How to Properly Care for a Betta Fish

How to Properly Care for a Betta Fish

This instructable will teach you how to care for a Betta Fish, a beautiful and hardy fish great for the beginner. And unlike other ornamental fish-related instructables, this one will actually give you the real facts and details about bettas that allow your betta to thrive.

Step 1 The Betta Background

Bettas, aka Siamese Fighting Fish or Betta Splendens, originally came from the muddy ponds, streams and rice paddies of Siam, Malaysia and Thailand. The original betta splendens had dull coloring and short fins.

The betta today has long flowing fins and striking colors, due to mutations in breeding. But the long flowing fins are only acquired by the male, the female betta has a smaller size and short fins. Male bettas are much more aggressive than female bettas, that is why male bettas cannot be kept together where they are in contact with each other. They cannot be kept together or else they will fight aggressively causing injuries or even death, hence the name siamese fighting fish.

Comments

[Ghost Wolf]

I got my betta fish recently and it spits the food out then takes it again is that normal?

[iGabe]

Yes, it just means the food you are feeding him is too large for him to chew properply, so that is why he just spits it out.

[TheMagicOozi]

it's probably to big for it

[neetz]

i just have a question, i was going to buy a male Betta but i wanted to train it to eat from my finger, will they bite?also, do they jump?

thanks

[iGabe]

Just simply put a pellet or a freeze-dried bloodworm on a moistened fingertip, and place your finger about 1-3 inches from the surface so he can reach it.

[PINKmonster325]

NICE INSTRUCTABLE! I had a betta that got some sort of fungus, and by the time I baught the meds, he was dead.

[iGabe]

thanks

[PINKmonster325]

I used to have veiltail betta, murphy, but he died and I buried him in a popsicle stick coffin.

[BECKBERRY]

Dont forget the tail rot medicine for when u clean the tank! ( So their tail dont rot!)

[mzeft]

DO WE PUT THIS MEDICINE EVEN IF THE FISH IS NOT ILL

[BC-45]

melafix does all of it almost i used to cure my Betta that had fin rot and other the only thing that doesnt do is fungal infection dont know what that is but could be serous.

[rmahtre]

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[BC-45]

is there a product that protects from all fungus and desiease??

[artisandyke]

Not so far as I know. After all, some diseases are parasitic, some are bacterial, and some are fungal. How could one product protect from all of them? The best thing to do is house them in a big enough tank, keep their water very clean, in the right temperature range, feed them the right kind of food, and provide them with stimulation so they don't get bored, without stressing them out. Aquarium salt in the riqht quantity can be helpful as a general tonic, and does have antibacterial properties, so it can help with things like fin rot.

[joforestqueen]

Very good guide. One extra point is that if they get swim bladder and float to the top or are swimming wonky then boil a single frozen pea, peal and deposit it in the water for it to eat. Remove the remainder.

Basically when they have swim bladder they get constipated and this can help them become regular within there bowel movements. I wish I could still have a beta in my new place but I'm in a rented place with no pets allowed.

If you are going to keep him in a bigger tank you can give him a few females, they recommend a small shoal of three as he is picky and they socialise with other females. You should give him a place to hide as he is aggressive and sometimes they gang up on him and nip his fins. I made a coconut house that had been properly boiled to remove the tannins with some live soft plants growing from the top through the three holes.

I hope this also helps. (It is my first reply.)

*****

[artisandyke]

I'm sorry, but you are wrong about keeping females with a male betta. Male and female bettas will fight each other and can kill each other. Even when they are ready to breed and put together briefly for mating one or both can end up dead.

You can, with caution, keep a sorority tank of female bettas so long as they have plenty of room, plenty of places to get away from each other (plants, caves, etc), plenty of surface space so that they can get to the surface to breathe and to eat without crowding each other.

[fishyDIY]

and also if u want to keep a male betta with other fish u can because the males just go after other males.

[artisandyke]

Not always true. Depends on the betta - some are more aggressive than others; and on the other fish - some other fish are notoriuous fin nippers, like some types of tetras, and the betta will not fare well. Also fish with colorful, long fins, such as fancy male guppies, can be perceived as young male bettas and be attacked by the betta. For the sake of your betta and any other fish you might wish to combine, be sure you know wnat to expect, and keep a close eye on the tank. If you notice any evidence of harrassment, nipped/ripped fins, behavioral changes in your betta, etc., pull him out and put him in a tank by himself.

[darwinmach]

Actually.... if you have a WELL PLANTED aquarium you can put multiple male bettas together.

