Betas?

[Iilo]

I know a lot of you on here have Betas.
I'm thinking to get a few to put on my desk so I have something inspiring to look at while procrastinating about homework ;)
I haven't had fish since I was a little girl, and I didn't take care of them... actually, I think I contributed to their demise ... I really, really wanted an animal with fur, and well... I ended up petting the poor things more than once.
What I can't seem to find online is HOW do I clean their tanks? I know I'm supposed to once a week (with the setup I'm planning on having... 1 gallon tanks for each fish... I know it's not very large, but I can't really afford much more... Will they be ok in that?). I read that they're very sensitive to changes in water temperature and such, so where do I go about PUTTING them when I clean their tank? And do I have to do anything special to acclimate them back into the cleaned tank?
Also, what does everyone feed their betas?

Thanks in advance!

[Scooby4]

My father breed Betta's. They are really cool to watch!!! They are very easy to take care of as well.;) Your one gallon setup is adequate for 1 male Betta. You can have as many FEMALE betta's living together as you like. However, the female betta's do need air added to their tank. The male's don't. Remember ONLY 1 Male Betta in a tank!!! They aren't "Siamese fighting fish" for nothing.:rolleyes:
To clean the tank, you must have dechlorinator (Stress Coat works best) and AQUARIUM SALT. NOT table salt!!! You can NOT add a fish to straight tap water!!!!:eek: It will kill it. You can use rain water though if you wish.;) Rain water doesn't have to be treated chemically most of the time.
Pour some of the water out of tank into a glass. Take the fish out of the tank with a net and place in the glass of tank water. You can now dump the rest of the water out. Now, run tap water into the tank rinsing out debris and algea. Stir up the gravel on the bottom to clean it. I recommend WARM water for rinsing out the tank. HOT water can break the tank if it glass! For tougher stains use the aquarium salt and a paper towel. It will add a little "grit" to help clean with.
After you get the majority of old food and debris out of the tank, you can now put back the decorations for the bottom of the tank. When refilling you can add a small bowl or cup to the bottom to prevent "splash up" of the gravel. It disperses the water better. Take the cup/bowl out after filled half way. Finish filling the tank almost all the way. Add the dechlorinator to the water. Make sure the water is tepid and NOT hot. It should feel slightly "cool" but NOT cold.
You may want to wait a few minutes for the debris to settle and the dechlorinator to work. 10 minutes may be a good amount of time. Then get the glass with the fish in it. ADD a little bit of the water already in the glass to the "clean" water. Maybe dump half the water out and then dump the fish and the water into the tank. Adding a little of the "old" water helps with the transition.
Betta's don't need alot of food. I fed mine "Betta Pellets". It only takes about 5 of those. Flake food is okay but can mess the tank up faster. Betta's love "Blood worms". Only feed once a day. I fed mine the same time everyday and he would swim in circles if I forgot!!!:) Too much food dirties the tank more.
Avoid putting the tank near direct sun light or other light. This will cause "algea" to grow. Which means more cleaning. It can be safe to clean the tank at the minium of 3 days if issues arise. Once a week is good. You will be able to "adjust" when everything settles down.
Enjoy your new fishes. Hope this helps!!! Next time I will have to tell you about the breeding process which is EXTREMELY cool!!!!:eek:

[IRescue452]

I fill two gallons of water and add dechlorinator and let them sit for a few days to get to room temp. This is what I fill their tanks with when I do a water change.
I don't remove the fish when I do a partial change.
I use an inexensive turkey baster to suck debris out of the gravel and suck out about half the water once a week. I rarely scrub the tanks out completely because good bacteria grows under the gravel- it won't suck up when you clean the gravel.
I don't use any sort of aquarium salts or medications in my tanks except for the dechlorinator and some betafix for my boy with torn fins. I think all else is overmedicating the tanks.
For food they get dried krill which is messy, small pellets, and I have a little bowl that I am trying to grow a batch of brine shrimp in from a children's learning store. I also give them mosquito larva when I find them in our pond.

