Should I Get A Betta?

[Emuhlee]

My cousin has a male and female betta (separate bowls). she bought them the same day she got the bowls and they seem to be doing great. no filter, just a small bowl, some rocks and a small hiding place. She has had them a little over a month, maybe going on two. I checked for ammonia in the bowls about two and half weeks ago and it was kinda high. how are they even alive? I know ammonia affects all fish, so how are they still doing good? My fish store have a "build your own betta" option. 4.99 for the betta itself and for the bowl, betta, 4 scoops of substrate, 1 small plant, water, and something else...it's 8.10$ how would I care for it? is it safe to just get the betta water and throw him right in? can he eat blood worms daily or would that be a weekly thing? I know males have to live alone, and females can live with other fish. How could I get them used to living together without the male wanting to kill her. how do they breed...lol so many questions. I want to be prepared. thanks !

 

[JamieXPXP]

My cousin has a male and female betta (separate bowls). she bought them the same day she got the bowls and they seem to be doing great. no filter, just a small bowl, some rocks and a small hiding place. She has had them a little over a month, maybe going on two. I checked for ammonia in the bowls about two and half weeks ago and it was kinda high. how are they even alive? I know ammonia affects all fish, so how are they still doing good? My fish store have a "build your own betta" option. 4.99 for the betta itself and for the bowl, betta, 4 scoops of substrate, 1 small plant, water, and something else...it's 8.10$ how would I care for it? is it safe to just get the betta water and throw him right in? can he eat blood worms daily or would that be a weekly thing? I know males have to live alone, and females can live with other fish. How could I get them used to living together without the male wanting to kill her. how do they breed...lol so many questions. I want to be prepared. thanks !

I wouldnt get a bowl for the betta unless its at least 2.5gallon or bigger and is big enough for a heater and filter. no you shouldnt just throw them right into the water as it needs to cycle. bloodworms aren't good as their main food its more of a treat, the store should carry some betta pellets or flakes that you can feed daily.
the only way for a male and female to live together is in a very large tank with lots of females and a docil male

 

[DutchAquarium]

For a betta aquarium, you want at least 5 gallons for one fish. a bowel is way to small usually. You still will need to acclimate all your fish, bettas are no different. Blood worms wouldn't be a very good diet 24/7, instead vary the diet. As for the male and female living together, first you need a 4 foot long aquaruI'm and then you can think about adding them together, but that's not going to happen so keep them separate. for breeding, you place the female and male in glass bowels facing each other. let them get used to each other a bit. then place the male in the breeding aquarium. should be a 10 gallon filled up only 6 inches. he will blow a bubble nest and then you can introdcue the female. their might be some fighting when this happens. You need to watch the entire time while this is happening because sometimes they will kill each other. after the nest is built the female will check it out and might destroy it a few times until the male gets it right. Then they embrace, lay eggs, and then you remove the female.

 

[Rylan]

My cousin has a male and female betta (separate bowls). she bought them the same day she got the bowls and they seem to be doing great. no filter, just a small bowl, some rocks and a small hiding place. She has had them a little over a month, maybe going on two. I checked for ammonia in the bowls about two and half weeks ago and it was kinda high. how are they even alive? I know ammonia affects all fish, so how are they still doing good? My fish store have a "build your own betta" option. 4.99 for the betta itself and for the bowl, betta, 4 scoops of substrate, 1 small plant, water, and something else...it's 8.10$ how would I care for it? is it safe to just get the betta water and throw him right in? can he eat blood worms daily or would that be a weekly thing? I know males have to live alone, and females can live with other fish. How could I get them used to living together without the male wanting to kill her. how do they breed...lol so many questions. I want to be prepared. thanks !

Hello! Though many people keep Betta this way it’s really not healthy for them, and I have friends and family that used to do this, but now we know better. They may survive the ordeal for a little while but in the long run it’s not at all good for them. They will get sick and likely die prematurely. Bettas do best when cared for as other tropical fish are cared for. Heater, filter, and least 2.5 gallons of water. Personally, I wouldn’t keep them in anything less than 5 gallons now that I’ve seen how happy they get in larger bodies of water. If your cousin were to put the ones she has in a two separate minimum 2.5 gallon tanks with the heater and filter they require, you would likely see a major difference in their behavior. The only possible exception to maybe the heater is if you live in a very tropical area where temperature of the water will consistently stay in high 70’s.

You could also skip the Betta water and use dechlorinated tap water. It’s cheaper, and there’s really no reason to buy ‘Betta specific’ water.

