betta fish care tipsUpdated on September 7, 2012
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top tips for betta fish care!!hello and welcome to my blog!! here you will find all things betta fish!!i have been keeping my betta fish for well over 5 years, and cant get enough of the little critters! i have three perfect little fish right now, but i used to breed them.. and ended up keeping the fish i took a shine to! (they took a shine to me too!)they come in all shapes and sizes, and are one of the beautiful fish around! they are EXTREMELY easy to keep, as they dont require much attention..if your keeping fish now or looking to buy some, i have some great tips and info you have just got to hear ! (well see, if your picky :)
to start things off....betta fish care tipsTHE BASICSalot of people make mistakes from the begining.. which is annoying for most when finding out , because you would most probably need to start over again... and that is why ive put together a few VITAL tips , well i suppose, t.. rules that you dont neccesarily HAVE to follow... but if you want your fish happy atleast, then i would stick to these neat little tricks :) if you guys have any queries , feel free to leave a comment with your email, and i will be happy to return an answer....1. ENOUGH SPACE!! these fish arnt picky and will adapt to most habitats (underwater of course:).. but just because they will adapt, doesnt mean that their happy! their gorgeous tails should have enough space to open all its tail and fins out fully, without scrapping or knocking on either the glass its in .. OR any little underwater trinkets you might put into your tank ( not to mention other fish:) .. a larger tank will also ensure that theres enough oxygen to support them aswell!2. CLEAN WATER! this should be obvious anyway.. any keeper sould tell you this before selling them to you anyway.. but alot of them will say to clean out your every week.. but if you really want your little friends happy and sparkly, then i would say to clean them out every three days!! well thats what i do anyway, but its really down to you.. betta fish dont need any filteration, but dirty water WILL NOT keep your fish happy, and really increases the chances of them catching disease!3. FIGHTING!! betta's are also know as siamese fighting fish, the reason being that if you put two males together..they WILL fight to the death!! which is all good to watch on the discovery channel, but not so good in your fishes tank!! its best to get 2 females, but you can have one male in with as many females as your tank can handle.. you can also have betta's with, algea eaters, guppies, and corydorus catfish.4.DONT USE SOAP!! cleaning with soap will change the Ph balance of the water.. and thats not good for your fish! many people use really simple cleaning products, but must be Ph neutral.. (unless official
cleaning product)5.THEY JUMP!! although laid back creatures (unless fighting to the death lol) , they do have alot of energy to burn off.. and will try and jump out of the water ( and usually succeed). this mainly happens when the tank is to small for the fish, but can happen randomly.. so keep them covered ! unless you want them on your floor when you get home from work!! ( if you do.... dont own fish :)noteif you follow these simple tips, you sould have some happy fish.. but dont get me wrong , there is other factors that come into play.. if you really want you fish to sparkle, theres alot you can do to help you little critters, but be careful when buying books with tips and tricks in, as alot of them are crap.. i have brought plenty (100's) of books in the past, and 99% of them didnt help me out atall! they just streched out the exact tips ive just given to you in 200 words!.. so be carefull..Betta fish care products - start with these basic betta fish care supplieshere you can find some essential products needed when starting to keep betta fish!all products are tried and tested and hand picked by myself, so you know they will be good :)&&&&&a word of warning!its all very well searching your poorly betta fish's symptoms online, then landing on a website such as this one to look for a definitive answer to your problem. But to be honest, there is alot more to betta fish keeping then i could ever go through on a single website! and although i try my best to answer your questions, im unfortunately not always around to do so, and by the time i do, it may be too late.the trick is getting everything right from the beginning, and knowing what to do yourself is vital to your betta's health and well being.so i strongly suggest gearing yourself up with a top reference book!there are many great book out there you could use, and believe me when i say ALOT (i pretty much bought them all like the idiot i am)but after going through most of them, there was always one that stood out for me....this book covers absolutely everything you need to know about betta fish keeping. it is extremely in depth, and once purchased, you will not need to buy another one ever again!
