# Hi ~ Thinking about getting a betta ~ some questions



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Hello!

I hope some fish experts can help me. I was thinking of getting 1 betta fish. I've had fish before but I've taken a break because I was too traumatized when they died 

So I would like to know a few things about the betta fish. I hear they are easy to maintain and can live a few years. 

What size tank do you recommend for 1 betta? Is one gallon ok? I've heard they like small tanks. 

Do they like plants? Real or plastic? Or do they even care?

What type of water do I need to use? Can I use spring water? Or does it need to be purified?

What is the best thing to feed them? Live blood worms(?) or flakes or pellets?


Thanks so much in advance!


----------



## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

betta doesn't like small tanks. give him at least 2.5 gallon if you just started with fish. i personally don't like plants for betta tank. the live ones you have to clean up dead leaves while the plastic cut the fish's fin. for the water, use tap water after you add water conditioner in it. the water conditioner should be available at walmart, petsmart or other local fish store. it is everywhere in other word. spring water is hard and betta do better in soft water. the purify water is too pure and some chemical in water is what fish need to live healthy.

you can go to www.bettysplendens.com for more info on betta


----------



## Willow (Mar 20, 2005)

I wouldn't put a Betta in anything smaller than a 2 gallon tank (some breeders put their breeding stock in smaller containers, but pets should have the best we can give them), and a heater is an absolute necessity---unless you keep your house at 80 degrees year round! Bettas don't like strong currents, so any filter you use needs to be pretty gentle. Pet stores will usually have a 2-2.5 gallon aquarium kit, the kits I can think of are Eclipse Explorer and Minibow 2.5---they both have built-in filters and lights. You'll need to get a heater separately.

I like the looks of plants in my tanks, but, as aaa mentioned, there are problems with plastic and live plants, so I only use silk aquarium plants. Some Bettas like to rest on the leaves.

Tap water is fine, as long as you use a water conditioner. Change about 20% of the water about every 2 weeks, don't change all of it at once, this will mess up the water chemistry. 

I feed my Betta 3 different kinds of foods: Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets, local fish store brand color-enhancing flakes, and freeze-dried bloodworms. He sometimes gets some frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp, because that's what the goldfish get for a treat. He seems (so far) to be healthier than any of my previous Bettas, who only got one kind of food. It's better to give them a good variety.


----------



## Alisha (Aug 5, 2005)

*aaa* and *willow* pretty much said it all. I keep my betta's in _at least_ 2.5 gallons. Some people say they need a 5 or 10 gallon, but a 2.5 seems to work just fine for my bettas. Just remember that the smaller the tank the more frequent the water changes, so it is easier to have a larger tank. As for plants, I am new to keeping live plants so I dont know much about them, but I also dont reccomend plastic plants, these are a disaster for the bettas fins. And as already mentioned, tap water is fine, just remember to use water conditioner! For food you can feed them flakes,pellets,live,frozen or dried. But for their main diet you should stick to either flakes or pellets because the other foods should be for spawning or treats only, if fed too much of these foods it will cause bloating and constipation to the fish. And one more thing, remember that you may need to purchase a heater because bettas like the temperature around 80 degrees F. Good luck!


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Thank you all for the advice and the website, I really appreciate it. 

I live in California and dont have much trouble with my apartment getting colder than about 70 degrees. I was under the impression that bettas dont need filters, heaters and all that. I have a friend who has a betta in a gallon tank, no heater and it looks healthy, and has lived for 2 years now. I do have some supplies leftover from my previous fish. A little castle hideaway, plastic plants (which I wouldnt use now that I know they are bad!) and heater. I am just weary of the whole heater thing because that's how my last fish (cichlids) died. One day I came home and the heater was all the way up and they were dead  I think possibly one of my cats knocked the heater or something because there is no way I would have it set that high. I felt awful and I told myself no more fish, so I'm still deciding about this. 

Thanks again, you've all been great!


----------



## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

if you keep betta as a pet and want the fish to live long, around 78 is enough. the reason behind this is high temperature make fish grow faster, which also mean die faster. my fish grow up in 75 degree water and they have no problem. but just to play it safe, 78 is a good number.


----------



## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

You can also feed your Betta, spinach, cucumber, zuchinnni, carrots, shelled peas, brocoli, lettuce, beef heart (no fat), and dark red meat (no fat also).


