Betta Fish - Essential Facts On How To Keep Them Alive And Well By Rose Mary

The betta fish is a popular fish among fish hobbyists. As the betta is an attractive fish, many of them use this fish to add beauty to their aquarium. However, there are some people who prefer to keep their bettas in small containers as pets. Although rearing bettas are not difficult as these fishes are known for its physical hardiness, there are some points that we need to observe in order to keep these fishes well.

Due to its quality of physical toughness, the betta fish can survive well even if it is placed in small bowls or jars. The betta is a labyrinth fish and is able to breathe atmospheric air. Hence, give a small space, it will not suffer any oxygen deficiency because it can swim to the surface of the water to breathe air. Although the betta can thrive in small containers, it is important that the water in these containers be changed regularly. The smaller the water space, the more often is the need to change the water. If a betta is reared in a small living space with poor water conditions, it will not reach its full coloration and high activity levels.

Bettas should be kept in water with temperature between 74 degrees F and 84 degrees F. If the temperature is above 84 degrees F, the betta will display some discomfort and in the long run, they may age faster. When changing water, it should be ascertained that the temperature of the new water be similar to that of the old water. This is to ensure that the betta will not experience a sudden change of temperature and become sick. If small containers are used to keep the betta, the water in these containers need not be filtered. However, if larger containers are used, filtering is encouraged as it can lengthen the time needed for a water change.

It is not advisable to place more than one male betta fish in an aquarium. If this happens, the bettas will become aggressive and attempt to defend their territory within the small space. Hence, they may cause harm to each other. It is very rare that two female bettas will fight against each other, though sometimes there may be a little fin nipping between the two. As such, most of the time, there is no serious injury. Placing a male and female betta together with other fishes in a community aquarium can create problems. This is because there is a possibility that these two bettas may start spawning and this may affect other fishes in the tank. When you place a betta in a community aquarium, you should ensure that the other fishes in the aquarium are not the aggressive type. This is to prevent attacks from these fishes which can result in damage and injury.

Bettas have a rapid metabolic rate, hence, it is advisable that these fishes be fed with small, frequent meals. If too much food is given in one feeding, the betta may not consume all the food and the remaining food may cause pollution of water.

The above are some points we need to note if we want to keep our bettas well. Keeping the betta is an interesting, enriching and rewarding hobby. You can choose to keep it in an aquarium or in a small container. As there are many types of bettas available, you can have more choices to select the type you like. Once you have started this hobby, your passion will grow and eventually you will want to learn more about this remarkable fish and hope to keep more of them. For more information on care for Betta fish, please visit Betta Fish Care.

Rose Mary. Freelance writer in various interest topics. Learn the essentials on keeping Betta fish alive and well at Betta Fish Care.

10 Important Betta Fish Care Tips or How to Increase Your Betta's Lifespan By David Kohlmann

Every betta owner is concerned with the health and well-being of his precious fish. However, there are a lot of less-known issues regarding betta health that are not always paid attention to.

The following ten tips for proper betta care should be known to every responsible betta fish owner:

10) When getting a new aquarium, it is essential to have enough "good" bacteria in it in order to process the ammonia and nitrites excreted by the betta. In a brand new tank, there are none (unless you put real aquarium gravel in), which causes bettas to suffer from "new tank syndrome". The correct way to handle this is to get a testing kit from your local pet store, add some Java moss to the tank, replace about 20% of the water each day with fresh water, and keep measuring the ammonia and nitrite levels. If they stay at a stable low level, you have a colony of good bacteria in place and there is no more reason to worry.

9) Never use purified or distilled water, since the mineral content is too low. Nor should you use one of the carbon water filters that humans use for their drinking water, unless the manufacturer recommends them for aquariums (and normally they don’t). There is no need to buy “designer” bottled water either. Your plain, unfiltered tap water should be fine if it is properly treated.

8) The minimum amount of water necessary for a fully grown betta not to be miserable is about 2 gallons. However, there is no real limit, since no betta will be upset with too much water.

7) Never put two males together. That’s the surest way to prevent them from fighting. If your goal is to introduce a female to the environment, do it slowly. Start by putting the female into a tank and placing it next to the male’s tank. Let the male become accustomed to seeing her for a week or so. Then introduce her to the male’s environment

6) Bettas are carnivores. That means they eat meat. Feeding your betta a vegetarian diet will make him sick because he will not get the protein he needs. If your dietary beliefs do not allow you to feed meat products to your betta, don’t buy one!