[bckrazy]

YAAY! Another Bettaholic in the making ;)! Just to letcha know, 1 gallons are perfect homes for any Betta boy, but there are many nice, spacious 2-5 gallon Critter-Carrier type aquariums at Petsmart that are insanely cheap!! I got my 4-5gal for less than $12! They dont have lights installed in the hood, but they have plenty of sunlight during the day and lights on in my room until bedtime :).. my boy with a blown tail went from a 1gal to a 4-5gal, and his tail is already growing much more rapidly and his color is FAR better than I ever saw it in the 1gal. Especially for Betta boys with heavy finnage, 4-5gals are perfect. Critter Keepers are also much longer/wider than they are tall, so they take up VERY little space. Importantly: No matter what you get, MAKE SURE it has a cover. Bettas are crazy little fish, known to jump several inches up through 1"x1" feeding holes in their covers!! For a small open space or a bowl, seran wrap with a few air holes punched in works well.

Another thing to consider, is buying 1 or 2 live plants for each boys tank ~ Java Fern, Cacomba, and Water Sprite works GREAT! They love to swim through the plants (and rest on the leaves :) soo cute), they dont tear their tails(like plastic plants can), and they drastically reduce how often you need to clean the tanks. They suck up a lot of the bad wastes that build up in water over time ~ which adds days between necessary water changes. Bettas do NOT require any bubblers because they're surface breathers, and they dont need a filter, unless the tank is very large (5+ gals). They actually dont like filters typically, because the current tends to swish them around and annoy them.

meh. anywayy.. Here's my tank-cleaning routine... :D I'm very careful about stressing my temperamental HM boy and sensitive female, so I'm overly cautious.

*Start by slowly siphoning (with airline tubing, which costs $.05 at Wal*Mart ~ siphoning is not necessary, you can simply use a cup to transfer the water, but I find that is stressful to my Bettas) out a portion of the bettas tank water into a holding bowl/jar. The jar should be adequately large enough not to freak your Betta out, enough for him to turn around and swim and such. I use 1/2gal bowls filled 1/2 to 3/4 full.

*Now, VERY gently use a special scoop (what I use), a cup, or a soft net to scoop the Betta out of his/her home. DONT use your hands. Do everything you can not to stress the Betta, just wait for him/her to come up to the surface for air and be ready to scoop them up! Quickly dip them into the nearby holding bowl.

*Take tank to nearest sink and place strainer/stopper thing in sink (VERY important, unless you like rocks in your disposal :D). Check one last time that you DID remember to scoop out your fishie and put them into their holding bowl :), then proceed to remove decorations and plants and pour out the remaining water. Pour the gravel into a large bowl. Rinse the tank out thoroughly, and use a paper towel to clean the sides.

*Next, swish the gravel bowl around to make sure you get all of the waste out of it. Run it under hot water, then quickly drain that water out. Rinse several times under 70*-80* (lukewarm) water, and be careful not to leave any food or waste in there or it could make your Betta sick.

*Rinse off your plants and decorations. I run the decorations under hot water, scrub them with paper towels, then let them sit in a bowl with lukewarm water. A lot of people use dechlorinated water to rinse these off, but it isnt a necessity. Rinse the live plants in cool water, trim if needed, and remove any leaves that are dark/discolored or whithering. Dead or unhealthy plants will only pollute the water more.

*Now you can add your gravel into the tank and secure decorations and plants where you need them. Using a tank thermometer ($1 at Wal*Mart), mix warm and cool tap water until you reach the temperature that the water was at before. 78* is the ideal temp for Bettas, but they're fine with water between 70*-82*

*Last, but NOT least, add your favorite dechlorinator. I use 1 tsp of Novaqua and 1 tsp of Amquel per 10 gallons (theres also StressCoat, which works to dechlorinate and reduce heavy metals in tap water). That means, if you have one gallon tanks, you need to measure out 1/10 tsp each. You can also add any needed meds now, and consider adding a pinch of aquarium salt to prevent any fin infections.

*Now, you need to carefully net or scoop Mr./Ms. Betta out of their holding bowl and place them in their tank. Give them time to explore and get acclimated before you turn on their tank lights or feed them or anything.


thats it!! It sounds confusing, but my average time for changing 1gals is about 10 minutes. 2.5-5gals are usually 15 minutes. And yes, thats with all of the precautions I take! You can probably get it down to 5-10 mins in no time at all!!!

