General Betta Care

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pajankiegal

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Jan 28, 2005
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I saw a request for an article on general betta care, that is, housing, tankmates, feeding, etc. Thought it may be a fun experiment. Lemme know if there are some things I've missed =)

Habitat/Origin
In the beginning, (I've always wanted to say that!) wild Bettas originated from the warm, tropical waters of Siam. Siam (hence the name Siamese), is now known as Thailand. Anyway, these bettas also came from surrounding areas such as Indonesia and parts of China. There, Bettas thrived in the warm waters of shallow rice paddies and slow-moving streams. Unlike the common goldfish that couldn't survive these extremes, Bettas have adapted to this lifestyle due to a special organ called the labyrinth organ. This allows them to breathe oxygen directly from the surface in places where oxygen is lacking. In addition, the vivid, colorful Bettas that we see on the pet store shelves are not what you would find in the wild. In the wild, fins are much shorter to allow for better swimming and escaping from threats (who'd want to carry around all that extra luggage, anyway? Lol.). People would often catch Bettas and fight them for sport, as well. Bets would be placed as to who would win and who...wouldn't.

Housing (Tank size, decor, tankmates, females)
The tank size a Betta could and should be kept in are parts of a controversial debate. We know that Bettas could be kept in tiny cups holding barely enough water to allow for flaring, because we've all seen it in the pet stores. This is OK, so long as it is temporary. However, even breeders separate Bettas into cups/jars holding at least 1/4 gallon of water. Now, for the pet Betta. Bettas should live in at least 1 gallon of water, in a bowl or a tank. If in a bowl, water changes should be done as frequently as every couple of days. In a tank with a filter, water changes could be decreased to maybe every few days. As you can see, I'm a huge fan of clean water. :D The general rule for Bettas is that they should at least have enough room to swim around and stretch their fins. But of course, the bigger, the better.

Next, I'll talk about aquarium decor. This includes plants and little toys. Let's say little Fish lives in a bowl. Of course you don't want to crowd it so much that he can't see you and vice versa! The most a bowl should hold is marbles or river rocks (not gravel), maybe a couple hardy live plants OR one plastic plant, and that's it. You don't want to make it difficult on yourself to clean the bowl. Remember that if you choose a plastic plant, make sure it is soft enough for your Bettas fins. Silk is best. :) You don't wanna wake up the next morning to tattered fins! In a tank, your choices of decor is increased. You can have a plant substrate mixed with gravel or sand, a piece of driftwood, a toy castle there, and a variety of hardy plants. Your creativity can run wild and your Betta would be much more open to exploring his surroundings.

Finally, tankmates. If you want to have tankmates with your Betta, I suggest you have at least a 5 gallon tank with a filter and heater. This would make things much easier on yourself and things would be less stressful for the non-Betta occupants. ;D When it comes to tankmates, avoid fish with flashy fins/colors, related fish (like Gouramis), fin-nippy fish (can't stress that enough!), and fish that your Betta would make a snack out of or vice versa. You also want to keep in mind the other fishes' water needs. While mollies might be a good tankmate choice, they would much prefer brackish water and some other mollies. Obviously you'd want to avoid Tiger Barbs as well--they'd have a feast on your Betta! Anyway, enough of the fish you can't* have. Let's take a look at what you can: Cory catfish would be a good choice if you have a bigger tank. They're cute and stay well out of a Betta's way. Another good janitor is the Oto, although they can be sensitive to water changes and require special care. If you want some non-fishy creatures, try some shrimp, mystery snails, or African dwarf frogs (careful not to get clawed frogs!). Some other fish that could be a good candidate are some of the non-fancy guppies, glolight tetras, or even platies as long as you keep an eye on them. Platies with bright colors might encourage a Betta.

We all know you can't keep two male Bettas together, nor can you keep a male and female together unless they're breeding. But then there's the option of a female tank. I suggest that if you want a female tank, you should at least do it in a 10 gallon. Females require a group of at LEAST three so that they can devise a pecking order. Remember to plant the tank and watch for any out-of-the-ordinary aggression.

Feeding
Bettas are purely carnivorous fish. Remember that they cannot survive on vegetation nor plant roots alone. Their ideal diet should be a variety of live, frozen, freeze-dried (sparingly), and pellet food (as a staple). Try to combine brine shrimp, bloodworms, etc. into their diet. My Betta absolutely loves frozen brime shrimp, so make sure that if your Betta does too, be careful not to overfeed! Some choose to feed thawed or cooked pea once a week to their Betta, in addition to fasting, to help prevent constipation problems. Additionally, try to feed your Betta a couple feedings per day, instead of one giant feeding once a day. If you're going on vacation, the one thing not to do is feed your Betta a giant serving right before you leave. Bettas can survive a while without food, but if you're gonna be gone for more than several days, I suggest you train* someone to feed him. :)