5) Avoid using antibiotics on the water. Although they do kill the bad bacteria, they also kill the good bacteria, which can again lead to betta getting poisoned.

4) Your betta’s life revolves around the surface of the water - so don’t make it hard to get to. Even if there are no females in his tank, your male will still enjoy building a bubble nest at the surface and playing around with it as if training for the day he’ll have real babies to raise. This means moving eggs from the bottom up to the nest - and it’s something your male will practice even if he hasn’t done any breeding. So the bottom line is that you should aim to have the water depth be no more than 10 inches from substrate (gravel on the bottom) to surface.

3) The water pH levels should ideally be 6.8 to 7.0 - slightly acidic to neutral. However, don’t worry about it if the water’s pH isn’t in that exact range. Bettas can adjust. The main thing is to not make drastic changes to the pH level. For your little ones, a stable pH is the most important thing. Additionally, the chemicals used to adjust pH have been observed to cause bettas to become sick and even die.

2) There is some disagreement about this issue, but we have found through extensive research and experience that most bettas only need to be fed once per day. This most closely approximates a betta’s feeding experience in nature. If you want to feed twice per day, remember you are running the risk of overfeeding plus you will likely end up having to clean the aquarium more frequently to counteract the additional waste buildup.

1) Before handling your bettas, wash your hands. Use a soap that is organic and non-toxic. Sticking dirty hands or hands washed with aggressive chemicals into the tank is a sure way to make your bettas sick.

These were just some of the basics of caring after bettas. For exhaustive information on purchasing bettas, betta health care, feeding, breeding, and more, you can refer to the Betta Fish Lover's Guide by Marcus Song at http://www.bettafishguide.com/.

David is a pet enthusiast and a long-time aquarium owner.

Betta Fish Care - Aquarium Heaters - Do You Really Need One? By Michael Worthington

While it can be difficult to maintain the water temperature in a tank, it’s absolutely necessary that you have one. There are two reasons for this. First of all, if your Betta gets too stressed out over a period of time, his immune system will become compromised, and he’ll begin to lose his ability to fight off infection and disease.

The second reason is that your Betta is used to living in water that is between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit – and he will become listless and unresponsive if the water is too far above or too far below that temperature. This becomes even more important in a large tank.

It’s also very important that you maintain a fairly consistent temperature in your Betta fish’s tank. Your fish won’t handle extreme temperature changes either. By the way, it doesn’t take much of a water temperature change – just the matter of a couple of degrees Fahrenheit – for your Betta to be affected – so this is something you really need to pay attention to.

The unit of measurement for aquarium heaters is in watts. When trying to decide on which heater will be best for you, a good basic guideline is 5 watts per gallon of water. Make sure that the heater fits your tank and, if it’s an internal one, can be properly inserted.

If you’re not sure and you didn’t buy the tank and heater together, take the tank with you to the store, and ask the manager to help you get the right one.

Two Types of Heating Systems:

There are two main types of heating systems – internal and external. You’ll have to decide which one works best for you – and if you have any questions, ask your local pet store or your Betta breeder for recommendations based on your tank set up.

One other important thing to keep in mind is the water circulation – without proper water circulation, you’re going to have “hot spots” and “cold spots” in the water, both of which can be harmful to your Betta fish. Heaters cost anywhere from about $20 to $50, although like with anything else, you can find more expensive models.

Internal Tank Heating Systems:

Internal heating systems are the most common. They usually consist of a glass tube anywhere between 4 inches (10.16 cm) to 12 inches (30.48 cm) long. Some offer a built-in thermostat, while others will have an external thermostat, usually outside the tank and are usually used to control multiple heating units.

External Tank Heating Systems:

There are several different models of external heating systems, such as a model which fits under the tank and heats the water from below, or one that connects to the filtering system. They are widely available both online and off.

Mike owns Betta Fish Expert which helps people learn about betta fish.

Top 5 Frequently Asked Questions On Keeping And Breeding Betta Fish Top By Hans Chee

Whether you are a novice keeping these beautiful betta fish as pet or an expert in breeding betta fishes for commercial reasons, there will be certain questions that keep surfacing for the hobbyist or breeder in general. Following are the top five most frequently asked questions on betta fish, also known as betta splendens or fighting fish in most regions.

