How do you take care of Betta fish?

Question

I'm interested in having some Betta fish. I'm new to taking care of fish so I'm not quite sure how to take care of them. According to petco.com, male bettas can't be housed together, but females can. Is this true and are females taken care of the same way as males?

If you have any good websites to help me, that would be great! Thanks!

Answer 1

Having kept and bred bettas for over 20 years and still going ( I have about 140 right now) I will agree with almost everything Kylie Anne said. I disagree that they need so much room as I have always housed most of my males in 1/2 gallon bowls and never had problems with them that prevented winning International Betta Congress shows. The major difference is that you will have to change the bowl water every 2-3 days to keep him healthy.

Females can be done the same way or housed on tanks in small groups of 12 or so per 10 gallons.

Other than than go with what Kylie Anne said!

MM

Answer 2

Yes, females are the same as males and can be housed together. However, never put males in the same tank as females (The males will harass the females). Males also can't be housed together because they will literally rip eachother to shreds. Here is how you care for your fish: First, you have to clean everything for your fish that you bought as soon as you get home from the petstore. That's right, wash the plants, the gravel, the bowl, everything. Next, put everything in. Fill your tank with room temperature water. Then, put the fish ( Still in the bag) in the water for about 15 minutes to adjust. Then, cut a hole in the bag, and let the fish out. You should probably feed your fish the day you get it because it might not have been fed yet. Feed your fish 2-4 pellets twice a day. I recommend getting Hikari Betta Bio Gold food pellets for your fish. you must also clean your tank once every 7-10 days. You should leave water sitting out the night before and when it is cleaning day, take a turkey baster ( you can buy one at the petstore) and suck up 1 half of the water and all the poop. Then put the fresh water in which you should have de-chlorinized with dechlorinator that you can also buy at the petstore( use 2 drops per US gallon). You should also do a thurough cleanout of your whole tank every month. If your fish gets sick (he will have white spots on him) you should go to the petstore and find some medicine. Usually, when your fish is sick, he will have ICK which you can find medicine for at almost any pet store. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Answer 3

So, you want to own some beta fish. Well I am an owner of 2 beta fish so I am a good person to ask. It's actually not that hard. First buy the fish, obviously. Then (another obvious thing) buy a tank/bowl. If you get a bowl (like I have) than you have to clean/change the water once or twice a week. I mostly give them about five pellets once a day or every other day depending on how hungry they look. The book says giving 5 pellets a day is being generous! And that should feed them every other day. But sometimes my beta fish look extra hungry so I do it every day and they are perfectly healthy!! If you get a tank it is the same with feeding but if the tank comes with a filter (or you get one) all you really need as far as cleaning goes is a snail. Hope you enjoy your beta fish! Oh don't forget if you get 2 beta fish keep them in separate tanks/bowls! I think bowls are better for betas than tanks because it well, just seems they were happier in a bowl.

Answer 4

Bettas even more than their gourami relations are wife beaters by nature. So housing males, and females tends to end badly. Also after mating the male will drive off the female, which often ends badly for the female. Females are aggressive, but less so on the average than males. (Note that bettas vary greatly in aggression. I've had wussy males, and psycho females.) Generally in a larger tank with 3 or more females they will beat each other up until they work out a pecking order. This tends to require 5-10 gallon per female.

Also be aware once you get out of the 5 gallon range bettas can live peaceably with most peaceful fish that don't look betta like. Also males are poor swimmers, and most fish can run and hide until the male adjusts to tank mates. Often betta are the victums of aggression in community tanks.

As far as general betta care there is betta talk. Just realize that Faith's bettas are spoiled rotten when it comes to food. Mine eat nearly anything.

Answer 5

Male Bettas can not be put together unless you want to watch a fight to the death, to experience a short display of this put two betta's in seperate glass bowls next to each other and watch the display. Females can be kept together. As for mating put a male with the females and let nature take its course. When you see the surface of the water with lots of tiny bubbles they are ready to lay the eggs. Lay a small plastic lid on the surface. Once the female lays all the eggs the male takes over. The female will eat the young she has to be removed. They are fun fish to watch. Hope this helps and have fun.

Answer 6

Please don't keep your betta in a bowl! I repeat, PLEASE don't keep your betta in a bowl! This is one of the most misunderstood and abused pets in the pet industry today. Just because betta are able to survive in substandard conditions does not mean that we should keep them that way. It is our responsibility as pet owners to provide our pets with the best possible conditions.

It is a myth that betta thrive in small areas of water. In the wild, they live in thousands of gallons of water. Their natural habitat may be a little more shallow than your typical river, but they certainly do not live in puddles. A betta fish should only be kept in an aquarium that holds 5 gallons of water or more.

Another myth is that betta fish do not need heaters or filters. They are tropical fish and they need a heater in the tank to maintain tropical temperatures (77-80 degrees F). They need a filter to help aerate the water and keep it clean and cycled. No fish should ever be kept without a filter.

So you've got your heated, filtered, 5-gallon or larger aquarium. The first thing you need to do is make sure you cycle it (look up "aquarium nitrogen cycle" on the net for more info on that).

Once you have added your betta, be sure to do 50% water changes every week using a gravel vac to keep the water pristine (freshwater fish love fresh water!). The only chemical you should add to your tank is water conditioner (to remove chlorine from the water).

