NeilB.

Hello people, I just got a Red male Betta fish yesturday! I'm a beginner so I hope everyone will help me care for my little friend.

capekate

Welcome to the forum!
Is this your first Betta? They are a great fish to say the least. Tell us about your set up? And please... ask away any questions, there are so many Betta owners here that anyone is around at a given time to give you a hand if you need so, as others here would agree Im sure!

~ kate

NeilB.

Hi! Yes this is my first fish. I think i have either a one gal. or 2 gal. tank. The guy i bought it from gave me alot of stuff. The tank has a little light on top. I have some white gravel. Two fake plastic plants (I wanna get some real plants). I have some topfin betta fish food. I also have some topfin tap Water Conditioner. and some 7 day betta fish food.

janoue

Betta's have great personalities!!! My Betta's (I have three) even recognize me now when I come into my office and swim to the top of thier tanks. I know they are just begging for food but I like to pretend its cause they love me

0morrokh

Please consider getting your betta a 5 gallon tank. The problem with smaller tanks is they're difficult to heat and keep clean, and they don't give the betta as much room to swim around. Many people who moved their betta from a small container to a 5 or 10 gal have found them much more happy and interactive when they have a bigger tank.

The best food for bettas are Hikari betta bio gold pellets-they're nutritionally better than most other brands. They also love Hikari freeze dried blood worms.

Do you have any pics of your betta? Does he have a name?

≈ D ≈

Hi Neil, Welcome to FishLore and congrats on getting a Betta

As 0morrokh has suggested, if you could get him a bigger tank, that would help your Betta be more happier for the reasons already mentioned. If you can get a 10g that'd be even better and I don't think they're that much more expensive than a 5g.

Look forward to hearing (and seeing ) more from you

Tazmiche

congratulations on your first fish. Bettas are fab!! I agree, the larger the tank the more they interact and the healthier they are. I'm buying 2 larger tanks today. I'm sure he will be fine whilst he settles with you for the time being though. Enjoy!

LuvaBetta

You shouldn't need the 7-day fish food. They don't like it and neither do we, but in a pinch bettas can go without food that long. They don't know when to stop, so if they like it, your 7-day food will be gone in an hour and he'll be really constipated!

If the white gravel isn't smooth, he could snag those beautiful fins and tear them easily.

I'm with you - i like the real plants. I have a brown thumb so I prune the dead bits a lot, but Bo likes them a lot better.

COBettaCouple

Congrats on your new Betta boy!

I would recommend a larger tank for him. They can live in 1-2g, but 2.5g would be minimum given the 1g per adult inch guideline. The personality really comes out more in a bigger tank.

The best substrate, we think, is the flat glass marbles. Betta drag their long fins on the substrate and gravel can cause tears, which leads to fin rot.

Real or silk plants and decor with no sharp or rough spots on them are good for the decor.

Betta Pro Pellets and Hikari brand frozen bloodworms are our preffered Betta food and Prime is what we like for treating the tap water.

voiceless_kat

Welcome to the forum, Neil. As the others said, having at least a 5g tank for your little buddy will make him happier, and will be easier for you to maintain.

There is so much good advice on this forum, and so many people willing to help, so I hope you take the time to read and ask questions.

Does your little red guy have a name yet??

Best of luck.

Val

armadillo

Hi Neil. Welcome to Fishlore. If you're a total beginner, you might want to consider reading these: http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/fr...-stickies.html. I am sorry it's a lot of reading, but it's such a steep learning curve at the very beginning.

Oh, and indeed, a 1G to 2G sounds on the constricted side. I am sure he'll be much more fun to have without you feeling guilty for his cramped conditions. Unfortunately, a lot of pet stores lack the specialist knowledge of each particular species, and don't always give the best care advice.

Very best of luck with your new buddy!

NeilB.

Hey guys, I want to thank everyone for the info and for helping me get started. I am so amazed at how much Freddy (My Betta) has progressed. He seems so happy now that I got him a little heater. The water temp. sure does make a huge difference. I do plan on getting him a 10gal tank and a Filtration system. If yall don't mind maybe you could help me pick out the best Filter for a 10gal tank. Anyways... I gotta get back to work. Hopefully I will have some Pictures up soon!

≈ D ≈

In both my 10g tanks I use the Duetto Mini Internal Filters.

I could never get the air diffuser to work on them so just got an air pump and airstone and regulated the air. LOL, I hope that bit made sense. Both my male Betta's love the water flow as it is set on the low setting, so it's not like a whirlpool but gives them something to 'play' in.

COBettaCouple

I'd recommend this filter:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...0&pcatid=12320
(The 150 model is what we buy for the 10g tanks, but even the 100 model provides the 100gph of filtration that we'd recommend as a minimum for a 10g tank.)

It uses a bio-wheel for superior biological filtration and has 2 spots in it for filter floss - you could put in extra floss or a filter sponge.. It's an excellent filter and the flow can be adjusted.

≈ D ≈

OOOOhhhhhhh that is a really nice filter. Is the water flow not too strong? If not I sure wish I had gotten one of them instead .

Funny thing, is that I got the model 350 a few months back for my 55g and considered getting the model 100's for the 10g's I have but my concern was the outlet current would be too strong for the Betta.

COBettaCouple

Well, we just got 2 of them and put 1 in the Betta Mahachai tank and the other in the Ameca Splendens tank. The Amecas previously had a combination of a sponge filter and Azoo palm filter so they got a real boost in current but haven't shown any problems with it, even though they're still young fish. The Mahachai spend all their time hanging out in their 'forest' but things in that tank are as good as ever. They come with one of those adjusters that you can put on the intake to alter the current flow rate.

≈ D ≈

for clearing that up.

In that case Neil, I'd go with COBettaCouple's recommendation. I know the next 10g I setup (which probably won't be that far away ), I'll get one of those Bio Wheel 100's

NeilB.

I thought I was going to upgrade to a 10gal....but..I got a great deal on a 55gal. I couldn't pass it up. So, What would be the best filter for a 55gal? I saw a few at petsmarts...But I didn't wanna buy anything until I talked to you guys on here.