Betta Fish?

Question

here is the thing. I just got my betta fish at the fair yesterday. i got it its food and we are getting the tank today. is there anything else i need besides decorations and plants. How do you know if it is a guy or female. I think it is a guy but i am not shure. It is blue with green and has a red tail. can you train the fish. Is there treats for fish? HELP ME!

Answer 1

If it has long fins it's male, and should be kept out of tanks with other bettas. Bettatalk would be a good place to start.

At minimum (IMNSHO) a betta needs the following:
1)A bowl at least 2-3 gallons in size.
Smaller containers will work, but you'll need to change the water twice a week, and the minor difference in cost isn't worth it.
2)A bottle of dechlorinate for water.
3)A flake, or pellet food formulated for bettas. (It list worms, shrimp, or fish as it's primary ingredient.)
4)Gravel or marbles for the bottom of the tank.
5)A bottle of dechlorinator for water.
6)A flake, or pellet food formulated for bettas. (It lists worms, shrimp, or fish as it's primary ingredient.)
Don't use the food that come with the tank/bowl. It's likely intended for community tanks with fish that need their vegies.
7)A cover ti prevent it trying to go for a walk. (Bettas jump)

And ideal setup would involve a tank like the eclipse guys make. (Some say the eclipse tank produces to much current. My bettas love the current, and I have a central decoration they can get out of the current by getting in/on/ under.)

1)One 2.5 to 5 gallon tank with built in filter
2)One 25 watt heater (set to ~80)
3)One thermometer. (Don't let it get over 85!)
4)Gravel or marbles for the bottom of the tank.
5)A cheap plastic gravel vacuum.
6)A bottle of dechlorinator for water.
7)A flake, or pellet food formulated for bettas. (It lists worms, shrimp, or fish as it's primary ingredient.)
Don't use the food that come with the tank/bowl. It's likely intended for community tanks with fish that need their veggies.

PS- You can train a betta. Mine come when I stick a finger in. Others have been trained to jump fro their food. Personally I avoid encouraging my bettas to jump. during a tank transfer one jumped into to the sink. Then flopped down the garbage disposal. It took me over a minute to recapture the slippery little devil.

Answer 2

a guy betta has long fins, really most bettas that you'd get from the store are guys, but really, a female betta has really short fins. All that a betta needs is a tank full of water and food, they are a pretty hardy fish. Bettas can be trained. . . . but it depends on what you call "trained" I trained my betta to come to the top for food every time i tap on the glass. . . so in a way it's trained, but if you want like "jump through a ring" I don't think you will be able to teach it that, it's a fish and all it thinks about is food. About the color of the fish, a female betta can be just a colorful as a male one, ive actually had a female that was even more color full than any guy betta ive seen. Anyways good luck!

Answer 3

If the fish is a male, it will be colorful so it is probably a male. For the tank, you don't (and probably shouldn't) have a large tank, gravel, decorations, plants, or filter. The tank should be the size of one of those little goldfish tanks (or possibly smaller.) NEVER put more than one Betta fish in the same tank unless you have a separator. With a separator, the fish can change colors to show off and compete. If you have more than any one fish (including Betta and other species) in the tank, they will fight until the death (please don't try this.) You may be able to train the fish, but I'm not sure. I don't recommend feeding Bettas treats. Just stick to the plain old Betta pellets (I find flakes harder to manage.) Hope this helps.

Answer 4

You can train a fish. You actually don't have to put a Betta Fish in a tank b/c it doesn't need the water circulated like other Fish do. I don't know if there is a way to tell if a fish is male or female. Get one of those big clear vases, usually you can find them at a grocery store or the flower shop, get some decorative marbles from the craft store and put those in the bottom of the vase and then top it with the plant. Don't know where you live, but try looking up Petsmart.com or Petco.com and see if they have any recommendations about Betta Fish and how to take care of them.

