Questions about my Betta

[Falaria]

Hello! I'm somewhat new to fish keeping. I have a male Betta named Jasper. I've had him almost a year. I moved him from an embarrassingly small aquarium to a 10 gallon. He seems happy. Fairly active. Always comes to say "hello" when I come up to his home.

My water parameters are stable. Temp at 75. Feeding him New Life Spectrum Betta. I feed between 2-4 pellets, twice daily, fasting once per week. Frankly, I am uncertain if I am feeding him enough, too much, or too little. I also was thinking of including some frozen insects. I don't really want to deal with live... I would appreciate some recommendations on best insects to feed and best USA or online source to buy from (also affordable...).

I have some health questions. He has a white patch on his head. Also, a slight bulge at his tail. I'm not certain if this is normal or not?

I also would like to get some tank mates. I really wanted shrimp but several folks on here said they would rethink that. Which I am... But would like to know if anyone has successfully done a shrimp/betta tank and what species of shrimp. Or what other options you would recommend. Obviously, I don't want to overstock....

I really would appreciate input from everyone who cares to respond. Thank you!

 

[ThatFishGirl6231]

HI! You have a pretty fish. You might want to feed him maybe 5 pellets a day. For tankmates you can put a school of neon tetras or 2 african dwarf frogs. Maybe amano shrimp would be good. I don't know about the bulge and white spot though sorry.

 

[ThatFishGirl6231]

HI! You have a pretty fish. You might want to feed him maybe 5 pellets a day. For tankmates you can put a school of neon tetras or 2 african dwarf frogs. Maybe amano shrimp would be good. I don't know about the bulge and white spot though sorry.

Oh and also maybe make the water a bit warmer. Do you have a heater?

 

[HoldenOn]

Hello! I'm somewhat new to fish keeping. I have a male Betta named Jasper. I've had him almost a year. I moved him from an embarrassingly small aquarium to a 10 gallon. He seems happy. Fairly active. Always comes to say "hello" when I come up to his home.

My water parameters are stable. Temp at 75. Feeding him New Life Spectrum Betta. I feed between 2-4 pellets, twice daily, fasting once per week. Frankly, I am uncertain if I am feeding him enough, too much, or too little. I also was thinking of including some frozen insects. I don't really want to deal with live... I would appreciate some recommendations on best insects to feed and best USA or online source to buy from (also affordable...).

I have some health questions. He has a white patch on his head. Also, a slight bulge at his tail. I'm not certain if this is normal or not?

I also would like to get some tank mates. I really wanted shrimp but several folks on here said they would rethink that. Which I am... But would like to know if anyone has successfully done a shrimp/betta tank and what species of shrimp. Or what other options you would recommend. Obviously, I don't want to overstock....

View attachment 117847View attachment 117848View attachment 117849View attachment 117850View attachment 117851I really would appreciate input from everyone who cares to respond. Thank you!

I won't comment on disease, but I feed my fish once a day. @PheonixKingZ and @Deanasue keep bettas so they can help you with feeding. Don't put frogs in a tank with bettas, they are almost completely blind and find food by smell. By the time they get there it's all gone. They are also jumpers and hyperactive, both of which aren't optimal for betta. Tank-mates depend on the fish. I always say no tank-mates with betta, but shrimp are your best bet if it's a peaceful fish. A 10 gallon is a bit small for tetras in my opinion, just because they like to zip. Other more experienced betta keepers will weigh in, and @Colin_T can help with diseases.

 

[Falaria]

Thank you for all of the input thus far. Yes, I have a heater. I did have it at 77 but lowered to 75 because I was hoping to get shrimp and read that 75 was better for shrimp but within the acceptable range for bettas. I read a lot online but it can be so hard to know which articles to rely on for accurate information. Recommendations can be rather varied. I appreciate the advice. Thank you!

