Betta fish questions

[DaYooper_Duck]

The rule of thumb for tropical fish and bettas is one gallon per inch of fish. Since bettas are a bit tall they need a bit more so 1.5-2 gallons is a good amount for a betta even with a filter IMO - it's a huge step up from the "Betta cups" they're sold in, and even in a 10gal they don't move around a ton. Mine was in a 10 gallon and just frankly didn't utilize it. He liked to hide in about 3 spots and that was it. With a 10 gallon you only need to do a moderate (%25-%50) water change every month, whereas a smaller tank would need it weekly. More fish = more water changes.

The inch per gallon rule is highly outdated and inaccurate. No fish can happily live in anything under 3 gallons. Just because a human can live his whole life in a tiny, filthy jail cell doesn't mean he should. Futhermore, there are one-inch fish that produce significantly more waste than a different same-sized species, like the guppy fish, and need about 2.5 gallons per fish.

Also, bettas are very active fish by nature, and love to explore every corner and nook and cranny of their tank, so there was likely something wrong with your water parameters to cause your fish to be lethargic.

Finally, water changes should be carried out weekly, not monthly, to avoid nitrate buildup in the water.

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

Bettas are super easy to care for and very pretty but it can be frustrating having only one fish in a tank IMO. If I did it again I'd put in two partitions and keep 3 bettas.

Bettas are not social towards other fish in nature, and split tanks are torture chambers for bettas. Bettas release pheremones into the water to claim their territory, and tell other fish to get away. The other bettas can sense the pheremones, and will want more than anything to get out, putting them in a very stressful fight-or-flight state. Of course the weaker fish cannot leave, which leaves it with a weakened immune system, and and early death.

If you feel the selfish need to cram as many innocent fish into tiny prisons of fear within a tank for the sake of asthetics, you should reconsider your involvement in the aquarium hobby.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I had read that bettas need a low flow because of their fins-all of the filters that were recommended for bettas that I saw on the petco website had poor reviews, saying that they broke easily and were noisy. I will look at these type of filters! What filter media would you recommend?

In my Aquaclear, I have one coarse aquarium sponge, one finer sponge (the one that comes with the filter), some polyfill (this takes out all the fine debris, but make sure it is 100% polyfill), and the biological media that comes with the filter. Biological media is what the beneficial bacteria will grow on (they get rid of the ammonia and nitrites in the tank).

Does this heater look good?

Adjustable heaters are better. They will have a knob at the top.

I had read that because of the air sucky thing that they do, you need to leave about an inch between water level and lid. Is this true? Is there a risk of the betta trying to jump and throwing its self against the lid?
I didn't want to get a kit because all the ones I can find are much smaller than I'd like them to be.

Yes, bettas will need some space between the top of the water and the lid.
My betta has never tried jumping at the lid. I think, as long as they can see the lid, they won't try to jump.

I feel like I would mess up growing live plants-are the fake ones ok? I had read that they need to have the ones made of silk, not plastic, because of their delicate fins and tails. I think that live plants may be biting off a bit more than I can chew. Do they need lights on the tank if you're not growing live plants?

That's totally fine. You can start slow.
You should definitely only use silk plants for bettas. Plastic plants will rip their fins.
You can also get a betta hammock, which is a fake leaf that you attack to the glass near the surface of the water. My betta loves his, and sleeps on it every night.
A light is good, but you won't need a high tech light if you're not growing plants. You could even just use an LED desk light. Just make sure the light won't heat the water.

We do not use well water-I had read that you can dechlorinate water by just letting it sit out on the counter for a few days?

This is not true. You have to use dechlorinator.
Also, don't use anything with aloe vera in it, like stress coat. Aloe vera is bad for the fish's gills.

I was thinking about some of the gravel from the pet store. I had read that to properly place and hold fake plants, you need it about an inch deep-true? false?

Yeah, an inch is about good.

Aquascaping is definitely the part I'd be most excited to do, aside from getting the fish! I was thinking some fake plants, some wood, and a couple of hidey type things. I'd probably pick out specifics at a pet store to look at sizes of things, and make sure that the tank is good for fish and good looking for humans.

Sounds good! Remember that the more natural the tank is, the happier the fish will be.

I am not sure what this means but if I end up getting one I will make sure to look this up and do it properly.

Yes, make sure you research how to cycle a tank thoroughly before getting your fish.