Answer 5

Chances are you have a male. If you scroll down on this site there are photos of pretty typical males and females. The fin length is key.

http://www.jackspets.com/freshwaterabb.htm

Buy a filter. If you buy a 5 or 10 gallon tank wth a filter you can keep other fish fish with your betta. Short fin danios do well. Cory cats are great little bottom feeders- panda corys are the cutest.

For treats get him frozen blood worms. They love them.

You can train fish. There is a video on the web of a goldfish who rings a bell for food. Our jack dempsey will pull the heater away from the tank and drop so it clunks. Then we know she is hungry. There is another video of a japanese guy with his four goldies they take swimming commands- pretty cool. Most people don't do this though. They will learn to recognize you as the food bearer and will be very interactive- that is all I expect from most of my fish.

Answer 6

if you are getting a tank a one gallon plastic with a weak filter is like heaven for them. i'd get betta round pellets rather than flakes. one plant with nice wide horizontal leaves is nice so he can sit and rest on it. if it's a "fair" or pet store betta with a long flowing tail- it's a male. Females have very short fins and are rarely sold in stores. they don't really train - but they do get to recognize you as the person who feeds. Mine used to flare his gills at me and act big and bad- and make faces at me. Treats? i have heard something about little special frozen worms? Condition the tap water by adding conditioner- or let the water sit for 24 hours before using it. The chlorine is what can hurt him- and if you let the water sit- or neutralize it with conditioner, that's what you want. Change the water when you see a big drop in the tank- it starts evaporating quicker. Do not put any other fish in the same tank unless you are getting a large tank and get recommendations from a decent fish store on how to put together a "community of fish"- even then NEVER any other bettas. bettas like to be warm. below 70 they get sluggish. And- they eat from the top of the tank- and breathe occasionally from the top as you will see- their mouth is on top... Get a book from the library or pet store on their care- and they can live several years!

Answer 7

Its very rare that you will have a female beta fish. Most beta fish are males so more than likely you have a male beta fish and from the description given, it sounds like you have a male beta fish. Remember to not put more than one beta fish in the tank. Beta fish are fighting fish and will not tolerate any other fish in their area. Also, in regards to your tank, beta fish like to live in small tanks, so make sure the tank you have is not to big. I had a beta fish for two and a half years until it passed on. Unfortunaltly you cannot train the fish but they are very smart, they know when you are coming to feed them, the swim to the top of the tank and await their feeding. (BE SURE TO NEVER OVER FEED) This may kill them. As far as treats go for beta fish, only the recommended food is thier best treat.. I hope this helps.

Answer 8

Fish are like birds. The brightly colored ones are males. Also the males have larger fins.
My betta fish has a little bridge and he LOVES that thing. He will just float under it and then will siwm around awhile and zoom through it. If you can find one you should get yours one.
Oh, and they're pretty smart too. Mine knows I'm the one who feeds him, so he'll come to the front of his tank when he sees me coming. I started out with mine in a filterless bowl (1 gall. in size)... and then later "upgraded" him to a 1 1/2 gallon tank with a filter. These are convenient b/c you don't have to clean them out as often, and he really likes it. I noticed he swims around more now than with the regular bowl.
They are cute. When I feed mine sometimes he flares his gills at me. Guess he's trying to show me who's boss? hehe
enjoy.
Note: Instead of conditioner, I get spring water. We have a spring next to our house. Distilled works too. But conditioner is a good choice if you just want to use regular tap water.

Answer 9

Bettas are pretty easy to please, as long as you keep the water clean (if you're using tap water, be sure to use a conditioner to clean up clorine and stuff like that) and feed it. Oh yeah, if it's a male (they have the big, pretty top and tail fins), don't put it with another betta (they will kill each other-sadly, this from experience).

Mine weren't really trainable, other than swimming to the surface when it was feeding time-they wouldn't do that for my kids or husband.

Answer 10

I only know a little. Beta Fish like to live alone. Also, they are unusual in the way that they come to the surface for air. As far as the gender....I think it has something to do w/the size of their dorsal fin.