*** Must be WELL planted! You have been warned.

[snuzzle]

Not true. There have been experiments where two bettas have been placed even on opposite ends of a shallow LAKE and they still found each other and fought. I would never, under any circumstances, keep a male with another male. It is playing with fire.

[manlyfish]

your wrong man

[iGabe]

True, have tried it, but don't reccomend it.

[scalarcharge]

That hasn’t been my experience. My betas will attack other fish that have flowing fins and many fish, like barbs, will nip at his fins constantly. My betas do not play well with female betas either. When I try to mate them, the females usually need quite a while to recover. I've seen betas with other fish, but I haven't had any luck. Think mine are just thugs?

[animal lover 1112]

well u only put a fmale beta in with a male if the male is blowing bubbles this means he wants to mate

[darwinmach]

It's true... you can't keep bettas with other fish that are a lot faster and/or have big flowing fins.

[HanyouKit]

Melafix and Bettafix are the same drug, only bettafix is watered down. it is not recommended to use these for bettas as they have been known to damage a betta's labyrinth organ and suffocate it.

[BettaFishLover99]

Doing research for my betta fish care website, and I've heard mixed reviews about Melafix and Bettafix. You would never advise using bettafix? I've read some reviews that said it's really helped their bettas.

[HanyouKit]

Actually for one gallon tanks, 100% of the water should be changed daily. 2-3 gallons should be changed at least 2 times a week a 50 and 100% change. and 5 gallons and larger should have 25-50% changed once weekly.

[banko expresso]

siam is the old name of thailand but great instructable though

[manlyfish]

i like how you inform people about bettas most people abuse them and believe that their betta likes that type of conditions i didnt read all of it but heres some stuff just in case you missed something
-bettas need room atleast 10 gall
-theyre peacefull bettas that wont harm one another

[JohnJY]

Betta's are some of the coolest fish, because they're fun to look at, and require very little care. Very nice Instructable, very well made. Sadly, Petsmart only sells "normal" bettas, and some crowtailed. I have a single female betta, named Clive. She had a room mate, a small female betta, how would pick on her, but she did because of some silk fungus in the tank. Where'd that even come from!?!

[johnhutch]

Lovely guide, I'm so glad to find something that is actually beneficial to keeping a healthy fish rather than some container that it will "survive" in. Your analogy of a 3x4 foot room is excellent, people could be 'kept alive' in such conditions but would probably live longer and happier in better accommodation such as that described in this article.

One think to note regarding MelaFix (and I can't find the reference now, drat) but it isn't actually Antibacterial despite what the bottle says. So if you have a true bacterial problem Melafix may/may not help. That said MelaFix is (from experience), very good at helping sick fish recover so I don't know how it works but it does.

Excellent guide 5 stars

[afby]

like my betta..i miss em 

[M4industries]

You split an infinitive in the title.

[darwinmach]

Add / Edit: - Chorines and chloramines kill the fish. Chlorines can be deactivated by letting the water stand overnight but chloramines can't. Hence you must use the water conditioner. - Ideal pH is 7.0, but anything in the range of 6.5 to 8.0 is OK. Don't attempt to change your water's pH with more chemicals unless your pH is out of this range because it will disturb the water's buffering capabilities and can quick pH changes when anything like your hand, food, waste is added to the aquarium. It is better to have a constant and stable pH than to have random pH spikes and dips which will stress and kill your fish.

[iGabe]

Why the heck would I add/edit if I already have included it? Look you lazy people need to actually READ my guide, not SKIM, READ. But like all fish, bettas need dechlorinated water. The chlorine in tap water can kill your fish, that is why your betta's water needs to be either bottled water, RO water or tap water that has been treated with a water conditioner.

[marinekid]

I just use tap that i've mixed Prime water conditioner in with.
Your kinda going overboard on the whole set-up tho, it acn be really basic if you want it to, I just have a bowl with gravel, water and a floating plant for Ford, and he loves it! No filtration, no aeration nothing, I just let the Labyrinth organ do it's job.

[marinekid]

I like this instructable, but the tank can be from 3 gallons all the way down to 2 litres, depending on your fish's age, personality, gender and your available space. I have a betta called Ford Prefect (Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy reference) and he gets really stressed and ill in a tank bigger than 1.5 gallons, but I have another betta that freaks out in a tank that is smaller than 3 gallons, it really does depend on the fish. I just scoop mine up in my hands and their fine with that, they don't flap or anything.

[pyromonkey]

This is where my betta lives

[snuzzle]

I really like your tank cover! Did you make it yourself or buy an unfinished one from a craft store? I'd like to make some for my boys' tanks :)