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A Persian liquor store had those terrible little two ounce type of small plastic cups and I saw two beautiful white Betta, most likely female due to their unpretentious fins.
I purchased them at five bucks apiece (I know, this is more than how they're usually marketed) but they were so darling I had to rescue them.
I have NOT raised fish in about a decade, or so it seems, and I don't know much about Betta, and I'm assiduously performing my research on the internet on care tips.
Some concerns I could not find addressed though :
1. How fragile are these fish? I bought them from a shady liquor store, I didn't know how long the fish were kept there for (since the owner didn't speak much English), and they had a VERY TRAUMATIZING 30 minute freeway ride home (I tried to drive gently but c'mon, we all go over 70 MPH on the freeway)
2. Is Reverse Osmosis water alright for these fish? I use RO water on my venus fly traps, hee.
3. Does anyone have a decent lump of Java moss they could donate to my 2 poor adoptees?I would be so grateful.
4. Any other useful tips would be most graciously appreciated, thank you.
Pic coming up soon but I don't want to shock them with the flash or too many light changes. I am scared for their lives anyway, in fact, could not even bring myself to name them.
-Caro
From what I understand about Betta's...
1) They hate each other so keep them seperate. You can buy aquariums that are split down the middle to keep them apart.
2) They can breath air like us so you don't need anything to add oxygen in the water.
Thats all I know about them.
My life sucks
I used to raise show bettas... so hold onto your socks.
1: FEMALES can live together. The way you can see if it's female is to view it from beneath. A female will have a white bump between the two ventral fins. Some females can have longer fins, and some Plakat males (Thai fighting bettas) have short fins. If they aggressively flare at eachother they don't like eachother. That can mean you have to agressive females, a female and a male, or two males.
2: Two female bettas could probably co-exist in a five gallon tank, but not much smaller. Females are still territorial, and will occasionally put the smack down. Separating the tank into two sides will help. Provide a hiding spot on each side as well. Plants, clay pots on their sides, those kinds of things. A peice of "plastic canvas" used in yarn needlework can be inserted into the tank like a divider, while allowing for good airflow. Black is asthetically a bit nicer.
3: If you place each fish in a bowl make sure it has a lot of surface space. An "open" bowl is better than one with a small opening, for air cirulation purposes. Bettas are labyrinth fish and breathe air at the surface, rather than breathing it from the water. Give them good lighting, and some kind of plant. I suggest Java Moss, or cryptocorines they both do well in low light, and are attractive. Aponogeton Crispus is also nice (packs of bulbs from Wal-Mart).
Placing a peice of the aforementioned plastic canvas over the bowl or tank will help prevent escape attempts. Bettas will occasionally fling themselves many feet from the tank in a little emo-suicide-attempt.
4: contrary to popular opinion bettas won't die in larger tanks, or tanks with circulation. In fact, they kinda like gentle circulation. Placing a filter in the middle of the tank will keep the water from going stagnant, and provide more biological filtration. Placing it in the center means it will deflect evenly against the front wall, rather than blowing constantly from one end (which will annoy any fish trying to live there).
5: Bottled water isn't important as long as the water provided is clean. De-chlor and water conditioners are good, but I'd get some Melafix, or stresszyme if they've been through a bad patch of care. It helps restore the slime coat and heal any wounds. I swear by Melafix to help heal fin burn from ammonia.
6: Don't spend the extra, godawful, money on tiny packs of special betta food. Hikari Cichlid Bio Gold pellets in "baby" size has the same nutiritional value as Hikari Betta Bio Gold... and costs way less for the volume. It'll last a -long- time. Also, the small size makes it easy for the bettas to eat, but still visible enough that it won't sink and rot.
7: do a water change once a week (1/4th to 1/2 of the tank volume) and a complete water change once a month, with a good rinse of the gravel and filter media if you're using bowls. Small tanks (2-5gl) can have a 10% water change once a week, and a thorough cleaning of the gravel once a month with a siphon tube. If you're a really nice mummy, you might do like I did and create a drip-system, then again... I had about thirty.
8: Every now and then provide them with some kind of fresh food like frozen brineshrimp, bloodworms, artemia, cyclopeeze, etc. It will help keep their color good, and bring in traces of things they aren't getting in their staple.
