# Plan to keep betta...



## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Hello! 
Well, I now feel interested in keeping bettas! I think I can handle a 10 or 20 gal betta bowl...
What I want to know is how do you like your betta? Besides their beauty, does bettas have unique personality? Or anything that really interests you?
Thanks for all of your ideas!


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Great personalities. Once accustomed to you, you can feed them from your hand. Beautiful fish when flaring also. No two are alike.


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## Imbrium (Feb 7, 2005)

I've trained a male to bite a string when he wants to be fed. And I've heard of people training them to swim through a hoop. They can be really playful. Some of mine will flare and dance for me. And the girls like to swim between my fingers when I put my hand in their tank. They have great personalities.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 4, 2005)

*my experience*

Mine wasn't active and I never actually saw him eat anything over the 3-4 weeks i had him except for a few platy fry that i threw in there because i thought he was starving. I did an 80-90% w/c everyday because of this and still no luck. I tried to put him in my 10 gallon community once and he went apesh*t on everything in there(platys). So i had to take him out after like 3 minutes. After awhile I decided to give him to a friend because i was sick of worrying about him. Still alive, but still not eating anything appearantly. I dunno, maybe I just got a beta that didn't need to eat? LOL

P.S. One thing I would do different if i could is get a young beta. I think mine was full grown and could have been dieing of old age, who knows... Also, this way they might adjust better and you get to see them grow into adulthood.

Anyways I ended up getting a Mystery/apple snail for my old betta tank and I think it is awesome. I rescued the little guy from an overcrowded goldfish tank at the pet store. Ive had him for under 2 weeks id say and he has already grown like 1/2" of shell!!! I like him as much as my kribensis pair. I wondered why everyone liked apple snails when i saw them at the pet store but when i got one i understand why.


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## Niki2105 (Apr 12, 2005)

Bettas are cool and are not too hard to keep. They are very beautiful fish with interesting personalities. Like Ownager one of my mine didnt eat for like 2 or more weeks or not that i noticed any way. I figured he might end up dying so one day i saw a pretty white one and got it too well when i was watching him eat his betta pelets it looked like they were too big to fit in his mouth. I cut one in half and fed him the two pieces and he ate them with no problem so i decided to try the same with the one that was not eating and he ate them cut in half. LOL . So i now have 2 spoiled bettas that i have to cut there pellets in half everyday so they will eat.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Wow, really cool! Thanks all for your experienves! I may put him into the 30 gal of mine, it should be heaviliy (yeah, very heavily) planted so he'll be confortable.
Well, what is a betta's favorite tankmates?
Thanks...
PS: All of this because my people a long time a go were very cruel to them! Let me tell you one story, when a pure trait couple of bettas gave birth and gave a huge offspring, people only kept some juveniles after sveral weeks and THREW the others for THE CHICKEN to protect their so-called family heritage from being stolen by others. Thay's stupid and stingy! In opinion!


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## thatsfishy (Jan 18, 2005)

> Well, what is a betta's favorite tankmates?


Anything he can fit in his mouth! 



> when a pure trait couple of bettas gave birth and gave a huge offspring, people only kept some juveniles after sveral weeks and THREW the others for THE CHICKEN to protect their so-called family heritage from being stolen by others. Thay's stupid and stingy! In opinion!


First, bettas don't "give birth" ...they are egglayers. Second, if you have a spawn of 500, you will cull too, nothing stupid about it. It's simply uneconomic to try to raise the whole spawn with fish that do not have the traits you're looking for, or worse, show deformaties that will pass on to their offspring. It doesn't matter whether it is fighters or show quality, or if you feed them to chickens or the oscar, culling is a necessary part of the hobby.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Okay, thanks...
"Give birth": language misusage


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

Blue emperor tetras are great tankmates.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

BE Tetras don't school well and are hard to get to breed.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

I normally keep between 3 and 6 pair from a spawn and cull the rest.


RC


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Ok, so I'll run to the petshop tomorrow. What can I put him in. I know many will keep in a 1gal tank, but to you, what's the ideal one?
Thanks


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

I have a 3/4 of a gallon tank for mine. It really just depends on what you want to put in there. If you're sure that you want to have tank mates for your betta then you know that you will want a bigger space. Betta's are used to living in ponds and puddles so space is not an issue with them.(Although I hate petstores and their teeny cups). I've heard that neon tetras do well with Betta's and anything that may be able to swim fast, and as thatsfishy said, keep smaller fish within the tank. He may seem larger fish as a threat to his terriotory and hurt the fish.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Ok.. thanks I tend to keep him alone with "his girlfriend" so may be 3 l (nearly gal) is cool until my planted tank is done, I'll move them to that with several neons alos..
Thanks how about plants... should I put in something?


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

Bettas love plants they love having hiding places to go, as I said they're used to living in ponds so plenty of plant life is a good thing for them, it is for any tank. It's not a must but they enjoy having some live plants around them. (I haven't been able to get plants yet for mine.)


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Ok gotcha... thanks for your ideas, all of you!  I hit the road for the LFS now!


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Ok back  I got one for $1.30 is that good 
Well, he's now in the new house, it's more than 1 gal and I'll soon move him to the planted tank. He was a lil bit nervous at first but I think okay now... I'm recharginh the batts for my camera, I'll soon show him off here.
Well, for the very first moments, I dun think I should feed him so... Maybe tomorrow. What do you think? Hmmm.. and in your experiencem, what's bettas' fav food? I find myself can manage to feed my fish with tubifex, what do you think?
Thanks...


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

*re*

Hello, second day for fish_doc, urhhh I named him fish_doc 
<--- Mr Dave Ha ha...
Well, he's doing great! He has been very friendly but he also moves alot so I can't manage to take some photos of him, maybe later h/e I took some but they're a lil bit blurry...


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Ouch, the second looks filthy... that was the glass...


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

wow it looks like you got a very pretty one there, maxpayne!!! good luck with it!


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Yeah, thanks! He's been doing very good! I just have difficulty to feed him with mosquito larvea.


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