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

aaa said:


> if you keep betta as a pet and want the fish to live long, around 78 is enough. the reason behind this is high temperature make fish grow faster, which also mean die faster. my fish grow up in 75 degree water and they have no problem. but just to play it safe, 78 is a good number.


Incorrect. The reason for the higher temps is because it replicates how they live in the wild. They live in very small ponds and other small bodies of water in very hot areas, which keeps the temperature very warm. 78 is the minimum I would recommend keeping a betta in, 80-82 is better. When the temp gets on the low side, they become more lethargic and unhappy.


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

I do hate to disagree with Tina, but all of my research from well known betta breeders indicates that the higher the temp the shorter the life, once you get up over 75-77 range. Here is an article from Victoria Parnell at Betty Splendens regarding it.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

If its a choice between having them live a longer, lethargic life and a shorter, happier life, I'll chose for them to be happier. Every betta I've ever owned, when the temp was below 76, did nothing but lay on the gravel. When the temp was raised back up around 80, they swim around, building bubblenests, interacting, etc.


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

I agree that temps too low definitely cause lethargy & reduced immune system! I think tho that 75-80 is a really good range for a pet betta. I agree with aaa about 78 being a good number. Its warm enough for them to be active and happy but cool enough not to shorten their lives much (if it all).


----------



## dolifisis (Sep 27, 2006)

Here's a good site I used when I got my first betta.
http://www.bettatalk.com


----------



## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

my betta breed in 75 degree water and have no problem. it is all about the fish getting used to it. all my fish grow up in lower temp and there is no problem with them. plus where betta from does not always at 80 degree. it often below that at night and rainy days.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

SpoiledFishies said:


> You can also feed your Betta, spinach, cucumber, zuchinnni, carrots, shelled peas, brocoli, lettuce, beef heart (no fat), and dark red meat (no fat also).


Woah!! I had no idea.


Well I hate cold, so in the winter even I keep my apartment in the 70s.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I personally would never feed my bettas beef hearts or any other type of red meat. Or chicken or pork or anything of the sort. Mine only get either commercially prepared betta food or bloodworms, blackworms, etc, supplemented with veggies on occasion. IMO, beef heart and other dark cow meats are not good for them.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Man you guys are confusing me lol.


----------



## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

basically, 78-80 degree water, commercial betta food with frozen bloodworm as treat will be good for the fish


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

While doing research, I've read in a number of places that beef, chicken and pork (basically any terrestrial animal) should not be fed to fish. Its not part of their natural diets and its not good for them, especially as a staple. Carnivorous fish should be fed things like worms, fish, clams, and other types of seafood. I've also been told that by people I consider to be expert, long-time fishkeepers. So that's what I adhere to.


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

:lol: Sorry bout that! One thing about fishkeeping, people do things different. Different things work better for different people. When researching fish, I try to find as much information as possible and then go with the things that I hear repeated most often. The other stuff, I may try as I feel more comfortable with the individual fish. I also tend to put more weight on information given by people that specialize with whatever fish I'm looking at or people that I know are versed in keeping many types of fish for many years. 

I guess its my day to disagree with Tina LOL (sorry!) Personally, I would be much more prone to feed beefheart to my bettas than most commercial preparations because I don't want to feed my pets ethoxyquin which is a used as a preservative/anti-oxidant in most commercial foods. Ethoxyquin is a carcinogen and is listed with OSHA as a hazardous material. It is listed by the Dept of Agriculture as a pesticide. The FDA regulates how much Ethoxyquin residue can be in foods for human consumption to 5ppm. But yet for dog food they allow 150ppm. I don't feed it to my dogs and I won't feed it to my fish. The flip side to this - many people feel its fine to use and that they personally have experienced no problems with it. Others feel that with fish having such short lifespans (guess they forgot about some of the big boys) that the carcinogen doesn't have enough time to cause an effect. I do feed some commercial food, but almost all of the formulations you can find at the LFS are out for me. I buy my flakes/pellets from http://www.kensfish.com as very few of his foods contain it.

Of course, then there are those that would say the whole discussion is silly and fish keeping isn't really that complicated!