Thank you so much for the specific brands! I will make sure to get the betta ones. Do they need the variety or is one brand every time fine? If variety is needed how do you mix things/switch them up?

I would get two pellets and some kind of frozen food. You could either get two different betta pellets, or you could betta pellets and tropical pellets, either from the same brand or a different one.

I do not know any of those-how would I find out/test them? Am I able to look it up using my location? How would I change them if any are too high or too low?
Thank you so much! This has been such a great post! I don't know when, if ever, I'm getting a betta, ( I need to save up, and also might go with a hermit crab) but thank you so much for all of the information.

You can find your PH, KH, and GH on you water provider's website. Make sure you get the exact numbers, because what they say is hard, might not be considered hard for fish.
If the water is too hard for a betta, you can make it softer by mixing in RO water (Reverse Osmosis). If you don't have an osmosis system in your house, you can by RO water at your local aquarium store.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Bettas are not social towards other fish in nature, and split tanks are torture chambers for bettas. Bettas release pheremones into the water to claim their territory, and tell other fish to get away. The other bettas can sense the pheremones, and will want more than anything to get out, putting them in a very stressful fight-or-flight state. Of course the weaker fish cannot leave, which leaves it with a weakened immune system, and and early death.

If you feel the selfish need to cram as many innocent fish into tiny prisons of fear within a tank for the sake of asthetics, you should reconsider your involvement in the aquarium hobby.

I suggest you start writing all these companies with your campaign;
http://www.bettafishcenter.com/caring-male-female-betta.shtml
https://bettafish.org/divided-betta-tank/
https://www.thesprucepets.com/how-many-bettas-can-be-kept-together-1378744
https://www.aqueon.com/information/care-sheets/betta
https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/freshwater/splendid-bettas-full-article
https://www.tropicalfishcareguides.com/betta-fish-care/betta-fish-tanks-divider/

Once you convince places like bettafish.org and tropical fish magazine that it's not ok I'll be happy to reconsider. Until then I'm going to following professional advice about keeping betta fish.

Here's a scientific article that suggests that the fighting has less to do with being close together and more to do with specific social behavior;
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347273800909
So just make the partitions opaque.

Tiny prisons of fear. Goodness. The hyperbole is real.

 

[black_cat]

Oh and also, I wouldn't get one from pet smart or petco. I would go to a fish store or sometimes exotic pet shops have them.
Petco and petsmart pets are not treated well and come from places where they aren't bred well so they often die and you would be supporting unethical breeding.
That's what I would do at least. Some fish from there do just fine though.

We do have a few fish stores near us I can try.

 

[black_cat]

Now the question that I have much trepidation in asking....is it ok to have a betta if you also have a cat? If the answer is no, than that sadly shuts down this whole operation.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I've had fish and a cat in the same house, the important thing is to keep the tank covered and preferably in a place the cat can't get to like on a high shelf. Think of the places the cat already doesn't go and go from there. Cat got into my oldest sisters catfish once when I was very wee, after than all the tanks got locking covers like reptile covers, or solid covers - no more problems.

But this may depend on how determined that cat is.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Now the question that I have much trepidation in asking....is it ok to have a betta if you also have a cat? If the answer is no, than that sadly shuts down this whole operation.

As long as you have a lid on the tank, it should be fine.

 

[black_cat]

I've had fish and a cat in the same house, the important thing is to keep the tank covered and preferably in a place the cat can't get to like on a high shelf. Think of the places the cat already doesn't go and go from there. Cat got into my oldest sisters catfish once when I was very wee, after than all the tanks got locking covers like reptile covers, or solid covers - no more problems.

But this may depend on how determined that cat is.

The tank would be in my room-the cat goes in the room, but never onto the desk, bedside table, or dresser. The best location for the fish may be on my dresser-I was going to use my desk or bedside table because they get more natural light, but if I used LED lights that wouldn't be a problem, right? I have a different cupboard that gets more light and is higher, but it is nearer the bed and the cat could potentially jump from bed to dresser. It would also be too high for me to clean the tank. Bedside table has easy cat access from bed-and desk is easily jumped on. However, cat knows that he is not allowed on tables of any sort, and I've never seen him get on my desk.

 

[black_cat]

As long as you have a lid on the tank, it should be fine.

*breathes a deep sigh of relief*