Tropical Fish Hobbyist

The serpae tetras Hyphessobrycon spp. are sometimes guilty of fin nipping in the community tank, so they should not be kept with long-finned and/or slow-moving fishes.

I told him that I don’t think the betta will live long if kept like that, but he argued that bettas have a special organ that allows them to breathe air and that, in nature, these fish are sometimes found living in very small volumes of water. Which one of us is right?

Carol Ann Huff

betta will, by necessity, be kept at room temperature, which is far too cold and will cause it to become listless and lethargic in short order. Also, in such confining quarters, the betta will be subjected to precipitous fluctuations in water quality, resulting from its own waste and the decomposition of uneaten food.

Wapakoneta, Ohio

I would remind your friend that just because a fish can exist for a certain period under suboptimal conditions doesn’t mean it can thrive and live a long, healthy life under those same conditions. After all, a human being can be kept alive in a wooden crate with a breathing hole drilled in it, but that would make for a miserable existence indeed!

Q

Marauding
Serpae Tetras

I recently added three serpae tetras to my 20-gallon tank ice of the dealer at my local aquarium store. He told me these tetras make good community fish. Boy was he wrong! At first, the tetras got along fine with the other fish in my tank, but then they began chasing and nipping at my fancy guppies and my bronze cory catfish. I’ve already lost my male guppy, leaving me with only females, and my poor cory catfish never gets a break. Did I just get an unusually obnoxious batch of serpae tetras, or is this normal behavior?

at the adv

atmospheri

Well, you’re both right. It’s true that bettas have a special organ called a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe c air. It’s also true that bettas are sometimes found living in very small, oxygen-poor bodies of water. In fact, anyone who has been around this hobby for a while has heard or read reports of bettas being discovered in the water-filled footprints of large animals, such as water buffalo.

Nonetheless, I think you’re also right that your friend’s betta likely won’t live long if kept suspended from the wall in a small vase. The lack of filtration results in very poor water quality; in fact, most vase bettas manifest severe ammonia burn of the fins. This means their gills are dangerously damaged as well. Also, bettas need a water temperature in the range of 80°F in order to thrive, and there’s simply no realistic way to heat a vessel that small (even that water-filled buffalo footprint is surrounded by hot, humid air). That means your friend’s

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