Thinking about buying a betta any advice?

[RescueFishy]

Now lealou has gone i have a brand new tank with no resident. I enjoyed keeping her even if it was short and am considering buying a male. She never made it into her new tank as she was too poorly to be stressed by moving her.

I went to my local fish shop today and spoke to a guy about them and he told me total cr*p about them for instance it's ok to keep more then one male together if you have females in the tank, now surely that isn't the case???


What do you all think?? i would love one lovely male to come and live with me but am worried i don't know enough as i have only ever had goldfish in my pond as a kid.


Look forward to hearing your views

 

[Bettaman]

all big journeys start with the first step..............

 

[RandomWiktor]

Hi there, RescueFishy.

You need to call the manager of your LFS promptly and tell him that his employees are giving the customers dangerous, misleading information on bettas. Two male bettas should NEVER be kept together, nor should males ever be kept with females.

That said, could I ask a few things about your empty tank?
- What size?
- Is it filtered?
- Does it have a heater?
- Does it have a hood?
- Is the substrate something smooth so the betta won't hurt its fins?
- Are the plants either real or silk (not plastic) so the betta can't cut himself?
- How was the bettas at your LFS cared for? If they are in poor shape, look elsewhere or consider a breeder; sick fish take a lot of experience to nurse back to health.

Now, depending on your answers, I think you should do fine with one male betta. They are *reasonably* easy to keep if you get a healthy one, and are a lot of fun to watch. They can make very dynamic little companions. It might be worth looking at some of the stickied threads on this board to learn more about bettas before you buy ^^

Good luck!

 

[RescueFishy]

Thats very true ! !

 

[RescueFishy]

RW - When i brought my tank (different shop) they were great i got a lovely tank not huge but big enough for 1 betta They sold me real plants and a suitable heater and filter for the size of the tank, it also has a hood with a little light in.

The shop that sold me the tank don't sell bettas (unfortunatly as they were really helpful) The shop that does sell them (that gave me bad info) Looked ok all seperated and full finnage but they had dead fish in a lot of the other tanks.

 

[Raechal]

RW - When i brought my tank (different shop) they were great i got a lovely tank not huge but big enough for 1 betta They sold me real plants and a suitable heater and filter for the size of the tank, it also has a hood with a little light in.

The shop that sold me the tank don't sell bettas (unfortunatly as they were really helpful) The shop that does sell them (that gave me bad info) Looked ok all seperated and full finnage but they had dead fish in a lot of the other tanks.

Do you have any idea how large the tank is? Or can you give a guess? Does it have a filter or no?

 

[RescueFishy]

Size i havn't a clue but will go take a pic for you

It has a little fluval filter although it's not in the tank yet as lealou died before i could set it all up for her.

 

[Raechal]

Size i havn't a clue but will go take a pic for you

It has a little fluval filter although it's not in the tank yet as lealou died before i could set it all up for her.

Well can you adjust the filter flow on the filter? Some males really don't like a current at all in their tank but if it is an internal filter I am not sure because I've never used one before. I'll wait until you take a pic of your tank.

 

[RescueFishy]

Ok at the widest point it is 16" Depth is 11.5" It's kind of bow fronted

I havn't got a pic of the filter but it has a movable nozzle which they said to aim at the side of the tank so it didn't put a big flow of water in the tank (If you get what i mean)

My picture wont load sorry

 

[Raechal]

Well if it atleast 16 inches wide, I think it would be perfect for a male betta. Just monitor your betta with the filter in there, if he starts getting signs of finrot or has a really hard time swimming near the current, I'd just take the filter out and do water changes every 2 or 3 days.

 

[RandomWiktor]

RescueFishy - sounds like a good tank. If your LFS seems shady, have you considered looking at aquabid or a breeder? You can choose from a variety of beautiful bettas that are usually from healthier lines than from pet stores. Heck, you could even get a plakat; then you wouldn't have to worry so much about the big fins in the current.

As for the current causing fin rot, I actually find that in tanks with bettas who have filters, what seems to be fin rot is almost always the betta getting his fins ripped and snagged on filters, which then leads to infection and rot. I was having a terribly trouble with my betta Tim getting "fin rot." I covered his filter intake with pantyhose after seeing him get his dorsal stuck once, and he hasn't had any trouble with his fins since. Hooray for pantyhose ^^

 

[RescueFishy]

Well i will set it up in the morning and pay a different shop a visit to see if they have any. If none of my local shops stock can anyone reccomend a uk based website ???

 

[Raechal]

RescueFishy - sounds like a good tank. If your LFS seems shady, have you considered looking at aquabid or a breeder? You can choose from a variety of beautiful bettas that are usually from healthier lines than from pet stores. Heck, you could even get a plakat; then you wouldn't have to worry so much about the big fins in the current.

As for the current causing fin rot, I actually find that in tanks with bettas who have filters, what seems to be fin rot is almost always the betta getting his fins ripped and snagged on filters, which then leads to infection and rot. I was having a terribly trouble with my betta Tim getting "fin rot." I covered his filter intake with pantyhose after seeing him get his dorsal stuck once, and he hasn't had any trouble with his fins since. Hooray for pantyhose ^^

My oldest VT male was in a filtered 10 gallon by himself and I covered it with pantyhose and he continued getting fin rot. I would always keep his water sparkling clean and I was treating him with melafix and then treated him with salt. His fins just kept getting worse until I moved him to his own unfiltered 3 gallon bowl.

I suppose it may depend on the betta.

 

[The_Gilly]

Bettaman's fish are great and he always has many in sotck.

I also have some betta's for sale but unlike bettaman I am alittle inexperienced with posting them so can only deliver or have collection at the moment.

If you run a search of my posts you can see some pictures of my fry.

Hope that helps