Betta info

[Carolinesugar]

hi all, well i recently had huge problems with my tanks, but i seem to be getting that under control. although i unfortunatly lost my kissing gourami to a swim bladder problem.

in the huge problems, i lost 2 female guppys, a few fry, and my 2 gorgeous female bettas.

i have decided to use my hospital tank as a quentein tank (i cnt spell) so that i can have total 100% confidence when i add new fish into my community tank.

i am now considering having a bowl, or small tank with a male betta in there, on his own, so that he cant catch nething from the other fish. (since i think thats where my problems started, by adding 6 female guppys to my tank. )


neway, ive neva kept a male betta before, and the females i had were fine in the community tank, but i doubt a male would be, as i have a paradise fish in there, who will flare his fins like bettas do wen their mating and protecting their tanks.

ive heard that u can keep bettas in bowls and jars, ive seen the azoo tanks on here, but i have always been concerned that they were 2 small, as with all those gorgeous fins 2 display, y hide them in a smal tank ?

if i was to keep him in a bowl, i was thinking of having a large goldfish bowl, adding a small sponge filter, and small heater. but i'd also need a light and a hood, as i have cats who think they know how to go fishing.

if ne1 cud help me out, and give me more info abt how 2 keep a male betta id much appricate it!! as i wana make sure i have everything ready 4 him b4 i get 1, and also wana know as much as i can abt him and wot bettas like best. (ive read most of the posts on here abt bettas, but i want more info that will be relevant to me.)

im down south in the uk, so it can get very cold very quickly - so a heater is prob a must have for the betta ?

 

[iloveyou]

heaters are better for bettas... i notice when i buy one from a ''bad'' place and they dont go with a heater they usually get sick.... um... heaters are hard to get in bowls i know from experience..... you could try and get a tall vase for flowers... something that the heater could go on easier..... i dont have hoods for all mine... so when the lights on in the room... thats when they get the light.... not sure what else to say seems like u know what ur doing

 

[HeatherSweetness]

If you get a betta bowl,try to at LEAST get a 1 gallon size,preferably 2 gallons or even 3. If your house fluctuates in temp from the cold so badly I would definitely get a heater,you can get polished stones or pretty gravel,preferably silk plants if you can get them the plastic ones are often harsh on their fins. They like a steady temp of 78-80 degrees,a varied diet (please no freeze dried bloodworms) a little cave or structure to hide in,and they don't like the water too agitated with bubbles and filter flow. When you add the sponge filter try to adjust the air so it is mild and allows the betta to sit still. Be careful with lights and small bowls,get a thermometer so you can see if it heats up the water so the betta won't cook. Otherwise,lots of clean water,a good size bowl,a varied diet and a steady water temp should keep the betta happy.

 

[iloveyou]

why u say no blood worms?

 

[Carolinesugar]

hiya, yeh, i 4got to add that it wud have to be at least a 2.5 gallon bowl if i was to get a bowl.

the temp in this house is usually nice n warm, unless my mum has been home alone all day, cus she has a tendency to open all the windows, with the phase, i want sum fresh air in this place.

i was wondering from other posts ive seen on here, is a desk lamp with a low wattage ok 4 bettas? i was thinking mayb a 30w or 40w bulb. keeping an eye on the temp, and if it gets to warm then get a propper light.

im not convinced abt vases though, or the azoo tanks.

i like the bowls, and the bio obes - but the obs cost a small fortune, and usually i wudnt mind paying more if it benefits my fish, but it doesnt really, as its just a fancy tank, not much different to a bowl.

i did think abt another small tank like my hospital tank, its abt 12" long, 6" wide, and 8" high, or sumthing like that. only small (its what i had my tropical fish in b4 i got the 24" set up) wud a tank this sort of size be ok for the betta ?

i was thinking use purple or pink gravel, a sponge filter (not sure where i can get 1 of those frm yet) and a small heater mayb a 50w heater if its gona be a similar size to my hospital tank, but if its a bowl im not sure ? also was gona do the tank fairly heavily planted, as i no they like to hide and stuff. ive got a cave idea, but i think i need a fairly tall cave, as i dnt want him catching his fins if he gets stuck.

i wud neva feed ne of my fish frezze dried foods, they look like sh*te, and their the same price more or less as frozen. (my other fish get given frozen treats of blood worms, fresh daphina when i can get it, and sum of the tetra fresh lil packs of shrimps, their tiny lil sachets like ketcup u get wen u got 2 burger king, ) ontop of their flake food, and the algae waffer i put in 4 my bulldog plec.

so if i get a betta, he will get woteva food he wants, in a variated way, so betta flakes (is that rite ?) frozen blood worms, and the treats the others get (i presme they like daphina and shrimps ?)

i want this betta to get the best life eva, as i felt sooo guilty abt my female betta who got very very poorly with fin rot, and who i sud of euthanised, but cudnt.

