How to care for bettas

[Betta man]

Bettas do not need heaters or filters. What they do need is clean water that is 80+ degrees with enough space to swim around some. Many betta breeders keep their bettas in betta barracks which is an effective way to keep bettas and have no filters. If you ask betta breeders what their setup for each individual male is, they will most likely tell you they have them in a jar or barracks system without a filter.

[Pleco]

Well I finally got a blue male betta and it said it was a community fish. Weird.

I am keeping it in an isolation net in my 10 gallon tank. Tomorrow, after my 29 gallon is done cycling I'll just move all the other fish to that one and leave the betta there. Maybe I'll leave the Bushynose behind with it.

[Angelclown]

Betta man: why do you always contradict yourself all the time. On some posts about bettas, you say that a heater and filter is needed but on others you say that a heater and filter isn't needed. You really need to read up on the care of bettas. I am going to read up on the care of bettas right now, and I bet you that I can find at least three articles that say that bettas need a heater and filter.

[Angelclown]

Pleco: That is cool. Male bettas can be community fish, they just need to be the last fish that goes in a community tank because of their aggressiveness and territorialness. Keep the heater and filtration, your betta will love it and survive longer than a betta living without a heater and filter.

[Betta man]

I call it clarifying, but you can call it whatever you'd like.

[emc7]

IMO a filter is the easiest way to keep water clean. No fish actually needs a filter, just change 100% of the water 3 times a day. But unless you have a 80F river in your backyard, a filter is easier.

Betta are more tolerant of ammonia than most fish, but ammonia will still burn gills and erode fins and kill betta if you don't do water changes in unfiltered containers. Keeping a small container "cycled" is challenging, so bigger is better. Especially for an "only fish". But a 5 gallon filtered, heated tank for each of a single spawn's male offspring is seldom practical. Breeders learn how to manage or they kill fish.

Most betta breeders I talk to either have a drip (clean water in, dirty water out) continuous water change system, or they have flow-through barracks with a single large filter for all the fish. However you will still find some that dump all the little cups twice a day in their 82F room. Fill a cup, move a fish, dump the cup, repeat.

Betta as community fish are hit or miss. Some are too passive and get beaten to the food by all other fish or get nibbled on by nippy fish. Some will aggressively attack other fish. Some do okay for years, some for a while and then seem to change personality. If you try a betta with other fish, watch the tank a lot and have a back-up plan.

[Pleco]

Well he's not really eating the worm flakes that I am giving him and I put him into my 10 gallon. Can I have some help?

[FRIENDLYFISHIES]

Generally bettas won't eat for a few days, watch to make sure he's getting food though, sometimes in communities the quicker fishes will eat up the food before Mr betta can get to it, feeding in other areas of the tank may help...but I wouldnt worry about him not eating, give him a couple of days to get comfy. Sorry bettaman, I have to disagree with you on this one, unless pleco is able to keep the room heated at 85-90 that bettas going to get cold...Can they live without heat, yes...but they're more susceptible to disease and are less active. A few yrs back I picked up a beautiful blue betta, I had no idea they needed heat, he died within 2 months a sad slow lethargic death...then I learned about their need for heat. I keep my fish at mums while my bf fixes up our house, we can't afford to keep heat up high enough to heat the fish, that would be RIDICULOUS...best to keep a heater in the tank plain and simple....
Anywho...congrats on your new fish! Have fun with him. Would love to pics of him sometime!

[Pleco]

Ok, I'll try to get one in.

[Betta man]

Originally Posted by FRIENDLYFISHIES Generally bettas won't eat for a few days, watch to make sure he's getting food though, sometimes in communities the quicker fishes will eat up the food before Mr betta can get to it, feeding in other areas of the tank may help...but I wouldnt worry about him not eating, give him a couple of days to get comfy. Sorry bettaman, I have to disagree with you on this one, unless pleco is able to keep the room heated at 85-90 that bettas going to get cold...Can they live without heat, yes...but they're more susceptible to disease and are less active. A few yrs back I picked up a beautiful blue betta, I had no idea they needed heat, he died within 2 months a sad slow lethargic death...then I learned about their need for heat. I keep my fish at mums while my bf fixes up our house, we can't afford to keep heat up high enough to heat the fish, that would be RIDICULOUS...best to keep a heater in the tank plain and simple.... Anywho...congrats on your new fish! Have fun with him. Would love to pics of him sometime!