Personality
I've found Bettas to be very personable fish. They learn to recognize their owners as their friends, much like cichlids do. Just think of Bettas as a mini-cichlid!! =) You can train them to recognize different times of the day, like feedings, cleanings, etc. Once they've recognized you, Bettas learn to be completely active around you and watching your every move, however, I've witnessed mine being shy around strangers. All in all, each Betta has their own personality, so don't think that the red Betta in the pet store is as lazy as the one at home. :D
 

joephys

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Dec 22, 2005
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As you said the whole debate thing. I don't mean to stir up debate, but many people also feel that large tanks and deep water is stressful to betta's. Although, others say that only a heated tank will give them the water temperature that makes them comfortable. AGAIN I am not trying to start arguments, just putting the info out there. Personally I don't think one way is better than they other, they both have their advantage and disadvantage.

Just as a side note, bettas don't get oxygen from the water, they get it from the air, so they need access to fresh air (this was learned the hard way when scientists trapped bettas and they would always be dead, they couldn't get to the surface to get air.). If you keep your bettas in something with calm water (i.e. no filter), and you see some bubbles it means your betta is happy and healthy.

My bettas go crazy when I come to feed them, and they know that my finger points to the food. They would follow my finger around for an hour if I wanted to be mean to them. (I don't do that I just tried it for about a minute to see if they would then I gave them a treat.) They are also used to me changing the water. At first they would freak out when I put the siphon hose, but now they swim to one side of the bowl and calmly wait for me to finish. They are indeed very smart and personable fish.
 

haydenm315

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Feb 14, 2005
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joephys said:
As you said the whole debate thing. I don't mean to stir up debate, but many people also feel that large tanks and deep water is stressful to betta's. Although, others say that only a heated tank will give them the water temperature that makes them comfortable. AGAIN I am not trying to start arguments, just putting the info out there. Personally I don't think one way is better than they other, they both have their advantage and disadvantage.
Just a comment in regards to stress caused by a deep tank. I've found that my betta likes to sit on an object close to the waterline. I used to have an under gravel filter that he sat on, but I took it out in place of a heater. The only thing I've got now is the thermometer. If he gets tired/bored of swimming around, he'll just sit on top of the thermometer and watch the computer screen. It's his little stoop I guess.
 

SnakeIce

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If a betta has been cared for in such a way to prevent amonia from haveing the chance to burn its gills, and a fish tank with normally oxygenated water is used to house it then almost no atmosperic oxygen is needed. I don't know of an aquarium system that has poor oxygen levels that would not also tend to have amonia problems.

Tis a question of Thrive or survive.

I have a betta in a 55 gallon tank. He is active, nearly constantly moveing. I have only seen him take a bubble of air in once in the month I've had him. That was when he was first introduced to the tank and was chased by the other fish. For normal activity he doesn't need atmospheric air.

Sadly many bettas do not get the good water quality they need and thus are damaged to the point that they can't get enough oxygen from the water due to gill damage.
 
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TKOS

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Feb 6, 2003
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My bettas usually had short lives. That was until I started to make sure to do large weekly water changes and use heated water. Keep the water temp at least around 78F has made all the difference.

I also agree on the fact that with clean water I rarely see my betta head to the surface except to eat or make a few bubbles.
 

rosita

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Jan 11, 2006
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pajankiegal said:
I saw a request for an article on general betta care, that is, housing, tankmates, feeding, etc. Thought it may be a fun experiment. Lemme know if there are some things I've missed =)

After finding a post asking about a betta's fins shredding, I reread your informational and clear post and wondered, how's about health issues e.g. that cottony fungus, or fin deterioration, etc. I had a betta for over 3 years and only knew that frequent water changes, not overfeeding, and stable temps kept him healthy and happy. Other than that, I was clueless!!! You've got so much great information to share, and thank you so much!! :p:
 

new2tanks

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Feb 18, 2006
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Does anyone have instructions for picking out a healthy betta from those jars of water that i see them in at the lfs?
some have bubbles in their jar, some dont, some are at the bootm and look near death and some are at the top moving around (as much space will permit) and some are flaring at the betta next to them.
Any suggestions?

Great article btw.
 

plah831

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Apr 29, 2006
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new2tanks said:
Does anyone have instructions for picking out a healthy betta from those jars of water that i see them in at the lfs?
some have bubbles in their jar, some dont, some are at the bootm and look near death and some are at the top moving around (as much space will permit) and some are flaring at the betta next to them.
Any suggestions?
I'd ask a store employee to change the water so it's clear or put it in another container of clear water so you can get a better look at him. then look for regular stuff you would for any fish purchase: good color, no missing scales, fins not tattered, not emaciated, no obvious signs of illness like pale or dark coloration or listlessness. you might even ask the employee to feed him to see if he will accept food and is feeling healthy that way.

that's what i could think of, off the top of my head :)
 
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