Housing Where do you plan to place your Betta? Would you be placing them in an aquarium or a bowl? Though you might have heard of Betta fish vases, let me tell you, these are not safe.
They might feel cramped.
Betta fish can be placed in a bowl, but make sure that there is enough place for them to move freely.
Putting them in a small bowl might harm their fins or scales.
You also need to make sure that they are getting enough oxygen.
Placing your Betta in a place that allows free movement will definitely be better.
You should never place male Betta fish together.
These are fighting fish, and males don't get along very well.
You should also avoid placing them with angelfish, gouramis and fancy guppies.
If you do, be ready to see them fight.
If you are placing Betta fish with other fish and aquatic animals, use a 10 gallon aquatic tank.
You could also beautify their home by using gravel, colored stones and silk or live plants.
Avoid anything pointy or jagged to prevent any damage to their fins.
As far as water is concerned, make sure there is no chlorine in it.
Use water conditioners to get rid of chlorine.
You must avoid distilled water.
Water should be at room temperature.
Water temperature should be between 70 and 80 degrees.
The pH level of water must be between 6.
5 and 7.
5.
Feeding Wondering what to feed your Betta? If you wish to give your Betta live food, you need to get mosquito larvae or live worms.
Flake food and freeze dried food is also available.
Brine shrimp, daphnia, tubifex, glass worms and plankton can also be given.
These are available as freeze dried food.
Once full, Betta fish will not eat dried food but they generally continue to eat live food even if they are full.
Once a week, you could avoid giving them food so that their digestive system gets some time to recover.
You could feed a Betta fish 3 pellets or flakes once a day.
Be very careful about what you are feeding them.
Overfeeding and contaminated food will kill them.
You must watch out if your Betta seems to be sluggish.
It might be related to Betta fish diseases.
You should also change the water frequently.
Don't forget to remove excess food and debris from the tank.
Are you aware of the symptoms of a sick Betta fish? If your fish has trouble swimming, looks distracted, bloated or underweight, you as an owner need to be more caring.
Sick Betta needs a lot of care.
Your fish might have contracted an illness.
Breeding While breeding Betta fish, you need to consider several aspects.
You should make sure that the fish you are selecting for breeding are healthy and at least one year old.
Other aspects such as the size of the tank, temperature and pH of the water must also be looked into.
To prepare the fish for breeding, feed the fish live food for about 2 weeks.
This must be done prior to breeding.
Using a tank divider would be a good idea because the female Betta fish can use it as a hiding place.
Place them in the tank and make sure they stay separated by the divider.
You must not give them food for about 24 hours.
Very soon you will see that the male and female are ready for breeding.
You now need to remove the divider.
You will see that they come in contact and the female will release eggs.
Once there is no contact between them, place the female separately in clean water but let the male stay in the breeding tank for at least 3 days.
The male Betta fish places the eggs in the nest.
Once the hatching is over and babies are out, you could remove the male Betta fish.
You should feed microworms to the baby Betta.