What do I need to know about a Beta fish?

[Jennifer S]

My son who is 5 got a Siamese Fighting fish for Christmas from my mom. I never had one. How do I take care of it? Should I put a plant in the bowl. I'm reading mixed reviews.

Any info is appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[KAMLEM]

The only thing I ever heard is that you shouldn't put them in the same bowl because they will kill each other. My kids only had one at a time.

 

[Jennifer S]

He just got the one.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Not all that much to know. Put 'em in a bowl and feed them. Do partial water changes every so often. They are pretty hardy fish. They come from really nasty water, IRL. Keep them away from any fish that has a big swishy tail. Other than that, they really are maintainence free, basically.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

WARNING WARNING WARNING ....


Beware of any posts from Pumba telling you how to care for your Betta fish ....



carry on ...

 

[pumba]

here is the scoop.......do not clean fish bowl around the kitchen sink.....that is the first thing to remember........second do not put hot water in the fish bowl cause that sort of par boils them when you least suspect it ......Third.....I am just kidding......we sort of had an accident or two......but I learned real fast....
Do not let them just eat off a plant in the bowl.....or vase...feed them three flakes or dots of food each day and that is usually enough for them...the beta food for colors ....they love to be talked to........Otis and Mr. Feeney were very friendly.....I would walk up to the bowl and start talking to them and they would literally jump out of the water to chat up a storm......once he landed in the cherrios and milk that I had dumped in the sink....scooped him up with milk and cherrios on his breath......they are very hardy fish if you just remember to clean water once or twice a week......they dont need stones on the bottom as that just makes the food and their pottys go to that area.....they are not had to take care of

 

[bekkiz]

Make sure anything you put in the bowl isn't sharp or wouldn't snag a pair of nylons, as their tails are pretty fragile.

The plant thing is a bad idea--it makes the water dirty, and the fish are meat eaters by nature, so only eat the plant out of desperation.

They breathe on the surface, not through gills, so no need for a filter. They are sensitive to temperature changes or dirty water, so like the above posters, change it about once a week.

For a real treat, get some freeze-dried blood worms. They also like to flare up at their own reflection in a mirror, so that's good entertainment as well!

 

[Papa Deuce]

Depending on your idea of humor..... don't put a mirror in or near it. They like to attack it, thinking it is another male Beta.

 

[4greatboys]

here is the scoop.......do not clean fish bowl around the kitchen sink.....that is the first thing to remember........second do not put hot water in the fish bowl cause that sort of par boils them when you least suspect it ......Third.....I am just kidding......we sort of had an accident or two......but I learned real fast....
Do not let them just eat off a plant in the bowl.....or vase...feed them three flakes or dots of food each day and that is usually enough for them...the beta food for colors ....they love to be talked to........Otis and Mr. Feeney were very friendly.....I would walk up to the bowl and start talking to them and they would literally jump out of the water to chat up a storm......once he landed in the cherrios and milk that I had dumped in the sink....scooped him up with milk and cherrios on his breath......they are very hardy fish if you just remember to clean water once or twice a week......they dont need stones on the bottom as that just makes the food and their pottys go to that area.....they are not had to take care of

Now you warn me! I did in my 5 yr olds fish a couple of weeks back. I had changed his water and let the hot water running in the sink. When I was trying to transfer him from the cup he was in to water in vase he jumped out and landed in the hot water. OMG I felt like crap for killing the poor fish. I didnt tell my ds--Im the one that feeds them and I was hoping he wouldnt notice but he finally did.

 

[anb163]

Everyone is saying don't use hot water, but remember not to use really cold water either. A girl I know bought those gallon jugs of water and put it in the fridge. It was the first fish she had and did not know. I guess it sort of froze the fish because it died immediately.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

We always let the bowl sit out for 30 minutes or so, to get the water to room temperature before putting our betta back in. They are jumpers, so you're supposed to keep a lid on the bowl, so they don't jump out, but then, they breathe air from the surface, so the lid must have some holes in it to let the air circulate. We have this one and we like it. It's lid has a hole in it, and it has a divider, in case you get another betta, or you can leave the divider out to give a single betta more room. We have some water conditioner drops to put in the water to get the chlorine out, and we have a little silk plant in the bowl, just for looks, really, but he likes to swim in and out of it, too.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Really hot water is bad, but they do like their water a little warm (around 80 degress, whereas goldfish prefer about 70). They aren't too picky as long as you don't freeze or boil them, though

I recommend some kind of cover for the bowl that lets plenty of air through- they are GOOD jumpers, and if there is no cover, sometimes they will jump right out! (Finding a dried-out fish on the floor when you get home from work is no fun!)

