[RobertsKitty]

Guess what my newest addition to the zoo is going to be!! I just recently decided out of the blue to get a betta fish. I am planning on a 1.5-2.0 gallon tank and I've already picked most the the supplies (pay day next week). Any advice from all of you out there who have one?

[mommy4syd]

Advice is get the biggest tank you can afford, Bettas are just like any other tropical fish even though people seem to think that they can keep them in jars and such its not the proper housing. I kept mine in a minimum of 5 gallons, most in 10 gallon planted tanks. They do need heaters in their tanks and some can get along w/ other fish just make sure that you dont put another male w/ them! I have kept black tetras, cardinals and some platties w/ Bettas! Hope this helps, oh and dont listen to store empolyees telling you to feed them twice a week they want to eat daily too, feed them about 5 pellets and watch to see if they eat them, if they do repeat the next day!

[RobertsKitty]

Thanks for the info!!

[am0z]

I would suggest to be careful about housing them together as their other name is the "Siamese fighting fish". In middle school coulds would buy them and put bets on who's fish would win. Now this is inhumane in the sense that they are forcing a natural instinct for entertainment, but I have a chronic gambling lust so I never condemned it I would just place my wagers, and wait for the end result (don't judge me... it's a disease) So I guess what I'm getting at is that they don't make too many friends. My daughter loves fish and I have half a mind to get her a beta myself, but I hate it when I can't hold a pet. Really I'm kinda weird on the whole holding issue. It seems like all the pets that I buy tend to be biters or tail whippers. I guess I just like a challenge. I do however think that the black molly is about the coolest looking fish ever.

[truman]

Be sure to put some fake foliage in there for your betta to hide in. In the wild, they live in rice paddies and pretty much hide all day unless eating. I had a betta and I bought a little beta tank for him that came with plastic foliage. He just loved to sit in it all the time, thinking he was being stealthy.

They have a betta at the place where I have my hair done, and all he has is one tiny string of fake plant material. The poor thing tries so hard to 'hide' in it but it just doesn't work!

[kalipso2]

i spontaneously bought a betta about 3 months ago on my lunch hour. he's such a pretty blue and i named him Barry

i swear he recognizes me! every morning i come into work and say good morning to him and he swims around so fast like he's excited to see me... or happy to be fed lol

i actually bought 2 live plants that i put in his tank. i don't know if it makes him any happier but he does like swimming thru them!

[JulieNKC]

Careful with the fake foliage, if there's too much they might tear their fins up.
Mines in a gallon aquarium, but I do partial water changes almost every day to keep the water quality decent. He gets as much as he can eat in 5 min once a day, and he will let me know if I m late with his food! I'm glad they can't talk cause I would hate to hear what he's saying then.
I've had him for a year and a half, and don't know how old he was when I inherited him from my sis when she moved to Florida. Anyone know how long they live? Hopefully for a long time, sometimes when the dog and birds are being a pain I think he's my favorite out of the bunch.

[Sandi Kiwis Mom]

I bought a Betta about 4 yrs ago......didn't last long as I gave it to someone else. Too many animals, pets, fish, dogs, Birds to take care of

[truman]

My poor little guy only lasted three years. I inherited him from my niece who got him from her boyfriend so I'm not sure how long they had him (probably not long as they were pretty negligent so I don't think he would have survived). I think he would have lived longer if we didn't move to FL. He only lasted a year after the move and I really think the water quality had something to do with it. I'm not sure what he died of, but the poor baby went blind (I would guide him to his food), then finally listed over to the side one day and went to fishy heaven. I miss him...he was a cute little guy and so enthusiastic at feeding time.

[tress29]

We had a blue crowntail named Darth Betta! He just dies this past weekend. We figured he was almost 4, which is good for a betta. I had him in a large jar on my kitchen counter, and changed out his water once a week. We'd put him back in the (butter tub) sized container he came in and he'd make the trip to TN with us twice a year! My mom thought it was the craziest thing, but she always liked seeing him.

My boys want to get another one, but I'm undecided. They are definitely less work than the 55 galloon tank with Oscars were...