I said that they need 80 degree water. If you can't keep the tank that warm without a heater, by all means use one. Bettas do not require heaters. They require heat.

[Angelclown]

Take a look at this video Betta man: you will have to scroll down to see the video

http://bettafishcare.us/

Bettas do need heaters in their tank to stay warm. Water cannot stay warm without a heater. So therefore bettas do need a heater in their tank to stay warm, they are nothing like goldfish who do not need a heater at all in the tank.

[Betta man]

You obviously aren't getting my point. My point is that if you keep your house temp at 85, the fish will be fine without a heater. I think you may be taking me out of context. I am speaking of an aquarium heater. Sure, the sun is a heater. It heats the earth, but I'm not talking about the sun. It is far more efficient to heat a room than to heat each individual container. Angelclown, I do not know if you are purposefully taking my words out of context, but I will assume you are not as you seem like you are probably a nice person. Please think about the context and the words instead of just the words. Thank you.

[lohachata]

tell me what idiot would heat their home to 85 degrees...
obviously you have no clue about the cost of heating a home...if i were to keep my home at 85 my gas bill would be more than $400 a month...and my electric $300 a month..
you need to get yourself out of fantasy land and back to reality...

if you have a dedicated fishroom with 50 or 100 tanks it would be less expensive to heat the room rather than individual heaters for each tank...but to heat an entire house to 85 degrees just for 3 or 4 betta tanks is a bit over the top...

clarifying.....oh heck no....more like confused backpedaling...

[Angelclown]

Thank you lohachata. Yeah heating a room at 85 degrees for just one or a few bettas is just insane and would make the heaating bill very expensive.

Betta man: I haven't taken your words out of context. I am looking at the logic of them which I don't see any at all.

If a person has like loha said, 100 tanks then heating a room would be sufficient. But if a person just has one or a few bettas, then heating a room would be insufficient.

Sorry Betta man but you are taking my words out of context. Try to learn from people who have been fishkeeping longer than you have been alive Betta man.

[Obsidian]

Hopefully I have this right: You are getting a 39 and already have a 10. The Betta and possibly the bristlenosed pleco are staying in the 10.

Your 10 will need: (Don't listen to Betta Man, frankly it's less confusing to just take him out of the loop for now).
Heater- 75 watt would probably be fine for this unless you keep your house cold, then go for a 100w. Personally I would just go with the 100w but you don't have to start there if you don't want to. Now if you want to have your house at 85 degrees 24/7-365 more power to you. Pun intended.

A filter: Because you don't want to do 100% water changes every 2-3 days. Filters are nice, positive, good things to have- that's why people have them in the tanks- they help keep water clean, and help keep fishes alive. Now if you want to make your life more complicated than necessary by all means don't buy a filter. For a 10 gallon I use an Aqua Clear 20, great little filter for a tank that size and the outflow won't be too much for the Betta. My Betta in my 10 gallon loved that filter output. He used to play in it.

For your Betta- get some hornwart, you don't need much. It will overrun your tank in no time LOL (easy to control though). Betta's LOVE to sleep in this stuff. Once you get some in the tank you won't need to ever buy it again. Just tear off what you don't want with each weekly water change. Hornwart will float at the top of the tank- this is part of why the Betta's prefer it- they like to be closer to the top of the tank when sleeping. It needs no special lighting.

The bristlenosed: A 10 is in all reality too small of a tank for a BNP. However it would be doable if you insisted. Do not, under any circumstance, ever, put the BNP in a 2.5 gallon tank. Saying oh but he is only an inch or two long is like saying your kid will stay 2 feet tall through college. They grow

The tank:
Get some good live plants for it- any low light plant will work without any special lighting needs. Betta's have long flowing beautiful fins- that can get caught on plastic decor. That doesn't necessarily mean it WILL get caught, but when it does happen you are opening yourself up for some potential health problems as it tends to scratch or rip the fins. It's easier to just buy them real. You will want some decoration in there to break up the water filter flow, A piece of driftwood would be enjoyed. A rock decor would be nice.

If this tank is not set up yet- get yourself some black substrate. Betta's will really pop against a black substrate. Gravel or sand- that is up to your own tastes. If you want to keep plants then I have found gravel to be better.

Remember, you could live outside in 60 degree weather and use an outhouse, but eventually you will get annoyed and unhappy at being cold, and the outhouse will start to smell.