Anything I Need To Know About Bettas?

[K.J.]

How much they cost and the like, nutritional information, their preffered tank size.. I already know two can't go in one tank, but aside from that...?


Edit: Okay, so I decided to add a little bit more. My tank has gravel and one figure, although when I buy the beta I will get a plant or two. My tank is about... 2.5 gallons. What water temp do they prefer and what is a good brand of food to buy for them? Also, is Petsmart a good place to buy them?

 

[Loko17]

Hi K.J., Sounds like your tank is good for one male or female betta. They prefer a water temp between 75 and 80 degrees fahrenheit. Petsmart isnt the best place to buy bettas but if you do get one from there try to find a really healthy one. The food I use is Tetra's bettamin flakes, it has a blend of flakes and freeze dried brine shrimp and my bettas love it. One thing you should know is with a small tank you need to do at least a 100% water change once a week. Good luck with the new betta, may I recommend you try to get a crowntail if your petsmart has them because they're great, I have a male and a female and i love them.

 

[Discovery86]

IMO where to get your betta depends on how healthy they are. I agree with Loko17, petsmart isn't the best place to get them. I buy my fish from Petco, but lately the Bettas all look very lethargic, and not healthy in general. I think I might end up going to Petsmart next time I get one. They look healthier and are more active.
Anyway, wherever you go, look for a healthy one.

 

[Loko17]

What I find from my petsmart is they have so many bettas that they cant take care of them as well as they should, usually you can find some healthier one at a small petstore with a nice healthy fish environment or a store that specializes in fish. Maybe try to go around looking for small pet and fish stores. Good luck

 

[wodesorel]

Make sure to ask the store what they feed their bettas when you buy one. The last three bettas I've bought have refused to eat anything but what they were fed by the store/breeder... And of course I didn't buy it with the fish so I had to make a special trip for it... And of course they had to eat three different brands of food....

Save yourself the headache and buy a container of the stuff they're used to, and then you can change it to whatever food you prefer once they're comfortable in their new home.

Maybe not everyone has had this trouble, but it seems to be a running gag in my house.

 

[Loko17]

That usually isnt a problem, It might be a good idea to do that but all of mine have readily taken the food i got when I got my first, they did all come from the same store so its possible what I got is what they had been fed there which now that I think about it Jim(LFS guy) did point me towards that stuff, said it was good. But yea you might want to think about doing that. Happy hunting

 

[lisie]

I think everything's pretty much been covered, but I have something to add regarding food. None of my bettas have ever eaten flake food. Probably just because they're spoiled rotten in that area. In my opinion, the more frozen food (brine shrimp, bloodworms, etc.) that you feed, the better. I give my guys one frozen meal and one pellet meal a day. The pellets I'm using now are Atison's Betta Pro, which is great, especially for the price ($5 for a little tub that'll last a looong time), but up until a little while ago I used Hikari Betta Bio-Gold, which is really good too, it just gets super expensive when you've got 39 little mouths to feed. Also, if you do feed frozen food at all, get Hikari brand. I've heard of bettas getting sick after being fed off-brand frozen foods, but Hikari's always a trusted brand.

 

[BWBettas]

$5 for a lil tub!! gee i paid £6 for the same one. the pink lid?? DAMN

Bret

 

[RandomWiktor]

I'm with lisie about foods for bettas; freeze dried foods, including flakes, can contribute to swim bladder disease in bettas, and increase the chance of constipation - which in fish, can be fatal! My suggestion would be a high quality pellet like one of the brands mentioned, or even multiple brands for greater nutritional variety. And frozen or live foods are great for bettas, esp. finicky ones; blood worms, brine shrimp, midas shrimp, etc. all seem to be loved by bettas. And of anything you can feed, they're the closest to what bettas would be eating in the wild, and as thus, are least likely to cause GI problems. Just make sure if you feed live that the source is good; bacterial contamination of live foods is sometimes an issue.
In a 2.5g tank, you could safely heat if need be. Either way, def. have a thermometer on it, as smaller tanks tend to heat up and cool down quickly. Bettas are pretty hardy about temp, but as mentioned, prefer 75 to 80 degrees. I've heard of them being "ok" in anything from 72-84, but those aren't really ideal ranges.
As for Petsmart... eh. They're "ok." I find their bettas to be at least a little healthier and better cared for than those at Petco and other chain stores, but that doesn't say much. As everyone mentioned, go for a healthy one; signs of a healthy betta would be a fish that is active, agressive, brightly colored, and in perfect fin and body condition, with a nice, clean cup. Make sure there are no lumps and bumps, white spots, fuzz, fin degradation, etc. If possible, go for someone with a bubblenest. It might also be good to go maybe 2 days after the newest shipment; the longer the fish is in the store, the less healthy it will be, and by 2 days, the ones that were going to die from shipping stress are generally gone.
Good luck, and you had better post pictures when you get him/her!