Comments on: How many of you have betta fish, and if so what living conditions do you provide for them?

By: Vulcan

Vulcan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

A single betta should have about a five gallon aquarium, a gentle filter, and an aquarium heater to maintain the water at an appropriate tropical temperature between 78F-82F.

I have two bettas and am setting up another tank for a third.

By: troublewolf

troublewolf — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

I use 2/.5 gallon tanks, heaters and soft filters or weekly water changes religiously. No substrate at all. This makes it easier to remove all waste weekly, just use silk plants with weighted bases. My boys also get a varied diet. Harkia betta pellets as the staple, with bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia as treats. I also fast my fish once a week to help clean out their digestive track.
while bettas can survive in cooler waters, keeping them at a steady temp. of 76-80 degrees cuts down on health problems.
While we can suggest the best way to take care of your fish, it is your decision, right or wrong.

By: panson808

panson808 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

Betta Fish Care: Appropriate home. This item includes a 1.5 gallon bowl.

Keep this bowl away from sources of hot and cold air such as heaters, heater vents, cold or sunny windows, drafts, air conditioner vents, etc. It’s is important that this bowl be kept cool at about 65 to 75 degrees F. Put it in a place away from extremes of hot and cold.

When you go to a pet store, you’ll find rows of small bowls, each containing one colorful fish. These are male Siamese fighting fish (more properly known as a betta) and the way you find them in the pet store is essentially how they should be kept.

Bettas can be kept in small containers because they are able to breathe air, like humans, as well as water. Keep the water between 70 and 80 degrees, and don’t let the temperature change too quickly. Keep the bowl away from appliances that produce a lot of heat.

IMPORTANT BETTA FISH CARE: Only ONE betta per bowl! They’re called "fighting fish" for a reason. They are highly territorial animals and will react violently if two are placed in the same container. You can see the preliminary phase of their fighting, the threat display, if you put a mirror up against the bowl. Notice the raised gill covers, which makes the betta look bigger.

Change the water in the bowl when it starts to look cloudy, about once a week. Let the water age at least 24 hours, to release some of the chemicals. After transfering the betta to a container (with either the old water or the water you’re going to use) clean the bowl with mild soap, and rinse thoroughly. Also rinse any decorations (rocks, shells, plastic plants, etc.) before filling the bowl with the aged water, and releasing your Siamese fighting fish.

The pet store where you bought your betta will have food as well, probably freeze-dried blood worms. Feed your Siamese fighting fish two or three times a day, only what he will eat in a few minutes. Overfeeding will make the water cloud faster, and your betta will be more likely to get ill.

One last note: pet stores usually don’t carry female bettas, because they tend to be less colorful and showy than the males. Also, people are usually just looking for a nice pet, not a breeding hobby. If this is your intention, then I suggest doing some serious research before you start!

Betta Fish Care: Recommended Diet.

BettaMin™ Floating Flake Food and Delecta™ Freeze Dried Blood Worms both made by Tetra™ and available in most pet stores and Wal-Mart Stores. We also feed the fish in our fish bowls a few live Black Worms three days a week and occasionally some live or frozen brine shrimp. A little bit of live food is very good, but too much seems to cause problems.

Pellet food for bettas, like TopFin’s Betta Bits or Hikari’s betta pellet food, is touted as being the most nutritious and well-balanced diet for bettas and even enhances their color, but too much of a good thing might do some harm. It’s okay to feed a betta 3-4 pellets twice a day, or 4-5 pellets once a day (more or less, according to the instructions on the package). Special care abput constipation or swim bladder disorder.

I feed all the inhabitants of my fish bowls a few Black Worms every other day.

It’s important to supplement with other types of food, cecause betta fish tend to eat a lot of one kind of food, including: Freeze-dried foods, Freeze-dried brine shrimp and bloodworms are an easy and quick way to vary the betta’s diet. And a container can last a very long time.

Betta Fish Care: Compatibility.

You can add an African Dwarf Frog, but it will need to eat live food such as live Black Worms at least three times a week.

Betta Fish Care: Why Does This Fish Bowl Kit Work?

Several visitors to this site have sent us Feedback saying that they were worried that one Betta and two Aquatic Snails are too many animals in one bowl. We appreciate their concern for these animals, and it might seem like too many animals. But the crucial test is to actually try it, and we have tried it many many times. It works. Why?
1.5 gallons is 6 quarts and that’s a pretty big fish bowl. We might put one Betta in a half gallon bowl but 1.5 gallons is much better.
Notice we recommend putting the bowl in a cool part of your home where the water is 65 to 75 degrees F. not 78 to 80. The lower temperature allows more oxygen in the water and less fish waste because the animals’ metabolism is slower.
The cultured gravel provides a lot of surface area that is covered with the essential nitrifying bacteria that turn fish waste into harmless residue.
We recommend that you change 20% of the water at least twice a week and replace it with bottled drinking water.
We recommend that you feed Tetra BettaMin and Tetra Delecta Freeze Dried Blood Worms, because these foods float and leave less residue than most foods.
We strongly recommend you check your fish bowl 10 minutes after each feeding. If there is any uneaten food, remove it with a small net.
The

