Am I caring for my betta fish properly?
I’ve had my betta fish for two months now (I got him on March 3 of this year) and I was just wondering if I’m caring for him the way I should be – he’s my first betta, so I’m sort of new to this!
I keep him in a one-liter bowl, about a foot from a lamp (which is usually on for a few hours a day), with about an inch of store-bought aquarium gravel at the bottom. There is also a store-bought plastic plant in there, which he loves to hide in!
I feed him twice a day: four pellets in the morning (around 6:45am on weekdays, around 10am on weekends) and two pellets plus some freeze-dried bloodworms at night (around 8pm).
I do a full water change once a week, with water treated with store-bought water conditioner: I add sixteen drops of the conditioner to a liter of tap water, let it sit next to his bowl for a few hours, move him to a smaller container, take out and clean the plant, dump out the rest of the bowlwater, rinse out the gravel, put it back in, put the plant back in, put the treated water in, then finally put him back in.
Is this a good way to take care of my betta fish? My mom thinks I’m overfeeding him, but he ravenously eats all the pellets within a minute of me dropping them into his bowl, so it seems like he’s actually quite hungry; does this mean I’m not feeding him enough? Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!
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I am sorry, but no. A single liter of water is much too small. He should have at the very least 2.5 gallons, but preferably over 5 gallons. He should also have a gentle filter such as a sponge filter and an aquarium heater to keep the temperature steady between 77F-82F.
You should nevever completely clean it out, nor should you remove the fish. It’s stressful.
As for feeding, feed him no more than you are now. I feed mine 2-3 pellets per day, and brine shrimp/bloodworms once a week.
~Please disregard Dominnic’s advice. It makes me want to smash my forehead onto the keyboard.
A larger tank would be a good thing. one liter?????? he’s not hiding in that plant, he has nowhere else to go.
how would you like to be cooped up in a liter bowl? get it an aquarium at least 5 gallon a filter a heater and REAL plants.the fish will love you for this and u will be happy. btw your mom was right you are overfeeding 2 pellets morning 2 blood worms at night keep the schedule of feeding consistent
well alot of people make the mistake of overfeeding bettas.that is the main problem betta owners have.they always overfeed them because they think they are hungry but they aren’t.they will just “starve” to get your attention and when it “starves” the owners think that it’s hungry so they feed it but no it’s not hungry but it will still eat it for your attention.you are not overfeeding it but i’m just warning you.you are taking good care of it except for it’s bowl.it should have something bigger no smaller than 3 gallons so you should be getting it at least a 3 gallon tank.i recommend a 5 gallon tank.at least but a 3 is okay.i have mines in a 10 gallon tank.you will also need a heater for it.it does not ned anything else.just a heater and a filter but only if the tank is big because they don’t like strong currents.here’s a site that is about bettas.it might be helpful to you. http://bettatalk.com/ good luck.and remember your betta will “starve” for your attention but it isn’t hungry so just watch out and don’t over feed it or it will get dropsy.which is a disease.
Great!!!!
A liter (or quart) of water needs 2 water changes every week (every 3 days), but if his water parameters (ammonia, nitrate and nitrite) are fine you can get away with once weekly.
You clean the bowl the same way I do so your doing it right
Overfeeding is not just about him not eating it so much as it is about him eating to much, if he eats all his food and still has a rounded (but not fat) belly then you are fine. Bettas are ALWAYS hungry, no matter how much you feed them, he will not starve but he does like the food.
Bettas are tropical fish and require a tropical temperature of 76F-82F, however bettas don’t seem to mind room temperature.
You will hear “bettas need 2.5 gallons of water” this is not true, see your betta is doing fine in 1 liter, bettas don’t like filtration since they naturally come from still water. If you want a filter add a small live plant. I know what you are thinking “how do plants filter the water?” they contain good guy bacteria that all fish need, this is called biofiltration, plus plants will take up some fish waste, if you add a plant trim it often so your fish still has room, then again you don’t need a live plant.
Have a lid! bettas love to jump! but bettas need to breath air so make sure it is vented.
The main thing you should try to do is upgrade the size of tank the betta is in. They reallty do need 5 gallons to be happy.You sound like you have a good cleaning schedule, but try to do only a 40% water change once a week, so then the betta won’t have to get moved.
Some betta experts are here so you could ask at: http://aquaticpassion.animal-world.com/index.php?act=idx
It seems your OK. Bettas DO NOT NEED A LOT OF ROOM. Fake plants are OK too. I had a betta that lived for 2 years on pretty much what you’re giving your betta.
Hey..sounds good but you may be feeding him too much. They can get overweight and end up unable to swim much. Many fish do not know when they are full so they just keep eating. Mine does that and started getting big around the middle so I’m feeding him only once a day which is working out perfect…he is still doing great! http://www.ehow.com/how_4997139_care-betta-fish.html That article has some pretty good tips. You may not need to change a 1 liter bowl that often. Bettas are originally from ponds in Japan so they are used to stagnant/stale water. Just wait until the water starts to seem a little bit cloudy. If it still looks crystal clear, don’t change it yet.
Also, disregard the person who said never to take your betta out of his tank to clean it. You can do this, just limit the movement as much as possible. http://www.ehow.com/how_5010634_clean-betta-fishs-tank.html has some great step-by-step directions on how to clean the fish tank. I have never had a problem with my bettas being taken out of their tank. Just make sure the water is back to normal temp before you put them back in!
ive had a toattal of four bettas that i can acctually call mine ,one tip is if you choose fillteration use a fillteration tube not a traditional filler system
my first betta died beacause he was sucked into the fillter he live for an hour ,i was three my second betta lived in a one and a half gallon pitcher no filter he lived for two years and i was little so i might have cleaned the tank one in the bettas life he was strangles by alage grouth that had formed a net around the tank
my third betta was my happiessed betta lived a full live in a quart of water ,a betta tank i could gett him to chase a gold string around the small space he lived in .my betta now is my most pampered betta lives in a tube filterd tank thats about a gallon and a fourth and likes to watch you when u walk by