What should I know about Beta fish?

Question

I have a beta fish and I am currently treating it for fin and tail rot with some Betafix.

What is the proper way to change it's water?

How much food should it be having per day /
perweek?

How long can it go without food?

IAre there treats it could have?

WIll it do any tricks?

I havent had enough experience with fish and this fish belongs to my daughter. I would like to know more about them. Like if they have moods or do they have a special way to sleep. Things of that sort.

Any facts and/or opinions are welcome.Thanks!

Answer 1

good luck with the fin rot, did you buy it like that? I find it sad the way pet stores don't take care of their fish, especially bettas. I always pick ones that are sick because I know I have enough experience to save them. it makes me smile when people put inthe extra effort of buying a sick fish and meds to treat it instead of just buying a different one.

anyway, to change water I suggest keeping to gallons jugs, like old milk gallons, and keeping them filled with water at all times. put htem in the same room the betta is in. this way you'll always have water on hand that's been sitting out long enough to be the right temp and has already been treated to be safe. to treat the water just get any water conditioner from the pet store. I also suggest getting fresh water aquarium salt, add 1/2 a teaspoon to each gallon. it's always handy to keep the cup it came in for water changes. scoop him into hte cup with water from the tank he's in, then wash out his tank and fill it with your pretreated and temp ready water. then add him back to the tank. if your tank is 1 or 2 gallons try a water change once a week. if it's 3 gallons or over and has a filter do 50%-70% water change once a week.

how much food to give varies between betta. try feeding him a pellet at a time, then when he doesn't eat a pellet scoop it out and remember the number. that's probably how many he'll eat in a day. if it's four you can try giving him 2 in the morning and 2 at night, whatever works for you. it's also a nice treat to feed your betta freeze dried blood worms once a week. or a bit of the inside of a thawed frozen pea once a month or so, this also promotes healthy digestion.

it can go about a week, but no longer than that. it's not healthy for them though unless they're constipated or something. if you're going to be a away for a few days or a week try getting betta vacation blocks from your pet store. it slowly releases food for him.

(treats I covered with food)

tricks, not really, if you've got a lively one it may jump to take food out of your hand, or jump out of the tank, so have a lid on. also like they said bellow they will flare up at their reflection or other bettas, but unlike they said it IS good for them. it gives them exercise and keeps them from getting bored. so try putting a mirror by him for 10-15 mins a day.

other info: you should get a test for pH, you can get one pretty cheap at the pet store. also ones for ammonia and nitrate. when these levels get high change the water, even if it's not time to change the water. live plants help keep water levels good, you'll just need to get plant food. liquid plant food will last you forever.

hope that helps!

Answer 2

1. Replace its water with tap water that has sat in the same room for at least 1 day to adjust to temperature. Use a water dechlorinator made especially for fish. If you keep it in a tank larger than 3 gallons, only do a partial water change- that is, empty out some of the water, and then refill that portion with the dechlorinated. If it has a small tank or bowl, change all the water and rinse the gravel. All fish ought to have a tank with a filter, even bettas- that may be how it got sick in the first place. They sell some really great tanks at Petsmart, 1-5 gallons, acrylic, and the lid has a built in filter and light. They are PERFECT for bettas! Bowls simply get too dirty too fast and there's no filtration at all.

If you do have a bowl, change the water every 2-3 days. In a tank, do a partial change once a week. Do 1/3 to 1/2 of the water in the tank if it's less than 5 gallons, if it's larger than 5 gallons, do 1/4.

2. If you're using the little betta pellets, 1-3 pellets per day. Some people suggest feeding 1-2 pellets in the morning and 1-2 in the evening, but it's up to you. If you're using flakes, 1 small pinch every other day.

3. 1 week, without any significant damage. I would strongly suggest not going longer than that.

4. You can feed bettas live brine shrimp, blood worms, or ghost shrimp. Most aquarium stores will sell them in small containers- bettas love to chase live food!

5. Fish do not learn tricks. If you hold up a mirror, it will puff out it's gills and attack the mirror, but it's really not good for the fish, as it will get stressed and hurt it's nose hitting the glass. Fish do not have moods, and they don't really sleep, they just sort of drift in the water 'resting' for a few minutes at a time. If your fish stops moving and can't be stirred, it's dead.