Keep a test kit on hand so you can test your water regularly. A cycled aquarium should read ammonia-0, nitrites-0, nitrates-20 or less. Nitrates-less than 10 is ideal. If your water does not test out this way, there is a problem--do water changes to correct it. Also make sure not to overfeed-feed only what your betta can eat in 30 seconds.

As for tankmates-male betta can often live peacefully with other NON-aggressive community fish. Research any fish you get before you buy it to make sure it is appropriate for your tank. Female betta can sometimes live together peacefully. You should never house a male and a female betta together, nor should you house two males together. A lot depends on the personality of your betta, so be sure to keep a close watch on the tank whenever you add new tankmates.

A great website for tropical fish information is www.badmanstropicalfish.com. They have an article called "The Plight of the Betta" that you should read. They also have information on cycling your aquarium.

Answer 7

I know this is a lot, but I've kept a lot HEALTHY bettas over the years, most were on their death beds when I got them. I currently have 15.

best home for single male or female:

*2.5 or 5 gallon tank
*heater kept at 78° to 80°F
*small filter (whisper power filter for 1-3 gallon tanks works great and doesn't create much current at all)
*a few SILK plants (plastic can tear their fins)

housing multiple bettas:

female-
*2 gallons per each betta
*lots of plants
*heater and filter
*no less than 4 together (so no smaller than a 10gallon should really be used)

male-
*2 gallons per each fish, dividers MUST be used.
*put many plant sin with each betta so they can hide from each other when they tired of flaring.
* filter and heater (often works best with tanks over 25gallons if you use multiple tiny filters and little heaters to make sure the cleanness and heat are evenly distributed)

feeding- feed once or twice a day, 3-4 pellets each time. freeze dried or frozen blood worms may be given as treats throughout the week. peas make a good treat and help prevent swim bladder disorder. put a frozen pea in hot water (not boiling) until the water cools to room temp and the pea not longer floats. then remove the skin from the pea. make the pea into bite sized pieces for your betta and feed 3 or 4 pieces.

cleaning-
if you betta tank is 5 gallons or more and has a filter you won't need to do full water changes. instead, get a turkey baster and remove 20% of the water and replace with new conditioned water. do this once a week. use the turkey baster so you can remove the water from he bottom where all the waste is. (of course if your water gets rank you may want to do a full tank clean, but it most likely won't happen)

2.5 gallon with filter need to have 20% of water removed, like with the 5 gallon, once a week. however, full water changes should be done every 1 a month or every other month. put you betta in containers (I keep the containers my bettas came in for this) filled with the tank water. then remove everything from the tank and rinse. you can use white vinegar to wash the wall of the tank, gravel shouldn't be washed off, just rinsed a little and put back into water, this prevent too much loss of the bacteria that lives on it.

that's pretty much everything, if you need any more help feel free to email me on yahoo are originalcatastrophequeen

here are some sites you might find helpful:
www.bettatalk.com
http://www.elmersaquarium.com/10bettas.htm

Answer 8

I had Male Betta fish that lasted for three years. That is their lifespan. At Petco or Petsmart, they seem to sell only Male Betta fish.

-Male betta fish cannot be housed together
-Female betta fish can co-habit together, but I still prefer to put them in seperate tanks, in case one of them develops fin rot.
-It would be best to not mate the Male and Female betta fish. But if you want to, do some research. The best person to ask would be the Kasamba fish experts. They are live and will answer your questions quickly.
http://www.kasamba.com/experts/home-leisure/pets-animals/fish

In cleaning upkeep, be sure that you clean the betta's tank every two weeks using filtered or bottled water. Use "Splendid brand" Betta fix water conditioner (two drops in a one gallon tank) and two drops of "Splended Brand" Betta fix remedy on the bettas to keep their scales nice and healthy. Feed them three hikari "pellets only" a day to keep their healthy diet. Some fish experts will say that you shouldn't feed them everyday, but I do, which is why they last for up to 3 1/2 years. Keep them in a lighted tank with rinsed colored rocks and plants to make their environment whimsical and keep the tank away from a window to avoid rapid temperature changes. The correct temperature in the room for a betta fish should be at least 70 degrees.

Good luck with your Betta fish and Happy Prosperous New Year!

Answer 9

It is really easy to take care of a betta. I used to have 2 of them and it was a piece of cake. (easy) All you need to do is treat it like any other fish. I meen yes they have different names and they look different and they like different food but if you have had other fish then you can take care of a betta. A web site you could go on is How do I take care of a Betta? Then is will say....All about Caring for Betta Fish. You would want to click on that. That gives you everything you need to know about Betta's. I am on the site right know and it tells you facts about them how you should feed them how often you should change the water and other things about Betta's to. You should go on it and tell me what you think of the web site. That is all you have to type in. There is no .com or anything like that. It is just How do I take Care of a Betta? That is all. Well at least for my computer and it might work for yours to. Tell me how everything turns out with you and your betta! Good Luck

Answer 10

The biggest mistake people make with bettas is not keeping them warm enough. Ideal betta tank would be a 2.5 gallon with a small heater, one fish per tank. An anachris plant in each tank helps to make them feel secure.
If you really want to have healthy bettas see if you can find some almond leaf. Soaked in the tank it lowers PH and makes the fish less prone to disease.
Also, feed them live food. Mosquito larve and blackworms are best. Feed them very sparingly. They don't eat a lot. Once or twice a week should be fine.