Does TV and tank placement matter

[BettaBabe94]

Is there such thing as a TV being too close to a tank, in the sense of a fish’s health. 
I have had some bad luck recently with Bettas in this ONE tank. I know it could be coincidence but pushing aside normal concerns of temperature/water parameters/food/etc (all those are fine) could my TV be effecting my fish? Im just stumped as to why this one tank has had 2 bettas die in a matter of a few months. AND it’s only the bettas. The other fish seem fine.

This is a pic of how close they are. My husband and I don’t watch a lot of TV, sometimes we play games, but it’s not like we have the volume blasting.

[Cory]

In my experience yes, it matters. Light, shadows, and sound all play a part. On the flip side, we had a turtle that loved to watch Tv lol.

[BettaBabe94]

On 3/31/2023 at 3:48 PM, Cory said:

In my experience yes, it matters. Light, shadows, and sound all play a part. On the flip side, we had a turtle that loved to watch Tv lol.

It’s just so frustrating I’ve never had Bettas die so easily on me before. My other Bettas are fine. So I guess I have to move the tank lol 

BTW you are the reason I got back into fish keeping. I binged watched your videos during the winter of 2021-2022 and realized everything I was doing that was harming my fish in the past and also making my life so much harder (for example my maintenance equaled emptying and scrubbing everything) 🫢 I cringe thinking about it now. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by BettaBabe94

[Biotope Biologist]

It could be a number of things but I’d say being that close to the tv might be stressful. 
 

I had a tank across the room (about 12ft) from the tv and sometimes my fish would watch tv with us. I have noticed the bettas get a bit more stressed out than other fish with commotion in the room so I’d often put their tanks in less trafficked areas. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/31/2023 at 12:33 PM, BettaBabe94 said:

This is a pic of how close they are. My husband and I don’t watch a lot of TV, sometimes we play games, but it’s not like we have the volume blasting.

There's quite a few studies that break down the impact of sound on fish behavior.  Because of that, I would be aware of that as an issue and potentially take a few steps if you can.

A.  Add something to cover the side glass on the side towards the TV.  I use window film for mine.
B.  Add something thick / dense to absorb sound between the tank and the TV
C.  Add a rubber mat or something below the tank to absorb sound. 

As far as distance, I would move the tank as far away from the TV as makes sense and just keep an eye on fish stress.  You might notice them hiding during certain times of games.  Opt to play those with headphones for instance if you wish.  There's ways around it, but it's just something I wanted to share/mention for the sake of "if" you ever run into issues with fish getting sick or weird behavior.  (Fish hiding a lot of avoiding that side of the tank)

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 3/31/2023 at 3:48 PM, Cory said:

Light, shadows, and sound all play a part.

I have never heard of such a thing, but I can see where it might do harm.

 Like when I enter the room and turn on the lights seems like the fish and the Amano's are startled at first and I keep lights on low.

One thing I won`t do again is after lights out, I will never go back and turn lights back on. I did just that awhile back and startled a hillstream loach and it ran into the glass, next day poor guy was dead.😕 

[BettaBabe94]

@nabokovfan87

Just saw your comments. So far the other fish that were with the Betta are fine. They don’t seem bothered. My “big” tank (20 gallons) is in the other room. So if it comes to it I could put that tank in the other room too. It’s funny how only a few feet difference can change everything. Not included in that picture is a betta tank that makes an L shape with that 10 gallon along the wall and he does fine in that spot 

Edited April 6, 2023 by BettaBabe94
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