Expanded fish Care
Betta
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anabantiformes
Family: Osphronemidae
Genus: Betta
Species: Betta splendens
Care level- Beginner -Experienced
Temperament and Behavior- Betta personalities and behavior are specific to the individual fish. Some Betta's are relaxed, easy-going, and active, whereas others look like they are pouting, acting sad, or constantly resting. Some Bettas do get along extremely well with other tanks-mates, whereas others were nippy and aggressive towards other fish. I have cared for Betta fish, who was active, always swimming toward the surface for feeding or would swim toward the glass. Others would rest on the bottom or lay on leaves, at first sight, looked like they were passed away, but were, in fact, okay. Males should not be housed with another male betta together due to aggressive territorial behavior. Betta sororities are possible but still tricky. Getting to know your specific Betta fish is a must. Each Betta's personality is different, not a one-size-fits-all species.
Lifespan- an average of 2 years
Size- 2-3 inches
Diet- Do not make the same mistake I did for a long time and exclusively offer fish flakes to your Betta fish. Bettas are carnivorous and need a meaty, high-protein diet. Feeding the wrong diet will quickly lead to poor overall health and digestive problems in your Betta. The Betta fish I more recently cared for absolutely ate up mosquito larva. Try high-quality frozen foods like blood worms, and frozen brine shrimp. Hatching brine shrimp would be a great benefit to your Betta. Fluval Bug Bites is a favorite food to offer. By nature Betta fish live on a carnivorous diet of mainly insects and larvae, offering fish foods with insect protein is beneficial to their overall health.
Tank Size- Betta's are known for their ability to be in small bowls and are notorious for being kept in tiny cups at the fish store. However, please do not do this. Setting up the proper environment is crucial to keeping your Betta healthy and thriving. I recommend a 10-gallon aquarium, but a well-established 5-gallon will work if this is all you can have. The 10-gallon aquarium has fewer fluctuations in my option that work against you initially.
pH-7.0 is ideal for the domesticated Betta; however, they can tolerate 6.5-7.5. There are specialty wild-caught Betta Fish that need more acidic water conditions. However, Betta fish, mostly availably in the Pet Store, need to be close to a 7.0 neutral pH but remember, consistent parameters are the most important.
Water Hardness- Betta fish do best with moderately hard to slightly soft water. Using distilled water exclusively is not recommended either. Distilled water has a KH of 0; KH measures the bicarbonate and buffers the aquarium water. Using only distilled water with a KH of 0 is not recommended. Distilled water lacks the necessary minerals Betta needs to thrive. Only relying on distilled water will make a pH unstable, fluctuating up or down. Having a too low or high pH can have fatal results for your Betta. Using distilled water works best if you do not exclusively use it. Instead, suppose you have hard water in the fish room, changing 10% of the water and replacing the drained 10% with distilled water, slightly diluting the hard water.
Temperature -75-80-degree Fahrenheit. Betta fish are tropical fish that naturally come from a warm environment. If their water temperature gets too cold or too warm, your Betta fish can have potential health issues. An efficient way to keep your Betta at the correct water temperature is to use an aquarium heater or keep your room temperature on the warm side.
Tank-mates- Every Betta Fish I have cared for has had a distinct personality. Some can be very personable, coming up to the glass and interacting with you. (They do have good eyesight). Others may be skittish and hide among plants, decor, or behind the filter. I have had Betta's act like they were sad and pouted on the bottom of the tank. Each Betta you will keep will be different and act differently. That includes what they are compatible with to be tank-mates within the aquarium. If you wish to keep Betta's with tank-mates, choose peaceful, nonaggressive fish, for example, White Cloud Minnows, Neon Tetra, or Kuhli Loaches. Guppies or other long-finned fish species sometimes have long, colorful fins that some Betta's may nip. I recommend adding a Betta to a community tank, but watch closely during the acclimating process and look for how stressed or aggressive they are during this time. Never add a Betta to a cichlid tank; cichlids are aggressive and nippy. Please do not add a male Betta with another Betta unless you know what you are doing. They are known for fighting for a reason. Unless you have a vast, heavily planted aquarium where each male Betta can have a large area without contact, do not add male Bettas together.
