Who has a betta fish??

[runwad]

Hey all we got our first pet ever. We were at a wedding 2 weeks ago and they had fishbowls as the centerpieces on the tables and if you had something under your chair you won it. Well we were the lucky winners. I have 3 kids and no pets...just not a pet person, I have so much to do as it is and now I have a fish. And this little fish is causing me stress I worry about it staying warm. Everything I've read says this little guy is a tropical fish and likes it warm 75 - 80 degrees...well we now have a problem. The weather here has turned cold and we are cold blooded people who keep our house at 62 and I"m afraid my poor little fish is going to freeze to death. Yesterday I went to the pet store and the guy I talked to said he'll be fine he has one and he keeps his house cool just to only feed it every 3 days because they need the warmth for their digestive tract. Well I still felt bad and I went to target and bought a little desk lamp to shine on his fish bowl to help heat it up a little (40 watt bulb). But we aren't comfortable keeping this light on when we are at work and I read it's also important to keep the temperature constant. So anyone with any knowledge of betta fish on here from the north? Would it be ok for my poor little guy if I don't have the light on him, how cold can he stand it? Thanks for your help.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Hey all we got our first pet ever. We were at a wedding 2 weeks ago and they had fishbowls as the centerpieces on the tables and if you had something under your chair you won it. Well we were the lucky winners. I have 3 kids and no pets...just not a pet person, I have so much to do as it is and now I have a fish. And this little fish is causing me stress I worry about it staying warm. Everything I've read says this little guy is a tropical fish and likes it warm 75 - 80 degrees...well we now have a problem. The weather here has turned cold and we are cold blooded people who keep our house at 62 and I"m afraid my poor little fish is going to freeze to death. Yesterday I went to the pet store and the guy I talked to said he'll be fine he has one and he keeps his house cool just to only feed it every 3 days because they need the warmth for their digestive tract. Well I still felt bad and I went to target and bought a little desk lamp to shine on his fish bowl to help heat it up a little (40 watt bulb). But we aren't comfortable keeping this light on when we are at work and I read it's also important to keep the temperature constant. So anyone with any knowledge of betta fish on here from the north? Would it be ok for my poor little guy if I don't have the light on him, how cold can he stand it? Thanks for your help.

We live in Montana and have had Betas for many years. They are a great fish. They are very hardy. I have 2 betas (different containers) and I keep them in the bathroom in very cute decorative vases. I would put them in the warmest room in your house. They will be fine.

 

[mom2aredhead]

on a shelf, routinely ignored, fed when I remember, and we've had it about 6 mths already. They are very hardy.

 

[britincanada]

We have 2, one in each son's room.

We are in Montreal, Canada - winter is cold here, and my house is heated to 19C & upstairs is always cooler.

Our little fish are fine, and seem to last longer when we don't feed them daily! The ones we have now are about 9-12 months old i think....

 

[SunKat]

on a shelf, routinely ignored, fed when I remember, and we've had it about 6 mths already. They are very hardy.

LOL...They are hardy, aren't they? Ours fell on the floor once after someone bumped into his tank (vase) and knocked the whole thing over. It took a few minutes to find him, we finally noticed him flailing around behind my DD's bookcase. Scooped him up and back in the vase he went. Still going strong.

 

[GoinToDisney]

We had one, but the little bugger jumped out of the bowl twice. We managed to find him fast enough the first time, but not the second time. After the first time, we ended up taking it to my parents' house because my cats wouldn't leave the poor thing alone and would try to knock over the bowl. We had a cover on there, but it wasn't good enough. He jumped out while my parents were at work and they didn't find him until it was too late. I guess the lid wasn't heavy enough.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

We had one, but the little bugger jumped out of the bowl twice. We managed to find him fast enough the first time, but not the second time. After the first time, we ended up taking it to my parents' house because my cats wouldn't leave the poor thing alone and would try to knock over the bowl. We had a cover on there, but it wasn't good enough. He jumped out while my parents were at work and they didn't find him until it was too late. I guess the lid wasn't heavy enough.

One day we came home from school and my DD screamed her fish was dead. I went in and the bowl had been tipped over and we couldn't find the fish. I went get some towels to clean up the water and then I looked for the fish. After about 3 minutes of looking we found the fish. I scooped it up to flush it and it started to move . I had DD get a bottle of water and a glass and then I put the fish inside. That was about 5 months ago. The fish swims a little crooked but it's still alive.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

My daughter is on her 3rd beta. Although she thinks it has been the same one the entire time. LOL Of course we picked the original one because it was so different looking from the rest. That was a mistake! It's hard trying to find one that looks like hers. I think the second one died fast because it had issues. It didn't look like the healthiest fish when I got it but it's colors matched the best and I had to get it home and in the tank before she woke up. Sometimes she tells me that Erika (yes, she thinks it's a girl) is more blue than she used to be.

