Betta fish?
21 February 2010
6 Comments
Please give me betta fish tips! I also have a question, what is the MAXIMUM size tank for a male betta? I would just like a bigger one so I could put in a little cave a whatnot so please give me some tips! And some good names too!
There is no maximum sized tank for bettas. The only thing to keep in mind is that they breathe air from the waters surface, so the tank should not be over 30 inches tall. For a single betta, 5 gallons will work, but if you want a lot of plants and such, go for a 10-gallon. He’ll appreciate the extra space.
Hi I would suggest a 5 to 10 gallon tank. Why’ll there is no Maximum size for Betta tank you might want to make sure the tank is not more than 36 inches tall. The second would be that you not use a tank that is smaller than 2 1/2 gallons. You see the larger the tank the easier it to maintain. A larger tank will also give him room grow, be healthy and happy. Good luck with your Betta.
I recommend nothing smaller than a 1 gallon tank. Others say 2, 5 and 10. The more space, the better. Betta’s come to the surface to breath, so you want to make sure there is space between the water and any covering over the aquarium.
Also, Betta’s thrive in water temps between 76-85 degrees. You will need a aquarium heater, avail pretty cheap @ Petsores.
No more than 1/4 inch of gravel, a few decorations and be sure to do a water change every week to 2 weeks. I personally used to remove the Betta and completely clean the tank. Never use any soap, chemicals etc. Be sure to leave the water sit out at least 24 hours so any chlorine is removed. You can also buy stress coat/ water dechlorinator @ the Pet store.
You can feed pellet food or live food (Brine shrimp can be bough frozen @ pet stores) Feed small amounts at a time. If not, most will sink and cause a dirty tank rapidly.
Betta tips:
1. There is no tank too big, as long as it’s decorated properly. Betta’s become insecure and stressed in wide-open environments, and the larger the tank is, the more important lots of plants becomes to basically ‘close in’ the environment and mimic their natural heavily planted environment. Plants, real or fake, are extremely important and must not be overlooked. They also block lines of sight across the tank, encouraging them to roam about more, and encourage more natural behaviour. (in the right setup bettas do much more then float around in one spot).
2. Betta’s can breath air from the surface, but many people seem to forget that they have gills too. They can rely on their labrynth organ to go up for air if the water is oxygen deprived. But (and this is where people tend to get confused) as long as there is oxygen in the water they do not need to go up to the surface for air – they can use their gills to breathe, just like any fish!
3. Once you are going with a larger tank, you can always consider tankmates for a betta. They have a reputation as a killer fish which is very undeserved. You can keep them with calm, peaceful fish like many types of tetras, bottom dwellers like corydora catfish and shrimp and small loaches, oto catfish… things like this.
4. Heated tanks are always best, considering they are tropical fish. One you’re getting a tank with a filter, include a heater and keep the water in the high 70′s. Going over 80 is overly warm and not necessary.
Good luck with your betta.
FYI, just so you know, an owner who has good fishkeeping knowledge, aquarium maintenance routines, and a bit of luck, can see their betta live over 5 years old! My current one is almost 4.
I bought 2 male bettas 2 years ago. I keep them in relatively small tanks. I have a pure red one- Fire, and a pure blue one-Water.
I change out their water every few weeks, but only use room temperature bottled water. I feed them a few pellets a day too.
If you keep them away from windows and doors, room temperature should be fine.
They are pretty easy. Just get a tank big enough to fit the cave, and you have the perfect size. (the smaller the better, that way you can move it around whenever you want)
I started looking at 2.5 gallon tanks and I ended up buying a 10 gallon. It really doesn’t take up too much room, but it’s plenty of room for a betta. I have enough room for 4 silk plants and 1 live, and I bought a little grey tree root cave kind of thing. I think 10 gallon is a perfect size if you want to have room for plants and a cave.
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