9: Bettas make a funny noise. It sounds like a high pitched clicking. They're grinding their teeth. If you hear it don't freak out. You'll also hear the noice when they're eating sometimes.
10: if you decide to breed them you will need a breeding tank that's large and shallow, you'll need sponge filters, live food cultures of microworms, live food cultures for the parents to condition on, and individual tanks for the male offspring. In other words, try not to breed them.
I've got some java moss, plastic canvas, and supports left over from when I raised bettas. Drop me a PM.
hello, sorry for taking the topic away, but what other small fish can live with betta? and i was looking at a snail of some sort or small shrimp, which would be best to "help" keep the bowl clean?
Livebearers (guppies, mollies, platties, swordtails) as well as other anabantoids (gouramis)can live with them, as well as many tetras and danios.Originally Posted by [b
I think entwined covered it all for Carito!
Caro, you could also get a male betta and have it be like a Beach Boys song - the one where the chorus goes, "two girls for every boy".
Seriously, if you want to know how to breed them, I can help you with that. I bred bettas and different types of gouramis when I was a teen.
Bettas can live with fish that don't look like bettas. So basically avoid flowy fins. For that reason I've heard (fancy) guppies and gouramis are iffy, but I haven't tried it. Snails are fine. Shrimp will be murdered horribly. I can attest that otos, cories, and loaches are fine.
About the RO water... nope, shouldn't use it. As far as I know all the "stuff" in tap water acts as a buffer against big ph shifts... plus some of the minerals are good for the fish just like they're good for us (I guess fish drink as well as eat... you just never really see it
I'd recommend not having just two females together. A bunch of females is more stable than just two. They're still pretty mean (even meaner than males in some ways)... and a hierarchy develops of who's the boss of who. If it's just two, one ends up being on top and she harasses the other one pretty relentlessly. If there's a bunch of them the abuse is more distributed.
What's weird is the best betta arrangement I've ever had was a father with 3 of his daughters. He was old and grumpy so he didn't bother them much, and all of them knew they were underlings so they didn't pick on each other much. I DO NOT recommend trying this, but it's worth mentioning.
If you start thinking about breeding, well, it's a pain in the butt, and basically just a labor of love (you certainly won't profit monetarily
I'd avoid guppies, because they likely won't have fins for very long around bettas. Anything small enough to fit into a betta's mouth will go in it's mouth. Mollies, platties, swordtails, and the like are okay. Most tetras aren't, because they will nip the betta's fins. A betta is a "top feeder" which means it'll spend more of it's time swimming around. I generally go with bottom feeders (like a cory cat, otto... something fairly small) to avoid too much direct confrontation.
As far as snails, Malasian trumpet snails, "pond snails" and emerald nerites are the only snails I recommend. Ramshorn snails don't live very long, and end up dying somewhere gross. Apple snails are the same. Trumpet snails keep the tank fairly clean, are small, and have a very thick shell that the betta has some trouble getting through. Pond snails are small, but have very thin shells and breed like crazy. The way I "deal" with an overpopulation of pond snails is to crush them with my finger against the glass (eww), and the betta will generally eat what's left.
Glass/ghost shrimp are okay, and very fun to watch. I suggest if you get one of those you also get some java moss, or some other dense, low-light plant (or, perhaps a fake plant). Plants, snails, and shrimp really make a tank "alive" in my opinion. Seeing as how a lot of places now stock bulbs and floating plants, it can't hurt to pick a few that will thrive under a desk lamp, and give your betta a more rich environment.
i am thinking about getting one betta and a few shrimp. my fish bowl is 5 and a half inches tall, 5 and a half inches long, 3 and a half inches wide. what kind of shrimp will stay small enough to live in here successfully with betta? if none stay this small, what snail should i put in here?
shrimp = food
If the shrimp can't fit in the betta's mouth, then...
shrimp eyeballs = food
Seriously.
I've had glass shrimp in with bettas for years, endparenthesis... most bettas -don't- care. Unfortunately, there are no shrimp that will live happily in that small of a container, and not even the betta will be happy in there.
You want a tank that the fish can actually turn around in. Bettas get over three inches, he won't even be able to turn. Go with a gallon bowl if you want a small container.
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