[Jessica~Pickles]

I'd say set up a 10 gallon tank with some other fish for him Contrary to popular belief they do fine with other fish as long as the fish aren't gouramis, angelfish, big enough to eat him, or have long flowing fins. He would be fine with something like a clown pleco, or bristlenose, and are good with pretty much any tetras (they might go after his fins) danios (they are coldwater though), platies, guppies (sometimes, my bettas never had problems with them), otocinclus, upside down catfish, khuli loaches etc, even a whole group of female bettas might work

[Siobhan]

I love bettas but I do hate seeing them in stores or at businesses in some tiny little vase-like container that's already too full of plants, so the poor fish has to swim in tiny endless circles. Get yours a nice BIG house! And they DO recognize you and exhibit personalities. I've had a couple, some years ago (at separate times) and they would come to the side of the tank when I walked through the room, even if it wasn't supper time. If memory serves, they lived two or three years, but our water isn't very good -- too many factories in this town -- and that may have kept them from living longer. I know I finally had to give up on tropical fish because no matter what I did, or how many treatments I gave the water and how carefully I followed directions on purifying it, I began to feel like the Josef Mengele of the fish species.

[Jessica~Pickles]

Yeah I gave up fish keeping too...bought all the fancy stuff to make a beautiful planted tank...my tank was gorgeous!!! For about a week. The algae would take over, I supplemented the plants, bought algae eaters, the right lighting, the plants just died and soon the whole tank was green and brown with some fish swimming around. So I gave up after spending a fortune on it.

[twiglet]

I bought a Betta, and a small teeny bowl for him. I thought he needed a bigger tank, so bought him a 5 gallon tank, and some live plants. Then I thought he was lonely so I bought him some guppies. The guppies keep having babies, so now I have a 5 gallon tank full of guppies and a betta. They make him fight for his food. I am going to have to re home some of them. See what happens. Kinda like a snowball rolling down a hill.

I will not buy a bigger tank. I will not buy a bigger tank. I will not buy a bigger tank. Oh I hope that works

[tress29]

Well, after Darth died, my boys wanted to get another betta. We were off school last week, so one of our outings was to PetsMart. Terry got a pretty burgundy colored guy. His body is mixed with a tan color, and the ends of his fins/tail are white. Since Terry is on a WWE kick, he has been named, the Undertaker! BJ's guy has a deep blue almost black body. His fins/tail are dark red near the body, but almost irridescant teal at the ends. He is named Ben (from the Ben 10 Alien Force series BJ loves!)

I'll get their tanks setup this week, before the boys arrive. I've got several plants and tank deco they can chose from...

[RobertsKitty]

I hope you don't mean your keeping them together in one tank! They will kill eachother

[tress29]

I hope you don't mean your keeping them together in one tank!

Oh, no! I have two 2.5 gallon tanks. I used to have one on my desk at work, and a co-worker got one for her teeny goldfish. Well, her fish long ago outgrew the tank, and she ended up giving the tank to me. I'll set them up in their own tanks, one on either side of the kitchen sink. I don't want them in the boys' room, and I don't have enough horizontal space anywhere else.

[msdani1981]

I bought a Betta, and a small teeny bowl for him. I thought he needed a bigger tank, so bought him a 5 gallon tank, and some live plants. Then I thought he was lonely so I bought him some guppies. The guppies keep having babies, so now I have a 5 gallon tank full of guppies and a betta. They make him fight for his food. I am going to have to re home some of them. See what happens. Kinda like a snowball rolling down a hill.

I will not buy a bigger tank. I will not buy a bigger tank. I will not buy a bigger tank. Oh I hope that works

In all honesty, I think you should buy a bigger tank.

Depending on how many guppies you have, a 10 to 15 gallon should be adequate. Just a thought, we want your fishies to be happy!

Dani

[Katie28]

Do not put them in front of a mirror unless supervised!!! I put my betta in front of a mirror and left for the day, I came up and he was dead. I called the vets office just to ask him what may have caused this, and he said that my fish probably tried to attack his own reflection and knocked himself dead. I don't know if all bettas are like this, or if mine had super fighting attitude. Please be careful! We don't want to see another healthy betta dying because of a simple mistake. Take care and all the best!