Hers is in a small tank with a bubble filter. The current Erika has been with us for almost 2 years. I don't do anything special for it and it's fine.

I had one in college that I put in a 10 gallon tank with a heater. It would always swim up to my finger and let me stroke it. I really liked that fish. LOL

 

[pixiewings71]

Ok, there are a ton of misconceptions about Bettas and yes, they will live in the conditions described above BUT they really don't thrive in them. We have had many Bettas, I love them, they are beautiful fish and to watch them swim around is just the prettiest thing imo. Now, we have ours in a 2 1/2 gallon tank, it's a small tank but it's not a bowl....Bettas really don't like living in bowls, the DO like to swim and they do like some current and warmer water. I recommend getting a Mini Bow kit, it will come with the filter and media to help keep the water clean. These cost around $20-$40 depending on the size you get. Use Betta water or water from your local fish store, it's been cleaned and your tank will stay clean longer, you can put a small heater in the tank to keep it warmer and use a thermometer to help gauge it, they do turn of automatically so you don't have to worry about that. Use a good substrate and they love plants, in the wild they actually live in streams under plants and they nip at the roots of plants for nutrients.

You can use the desk lamp over a bowl if you don't want to get all high techy but do something to make sure the water is warmer....if you don't your new Betta may just freeze to death. Oh, you can get a timer that plugs into the wall and put your desk lamp on the timer so it's only on during some of the day, it doesn't need to be on all day.

To all Betta owners above, please don't take my post wrong, I'm not judging how any of you keep your pets just giving some other options for the OP and anyone else who wants to read them.

 

[runwad]

I did go out and buy the thermometer today and my water is in the safe zone at about 63ish? but I do have the light on trying to get it into the comfort zone of 70. Why don't they like being in a bowl? This is a roundish bowl, I noticed the fish bowls at the pet store were tall but not really round more flat? Does that make sense. I thought the little betta fish tanks seemed so small compared to what I had, so I thought he'd like more room, no? I do have a plant in there (fake) for it.
What about feeding it, I've had advise all over the board, to twice a day, to once a day to every 3 days...I have no clue?? Oh and like how many of those little pellets at a time?

 

[mrincredible2008]

we feed ours about once every 3 days. just a flake. also have a peace lilly in the tank(live plant) it eats some off the plant. also, a small rock, seems to like to hide every now and then. when water clouds up, time to change. buy stress coat for water changes. helps the fish. ours does great in kitchen and gets some sunlight,

 

[pixiewings71]

We feed ours daily. Just a few pieces but they aren't flakes, they are Betta pellets. He gets 3 or 4, he's also in with 3 small cardinal tetras so we have to make sure they get food too. A bowl is fine, if it's big enough, those tiny things they are in at fish stores are not good. They live in small slow running streams in the wild so try to duplicate that and you will have a really happy and beautiful Betta! We only have to do water changes every month or 2, and don't use stress coat, it doesn't help at all.

We actually have a submerged aquatic plant in our tank with our Betta it's rooted to a piece of driftwood (we took it out of our 75 gal. planted freshwater tank) but most fish stores also sell a plant called Anubis, it's really cheap, lasts for a while and it can just float on top of the water. They like that, it gives them a safe feeling natural to their habitat.

HTH, feel free to PM me anytime with questions!

 

[java]

We feed ours daily.!

Anyone remember that story of the fish- feed him just one bite- not anymore...*I loved that story as a kid.

We had a beta for about a year. My dd kept it in her bathroom(hotest room in the house. Michael was actually a very funny fish. They have quite a bit of personality for a fish. He knew when it was feeding time and would get into stance for food! But alas michael died an untimely death when my dd decided to clean out his tank on her own(she was 9) but used a chemical spray- then filled up the tank(Didn't know you were supposed to rinse it off)
I would do another Beta in a second. (right now I am overwhelmed with the dogs though so I think I'll wait a little.)

 

[drivencrazy]

Our 4 year old has one. He wanted a pet so he got to go pick out his fish! We have 3 different tanks for it, so when one needs cleaned out we get another one ready - fill it with water, put a couple drops of destresser in there and let it sit overnight (so it's the right temp) then just scoop him out of the dirty one and put him in the clean one! We do this when the water starts to look cloudy, depends on how much he gets feed on how fast this happends!

Our fish likes to eat and he begs for food so sometimes he eats 3 or 4 times a day! He is a very happy fish, he lets the 2 year old pet him!

Today my son tells us that his fish needs a castle to swim in and out of becaues he is bord.......... so we went and got a castle like thing at the pet store that has big enough openings for the fish to swim through, I didn't think he would actually care... But the fish LOVES it! He has been going through it all day!