By: fish guy

fish guy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

i kept one in a 15 g tank on its own in a tank full of plants a heater and a filter in the tank a had a nice small community tank but they died so i wanted tropical fish but a easy fish to care for
btw you should at least have a 5g tank for your betta and if you live in a colder country you should have a thermastat but if you do regular cleaning on the tank you wont need a filter but it would be better with a light filtaration system but you will need an airstone as its a labyrinth fish

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

My kids’ each have a betta fish in pretty much the exact condition yours is living in. They are happy fish and don’t need anything else other than food. It is also important to put a water conditioner in the tank each time you clean it. It cleans out the chlorine and other chemicals.

By: Frita_VanShnidelvanhouwserson

Frita_VanShnidelvanhouwserson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

I have a betta fish, I take him to college with me. He’s in a gallon tank, which is a great size for a betta. I would suggest getting him a few plastic plants, like two or three. They like to swim through the leaves. Make sure to wash them without soap under hot water. My tank also came with a little bubble machine. It’s not necessary to have one but it’s supposed to help keep the tank cleaner. I also have a light, which is nice when you want to see your betta’s colors better. A heater isn’t really needed, as long as the water you have him in is at room temperature.

By: Beautiful Rain

Beautiful Rain — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

A betta is a tropical fish and needs temps 76-80 degrees F a heater is needed to keep temperature stable, fluctuations can cause disease and illness. They also should be provide with a small power filter. A betta shouldn’t be kept in anything smaller than a 3 gallon, a 5 is preferred. Good luck with your fish.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

I have my guy in a Marineland 5 gallon hex with an overhead filter that comes with the tank. He also has a heater set to 78, a piece of driftwood that makes two arches that he likes to hide under, Java fern tied to the driftwood that he lays on, pea gravel, two betta bulbs planted behind the driftwood, a floating piece of water sprite – a great place to build a bubble nest, and some snails as tankmates.

He gets fed betta pellets, blackworms, blood worms, mosquito larvae, and brine shrimp.

Have had him for about 3 years now.

Here’s a good place to learn about betta care – http://www.bettatalk.com/

By: loupa_carpathian

loupa_carpathian — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

You’re absolutlly right, your little guy needs more. A 2.5 tank is minimum, a 5 gallon or larger is preferable. They need a heater to keep their temps in the high 70′s to mid 80′s as they are tropical fish. They also need a gentle filter and soft live or silk plants to keep their fins safe and provide protection.
They live in large rice paddies and slow moving streams, not small puddles of unclean water. Sure, they have been found in puddles in the wild, but it’s certaily not the norm and not prefereable and you can’t expect them to live near the life span a well cared for betta would.
In these bodies of water theres an intense amount of plants, acting as natural filters, and the shallow water is heated to high temps.
Live or silk plants are preferable to plastic plants, as plastic plants and rough ornaments can tear their fins. I had a male years ago who tore himself up something feirce on a simple plastic plant.

~I keep my male halfmoon Rohan in a 6.6 gallon tank with red ramshorn snails and cherry shrimp with a little driftwood and a ton of live plants including annubias, java fern, red ludwigia, water wysteria and mondo grass. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2614/4021516924_e93a0fb16d_b.jpg
~Rhett, my other male halfmoon in a 5 gallon bowfront with ghost shrimp, red ramshorn snails with a little driftwood and live plants including mariamo moss, java fern, amazon sword, annubias and mondo grass. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2483/4020756337_24a42044b1_b.jpg
~Rouge, my female halfmoon, is in another 5 gallon bowfront with red ramshorn snails and ghost shrimp with live plants including java fern, annubias, amazon swords and mondo grass, her driftwood is in the mail. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2524/4021516592_c9c6b30403_b.jpg
~Sable, my other female halfmoon is in a 3 gallon tank with silk plants and malaysian trumpet snails. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2630/3741403343_4a14029df8_b.jpg
~My plaket male Patriot is in a 3 gallon with malaysian trumpet snails and silk plants. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3639997029_572f40c1ce_o.jpg
~Last but not least, Oscar http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2550/3741403563_3d9a8d70a5_b.jpg and Moe http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/4021515788_43a0572365_b.jpg , my mothers 2 crowntails are in a 5 gallon divided tank, so 2.5 each, full of malaysian trumpet snails and silk plants. I convinced her to get a tank, but she would only get one, so the boys have to share their home. But at least they are heated and filtered : )
All the tanks have filters and heaters keeping them around 78-82 degrees fairenheit.

Best of Luck!

By: Gerbil Expert

Gerbil Expert — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:04:25 +0000

I have two bettas that have heaters (a necessity to betta keeping), filters, and they are in temporary 2 and 3 gallons. To keep a betta you need a heater set to about 78 – 80 degrees and a filter to keep the water clean and stress free.