I have heard that having a female sorority tank is possible. However, it's work and not guaranteed that every female will work together. I have heard others say that sister female Betta's are the best, but there is usually no way to find this information. Make sure you have a plan because chances are you will need to switch out more than one female for aggression. You will need at least a heavily planted 75-gallon aquarium. It would be best if you had an area for each female to have their safe zone. However, not all females will get along. Female Betta Sorority tanks are for experienced fish keepers, knowing when to remove and switch females and knowing the balance of how many to combat aggression.
Recommended Group Size- Best one Betta per 5-10+ gallon aquarium. Unless you are an experienced fish keeper, keep Betta per aquarium.
Tank Setup- You will constantly see Betta fish sold in tiny cups and hear the myths that they can live in small vases with no filtration required. Not true! Yes, plenty of Betta's live in these conditions and appear to thrive, but there is a high chance they will not be healthy for long. Betta fish need at least a 5-gallon (my option 10-gallon) planted aquarium with filtration. They must be in water temperatures of at least 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. They will do significantly better with filtration which has a slower flow rate. If you wish to get Betta's, I suggest keeping driftwood and a few West Indian Almond Leaves in the aquarium. Tannins, whether you like the look of Black Water, heavily tanned water, or pre-boil the botanical you choose. Botanicals have beneficial antibacterial agents that help lower the pH slowly over time. Betta fish enjoy resting their long fins you should make available a spot to rest for example a Betta hammock.
Males v. Females-When I started caring for them, I had no idea how to distinguish between males and females. For the longest time, I assumed males were the ones who had the long flowing beautiful fins, and all short-finned Betta's were females, not true at all! In nature, there is a weak, less noticeable sexual dimorphism between wild-caught males and females. Having never kept any kind besides domesticated Betta's, I find it challenging to tell wild-caught males and females apart when I see them. Knowing males can also have shorter fins, spotting the difference between short-finned males and females is still tricky. Even though there is weak sexual dimorphism (less noticeable difference between sexes in wild-caught Betta's), there is a more pronounced sexual dimorphism difference between the two sexes in domesticated Bettas. It is easier to identify with the years and countless generations of selective breeding of the standard pet store domesticated Betta.
Typically, males are the most colorful; however, you can find an equally striking female for each beautiful male you see with Bettas. Betta's with long, beautiful fins are males, but males can have short fins too. Another way to tell if you have a female vs. a male is to look for an ovipositor. Once sexually mature, female Bettas will have an ovipositor, a tiny white spot on the underside between the pelvic and anal fin. During mating, this is where eggs deposit. Keep in mind that the ovipositor is always present when mature. However, you might need a magnifying tool to help see it due to being so small. Luckily, another characteristic to help you identify the difference between males and females. Both will have what is known as a beard; however, with females, this protective membrane that protects the gills is barely visible. On the other hand, Males have an identifiable beard. The male Betta's also use their beards to look bigger and more intimating when flaring. Regarding behavioral differences, male Betta fish will make bubble nests helping protect the eggs, whereas females do not. Generally, males will flare if they feel threatened or define their territory. Occasionally I have witnessed what is best described as stretching. Sometimes, when under NO threat, I believe occasionally Bettas flare to stretch their long fins.
What is Flaring? Betta flaring is generally associated with males when they stretch out their gill plates. A behavior to make themselves look more significant in size when under threat and more attractive to mates. There are a few more reasons behind why Betta's flare. However, even in mating, there is stress. Stress can often lead to a decreased immune system leaving the Betta more susceptible to bacteria or other diseases. Do not intentionally make them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes you cannot help it, and they will flare when you walk up to them for feeding. They are beautiful, displaying all their colors but don't encourage this if you can help it. Often you see them flaring if there is another betta insight, especially males. Use dividers they cannot see through, paint the sides of the tank or use a material that will block the vision of one another if you keep more than one Betta next to each other. You will often encounter this behavior when keeping Bettas. Sorority tanks of females are not exempt, and they may also flare at each other.
