Anyone Who Keeps A Lot Of Bettas, Help!

Sorry for the dramatic title, I wanted to get your attention hahaha.

I love Bettas. I@ve kept a Betta before and he was a stunning steel blue. I recently tried to get another, unfortunately, he was not as healthy as I thought in the store, and he was dead by the morning after I bought him .

I am now adamant to have a beautiful Betta with a name and everything that goes with the average pet (as I'm not used to naming fish)!

I have a limited amount of space, so the biggest tank I could get would be a 5 Gallon, which I am aware is sufficient for a Betta.

I want some advice on how to pick a healthy Betta in the store, and some live plants that my Betta will be able to enjoy (as well as not growing too big) and any other pieces of advice you Betta Veterans can bestow upon me!

Also... NAMES! Suggest some names you've given to your Bettas and what colour he was!

Also, if you have any interesting stories about your favourite Betta and how he came to your care, I'd love to hear them! Even though they might not be helpful, it's nice hearing stories about beautiful, well-kept fish!

 

You could go full blown crazy like I did and get 14 of them. Only the male has a name none of the girls do.

 

I'm only going to get the one male because if he happens to breed I wouldn't want him attacking the females with him. As fun as breeding them would be, and it would be amazing to see the copulation, I would prefer to not run the risk.

 

This is Thor I’ve had him for like 2months now he was pretty active for the cups they were kept in had good color and no visible issues . He is from petco because I find they take better care of their betta where I live.his tank is 3.5 gallons filtered and here in Arizona he has a heater just is being used.he has silk plants with him.

 

Some easy low light plants that don't get huge and are easy to care for include java fern, anubias and various crypts. They all stay pretty reasonable in size and aren't super fast growing. You could also try some floating plants (bettas love to hang out in the hanging roots of these) like dwarf water lettuce, red rot floaters or even dwarf salvinia.
You could get a nerite snail to help keep the tank clean as well. They cruise around munching on algae and any uneaten food they find.

 

I really like java moss, java fern and Anubias for betta tanks. Dwarf water lettuce is amazing as well and they like to float within it!

On the topic of picking a healthy betta, I tend to look for torn fins/fin rot. I see if they're fairly alert and no heavy breathing. I also look on their bodies to see if there's damage or infections.

As for names...

This is Boo

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• Moe98
• Jan 25, 2018

This is Finnegan

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• Moe98
• Jan 25, 2018

This is Herbie

ms. no name

• Moe98
• Jan 2, 2018
• 1

and this guy in not names yet!

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• Moe98
• Feb 18, 2018
• 4

 

I'm not 100% satisfied with my java fern. Some of it has got black blotches on the leaves, and it's not planted, it's attached to rock and wood, so I think id go for some other plants.

I'm fairly keen on trying to create a carpet, and what better tank to try this on than a small 5 gallon. Have you guys had any experience with carpeting plants and if so, which do you suggest?

One plant I really love is Cabomba. The only issue being the speed it grows and the way it clumps at the surface of the water, so id stay away from them.

What about frogbit as a floating plant? I know I can get hold of that from my LFS whereas I'm not so certain on dwarf water lettuce.

I'm thinking about getting a contrasting colour shrimp rather than getting a snail. My Nerites have laid eggs all over my 15 gallon and I'm not so fond of the look... Though I hear that Bettas can be temperamental with shrimp, and it depends on the individual on how they behave with them.

 

Honestly my java fern doesn't grow all that well either. But its a beginner plant as it will survive even when it looks rough and doesn't need to be planted.
Personally I prefer stalks instead like anacharis, rotala and stargrass. But these will require a substrate and at least some infrequent root tabs if you don't have an active substrate. So not as beginner friendly.

Carpeting plants usually require a lot more attention in the way of substrate, ferts, lighting and co2. Not low tech or beginner friendly.
Your best 'easy' carpetting options are java moss or some other type of moss like flame moss or christmass moss. Or you could try cryptocorynes ie crypts. Many stay very busy and low to the ground. Or you could try chain swords or dwarf sag.

