What supplys do i need for a betta fish?

Question

I've had a betta for 4 months I have him in a 1/2 bowl. I feed him flakes and dried worms and pellets. We change his water by putting him in a little cup while water changing. I also think the water is around 67 degree F. We use tap water. Can you give me some advice on how I can do things differently and if i should feed him different foods and what I need an all thanks

When I said 1/2 its 1/2 gallons

Answer 1

You use tap water?

I hope you're using a decholorinator. =) If you don't know what that is,go talk to your local pet store or go to your local wal-mart. There's a ton of products that take out harmful metals. I swear by Prime,personally http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441781319&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030151&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1168315386830&itemNo=0&Ntt=prime&In=All&previousText=prime&N=2 .

It sounds as if you've got the food bit down,though I'm not fond of pellets myself. Be -very- careful about just how much you -are- feeding him. Betta's stomachs are only the size of their eye,after all. ^_^

The water temperature needs to be lifted to around 75 degrees and kept that way. I'd suggest a 10 gallon aquarium for him. 1/2 gallon should be getting daily water changes and that's stressful for any fish.

I'd assume you have some kind of rock or sand at the bottom of his bowl. =) If not,I'd definately invest in some. So long as it's smooth and it won't fit in his mouth or ruin the water with dyes/scents/etc,it's typically okay to use. Usually I suggest glass gems (rounded ones) or natural river rock (you can get it in the pet section of wal-mart,again).

Plants can never go amiss with bettas,either. Large-leafed plants make them extremely happy-it gives them somewhere to relax when they get tired from swimming. Do keep in mind that even underwater plants will require water,too.

Also,Bettas have a labyrinth lung. They need fresh air to breathe,so keep that in mind. If you get a tank with a hood,you'll need to leave space between the hood and the top of the water so he'll be able to breathe.

Answer 2

NEVER use cleanser/soaps to clean the bowl, just wipe with a wet paper towel. Give him freezedried blood worms, give him pellets. Make sure the water is clean; they say to only change 20-30% of the water but I hated doing that b/c it just made the bowl really dirty from all of the poo at the bottom. I just did full water changes every 2-3 weeks and Carlos lived a very long happy life. Not too many chemicals, tap water with water conditioner is fine, no oxygen tablets at all, really dirties up the water. Only feed them Betta food, which are the pellets and the worms.

Answer 3

Where do I start:

0)Temp. Betta are tropical fish, and prefer warmer water tha most tropicals. He needs water in the 75-85F range. 70F is survivable, but much past 65 will kill him.

1)Water quality. In such a small bowl his own waste will build up rapidily. You need to do a FULL water change every 4 days or so. Do not do partial changes. (Partial water changes are great for fltered tanks not bowl.) Tap water fine for a betta, but be sre to remove the chlorine (age it for 48 hours, or treat). Be sure that the new, and old water is the same temp. Your finger is a good enough measure of temp. Other than that the cup is fine. I use to use the same method with my 1st bettas. Just note that bettas jump, and I've had one go down the sink. (He's still alive today 2 years later.) My girls are prone to leaping out of their tank during feeding if I don't drop the food quick enough. (Female betta are better swimmers plus the large tank gives mine more exercise than my males.)

2)Don't over feed. Betta like most fish in nature live on a cycle of feast and near starvation. He'll happily eat himself to death. He only needs about as much food ashis eye ball 5-6 days a week. A pot bellied betta is a bloated betta. To much food leads to fouled water, and constipation/bloating.

3)Larger tank/bowl A 1/2 is just too small fr him to swim around in. Consider a 2.5 gallon container. There is more room to get exercise, and more water to dilute his waste. In a 2.5 gallon container the concentration of waste is x5 less. You'd only need weekly cleanings. Or get a 5 gallon filtered tank and change 20-30% of the water every 2 weeks.

Answer 4

I'd say make the water just a tad warmer, do keep the water clean, and you can buy special beta food at any pet supply store, Walmart carries it I know. Just make sure that you don't get another beta fish in the same tank lol ... and you can always buy a certain plant and put the beta in a vase, put the plant in the vase (with it's roots, no soil, just water) and the beta can eat the roots... it's good whenever you're not home to feed them. Not sure what kind of plant that is, talk to someone @ a pet supply store. We had a beta and it lived for 2-3 years in one of those.

Answer 5

I keep my bettas in a one gallon bowl, I have never needed to use a water pump etc., so long as i change the water with "drinking water" often. give'm a couple of fake water plants and feed them betta pellets and he'll be happy. I did that with mine and he lived for four years.

Answer 6

well bettas are great fish that do not need alot of room with a bowl you should be changing the water every week. if you want to upgrade to a bigger tank you dont have to change it so often . there is also regular betta food that perhaps would be better to feed him with.

Answer 7

OK, when u change water, only change about 20 or 30 %, and use a drop or 2 of dechlorinator, to get the chlorine out, it kills fish.
other than that the food is fine and you have what u need,.

bettas are cool cuz they will learn your routine and when they see you coming they will almost act like a dog and wag their tail at you.

Answer 8

OK you need a glass bowl 1 gallon at the minimum(because a fish needs space),a water lily (optional),the fish,small colored rocks(colors are optional), and distilled water depends on how big your bowl is,flake beta fish food(most is colored RED)put 1 pinch,do NOT mix 2 boys together, love.
FEED ONCE A DAY

Answer 9

get some of of that water purifying stuff. That takes the chemicals out of tap water and put just a tiny bit of that in. I've had several betas, and they actually seems to like attention (sounds dumb, i know) but keep him in a place where you will be more active, you may see him watching and responding to you.

Answer 10

you should raise the temperature to between 70 and 80 degrees, since they are tropical fish, and you can feed them any kind of live food, beta bites, or freeze dried blood worms.

hope that helps!