It really boils down to personal choice. If it any of the points brought up concern you, educate yourself on the options and then choose what you think is best.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

From what I've read, I would personally feed it pellets with the occasional frozen treats. I used to feed my old cichlids brine shrimp, they loved it.

I know everyone does things a little differently.. whatever works for you right?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Brine shrimp are a nice treat but shouldn't be used as a staple, they have almost no nutritional value at all. I use HBH prepared food, which I purchase from a reliable seller on Ebay, and as far as I've been able to find out, it doesn't have Ethoxyquin. My bettas only get live blackworms, frozen bloodworms, and frozen mysis shrimp though. They won't touch a pellet now that they've tasted the good stuff. 

The krill pellets that I use contain: Krill, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour High Gluten, Fish Oil Propylene Glycol, Brewers Dried Yeast, Lecithin Dry, BioRed, Garlic Powder, Zeolite, Haematococuss with Vitamins and Minerals added.

The spirulina pellets contain: Spirulina, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour High Gluten, Green Pea Powder, Propylene Glycol, Fish Oil Stabilized, Brewers Yeast, Lecithin Dry, Zucchini Powder, Carrot Powder, Garlic Powder, Zeolite with Vitamins and Minerals 

http://stores.ebay.com/Your-Fish-Stuff


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Tina this is disturbing to me. Check the manufacturers website - http://www.hbhnet.com/Products/krill1.htm and http://www.hbhnet.com/Products/spirulina1.htm

You have to click the i in the bottom left..... 

I have a bottle of HBH betta bites which I don't use and its clearly listed on bottle. But on the ebay site, this seller is not listing it for them either. I am assuming he just lumped it into the "vitamins & minerals" category.

I'm not sure about the normal packaging of those pellets tho.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I'm really not all that worried about it after doing a little research on it.

_To date, FDA has found no scientific or medical evidence that ethoxyquin
used at approved levels is injurious to human or animal health. Also, FDA
has found no documentation of the claims of harm to any animal. The agency will continue to review any new data generated on the safety of this
ingredient. Should any adverse health effect be documented, FDA will not 
hesitate to enforce the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to protect the
health of humans and animals. _
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00119.html


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

You trust the FDA more than me  The FDA swore there was no problem with Fen-Phen also when it was on the market. I shutter to think of how many people died before the FDA fessed up that there was a problem. 

Just another of those things. Everyone does stuff different!


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

I just remember when everyone was screaming about Tab soda and how saccharin is horribly deadly and causes all sorts of cancers, only it turns out to be impossible for humans to injest anywhere near the equivalent quantity required to cause cancer in lab rats.  I tend to be very skeptical of all "junk science" sounding things. There doesn't seem to be enough evidence to prove that ethoxyquin causes cancer in certain doses, how long those doses must be consumed, or how much is in the fish food. I do know that people have been using commercial fish food with ethoxyquin in it for decades with no proven causative effects.


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Yea true. I know Dr. Jean Dodds (highly respected in the dog world) has put out several articles regarding the use of Ethoxyquin. Also, the study the FDA refers to was done in 1950-early 60s by the guy that made it. The information I have read states there was a general movement by manufacturers to increase the amount used in foods back in the 80s and thats when people started reporting problems. The FDA allows 150ppm. The CVM (Center for Veterinary Medicine) recommended that number be cut in half to 75 because a study done in 1997 showed changes in pigmentation to the liver at 180ppm usage.

I did a lot of research about it when I started having problems with one of my chinese cresteds. I don't feel that my dogs issues were due to that (tho I don't know what caused it and changing foods did help). However, since there are other foods with alternative preservatives that aren't controversial,I decided to just use them instead. Why intentionally feed them pesticide when you don't have to? I'll put away the soapbox now LOL I'm sorry for hijacking the thread


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

I have a couple more questions as I am probably going to get the fish this weekend. I want to set up the tank first, I'll probably do that tomorrow. 

How long does the water need to sit after adding the conditioner before you add the fish?

For starters I got some Betta Bits. The instructions say to feed 3 - 4 pellets twice a day. Is this right? And if I get something else like bloodworms, how often do I feed those? 

Also about water changes, say on a 2 gallon. What's the easiest way to do this? Scoop a bunch of water out and then just add the same pre-conditioned amount? Also how do you gauge how much conditioner to put if you arent exactly sure how much water you're changing? I know it says 1/2 capsule for 1 gallon. 

