Jo
Fishaholic
I've just brought back a new tank (5 gal I think) and am wondering what to put in it, have been on here and I'm liking what people are saying about Bettas...what do I need to know about getting/keeping a Betta?
Betta
- Thread starter Jo
- Start date
White Whale
Granola bar gone bad....
If I can raise a betta, then I think anybody can.
From what I know when picking a betta:
- select a young betta, preferably one that is smaller than the others
- when you pick up the jar the fish should look alert and aware of your presence
- make sure the fin rays are even and can be spread out all the way when flaring
- find out what the shop has fed him and go with that before making changes in his diet
- and most important: choose the color(s) which appeal to you the most (you can go with your instincts on this one)
When you bring home your betta and set him up:
- he may not eat the first couple of days (acclimatizing or nervous in new surroundings)
- it may take time for him to get used to you (it took two weeks for Bulldog to actually not be afraid of my finger)
- you will find out each betta has their own quirky personality
8)
From what I know when picking a betta:
- select a young betta, preferably one that is smaller than the others
- when you pick up the jar the fish should look alert and aware of your presence
- make sure the fin rays are even and can be spread out all the way when flaring
- find out what the shop has fed him and go with that before making changes in his diet
- and most important: choose the color(s) which appeal to you the most (you can go with your instincts on this one)
When you bring home your betta and set him up:
- he may not eat the first couple of days (acclimatizing or nervous in new surroundings)
- it may take time for him to get used to you (it took two weeks for Bulldog to actually not be afraid of my finger)
- you will find out each betta has their own quirky personality
8)FlareBettaGuy
Fish Crazy
Oh, suuure...leave ME to tell him all the other stuff...
Bettas love bloodworms. But do not feed them that daily. They will get constipated. Feed them betta pellets like Betta Bio Gold. You should feed them a few bloodworms once a week, and I mean A FEW. You may spoil them if you give them too much. Once, I put a whole chunk of freeze-dried bloodworms in my bowl, and I underestimated how many bloodworms were in "a chunk". There are hundreds. So instead of dropping a chunk into the tank, feed them bloodworms one by one with tweezers or your finger. Feed them around 10. When you feed them pellets, I suggest you crush them into little grains and then drop them into the tank, because most pellets will be too big to swallow. Give them three crushed pellets every feeding, feed two times a day. (total of 6 a day)
Bettas like warm water. If you don't want to be changing the betta's tank every few hours to keep it warm, get a small heater, and make it 82 degrees F. If they are cold, you can tell because they will turn pale. And that's a bad thing.
Bettas love plants and places to hide. They also like scenery. Get some live plants, a little hidey hole, some gravel, and some other decorations. I made my own hidey hole using hollow bamboo, but you can just buy one or make one out of a cut water bottle or something.
Do not put light above them directly. Do not put two bettas together.
Leave space on the top of the tank so that the bettas can breathe the air, and so that they do not jump out.
Change the water partially every two days. Do a complete water change every week or so. That's how I do it.
If you see big clumps of bubbles on the surface of the water, don't worry, that's a good thing.
That's all I have to say for now...oh, and when they get to know you, when you walk into the room, they will flare at you and stuff. Cool, huh?
Bettas love bloodworms. But do not feed them that daily. They will get constipated. Feed them betta pellets like Betta Bio Gold. You should feed them a few bloodworms once a week, and I mean A FEW. You may spoil them if you give them too much. Once, I put a whole chunk of freeze-dried bloodworms in my bowl, and I underestimated how many bloodworms were in "a chunk". There are hundreds. So instead of dropping a chunk into the tank, feed them bloodworms one by one with tweezers or your finger. Feed them around 10. When you feed them pellets, I suggest you crush them into little grains and then drop them into the tank, because most pellets will be too big to swallow. Give them three crushed pellets every feeding, feed two times a day. (total of 6 a day)
Bettas like warm water. If you don't want to be changing the betta's tank every few hours to keep it warm, get a small heater, and make it 82 degrees F. If they are cold, you can tell because they will turn pale. And that's a bad thing.
Bettas love plants and places to hide. They also like scenery. Get some live plants, a little hidey hole, some gravel, and some other decorations. I made my own hidey hole using hollow bamboo, but you can just buy one or make one out of a cut water bottle or something.
Do not put light above them directly. Do not put two bettas together.
Leave space on the top of the tank so that the bettas can breathe the air, and so that they do not jump out.
Change the water partially every two days. Do a complete water change every week or so. That's how I do it.
If you see big clumps of bubbles on the surface of the water, don't worry, that's a good thing.
That's all I have to say for now...oh, and when they get to know you, when you walk into the room, they will flare at you and stuff. Cool, huh?
Jo
Fishaholic
Yes they do sound cool....problem is that I hardly ever see any in my lfs...have seen the odd one (and they're always in tanks not cups thankfully!) but never any selection to chose from, think that I might try tri-mar like Alian Anna said, but I do prefer to choose my own fish really.
I'm definately going to have a filtered/heated tank, I feel that it's nicer for the fish and saves having to do complete water changes.
Thanks for the advice!
I'm going to have to go off hunting round all my lfs's for a nice betta, fingers crossed...!
I'm definately going to have a filtered/heated tank, I feel that it's nicer for the fish and saves having to do complete water changes.
Thanks for the advice!
I'm going to have to go off hunting round all my lfs's for a nice betta, fingers crossed...!
KnuckleHead
Fish Addict
I find that the complete setups are nice also. My remaining male has a complete 10g all to his self. My 2 females share a complete 10 with a few guppies.
If you really want a nice fish have you ever thought about ordering them from a breeder? I belong to the Midwest Betta Club and we had a show a few months ago near Kansas City. I was SO AMAZED at the difference in the quality of fish I saw there as compared to any fish store I have been at. If you wish to know some good people to order some from please send me a pm since I don't know if showing their links here would get me in trouble. But I can honestly say it would be one RARE fish that I bought from a pet store again.
Signed,
Sondan
P.S. To add on to this. One of the past presidents of the Iternational Betta Congress said that fish store bettas are usually 1 to 1.5 years old. Since most bettas only live 3 years or so you are not going to have the fish very long. The one fish I really wanted from this convention was only about 3 months old. See the huge difference.
Signed,
Sondan
P.S. To add on to this. One of the past presidents of the Iternational Betta Congress said that fish store bettas are usually 1 to 1.5 years old. Since most bettas only live 3 years or so you are not going to have the fish very long. The one fish I really wanted from this convention was only about 3 months old. See the huge difference.
Jo
Fishaholic
Thanks Sondan, but I am in the UK and tri-mar is the only "mail order" fish shop that I can find in the UK, so I'm not sure if the American ones will deliver?
they sound nice tho!
they sound nice tho!
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