# need betta info. lots of it.



## bass man (Jun 1, 2007)

currently i have a 45 gallon tank im wanting to keep them in. is that to big? should i keep more than one in with each other? what do i put in the bottom of the tank? what do they eat? filtration?? airation??? help!!!!!!!


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## Guest (Jul 16, 2007)

In my opinion that would be a major waste of a tank. Unless you divided it, you could only keep one male, and even females can get aggressive....


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Have you searched the betta area on this site? There are literally hundreds of good threads about this subject.


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## Guest (Jul 17, 2007)

For a 45g, either you can have 1 male in a community tank, divide the tank for more than 1 male, or have some females in a community tank.

They don't like alot of water movement, they will eat flakes, pellets, bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc....anything you'd feed community fish. 

Are you thinking of dividing the tank? You can't keep more than 1 male in the same tank without dividers.


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## bass man (Jun 1, 2007)

how can i tell if the fish is a female?


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

She will have a small white dot behind her ventral fins (the fins underneath that hang down) and the white dot will kind of hang down a little too. Mostly though you will find that the females are the one with the short fins. This method isn't always fool proof though as many people assume that a short finned betta is a female and in the case of plakats males and females have short fins. If you get your betta from a breeder there is somewhat more assurance that you are in fact getting a female as breeders do seem to be better at distinguishing them than chain stores. 

I've attached a pic of a female I had where you can clearly see her white spot (ovipositor).
Good Luck


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## bass man (Jun 1, 2007)

thanks ever one! but i have three more questions.
1: what kind of lighting, and how much of it?
2: should i have live plants and other cover like wood?
3: i want a silver betta, with big eccentric fins, what type should i get?


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## TayTay (Jul 17, 2007)

Well, betta's really like alot of plants and cover. So either way, your going to have to have alot of real or fake plants. Or both if you want. You can have the driftwood if needed, but you have to "acclimate" it so that it doesn't adjust your water too much. The lighting really depends on whether you want live plants or not. I would suggest having about 2 watts per gallon (WPG) with a Kelvin of about 6700. And there are many different types of betta. If you want a platinum white one, I would think that ordering from your lfs or from an online breeder would be best. There are also different types of fins of betta's, such as crowntails, Halfmoon's, Delta's, Veiltail's, etc. It's your decision what type you want.:razz:


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## davedudeman (Jun 25, 2007)

You could put the betta in 5 gallon and he wouldn't have a clue what to do with the other 3 gallons of space. There are so many options when you have a mid sized tank.... If you're just a betta freak though, i'm sure you can keep 2 male bettas in a tank that large. They may duke it out once in a great while, but if you have plants, caves, etc established on each side of the tank they'll have a place to hide.


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2007)

Bad advice. I wouldn't attempt putting two male bettas in a tank that size unless its divided. If they do fight, they will most likely fight to the death, or injure each other badly. If you want multiple bettas in an undivided tank, go with females. But I still think you could do something better with a tank that size. Why not a community tank with a couple female bettas? Then you at least you get some variety. You could even plant it to make it look more natural.


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## bass man (Jun 1, 2007)

well with the community tank, i haven't found any fish that i really like other than bettas and arrowana. and i don't have near enough money to keep an arrowanna.


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2007)

Not to mention, an arowana would outgrow your tank in a matter of months and probably eat the betta in that time.


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## bass man (Jun 1, 2007)

yeah, i didn't mean having the arrowana in with the bettas


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