Jun 18 2007
Caring for Bettas
Bettas, also known as Japanese fighting fish, are so beautiful that they don’t look quite real. You’ve probably seen these fish housed separately in tiny bowls at your local fish store. This is because male betas will fight with each other until there is only one male left. However, this is not a good way to care for your betta once you bring it home.
When purchasing bettas for your aquarium, you should only buy one male fish. You can add several female betas to the tank if it is on the large side. Male bettas are known for the way they constantly fight aggressively with each other, so putting more than one of them in the same aquarium is a bad idea. Female bettas also fight amongst themselves, but not as aggressively as male bettas.
Bettas are able to survive in small spaces because they can actually take oxygen out of the air to survive, but it is still not a good idea to put them in an aquarium that is extremely small. The larger an aquarium, the better the environment will be for your fish. If you are not planning on buying more than one betta and want to house your fish in a small aquarium, a vase or a bowl, you should be aware of a few things. When fish give off waste, this small container will be filled with ammonia, which can be dangerous to the health of fish. The ammonia is then broken down by bacteria to form nitrates, which are also dangerous to the health of the fish.
A vase or a bowl will probably not be large enough to allow for efficient biological filtration and is too small to allow for the amount of bacteria needed for the filter to work effectively. Therefore, you’ll need to replace up to fifty percent of the container’s water several times a week to prevent ammonia and nitrate levels from becoming too high. Make sure you use dechlorinated water. You should also put a lid that allows air to pass through it on top of the aquarium, so the fish will not be able to jump out. You will also need a mechanical filter, heater, substrates and the appropriate lighting for the container.
Bettas are carnivorous fish, so you’ll have to give them meat-based food. Foods you may feed betas include freeze dried bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia and food made specifically for bettas, which can be found online or in a pet store. Make sure you thaw out any frozen food so the bettas won’t have any problems digesting it. Give them food in small amounts at least twice a day. Avoid overfeeding because the remaining food will eventually rot at the bottom of the aquarium and cause the water quality to become toxic. This could lead to the betta becoming ill.
As with all fish, temperature fluctuations can be harmful. The temperature in the water should be around 78 to 80°F (26 to 27°C). Do not put the tank close to windows or vents or any area that allows for draft or sunlight or the betta may become ill and die.
You may want to add plants to the tank or bowl, as they can improve the water quality in the aquarium. Live plants will help with the nitrogen cycle diminishing the amount of ammonia and nitrates in the aquarium.
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this fish is very moody, one day active, one day very lazy. i have one male betta in a small aquarium, and it looks ill. it always stays at the bottom of the tank, and only sometimes swims to the top to get food. what can i do to get him active again? he was only active for the initial two weeks, and i’ve had him for two months. give me advice please.
Do male Japanese fighting fish ever get pregnant? My male looks awful puffy under the front gills.
No, Lynda, they don’t get pregnant, your betta is just “stuffed to the gills” It means you fed him just a tiny bit too much, It won’t hurt him, I do it all the time by accident when I feed mine and then give him FreezeDried bloodworms for dessert. If you don’t feed your betta bloodworms right now, I would suggest you do, your betta will love you to peices, mine will even jump out of the water to pick the worm off of the tweezers. (buy a cheap pair of matal tweezers to feed bloodworms with because bloodworms cause allergic reactions in some people, if you use tweezers, you don’t have to touch it and you will never have a reaction.)
I just got my fish. Is there anything i should do to help it? I followed the vets instructions and it seems to do quite well.
can somone plz help me my fish still dosnt move. now he dosnt eat. im scared he’ll die can someone plz help me
are the eggs like white seethrough bubbles ?
Hey Henno Benno and Bobbert
is your fish in a warm environment, then it will be more active, if it is cold, then they will be less active and won’t be motivated to swim. What do you feed them? Sometimes bettas can be picky. I feed mine a variety of blood worm, dried pellets and boiled mushy pea (You boil the pea, shell it and then feed it to your fish-this way you can avoid constipation)
Blobbert- Eggs are air bubbles that the male coats with mucus and puts up the top of the tank, usually close togetherm and it usually builds up not out.
I hope this helps!
i just GOT MY FISH 2 DAYS AGO .On the first day he died but he came back to life ! how can you explain this?
hi l got mine fish today and l had a male and female.
they am still in the same tank and l would like to know if the male will still build the bubble nest??????
and if he does can l leave the female in with me.
my tanl in only 37 liters
plz help me
I got my first betta fish about 2 months ago (betti) she got pretty big, not really that big. She doesnt’t have any of those fancy looking fins; she kinda just looks like a regular fish.
And then theres another one. I bough her i believe last month(still never named her) i put them together in a tank for about 3 mintues and the bigger fish(betti) was sneaking up behind the littler one. so i seperated them. i was just wondering.. is the sneaking affect some kinda weird attack?
okay for those who just got their bettas…will u PLEASE not put em in small containers…PLEASE, AT LEAST 1 gallon per betta…AT LEAST! and if u do only have 1 gallon tank keep up on ur water changes, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT water changes, every 3 days or so
Hi, I just wanted to say “Great Article”, but feel that I needed to point out a small error in it.
Bettas are also known as Siamese Fighting fish, not Japanese Fighting fish. Not that there’s too much difference, but I felt I should point that out.