Good luck with your little guy!

Answer 3

Remove the fish from it's tank with some of the tank water. Clean the tank, rinse thoroughly including any artificial rocks and/or plants. Place everything back into the tank and fill with water. Allow the water to reach room temp before putting the fish back into it's tank.
As far as the food, read the label on the food container. If you will be away for a few days or think you will forget to feed the fish, pick up a beta fish food extender (it releases the food as needed). I have never seen any treats and tricks (the fish looks dead because it does not move, but it is sleeping)

Answer 4

I got a beta in at wal-mart a year ago and its still alive for changing the water I scooped him out with a fish net put him in another cup of water cleaned out his little bowl. For food I used beta food there little red circle things that smell like fish just a tiny pinch a day will do I actually just feed mine about 2 times a week and he seems pretty happy with this. Treats I would try some dried shrimp made for them. Mine didn't do any tricks that I know of he used to hide in his cave hear me coming and swim out really fast like he was going to attack the side of the tank lol. don't forget to keep some air coming in since they breath air to live there like whales in a way. and if you have a male and you see bubbles at the top really small ones don't worry hes building a nest. Well hope this helps.

Answer 5

sure, greater than one million beta fish in a tank will battle each and every different, nevertheless there's circumstances of wherein ive heard beta fish combating to start with, however then making a sequence of command that allows them to peacefully co exist. Beta fish will battle something that has fins the scale, practically, or greater than theirs.

Answer 6

Be careful using a net with your Betta, it can tear the fins and create an open breeding ground for bacteria. If possible when cleaning your tank, try to coax your Betta to the top with food and "scoop" it up with a glass cup large enough for it to be able to turn around. I feed my Betta 2x a day, each time until he no longer has interest in food, and then scoop out what he doesn't eat. He has lived with a clean bill of health for nearly 4 years. Once he went 1.5 weeks without food, but that's pushing it. My Betta gets very excited when he sees me because he knows I feed him. He sort of "dances" for his food. He does not flare up but he does a little "jig" in the water for me. :) I always add a very small amount (pinch) of marine salt to his 5 gallon tank whenever he looks a little drab. However remember that salt does not evaporate completely, so make sure you change the water completely with any addition of salt. Its also best to have him out of an unfiltered bowl and into at least 2-3 gallons of aerated water. Filtered water is good, but not necissary. Bettas like floating food best, but one in a few like live food to hunt. None of mine have ever been very successful at hunting live food though. Treats are best limited to a few thawed (previously frozen, thaw in warm water) bloodworms. You can buy these in frozen cubes. Bettas are bread to be fairly hardy fish, once he is well I am sure you'll have nothing but good luck to follow if the advice given in these various answers is taken into consideration.

Answer 7

Just tap water room temperature should be fine. Just use that water freshener stuff. Just like one or two flakes daily is good. But just watch him, if he eats it real fast, you might want to givehim more, but later in the day. It shouldn't go more than a day without food. If you wont be able to feed it everyday for some reason, you should buy the food that you can just drop in and it lasts 7 days, but don't use it all the time. And make sure you clean the tank after the seven days. Actually every seven days you should clean it out. I don't believe there are treats. It doesn't really do tricks, but I remember one that I had when I was little, he would always come up to the top of his little tank to say hi when I went by him. They are fighting fish, so don't put anything else in the tank with him. when they do get upset they get like all spread out. They have like a fighting stanz. If you have another one in a different tank and put it next to it. It will puff up and get ready to fight. They are real nice and easy to take care of, but I've never heard of that disease.

Answer 8

To clean its water you have toget the fish in another bowl with the dirty water.If you have rocks in the bowl wash then with clean water.Wash the bowl with the same water no soap.Put some clean water inside the bowl and the clean rocks.Put purified liquid insid of it only six drops.Wait one hour.Get the fish out of the water with out any dirty water.You take it out of the water with fish net.Then its clean.It should get five or six grains of food a day.If you don`t feed it for one day its going to die.There is this betta food tht you can give it to stay alive it is called Pellet food.It will not do any tricks.They have moods when gills pop out it means its angry.Don`t touch the water or else it will be contaminated because your fingers have germs.