Also, can I recommend foods? Hikara Betta Bio-Gold is good, and very reasonably priced. Bettas usually prefer pellets over flakes. Supplement dry foods with frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia. A 4oz package of each costs about $4 and will last your 3 Bettas over a year :p! You can even start trying live foods if you want, like bloodworms. Blackworms, I dont recommend because they tend to be less clean and can cause dropsy. I feed 4 pellets or a small amount of frozen food (2-3 bloodworms) twice a day.

[Iilo]

Thanks everyone for your help...
After feeling ELATED about how easy it was to go into school today and change my schedule around before we actually start next wednesday, and after reading up a little bit more on betas and knowing that I'll have PT in case I get flustered, I went out and bought PIRATE. :D I had my heart set on naming my first beta Panda, but when I went to Wallyworld to get the beta (no betas at petco.. wth?) I just started calling him Pi and Pirate...

I felt sooo bad for all the betas there, they were on the little shelfy set up thing and they were so close to each other... Doesn't that make them mad? But none of them were "posturing" (don't know if that's the term for what betas do, but we use it in dogs lol) or getting riled up or anything when I looked at them. Pirate's color just made me go WOW though and he looked like the healthiest and once I started talking to him and sort of waving my fingers around in front of his little cup, he swam around and got all puffed up and pretty.

It is SO hard to take a picture of this little guy... He's really glad (I think) to be in the bigger bowl (only 1 gal, but I think I will graduate to a bigger tank once I get a little more cash). I don't think I acclimated him well enough, but he seems to be doing fine. I put the dechlor in but we don't have any "aquarium salt" will sea salt work? It's not table salt, but rather rock salt... or are they the same? His bowl is also rather bare, no gravel, no plants... He will be getting a plant on Saturday, though, and I suppose I'll have to put gravel in to keep the plant from just floating away. Is that the only reason to have gravel? He doesn't seem unhappy with just the water... actually, he seems really happy with the "HUGE" (to him) space. He's just swimming around... he totally reminds me of Dory. ;) But he is a little scared and probably somewhat stressed at his new surroundings (I would be too if I went through what he did... AND he had to be in the car with ME as a driver on the way home... poor little guy. I tried to drive extra-slow for him, which is hard for me lol). I think I'm going to admire him from afar for a few days except to give him a pellet or two (crappy walmart beta food, but I'm going to look for the stuff you recomended, Erica [so weird because that's my name too]) so he can just get used to the new house.

I'll attach a picture, but it's probably huge because I haven't had a chance to resize them yet... also, it's the BEST i got out of like 60 pictures... and it's crappy.

[IRescue452]

Is that a flame orange I see? I want an orange beta! I love that color! You don't need salt. I've never used it and my fishie kids are doing fine. Gravel developes good bacteria after a while- which is why I don't clean the whole tank, I just suck up bits and pieces in the gravel and change half the water. Get soft plants so he doesn't tear his fins. Wardley's beta food is good and can be found at Walmart. One or two pellets is an awfully small amount of food- maybe two meals a day consisting of a few pellets.

[bckrazy]

WOW, what a gorgeous little man you found, Erica (mwaha, us Erica's rawk :D)!!! the name Pirate totally suits him, his coloring is insaaane. Orangies are the cutest! He is a total find, and I'm sure he's over-joyed to be out of his tinsey W*M betta cup and in a big new bowl where he can actually turn around, LOL. And, yep, Bettas dont need a substrate so gravel is just there for looks and to hold plants/decorations in place. Orange or Aqua gravel/marbles would look sooo good with his coloring ;)

It's great that you saved such a pretty, healthy Betta from a life that could be horrible... knowing W*M, he could've easily ended up being flushed, some stupid kids putting him in a cup with another Betta, or in a tiny 8 oz "Betta Keeper" for the rest of his life. Sadly, the reason W*M (and other close-kept, pet store) Bettas usually dont flare at each other is because they're just so mentally and physically drained, sick, or used to being in that situation that they lose their spirit and energy. However, after being in a large tank with clean water and good food, any Betta will become much more active and flarey. My W*M used to have 20+ Bettas on a shelf like you described, with people putting them together in the same cups, ALL with ragged tails or no tails at all, barely able to move in their cups, at least a few of them dead. I just went their last week and they had NO Bettas! ;) I'd like to attribute that to me complaining and nagging my friend, who happens to work in the aquarium dept, and the store manager... but I dunno >.<

Aanyway, congrats on your new boy!! May you have many happy years together :)... and feel free to post more pics... please? he he