betta keeping help

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Jeremy1

AC Members
Sep 17, 2010
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0
first off thanks for reading this! I have had a couple of bettas over the last few years.neither one made it more than like 6 months.for a little set up info---i kept both in a 2g unfiltered unheated tank. i did 100% water changes weekly.they were fed ocean nutrition betta food.one was purchased from my lfs the other the wife got me from a pet supply store.the first one(pet supply store) i wrote off as probably a poor quality fish,thus i purchased the second from the lfs.thinking it might be higher quality.well he lasted only a few months as well.so thee question is what am i doing wrong? i thought i had some decent info on keeping them.and they both just seemed to slowly get worse and worse until they died.i would really like to keep a betta but i am becoming frustrated and dont want to keep more bettas if i am the cause of their demise.well thanks for reading my long winded rant and any replies info is greatly appreciated!!!
 

H2Ogal

Betta Be Good to Me
Mar 16, 2010
1,213
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Memphis, TN
Real Name
Deborah
Please add filtration, cycle the tank, and use a heater. Bettas are tropical fish, and the fact that they can breathe oxygen at the water's surface does not mean they should be kept in unfiltered tanks and forced to live with poor water quality. (Weekly changes may prevent ammonia from building to the point of flat-out killing the fish, but it does not prevent spikes that will cause illness, disease and an early death. The only way to maintain decent water quality in any tank is with proper filtration.)

I don't wish to sound harsh. The fact is, most betta lovers — including me and a great many other people in AC — learned this the hard way, as you have, by losing fish due to substandard care. It's maddening but nearly every LFS in existance — not to mention all those manufacturers that market "betta" tanks that are too small to be properly heated/filted and loads of other "betta-sized" crap — maintain the mythology that bettas don't need the same basic care that other tropical fish require simply because they're anabantids (labyrinth fish). So are gouramis and paradise fish, but no one espouses keeping them in unheated, unfiltered tanks.

Bottom line, you're doing a very good thing by asking the questions you're asking. The short answer is, treat your bettas just as you would any tropical fish that needs heated, filtered water, and they'll live much longer, healthier, happier lives.
 

Jeremy1

AC Members
Sep 17, 2010
16
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0
well thanks for the info! Fluval has a 2g model with built in filter i think its called spec.looks loike you could put a heater in it as well. I may try one of these for my next try.
 

H2Ogal

Betta Be Good to Me
Mar 16, 2010
1,213
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0
Memphis, TN
Real Name
Deborah
Good luck with your next betta! You might want to go with something in the 3-5gal size, which is usually easier to filter/heat. Bettas can also work well in community tanks. Depends in part on the specific betta's personality, and you will need to avoid putting them with other labyrinth fish like gouramis or fishies with long flowing fins, which might be viewed as competition.
 

Ratlova30

AC Members
Apr 2, 2010
705
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Washington
Real Name
Chelsea
Please add filtration, cycle the tank, and use a heater. Bettas are tropical fish, and the fact that they can breathe oxygen at the water's surface does not mean they should be kept in unfiltered tanks and forced to live with poor water quality. (Weekly changes may prevent ammonia from building to the point of flat-out killing the fish, but it does not prevent spikes that will cause illness, disease and an early death. The only way to maintain decent water quality in any tank is with proper filtration.)

I don't wish to sound harsh. The fact is, most betta lovers — including me and a great many other people in AC — learned this the hard way, as you have, by losing fish due to substandard care. It's maddening but nearly every LFS in existance — not to mention all those manufacturers that market "betta" tanks that are too small to be properly heated/filted and loads of other "betta-sized" crap — maintain the mythology that bettas don't need the same basic care that other tropical fish require simply because they're anabantids (labyrinth fish). So are gouramis and paradise fish, but no one espouses keeping them in unheated, unfiltered tanks.

Bottom line, you're doing a very good thing by asking the questions you're asking. The short answer is, treat your bettas just as you would any tropical fish that needs heated, filtered water, and they'll live much longer, healthier, happier lives.
+1 ;)
 

Windy

AC Members
May 30, 2007
443
6
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51
Theed Palace on Naboo
Real Name
Lazaro
I agree with the previous posters. I had a betta in a 5 gallon tank with heater and filter. With the heater, keep the temperature at around 78-80 degrees. The higher the temp, the faster your betta will age, the lower them temperature the more sluggish he will be. Never keep 2 bettas in the same tank, they will kill each other.
 
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