Betta fish questions

[HappyClucker7]

I agree. Getting a betta from a breeder is way better.

Yeah, I agree. You'll definitely get a healthier fish from a breeder.

 

[black_cat]

I prefer LED, incandescents are unnecessary as they put out more heat than light. You want a good full-spectrum lighting intended for plant growth. To avoid algae problems, make sure the lighting output is proportional to plant growth and nutrients (and CO2, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole, lol). The idea is to have nice healthy plants so that there is no left over toxins (plant food, lol) for the algae to feed on - essentially starving the algae out.

Nature is always trying to balance itself out, and that’s why algae occurs.

Sounds good. I may try to find a light of amazon instead of using pet store-the LEDs are all very low wattage for mine.

I saw something that was talking about watts per gallon to count as high light, medium light, and low light?

 

[black_cat]

Yeah, I agree. You'll definitely get a healthier fish from a breeder.

How do I go about getting a fish from a breeder? Will they be drastically more expensive?

 

[HappyClucker7]

Petsmart. I was warned against the dragon scale ones for the same reason. You can get fish shipped? Wouldn't that be very stressful for the fish? I'm also not sure how to go about looking for a breeder.

Fish from Petsmart are, unfortunately, sickly and have bad genetics. They never really live too long. If you have a good local fish store, you could see if they have healthy bettas. Sometimes they actually buy fish from local breeders. My LFS does that.
You can get fish sent to you. All the fish you see in the store have been shipped through the mail. But, you will have to be prepared for a DOA. it doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

 

[HappyClucker7]

How do I go about getting a fish from a breeder? Will they be drastically more expensive?

It depends on where you get them from. Some breeders will be really expensive, others will be less. The price will also depend the the quality of the fish. The more show quality the betta is, the more it will cost.
Have you ever seen the youtube channel SimplyBetta? She is a betta breeder. I don't know if she has any fish available right now though.

 

[black_cat]

Fish from Petsmart are, unfortunately, sickly and have bad genetics. They never really live too long. If you have a good local fish store, you could see if they have healthy bettas. Sometimes they actually buy fish from local breeders. My LFS does that.
You can get fish sent to you. All the fish you see in the store have been shipped through the mail. But, you will have to be prepared for a DOA. it doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

My LFS does not carry bettas. Any idea where to look for reputable breeders?

 

[chickenn00b11]

Yes, I will be using live plants. I would like to grow anubias, java fern, and water wisteria.

Then I would recommend some full spectrum lighting.
https://www.amazon.com/Hygger-Spectrum-Extendable-Controller-Freshwater/dp/B07X9T9PV6
Here is a video on where to get bettas.

 

[black_cat]

It depends on where you get them from. Some breeders will be really expensive, others will be less. The price will also depend the the quality of the fish. The more show quality the betta is, the more it will cost.

I really don't need show quality, so I bet I can figure out how to get a less fancy one for less money.

 

[HappyClucker7]

My LFS does not carry bettas. Any idea where to look for reputable breeders?

Like I said in the post above, you could check Simply betta. Other than that, you'll just have to kind of shop around.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Petsmart. I was warned against the dragon scale ones for the same reason. You can get fish shipped? Wouldn't that be very stressful for the fish? I'm also not sure how to go about looking for a breeder.

I would be getting the tank before the fish (as I've mentioned) to do these things:
-make sure the plants get nice and set and growing and don't die
-make sure I know how to get the water to the right pH, kH, and gH for bettas
-make sure that the tank is cycling properly

Keep in mind that if you drastically change the pH, hardness/softness, etc of the water, you will have to be careful while doing water changes, since the new water would have different parameters than the water already in the tank.