Betta Fish Care?

[rafiki]

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[Sasharowan]

Well my daughter has had a betta for about 18 mos. now. She feeds one pellet in the morning and one at bedtime. She changes out the water about every 2 weeks. She has about 1.5 gallons in the tank. She uses spring water and makes sure she cleans the rocks thoroughly. Also she has the clear, colored rocks about an inch long and not the gravel that most have.

[annlaura]

I used some water treatment drops that make tap water safe for them. I didn't change the water very often. I had a couple that lived several years. Great little fish! Enjoy!

[Ellie]

Bettas like fresh food, too. Frozen brine shrimp is good; we used to feed ours teeny, tiny bits of raw hamburger on occasion.

 

We also used to put a mirror next to the bowl so the betta could have another fish to fight with. :-)

[staceyobu]

We also used to put a mirror next to the bowl so the betta could have another fish to fight with. :-)

 

We used to do that with our betta! Man, that is hilarious!

[Journey]

I have one at work. I give him two pellets in the morning, that's it. I change his water about every two weeks. They are such cool fish. Red, who is our fish, actually has a personality. He loves attention!

[WishboneDawn]

Betta are great starter fish and very easy to care for as opposed to something like goldfish which are little crap machines (but I love them anyway :)). You can use just a goldfish bowl (something you shouldn't with goldfish) and go easy on the water changes (2 weeks as suggested - treat the water or let it sit for 24 hours if chlorinated).

 

I'd add a fake plant or something the fish can use for cover to reduce stress and make sure it's not left somewhere where it could get cold. They don't need a heated tank but they don't tolerate the colder water as well as goldfish.

 

Make sure you get the right food as well. Dried blood worm is easy to find.

[mcconnellboys]

Be careful with tap water! Ours here has chloramine (not sure of spelling) in it, rather than chlorine and it does NOT evaporate. We've had several folks kill fish of various varieties around here by trying to let tap water sit out for a few days then using it. We have used bottled spring water from a local spring when we've had bettas in past. If you use tap water, talk to your local fish supply place about what is needed to condition it properly....

[rafiki]

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[Margo out of lurking]

Dd had a couple of bettas when she was younger. One lived several years, the other for about two years. We found the key to be feeding much less than advised, 1-2 itsy, bitsy grains of food per day at the most.

 

One of our favorite family stories was when "Ty" (the first betta) died in the winter. It was too cold to bury him outside, so we put him in the freezer. We never buried him, but dd would pull him out (in his ziplock) to show every new friend she brought home. We moved a few years later, and Ty came along with the rest of our freezer food. After his tail broke off, we were finally able to throw him away. Dd was no longer traumatized, lol.

[Mrs_JWM]

This may seem gross, but if you can stand to incubate some mosquito larvae, he will LOVE eating them! Mine would come right up to the top whenever I came around, but ignore my husband because he was not the feeder. He was the smartest fish we've had! I had a 2 gallon tank with water in the 70 to 75-degree water range. He lived for 2 years.