Betta fish..am I harming them?

Question

I always entertained the idea of a betta fish. However I dont want to harm them. Ok, so any tips? They only get along w themselves and they can live in a betta approved bowl,which is usually small.Is this correct? Do I need anything else?

Answer 1

dont put more than one in a tank together. or near each other.

they are called FIGHTING FISH. they DONT get along with each other.

Answer 2

actually, smaller tanks, in my opinion, suck. some people think they dont swim around alot, but its most likely because these people dont give their fish any space to SWIM. a 2.5 gallon tank or larger should do. you should also get a live plant, preferably one with broad leaves, because believe it or not, the betta will somewhat go into "sleep mode" at night. mine actually "sleeps" on the leaves of the plant. as for a filter and a heater, they would be good but not necessary. ive had my betta for over 3 years now and habnet had a filter or heater. and hes still happy as ever =)

Answer 3

not really correct.  They can live in any aquarium and live with other community species(non aggressive fish)  

Also, the males(colorful ones) will often kill each other if put in the same tank.  The females have little color (brown) and much shorter fins

Answer 4

I agree fully with 'snowflake311' but I just wanted to add that you will also need water conditioner (also known as chlorine remover, etc) to make tap water safe for fish.  You must use this with every water change, because chlorine, chloramine, and ammonia that may be present in your tap water will slowly poison your fish.

Answer 5

well if you are wanting to use a smaller set-up this is what i reccomend:

firstly, bettas are tropical fish and should have water temperatures of 70-80 degrees and preferably 75-80 degrees. To even be able to have a heater, the tank must be atleast two gallons, they dont make heaters for smaller tanks. The heaters you can get are the 7.5 watt junior heater from wal mart for 5$ or the hydor 7.5 watt mini heater from petco for about 14$

temperature is important, if the water is too cold, the bettas immune system could be weakened and could end up catching a disease.

If your tank or bowl is smaller than 2gal, you need to find a way to keep the water at the right temperature through room temperature (not by using a lamp or by adding hot water! i have actually read on here peopel suggesting hot water!)

well for a smaller set-up (small set up means anything under 5gal)

1. add live plants, it helps with water quality since toxins can add up in a small container and the water may become toxic

2. use aged water (by storing pre-conditionerd water in a storage box and adding an airstone to keep the water aerated, when you do water changes you add that water OR with artificial water aging drops)

aging water is not absolutly necessary, its just a tip that might lead to possibly a healthier betta

3. Change water often, If it is 1gal, change every 5 days (100%), if it is atleast 2gal, change every week

helpful betta sites, browse and learn all  you can:

http://www.bettatalk.com

http://www.bettysplendens.com

good luck with everything, im sure you will be fine. Atleast you are responsible enough to learn about betta care before you go out and get it

Answer 6

No they don't only live in betta approved bowls.  Those are more gimmicks to get you to buy the fish.  They need 1 Gal at the least. I have one male in a 2.5 Gal tank with a heater and a small filter.  I have another in a 5 Gal tank with a heater and filter.  They both live alone in their tank.  I also have 5 Females living in a 36 Gal Community tank.  I got them all when they were very young. (Pet-co has been selling some Very small fish that are only a few weeks old .) My girls all get along just fine.  They set up a pecking order.  With enough space to hide from one and other the females will live fine with each other.

Males can live with other peaceful fish.  They can not live with any other bettas male or female.  

They can be kept in 1 Gal jars just fine if you do weekly water changes.  They will need a heater when the house gets bellow 60.  When I kept my bettas in blows I would keep my room warmer then the rest of the house just for my bettas.  I used an electric heater just for my fish. It is way easier to get a 2.5 Gal tank and put a small heater in that.  

This is the type of tank I recommend for keeping bettas.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d...

That's what I keep my 2 in and they love it.  I still do water changes every now and then but the filter does a good job at keeping the water clean. I have been keeping bettas for over 10 years now.  My first one lived to be 5 years old he had a 1 Gal tank.  all my others lived 3 -4 years. They are fun fish I just love them.

If you have any other questions you can e-mail me.

PS. Females are just as colorful as the males they just have shorter fins.

Answer 7

I have one betta and i have a medium sized bowl so it can swim more, some blue and green aqua rocks, some shiny stone things, a little fake flower plant, and a little fake lily pad thing floating at the top. After I rinse the bowl out several times (I do this once a week) I refill it with cool water. Then I use half a cap of "betta water conditioner" that instantly treats tap water and I let it sit for 2 hours so the water reaches room temperature. Before I poured out all the dirty water, I put some in a smaller container and put my fish in there so it didn't have to sit in the cold tap water and die lol. After the 2 hours is up I pour out as much of the dirty water from the small container as I can, then I pour my fish in the clean bowl. I only feed my fish 3-4 dots of food twice a day because thats what it says to do lol. Anyway, my fish is great and it always makes happy bubbles so I guess im doing a good job of taking care of it!

Answer 8

anything bigger than 2.5 gallons if fine but a 5 gallon is better

they need a heater and a filter is a good idea

i would plant live plants and get a quality betta approved food

good luck

Answer 9

There perfectly content in a small container they don't really swim around a lot unless there scared, and yes your correct if there in with another beta they will kill them, they are very territorial fish! Otherwise good luck with your Beta, if you haven't gotten one yet, I suggest a male crowned tail there much prettier than the regular one and only cost about 2 dollars more.