Why do my betta fish look so different after I bought it back home?
For most new betta owners, they will be surprise that the gorgeous betta which flare beautifully and actively at the pet store becomes dull and is now floating listlessly at the bottom of the tank. She don't feed on the betta food recommended by the pet shop and worst still, she is losing color. What a far cry from that big, beautiful fish you picked out in the pet store!

My betta is sick and I have tried everything and still have no idea what I am doing wrong?
Water quality issues are the usual suspects and many helpful soul will give general advice such as changing water and correcting the pH without knowing that it may be doing more harm to your betta! There are surprising tips on water changing and water chemistry. (i.e. Why some hobbyist have beautiful betta although they perform less frequent water changes compared to you!) Betta fishes are know to be very prone to diseases like dropsy (bloated stomach), fungus, white spots and internal parasites. Clamped fins, spilt tails and popped-eyes are just some of the symptoms to watch out. You need to be fully equipped with information on how to deal with these problems and engage in preventive measures if you're serious in having happy betta as pets.

What are the best food for my betta?
Betta has a life span of 3 to 5 years in the wild but a average "pet" betta would be lucky if it can survive half a year. Why such great discrepancies? Most people keep their betta in a small container and offer it a single type of food (e.g. pellets or flakes) due to convenience. Water and food are the two main factors in contributing to the longevity of a betta's life - it's like the air we human breath and the nutrition we get from our daily food intake. It's therefore crucial to understand what kind of food to feed your betta at different life stages and health conditions.

How to spawn betta successfully?
Think of spawning these beauties? Well, it's actually much easier to spawn betta compare to rearing the fry to adulthood! While some will have more luck getting a pair that will mate easily and produce bubble nest and eggs, majority of them will not see their fry to grow up healthily, even if the eggs do hatch eventually! Preparation of the "hatchery" is the key, there after it's critical to get the fry the right kind of food during the growth stage.

Betta genetics and how to select the correct features that is a must, in a mating pair?
This topic may get into a little bit of chemistry and biological lessons. If you are serious in reproducing certain traits in your betta (e.g. halfmoon or double tail) or perhaps even enhance it to produce special strains, then there are certain genetic and betta reproduction information that you need to know before breeding the pair. The best advices are gathered from a collective experiences from breeders, since there are just so much variations.
With the advance of the internet, the best resources to find answers to these questions are online! What's more, it'll be most useful to participate in a betta related forum to get specific questions answered since every situation is unique. One such place where you can get am age-old collection of frequently asked questions and answers, along with a chance to particle in an interactive forum is http://www.bubblenest.com

Hans Chee and his friends started the Bubblenest Betta Fish website back in the days when betta fish sells for hundreds of dollars each and they went to the extend of ordering these prized creatures from distant overseas. The website was started initially as a repository of all information about keeping and breeding betta fishes, later it spawn into an interactive forum and what is known today as "The Place For Betta Splendens Lovers". Visit http://www.bubblenest.com and share your passion with the others!

How to Prevent Betta Fish Fin Rot By Jason Osborn

Fin rot is one of the most common things that you have to watch out for with your betta. Of course the best way to deal with fin rot is to prevent it from ever happening. So how do you prevent fin rot from happening? Here are a few great tips.

The fist thing that you need to know is that fin rot is a bacterial infection that happens when a torn fin drags across the gravel. The tail is the most common place for this to happen. Your betta's fins rest on the tank or floor and soak up the bad bacteria.

The simple solution for this is to keep both the water and the gravel clean. One trick that you can do as well is to toys like caves, silk plants, snail shells, or other things that your betta can rest on. Bettas like to rest so this is a great way to help make sure that they stay off the gravel.

So on to the gravel and water cleaning. Use a turkey baster to remove the gravel scum. Do this as often as you think about it. As far as the water, change it every one to two days and add a little aquarium salt to make the water less hospitable for bacteria.

You can use medications for fin rot; however these medications can often have side effects that could make things worse. This is why I recommend using fresh water and salt as your first line of defence against fin rot.

Do you want to take the best care of your betta fish?

Click here to discover the secrets of giving the best care to your betta: Betta Fish Care