Okay, I’m getting a betta soon, but how on earth do you take care of them?
Well, obviously I’m getting a betta fish soon (actually for my birthday) and we’ve never had a pet before so I wanted to know what we should get for a boy and a girl (I’m not sure it’s going to be okay with two genders but they might mate so… baby fish!) and like what size tank (I found a cute one at 3 gallons) and we are getting everything at Petsmart so here are some of my choices.
* Eclipse Corner 5 Aquarium by Marineland : $54.99
* Eclipse System 3 Aquarium by MarineLand : $47.99
* Hawkeye Aquariums AquaView 360 Aquarium Kit (3 gal): $29.99
I have all the plants picked out (not real though) and like a rock sculpture but what do I need for it’s health (be really specific) and like cleaning tools and stuff.
Also, if you have a preference for a certain kind of food for it like a brand and also the stones (no gravel because it’s SSOO hard to clean) then tell me please.
One last thing, what, out of the choices above, do you like the most for a tank that might have like 3 or more betta in it.
Thanks, I’m so not a fish expert!
Also, if you want, you can find another choice for me and I’ll look it over but if you’ve had it before and loved it then tell me PLEASE!!! I have absolutly no experiance!
I know you cant put 2 guys to gether, but what about a guy and a girl? Really, how does this race still live if you said u cant have them together!
you cant put 2 bettas together they’ll fight but for the tank it doesnt matter the betta can survive n any kind of tank
they eat tropical flakes or dried blood worms
and the tank just needs to be clean whenever it looks dirty
Only one betta per tank. i would get at least the 3 gallon. Be sure to get a heater too. Get the silk plants, not plastic. bettas love hikari betta pellets and bloodworms. Only 3 pellets a day and once a week feed some bloodworms. don’t feed the worms too much or often as they can cause the betta to get fat and also constipation. I’m going to give you a good site to read. typing everything you need to know would take too long.
I’ve used this breeder and she has a great site.
http://bettysplendens.com/articles/home.imp
Start at “About Bettas” and read on from there.
I currently have three 2.5 gallon tanks/heated for my bettas. i did away with any gravel and just use silk plants. i siphon up the waste every couple od days and then partial water changes weekly.
But read the site and it will help you understand what to expect and to get ready for.
Good luck and thanks for asking before buying! Most people just go and point! then we get panicky questions the next day.
The reason you don’t house a pair together is becuase they are very rough. In a tank they can’t really get away from one another as they could in the wild. Especially in such a small tank. Believe me, do not keep a pair together.
Whoa. You’re sure you’re not getting a dog? They’re super-duper easy to take care of. I got a one-gallon plastic fish bowl for one male, some betta fish flakes, (do NOT get Betta-Bites!) and a little statue for it to play around in.
And it was fine for a whole year.
Cleaning: Fish (tehe) the fish out (you can use one of those special nets or just a small cup), put it in a cup of fresh water (Betta fish are fresh water fish), and dump out all the yucky water in a sink. Lightly suds it down, then rinse it thoroughly. Fill it almost to the top again with room-temperature water. Dump the fish back in. (Note: you might want to feed it BEFORE you clean) You should clean it about once every week.
Now, it sounds like you’re planning on putting more than one fish in the same tank. DON’T. Betta fish are fighting fish, and are EXTREMELY territorial. (Why do you think the pet store keeps them in separate cup-things?) If you put more than one together, they will eat each other. (Even a male and female)
Health: Just clean it often, feed it on a regular basis, and give it love and attention!
I always find stones annoying to clean, but if you want them, the brand doesn’t really matter. Just get some pretty ones!
Oh, and one more tip: don’t use the gravels that claim to “nutrieze” or “clean” the water or something. All they do is cloud the water and (maybe) choke the fishy.
Here’s some expert websites, but I hope you’ll find they’re extremely simple creatures! One *more* thing: they like their bowl to be moved around to see the sights!
http://care.betta-fish.com.ar/
http://www.aquariumguys.com/betta-fish-care-article.html
http://www.bettafish.com/
Congrats on the fish, happy birthday, and good luck!
boys have to be alone!!!!!!girls can be with girls though !!! and they wouldnt be able to mate and have babies in a 3 gallon tank you;d need a 20 gallon so that is out the question.i have the 1 gallon hawkeye tank for my boy betta its definatly on of the cheaper ones but my fish is still alive.the first week thaT you have the hawkeye tank theres bubblesat the top of the water which will go away in a week .ummmm buy a net because any food that ur fish does not eat u might wanna take out because that will make the tank get dirtier faster…. dont buy pellet food flakes work alot better for them.i would not put in more than two bettas in a 3 gallon not because you wanna combine the lengths of the fish say you have two fish that are an inch each then that means you need 2 gallons or more .inch =1 gallon you need .
i hope i helped goodluck with ur bettas
Get the biggest tank you can afford. Contrary to popular belief, Bettas DO NOT like small tanks because they live in “small rice paddies”. Rice Paddies are actually this big: http://www.cultureshocktherapy.com/pic/id/rice_paddy.jpg
You’ll also need a small filter and heater in the tank. Only do 25% water changes weekly, NEVER completely drain the whole tank and scrub it. And please don’t take the fish out while you clean the tank, this just adds unnecessary stress to him.