Also, males and females cannot live in the same tank. I know we sometimes get bummed out the Betta can’t really have many tank mates but they really are pretty content living alone, and Betta communities are best done when you have more experience in the hobby. They can be difficult to do, even for those who have been keeping fish for many years.

If you want to learn more about how to set up a nice little Betta tank. I personally found the lifewithpets videos on YouTube extremely helpful

 

[FishFish221]

It is possible to keep a somewhat healthy betta in a bowl, but expect to be doing many water changes (wouldn't really say daily like most other people say you need, but at least 3 times a week) and do not expect the betta to show its true colour, have fins that are not always clamped and for the betta to live its full lifespan.

Its best to house bettas in a tank at least 2 feet by 1 feet, with a filter (or large weekly water changes) and maybe a heater if your house temperature is not warm enough. Housing two bettas of different sexes long term is not that easy, since you will need a tank at least 4 feet by 2 feet, and have it heavily planted (and by that, I mean really heavily planted). Even that will not guarantee that they will not kill each other.

You can feed your betta bloodworms 24/7, since that is better than commercial flakes, but its best to give it a varied diet.

 

[Emuhlee]

I wouldnt get a bowl for the betta unless its at least 2.5gallon or bigger and is big enough for a heater and filter. no you shouldnt just throw them right into the water as it needs to cycle. bloodworms aren't good as their main food its more of a treat, the store should carry some betta pellets or flakes that you can feed daily.
the only way for a male and female to live together is in a very large tank with lots of females and a docil male

okat thanks. I was reading that they can live in small bowls and they don't like a lot of water agitation. I wasn't sure.

 

[Emuhlee]

Thanks all for the replies. I have a 5 gallon (currently growing plant in it) a 10 gallon and a 20 gallon. I guess I will wait for them all to cycle and get a betta for the 5 gallon planted tank!

 

[JamieXPXP]

are you using anything to cycle the tank? your profile says you don't know about the nitrogen cycle

 

[DutchAquarium]

What about a shoaling species of betta for the 20 gallon?. Betta splendens is the domesticated species bred for aggression, but many wild bettas are generally peaceful. a group of 6 betta albimarginata would look fine in a 20.

 

[Emuhlee]

are you using anything to cycle the tank? your profile says you don't know about the nitrogen cycle

i'm using fish food in one and fish in the other (since I didn't know about the cycle until after I got the fish)

 

[Emuhlee]

What about a shoaling species of betta for the 20 gallon?. Betta splendens is the domesticated species bred for aggression, but many wild bettas are generally peaceful. a group of 6 betta albimarginata would look fine in a 20.

I have no clue what kinda betta's they are. my local fish store has unidentified bettas. the one about an hour from has them identified. I don't know anything about bettas to figure out what shoaling and splendens are haha.

 

[DutchAquarium]

betta splendens is the domestic betta. All the "pet store" bettas are betta splendens. Ther'e are many differnt morphs and colors of this species. Shoaling is the term used for fish that don't form tight schools, but rather loose groups.

 

[Rylan]

betta splendens is the domestic betta. All the "pet store" bettas are betta splendens. Ther'e are many differnt morphs and colors of this species. Shoaling is the term used for fish that don't form tight schools, but rather loose groups.

I’m curious as well to know where one would find these species. I’ve heard of them on the forum but never seen or heard where folks purchase them.

 

[FishFish221]

I’m curious as well to know where one would find these species. I’ve heard of them on the forum but never seen or heard where folks purchase them.

They are usually available on sites such as aquabid.com.

 

[DutchAquarium]

I've always gotten mine from aquabid.com.

 

[Briggs]

how do they breed...lol so many questions

Everyone seems to be answering your other questions, but I can give a quick answer to this one since you're curious: To breed Domestic Betta splendens you condition the fish for breeding (live foods, acidic water, etc), introduce the male and female carefully, wait for them to mate, and then quickly remove the female before the male decides she's a threat to the eggs and tries to kill her. The male tends to the eggs until they hatch, then the fry until they're free swimming, at which point the breeder then removes the male and cares for the fry.

As to how they breed in the wild, they don't. They don't exist in the wild. Other betta species are less inclined to try to kill each other on sight and do just fine, though.

 

[DutchAquarium]

and if you want a more detailed post for breeding, go to my posting which is 3rd from the top.

 

[Briggs]

and if you want a more detailed post for breeding, go to my posting which is 3rd from the top.

Oh! Sorry, I seem to have missed your post when I was reading. Sorry about that.

 

[DutchAquarium]

no problem, that wasn't suppose to be rude, just another source