Taking Care of your Betta
“You saved your Betta’s life from the pet store’s tiny cup. Now learn how to make your Betta into the most comfortable, safe, and cared-for fish in the world.”
The Basics…
Scientific Name: Betta Splenders
Origin, Cambodia, Thailand
Adult Size: 3 inches (7cm)
Social: Males cannot be kept together
Lifespan, 2-3 years
Tank leve: Top dweller
Minimum tank size: 3 gallon
Breeding: Egglayer – bubblenest
Diet: Live foods prefersble, will eat flakes and frozen foods
Care: Easy to Intermediate
Temperature: 75-86 F (24-30 C)
Description
The brilliant coloration, and long flowing fins of the Betta make it one of the most well known of aquarium fish.
Color range from red to blue to white. Female are not as highly colored, and have much shorter fins.
Female Betta
Male Betta
Natural Habitat
To fully understand their needs it is important to become familiar with their native habitat.
Bettas orioginate in the shallow waters in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and parts of China. They live in rice paddies, shallow ponds, and even slow moving streams.
Care
Although many people are aware that Bettas come from shallow water, a factor that is often overlooked is the water temperature. These countries are tropical which means the water temperature is quitter warm- often reaching into the 80’s. Bettas thrive on heat, and will become increasingly listless when the water temperature falls below 75 degrees F. Even though Bettas do well in waters low in dissolved oxygen, that does not mean they require less oxygen than other fish. Bettas have a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air directly from the surface.
In experiments where the labyrinth organ was removed, the fish died from the suffocation even though the water was full of oxygen. For this reason, Bettas must have success to the water surface to breath air directly from the atmosphere. Water movement should be kept to a minimum, which means that power filters and powerheads are not suitable. Bettas can be kept in a community tank as long as no aggressive or fin –nipping fish are present. However, only one male may be kept in each aquarium, unless they are separated by a barrier. The use of plastic boxes that hang inside the aquarium are a suitable option for keeping more than one betta in a tank or for keeping them in a tank with fish that might nip their fins. Females will generally not fight with each other, and may be kept in the same tank.
Note: Selling a betta in a vase with a Peace Lily has become popular. However, a vase is not a suitable environment for Betta.
Diet
In nature Bettas subsist almost exclusively on insects and insect larvae. They are built wuith an upturned mouth that is well suited to snatching any hapless insect that might fall into the water. Live foods are the ideal diet for the betta, however they will adapt to eating flake foods and frozen and freeze dried foods. Brine shrimp, Daphnia, plankton, tubinex, glassworms, and beef heart, are all excellent options that may be found frozen. If flake food is fed, it should be supplemented with frozen and freeze-dried foods, and if possible live foods.
Breeding
Bettas have a fairly short lifespan, and are most successful as breeders when they under a year old. Bettas pet shops are usually at least six months old. They breed in bubblenests and do not require a large tank or special equipment. Most breeders find that a bare bottomed tank of roughly ten gallons works well, although smaller tanks are also suitable.
Ideally the fish should be conditioned prior to breeding by feeding them a diet of live foods. The water should be at a pH of about 7.0, and temperature around 80 or slightly above. The male will blow an elaborate bubble nest when he is ready to spawn. The female should be provided with a hiding place, as males may become aggressive during courtship. Even with a hiding place, it is common for a female to lose a few scales or have their fins frayed during spawning. When they are ready to spawn, the pair will display intense coloration and begin circling each other under the bubblenest. The male will wrap himself around the female who has turned in her back. As she expels the eggs, they are fertilized and begin to sink. The male will scoop up the eggs and spit them into the nest. From this point on the male will tend the brood.
It is advisable to remove the female, as the male may become aggressive towards her as he tends his young. The male will continue to tend the bubblenest, spitting eggs that fall out back into the nest. In one to two days the eggs will hatch, and the fry will be visible hanging in the bubblnest with their tails pointing downward. They will feed off their yolk sack for another thirty six hours during which time the male will continue to pick up any fry that fall out of the nest. The male should be removed within two days after the fry hatch, as they may eat the young once they are free swimming. The fry should be fed a couple of feedings daily of baby brine shrimp or very fine baby food. Take care not to overfeed, as the uneaten food will foul the water and can quickly prove lethal to the fry.
Will I hope this helped. If you have any additional questions just ask them in the comment thing and I will answer them all.
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