2 Bettas cannot be together because they will fight. You can only have a male and female Betta together for a couple of minutes while they’re breeding. After they spawn, the male will try and kill the female, so you have to remove her then.
anything the betta can swim around in
That Hawkeye Aquarium Kit comes with a couple things you don’t need and nothing that you do (besides the tank itself), so I don’t think you should buy that one.
As I understand it, both the Eclipses come with a Bio-Wheel filter, correct? Those are great filters, I have 2 (for my 75 gallon, much bigger filters of course, but the same basic design). I think you should go ahead and get the 5 gallon, as it is only a little more but will be a much better environment for your fish. Possibly, the filter may be a little strong for the Betta, in which case you can make it slower than the lowest setting this way: http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/347/
You will need to buy a couple other things though, that don’t come with that. Principally, you need a mini-heater. This is because Bettas are tropical fish, and they need temperatures between 76-86 degrees F. I like the Hydor Mini Aquarium Heater – 7.5 watts. You’ll also need a thermometer, I suggest getting a glass one with alcohol inside that sticks to the inner glass, this should only be a few bucks, and tends to be much more accurate than the stick-on kind.
It is absolutely vital that you get a water conditioner, as well. Your fish will be poisoned by chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals without one. I use Aqua Safe myself, and have found that one to work quite well. Follow the dosage directions on the back. You may also consider getting test kits for Ammonia and NitrIte. When you first put the Betta in the tank, his waste will just collect, and too high concentrations will poison him. Eventually, a colony of bacteria that keeps the water free of toxic Ammonia and NitrIte will develop, but until then you need to monitor these levels and take them out of the water whenever they get high (when ammonia gets to 0.25 ppm) through switching out part of the water. Eventually the tank will “cycle” and you can go to one partial water change of 25% per week. Make sure you add aqua safe to the new water before you put it in, every time.
In case of algae, you can just use a soft kitchen sponge (with NO soap whatsoever, never put soap in the tank!) and just get any algae off with that. The partial water changes will keep the water clean. Never clean the filter, particularly the bio-wheel, as that will kill all the bacteria keeping the water free of toxic substances. You can buy a small siphon at the pet store to clean the bottom of the tank, submerge the tube in water, and once there is no air in the tube, cover both ends with your thumb/hand, then put one end in a container lower than the tank, and it will automatically start suctioning from the tank. To stop this, cover the part in the aquarium with your thumb again, lift it out of the water, and then it will stop suctioning. If, while it is sucking, you put it near the bottom it will get out all the yucky stuff among the stones and bottom.
As for food, try and give a variety. For a staple, I like Hikari Betta Bio Gold pellets, 3-5 per day will be plenty. You can also get Flakes, just make sure they are specifically for Bettas. Freeze Dried or Frozen Brine Shrimp or Blood Worms would be a good 2-3 times per week supplement.
Bettas have very fragile fins, so you need to take care in the kind of decorations you get him. You should only get silk plants, not plastic. Also, make sure there are no sharp edges on the sculpture. To see if it is too sharp, run a pantyhose against it. If it tears the pantyhose, then it will tear the Betta’s fin. If not, you are good to go.
As for rocks on the bottom, make sure you don’t get the pretty glass kinds. These tend to fracture eventually, and then you have little bits of sharp glass in the tank, which obviously is undesirable. Smooth stones sold at the pet store will work fine. Make sure you get them from the pet store and the fish section, as some types of stone from other places can mess with the water chemistry.
Also, you really can only get one Betta. Males, as you know, will kill each other. So will a male and female, though.
Basically, a male only welcomes in a female when she is fat with eggs. Afterwards, he chases her off, he is the one who cares for the eggs. Once she leaves the territory of that male, she may find other eggs from other couples, and she will try to eat these to give herself a food source. Males, naturally, have evolved to guard their nests against females that come in who aren’t heavy with eggs (and won’t be able to serve any purpose in the territory but threatening the nest). So they automatically try to kill any female that isn’t ready to mate. As most females are not ready to mate most of the time, and only with careful conditioning become ready to mate, you can’t keep a male and female together.
One last thing, here is a website with pictures of the various common illnesses of Bettas, so you will be able to recognize if one is sick and not buy it (the pics start about 1/4 of the way down, and the whole site is useful by the way): http://www.bettatalk.com/betta_diseases.htm