Everything Betta Fish

Well my blue Betta fish, whom I call Red, has turned 4 years old as of this morning September 3, 2007. Not too bad for the lone Betta fish that sits on my desktop. He use to have company, but they’ve all moved out or have moved on to the great fish aquarium in the sky. As a huge lover of Betta fish I just thought I’d share the news with you all considering the average lifespan of a well cared for Betta fish is about 2-3 years. And the best part? He still continues to build pretty decent size bubble nests. Keep on trucking Red!

So what’s the longest your Betta fish has lived for? For me this would be the longest so far. Leave a comment and let us know how old your Betta is!

Swollen bellies?

Betta’s turning white?

Your betta may be constipated!

What is Betta Constipation?

Constipation is actually quite common in fish. A possible cause of fish constipation can be due to lack of variety in their diet or due to over feeding. The fish’s stomach swells up becuase it is unable to get rid of its waste, causing a build up. Buoyancy (similar to swim bladder disorder) may sometimes occur. This is where the fish is unable to swim properly and floats at the surface. Don’t worry, fish constipation is usually not life threatening to the fish. However, if it continues with little evidence of improvement, and left untreated, other more severe problems can occur.

My Betta has Constipation! How Do I Treat It?

Fast your betta for about 2-4 days allowing the fish’s stomach purge itself. If the swelling does not go down after a couple of days, give it a few more days to purge. At this point, don’t panic about not feeding your betta. Although never recommended under normal circumstances, betta fish can survivie up to a month without food. Your next step after the fasting period is to feed your betta peas. That’s right, i said it – peas. This will help clean out your bettas system while feeding her at the same time. Remove a green pea from its outer shell, cook it, and mash it up, and feed it to your betta.

Hope this info was helpful! As always, feel free to comment on this post! I always love hearing from fellow betta lovers!

Betta’s like most of natures creatures, when living in a community structure will eventually form some sort of controlled structure betwen the fish. One dominant fish, usually a large, healthy male or sometimes female will boss the other fish around. Just like with gorillas they are known as the ‘ALHPA’ fish. There will be some madness between the fish and a lot of pecking until the ALPHA position has been established. However, once the ALPHA has been established there will actually be peace in the tank.

Remove the ALPHA or add new fish and the cycle will start again as a new balance must be created.

It’s natures way.

I’ve come across another great Betta Site. Has a lot of great info.

http://www.oneworldinternetcafe.com/betta/

Betta Tips!
Betta Information!
Betta Diet!
Betta Breeding and much more.

It’s new, but it looks to be growing fast. Check it out! Even better subscribe to the sites RSS feed.

Get Betta information and help build up our Betta Community by visiting the site!

http://www.oneworldinternetcafe.com/betta/

Betta Fish Care
by: Ong Hui Woo

Betta is a popular tank fish and its maintenance is least painful. However, it does need care and you must be observant about its heath. A sick Betta is easy to spot since naturally the fish is very active and vibrant. If you have had the fish for a while you will be able to spot immediately when they are unwell.

Following tips can help you keep the Betta ecosystem healthy and vibrant:

1. A bowl large enough to allow ample swimming space is a prerequisite. The fish shouldn’t bump and tear its fins or scales. A large enough tank also ensures that the water has adequate oxygen level.

2. These fish do not require filtration but need the cleanest water you can provide them. Change the water every three days to keep it clean and avoid infection in your fish. The water you add to the tank should have set out for 24 hours (aged water).

3. Bettas are also called Siamese fighting fish because the male of the species will fight each other to death! Never put two males in the same tank. Females can stay together and so can one male with many females. You can also keep your Betta with algae eaters, guppies and corydorus catfish.

4. Ensure that the bottom of the bowl or tank is debris free. You can use something as simple as a turkey baster to do this cleaning. Debris sitting at the bottom will make the water cloudy and unhygienic for the fish. They will also cause the water to smell.

5. Maintain the tank pH at 7.

6. When cleaning the tank accessories, avoid using soap because traces of soap will change the water pH.

7. Betta can jump out of tanks and bowls, so keep them covered.

8. Betta is not a fussy fish and will happily eat the Betta pellets and frozen bloodworms. However, Bettas are fond of live food such as brine shrimp, and you must serve it as a treat now and then.

About The Author

Ong Hui Woo
Betta Fish Owner
http://www.tothefish.com

Feeding Bettas
by: William Berg

Knowing the right way to feed your betta is fundamental, becausenot doing it right can have big consequences on your bettas health.Nothing is more stressful than dealing with a sick fish, right? So,let’s do it right, and get rid from the calamity!

Here are some golden rules on feeding your betta.

First, select the proper food. Bettas are selective eaters. Abetta specific pellet is ok, but live and frozen foods are preferable.The recommended diet includes frozen brine shrimp and frozenbloodworms.

The next rule is to not overfeed your Bettas. Carefully dosethe meals, because even if the fish ate all you give him, he willproduce so much more waist when overfed and the pollution level of thejar he is in will go beyond safe range, this problem is smaller if youkeep your betta in a larger aquarium. Remember not to leave uneatenfood in the Aquarium! Once your betta and rest of the fish is doneeating, you must remove all uneaten left over food. If you do notremove it, it will punctually rot and cause havoc in the tank.

Bettas prefer to eat from the upper parts of the water column.They don’t really enjoy eating from the bottom of the tank. So beforedropping the food in the tank, make sure you have his attention. Lethim see the food, get it close to his face from the outside of theaquarium, let him check out what it is, and then there you go! Dropfood in front of his nose. The best way is to drop a tiny bit offood–about 6 frozen brine shrimp, watch the bettas eat it all and thenlook at the belly, if it looks the same as it did before you fed, it’sok to give them more, but always watch and make sure to make the secondportion smaller than the first.

Your betta should go for the food right away, but if not, watchwhere the food sinks, and what the betta does. If more than 15 min hehas not eaten the food yet, remove the food. Never let the water gocloudy. If it is already, then change it, as cloudy water will threatenyour betta’s health. Normally, small bowls or containers should bechanged at least twice a week. Larger tank can be changed once a week.And notice if the ammonia and nitrite levels are up the roof, becauseboth are very bad for your Betta. Also be wary of harmful bacteria theycan ruin your fish life, but don’t kill of all bacteria in the aquariumsince a lot of bacteria is essential for a well functioning aquarium.

During the pre-spawning period you can feed a wide variety offood, including blackworms, Grindal worms, fruit flies, brine shrimp,mosquito larvae and frozen blood worms (all are life except the frozenblood worms). During this period the adult fish may be fed 4 times perday or more depending on how close the fish are to being placed intothe spawning tank.

You can start feeding your betta fry, 5 days after thespawning. Feed the fry several times per day, using a variety of foods(infusoria, boiled egg yolk, baby brine shrimp…) made up of smallparticles.

About The Author

William Berg has over 20 years of aquarium experince and runs the website http://www.aquaticcommunity.com and you can find more of his articles on http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/universal.html.