it covers everything i go through on the blog, plus a whole bunch more! its exceptionally easy to use, and although mentions other similar fish as-well, it covers EVERYTHING you need to know! if you don't believe me just read the reviews on Amazon. its a fantastic book that i stongly suggest EVERY Betta fish keeper should not only own.. but reference it as if it was a bible.&
is my fish ill???betta fish care tipsis my betta fish ill??good question! there are soooo many different illneses and diseases your betta fish can catch, and alot of them you cant tell in there early stages ( which is the best time to try and cure the illness ). so ive put together a little chart for you guys out there, so you can tell if you fish's abnormal behavior is down to the critter just being odd, or if its something more serious... i have also put together a collection of illneses and there symptoms, so you can not only tell if there ill, but what there ill from.. i hope all is well with mr betta fish your end, but if not.. i hope that this info helps.SICK BETTA / SIAMESE FIGHTING FISHDoes not eat at all or eats reluctantly and may spit out his food.Is not active. May lay at the bottom and come up only for air, or may stay at the surface in a corner.May dart and purposely runs into anything he can (gravel, rocks, etc) in an effort to scratch itself.Looks paler, color is dull, may turn grayTail and sometimes fins are clumped, closed, stiff looking or falling apartBody may have: open sores, white cottony patches, red spots, lumps or white spots.One or both eyes are protruding and swollenOne or both gills do not close all the way and stay half open (swollen/inflamed). They may look red.Scales are raised (like a pine cone)Belly looks too hollow or on the contrary is abnormally swollen and big.HEALTHY BETTA / SIAMESE FIGHTING FISHEats like a little pigSwims around and is activeActs normalIs colorful and vibrantFins and tail are spread out like fansBody looks slick and cleanEyes are normalGills are normalScales are smoothi hope that helped, if you think your betta fish may be ill, and you value his/her life, ( which im sure you do :) you really do need to act quickly! theres a few tricks to particular diseases which i'l go through next.. but who's to say it wont happen again?? and im telling you , it most certainly will.. ( did you know , healthy betta fish can live for up to 5 or 6 years!! but alot of them dont make it past a year!! and even more then that dont make it past 8 months!! ) its just the really simple , easy things that make a difference, so be sure to follow my advice here on this blog :)COMMON BETTA FISH DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENTSbetta fish care tipsheres some common diseases that you will almost certainly come across :( its sad , i know.. buts its true.. the trick is to catch it early, and be prepared! to really get your self prepared , you got to know your stuff... and learn how to prevent it in the first place!! so here are some tips on treating your poorly betta. :)
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betta fungal infection
Fungal infectionbetta fish care tipsGENERAL INFO:If you always add
salt to your betta's water (1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 2 1/2 Gal of water) and one drop of Aquarisol per gal, your betta will probably never get fungus. It is contagious, but bettas will more than likely recover if treated promptly.SYMPTOMS:Betta has white cottony like patches on its body or head. He may be less active, may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped, color may be pale.TREATMENT:Do a full jar water change. Add "Fungus Eliminator" (can be found in all good pet stores). These are crystals, and dosage should be about 30-40 grains per 1/2 gal. Water should have a nice gold color, not too dark. Do not overmedicate! Change water every third day and add a new dose of same medication. Continue until all fungus has disappeared.Helpful products for Betta fish's fungal infection - Betta fish care tipssome products to help treat a fungal infection :)&&&&
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betta fin rot
Tail or fin rotBetta fish care tipsGENERAL INFO:This disease comes mainly from dirty water. If you keep his water VERY clean Mr. Betta will never get tail/fin rot. It is not overly contagious, and bettas will more than likely recover if treated promptly. Fins/tail will grow back, though may not have same color or may not look as good or be as long.frayed fins and a darker edge are clear signs of fin rotSYMPTOMS:Betta's fins and/or tail seem to be getting shorter and shorter. Or they seem to be falling apart and dissolving. There may be a darker color (or a reddish one) to the edge of the betta's fins/tail. He may be still active and eating normally, or may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped, color may be pale.TREATMENT:Do a full jar water change. Use tetracycline or Triple Sulfa (available from all good pet stores) combined with Fungus Eliminator . Change water every third day and add a new dose of same medication. Continue until fins/tail stop receding and start showing some new growth. This may take up to 4 weeks, so don't give up. Once rot stops and fins start growing back you can stop treatment, but not before then.Helpful products to help treat Betta fish's fin rot. - betta fish care tipssome products to help treat fin rot :)&another word of warning!! - Betta fish care tipsits all very well searching your poorly betta fish's symptoms online, then landing on a website such as this one to look for a definitive answer to your problem. But to be honest, there is alot more to betta fish keeping then i could ever go through on a single website! and although i try my best to answer your questions, im unfortunately not always around to do so, and by the time i do, it may be too late.the trick is getting everything right from the beginning, and knowing what to do yourself is vital to your betta's health and well being.so i strongly suggest gearing yourself up with a top reference book!there are many great book out there you could use, and believe me when i say ALOT (i pretty much bought them all like the idiot i am)but after going through most of them, there was always one that stood out for me....this book covers absolutely everything you need to know about betta fish keeping. it is extremely in depth, and once purchased, you will not need to buy another one ever again!