Some betta can live with shrimp, some can't. You won't know with your individual betta until you try. I would reccomend starting out with ghost shrimp. These are commonly sold as feeder shrimp. You can usually get a dozen for a buck. This is a much better price to pay if your betta ends up being a shrimp eater than the 5+$ per shrimp cost of a cherry shrimp. I recommend starting with a dozen ghost shrimp. If in three weeks you still have at least some alive (discount the ones that died within a couple hours of being put in the tank without being attaced by the betta, this is common, shrimp are sensitive) then you should be okay to try other shrimp. However if they are all dead/gone you have a betta that thinls shrimp are food or toys, perhaps both, and so it would be pointless to try cherry shrimp with them.

 

I really like stargrass, but if that needs any CO2 then I'd rather stay away from it. The Dwarf sag is a lovely plant and will do just find if I decide to go for a carpet plant.

I like mosses and would probably get one flame moss and plant it on some driftwood or some rocks, or maybe float it on a small piece of cork bark. I might even add a moss ball or two.

With the shrimp, I'd definitely try out with a couple of ghost shrimp, but I wouldnt want to put a dozen in there in case the betta leaves them alone. I wouldnt wat a tank plagued with ghost shrimp when I'm wanting to put some colourful cherry shrimp in there

 

Stargrass does not require any co2. I grow it in several of my tanks and I don't run co2. I have to trim them every couple weeks in my dirted corner tank. It really loves the dirt.


You can see the start of my stargrass on the right corner of this tank. It has spread since then and now is growing past the jungle val it has filled in so much.

 

What do you mean by dirt corner?

 

I had a Betta named Diablo and another one named Orion.

 

What was your experience in keeping them?

 

I've had 2 bettas and I really love royalty themed names!(King, Queen, Prince) I had Prince the betta and I've also had 2 smaller fish when I was younger (I forget the type of fish they were) and they were Earl and Duke. I also think human names like Trevor or Eddy are funny so I have a little guy named Eddy right now.

This was Price

and this is Eddy

 

Both of them are absolutely stunning!

 

What do you mean by dirt corner?

Oh sorry. I have a 54 gallon corner tank, which has a dirt substrate which is then capped with bdbs (black diamond blasting sand). That is my 'dirted corner tank'. The dirt provides all the nutrition the plants need so no fertilization is necessary. The bdbs cap keeps it looking all nice and orderly and not muddy.
Here's the same tank as in my last post, but from today. You can see how the star grass has spread and filled in, and I just had to trim it down Saturday and gave the trimmings away for someone else to grow some stargrass. The dirt makes everything in that tank grow fast.

 

It looks excellent. Is it also known as guppy grass as I have seen that about? I think what I'll do is have a Dwarf Saggitaria carpet, with some stargrass to fill in the back portion of the tank. I'll add either frogbit or dwarf water lettuce for some floating plants and have a moss ball on the floor. I'll get some cheap driftwood from a pet shop near me, and plant that with some java, fire or Christmas moss.

 

I'm keeping three, each in separate tanks.

Iris (Male Royal Blue Double Tail) - My very first betta after a very long while. I named him as such because he reminds me of his flower namesake when he's swimming. He's in a 5 gallon planted tank with filter and heater. He likes resting atop the leaves and branches of ludwigia.




Malútû (Female Red Veiltail) - Her name means red in my language. She's in a 2.5 gallon container with filter and heater. She jumps whenever I feed her so a cover is a must for her.




Xena (Female Marble Halfmoon Plakat) - Well, she's a warrior princess. She's currently residing in a 4 gallon breeding container also with filter & heater. Though sometimes I switch her & Iris' tank. I was breeding her to Iris but she rejected him since he's very small & docile.

 

It looks excellent. Is it also known as guppy grass as I have seen that about? I think what I'll do is have a Dwarf Saggitaria carpet, with some stargrass to fill in the back portion of the tank. I'll add either frogbit or dwarf water lettuce for some floating plants and have a moss ball on the floor. I'll get some cheap driftwood from a pet shop near me, and plant that with some java, fire or Christmas moss.

