Are Bettas Salt Warter Fish?

[louis_23]

hi all im planing on getting a betta as my first fish ive got my tank almost ready it has warter and warter conditioner, ceramic media and i will be buying a heater for it today and maybe some silk plants or somthing let it sit like that for a further few days then go looking for the rite betta! however im still not going to get my betta till im fully satisfied that i know enough to look after it i been reading up on them abit on this forum but have not come across if they are salt warter fish or if not could they live in salt warter? im guessing they obviously are being a tropical fish but can they live in normal warter?

 

[electric yellow]

I will wait for someone more knowledgable to clarify the salt water thing. As far as i gather....tap water? Is that salt water? I dont think it is..I picture salt water being the same water marine tanks use not your every day tropical tank.

 

[wilsonnw8]

I will wait for someone more knowledgable to clarify the salt water thing. As far as i gather....tap water? Is that salt water? I dont think it is..I picture salt water being the same water marine tanks use not your every day tropical tank.

Yes dechlorinated tap water or treated tap water NOT salt water Bettas are not Brackish but salt is occationaly used as a treatment , your tank sounds great he will like silk plants!

 

[ReMz]

bettas are NOT saltwater fish.

Tropical does not equal saltwater.

 

[Honeythorn]

They are FRESH water fish. Not salt, and not brackish. In the wild they live in rice paddies and shallow streams with slow moving water ( but millions of gallons of it which is why there's no reason to keep them in 1-2 gallon tubs of doom ) .

Good choice for the ceramic media I use it in my 30 gal and it's excellent. Have you cycled your filter for at least a month? Or did you take the ceramics from another mature filter ( known as cloning, that's my preferred method of setting up a filter )



Do get the silk plants. Bettas like lots of vegetation to swim through and hide in, so lots of plants is a really good idea. Some people also like to provide a cave or smooth hollow ornament for the fish to hide in too. Coconut caves are quite popular.

 

[louis_23]

I will wait for someone more knowledgable to clarify the salt water thing. As far as i gather....tap water? Is that salt water? I dont think it is..I picture salt water being the same water marine tanks use not your every day tropical tank.

I will wait for someone more knowledgable to clarify the salt water thing. As far as i gather....tap water? Is that salt water? I dont think it is..I picture salt water being the same water marine tanks use not your every day tropical tank.

Yes dechlorinated tap water or treated tap water NOT salt water Bettas are not Brackish but salt is occationaly used as a treatment , your tank sounds great he will like silk plants!

bettas are NOT saltwater fish.

Tropical does not equal saltwater.

ok thanx guy's im a compleat novice i just asumed most tropical fish were salt warter

They are FRESH water fish. Not salt, and not brackish. In the wild they live in rice paddies and shallow streams with slow moving water ( but millions of gallons of it which is why there's no reason to keep them in 1-2 gallon tubs of doom ) .

Good choice for the ceramic media I use it in my 30 gal and it's excellent. Have you cycled your filter for at least a month? Or did you take the ceramics from another mature filter ( known as cloning, that's my preferred method of setting up a filter )



Do get the silk plants. Bettas like lots of vegetation to swim through and hide in, so lots of plants is a really good idea. Some people also like to provide a cave or smooth hollow ornament for the fish to hide in too. Coconut caves are quite popular.

thanx honeythorn my ceramics is new been sitting in my tank about three days with filter running is it gunna need anougher three and half weeks before adding a fish?

 

[Honeythorn]

I will wait for someone more knowledgable to clarify the salt water thing. As far as i gather....tap water? Is that salt water? I dont think it is..I picture salt water being the same water marine tanks use not your every day tropical tank.

I will wait for someone more knowledgable to clarify the salt water thing. As far as i gather....tap water? Is that salt water? I dont think it is..I picture salt water being the same water marine tanks use not your every day tropical tank.

Yes dechlorinated tap water or treated tap water NOT salt water Bettas are not Brackish but salt is occationaly used as a treatment , your tank sounds great he will like silk plants!

bettas are NOT saltwater fish.

Tropical does not equal saltwater.

ok thanx guy's im a compleat novice i just asumed most tropical fish were salt warter

They are FRESH water fish. Not salt, and not brackish. In the wild they live in rice paddies and shallow streams with slow moving water ( but millions of gallons of it which is why there's no reason to keep them in 1-2 gallon tubs of doom ) .

Good choice for the ceramic media I use it in my 30 gal and it's excellent. Have you cycled your filter for at least a month? Or did you take the ceramics from another mature filter ( known as cloning, that's my preferred method of setting up a filter )



Do get the silk plants. Bettas like lots of vegetation to swim through and hide in, so lots of plants is a really good idea. Some people also like to provide a cave or smooth hollow ornament for the fish to hide in too. Coconut caves are quite popular.

thanx honeythorn my ceramics is new been sitting in my tank about three days with filter running is it gunna need anougher three and half weeks before adding a fish?

Er...that won't do anything at all unless you took the ceramics from a maure filter that's been running for at least 6 months.

You need to grow some bacteria in the filter to break down the waste produced by any fish you add. I suggest you go to the New to the Hobby section of this website and read the stickied thread on Fishless cycling.

 

[saltynay]

ok thanx guy's im a complete novice i just asumed most tropical fish were salt warter

Your not that wrong as there is a large grey area between freshwater fish and brackish fish. Bettas will survive in brackish conditions if you very slowly add marine salt over the course of say a month but just because they will survive doesn't mean they will thrive. I treat my betta tank to tonic salt every week for a single dose as it helps keep the parasites and bacteria at a lower level reducing the stress on the guppy tank mates who are currently preggo and the less stressed the less stillborn are likely to be produced.

 

[Gemini]

One of the things I like about keeping Bettas is not having to mess around with salt water. De chlorinated tap water works fine. Although mine has to sit for a few days to get rid of nitrogen gas bubbles. A heater is important for a tropical fish though.

 

[Jazzzz]

please read about fishless cycling