 

[itiwhetu]

I won't comment on disease, but I feed my fish once a day. @PheonixKingZ and @Deanasue keep bettas so they can help you with feeding. Don't put frogs in a tank with bettas, they are almost completely blind and find food by smell. By the time they get there it's all gone. They are also jumpers and hyperactive, both of which aren't optimal for betta. Tank-mates depend on the fish. I always say no tank-mates with betta, but shrimp are your best bet if it's a peaceful fish. A 10 gallon is a bit small for tetras in my opinion, just because they like to zip. Other more experienced betta keepers will weigh in, and @Colin_T can help with diseases.

Great answer, thank you

 

[AilyNC]

Neon tetra need a 60cm length tank for adequate swimming space. I find SimplyFish a great evidence based resource for fish. They recommend keeping Betta alone. But I'd always check tank dimensions, hardness & compatibility before getting any new fish. You'll also find info on environment with recommendations for substrate, plants, etc to match what the fish would inhabit in nature.

Paracheirodon innesi – Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon innesi, Cheirodon innesi) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I feed my betta once a day - at night. I feed him Fluval Bug Bites 3 days a week, and then Omega One Betta Buffet the remaining 4 days.

Bettas can be kept with shrimp, depending on the setup of the tank, and the temperament of the betta. (If the tank is heavily planted, the shrimp will have plenty of areas to hide)

 

[Falaria]

I noticed that fluval bug bites has copper in it. Would this hurt shrimp if some got on the substrate? I read to avoid copper as much as possible in a tank with shrimp.

 

[Falaria]

Neon tetra need a 60cm length tank for adequate swimming space. I find SimplyFish a great evidence based resource for fish. They recommend keeping Betta alone. But I'd always check tank dimensions, hardness & compatibility before getting any new fish. You'll also find info on environment with recommendations for substrate, plants, etc to match what the fish would inhabit in nature.

Paracheirodon innesi – Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon innesi, Cheirodon innesi) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Hi, I tried looking up SimplyFish. I received several pages on Google. I'm not sure which is the one you are recommending. May I trouble you for a web address, please? Thank you!

 

[AilyNC]

Here's the link for Neon Tetra. If you click in the profile search bar you can search for other fish.

Paracheirodon innesi – Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon innesi, Cheirodon innesi) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[hansgruber7]

Beautiful Betta! I have tried on four occasions to keep Bettas with shrimp so I have a lot of experience. Twice it ended in all of my shrimp being murdered one by one. Twice it worked out well because those bettas were very relaxed bettas and they were heavily planted tanks. However, even in one of those cases, when I try to skip a day of feeding for the Betta, he would kill a shrimp or two. Also, if you let your shrimp populations get overpopulated, it can stress out your betta because they start bumping into each other.

Your betta looks healthy to me and the bump at the back is completely normal. The patch on the head doesn't look like a problem to me.

As far as feeding, I don't think there is much benefit in feeding frozen insects. You could get frozen bloodworms for occasional treats. I also occasionally feed live fruit flies but that's only because I have them anyway for my dart frogs.

Good luck! They are fun beautiful fish.

 

[hansgruber7]

Also, I would not recommend adding neon tetras or dwarf frogs. The tank is too small for neon tetras and sometimes they nip the fins of bettas and stress them out. Dwarf frogs were already covered by others. In a ten gallon, I would recommend snails, but otherwise, they are best on their own in my experience.

I have successfully kept bettas with Celestial Pearl Danios and with Harlequin Rasbora. They get along well I find, though I think it's better in a 20 gallon long to allow for a school to have the space they need. The trickiest part is managing the feeding which is why I ended up giving my betta his own tank in the end.

 

[hansgruber7]

Kuhli loaches also do well with bettas, but again, they probably need more space than a 10 gallon.

 

[Essjay]

Hi, I tried looking up SimplyFish. I received several pages on Google. I'm not sure which is the one you are recommending. May I trouble you for a web address, please? Thank you!

The website is Seriously Fish. https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/