We have had this fish for about a year now. It seems to me when you get one it is going to last for a very long time, or pass fast. I had one (got for a b-day gift) that I had for about 3 years or so, but he passed after we moved, my thought was the water is now different and he wasn't use to it even using the treatment stuff and leting it sit.

They are fun fish to sit and watch.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

I am not fond of fish, but my dd went through an obsession with them after seeing Finding Nemo. Well, daddy, the ultimate spoiler, brought her home a blue Betta she named Dory and three Goldfish. Within a matter of a few weeks, those Goldfish kicked off. But Dory did great. In fact, he was the longest living fish I had ever known. And the trials that little guy went through! Two cats that stalked him daily. A plunge from the bowl into a sink of soapy water. A broken bowl on the bathroom floor during a water change. In fact, that silly fish lived for a little over a year and a half (he was ancient for a fish in my custody). He died a couple of weeks ago and is now in heaven with Nemo's mom.

As for advice: Have a couple of bowls. That way, when his water needs changed you can just switch them out. Or if his bowl breaks, you have a handy replacement. Oh, and we fed him everyday a few pellets. He hated the flakes and they gunked up the water when he didn't eat them. Good luck and enjoy your new pet!

 

[teresajoy]

Ok, there are a ton of misconceptions about Bettas and yes, they will live in the conditions described above BUT they really don't thrive in them. We have had many Bettas, I love them, they are beautiful fish and to watch them swim around is just the prettiest thing imo. Now, we have ours in a 2 1/2 gallon tank, it's a small tank but it's not a bowl....Bettas really don't like living in bowls, the DO like to swim and they do like some current and warmer water. I recommend getting a Mini Bow kit, it will come with the filter and media to help keep the water clean. These cost around $20-$40 depending on the size you get. Use Betta water or water from your local fish store, it's been cleaned and your tank will stay clean longer, you can put a small heater in the tank to keep it warmer and use a thermometer to help gauge it, they do turn of automatically so you don't have to worry about that. Use a good substrate and they love plants, in the wild they actually live in streams under plants and they nip at the roots of plants for nutrients.

You can use the desk lamp over a bowl if you don't want to get all high techy but do something to make sure the water is warmer....if you don't your new Betta may just freeze to death. Oh, you can get a timer that plugs into the wall and put your desk lamp on the timer so it's only on during some of the day, it doesn't need to be on all day.

To all Betta owners above, please don't take my post wrong, I'm not judging how any of you keep your pets just giving some other options for the OP and anyone else who wants to read them.

I'm glad you posted!!! Thanks for this wonderful information!

 

[coreyjune12]

I dion't think I would ever keep a betta in a small tank. I am here to clear up some betta myths-

Myth #1-They came from small ponds.
Truth- They came from large lakes in small quantities.

Myth #2- They can live off that plant in the top of the vase.
Truth- They are carnivores, not herbivores. They may be able to live off these roots for a short amount of time but I wouldn't have this as his main diet.

Myth #3- They like to fight other fish.
Truth- These fish will be fine with other fish (not of the same species), usually the other fish fight against the betta because they are pretty.

I agree with pixiewings71. Pixiewings71 knows exactly what she is talking about.

 

[jennifer293]

Dorothy (our beta) is now 3 years old!!! (I was told at max they would live a year) "SHE" is in our kitchen in the corner in a 1 gallon aquarium. I clean it about once a month sometimes once every 2 months and I feed "her" every other day or so that her tank does not get cloudy. We keep our house around 72 degrees. I have left that fish for 11 days with just one of those 7 day pellets and "she" was fine. We went camping last spring break and DH got the bright idea to turn the heat down real low since we were gonna be gone. Well a cold snap came through and when we got home it was 42 degrees in our house. I walked over to the tank and Dorothy was at the top kinda bobbing up and down.. .I just knew this fish was about to die because it was freezing to death. DH turned the heat on and within about an hour "she" was swimming all around like normal. SO YES!!! I say these fish are VERY HARDY!!!

 

[teresajoy]

I dion't think I would ever keep a betta in a small tank. I am here to clear up some betta myths-

Myth #1-They came from small ponds.
Truth- They came from large lakes in small quantities.

Myth #2- They can live off that plant in the top of the vase.
Truth- They are carnivores, not herbivores. They may be able to live off these roots for a short amount of time but I wouldn't have this as his main diet.

Myth #3- They like to fight other fish.
Truth- These fish will be fine with other fish (not of the same species), usually the other fish fight against the betta because they are pretty.

I agree with pixiewings71. Pixiewings71 knows exactly what she is talking about.

Hi Corey!

 

[calliemom]

Our first betta lived for 2 years in just a simple small unfiltered tank and no heat lamp. Changed water every 2 weeks and that was it. We were very sad when little"swimmer" passed on. We actually came to find he had a very different personality from our second betta (which was purchased in anticipation of the first betta passing on). Perfect pet for a family of allergy sufferers!