If you notice them blowing a nest of bubbles up at the top of the water, it means they are happy!

If you put a mirror by the tank, they will flare up at it and make mean faces at the "other fish", but don't leave the mirror there more than a couple of minutes, or your fishy will get tired out!

If you don't have well water (ie if you're on city water), it's good to get something from the pet shop to put in you water that will remove the elements that are harmful to fish.

Just a tiny bit of food, once a day. Freeze dried blood worms are fun, and they also like small bugs, but that's too creepy for me

Hope that helps!

 

[always quiet]

With regards to the "bubble"....be warned!

My son had one a couple years ago. Started out fine, then the bubbles appeared......VERY shortly thereafter, the STINK came!! The only way to describe this smell is that of a Porta-Potty, left in the middle of a cow pasture, on the hottest day in July. A quick bit of research tells us that the "bubbles" are actually the male beta, making a bubble nest, trying to convince the female to come lay eggs in his nest. I am not sure whether the stench comes WITH the bubbles or if they "go bad" after a couple of days. All I can tell you is if you see them, get them out of there ASAP! Eventually, I guess he gave up and did stop making the bubble nest. Until then, buy clothespins!!

 

[Jennifer S]

Thanks for all this info- esp the "bubble" never heard of that. Kind of funny. I did try the mirror thing. My son loved that.

 

[Florida_Mom]

With regards to the "bubble"....be warned!

My son had one a couple years ago. Started out fine, then the bubbles appeared......VERY shortly thereafter, the STINK came!! The only way to describe this smell is that of a Porta-Potty, left in the middle of a cow pasture, on the hottest day in July. A quick bit of research tells us that the "bubbles" are actually the male beta, making a bubble nest, trying to convince the female to come lay eggs in his nest. I am not sure whether the stench comes WITH the bubbles or if they "go bad" after a couple of days. All I can tell you is if you see them, get them out of there ASAP! Eventually, I guess he gave up and did stop making the bubble nest. Until then, buy clothespins!!

That is so interesting...my male beta used to do this, but now that I'm reading this thread I'm realizing he hasn't done this in a while. Boy...I hope he's happy!

So how do you all keep you water at 80 degrees? It's colder out now, so it's a bit colder in the house and the water is of course colder. Lately, I've been titling the lamp in such a way that the light bulb is relatively close to the tank to try and warm it up. Any other suggestions?

 

[ahutton]

My advice is obvious to most, but was not so obvious to my 5 year old DD. Make sure your DS knows they are not to be touched. We've always had cats and dogs, and when a fish was visiting us she wanted to pet him. There was some fin damage, but so far he's survived...

 

[mum4jenn]

My dd has had 2 bettas. The first one was named Strawberry(red of course) but he died after about a year. Then we replaced him with a blue betta(named Blueberry) and sadly he died on Christmas Day. My dd was heartbroken. I feel like we will get another but will prob wait a couple of months.


There are some great sites on the web about the care of Bettas. There is one where you sign up and for a couple of months once a week you get an email giving more info on them. I forget the addy for it but it should show up in a search for Bettas.

 

[tinaluis]

They are very hearty fish. Oldest DD got one from a carnival in September and the joke around our house was that I would kill it in a week (I manage to kill every living thing in our house except the kids LOL). We named her fish "Puppy" because it would become alert when it heard voices, swim in loops when you got near the bowl, wag his fins, etc., just like a puppy. One morning I was cleaning the girls' room and moved Puppy to the bathroom so as not to accidentally tip his bowl over. Later in the evening I remembered I hadn't put him back on my DD's bookshelf and went into the bathroom. I went to grab his bowl but didn't see him swimming in there. I flipped on the light, and there he was on the counter in the bathroom. My youngest DD (4) came in looking VERY guilty. After much prodding she said she'd tried to clean his bowl. I, literally, could have thrown up at that point. I was sick to my stomach. Puppy had been out of water for who knows how long. I picked him up to toss him back in his bowl, he squirmed, and I dropped on the floor. I finally got him back into his bowl and his fins were all mangled. I felt SOOO bad for him. I fed him a little and tried to keep the lights dim so we wouldn't bother him. I figured he would die. Glad to say that he's still with us. His fins recovered and he's just as happy as ever. Our youngest DD will not go anywhere near his bowl anymore and everyone is happy.
Good luck with your fish.

 

[Jennifer S]

The fish, Noah, that my DS go on Christmas Eve died on Christmas day. We didn't have the heart to tell him so we went to the pet store and switched them before he even noticed. This one seems to be doing good so far.

Should I have a lamp on him to keep him warm?