it covers everything i go through on the blog, plus a whole bunch more! its exceptionally easy to use, and although mentions other similar fish as-well, it covers EVERYTHING you need to know! if you don't believe me just read the reviews on Amazon. its a fantastic book that i stongly suggest EVERY Betta fish keeper should not only own.. but reference it as if it was a bible.&
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Ick (ich)betta fish care tipsGENERAL INFO:Ick is a pesky little parasite. If you always add
salt to your betta's water (1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per 2 1/2 Gal of water) and one drop of Aquarisol per gal, your betta will never get ick. It is very contagious, but bettas will fully recover if treated promptly. Frozen live food may carry ick.tiny white dots on body, head and fins, typical of ickSYMPTOMS:Betta has white dots (looks like he was sprinkled with salt) all over his body and head, even eyes. He may be less active, may have stopped eating, fins may be clumped. he may also be darting and scratching against rocks, plants and whatever else he can find.TREATMENT:Ick is a parasite. Because ick is contagious, it is preferable to treat the whole tank when one fish is found to have it. Ick is temperature sensitive: Leave your betta in the community tank and raise temperature to 85 F and add one drop of Aquarisol per gal every day until cured. It will only take a few days to get rid of the pesky little parasites. If your betta lives in a jar/bowl, then you cannot raise the temperature. Do not attempt to put a heater in a tank smaller than 5 gal. You cannot control temperature fluctuation in a small tank/bowl and will probably end up boiling your betta!!! Do a full water change and add one drop of Aquarisol and salt (per above proportions) to the water. If you have empty tank and heater, then move betta to it and raise temperature of water to 85 F as per above. The reason is that the parasites are sensitive to the heat and at 85F they become free swimming (detach themselves from betta's skin and go for a swim in the water which contains the Aquarisol. Aquarisol then kills them). Guess their mothers never told them to never go for a swim right after dinner!! :)Helpful products to treat your betta fish's Ick. - betta fish care tipshere are some recommended products for treating ick :)&&&
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betta dropsy
DropsyBetta fish care tipsGENERAL INFO: This is a most common and most fatal betta disease. often linked to the feeding of live foods, especially black worms. Very little is know about it, but what causes the raised scales is fluid building up under the skin, inside the betta's tissue. Usually what causes this is liver failure, And as you know, once the kidneys fail, the body dies. I think that is why we have had so little luck (mmmmm... Let me rephrase, NO LUCK AT ALL) in treating successfully bettas with dropsy. Although dropsy (the illness) itself is not contagious, the bacteria that cause the infection in the first place usually is very very contagious. Since I stopped feeding live worms to my bettas I have not seen one single case of dropsy in my fishroom :). Thank God!SYMPTOMS:It is easy to diagnose a betta with Dropsy: Look for two signs: an abnormally big (bloated) belly and if you look at betta from the top, raised scales. Scales will look like an open pine cone. If you see this, you are out of luck, and so is Betta. He will soon go to betta heaven :(TREATMENT:No known cure. Keep water clean, keep him AWAY from any other bettas etc… On occasion, in the case of a very mild raised scales, I have seen bettas recover on their own. But I suspect that this is because those cases are NOT real dropsy. Real dropsy always kill. So I guess you have to wait and see what happens. Treating is pretty useless. It may take up to 15 days for betta to die, though usually about 5 days. Any betta with dropsy should be immediately ISOLATED!!!! Prayer may not hurt.
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betta inflamed gills
Inflamed gillsbetta fish care tipsinflamed gills (for betta fish and siamese fighting fish)GENERAL INFO: The gill or gills of a betta may become inflamed, because of nitrate poisoning, and possibly bacterial infections, or even a defective gill (if it was born that way).SYMPTOMS:One or both gills will not close all the way (look at betta from the top it is easier to see it then), gills may look red on the inside (inflamed) or not, in the last stages, the betta may be gasping for air, unable to breath and ultimately die.TREATMENT:Isolate sick betta. Do a full jar water change every third day. Every time you change water, add antibiotic (Pick one that treats inflamed gills, like Ampicillin for example) to the water. In the case of nitrate poisoning, simply add one drop of methylene blue in betta's jar.handy products to treat your betta fish's inflamed gills - betta fish care tipssome products that will help treat your betta's inflamed gills :)&yet another word of warning! - betta fish care tipsits all very well searching your poorly betta fish's symptoms online, then landing on a website such as this one to look for a definitive answer to your problem. But to be honest, there is alot more to betta fish keeping then i could ever go through on a single website! and although i try my best to answer your questions, im unfortunately not always around to do so, and by the time i do, it may be too late.the trick is getting everything right from the beginning, and knowing what to do yourself is vital to your betta's health and well being.so i strongly suggest gearing yourself up with a top reference book!there are many great book out there you could use, and believe me when i say ALOT (i pretty much bought them all like the idiot i am)but after going through most of them, there was always one that stood out for me....this book covers absolutely everything you need to know about betta fish keeping. it is extremely in depth, and once purchased, you will not need to buy another one ever again!
