# i need betta water



## FishFanatic123 (Oct 20, 2005)

Ok, i have gathered some info on my male betta. I have a 5 gal tank with small gravel, it gets dirty ever week, so i change it 100% ever 2-3 weeks. People have told me not to change the water 100% but only 20-30%. Ok. They also told me to buy a vacum. Ok. I feed my fish pellets, about 7 ounce a day, he eats only about 2. Then somebody told me to feed him flakes, but other guys say defenetly not. Ok. So can someone just sum it up on how i need to clean my tank, how often, what i feed the poor thing, and other suggestion? Thanx a bunch guys! This will be a big help!


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Well... about the diet, you can feed her 2 ounce a day, don't overfeed him.


> Then somebody told me to feed him flakes, but other guys say defenetly not


He won't die if you feed them flakes, if he accepts flakes, good! You can find subtitutes for pellets and bloodworm and you have 3 sources of food. If he doesn't accept, then you definitely don't feed him right?


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2005)

you feed him 7 ounces of food, but he only eats 2 ounces of it? 
okay well this explain your dirty water....all of that extra foods just ends up rotting in the tank...
if he only eats 2 ounces of food, then feed him that! not 7!


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## kelicom (Sep 27, 2005)

:fish: The general guidelines among experts (breeders) is to feed once or twice a day as much as they will eat in one or two minutes. I am a pet owner and I breed them, and I feed them twice or three times a day the Hikari bio gold pellets which my bettas far prefer over flake food, frozen food and other pellet type foods. I have fed them live food before, and some of my bettas loved it, others were only mildly interested. One of my bettas, a female, will eat only frozen bloodworms (mosquito larvae). I have fed them peas (helps with digestion) before, and again, some of my bettas loved it, others just let them sink and dirty up their tank. :? 

The reason I feed them more is because I have them in larger tanks than the one gallon cages, er tanks, that breeders keep their fish in, thus they get a lot more exercise. Only one of my fish is a "pig" enough to be concerned how much I feed, the rest are lean, strong and healthy eating at least twice a day. Bettas are sensitive to changes so sometimes when you first get them they won't eat for awhile. If this happens and you are feeding them the bio gold pellets, just take out the pellets that they don't eat with a plastic spoon. The reason is, these things swell like macaroni and are inedible after awhile and only dirty up their tank. That's also a good reason not to feed them flake food--this sinks to the bottom and dirties up the water unless they eat all of it and that's a lot harder to remove. 

I strongly recommend buying one of those (less then ten dollars) filters that stick to the inside of the tank. They have carbon and other materials that filter the water very well. You will still have to do water changes probably every week, but you'll only need to replace the water about twenty percent. Keep live plants that have low light needs like java moss or java ferns and always have at least one sword plant floating on the top. They love broad floating leaves. Most of the plants that you find at Petsmart or Petco (for freshwater fish) can just float in the tank if you don't have a good plant substrate at the bottom to plant them in, and they love this just as much as if you planted them. The plants should stay green and healthy a minimun of two or three weeks before you would have to throw them out. These three things---filter, a few live plants and good food will give you a very happy, healthy betta. 

Btw, when you buy the filter, you will also need to buy an air pump (the hose should come with it) that you attach to the pump. You then plug it in and the water ciruclates through the filter and bubbles out of the top. All of my bettas are sensitive to sound and surface disturbance and most don't like much disturbance. So in every tank that I have one of these filters, I have a small device that you insert between the hose (you cut the hose with scissors, and then each end is easily inserted) that I believe is called an air regulator...anyway, this will allow you to control how much bubbling occurs with the filter. Generally, with bettas, the lower the setting the happier the betta, and it still filters very well at the low setting. There are exceptions to this--I have one betta in a ten gallon by himself and he has a more powerful filter--he actually plays in the waterfall. :grin: But with a five gallon, the smaller "in tank" filter is best (vs the more powerful cannister or hang filter you can buy).

Good luck with your new betta, and keep us updated! It's wonderful to see a new betta owner who cares so much about their fish.


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## solar-ton (Aug 15, 2005)

seriously member title:betta master


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## FishFanatic123 (Oct 20, 2005)

thanx for all ur guys's inputs, it is highly apprtiated. I am going to keep you guys updated with him. I hope he gets much happier than he is in his stinking bowl! I am going to go buy him a sword plant, bloodworms, and a filter! Be back soon! Thanx again!!!


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## kelicom (Sep 27, 2005)

LOL Way to go! Your betta will love you for it.


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## CVV1 (Oct 7, 2005)

1. 7 ounces is like a humungous tetra min bottle, cause my little blood worms are about halk an ounce. that means your dumoing the whole thing in, like 14 of them
just feed the betta a small pinch


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