Homemade Betta Spa

[Jaded12]

Here's a step-by-step guide to making your own bettaspa out of Indian Almond leaves, this is an easy process and in the end is much less expensive then constantly buying betta spa at $5 for a bottle that is half as strong as this.


*You will need a 1 1/2 gallon pot, 20 Indian almond leaves, a container to put the finished product in.

Step one: Fill the pot with 1 gallon of water and put the leaves in. Bring the water to a good boil, then reduce the heat and leave the water on a slow boil (or a simmer) for an hour.

Step Two: After one hour turn the heat all the way down and let the leaves sit in the water for another hour.

Step Three: Take out the leaves and place them in a plastic zip lock baggie. Then bring the remaining solution back up to a boil and let it reduce until there's about 1/4 of the original amount of water (in this case 1/4 of a gallon)

Step Four: Let the solution cool and then place into awaiting container, it should be a dark brown, almost black.

Repeat steps 1 - 4 with the same leave again, except this time slow boil them for 2 hours, then you can throw them out because by then there'll be pretty much nothing left in them.

Add one tsp. per gallon to your bettas tanks or your spawn tanks, it should turn the water a nice light rich tea color.

*Please note that this can be done with different amounts of leaves, for example I used 1/4 gallon of water and 5 Indian Almond Leave, and it made 16 oz. of Betta Spa.

 

[Amunet]

Newbie question.. what is the betta spa stuff supposed to help? What's the benefit of using it?
Also, where would you get the leaves from?

It's great info though

 

[willtang3000]

Newbie question.. what is the betta spa stuff supposed to help? What's the benefit of using it?
Also, where would you get the leaves from?

It's great info though

betta spa will change the water into the bettas natural enviroment eg change hardness of water and lower the ph and this will encourage them to breed and it also helps ragged fins and damaged scales etc and you can purchase this from many betta enthausiests on here hope this helps

by the way great post jaded12 will try this soon as this will save me loads of time picking up the detris it leaves behind i also reccomend sieving it when you pour it into the container

 

[Jaded12]

i also reccomend sieving it when you pour it into the container

Yupp, forgot to mention that part, lol

 

[willtang3000]

i also reccomend sieving it when you pour it into the container

Yupp, forgot to mention that part, lol

do you think you will get a better result using filter paper or have you not tried this?

 

[Jaded12]

was actually just discussing that with the boyfriend today, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[wendyngd]

I hadn't heard of betta spa. I expected to find a little salon tank where the bettas were all getting massages and facials on their fins!!!

:rofl -Wendy

 

[Eskielvr]

I bought the store bought kind, because where in the heck would you get the leaves from? Anyway I put the amount in for "conditioning", since it was a new tank set up, and was later told the conditioning was to condition them for breeding, not for the water. When I did a water change I took as much out as I could since the water was nearly black.

I also heard that Bettas should not be kept in the Betta SPA for long periods of time. Is this true? And if so, how often should you add to their tanks then?

 

[Jaded12]

The leaves can be ordered online, I get mine from a seller on aquabid 50 grade A large leaves+ shipping only $13 from singapore. Here are some facts about Indian almond leaves (which is essentaily what store bought betta spa is made from, except the store bought kind has other ingredients and itsn't nearly as potent as using real leaves or "betta spa" made from scratch)

From Majesticbettas.com

Scientific Name: Terminalia Catappa Leaves

Common Name: Indian Almond Leaves, Tropical Almond Leaves, Sweet Almond Leaves, Wild Almond Leaves, Sea Almond Leaves, Catappa Leaves, Java Almond Leaves, Ketapang Leaves.

Indian almond leaves have been widely used by Asian breeders of tropical fish to stimulate breeding and promote health and vitality in tropical fish. Other beneficial use of Indian almond leaves include:

* act as a tonic
* enhance fertility
* reduce water pH
* anti-fungal properties
* anti-bacterial properties
* promote vibrant colorations
* simulate black water conditions