it covers everything i go through on the blog, plus a whole bunch more! its exceptionally easy to use, and although mentions other similar fish as-well, it covers EVERYTHING you need to know! if you don't believe me just read the reviews on Amazon. its a fantastic book that i stongly suggest EVERY Betta fish keeper should not only own.. but reference it as if it was a bible.&
betta swim bladder disorder
Swim bladder disorderbetta fish care tipsGENERAL INFO:This is also a common betta problem. It is not contagious. It comes from overfeeding. It is especially common in very young bettas (30 to 60 days old) and can affect some Double Tail bettas when overfed or stressed..SYMPTOMS:Bettas with a swim bladder disorder will have difficulty swimming, because their swim bladder (located alongside the spine between the belly and the tail) is either too short (causing them to not be able to swim horizontally) or it is swollen (causing them to float on one side). Double Tail bettas, (because they have a shorter body), are especially prone to the "floaters" problem. In the case of a short swim bladder, the bettas will not be able to maneuver and swimming becomes so difficult, they prefer to just lay at the bottom, sliding on their bellies, which is why they are called "belly sliders".TREATMENT:Bettas may recover on their own, but since overfeeding induces swimbladder disorders in most cases, the first thing to do is feed a lot less. Brine shrimp and too much of it is the biggest culprit, so if your bettas are bellysliding, stop the brine shrimp for a while and thereafter learn to have a more balanced diet, alternating brine shrimp with microworms or worms (depending on how old your bettas are). Do not kill a betta with a swimbladder disorder. It may recover on its own at any time, and is not suffering. Further more, the ailment is NOT contagious. To help the fish if it cannot eat, lower the water level. Adding some BettaZing to the water for a few weeks ).
depressed betta
? POSSIBLE DEPRESSION ?betta fish care tips?possible deppression?Sometimes a betta will act sick but not exhibits any symptoms. He could either have internal parasites, or some mild bacterial infection, or simply be depressed. Bettas often become depressed when they are first jarred as young fries, and get separated from their siblings. Also, males often become depressed after spawning. A depressed betta will stop eating and swimming around and may let himself starve to death. This is not as unusual as one may think!SYMPTOMS:Bettas may or may not have slightly clamped fins, lay at bottom or at surface, not eat, barely swim around. They will not flare or build bubble nests.TREATMENT:Do a full water change for jars or a 70% water change for tanks. Isolate any suspected sick betta.. If the betta was just spawned or just jarred, and it is likely to simply have depression: In the case of a newly jarred young betta, float his jar inside the tank where his siblings still are.some products to keep your betta fish happy! - betta fish care tipshere are some products that will help keep your fish happy :)dont want the little critter getting bored now do we!!&&&&OMG, another word of warning! - betta fish care tipsits all very well searching your poorly betta fish's symptoms online, then landing on a website such as this one to look for a definitive answer to your problem. But to be honest, there is alot more to betta fish keeping then i could ever go through on a single website! and although i try my best to answer your questions, im unfortunately not always around to do so, and by the time i do, it may be too late.the trick is getting everything right from the beginning, and knowing what to do yourself is vital to your betta's health and well being.so i strongly suggest gearing yourself up with a top reference book!there are many great book out there you could use, and believe me when i say ALOT (i pretty much bought them all like the idiot i am)but after going through most of them, there was always one that stood out for me....this book covers absolutely everything you need to know about betta fish keeping. it is extremely in depth, and once purchased, you will not need to buy another one ever again!
it covers everything i go through on the blog, plus a whole bunch more! its exceptionally easy to use, and although mentions other similar fish as-well, it covers EVERYTHING you need to know! if you don't believe me just read the reviews on Amazon. its a fantastic book that i stongly suggest EVERY Betta fish keeper should not only own.. but reference it as if it was a bible.&summarybetta fish care tipswell i hope all that helped! it really is the little things that help the most. as long as you get it right from the outset, treat them well, and clean the little critters
out often. then they will live for a long time :) if you have any questions i'l try my best to help you out! leave a comment or email me :)take care* the better, they will enjoy you.*Healthy betta fish video - betta fish care tips
pond pumps, aquarium pumps, fish tanks,
www.everything-aqua.co.ukpond pumps, aquarium fish tanks, aquarium filters, pond filters etc etcAs keen betta fish lovers, i wouldnt be suprised if you have either more than one fish tank, or maybe even a pond in your garden.in which case, you will no doubt need pond equipment and aquarium equipment that I haven't mentioned or linked to in this blog. has the UK's largest aquarium and pond equipment stock.supplying everything from pond pumps, , fish tanks, aquariums and everything else related to pond and aquariums.feel free to leave a comment or question, and i'l get straight back to you :)
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