Fish Question: Betta Care

[Weapon_R]

My parents brought home a betta fish from an event they were at and I was wondering if someone could help me out a bit.

I have read that they are tropical fish, but it's been in the same vase that we first got and its doing fine. It's been alive for over a week now on basic food. Do they require heated tanks?

Also, is it okay to drop it in with my gold fish? I've read that they are aggressive towards other bettas, but fine with other fish. Since both tanks are unheated, I dont think it would be too much a water temp difference.

[GQBalla]

well when i had my betta fish i juss left them in the same bowl i dont think it needs to be heated but try not to get it too cold juss to be safe, i wouldn't put betta fish with any other fish because they fight !

kinda cool when you put a mirror in front of them and they flare out its cool!

kinda like a dinosaur

[TurboMedic]

Yes, the mirror thing is pretty cool to see! They don't require heat, filters, or airstones! They do need water changes, obviously, but they handle Calgary water fine. Don't place them in sunlight, or drafty areas, you want the water temp to be consistent. You can put them in virtually any water tight container, from "fishbowl" style wineglasses to regular tanks... Feed them small amounts, that way the water doesn't get too polluted too fast, overfeeding is very common. And they breathe using a "labrynth" system, so they don't require any sort of oxygenating the water....

[xcelr8]

:cry: mine died a couple months ago

i was taught that when you do replace its water, to leave the water out for a couple of days before putting it in

[jdmakkord]

Room temperature water, I have seen them in community tanks, at a moderate tempertature, but not too often. For food, blood worms are normally good for their health and color. For water changes, make sure the water you add, is as close to the temperature of the water already in the bowl, or you will stress out the fish, and bad things happen. Good rule of thumb, is every two weeks or so, put some water in a seperate container, leave it out near the bowl/tank where your fish is. The water will approach the same temp after a few hours, then change 30-40 % This has always worked well for me.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
Also, is it okay to drop it in with my gold fish? I've read that they are aggressive towards other bettas, but fine with other fish.

I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think goldfish are as aggressive as they are stupid! They'll put anything in their mouths even if it's not food! They could potentially chew up your betta's fins and cause him some much unneeded stress.

[girlRACER]

Are your goldfish in a tank? If so, you could also buy a divider for the tank. That way you don't have to bother with frequent water changes of the vase and just let the filter do the work.

[Zephyr]

the goldfish might think hes a very pretty piece of food lol

Just feed it normally and water changes regularly. Don't be like me and totally forget about it and come back and it's dead. Oops.

[dragonone]

i think u leave the water out for a bit to let the chlorine go away and let it rise to room temp. pumping out warm water from the tap introduces more heavy metals (correct me if i'm wrong).
u could just get a bottle of chemical to deal w/ the chlorine

so i'm curious, what's the proper procedure for taking care of bettas? most ppl i kno just kinda buy one from events and let them die. cruel if you ask me
but even crueler if i put one in my own tank hah

[treg50]

Yup, when you leave the new water to sit in a seperate container, you are letting the water temperature match the room temperature (= good), AND also by letting it sit you're also allowing chlorine, minerals, and other things to settle at the bottom (= good). Only use the top half or so of the new water, just to be safe, the rest of the water you can use for plants or your lawn.

For the longest time I only saw betas being kept in individual cups, I heard it was because they'd fight and damage each other. Then one day I saw a bunch (a dozen or more maybe) peacefully living in an average tank. The habitat looked pretty normal just pebbles and some kind of leafy water plant, I was really surprised I'd never seen that before.

Edit: with regards to feeding. Like what someone else said. Don't over feed (a.k.a don't put so much food in that there's some floating at the top or sunken to the bottom). I used to 'hand feed' my fish meaning I'd sit there and feed him one piece of food at a time. Dropping the piece behind, to his side, just to keep him guessing like fish 'playtime' sort of, lol. It's a good way to give them some stimulation and keep them sort of active. Each feeding session takes maybe 5 minutes approx. to do. They're cool fish.

[retro-steve]

i used to breed beta's a couple years ago...if you have any questions about their care PM me!

i've done many experiments with different living conditions with some of the offspring and i've learned a lot.

here are the basic rules for fighting:

male + male = fighting

male + female (non-mating) = fighting

male + female (mating) = no fighting

male + female (after mating) = good chance of fighting

female + female = no fighting

any combination under 1 month old = no fighting (times vary as some mature faster)

males are not aggressive to goldfish or any other fish besides beta's (generally) but the females will fight (and eat) any thing smaller than them!! (i used to toss in a minow or two into my favourite female's bowl just to watch the funnies)