Getting a Betta!!

~_~ sitting here and looking at everyones Bettas made me want one (or two). My purple marbled Betta boy, Mister Bo Jangles, lived for 4 years. . :( he died last year and I've wanted another Betta ever since. Sadly, I gave his super-nice tank to a friend. So tomorrow I'm going out to get another tank, and *maybe* a Betta if I find a really cute guy!! If not, I'll just keep searching. I'm getting him from my future place of employment, Lee's Feed. They sell really gorgeous Betta's from private local breeders, and they take wonderful care of them, they actually specialize in fishies and only sell fish as pets for the most part. I would really LOVE to find a marbled or piebald Betta, even though its probably highly unlikely that I will. . . I love purple, red, and aqua, so I hope I can find those colors :D

I'd also love some advice from all of the Betta experts here. What does everyone think of these tanks? The first one is what I'll most likely be getting. . . it's decent size, filtered, lit, and everything. I was considering getting a split tank but I don't plan on getting another Betta for at least another month :p this one has a divider too! The second is pretty nice too, I like how it looks a lot. Which would you guys get? ^_^


Little Lagoon :p (I'll probably get this, or should I spring for the 5 gallon?)

Mini Bow, also really nice!

congrats and good luck! I hope you find the perfect beta! Mister Bo Jangles sounds lovley, I'm sure he's having fun at the RB. I like the second tank the best!

Ok. . . I actually have some more questions, now that I think about it!! I've researched Bettas a lot, I think they're totally gorgeous. My last Betta was very very spoiled and loved. I'm thinking of getting a few Bettas and. . maybe breeding, a tinsey bit. I know I'll have a place to sell the babies, when I start working at this pet store :p I know there are a few breeders here (like Kara), so here's a few questions for you! Advice is soooo appreciated :D

I really want to get two Aquatic Snails to clean the tank and keep the Betta company. Would Ghost Shrimp be okay? Has anyone had good/bad experience with Ghost Shrimp and Bettas? I also want live plants, probably Aponogetons and Java Ferns. . any other plants I should consider? Also, as far as food, are Freeze Dried Bloodworms and Black Worms a decent diet. . . or should I also feed (thawed) frozen foods or baby brine shrimp?

I know it sounds crazy, but I was considering ordering a Betta online. I really really love Butterfly Bettas, Marbled Bettas and other colors/fin types that are just not in pet stores. All of the fish I've seen in pet stores are veil tailed and multi-colored. Would it be dumb to start with a more expensive rare Betta boy? Since I'll be ordering one male fish, should I go ahead and order a female at the same time? ugh. . . now I'm just confusing myself :p. I would love to have a female and a male, even if I decide not to breed them at all. I've been looking at aquariumfish.net, bettatalk.com, and a bunch of other sites. Any recommendations? I would love some advice on this. . . my parents love Bettas and would love 2 or more, I don't think they understand why I'm obsessing over it though ~_^

I like both fish tanks, they both look very nice. :)

I don't know anything about breeding bettas, but you could try www.fishforums.net in the betta section, I know there are many breeders there.

Just don't breed veiltails, there are too many veiltails that need homes.

Good luck!

Good luck finding the perfect one! :) Can't give you any advice though, sorry. I got my first and only betta when I was five, and my mom gave it to my kindergarden teacher. *cries* :p

Hi !! Welcome to the Betta Bandwagon!

First off, don't breed Veils, there are just too many of them sitting in pet stores, I'm sure you've read all about that, and other people have told you. But just had to say it. :)

Second, I really enjoy my 2.5 gallon Little Lagoon. If you plan on having more than 2 or so Bettas though I would suggest you get a 1 gallon Aquaview. They are $10 at Wal-Mart and are SUPER easy to clean and perfect for a Betta.

As for buying online, I've purchased a few fish from the web, and LOVE them. I would suggest you look on http://www.aquabid.com They have some really nice Betta's and most come with a sibling female. Be aware though, it can be expensive for shipping depending on where the Betta is coming from.

For snails, I had two, one in each tank... And they didn't really last too long. I think they died within 2 weeks.... and I didn't notice them cleaning too much. But if you want to get one, I would get something that doesn't reproduce alot, cause you'll be over run with snails in a short amount of time. I've never had Ghost Shrimp, maybe someone else here has experience with those.

I would suggest you feed Hikari Bio-Gold pellets with a variety of FROZEN foods and cooked/shelled peas. This is what all my Bettas get, and has been suggested to me... and they LOVE it.
Freeze-dried foods have been known to cause internal damage to some Bettas. Peas are reccomended because it's a "betta laxative" they just keep everything moving well. ;)

I hope I answered all your questions, feel free to PM me if not.

:D GOOD LUCK :D

I don't have much advice since I'm a new bettas owner, :p but good luck, and I know you'll love 'em!!!:D

aw, thanks SO much for the advice and congrats, everyone!! I promise I'll keep you all posted :)

Kara, I'm soo happy you replied ^_^. . I promise I won't breed Veiltails!! thanks a bunch for the feeding advice, I have heard Bio-Gold is good, do you consider it better than Bettamin? I'll also get plenty of frozen foods for them, and I've never heard about peas :) thankyou! I wasn't sure about the snails. . some people have said you must get them, some people have said they eat the plants and reproduce too much. :p maybe I'll just get a froggy? I love the Little Lagoon's, and the Mini Bow's! the colors are soo cute. I will definitely look at the Aquaviews, too!

I was looking through Aquabid, and LOOK at this boy! Omg, I want him :D! thats an awesome site! I also love the pairs at bettatalk, they're on the expensive end ($60-$120!), but my Dad said he would buy me a pair as a 'Graduation from Junior Year' present :p. . Junior year has been so hard. Mostly, I just want them as lurved pets. Bettas are so calming :). Breeding is definitely secondary, and I'll only do it if I have gorgey-ous fish, 20+ homes lined up (will not be hard!) and plenty of funds to raise the fry. I will PM you for advice, FOR SURE ^_~

Here is some good info on breeding bettas. :)

thanks for the link, Chrissy! :)

I forgot to mention that I LOVE Java Fern, I have it in most my tanks and the Bettas adore it!

Yes, I think Bio-Gold is much better than Bettamin... Bio-Gold uses more natural ingredients.

That Betta on Aquabid is BEAUTIFUL, and pretty good deal if I must say... I'd get him! ;)

Oh, and if you're going to breed someday, betta's can have up to 500+ fry... :eek: :eek:

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Originally posted by SunKissedGoldens
Oh, and if you're going to breed someday, betta's can have up to 500+ fry... :eek: :eek:

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LMAO!. . yeah, I've heard that a lot. Thats 99% of the reason I'm considering just keeping them as pets! :D I think I could find homes for 500 beautiful Bettas, but OMG I can't imagine 500 jars all over the house :p

If you really are planning on breeding pretty soon, I'd start saving jars now!;) :p

If you do breed, try talking to a petstore and see if they'll buy the bettas from you once they are old enough (Or atleast the ones you can't sell or keep)