Bettas - Tell me about this fish

[Pyramid_Party]

I been thinking of getting one of these bettas. They look really good and have nice fins. What gets me is, I dont understand why they are kept in these little cups at the store. One time when I was a kid, my mom told the fish store guy that it was cruel, and they responded that these fish are found in puddles, so these little containers are fine for them. But wouldnt the fish feel better with more space? Also, are these fish really "fighting fish"?

I dont know, Im thinking of keeping one but want to hear some opinions about them.

 

[JoeyCraig3]

they dont need alot of water but you should keep them somewhere with adequate filtration....i think its something like 1.5g for a betta.....they are called fighting fish because you cant keep two males together or they will kill each other

 

[Pyramid_Party]

How come they dont need a lot of water? What happens if say, I put it in a 20 gallon?

 

[JoeyCraig3]

that would be fine...you could prob keep 1 male and 2 females i you want...although the females dont look as good

 

[The Ippster]

the thing about bowls is when people do a water change they dump all the water out and sometimes rinse the gravel, making the tank need to cycle again, really bad on the fish and many times they can die from it. they dont get very big and a 2 gallon bowl is enough room for one, those little plastic cups are awful, also they are super aggresive towards each other

 

[Hot Slime]

I use to keep fighting fishes when i first started in this hobby, I would keep them in 2.5 gallon tanks. Ive tried putting one in my 10gallon community but it had hard time swimming in the current so I put it back in the 2.5.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

They dont need much water because they barley even move so they dont need to intake many calories with their low metabolism and because of that they do not produce much waste.

If you really want a fish for the fun of keeping a fish....dont get a betta. I love fish with personalities and bettas just dont have the brain capacity to have much of one.

If you want a betta because its easy to take care of and has pretty colors I would suggest you get one of these.

They also have pretty colors and are even easier to take care of being that they are plastic, and with a little bit of water current they will more more than most bettas.

This however is just my opinion and by no means is any reason for you not to get a betta. I just thought if your looking to get into the hobby you should know there are some more interesting ways to start.

Now if you want a small fish that actually seems conscious you still have lots of options. Dwarf puffers, exodon, rams, keyholes, shell dwellers etc etc etc

 

[daleros]

My son has a Beta tank. I got that for him because it was easy to maintain. The male hides most of the time. The female isn't very pretty and she doesn't do much either. It is a 2.5 gallon spongebob tank with an under gravel filter. It gets cleaned 3-4 times a year and that is enough.

 

[V1xIII]

Bettas can be kept in larger tanks, but need to have still water otherwise they won't live very long. Don't use anything stronger than bubble powered under-gravel filtration. Currents are a no no.

My girlfriend currently has a male in a 5g with a couple guppies and it is a fairly active fish. The guppies act as a target fish for him to flare at and chase around, he never hurts or nips them though, all show.

 

[Arachnar]

The cups are temporary but yes even so they are not very accomodating nor are they heated.

Bettas really shouldn't be kept in bowls but in a heated aquarium that doesn't have to be that big and a filter is optional, fill it with water, sand or gravel and floating plants.
Male bettas will kill each other as well as females together. I tried the female betta sorority a year ago and 2 were killed by the other and the third died mysteriously. The female betta group might work better with younger females and more numbers.

There are many betta lover sites so I would check those out.