Sorry for all the questions!!! I just want to do this right.


----------



## robyn (May 29, 2006)

as far as feeding goes, i used to feed my betta morning and nite. i used to drop 3-4 pellets in and watch him eat. if he gobbled them up i mite add an extra 1 or 2. if he doesnt eat all you give him, scoop the others out. if u want 2 treat him, just substitute his normal feeding (i used to treat at nite) with the bloodworms.

with the water conditioner, you just hav to work it out as accurately as you can. my water conditioner is 5ml for every 45L. i calculated that to about 2 drops per litre by usng a 1ml spoon and seeing how many drops it could hold. it was a mission but now i never hav problems, cos my bucket (as i discovered last week) has measurements on the sides. so if i fill it with 5L i add 10 drops


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Ok I've got my tank set up. Isnt it cute!! I'm excited now.

Apparently so is my cat  




















I plan on going to this fish-only store this weekend to get him. The ones I saw at Petco and Petsmart didnt look great.  It made me sad. I wish they would take better care of them.


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Looks really cute. 

Where did you get the shells? The reason I ask is because you do have to take special precautions with using items such as shells in the water. 

Also shells may change your water parameters. I believe they increase calcium carbonate making the water harder (someone?) but bettas prefer soft acidic water generally.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Hmm I dunno where I got the shells.. they were in my old tank. Probably the beach? I scrubbed them really well. I can take them out though no problem!

My name is Christine too btw


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

hah hi Christine 

I dunno, if the shells were used for a long time in a freshwater tank already maybe they would be fine. If you choose to use them, I would still keep an eye on parameters personally as I still think they would leech calcium into the water. Perhaps someone with more experience regarding using shells will speak up. I've only used one shell in one tank ever soooo, not much experience with them. Me, I'd skip em.. but thats me :lol:


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Yeah its totally not a big deal, I just took them out.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Thank you all for your help.. I've posted some pics.

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/fish-aquarium-pictures/13053-pictures-my-new-betta.html


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Hm he doesnt seem to want to eat. I guess he has to get adjusted to his new environment first?


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Yes, sometimes they have to settle in. Sometimes it may just be they arent used to what you are trying to feed them also. If hes acting fine other than that, I wouldn't worry just yet.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Well he will eat brine shrimp but not the pellets. Any suggestions?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Once mine had a taste for real meat like frozen bloodworms and live blackworms, they would never touch another pellet.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Yah but you said up there they shouldnt eat brine shrimp as their main meal? Should I get bloodworms instead?


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

imo a variety is always better. That way you ensure they are getting a variety of nutrients rather than just one food which may be deficient in something. I rotate bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, cyclop-eeze, tubifex, just added beefheart and they usually get betta crumble from kens fish once a day (mine eat twice).


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

I assume I can get all these things at Petco? And for the shrimp is it the same as pellets.. just give him like 3 little pieces per feeding? The problem is the shrimp sink to the bottom if he doesnt eat it right away and they go between the marbles... so there is no way he could get it I dont think.


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

No all those things are frozen foods except the betta crumble. Petco may have it in a freezer. I know our petsmart does. I personally prefer hikari brand frozen.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Ok I got some bloodworms and beefheart. He liked the bloodworms  I'll give him the other tomorrow. 
I think he's going to be a spoilt fishy lol.


----------



## darkfalz (May 7, 2006)

Don't give them too much rich foods, a good staple pellet such as bio-golds is the best.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Hikari? He wont eat it?


----------



## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

You can keep trying it with him. He may just not recognize it as food. I had one betta that would eat flake but never got adjusted to pellets.


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Ok I'll keep trying. How long until I give up? Are flakes just as good for them as the pellets?


----------



## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

He finally ate a pellet just now! Woo hoo! I just dropped one in there and he ate it and I got all excited for a minute but then he spit it out. lol.. I was like argh you little bugger! But I watched him for 10 minutes after that and he finally actually ate it. So I will keep trying with the pellets then and hopefully make that his main diet with the frozen stuff as treats. 

You've all been very helpful as usual!


----------



## dolifisis (Sep 27, 2006)

Mine spits out brine shrimp so I'm going to attempt bloodworms next. He eats the pellets fine.


----------

