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Fighting fish better known as betta
Betta Splendens
All of this information is helpful for the basic needs of the Betta but I have got a great book that goes into great detail on how to have the Betta thrive in your tank and possibly if you wish have is breed in your tank, for the book Click Here!
It belongs to the family anabantidae
Click here to learn more about Anabantoids, and what makes them unique.
Cost: $2-3
Origin:
Malayan peninsula and Thailand
Description:
General shape, slender-bodied, compressed sides that give it a skinny look. Fins, long,broad anal fin, with a long and tall dorsal fin. It has narrow, pointed, and elongated pelvic fins. Gets up to 2 ½” (6cm)
Color:
Many variations.
Sexual distinction:
The females look much plainer then males.
Tank Conditions:
Temperature 77-86 degrees Fahrenheit (25-30 Celsius.) The higher temperature is for breeding only. Ph and water hardness are not really that important. It’s recommended, that if possible, that softer water be used. The tank needs moderate to good lighting. The tank should be sooted with medium to thick vegetation. The water level should be a little on the low side to prevent the fish from jumping out. The substrate should be soft with a thin layer of humus. A well covered tank with some floating plants will finish this magnificent fish’s living space.
Food:
Mostly live food such as brine shrimp or I use guppy fry, but a high quality dry food will be fine.
Behavior:
The males are extremely aggressive and will compete in vicious battles.
Sexual maturity and reproduction:
Builds bubble nests among the plants and decorations in the tank. They use the bubbles to support the eggs. After the spawning process has finished the female will need to be removed, the male will look over the new brood. Once the eggs begin to hatch (24-30 hours later) the male will need to be removed.
Compatibility:
Do not keep the males of the same species together in the same tank. Best if just kept in specie tanks.
Here is the question Brianna, a fellow reader asked.
“How many times a day do I feed Betta fish? And how about gold fish? It doesn’t say on the label of the food. How often should I clean Betta fish’s bowls? Gold fish? And also, why do all of my gold fish swim to the top of the bowl and keep continuously opening and closing their mouths? It looks like they’re grasping for air. I no that it’s not because they aren’t getting enough food because they do it all the time, even after I feed them at least two pinches. And when I went to take the pictures of the fish, before the camera died like 3 min. after trying to use it, their where big glares on the fish bowls. And I can’t turn the flash off. Sorry I can’t get the pictures.
- Brianna”
Thanks for the questions Brianna.
Feeding Bettas and Goldfish.
The betta only need a few pieces of food once a day. If there is left over food floating on top of the water simply pick it out and throw it away. Any left over food will pollute the water effecting your Bettas health.
Goldfish are a different story, fish off what kind of Goldfish do you have? Without having an idea it’s kind of hard to tell you what to do but here’s the general care for most goldfish. Feed them a sinking pellet, it’s extremely important that you feed your goldfish sinking pellets. You wanting to feed the sinking pellets because when a goldfish has to go to the surface of the water and suck food into it’s mouth it ingests small amounts air each time it feeds. Once enough air has been swallowed the bladder is effected the goldfish may start to swim upside down because it is not able to release the air that is trapped inside it. If you run into this problem let me know and I can go into deal on how to resolve this problem.
If you, above all means, want to feed your goldfish a flake food it’s important that you feed them with a turkey baster or your hand.
Here is what you will do:
Take a small cup, fill the cup half-way full of water and than place some of the flake food into the water. Let the flakes have a minute to soak in the water. After the flakes have soaked for a minute of two take your turkey baster and suck up the food, put the turkey baster about half way down into the tank and slowly squeeze out the food. This process lets the goldfish eat the flakes without ingesting air causing further health problems.
A more simple but messier method is to simply take a pinch of the goldfish flakes and stick your hand about half way into the tank and let the goldfish eat out of your hands. It’s a little bit messy for you but I find that many people like this kind of interaction with their pet fish.
Cleaning the Bettas and Goldfish tanks:
The betta bowl or tank should be cleaned once every one to two weeks depending on the tanks size and weather or not you have a filter for the betta.
What size tank do you have the betta in?
Here are the cleaning methods for both the popular betta bowls and the common 10 gallon fish tank:
For the betta bowl simply tank out 2-4 cups worth of water and pour it down the drain. Take out a bowl or bucket to place the freshwater into for treatment. Once you have treated the new water with a de-chlorinizer pour the new fresh water into the Bettas bowl and your done.
P.s 2-4 cups is roughly 10-20% of the total water in a common betta bowl so calculate 10-15% of the the water in the Betta bowl and simply do that large of a water change.
If you have your Betta in a 10 gallon fish tank then simply tank your gravel vaccum and siphon the left over waste out of your substrate (the bedding, rock, gravel etc. in your tank). Change anywhere between 1-2 gallons. Treat your tap water once again and pour it back into the tank.
Cleaning a goldfish tank:
Goldfish are very messy eaters and produce a lot of waste so cleaning their tank is very important. Clean their tank every 10-14 days depending on the size tank you have your goldfish in and how many you have in it. Clean the goldfish tank the same way you would clean a standard tank, no special treatment required.
Why are my fish gasping at the surface?
This is common for fish to do when there is a lack of oxygen in the tank, simply get an air pump and an air stone and see if that solves the problem.
If there air pump doesn’t do it for you than it may be a more serious problem where there are high ammonia levels in the tank and to help correct the ammonia balance just do a larger than normal water change, around 25%.
And sorry to hear that the pictures will not be coming, I was really looking forward to them, but I understand.
Ok, so I feel like I have covered a lot of information really fast and so if you don’t understand something please, don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks
Bettas are my favorites. I keep them in 4 gallon tanks. keeping the fry alive is big problem.
thanks for sharing…
I love Bettas like anything. I think I can get the perfect info from this blog. Thanks for sharing all secrets!!!