What is the best way to keep a betta fish?

Question

I currently have a ten gallon tank with two goldfish in it and I wanted to move onto more types of fish. I was thinkin of getting another smaller tank and getting a betta fish. what is the best care i can give one what size tank? i heard small bowls aren't good like a lot of people seem to think? please any info would be helpful

i only wanted to put one fish in there but i just wanted it to have enough room to swim and be happy

Answer 1

A minimum of a 2.5 gallon tank is required. My two Bettas are in separate 5 gallon tanks. Whatever you use, always have a lid, bettas are jumpers. Use a bio-filter with your tank. Use a water conditioner called Prime or Amquel+. Let your tank cycle for a month before you add a betta. You can place your goldfish in it to cycle it or buy a product called Bio-Spira.

Only house one betta per tank. Dividers are cruel since they can see each other. Constant flaring stresses them out and can make their immune systems weaker.

Feed frozen foods such as baby brine shrimp and bloodworms. Stay away from the dried foods as much as possible, a few times won't hurt. But too much and it clogs them up. If you notice they are breathing heavy and swimming funny or staying near the surface feed a raw pea. It will help clean the digestive system. Also Hikari Betta Bio Gold baby pellets are yummy to them.

I would recommend a 5 gallon tank. I had my two in 2 one gallon tanks and the ammonia built up too quickly. I soon upgraded.

http://p076.ezboard.com/Bettas/fflippersnfinsfrm7 This is a forum of aquatic lovers and they are very knowledgeable about Bettas. They have helped me cure my fish of a parasite.

Keep meds on hand. Buy Maracyn 1 & 2 for when the inevitable fish illness comes on. It will happen. Most are very treatable.

Decor: Mine tend to like their tanks a bit crowded, remember bettas are from Vietnamese rice fields.

They need something to sleep on, a soft tall plant works well so they don't have to far to go to breathe, they breathe air like you and me. Make sure decor has no rough edges, their fins are delicate.

Depending on where you live you may need a heater. I'm in Texas and the water temp stays at around 74-78 degrees. Get a thermometer and monitor the water while you are cycling the tank. If you need a heater make sure the water stays at around 76 degrees.

If you need any more tips feel free to send me a message or check out that forum.

Answer 2

A five-gallon tank or larger is best for bettas, but they will thrive in a two gallon tank.That's the smallest I'd go. A heater is not 100% necessary for them to live. (I've had some without any heaters or lights or anything that have lived for five years.) Just make sure the water's at least room temperature. The average life span for a betta is four years. Also, if the tank doesn't have a lid get one because they'll jump out. Some other advice for you: Feed the fish four pellets of food once per day. Even though that's not what the bottles will say it's the best way to go. Male bettas may nest, which smells horrible. You can stop them from doing that with an air pump. And even if you get females, don't keep two of them together because they will kill eachother. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I'd say a good size to go with is a 5 gallon. They dont take up much space for you, but give the betta plenty of room to swim around. You can get a 5 gallon set up for fairly cheap, that usually includes a filter and a light. I just bought one from walmart for about 30 dollars. Not too bad considering it came with a filter, a light, some sample food (that Im not using because it isnt betta food), and some water softener to make my tank safe for fish right away. Bowls arent big enough and they need to be cleaned often. They sell betta pellets at pet stores and that's what I feed mine, instead of normal fish flakes.

Answer 4

Kudos to you for wanting to give your betta a proper home. You're right, a betta shouldn't be in a tiny bowl, no matter what others say. The lily-in-a-vase set-up is also a torture device for them.

Your betta will be happiest in a 2.5 gallon tank. If you're keeping him alone, this will be great for him; if you want to give him tankmates, like say a small shoal of schooling fish or a frog, then you will need at least 5 gallons.

Make sure he has a heater; bettas come from tropical waters and require a steady temperature of around 79 degrees (F). The only way to keep your water perfectly steady at a warm temperature is with a heater.

Some say a filter is necessary, but in my opinion, filters should only be in cycled tanks, and a 2.5G tank might be a little small to cycle. Do regular water changes and he will be fine.

Answer 5

I keep my bettas in minibow tanks like this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3635102 These come in 2.5 and 5 gallon versions, and have a filter and lid with light included. You would still need to get gravel and a heater (50 watt). You want the water temperature between 76-86oF.

Along with the items I've listed above, I give each one a small piece of driftwood, and two plants (either alive or silk). Mine are always swimming around and seem quite content in their tanks.

I also feed twice a day, with one meal being 4-5 betta pellets, and the other being pellets, frozen bloodworms or daphnia, or live mosquito larvae. Once a week, I replace one of their meals with a mashed cooked green pea with the skin removed (prevents constipation and swim bladder problems and adds some fiber to their diet).

You can find some excellent info on betta care in this link: http://www.bettatalk.com/

Answer 6

You are absolutley right about those bowls! At Petsmart, they had a 1 quart bowl labeld "Goldfish Bowl" AS IF!

Anyway, a 2.5 gallon tank atleast..... a 5 gallon would make your betta extra happy!

Good luck! Sounds like your new betta will be happy :)

FishieFin ♥

Answer 7

First the goldfish.....

Goldfish can grow between 6" to 1' in length in a short time.

Goldfish create more waste than any other fish and can cause your ammonia levels to rise to critical levels resulting in killing your fish and constant tank cleanings.

Because of these two reasons, one goldfish alone requires a 30-gallon tank. Each additional goldfish requires an extra 10-gallon space. Since you have two, you will need a 40-gallon tank.

Now, your betta question.....

Any tank between 1-gallon to 4-gallons will limit you to only keeping one betta and one mystery snail.

5-gallons will limit you to one male betta, three female bettas and one mystery snail.

If you want a 10-gallon betta community tank, you can have up to a group of 6 schooling fish fit for a 10-gallon, three female bettas, one male betta and one mystery snail.

When adding a male betta to a tank 5-gallons and up, add the male betta last to keep it from becoming territorial.

Here are a few links to help you out:

Answer 8

there's no point of getting a tank because betta fish dont live together or theyll kill each other and a bowl is great for them i've had lots of betta fish in my life and they last long some people say two girls can live together without fighting but its not true they fight just like the guys~!

Answer 9

Real_Classy_Gal's answer is most thorough. It's pretty much what I'd say too.