Wanting To Learn About Bettas

[Spishkey]

i have followed this section of the forum for a long while and am so fascinated by these fish, such beauty! i would really like to start keeping them, and maybe in the future breed them.



so for a newbie like me what would you advise? what set up would be good to start keeping bettas? i have a few aquariums but they are all full of various fish. do bettas live ok in a community tank or are they better in a species only? i know i must seperate males, but how many females should be kept together?

is there any good sites on betta keeping?


the two tanks i have going spare are a 60L and a 180L i was going to use the 180 for a marine set up but it looks too hard lol!


any advice/links/books anyone can recommend? id be very grateful. want to get my research done before i even dream of buying them (though if i can get it done within the next few months, my LFS is selling bettas for just €2,50 (thats about £1.90? is that a good price?)

 

[minxfishy]

I dont know anything about females, but I have 5 males! (Divided tanks)

The minimum you want for a single male is 5 gallons. So the 60L would be more than enough for one male. Depending on the personality of the betta, you can keep them with certain other fish, but I dont think a full blown community tank is a good idea.

They like minimal current, so a small sponge filter with adjustable flow is a good idea, or you can reduce the flow by using some sponge or angling the filter outlet to the side of the tank (as I do).

Substrate isnt necessary unless you want it, gravel or sand, nothing sharp ornament wise or they can catch their fins and cause damage, so live or silk plants are best. All mine and I know a lot of others on here have little terracotta flower pots in the tanks as a 'home' for then, some of mine like theirs, others never go in them

Some of the fish that are ok with bettas are harlequin Rasboras and corydoras. Really its best to have a back up plan with anything you add to a betta tank, as they can be fine one minute and turn into the devil the next but definatley nothing with long flowing fins or any nippy fish.


Someone else will know more about females and have plenty more advice on males for ya, but thats a start

This is my 65L which is divided into 3 sections for 3 males, so with a 60L you could always divide it and get more than one male

 

[Spishkey]

oh gorgeous tank, how do you divivde the tank like that? is it with the stuff you told me to get for the oscars?

do you need seperate filters/heaters in each section or does it flow through ok?

 

[minxfishy]

You can buy special dividers for small tanks, or there is a link around here somewhere for how to do it yourself. You wouldnt need anything quite so heavy as would be needed for dividing the oscars Althouth you have to make sure there isnt even the smallest of gaps or they will squeeze thru to get to each other. Mine tried

If you get the dividers, they come with tiny holes in them, so that the water flows thru and you only need the one filter in one of the sections. The pic you see of mine only has two as I was in the process of dividing another tank and needed to keep the extra filter running before transferring it.

Hold on, I will see if I can find the link for dividing a betta tank for you.

Ok, here is the link I used to work out how to divide my tanks, there are lots of links and idea in here, hope this helps

http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...Divide-A-Tank-/

 

[Spishkey]

you are a star!!!!

 

[minxfishy]

Also forgot to mention, they like the temp to be on the high end I keep mine at around 80F, although if your going to put other fish with them, then you might have to fiddle it a bit to meet their needs to, but betta, Ive found are more active in warmer water.

They also are not partial to normal flake food, but you can buy betta pellets or I find mine like the micro granules you can get too. Also they love bloodworm, brineshrimp and daphnia.

 

[ReMz]

If you go the route of dividing tanks be VERY careful. I've had a couple guys get at each other in the past and again just recently (moved the tank around and didn't re-check the gaps >_< ). It SUCKS.

Males are much prettier fish and if you are just getting started with bettas, just get a single male or a divided tank with a couple if you must. That way you will be able to capture their personality. They are certainly inquisitive little guys.

For a female tank, you would be best having a 10gal minimum. You have to keep 5 or more females and introduce them at the same time. If you introduce more in the future, it is best to take all of them out, rearrange things a bit, and add the most aggressive females last. If you keep less than 5 females you run the risk of them fighting quite often and the weaker ones getting beat to hell.

Other tips.... hmmm....
Keeping the temp around 78-80 seems to be ideal. Hikari Betta Bio-gold is the best food imo and other people here will recommend it. Make sure that you keep the filter current down as minx said. Whisper makes a good line of hang on the back filters that have adjustable current (adjustable current is a really good thing to have).

Shy away from keeping them in a community. You can always try it, but the outcome usually isn't good. I (and many others) have successfully kept bettas with Otos (Otocinclus Catfish). They are fast, so male bettas usually cannot catch them, and they wont/can't nip fins.

Bettatalk.com is a good resource for learning about behaviour to look for, disease, and any other advice you could want.

 

[missigfunk]

Just want to let you know that you have come to the right place!

These people are fantastic!!