All fish need oxygen in order to survive. A bubbler works off of an air pump and provides oxygen to your fish. The air pump will plug into the wall and the air will move through the airline tubing into the bubbler inside of your fish tank. All tank needs bubblers, especially small fish tanks. Bettas are often times sold in a little bowl, this is inhumane. These small tanks need bubblers as well. The only way you can get away with keeping it in this bowl is if you add fresh water to the bowl everyday. This will provide your fish with oxygen. If you have a ten gallon tank you will need a bubbler. If you have a 2 1/2 or 5 gallon tank you can get away with not using a bubbler only if you have a filter hooked up which shoots water into the water.
If you have a large fish tank you will need a bubbler as well. If you have a saltwater tank you will not need a bubbler because you will have a canister filter hooked up which shoots a lot of oxygen into the water. The only time you can have a tank without a bubbler is if you have a powerful filter which shoots oxygen bubbles into the tank on a continuous basis. If you shut off the filter you should only go up to an hour without a bubbler or you fish could possibly die. The larger the fish the less time you have without a bubbler or filter.
Bubblers will cost you around $10, for the air pump, airline tubing and bubbler. A filter on the other hand will cost you at least $20. The filters main purpose is not to provide the fish with oxygen. The main purpose of a filter is to clean the water from debris, fish waste and uneaten food. The purpose of the bubbler is to provide the fish with oxygen if there is not a powerful filter hooked up to the tank. If you take a close look at the water coming from your filter it should produce little bubbles in the water. You can raise up the water level in the tank to provide the fish with more oxygen from the water. If you lower the water level in your tank this will provide your fish will less oxygen.
You cannot leave your fish without a bubbler or filter. Your fish will soon die. This is why little goldfish bowls are inhumane. People will leave the goldfish in a little bowl, come back in a few hours and the fish will be dead. This is because the fish didn’t have any oxygen. You will need to keep your fish in at least a 2 1/2 gallon tank with a bubbler. Your best bet is to hook up both a bubbler and a filter to provide your fish with a healthy life. You can also choose to hook up a bubbler but remain without a filter as long as you change the water every couple of days and provide 35% fresh water.
The answer is that all fish need oxygen and oxygen is provided by bubblers. If you have a filter you will most likely still need a bubbler, unless the filter is providing enough oxygen in the water.