 

[Carolinesugar]

why u say no blood worms?

freeze dried bloodworms are a no no with bettas, and in my opinion, with all fish.

frozen and fresh blood worms are much better for them.

 

[Loopyness]

i live in the uk too and i was thinking of putting my betta in his own little tank, and i saw that in pets @ home they have little tropical fish starter kits with like, a heater, gravel and that kinda of stuff in, they're probably about 1 or 2 gallons, so big enough, and i think they're about £25 or £30, and you get everything with it, i just cant remember whether you get a hood with it, maybe you should go and take a look at that?? Hope it helps ne way. And good luck with the betta!!

 

[Carolinesugar]

i live in the uk too and i was thinking of putting my betta in his own little tank, and i saw that in pets @ home they have little tropical fish starter kits with like, a heater, gravel and that kinda of stuff in, they're probably about 1 or 2 gallons, so big enough, and i think they're about £25 or £30, and you get everything with it, i just cant remember whether you get a hood with it, maybe you should go and take a look at that?? Hope it helps ne way. And good luck with the betta!!

where in the uk are u frm ? i can only think of 1 pets at home, n thats in.... hmm now i cnt think where, lol.

wot is the tank like ? is it plastic or glass ?

 

[White Whale]

why u say no blood worms?

freeze dried bloodworms are a no no with bettas, and in my opinion, with all fish.

frozen and fresh blood worms are much better for them.

I hear no complaints from my bettas. And they actually prefer bloodworms (frozen, freeze-dried) over pellets any day. But I only feed it to them once in a while.

 

[Loopyness]

i live in derbyshire, quite a away from you, i wouldnt expect you to come to my pets @home lol, i think it was plastic, not sure,its retangle shape? but it looks just right to put a betta in, you get some plants with it and everything, fish food, declorinater stuffand like i said, gravel,heater.shame i cant remember whether you get a hood. when you get chance, you should go and have a look.
Loopy

 

[Loboto-Me]

My betta loves his freezedried bloodworms! That's the only way I could get him to start eating his regular betta pellets.

He wouldn't touch the pellets so in desparation, gave him freezedried bloodworms. He attacked them so fast, it made my head spin. So, for 3 days, that's all I fed him.

After the 3rd day, when feeding time came along, I threw a pellet in there instead of a bloodworm. In his hurry to get the bloodworm that he thought he was getting, he grabbed the pellet and ate it.

That evening, he once again got bloodworms, so as to keep him confused about his foods... the next morning another pellet, from then on, I alternate between pellets and bloodworms and tropical fish pellets (which he loves a heck of a lot more than betta pellets).

If freezedried bloodworms aren't fed all the time, there's no problem with them... they are actually healthy for them as they put variety in their diet.

 

[Dwarfs]

Have you ever seen freeze dried bloodworm that get left in the water? They expand to like 4X the size that they are when in the container. If you feed them too much of it it can cause constipation. And that's not good Betcha didn't think fish could get constipated huh? That's what my dad says happens. He's had fish for 30 years so I'm sure he has had it happen to his fish.

 

[Loboto-Me]

Number one, you should never feed the fish too much... you're not supposed to just throw the bloodworms in all at the same time and let him go at it.

The way to feed him is to take ONE bloodworm, put it in, let him eat it, and then when he's done, you give him another. No extra waste made.

Yes bettas do get constipated, but that only happens if you're careless in the way you feed your betta. Bettas can become constipated on their regular betta bites if you're careless, it's not the freezedried bloodworms themselves that does it, it's not being careful. A variety of different foods including freezedried bloodworms if you want, helps prevent constipation, and a pea now and then doesn't hurt either.