Answer 9

2. Housing Your Betta
You should try to keep your betta in a 1-2 gallons tank or bowl. It's best not to keep your betta in anything less than a gallon. Never put 2 males in the same tank/bowl without a tank divider. (They will fight) The water temperature should be anywhere from 74 degrees F - 79 degrees F. Bettas like water with a pH of 7.0 and soft water. If the temperature is lower or higher than 74 degrees F - 79 degrees F, your betta may not be as active or the water temperature may cause illness. Make sure you have a large enough surface area (meniscus area) so your betta can breathe. On the first couple days, you should keep the betta in a dark place, leave him alone, and don't "peek" at him or change the water too often. This may stress the betta out.

3. Maintaining
a. less than 2 gallons
fill up a container with the water from his tank. Net him out carefully as not to tear his fins, and place him into the container with his tank water. Pour the water from his old tank out. Rinse the tank with warm water. If you have gravel or plants, you can dump it into a collander/sive and rise it. Do not use soap or anything that you use in the kitchen with fish. It can be poisonous to fish. After rinsing out the tank or jar, fill it up with treated wter. It would also help to add a little bit of salt. The salt can kill and prevent illness. Do not use table salt. Use just rock salt or aquarium salt. Make sure the water from the 2 containers/tanks/bowls are the same with a thermometre. Net the betta out of the container and put him into his newly cleaned home.

b. 2 gallons or more
Using a siphon, suck out all the uneaten food and the fish wastes. Suck out about half the water and add new treated water in. Make sure the new water you add in is the same temperature as the water in the bowl or tank. In partial water changes, there will still be salt left in the tank from the last time that you added salt, so add salt less often.

4. Food
Bettas eat meat (carnivores), so they will not survive on just a vegetable diet. Try not to feed your betta the food that you feed your other tropical fish. Your betta needs betta food. You can feed your betta:
a. Hikari's Betta Bio-Gold (pellets)
b. Tetra's Bettamin (flake) -your betta may not like this food as much
c. Hikari Micro Pellets (pellet)

Feed your betta about 2-4 pellets 2-3 times a day. Some live, frozen, or freeze dried foods that you can feed your betta are:
a. bloodworms
b. waterfleas
c. daphnia
d. tubifex worms (there are doubts about this one though. I myself prefer not to feed it)
e. brine shrimp

The above foods cannot be fed every day unless you are conditioning your betta. Maybe 1-2 times a week. You can try raising your own wingless fruit flies, blackworms, or white worms for your betta to eat.

5. Fighting
2 Male Bettas put together in the same tank without a tank divider will fight. They will tear and rip each other's fins w/ their mouth. Some will fight until death while some may just run away. Never put 2 males together. Sometimes male bettas and female bettas will fight and flare at each other.

6. Heating
It's best to keep your bettas in heated tanks ranging from 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit. Always have a thermometre for your tank. You'll never know when your heater decides to go off. :p

7. Just for the Betta
It's best for each betta to have his/her own individual net. This way, diseases and germs won't get from one betta to the other. It's also good to have stress coat around. Most water conditioners will come with it, but if not, it's good to have handy for when your betta decides to jump out of the tank or when he gets a cut.


**Please feel free to print the Basic Betta Care Sheet out**

Plants That Go Well With Bettas

Plants That Go Well With Bettas
Thanks to Jared for giving me some information on plants and bettas! Jared is from the Aquamaniacs Message Board (www.aquamaniacs.net)

Some low light plant species go well with bettas. Some of them are:
Hornwort Ceratophyllum demersum
Java Moss Vesicularia dubyana
Java Fern Microsorium pteropus
Cryptocryne Wendtti
Anubias Nana

Answer 10

my beat lived for like 7 years it just died recently *tear* some advice dont over feed it only like 5-7 pieces of spefic beta food they will eat them selves to death dont put the with another fish they are know to kill others most beta like small tanks nothing to big and fancy instead of getting abother fish for it to have to keep it company i used a rubber duck that could float on the top or sink and be on the bottom to clean his tank just put him in a cup filled with the water from his bowl and clean the bowl scrub it well but dont use soap no duh mine went like 3 days with out food i dont know how long it could go ive never tried dont be afraid if he doesnt move for a wheil they sleep realllly still hes not dead unless hes floationg upside down on the top of the tank keep the water room tempature