I love the stargrass. Beautiful easy to grow stem plant. It is not the same as guppy grass (which is also known as naja grass), however they do pair very well together. I actually have guppy grass floating in that tank as well. If you look in the upper left corner of that picture, above the jungle val, that is guppy grass. Which is amazing for fry cover.
Main difference is the stargrass has a much thicker, straighter stem with longer leaves coming off it. It must be planted as it will send off roots from the stem. Guppy grass has a much thinner center stalk that tends to bend or kink at each new section of leaves. It must be left floating as planting it tends to cause the stem to rot away. It does not form roots.


I also have dwarf water lettuce as the floating plant in that tank. I love dwarf water lettuce. So far my favorite floating plant. The angels love weaving through the hanging roots. Its also nice that its not super fast growing like salvinia. In the tanks I have salvinia in it seems like I am constantly having to thin it out. You can see the guppy grass under the water lettuce on the left in that pic, and then the stargrass to the center and right under the water lettuce.

 

I love the stargrass. Beautiful easy to grow stem plant. It is not the same as guppy grass (which is also known as naja grass), however they do pair very well together. I actually have guppy grass floating in that tank as well. If you look in the upper left corner of that picture, above the jungle val, that is guppy grass. Which is amazing for fry cover.
Main difference is the stargrass has a much thicker, straighter stem with longer leaves coming off it. It must be planted as it will send off roots from the stem. Guppy grass has a much thinner center stalk that tends to bend or kink at each new section of leaves. It must be left floating as planting it tends to cause the stem to rot away. It does not form roots.
View attachment 411431
I also have dwarf water lettuce as the floating plant in that tank. I love dwarf water lettuce. So far my favorite floating plant. The angels love weaving through the hanging roots. Its also nice that its not super fast growing like salvinia. In the tanks I have salvinia in it seems like I am constantly having to thin it out. You can see the guppy grass under the water lettuce on the left in that pic, and then the stargrass to the center and right under the water lettuce.

I googled Ludwigia and it's a very lovely plant Do you use any CO2, Ferts or Specific Lighting?

I love the stargrass. Beautiful easy to grow stem plant. It is not the same as guppy grass (which is also known as naja grass), however they do pair very well together. I actually have guppy grass floating in that tank as well. If you look in the upper left corner of that picture, above the jungle val, that is guppy grass. Which is amazing for fry cover.
Main difference is the stargrass has a much thicker, straighter stem with longer leaves coming off it. It must be planted as it will send off roots from the stem. Guppy grass has a much thinner center stalk that tends to bend or kink at each new section of leaves. It must be left floating as planting it tends to cause the stem to rot away. It does not form roots.
View attachment 411431
I also have dwarf water lettuce as the floating plant in that tank. I love dwarf water lettuce. So far my favorite floating plant. The angels love weaving through the hanging roots. Its also nice that its not super fast growing like salvinia. In the tanks I have salvinia in it seems like I am constantly having to thin it out. You can see the guppy grass under the water lettuce on the left in that pic, and then the stargrass to the center and right under the water lettuce.

How big does dwarf water lettuce get? I wouldnt want it to get too big in just a % gallon, or it'll block all the light.

 

I googled Ludwigia and it's a very lovely plant Do you use any CO2, Ferts or Specific Lighting?

I dose Flourish Comprehensive once a week for my ludwigia. No CO2 & with LED floodlight. Mind you that ludwigia are prone to emersed themselves. Just keep up with trimming it or this will happen:

 

I only have one (a female) but her favorite things in her tank are her coconut hut to hide in, her moss balls that she pushes around, her leaf hammock for naps, and Amazonian frogbit topwater plants. Shes a crowntail and definitely female but she's got incredibly long fins.
her name is Blossom

 

Tsin21 That photo of your luwigia gives me an idea for a terrarium/aquarium I've been wanting to do... they would be great too have in the water, growing upwards and, with support, along a corkboard backing with orchids and bromeliads...

Fieryskys Your crowntail female is stunning. I've never seen a female with such long fins! How big are your moss balls? I have a few queries I could benefit from asking you if you don't mind.

How well does your frogbit fair on its own, does its leaves rot much and do you use ferts/CO2/specific lighting?

What is your leaf hammock? How much did it cost you because I was thinking of getting something like it

What volume is your tank and does she use up all of that space?

 

Fieryskys Your crowntail female is stunning. I've never seen a female with such long fins! How big are your moss balls? I have a few queries I could benefit from asking you if you don't mind.

