studios in the building, but lots of them are around sporadically and the times of year when I am away are times when everyone else is away, too. So I would not want to count on finding someone to come in and feed the fish.

    Which brings me to the other possible issue: the building is often a ghost town during July and August, because I'm on the top floor and it isn't air conditioned and it gets pretty warm. I make regular trips to the bathroom to run my head under the cold faucet; people who do come in tend to work in their underwear; etc. I didn't think to bring a thermometer in, so I'm not sure exactly how warm it is. It's what Boston people would consider warm, not necessarily what Florida people would consider warm, but I'm sure it's at least in the high 80's or maybe 90 some of the time, and the temperature doesn't really drop much at night. It's a big, solidly built old factory building and there is still a factory in part of it. So there's a lot of thermal mass, and once it heats up it stays hot until the weather is consistently cooler for a bunch of days in a row. For what it's worth, the place mostly doesn't get that chilly in the winter because the heat comes on full blast, and like I said, I'm on the top floor.

    So the two questions:
    Can a betta survive summer temperatures between 85 and 90? Are the automatic feeders reliable enough to leave for two weeks? (I know water changes have to happen too, but I'm thinking that should be OK if I do it before I leave and again when I get back)
    If not, is there another fish you'd recommend that will be happy in a five gallon aquarium that potentially gets to those temperatures? Or is there such a thing as an aquarium cooler??

    I even thought about sea monkeys, but I'd like to have plants in it and I don't know anything about what plants can grow in brackish water.

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran piedlover79's Avatar
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    Since the ideal water temp for a betta is 74-78 I fear that months worth of 90 degrees would lead to death from stress and excessive bacteria growth.

  3. #3
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    With the size of the tank and if you have a filter water changes not be too big of an issue for 2 weeks however ideal temperatures for a betta are 72 to 82 I keep mine between 70 and 78, temperatures in the 85-90 will just kill your fish.

    Small automatic feeders designed for one fish such as betta are battery operated so you would need to trust that and you will need to buy a reliable one, betta blocks are an available however they do not contain the ideal nutrition and will deteriorate the quality of your water a lot faster.

    Best option is to take your fish home with you if you are gonna be out of your office for 2 weeks at the time, or have someone care for it.
    Deborah Stewart


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  5. #4
    Registered User Kristaok's Avatar
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    Re: Is it realistic to keep a betta at my work?

    I keep my Betta in a 20 gallon, 10 could do I suppose since it's a lot better than a cup. - My temps are kept at 80, I feed dried blood warms, rarely the betta flakes, mostly the betta pellets. When I know I will be on vacay I drop a tablet that feeds the fish while I am gone, I plan to get an auto vacation feeder also. So as long as you keep temps around that, I wouldn't go higher or even much lower, and you make sure to drop those vacation feeders in you should be alright.

    I've had my betta for a year, along with another community tank.
    Last edited by Kristaok; 01-19-2017 at 01:20 AM.

  6. #5
    BPnet Royalty Zincubus's Avatar
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    Re: Is it realistic to keep a betta at my work?

    By Betta are we taking Siamese Fighters or Paradise fish or Bettas in general ?




  7. #6
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    I trust (almost) no one, but that is just me. Strangers around your fish and with access to your space when you are away?? Even if no sadists show up, some well meaning idiot is going to decide to offer the betta a bite of his sandwich to "tide the poor fish over" as soon as it's known you are gone. Don't expect a sign to help either - most people won't read the sign, most of the rest will believe the sign doesn't apply to them.

    I would take the fish home and get a trusted friend to care for it while you are travelling. I have not heard good things about the reliability of those automatic feeders.

  8. #7
    Telling it like it is! Stewart_Reptiles's Avatar
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    Re: Is it realistic to keep a betta at my work?

    Quote Originally Posted by Zincubus View Post
    By Betta are we taking Siamese Fighters or Paradise fish or Bettas in general ?
    Siamese Fighter, which are known as Betta in the US and Combatants in France

    Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
    Deborah Stewart


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  10. #8
    BPnet Royalty Zincubus's Avatar
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    Re: Is it realistic to keep a betta at my work?

    Quote Originally Posted by Deborah View Post
    Siamese Fighter, which are known as Betta in the US and Combatants in France

    Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
    Interesting . Thanks for that .
    I




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