A few questions about betta

[jacblades]

aw, no way really? Perhapse i ought to think about that coffee filter / rubber band idea then. I just hate to cover them because where they are located, i often look down into their bowls. Oh well. what's a slight inconvenience compared to their safety right?

instead of a coffee filter, you could use a clear plastic bag with some holes poked in it. that way you could secure it with the band and still be able to look down into it.

 

[f250fisherman]

For not much more than the bowl will cost, you can get a 1 gal tank with lid and light for 10.00 at walmart.It has a undergravel filter also, which I don't use. But if you are going to put gravel in, it would work well. A small air pump also comes with this package. The air pump would cost 5-6 dollars by itself. I have 5 of these, and they work really well .

 

[fourplayfishy]

Though Bettas in bowls make me sad...

a big enough bowl is better then a cup

 

[jacblades]

For not much more than the bowl will cost, you can get a 1 gal tank with lid and light for 10.00 at walmart.It has a undergravel filter also, which I don't use. But if you are going to put gravel in, it would work well. A small air pump also comes with this package. The air pump would cost 5-6 dollars by itself. I have 5 of these, and they work really well .

i know many members of this site keep theri bettas in these, so know i mean no offense.

personally, i think these are too tall and narrow for a betta.
ime bettas seem happier in long, more horizontal containers where they can swim back and forth as opposed to up and down.
i never used the ugf/pump because it agitated the surface too much (yes i know you can put a valve on there) and i really think this tank is a waste of money, especially if you arent going to use the ugf.

for $10, you cold get a 10gal and divide it 3-4 ways with the 25 cent craft canvas.

 

[Apopli]

Though Bettas in bowls make me sad...

a big enough bowl is better then a cup

I could say the same thing about a lot of fish.

Of course I"d rather see a Betta in a big bowl than a cup.

But I'd also rather see an Oscar in a 20, 30, 40, 50 gallon than the 10 gallons they keep them in at the LFS. Just because the situtation is better doesn't mean it's adequit for the fish.

Bettas can survive in a LOT of situtations. A girl I once knew kept a Betta in one of those double sized coffee mugs. For over 3 years. Others I've known keep them in the little dixie cups they get them in from the LFS and are alive and kickin. Most are still "active".

These fish have no way of transmitting their emotions to us, but what I do know is that every Betta I've kept has made full use of the tank they're kept in, and never cramp up and hide in the hiding areas all over the tank, even though one hiding area is a floating gizmoe where he could have a constant air supply.

I could live out a long, full, healthy life living in something the size of a closet. But I sure wouldn't want to.

 

[fourplayfishy]

I could live out a long, full, healthy life living in something the size of a closet. But I sure wouldn't want to.

i would but im paranoid as long as i had my fishy in there i could do it

 

[Valyrian]

I am planning to get a betta but I want to know how much to feed him. I have heard that they don't need much food and can be fed only once every 2 or 3 weeks while I have been hearing from other people that they feed theirs about 2 times a day. Which is correct because I don't want me betta dying from over or under feeding?

 

[MegTheFish]

Some people feed two or three small meals a day, some people feed just one meal a day, and some people feed every other day. I feed them every other day, about 4-6 pellets. I've been doing this for 3 years (thats how long I've been keeping bettas) and I have never had a problem with it. It depends on when your home, too. If your at work or school all day you might not have enough time to do 3 seperate meals, so you'll just give them one meal. So its up to you. I would defently not go 2 or 3 weeks without feeding him though Even though bettas can go for longer then a month without food (but this can lead to health problems, and you'll always have a starving betta and I would never do that to my babies)

 

[Synirr]

Also, bettas don't/won't eat flake and such because they are insect/meat eaters and have specific nutritional needs.

[...]
*edit* Here's the ingredients of some betta flake food:
Crude Protein (minimum) 48%
Crude Fat (minimum) 8.5%
Moisture (maximum) 7%
Crude Fiber (maximum) 1.5%
Fish meal, ground brown rice, torula dried yeast, shrimp meal, wheat gluten, dried potato products, soybean oil, fish oil, algae meal, sorbitol, lecithin, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate(vitamin c), artifical colors including red 3, ethoxyquin as a preservative.

*edit* Here's the ingredients of the betta bio-gold:
Crude Protein (minimum) 30%
Moisture (maximum) 10%
Crude Fat (minimum) 3%
Crude Fiber (maximum) 1%
Shrimp meal, white fish meal, brewer's dried yeast, wheat flour, soybean meal, wheat-germ meal, carotene, protese, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin A, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (stabilized vitamin C), vitamin D3, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite (source of vitamin K) inositol, paraminobenzoic acid, zinc oxide, manganese sulfate, salt, ferrous chloride, copper sulfate, cobalt sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, magnesium sulfate.

So, please, if you're going to make a statement like that, research beforehand. Thanks!

I feel like I'm digging up the ancient past since this was posted on the first page, but I just wanted to point out the difference between the flake and Betta Bio-Gold.... see how the Bio-Gold lists many more vitamins and nutrients than the flake, and how the flake has artifical colouring?

......Yeah. That's why I feed my boys Hikari pellets.

Another helpful hint when choosing food for your fish is that ingredients are listed in order of amounts, so you want the BEST ingredients to be listed first. Just because both products contain shrimp meal doesn't mean they're the same... besides, Hikari's betta pellets contain carotene which helps those colours shine and is converted to healthy vitamin A in the body

Some bettas just won't eat pellets, so for those flakes ARE better, but I honestly believe Hikari Betta Bio-Gold to be the best dry betta food out there.