How well does your frogbit fair on its own, does its leaves rot much and do you use ferts/CO2/specific lighting?

What is your leaf hammock? How much did it cost you because I was thinking of getting something like it

What volume is your tank and does she use up all of that space?

Of course I don't mind. She is in a 10 gallon tank with no tank mates and definitely uses the whole thing. She swims along the bottom, middle, and top columns all the time. She also likes to swim back and forth along the length of the tank when she's trying to get attention (like when she's hungry). She is very active.

The moss balls range in size but the smallest is about 1/2 in across and the largest is more than 2 1/2 in across.

The frogbit fairs well and is hardy. It doesn't like the top of the leaves wet so if you use any filter I recommend using a floating barrier to keep it away from the flow. It seems to like the warm water and has grown with minimal work. I have a generic light over the tank that is not super bright and do not use fertilizer at all. The tank is low tech with no co2 and minimal live plants mixed with silk.

Her leaf hammock is a "betta bed" by zoo med. It is plastic but is thin and soft. I haven't had any caught or ripped fins with it. The pics are the frogbit, moss balls and her when she was small.. she's over 2 inches in the body alone now.


]

 

 

I googled Ludwigia and it's a very lovely plant Do you use any CO2, Ferts or Specific Lighting?



How big does dwarf water lettuce get? I wouldnt want it to get too big in just a % gallon, or it'll block all the light.

I use a nicrew led light from amazon. Its cheap and grows low and medium light plants nicely. I don't use any co2 or ferts. I like my tanks low tech. My substrate in that tank is however a dirted capped substrate so the plants are technically getting all the ferts they could want from that dirt.

Water lettuce in full sunlight gets quite sizable, bigger than both your hands cupped together. Inside in a tank however? Much smaller, hence dwarf water lettuce. Its the same species it just melts its larger leaves off and grows smaller ones (and smaller, thinner root structures) if you take it from outside to inside in a tank. I have yet to see dwarf water lettuce in my tanks have a leaf cluster larger than the palm of my hand. It is alao slow to grow so no I wouldnt be worried about it blocking all the light. The salvinia and urgh, duckweed when I had to deal with that, was far worse about that.

 

Tsin21 That photo of your luwigia gives me an idea for a terrarium/aquarium I've been wanting to do... they would be great too have in the water, growing upwards and, with support, along a corkboard backing with orchids and bromeliads...

That's a great idea!

 

and this guy in not names yet!

What about Radley (sorry I'm a big fan of To Kill A Mockingbird) or maybe Ferro (latin for steel), Tempest (he looks kind of like a storm cloud) or Oceanus (the Titan god of the ocean)?

 

I’ve had this happen! Definitely look for signs of sickness before purchasing. Lopsided swimming, damaged fins or fin rot, fuzzy appearance or spots. Definitely don’t buy fish at Walmart. Even Petco is a little shady to me sometimes. Find a good local shop that takes care of their fish

 

This is my VT, wanheda He has an incredible personality! Likes to swim trough fake empty logs and he gets excited when I'm near his tank. I can pet him and make him jump on command He is currently in a 3.3g but I am cycling a 5 gallon for him!

 

How to pick a healthy betta: Is he active? Are his eyes clear? There is billion articles as to how to choose a healthy betta on the internet!
And as to my bettas: Do not, under any circumstances, put two bettas together! My sister tried (one male and two females) and it ended into disaster. I now own two of her three bettas and my own boy, all are doing quite well!
So, the fist betta I ever owned was Neal.

He lives in 5 gallon tank and is very grumpy but active boy! And he loves attention
The second betta I got was Bloodlust. He is very friendly unlike his name suggests! He is doubletail halfmoon and he used to belong to my sister. Now he lives in 16gal community tank and he hopefully recovered from tailbiting habit.


And then there is Princess. She is a lovely girl that belonged to my sister as well!


She lives in 2.5 gallon tank, and while I know that is too small for her, my parents do not allow me to buy any bigger for her. She is still recovering from stress she had to endure under sis' care (I have her for only 5 days now) but she is very friendly. She is just refusing to eat. But I hope she will recover from that soon!