New To Bettas

[Ficious]

Hello all! Im looking to get myself a betta. A few years back i would never want such a fish and though that they were tacky. Now, Im finding out theyre a neat fish to have. I was at petsmart and saw they had some "reguler" bettas for 5 dollars and crowntails for 6. the crowntails were amazing and the only thing stopping me was that i bought a puffer instead. I thought the betta can wait but now its time.

what are things to look for when buying a betta?
how long do they live?
do they need betta food or can they eat flakes
do they need aeration?

the tank is 1.5usg and has an art deco nano filter. the heater is a mini "pad" that sits under the sand...will this be enough? the temp will be from 74-82 depending on what it is outside.


thanks for all you help guys

 

[kim03333]

hi, if i am buying any fish the first thing to look at is the tank in which it is being kept and the other tankmates to ensure they are healthy. fish shops often put these poor little guys into tanks with fish such as tetras which, although generally peasceful, will have a go at their fins, so check his fins at what sort of state they are in.
i don't know how long they live for
they should be ok on a flake food diet, but i have heard they can be extremely fussy eaters so don't be suprised if he doesn't take the flakes. anyway he would enjoy live foods or frozen foods such as brine shrimp. probably more readily accept the wet frozen rather than freeze dried.
he would do well with aeration as he needs oxygen but bettas don't appreciate a strong current of water flow so maybe a small filter set to minimal water flow
hope this helps

 

[Ficious]

thanks a lot kim for your time! i bought a good looking one...my first betta ever! whoop whoop, good advice that led to a good buy

 

[ReMz]

hi, if i am buying any fish the first thing to look at is the tank in which it is being kept and the other tankmates to ensure they are healthy. fish shops often put these poor little guys into tanks with fish such as tetras which, although generally peasceful, will have a go at their fins, so check his fins at what sort of state they are in.
i don't know how long they live for
they should be ok on a flake food diet, but i have heard they can be extremely fussy eaters so don't be suprised if he doesn't take the flakes. anyway he would enjoy live foods or frozen foods such as brine shrimp. probably more readily accept the wet frozen rather than freeze dried.
he would do well with aeration as he needs oxygen but bettas don't appreciate a strong current of water flow so maybe a small filter set to minimal water flow
hope this helps

Do ppl like you post cuz you truly think you know what you are talking about or are you genuinely oblivious.

Ficious. ignore that post. Kim... do some research and quite handing out false info.

When buying a betta:
-Look for the betta's sense of awareness. The more they interact with you the better
-Stay away from torn/rotting fins
-Make sure the betta is showing no lethargy
-If buying from betta cups, move them around in their organization and observe their behavior... it's easy to spot an ill betta (and unless you know what you are doing you should not try to save the guy due to sympathy)
-I always set up the top 5 choices of the bunch on my own rack somewhere in the store to decide.

Flake food IS NOT suitable for bettas. You need to buy betta pellets. I use Hikari Betta Bio-Gold.

Aeration IS NOT necessary or recommended. Bettas breathe surface air.

A 1.5 gallon with a small filter and heater should work well. Just invest in a cheap thermometer to verify the temp is staying at a suitable level. If you suspect your filter is creating quite a bit of current, you will have to modify it a bit.

Keep in mind 1.5 gallons isn't "advisable". Larger (as in 2.5 gallons or more) is better.