Flaring is a natural behavior that will occur when feeding, displaying mating behavior, for territorial reasons, among other circumstances that could trigger flaring behavior. However, never witnessing this behavior is not healthy either. Flaring is part of an active health Betta; it is not advisable to purposely stress or make your Betta uncomfortable to flare. However, depending on the Betta fish personality it could be a sign of playfulness or shyness. Knowing your specific Betta's character is crucial to know the difference, but flaring is a natural trait of Betta fish.
Breeding- I am not an expert at Betta's, but I hope the information I have gained along the way in aids with your continued research. First, I suggest you have a Betta fry (offspring) tank set up and ready. Males will take care of the eggs until they hatch, but once the fry becomes wigglers he moves on. Remove the female once the mating finishes, remove the male once the eggs hatch, and leave the fry in your grow-out tank. The adults are more stable to move over the fry.
Again, I am not an experience Betta breeder, and I don't necessarily recommend breeding Bettas from the local pet chain store. Genetics is essential when producing all fish, but if you can get a breeding pair, you may be more likely to know the age and other vital information to get healthy fry.
From my experience, not all pairs you want to breed will breed successfully, and I have had females beat up the male and males beat up the female. However, suppose you have a successful pairing. In that case, the two will begin to dance and intertwine but beware that this process is aggressive, almost violent.
Do not make the same mistake and place a male and female together in the same breeding aquarium simultaneously. For a higher chance of success, choose a high-quality breeder pair, letting them acclimate to their individual and separate environments for some time first. Next, add the male to the breeding tank and allow an hour or two to pass. Then introduce the female by floating a clear cup or using a tank divider but let them see each other safely under a controlled setting for some time. Watch for the male flaring; you might even see the female Betta flare. I watched and waited to see if the male would make a bubble nest, where I made another mistake: there should be a darkening of color in the male and females. However, the female should develop a barreling color pattern when she likes the male. When you see a bubble nest and the female's color pattern changes, you can let the female go and wait for them to mate. Again, this is an aggressive process. They will go through a dance back and forth, spawning and resting. There is a point where your female may look dead while the male puts the eggs into the nest. You will have to watch your Bettas when she wakes up and can start eating the eggs. When done, remove her and put her back into her original aquarium.
*Tip- drain the water level lower so the fry will not have to swim far to locate food.
Fry- From my understanding, eggs only take a few days to hatch once successful spawn happens. During this time, males give parental care for the eggs, an average of 100-300 eggs at a time. Once they are hatched and become wigglers, remove the male, he will no longer care for the fry. Sometimes the males may need some time, and a couple tries to get the process of being a good dad down perfectly. Male Bettas may eat the eggs the first few times. From what I understand, you can keep Betta fry together in the same breeding tank till they start displaying and developing color patterns. Once the fry reaches this point, you should begin separating and jarring each Betta fry. However, looking for aggressive behavior is the first sign separation should start.
Bettas, both males, and females, are fascinating, stunningly gorgeous fish. This fish species is followed everywhere by the myth that they should live in small fishbowls and glasses vases—many unknowing fish keepers expect them to live in these conditions. However, just because they can live in these tiny cups or glass vases does not mean they should be living in these environments. In nature, they can survive in a very shallow puddle and have developed an ability to gulp oxygen (Labyerth Organ) while they can locate a deeper pool of water or a better environment. This Labyerth Organ is why Bettas can survive in low oxygen conditions.
Betta fish need some room to swim. I recommend a 10-gallon aquarium. Do not use a small container. Bettas need good water quality with filtration and low flow. A well-established heavily planted aquarium will do nothing but aid you in keeping a healthy, happy, and active Betta.
There are countless types, variations, and colors of Betta fish, to help you distinguish which type of Betta you may have, a good starting point is to look at the tailfin shape.