What are some basic needs for my new Betta Fish?

Question

Okay, so for my birthday on saturday my dad took me to go get a betta fish. i've had them before but they died, one drowned when i went away for the weekend and the other had some desease. and i would really like Kwop Kilawtley to live for a long time, so i have som,e questions:

1) How much should i feed him? i have the little betta fish pellets, and the pet store guy said he gave them three a day, but when i feed Kwop Kilawtley he eats it fast and looks around for more?

2) What kind of container is best? i have "The Betta kit" it has a tiny box-like aquarium, is trhat good?

3) what temperture should it be at? trhe water in the tank is a mix of tap water and water from my dads fish tank, is that good enough? or should it be just room temp tap water with the betta conditioner in it?

4) rocks? the containers the petstore keeps betta's in are just jars with water, should i put rocks and plants in with Kwop Kilawtley or just leave him in it alone, cuz he looks empty and alone without anything else.

5) He just sits at the bottom most of the day, until i come into the room and sit with him, then he starts doign laps, but other ppl with betta's say theres sits in teh middle, not at the bottom, is this okay or is my fish sick??

sorry, i know its alot of questions i juist really love Kwop Kilawtley, so any answers are great, thank you to everyone. :D Happy Holidays

Brittany

Answer 1

1- You should listen to him, give Kwop Kilawtley about two or three pellets a day, and also fast him for one or two days every month to help clear his intestines. It's a natural instinct to be hungry, because in the wild, they don't come across food all the time.



2- If you're a beginner, then a betta kit will work. Over time, if you become attached, you may feel the need to move him to a larger tank, five or ten gallons would be fantastic.



3- Room temperature is sufficient, but the ideal temperature for them is about 78 degrees. If you want to use tap water, you should leave it in open air overnight for the chlorine to dissolve, or add any water conditioner.



4- The substrate doesn't matter much because bettas aren't scavengers or anything, so it's your choice. Plants, fake or alive, will help him feel more at home and he will be less stressed.



5- Let him adjust to his new home, the plants I suggested earlier may help with his lethargy.



Lastly, good luck with Kwop Kilawtley, unique name, by the way.

Answer 2

happy belated bday



1) three pellets is plenty. his stomach is about the size of his eyeball and those pellets swell in water... too much food can bloat him up and cause intestinal blockages. You can also feed him the odd mosquito that you can catch or some thawed blood worms (again three big ones is enough) and a piece of shelled and mushed green pea ( a tiny amount) once or twice a week will help his digestion.



2) betta kits are pretty bad, they're much too small for a betta to live happily, and much too small to get a good balance of bacteria in there. The problem is, they appeal to the mass public and are often "cute" so they tend to sell well. Your betta would be much happier in a 5 gallon filtered and heated tank. It's only a matter of survival that bettas can survive in a puddle or a small cup of water... this is not how they should live out their entire life though. could you imagine living in the bathroom 24/7?



3) Bettas are tropical fish and really do prefer to have a steady temperature generated by a heater somewhere between 75F and 82F. Room temps actually fluctuate throughout the day and can cause stress and disease to your betta. It's good that your dad has a cycled fish tank running, he should be able to appreciate the need for an established tank and you can use his dirty tank water to help speed up the cycling process in your new 5 gallon tank that I hope you purchase. Please read this link! http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm (skipping down a bit, your betta may be listless if the water is not clean and since it sounds like he was just put in water, the ammonia levels or nitrite levels are probably rising, making it very uncomfortable for him. Ask your dad to use his test kit for his aquarium and see where your fish's water is at. Only 0ppm of ammonia and nitrites are acceptable when you're not cycling a tank.



4) Your betta would be thrilled to have a little decoration in his tank and the substrate at the bottom will help to create a surface area for the bacterial colony to adhere to, plus the reflection of light off the bottom of a tank can confuse and stress some fish. Just make sure that any decor you add, like fake plants or castles etc are not sharp because he might catch his fins and rip them. purchase silk plants instead of rigid plastic ones and he'll happily perch on a leaf near the surface. Give your betta a sunken ship or a cave of some sort that he can explore.



5) I think if you add some decorations to Kwop Kilawtley's tank he'll perk up and be a little more active. they aren't really built for lots and lots of swimming like a tetra that never seems to stop though, but as you pimp out your fish's home, he'll be happier for it! The water temp has a lot to do with your fish's activity level too, if it's too low, he'll become less active as his body shuts down to preserve energy.

Answer 3

first u choose a tank a million gallon or greater the (the bigger the greater efficient) so your betta can swim around. get gravel any style is solid.nutrition get nutrition especially designed for bettas additionally you decide on a clear out in the journey that your tank is 10 gallons or greater. if its smaller then you definately could desire to scrub the tank one hundred%.in case you reside in a community 72-80 two° F then u dont choose a heater, in the different case u do.you cant have any betta fish to collect.additionally for adornment u could have some vegetation and little section that your betta an circulate threw and cover in.

Answer 4

1) if you give a betta the whole container, they would eat them all until they were physically ill, they dont stop when they are full. the pet clerk also said they feed them three, but i feed my betta 2, on 3 seperate times a day i.e. 2 for breakfast 2 for lunch 2 for dinner



2) temporarily it is good, but the bare bare minimum for long-time is 2-2.5 gallons



3) for now, your betta will be OK, but you should get a heater soon. this is because in cold water conditions, your betta's immune system is lower, therefore it is more suceptible to diseases, and so it will likely get fin rot (i havent gotten a heater for mine, and shes in the beginning stages of fin rot)



4) i dont have rocks yet, i'm low on money. i have this glass high heel shoe though(its a paperweight), and she can hide behind it and swim through it :)



5) my betta is always swimming around, even when i'm not around, but she gets super excited when she sees me. she almost never sits at the bottom of the bowl.



i love my molly too :)