My new betta

B

BettaMax

AC Members
Feb 8, 2005
18
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0
Morton Grove, IL
Hello everyone! im new to the forum, and newbie on bettas or the whole aquarium hobby. I recently just bought a male betta and housed him in a 5 gallon tank. Ive done some several searches on how to really take care of him, but i would like to read your opinions since some of you may have owned or still own one.

my issue is....ive read a lot that bettas need to be in warm water no less than 75 degrees temp. But i find it confusing because bettas can also be kept in a small bowl without any water heater nor water termometer to monitor it...is it really a big deal to get a water heater for my betta or ill just have to make sure that the water is not to cold? maybe touch the water once in a while to check? im gettin a little worried coz i touched my tank water its not so cold but i dont think its warmer than 75 degrees either. Thanks for your help guys!
 
Bettas need stable temps. Warmer is better for them, so keeping the tank heated to 75F would be nice. Most peoples home don't stay at that high of a temp year round.

Can bettas surive in unheated bowls, yes they can. But taht is surviving and not thriving. It is a rare betta that lasts for its potential full 5+ year life span in taht sort of setup.

In a heated 5 gallon with plants (live or fake) and feeding of quality food, well the chances increase significantly that he will live a long life.
 
many here will say and in other forums would say, could you live in a closet that was swept out once a month and you stayed in it your entire life yes but you would not be very healthy. thats the typical analgy I have read in the forums. I keep my betta in a five gallon tank with 2 pygmy cory cats and am going to add some killifish I suspect this weekend if the lfs has them still.
 
ok thanks...i will buy the heater this weekend and prolly a water termometer too just to monitor the water. I got one more question...should i do a full water change on my 5 gallon once evry 2 weeks? or 15-25% water change is fine?
 
Witha single fish in the tank I would go for a 20-30% change weekly. This will keep him nice and healthy and really isn't taht much work for a 5 gallon tank.

And yes, a thermometer is a very good thing to have with a heater. They have been known in the past to get stuck on or not come on at all.
 
thanks! i appreciate all the info guys...bettas are very gracefull and really fun fish to watch....and i would like to keep him happy and healthy for a long time. So any suggestions, tips will surely be helpful.
 
Start feeding him what ever they fed them at the store. Then try and branch out to a variety of foods, flakes, freeze dried foods, pellets, frozen foods. The more varied the diet the better. It may take some convincing for some foods but stick int here.

And a few plants will definatly make things better.
 
BettaMax.....be prepared LOL ! Betta's are like potato chips...can never have just one.

I started with one for my daughter...then my son wanted one....then I got 1, 2, 3 for myself....next thing I know I'm breeding a couple and end up with over 200 fry.....and most of those survived !! lol...I kept them all for over 6 months before they were old enough to go to new homes...whew...THAT was work, but I really enjoyed it. However, now I just collect them..don't think I'll be breeding anymore for awhile..lol.

You could get a mini whisper filter for that 5 gallon. The whispers have a flow adjuster on the back of the filter so you can turn it down to an acceptable level for the betta. I would make sure the tank is cycled however, before I put the betta in. Thier fins don't hold up well to cycling. If you had a smaller tank to keep him in till the 5 gallon is ready...he would be fine for awhile.
 
wow quite a betta story there! lol but i can understand how you got carried away, i mean bettas are really great pet fish...i just hope my max would last for a long time...i have a filter that doesnt produce that muck current nor noise and he seem to like it coz he swims around it alot.
 
went to get a water thermometer and i sat down there till it read the exact temp of my tank and it stayed at 75 so i didnt feel the need to buy a water heater...also i did the 25% water change before that and everything went well.
 
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